What a Thought!!

Scrapbook Layout

Here is a 2 page layout I did for my Christmas pictures...(I scraplifted the idea!!) Anyway, I just need to add some pics.

The paper is the new Basic Grey set....Note the clear acrylic ornaments and the wooden scrolls....I really liked how this layout came together.

What a Thought!

A Good Laugh

Thanks Mom for sharing this!!!

Let's Pray!

Picture by ABC News

Well, today was a day of change for the United States. And although I can say that the man I voted for did not win, and I disagree with many of the changes that are coming, God knows ALL. However, I realize that as a Christian I need to pray for my nations leaders.....so that is what I plan to do...pray for those and ask God's intervention.

One bright note: He said "so help me God"

Visiting Pap and Grandma

We -finally- went down to my pap and grandma Stahl's for Christmas haha (and sorry for not getting the pics from our christmas in SC on here... and the ones of our christmas haha iv been busy, what can i say) so today we went down there and visited with them.

dad with the camera (i think he was kinda forced to take pictures:)

clayton in pap's hat haha

great-gram Stauffer

my grandma Stahl

pap and his gifti kinda fell asleep... then mom woke me up with the flash from the camera :(

Made My Day!

Well, today I was at work -- scrapping away -- when a delivery guy came into the store asking for "Amy" -- and lo and behold I had a beautiful bouquet from my honey!!!! Just wanted to share a picture of em....and no, it isn't my b-day or anniversary (that's what the ladies who were at the store wanted to know!!) it was a "just because"!! That made my day!

Baby, its cold outside!

Can you tell by the red on his face that its cold outside? We have been "enjoying" (guess it depends on who you are if you enjoy it or not!!) snow for the past several days...Actually, its been ice, snow and ice.....LAYERS!! UGH Anyway, we are to really be enjoying some cold weather in the next several days....our nights, with the windchill, are to be below 0!!! That is NOT my kind of weather!!!

Making a snow angel on the back deck!!

Best Job in the World

Australia offers "best job in the world"
you will get paid 105,000.00 to live on this island for 6 months...blog and report the weather and such!!! Flight tickets and a 3 bedroom home, pool and golf cart. You will need to snorkel and walk the island!!!! WOW

God's Blessings!

Read The Caption on the first photo then look at the second photo.

Look at the picture above and you can see where this driver broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert, where the people are standing on the road, pointing.

The pick-up was traveling about 75 mph from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end, bounced off and across the culvert outlet and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which the driver was traveling.

The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.Just outside Flagstaff , AZ on U.S. Hwy 100.

Now for the view from a distance!

See how the truck is sitting "just on the edge" I know a lot of us haven't gone through stuff like that "Physically" but we need to remember that we don't always see the BIG picture!!! Count your blessings!!

Hello everybody :) so umm... my mom has been telling me to put some pics on the blog but it has been really hectic around here lately so I havent gotten any up. So, if I have time later, I will post pics from christmas and... some other ones haha.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

May you remember the true meaning of "Christ"mas this year!

here are some cute and funny messages that I found!!!

CUTE:
1. He handed her a dozen roses. 11 real ones + 1 fake one. He told her he would love her til the last rose died.
2. One day you'll come to me and ask me what's more important: You or my life. I'll say my life and you'll walk away never knowing that you're my life.
3. Don't ever frown because you never know who might be in love with your smile. :-)

Visiting the Billy Graham Library

When you think of a library you think of books -- however, this was not books -- it was basically a library telling you of the life of Billy Graham. Here you see the "barn" with the cross in it -- that is the library. The brick house is his childhood home. You are greeted by very friendly volunteers who make you feel very welcome and comfortable. Then you head to the barn where Bessie the cow tells about Billy Grahams childhood. You then move to a small video clip with various testimonies. As you follow the tour you will go through different rooms telling of many places Billy Graham has been and seen with lots of items to see. This is some of what the flyer says: You enter through the foot of the cross (which is the front of the building you see above, which is 40 feet high) There are scripture passages emblazoned on the wooden structural beams in hope that you will see beyond the man and be touched by the message of God's love"

Bessie the cow

This was one of the rooms that was showing how Billy Graham used radio as a ministry.

One of the many quotes throughout the tour

Shows the Communism and the down of the Berlin Wall. You then will walk out through more crosses and volunteers wait to pray with those who would like. Through the entire tour they are playing beautiful church music and scriptures throughout. There was just a nice special feel to this place. There is also a prayer garden.

The younger kids (Clayton) are given cards of things to hunt for while they go through the tour. This made it more interesting for Clayton and he then received a little gift for doing the hunt.

If your ever in Charlotte, NC and have time this is a really nice place to stop. Free of charge....they do have a book store and dairy bar when you are finished. I must admit that I don't place a lot on people but on God, so I wasn't sure what to expect when we went. However, I really think this was a great place for a family to visit.

Pecans!

My parents have a pecan tree in their back yard....at Thanksgiving time they brought us some and we started shelling them. Well, while we are in South Carolina we decided to pick up the last of the pecans from the trees. They have almost all dropped but we are collecting all that we can. They taste so good!!

Don't you love the "gadget" that we are using to pick up the nuts. You just jab the nut and they collect inside this thing. Sure beats bending over for every single nut....although maybe its the lazy man's way to pick em up...whatever, they are a blessing!!

Merry Christmas!

Here is wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! We are leaving for the warmth of South Carolina and will be away for awhile. Wishing you all a Christ filled Christmas!!
Steve, Amy, Alyssa, Shalene & Clayton


Sunday 21st -- we have arrived in South Carolina and we are enjoying the weather (56 degrees today) with NO snow!!! Getting to enjoy a lazy week with my parents.!

The Bug Part 2

Okay, so the bug that has been at our house is NOT as cute as the one in the picture. This bug seems to have a made a mass movement throughout our entire church. So much so that it appears many are facing round two!!! I'm very WORRIED about attending church this Sunday just because I am fearful of "the bug" again. Lysol and Lysol wipes have been a constant companion of mine for the past several days!! We have washed so many blankets, scrubbed bathrooms and sprayed doorknobs that we are smelling VERY clean around here. Steve is the only one that has survived through this ordeal and appears to be healthy. It appears that once you think you have survived the bug you will suffer for several days with belly cramps and "sick" feelings for awhile.

I am now hearing stories of others who do not attend our church but attend the school that many of Beavertowns kids attend.....so it is spreading....Maybe we will wear masks (like the one above) to church this Sunday to avoid "THE BUG"

Now, we had it BAD but this story posted by Gwen is REALLY bad!!!

Cookies...

Here is our nativity with our countdown in the background -- its really hard to believe we only have 6 more days! We have been doing the advent deal along with the countdown which has added to some fun. Each day they change the countdown, run to get there tiny box for the 12 days of Christmas and open there small gifts. Its been fun! Sometimes the little gifts are the best!

Today we had a snow/ice storm so I didn't go to work. It was a perfect day to finish up on my Christmas baking. Since Alyssa needed 3 dozen cookies for Sunday School (Picture in middle is what she is taking -- have to add the reese cup cookies and the pumpkin roll yet) I recruited her to help out with the rest of the stuff!! Always like helpers!! (I mean come on, she was taking some of it to Sunday School!)

We plan to visit my parents in South Carolina for the holidays. I'm told its in the 70's today!!! But will be in the 40's when we get there. Mom called today making the statement that she was worried that her butter would melt in the car (she went to the grocery and then to work, so she was leaving groceries in her car) Told her I didn't feel one bit sorry for her -- as I looked out the window and saw the ice "gushing" from the skies on top of the snow that had already fallen.(in HUGE flakes, by the way) Anyway, I always try to take a bunch of cookies with me when we go for the holidays!

Well, I have proof (the pictures) of the cookies being in my house. We will see how long they last!

What do you think?

Here is another one from my mom.....

You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink prison garb.

Well......... SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT AGAIN! Oh, there's MUCH more to know about Sheriff Joe! Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behaviour. They give great classes for anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. He has literally taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire department is now under $3 million. 'Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him.Cost us $78. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day.' Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc.He pays the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals. I have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and harvesting by hand.

He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat, and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 - $8 for the Holidays, and plant it later. 'We have six trees in our yard from the Prison.'Yup, he was re-elected.

He's in trouble with the ACLU again.He painted all his buses and vehicles with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement needed help in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border.

He's kind of a 'Git-R-Dun' kind of Sheriff. TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS GETTING RE-ELECTED, THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (In Arizona) who created the 'Tent City Jail': He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. He took away their weights and cut off all but 'G' movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do free work on county and city projects. Then he started Chain Gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination. He took away cable TV until he found out there was a Federal Court Order that required cable TV for jails so he hooked up the cable TV again only let in The Disney Channel and The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel he replied, "So they will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my Chain Gangs."He cut off coffee since it has zero nutritional value. When the inmates complained, he told them, 'This isn't the Ritz/Carlton.....If you don't like it, don't come back.'

He bought an old Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied 'A democratic lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.'

More On The Arizona Sheriff: With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix, the Associated Press Reports: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed-wire-surrounded tent encampment at The Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts. Hundreds of men wearing pink boxers were either curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 116 degrees inside just the week before. Many were also swathed in wet, pink towels as sweat collected on their chests and dripped down to their pink socks. 'It feels like we're in a furnace,' said James Zanzot, an inmate who has lived in the tents for 1 year. 'It's Inhumane.' Joe Arpaio, the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic.

He said Wednesday that he told all of the inmates: 'It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!' Way to go, Sheriff! Maybe if all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live comfortably until it's time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves.

I think I like this guy!!! Sorry if you disagree.....

Frosty

Here is another picture my mom shared with me! She seems to provide a lot of the funny pics on this blog!

If you can't see the caption here is what it says: "Right in the middle of the produce aisle, Frosty gets caught picking his nose."