Come for a visit

I love Christmas. Love the music, candles, lights, cold weather, shopping, wrapping...everything. And I totally enjoy decking my halls but no one ever gets to see them except me! So welcome to my home...

So Very Thankful...

• I know Jesus
• I live in an affluent, free country
• I can see, hear, taste, smell, touch
• My entire family is healthy
• I'm forgiven and have a mansion waiting for me
• My mind is (usually) fully functioning
• I have a warm home, full closet and a stocked kitchen
• I can read, write, learn
• I have a bank account
• I have friends who reprimand me, support me, teach me, tolerate me, love me

I am blessed beyond measure.

Yipppeee!

...four new posts to read in one day! I guess blogging is still alive and well! Thanks Courtney, Kristen, Sue, and Kathi!

Hmmmm...

I've been wondering...if I was Jerry's neighbor on "Seinfeld," would I be friends with...

Kramer?
George?
Elaine?
Jerry?

I know you're dying to answer for me but please refrain.
But feel free to answer for yourself.

Unbelievable...

http://www.wptz.com/news/17539127/detail.html

All I Want for Christmas...

1. An iPod nano...my iPod doesn't hold its charge. Hot pink will be just fine.
2. A nike shoe chip
3. A G3 iPhone...preferably black
4. A Macbook air notebook
5. A new head...same look just headache free
6. A critter free house
7. A year's worth of gas...cause I hate to pump
8. A biking trail close to my house
9. A maid
10. A mailbox free of junk mail

I think I need to stop listening to Christmas music.

Jodie is...

...sad that people don't blog much anymore because they've abandoned blogging for facebook.

Whew...

Lights back
Dishwasher back
Chandelier exploded!

Yeah! I get to pick out a new one!

Good grief!

Late Thursday night after Drew and Casie fell asleep, I went downstairs to close up for the night. Everything was strangely dark. I started flipping switches to no avail. The electricity in the front of the house was out. At 11pm!!! Ugh!
Now for those of you who know about the recent unwelcomed guests in my basement, you'll understand why I wasn't thrilled to have to go down there to check the fuse box in the dark. But I also wasn't thrilled to go to bed knowing there was an electrical problem in my house. So I sucked it up.
I flipped a breaker, went back upstairs and tested a light switch and heard a pop...everything went out again. Tried a second time. No luck. So I gave up. I laid in bed figuring out our escape plan in case we were woken up by smoke alarms.
The next day I called two electrician friends and one agreed he could get to it late next week. I said that was okay because it was just affecting lights and not appliances. Inconvenient but not necessary. I spoke too soon!!! One appliance WAS affected. And now I have this!!!!!

When Drew got home he told his mom about it because he had to "wash all the dishes." Umm...he only dried.

Amy was right...

Things I did between 12:30 and 2:20am...

1. Cleaned the bathroom top to bottom
2. Straightened craft room for the kids to use tomorrow
3. Tried on clothes
4. Set out something to wear tomorrow (I mean today)
5. Sewed on a button
6. Ironed
7. Swept kitchen floor
8. Straightened up living room
9. Checked fb and commented on Jason's
10. Refused to watch election results
11. Organized linen closet which didn't need it
12. Chatted with Kathi on fb...she had starbucks!!!!
13. Chatted with Suzie until 2:20am...she was doing report cards.

Grateful for nocturnal friends!

So I'm still wide awake and have to be on the road to PA @ 7am.

Tommy Zzzzzzzz...

Loners...

So speaking of that sock drawer...

What is the protocol for holding on to loner socks?
How long do you keep them as you wait for the partner to show up?
I'm losing sleep over this very pressing question. Please advise.

(Danielle: I offer training sessions on organizing sock drawers).

Today is the Day

Dear Ventureland Team Member:

Life certainly is a journey: hills to climb, meadows to stroll through, valleys to dig out of, paths to meander, rivers to cross, mountains to scale. And as we forge life’s trail we often face forks in the road which present us with multiple dilemmas. However, I believe that most of those dilemmas can be answered in one “simple” question: “Will I trust God?”

The past nine years have been an incredible journey for me…personally, spiritually, relationally. I know with complete certainty that God brought me to His work called Carroll Community Church that met in Liberty High School at that time. I remember that on my very first Sunday, I frantically called a pastor before services that morning to find out how to get to the high school. I had been to the office but never to the school!

Well, a lot has changed for LifePoint in nine years: new name, new location, new building, new staff, new people. But our God hasn’t changed. He’s still sovereign, still loving, and still trustworthy. So when He began telling me that He had a “new” just for me, I was faced with the choice to trust…as described in “An Unfamiliar Place.”

I have thoroughly enjoyed leading Ventureland these past nine years. I will continue to brag that Children’s Ministry has THE BEST volunteers at LifePoint! You have all spoiled me by making my job so easy! I loved building programming from scratch. I loved placing people where they are gifted to serve. I loved building teams who are passionate about what they do. I loved designing a facility that clearly indicates to parents that LifePoint values kids. I loved sitting back and watching God work through YOU! So when God began telling me that He could continue to use all those same loves, but for the benefit of His whole church, I faced the fork in the road and followed my trustworthy God down a new path.

On Monday, November 3, 2008, I will begin my new position as Serve Director at LifePoint Church. I will be overseeing the Serve portion of “Gather, Grow, Serve” by engaging people in ministry teams so they can become effective influencers. LifePoint leadership is actively looking for a new Children’s Director. In the interim, Debbie Bachman will be leading Ventureland. Please pray for Debbie and the Ventureland Staff as they seek God’s wisdom during this transition. Current Ventureland Team Members may contact Debbie with ministry needs.

I wish I had the time to personally thank each of you for your specific influence in my life. I have built many wonderful friendships which have taught me so much about the love of Christ. I will forever have fond memories of Ventureland. God has used my time in Children’s Ministry to stretch and grow me in all directions. For that I will be eternally grateful.

Continuing to Serve with You,

Jodie Zorbaugh
Serve Director ~ LifePoint Church

33 Things I Accomplished Today...

1. organize cabinet of food storage containers
2. filled weekly pill bottle
3. washed, cut, peeled, packaged produce for snacks for the week
4. swept leaves off deck
5. cleaned and stacked deck chairs
6. cleaned, snapped, blanched and froze fresh green beans from Dutch Market
7. stripped bed
8. 4 loads of laundry (shouldn't that count as 4?)
9. ironed
10. made bed (ahhh...fresh sheets on a spring-like night)
11. organized sock drawer
12. loaded dishwasher
13. unloaded dishwasher (see? that counted as 2!)
14. sorted mail
15. caught up on email...
16. ...facebook...
17. ...and blogging
18. cut coupons
19. cleaned out car
20. put ALG props away (from 2 weeks ago)
21. cleaned and packed up beach stuff (yes, from Sept vacation!)
22. put away suitcases (also from vacation)
23. organized some recipes
24. put away around 50 things that were out of place around the house (not kidding!)
25. charged iPod (which takes about 10 hrs)
26. put together a baby gift
27. made shopping list (which I can no longer locate in my overly organized house)
28. replied to a wedding invitation
29. organized bills and receipts
30. restocked paper products in baths and kitchen
31. killed spider crickets and one huge spider
32. read "Chap 4"...homework from Tricia (so I can face her tomorrow)
33. played with 6 adorable 2 yr olds at LifePoint (that Gaby Wink is a hooooot!)

Not bad considering the very first thing I did when I woke up this morning was VOMIT and I didn't start any of this until 11:30! (no, I'm not pregnant!)

Alright, 'fess up! How many of you read this and said to yourself... "You can tell she doesn't have kids!"???

Mysterious Spots

So I go in the guest room today to get it ready for Casie and Drew. And I notice these odd orange spots leading under the bed. Since my home has seemed to become an attraction for unwelcomed guests lately, I feared that I had a new critter under the bed. Well...

...I didn't check. Maybe I'll have Drew look on Wednesday.

(Do snakes pee in orange?)