Slow Leak

A few weeks ago, I had printed off some recipes and had separated them into categories on the carpet in our living room. The next day, I picked them up and noticed they felt like they had been in a damp environment. Not wet, just kind of soft feeling. I felt the carpet where they had been sitting & it felt damp. I moved a book case and the carpet under it was soaked and mold had starting growing. I knew instantly we had a big problem. 

We called a plumber who had to cut into our wall to find the leak. He originally thought it was a leak in the slab which would have been very expensive to fix. Luckily, the leak was higher up and he was able to fix it. It was still pretty expensive but better than he originally thought. He said we had a fairly decent amount of water damage and suggested we call a water restoration company. Thankfully, God was protecting us once again and the man from the company told us "I am not in the business of robbing people. My fees start at $800 and you don't have $800 worth of damage here." He then instructed us how to clean up the mess ourselves.

We ended up having to purchase a new book shelf, patch the wall, and we will have to replace a section of the carpet pad and shampoo the carpet when we are done with everything. All in all, a little hole in a small pipe that has been slowly dripping for at least a year is going to end up costing us quite a bit of money and effort that we would have preferred spending in other ways.

That concept had me thinking today. Here we have a house, with lots of pipes, wires, wood, brick, concrete, etc and our whole life was turned upside down for a tiny little hole in one small pipe. This small, drip over the span of at least a year, ended up causing so much damage. 

I've been relistening to the Strange Fire Conference hosted by Grace Community Church in California in 2013. This conference addressed some of the false teachings that have slipped into the church, have been tolerated, accepted, and finally practiced by much of the church today. It had me thinking about how a small leak of bad theology has grown into a full movement and has infiltrated most of what claims to be "Christianity."

Galatians 5:9 says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." A little false teaching can bring down an entire church and even a whole denomination and eventually taint the reputation of the universal church to where what most "Christians" claim to be the Gospel is actually no gospel at all. 

Justin Peters says that many false teachers today do teach quite a bit of truth, but there is just enough false teaching that it becomes deadly. He compares it to putting a tiny drop of strychnine in a glass of water. The contents of the glass may be 99% healthy, beneficial water but that tiny fraction of poison will kill whoever drinks from it. 

We must address false teachings when we hear them. Even if they don't seem like a big deal or like something most Christians would fall for. We cannot let even one small drip, one small grain of yeast to exist in the church. We must root it all out. 

The best way to do this is to not neglect daily reading the Word of God.

This was part of Jesus' prayer to the Father for all those whom would become Children of God:

"I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." (John 17:14-19)

This leak also got me to thinking of the Christian life. How much "damage" can a small leak of good theology, of Truth, do to the enemy, to the false religions of the world. The small, constant, dripping of one voice can begin to eat away at a big conglomeration. A small leak is typically silent and can go on unnoticed for a long time, it usually isn't noticed until substantial damage has taken place.

Yes, the loud voices, "the burst main lines," are needed in the church today. Those who make dramatic differences in the world today. Missionaries, preachers, debaters, authors, speakers, etc. But it is the sheep within the church, the ordinary man, the layman, the "silent slow leak" that really causes a whole change in trajectory of a group, church, city, state, country, world. 

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says we should "aspire to live quietly" in order that we will "walk properly before outsiders." Teaching a correct view of God and worldview leads to people being saved and equipping them to go out and do the same. A group of a thousand protesters usually does little than just upset those who are on the other side of whatever movement the protesters are upset about. I'm not saying their isn't a place for protesting but much more is done by the changing of the worldview of the masses. 

We must pray for our leaders, political and spiritual. We must pray for each other as well. Not merely prayers of addressing felt needs (health, family, finances, etc) but prayers for wisdom, discernment, to be protected from falling into sin, to remain faithful to God, and, above all else, to bring glory to God's name. 

If you need help knowing what and how to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, check out the openings and closings of the epistles. These are letters from the Apostles to the churches. They often open with how they thank God for them in certain ways and then close telling the church how they will pray for them in specific ways and then tell the church how they can pray for writers in specific ways.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." (Philippines 1:3-5)

"We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you," (Colossians 1:3)

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing." (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one...May the Lord direct your heads to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ." (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 5)

"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

We must also pray for a real revival in the church, not a manufactured, emotional high type revive, but a true drawing close to God.

"We cannot organize revival, but we can set ourselves to catch the wind of heaven." ~ G Campbell Morgan

"We must set our hearts to treasure the God who describes Himself in Scripture, never again be satisfied with His absence. It is His name which is at stake. It is also our everlasting joy to have Him near." ~ John Snyder (Behold Your God, p. 263)

"Regardless of the spiritual and moral decline, it is never so dark that God, the Eternal Light, cannot expel the darkness." ~ John Snyder (Behold Your God, p. 262)

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:7-10)

March 2015

Well, February wasn't that busy. The last weekend, I went to a conference with my friend Tara. It is called The Art of Homemaking and is presented by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth. We had a great time. Next year, I hope to get a fairly decent size group to go. I have been to several very bad women's retreats, so I wanted to check this one out before inviting a bunch of people. I wouldn't say it was the best conference I've ever been to but it was the best women's conference I've ever been to. I dream of hosting a women's conference one of these days & I would do a lot of things differently but this one is still one I would highly recommend. Next year it will be in the fall, so we have to wait almost 18 months for the next one but it will be worth it. :)

On Valentine Day, Anthony got up early and made me breakfast in bed. It was so wonderful. Red roses, heart shaped biscuits, man, I am one blessed woman!

I said in my last two posts that I was going to talk about my goals for 2015. I am going to be really general because I have a very, very long list that speaks of the specifics of each goal so there is no need to address that here. So, here I go.

I have categorized all of my goals into nine main groups: spiritual, physical, mental/educational, entertainment, emotional, family, social, home, and work. Because I'm a little bit crazy when it comes to making lists and outlines and organizing (despite my home not exactly evidencing that), I have subcategories & subsubcategories. Hehe. So, I'll only share a few of them with you and tell you how I'm doing on them so far, being that we are almost 1/4 of the way into 2015. :)

I. Spiritual

     A. Prayer

          1. Prayer journal - I am no where near consistent in setting aside time to pray. However, when I write my prayers out, I can concentrate better. I have also seen how my prayers often start out me-centered but end more God-centered. My husband and my mother-in-law both got me journals for Christmas that I am using as my prayer journal.

          2. Read a prayer from Valley of Vision each night together before we go to bed - I was doing this for a little while and then I stopped. I need to get back into this again. 

     B. Bible reading

          1. BSF - I am almost through my first BSF session. I'm looking forward to studying Revelation. I have different thoughts on eschatology than I did even four years ago so I'll be interested in seeing how they deal with the different viewpoints and it will be good for me to read through Revelation slowly now that my presuppositions have altered somewhat.

          2. Daily Bible reading with Anthony - We have been doing this since we got married. We miss days/weeks every so often but it is a definitely a habit we want to always be a part of our marriage.

          3. Behold Your God study - I am almost finished going through this with my friends. Wow! What an amazing study! It will reprogram your mind to think of God differently, more Biblically. It is by far the best book study I have ever participated in.

          4. Keep a list of what God says about Himself - This was an idea I got from one of the pastors interviewed in the Behold Your God study. 

          5. After reading a passage, always ask, "What does this passage tell me about God?" - The Bible is not all about me, I need to remember that. Asking this question will help me to remember who the Bible really is about.

          6. Practice homiletics - No, I don't want to preach. However, I did take a one hour BSF seminar on homiletics and I can see how it really helps you in studying a passage. I haven't practiced this much but I really want to work on it this year. Plus, I one day want to write Bible studies for women and this will help me practice in doing that.

     C. Scripture memory - I've posted a verse to memorize by our door but I really don't see it that often so I think I'm going to put the same verse in our bathrooms as well so we see it more often. ;)

     D. Church

          1. Get involved - I have joined the audio visual team and Anthony is the hospitality person for our new church, The Church at Pecan Creek. What is great is that we can actually help each other out. Anthony is so gifted at understanding technology and has been helping me & the whole team get some things set up. The other night he was sick so I and another friend of ours took care of the hospitality stuff. I will say that this audio visual stuff is daunting but I'm learning a lot. We have the ability to control both the projector and the sound system from our iPads, allowing us to sit in the audience rather than in a sound booth. 

               a. Audio Visual team

               b. Hospitality

               c. Women's ministry - I want to get a women's ministry going eventually at our new church. We aren't quite there yet but I definitely want to be involved with it.

II. Physical

     A. Exercise

          1. Wii Fit - I got a Wii Fit for Christmas and I love it. I need to be more consistent about doing 20-30 mins every morning, which means I need to get up earlier (another goal further on).

          2. Work up to 10,000 steps a day - I got a pedometer that connects to the Wii Fit so I'm keeping track of this. I didn't realize how sedentary I really am. Very depressing. The other day I walked almost three miles and still didn't even get close to 10,000 steps. I never realized how much walking that actually means. :)

          3. Thirty min move after every meal - Last week I came up with the idea to try to take a 30 min exercise of some sort (gardening, walking, wii) after every meal. I haven't done this yet but I think it is doable and healthy.

     B. Food

          1. Monthly menues - I've been consistent with this for a year; I just want to keep doing so and hopefully be better at sticking to it this year. :)

          2. Try more healthy recipes - I've researched a few new recipes I want to try including cooking with spring rolls, quinoa, and cauliflower, all things I've never experimented or even tasted. 

          3. Keep a food journal - I'm a member of SparkPeople and keep up with my nutrition through their app. I just started back at this last week and I've been pretty good at keeping up with it, with a few meals missed.

          4. Water - I am an avid water drinker however, over the last couple of years, I've gotten into a bad habit of not drinking as much as I use to. I need to be better at getting my water in each day.

     C. Checkups - working on these

III. Mental/Educational

     A. Reading

          1. Read 10 books this year (not including the Bible) - I am currently reading two books. So, I'm already behind but as long as I'm consistently working toward this goal, I'm happy.

              a. Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt - I'm 65% (according to the Kindle app) of the way done with this and I can say it is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to all women and all leaders (including the men) in a church to read this book.

              b. Everyone's A Theologian by RC Sproul - I'm only a couple of chapters in but this book is so great. It is an intro to systematic theology and is a book that every Christian should read.

               c. 

     B. Sewing - I haven't done these yet.

          1. Learn to make a skirt

          2. Learn to make PJ pants with pockets for Anthony

          3. Learn to make toys

          4. Learn to make window treatments (cornice, drapes)

IV. Entertainment

     A. TV time

          1. Limit TV time to two hours a day (except when sick and doing laundry) - We are actually pretty good at doing this right now. Many nights we don't even turn on the TV. The problem is that when we do, it is very difficult to turn it off.

     B. iPhone/iPad games 

          1. Delete the time wasting games - Done. I had some games on my iPad that I realized one day I was spending hours on and wasting much of my day. They are now gone. I feel so free now; I didn't realize what a slave I had become to them. I still have a couple of games that only take a min to make a move before waiting for the next person to move so those don't suck my time away. I also still have Sudoku but I usually only play that while watching TV.

V. Emotional

     A. Time management

          1. Get up by 6 am - I am so not good at this. I have got to get better at this. If this is the only thing I get in the habit of doing this year, I will cut it a good year. :)

          2. Create and stick to a daily schedule - I have done this several times but I finally think I have created one that works for me. I have been pretty consistent at sticking to it as well...at least most of it...still need to work on getting that exercise in as one of the first things in the morning...hence needing to get up at 6 am. 

          3. Prep dinner in the morning - When I don't do this, I can sometimes dread having to stop what I'm doing to spend the next two or more hours cooking & then cleaning up from cooking. When I get most of the prep work done in the morning, I know if I need anything in time to go to the store, I can know the meat is thawed/marinated, and I usually end up saving myself a lot of frustration and time. Another reason for needing to be out of bed by 6 am.

VI. Family

     A. Family archival - I'm still working on this. I was really consistent of doing this for a while but there was a few weeks that I couldn't and just never got back in the habit. I cleaned off my desk on Sunday so that I would have room to get back at this again.

VII. Social

     A. Game group - We want to create a gaming group that meets fairly consistently. Right now there are four of us but we would like to invite a few other people to join in with us. We are working on this one. :)

     B. Have people over at least once a month - We do this fairly often already but I want to start inviting people who we don't have over that often.

VIII. Home

     A. Major projects

          1. New garage door opener - done

          2. New roof & gutters - I need to call the insurance company to see if they can come take a look at the roof.

     B. Minor projects

          1. New tires - done

          2. Fix door panels - done

          3. Fix fence - not done yet...the weather & our busy weekends had been impeding this. 

IX. Work

     A. Kapp's Kitchen

          1. Make one batch of cookies a day - I'm not doing this consistently yet.

          2. Work the Denton County Community Market - We are trying to get our application in for this but we have a question that hasn't been answered yet, so we are kind of in limbo at this point.

     B. A Narrow-Minded Woman

          1. Research/write 1-2 hrs a day - I am not consistent in this, yet.

          2. Publicly publish the site - Not quite ready yet. I have all the pages up and ready but I want to get at least 10 articles written before I start posting.

          3. Post 2-3 articles a week

     C. COO of the Kapp Family

          1. Create a home management binder - I have created several printables and I am working on more. I have been enjoying a few of the ones I have created so far. One of these days I may put them online for purchase. 

          2. Organize & clean office - I cleaned part of my desk off on Sunday, does that count? ;) Granted, much of this is directly proportional to how far along in the family archiving I am. 

So that is part of what I'm working on this year. Ha. Like I said, I like making lists. It makes me feel calmer and less overwhelmed. Some of these are already complete, some are just habits I want to maintain, others may take many years or a lifetime to complete, and it is highly likely I'll add more to this list as the year goes along. There are a few other things that I didn't list either because they were a little more private or I just didn't want this list to get crazy. Ha. Fail there. ;)

2015...January

December...well, that was marked by me recovering from a 3-4 week long respiratory infection/cold followed by the flu. 

I have typically been anti-flu vaccine, not because I thought there was something wrong with it but because, when I worked for the hospital system, we were essentially forced to take the flu vaccine. I do not respond well to being forced to do anything. I was born with a rebellious spirit (just ask  my parents) & it is something I have struggled with all my life. Another reason I didn't like the flu shot was that I would always come down with a terrible cold, which I thought was the flu, each year that I had taken the flu shot with the exception of last year. 

This year, since I no longer work for the health system, I was going to take the shot...because I wasn't being forced to. Then I got that awful respiratory thing. Then I just forgot. I will say, that after this bout of flu, I can only think of one other time where I may have had the flu. That was pretty, stinking terrible. Even when I was feeling better, I was so weak I couldn't do anything productive. Christmas day was the first day I actually felt good. Thank God that we didn't have any Christmas orders through Kapp's Kitchen. I would have hated to contact people a week before Christmas to cancel their orders. Talk about a blessing in disguise. :) Needless to say, I'll be taking the shot next year. :)

December wasn't all kleenexes & Tamiflu, however. We did manage to get in our annual Christmas lights drive and we had several Christmases this year & all of them were wonderful and we were very spoiled, as usual. I am also so very thankful for technology. Since I was sick, I stayed home from the first Christmas but was able to FaceTime for it. I also was able to FaceTime into my sister's Christmas with our parents and we were able to have one of my sisters-in-law Skype our Christmas with the Kapp's. It is amazing that despite being thousands of miles away, we can still connect with those we love. Sure beats the days of telegram & Pony Express. :)

We spent New Year's Eve at home. We were supposed to have some friends over for a game night but they were stuck by winter illness as well. It was a nice quite NYE for us. We had Kahlua Carnitas Street Tacos with homemade corn tortillas (made by Anthony) and pineapple pico de gallo. Then we watched Jurassic Park II and III. LOL Anthony got the whole trilogy for Christmas and we had watched the first one earlier that week. Good times. Can't wait for Jurassic World. :D

New Year's morning Anthony made Crème Brûlée Oatmeal and we had sparkling cranberry-apple juice. :) 

Sooooo...New Years Resolutions. I've never been one to make resolutions but I always think about my goals for the next year, which I guess is essentially the same thing. I try to break them into different categories because I am a list maker and that is how I work. :) The categories I like to consider my yearly/monthly/weekly/daily goals for are: Home, Work, Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, Mental/Educational, and Social. And...since I am a big fan of outlines, there are subcategories under each of these categories. LOL Anyway, I won't bore you with all that now. I'll be kind and make a separate post on these goals for 2015.

2015...can you believe it?! This is the year that Marty McFly visited in Back to the Future II. 2015 sounded so futuristic in the 80's and 90's. We do have some pretty fascinating technology now. Maybe no flying cars or self-drying clothes but look at what we do have. Phones that are more powerful than most mainframe computers in the past. The internet is a vital part of our day-to-day lives. Like I mentioned earlier, FaceTime and Skype to see people on the other side of the earth. Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Etsy, Hulu, blogs, Pinterest, iPads, Kindle, podcasts, apps and all the other new words that have entered our common vocabulary that represent how we live our lives today. The future may not have turned out as we imagined in the 80's, 90's, 50's, 40's but it is pretty fantastic, after all. 

Speaking of exciting and fantastic. We are a part of a new church plant. We will officially be meeting as The Church at Pecan Creek near the end of this month. We will be temporarily meeting at Northview Baptist Church at 5pm on Sunday nights until August when we will move to our first official location at Pecan Creek Elementary School in Corinth. We are very excited in this endeavor but we also ask for your prayers at this time. There are many challenges in starting a church, especially when we it is our mission to do so as closely to the Scriptures as we can, with holiness and integrity, not compromising in any way in Biblical doctrine while living with a spirit of mercy, grace, patience, and gentleness. We do not intend to offend or hurt anyone's feelings but we place the Gospel and living an increasingly holy life in higher importance. We hope through this adventure, we will grow in Christian maturity, encourage one another in our Christian walk, sharpen one another, hold each other accountable, show each other and those outside our circle the love, grace, and mercy that we have all had shown to us from our Father, and share the Gospel with those in our community and beyond. If you are in our area, please consider worshiping with us. If you are not, then please keep us in your prayers.

There isn't much more to say about January except keep warm. This is the month when winter really starts to set in here in Texas. Granted, most of the rest of the US laughs at us shivering in 30º and 20º weather. Of corse in the summer we laugh at the rest of you sweating in 80º and 90º weather. ;) I'm freezing right now but I am also soaking it up. I would much rather be cold than hot. I can always throw on another sweater or drink another cup of hot tea or cocoa. In the summer, there is only so much iced tea and lemonade you can drink. I guess I should just "Let it go, let it gooooo-oh..." Mwahahahahaha! ;)

December

BGG Con

November was a blast.

We went to the 2014 Board Game Geek Convention in Dallas. So much fun. I (Kristy) didn't have a break down from social anxiety this year. Yay! I only got really moody once (that I can remember) but it was super late at night. :)

I played 38 games in 5 days. Anthony played 33. Anthony volunteered in the library for an hour and went to a charity auction for a couple of hours, so I was able to play a few more than him. 

If you would like to see all the games I played, click here. Games I would highly recommend include:

Playing Las Vegas

• Black Fleet (pirates...need I say more)
• Colt Express (very cool game with a cool "board")
• 7 Steps (pretty abstract...not in America yet)
• Machi Koro (we already owned this one but it is worth mentioning)
• Robinson Crusoe (extremely difficult co-op game but very cool)
• Hot Tin Roof (very similar to Ticket To Ride but maybe a little simpler...I liked it)
• Paperback (kind of like Scrabble mixed with Dominion...if you know what Dominion is)
• Planes (like Mancala but with a twist)
• Mysterium (similar to Dixit...also not in America yet)
• Alchemists (cool use of new technology...iPhone)
• Eight Minute Empire (quick, light Euro)

Anthony, Alejandro, Jordan, & me

One night we went with a group to Hard Eight BBQ. It was pretty good, not my all time favorite BBQ place but it is seriously hard to compete with Prairie House...mmmmm....

After staying up past 2 am four nights in a row, we were exhausted when we got home. I was super irritable and ready to fight somebody for two days after that. I even risked going to a post office I had an incident at about 3 years ago but this time was much nicer despite my attitude. ;)

I'm starting to recognize a theme. I would like to ask all two of my readers to please remember me in your prayers. I need God to work on my attitude. 



We spent Thanksgiving with Anthony's family in Paris...Paris, TX, that is. We had a great time and so much delicious food. 

The day after Thanksgiving we all went out to the bottoms on the Red River. A lot of them spent several hours riding four wheelers over the dunes. Anthony's aunt made chili and hot cocoa. We roasted hot dogs over a camp fire and made a campfire dump cake. I had never had a dump cake, much less one made over a campfire and, oh man, was is delicious!

Now December is in full swing. We went to the Denton Tree Lighting and had funnel cakes. Anthony and I are really starting to feel at home in Denton. We tend to run into people we know when in stores or out at community events.

We had our own little tree lighting event of ourselves the other night. We watched Mickey's Christmas Carol and A Muppet's Christmas Carol while decorating the tree and mantle. It was a nice cozy evening just the two of us.

Have a merry Christmas everyone!

November...and October. -_-

Well, I completely forgot to post a family update for October. Oops. :) If you are interested in seeing our menu for October, click here. However, we didn't stick to it that well...again. -_-

Good news, we have had quite a few orders through Kapp's Kitchen. Very encouraging. 

Rick Morton with Tanya and Anya

The weekend of Nov 1st, Project 1:27 at Shady Oaks Baptist Church hosted it's first big event in acknowledgment of Orphan Sunday (Nov 2nd). Project 1:27 at Shady Oaks Baptist Church is a ministry my in-laws started at their church for support for adoption, foster care, and orphan care. They are just in the early days of the ministry but it is very encouraging to see interest growing. On Nov 1st, they hosted a mini-conference at the church. Rick Morton was the guest speaker and Kapp's Kitchen provided quick breads as refreshments. There was around 30-40 people who came and it was very encouraging. Mr. Morton also spoke at Shady Oaks on Sunday morning. If you would like to hear his sermon, you can see the video here.

On a related note, Phyllis called us telling us of two little girls who were in need of a "forever family." Anthony put it on our church's Facebook page with little expectation of getting a response. Within 20 mins, a couple from our Sunday school class messaged Anthony. Long story short, they are now in the process of adding these two beautiful girls to their family. It is a beautiful story but it will be a challenge. Every adoption is. However, they have a large, willing support group around them. They also have started a GoFundMe page to help the raise money or the adoption process and expenses to come. If you are interested in giving to this sweet family, check out their page here.

I have volunteered to learn the sound board at our church. Very intimidating but I'm getting it. I have been doing the words for the screen for a couple of weeks during Sunday night church but that is way easier than learning the little intricacies of the sound board, cd player, and lights. 

My back row Baptist view.

Soooo, November....this is a very full month for us. Next week, we are at the Board Game Geek Convention playing board games for five days. We are so excited about it. 

I always get a little nervous because there are a lot of people at this event and I am not the best in a crowd. The other thing is my confidence drops dramatically when I am in a crowd...especially when females are a minority. It is a roller coaster of emotions for me. First, I'm confident because I'm one of the few women at the event. Then, I start wondering, do these people even want to play a board game with a woman, what if I don't catch on right away, what if I do something stupid and ruin the game and once again fulfill these guys preconception that women should not play board games....see how my mind sometimes runs away. However, I am blessed with a wonderful husband that keeps reassuring me and two other great friends. 

Picture of the main hall at BBG Con 2013

Last year when we left the event, we said we would try to step out on our own more and face our introvert fears and try to meet more people. One good thing to keep in mind is that a large majority of these people are just as geeky, introverted, and socially awkward as I am. :) All the same, we are getting so excited. This year we are staying at the hotel instead of driving back and forth, so it is going to feel like a mini-vacation.

The four of us geeks at BGG Con 2013

I have come down with a cold that I'm fighting off. We are praying that Anthony doesn't catch whatever it is that I have so we can have a good time at BGG Con. We would appreciate your prayers as well. :)

The next week is Thanksgiving, which in addition to great food, always means, for us, more board games. ;)

I am never one to get excited about Christmas. I'm usually a bit of a Grinch however, this year, I am so in the holiday spirit. I'm actually having to restrain myself from making cocoa, putting on Christmas music, and decorating the house. I refuse to do it until after Thanksgiving...however, I don't see anything wrong with making some hot cocoa. :D

I have decided to finally learn to sew. I bought a sewing machine before we got married and I haven't even taken it out of the box until this past weekend. Today, I figured out how to change the needles out, attach a walking foot, wind a bobbin, and thread the machine. I also made a hand warmer as a practice project in honor for the cold weather that blew in last night. Yay! Now, on to my first project...I'll post on the results next month. :)

Because of all that has gone on in the last couple of weeks, I was just able to get a menu for November made this past weekend. As such, I couldn't remember what we had for some of the meals earlier in the month. :) I'm actually already deviating on the plan for today because, like I said above, I'm sick and just didn't have the energy to make a quiche. ;)

Wow...it's been a while

Wow. I did not realize how long it has been since I updated this blog. Man! Where do I start?

Well, like I said in my last post we got a dog. Her name is Shiloh & the vet is guessing she is about 5 yrs old. She must have had a pretty rough first part of her life because she has some scars to her back end & a broken rib that has healed but pokes out on her left side. 

She is a great dog & loves us so much. She came already trained at playing fetch & it is definitely her favorite past time...sneaking out of our back yard is apparently her second favorite...not one of our favorites. Yes, the police have already shown up at our house once with her. 

She loved every person & kid she has met (so far) & that, I couldn't be happier about. However, she is not a fan of other dogs. Today we took her to a dog park & she put a pretty aggressive pit bull & HUGE German shepherd in their places when she felt they had gotten too close. 

For the first few weeks we had her she had a terrible case of kennel cough that really worried us & we made a couple of trips to the vet & bought tons of pills that were a ton of fun to shove down her throat. Also, the day we got her we took her for a long walk & I fell in a small hole. I thought I was fine but started having pain in my foot a few days later. Two weeks later, Anthony convinced me to see a podiatrist. I ended up in a boot for 5 weeks for sever posterior tibial tendonitis & plantar faciatis. Now I'm awaiting he wants me to have orthotic inserts specially made. This $25 dog is starting to become very expensive.

On another note, Anthony & I finally found a church (Northview Baptist Church) & have joined it. We found a great Sunday school class and, on Wednesdays, I attend a systematic theology class while Anthony is in choir practice. The church is a little bigger than what I grew up in but still small enough that you won't get lost in the crowd. It think the one thing that really pulled me over was that they had the Institute for Creation Research come every Wednesday & a couple of Sundays in October to speak on creation & Genesis. This topic is a major interest to me & that they were open to speak on a controversial subject really impressed me. Also, the new members pastor teaches the theology class I attend & his belief, teaching, & adherence to solid Bible doctrine sealed the deal for me. I really think this is a place we can serve & be served.

We went to Vegas a few weeks ago. Interesting place. Never was on my list of places I wanted to visit but we had the opportunity & we went. We also got to see Kim & Jonathan while we were there which was great too. I am no fan of Vegas. We did go see Cirque de Soliel's "Ka" & it was really cool, we went to the new Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasar's Palace that was really good, & we also visited Hoover Dam which was the highlight of the trip for us. We think we may go back one day if we find pretty cheap tickets just to see another Cirque show, maybe the Blue Man Group, & take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. 

I have now owned our house for 3 years which means we are released from the First Time Home Buyers Credit. Yay! So now we can look for a new house. This house is amazing. We love it. However, it is a bit small for a family...one baby or toddler, maybe but more than that, no way. So, we want something bigger but for less. Sound crazy? Well, we really would like to find a house with 4+ rooms, 2+ baths, a room that could act as an office/school room, single story, yard big enough to have a garden & play in, very little updating (we could paint or add new carpet), decent neighborhood, reasonably close to Anthony's office & our church, & for $100,000 or less. Now do we sound crazy? hahaha Well, we don't have to move out anytime soon or anything so we can wait till we find the right place & there are always houses coming up for foreclosure. We'll just keep praying about it. :)

For the last two weeks, I have planed out our menu for the week & we have made pretty much all our meals (including taking our lunch). We've eaten out I think 3 times & I've had fast food only once, Anthony maybe 2-3 times. This still may not sound great but it is monumental for us. We've been going to the grocery store on the weekends & only popping into one during the week to grab something that wouldn't have lasted long enough or the store didn't have when we went earlier. We are also starting to watch sales & find decent coupons. I must say, shopping has actually been kind of fun & we are trying so many new recipes. We are saving money, eating better, & having fun. What more could you want?

I think I am slowly turning into a hippie. I am starting to become convinced of some of the dangers of some of the chemicals we use on an everyday basis &, since Obamacare doesn't seem to have any chance of being reversed, I am starting to get interested in more alternative/homeopathic medicine. I really believe that now that healthcare has been socialized, if we have any hope of any kind of healthcare, we will need to seek it other places than in the "accepted establishment." Anyway, I have been researching some "DIY cleaners" &, tonight, we bought the ingredients to make our own laundry detergent. According to this girl, it costs approximately $0.02 per load & costs her about $2 a month for her family of 6. That is a heck of a deal. So, I'll keep you posted.

Well, Anthony has already headed to bed so I guess I'll say good night as well. :D