Izzie

I was browsing on petfinder.com today at work. VERY. BAD. IDEA. I spent quite some time on there looking at all the sad faces of puppies and kitties who are homeless... [enter tears here]

So, I found Izzie:

Aaaaannnnndddddd.... now... well, I want her badly. She's at a shelter in Fairbanks, which is a 6-hour drive away. BUT I just so happen to know someone who's driving their son up there for school in the next couple weeks. They said they could bring her home if I wanted them to...

HOWEVER, I'm not entirely sure about how a cat (even as cute as Izzie is...) would fit in our household with these two:

Hmm... whaddya'll think?!

Things I Believe

• I believe this whole recession is God's way of telling all of us to re-learn how to live. We have so much, don't realize what a blessing that is and continually want more and more and more. NOT having money (or even a job in some cases) allows us to re-evaluate our priorities in life and find what's REALLY important.

• I also believe this recession is forcing us to be more creative with what we do have. Whether it means renovating, redesigning or repurposing something in your home OR being inventive with curriculums or budgets, using what you already have in your possession and/or ability is imperative.

• I believe faith should also be simple. Having faith is as easy as believing. That's it. Believe. Everything else is just details-- including the differences between denominations. Those differences aren't a matter of salvation: Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again? Simple.

• I believe faith should be challenging. To a certain extent, you should doubt. There should be questions. Faith is about learning and growing... and you can't do either if you're not challenged.

• I believe that people will step up to your expectations, if you'd only give them some! People talk about how much the kids in my youth group respect me... sometimes I beg to differ BUT the point of the matter is that they know what I expect of them. I think that we don't challenge people enough-- especially adults. Why do we expect youth to do certain & specific thing but not the adults?

• I believe that the job of professional church workers is to work themselves out of a job. Through delegation, enabling and encouragement we need to essentially make ourselves obsolete in the church body.

• I believe that everyone will feel immediately better, no matter their issue, by simply dancing & singing in the car.

Finally Finished!!!

From this:

To this:

I think she's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! 'Course I might be a bit biased.

DETAILS:

• Took about 3 hours to sew from start-to-finish including her accessories; her face & the cutting of pieces took probably another 2 hours (though that was awhile ago...)
• Her skirt, hat and shoes are removable (right now though the hat and shoes are tacked on so Emmalee doesn't lose them)

• She's VERY colorful and has the cutest butt ever

So, Emmalee's getting her tomorrow at church. Hope she likes her!

UPDATE: If you'd like to make your own pig (or monkey as the original pattern dictates) click here. Enjoy!