A song.... A life story and a tissue alert!

I have been writing some long blog posts lately... This is me....Unscripted and unedited....No details just brushing the surface....Just wanted to share some thoughts!!!!


I was listening to a CD in my car today at lunch time. I have had this CD since we got the new car and I have listened to the CD over and over but never paid attention I guess...With kids screaming and fighting, phone ringing, fast forward and rewind of the music by my 15 year old and well you all know what distractions occur in a vehicle. Not today... I was by myself and I heard the words loud and clear....it brought tears to my eyes. I believe we all go thru seasons in life...You have great days and horrible days. You walk up the mountain and back down and even stay in the valley....sometimes longer than I ever want to. I may get a little personal in this blog post....Say some things that many of you do not know about me....But it is all to tell you that no matter what has happened, is happening and will happen in life keep on walking. Each season you walk thru just makes you stronger and wiser. The song is Behind the Scenes by Francesca Battistelli. She is a christian music artist. Click on this YOU TUBE link to hear the song.

Here are the lyrics...

You may think
I’m just fine
How could anything
Ever be out of line?

I take my time
To set the stage
To make sure everything
Is all in place

Even though I’ve got the lines rehearsed
A picture only paints a thousand words

(Chorus)
Things aren’t always what they seem
You’re only seeing part of me
There’s more than you could ever know
Behind the scenes
I’m incomplete and I’m undone
But I suppose like everyone
There’s so much more that’s going on
Behind the scenes

Sometimes I can’t see
Anything
Through the dark
Surrounding me
And at times I’m unsure
About the ground
Beneath my feet
If it’s safe and sound

When it’s hard to find hope in the unseen
I have peace in knowing it will find me

(Chorus)

You may think I’m just fine
How could anything ever be out of line?

(Chorus)

I am 33 years old. I got married at 17 to runaway from my home....My grandfather who was my everything....my father...my daddy....did not approve and told me " I do not approve of this marriage but I will pay for it...Yes, my mom signed for me to get married { cause you have to do that in California, Which is where I spent 23 years of my life} but it was always so crazy around my house growing up! We had a house full of girls...My mom and me and my 5 younger sisters. I have twin sisters who are 2 years older than my 15 year old daughter. I had Alexandria when I was 18, When Alex was a year old my husband had an affair, then another, then another...til I could not count anymore how many times he chose another woman over his own wife....This is where the phrase young and dumb comes into play....I spent 6 years trying to prove everyone wrong....I did not want to hear "I told you so"....tried to leave and found out I was pregnant....chose to stay for the kids....he joined the military and we moved to San Diego and things got worse! We divorced...He was my one and only...We had been together since I was 14. I have a son who is 12. I have not seen my baby boy or heard from my ex in 9 years. There is one word to describe how I make it through each day cause I know you are asking that question right now and that is FAITH....I know he is OK and he will be back in his mommies arms even if he is 30 years old....Well that was one of those dark valleys I walked thru for much longer than I wanted to. Our marriage was over long before I knew it was over...

After 3 short months in a separation and divorce precedings, I walk into a building to pick up my room mate, I hear words shouted out across the room, " There you are I have been waiting for you my whole life"! I knew the guy was talking to me but All I kept telling myself was I am not good enough to hear those words, Great line, He knows nothing about me, I am a piece of garbage that was just thrown to the curb.....Well, That man is now my husband....Jasin. Sent to me....a gift from the Lord above. We walked thru many valleys to get to where we are today. Including the loss of my grandfather and distroyed relationship with my mother and grandmother.....Here is where wisdom comes into play......Count your blessings .....I have 4 beautiful children I can hug and kiss all I want and one handsome boy who never leaves my thoughts. I have a supportive, amazing, hard-working man of God for a husband....Who just happens to be the worlds best dad and he's a pretty darn good cook, too. I have REAL friends who dispite all my short comings love me anyways.

This song just really grabbed my heart today... you see the outside appearance of a person and make assumptions, gossip and pass judgement..... you do not know what is going on in that persons life. When they speak mean words to you, try not to take it personal. Do not get angry. Walk away and pray for that person. Words come straight from your heart and when the heart is cold it may or may not have been something they could have avoided. I know you make choices...right and wrong...your attitude determines how you live your life. Your life is what you make it but sometimes it is way out of your hands....I talk so much about my faith because there is so much going on BEHIND THE SCENES that I gotta have faith to keep getting up in the morning. I choose to wake up and be a "strong passionate woman of God"! I choose to wake up asking God what I can do for him today instead of fighting with the devil.

Why am I sharing this with all my blog friends..... Life is so short.... We spend alot of time dwelling on things that really are not important. Faith in God is important...Family is important....Friends are important....I am important.....I know I have walked thru many battles in my mind and in life....I choose to keep on walking and I am never gonna stop....I will take time to smell the roses, I will nurture friendships and prayerfully break the curses that have trapped my family for generations. I will be " a strong passionate woman of God"! I will stand for what I believe. I will be true and genuine...

Who are you behind the scenes....don't feel like you are all alone. We all have skeletons in our closets and weights tied to our ankles....Are you gonna make the choice to open the closet door and let those skeletons out and cut the chains to the things that weigh you down....There is freedom....

Wednesday....

Well a few of my very good friends have been getting together every Wednesday to scrapbook. For many reasons, sadly, I have not been able to go. Yesterday I made it. I am so blessed to have such sweet friends. We laughed, cut-up, laughed some more and even cryed. Jaime made the best crawfish fetticini, broccoli cornbread, a fabulous salad....And she even made a jello dish..... She said she cooked for 4 hours. What a woman. I loved being able to spend some girl time with my girls. Deana, Christie, Brandy, Heather and Jaime are so very talented. But more important real and genuine. TRUE FRIENDS!!! I had a blast and believe me I will be there every wednesday from now on..... I was able to finish 2 layouts.... They are simple layouts made from different Jenni Bowlin kits.

Matt and Stacy took these pictures of jesse about 2 years ago....Yep, I am way more behind than that. I finally scrapped them....Actually I am getting ready for a retreat and found them in a stash of pictures. Yay!


Alexandria recently took this picture of herself. Alex and her friends love to walk around and take pics of themselves. I think it is great. She will scrap some of them but I steal some and scrap them too.

Blog award....

Jenneke gave me this sweet blog award..... Thank you so much my sweet friend. This award has been making its way around so I am going to try to pick a few people who have not received it yet....I am going to pass it on to Christie, Jeanne, Chris and Stacy.


EDITED.....One of my blog buddies, Lisa Howard gave me the same award.... Love you all. Thank you for your support!

All you have to do is paste the following questions on your blog...answer them with 1 word and pass it onto 5 more people.

1. Where is your cell phone? Car

2. Your hair? colored

3. Your mother? Terry
4. Your father? Mark

5. Your favorite food? Greek

6. Your dream last night? None

7. Your favorite drink? Tea

8. Your dream/goal? business

9. What room are you in? living-room

10. Your hobby? Scrapping

11. Your fear? none

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Lafayette

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something you aren't? fit {in-shape}

15. Muffins? cranberry-orange

16. Wish list item? House

17. Where did you grow up? Ojai

18. Last thing you did? Hiked

19. What are you wearing? Pajamas

20. Your TV? on

21. Your pets? chickens

22. Friends? Worldwide

23. Your life? amazing

24. Your mood? tired

25. Missing someone? grandpa

26. Vehicle? SUV

27. Something you're not wearing? Bra

28. Favourite store? Target

29. Favourite colour? green

30. When was the last time you laughed? Dinner

31. Last time you cried? Monday

32. Your best friend? Jasin

33. One place I go to over and over? Computer!!

34. Facebook? yes

35. Favourite place to eat? recliner

My Favorite trip....The trip of a lifetime.

What is your favorite trip....or vacation spot. Check out the latest post and challenge on What is your Fave thing. The design team layouts are just beautiful! Are you up for the challenge...?We will have 3 winners this time. I am so excited to here about your favorite trip.

IT IS TIME FOR ANOTHER GIVEAWAY.....
LET ME KNOW YOU ARE PLAYING ALONG WITH US AT WHAT IS YOUR FAVE THING BY LEAVING ME A COMMENT AND I WILL PICK 3 NAMES AT THE END OF OUR CHALLENGE AND SEND YOU A LITTLE PRIZE!


I have been blessed to be able to travel to many places around the world.....Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Norway, Denmark, [Sicily]Italy, British Columbia and many of the states in the USA. All of these trips except for Sicily I took with my grandparents when I was a teenager. Now Married with children, it is not so easy to get away!

Well in the summer of 2008 after 1 year of correspondence with a family in Sicily, Italy and many invitations to come for a visit, My husband and I were able to go on a 2 week vacation to see where my husbands fathers side immigrated from. A man, Francesco, contacted my husband thru You Tube. He asked my husband what his origins were....That his grandmothers surname is Muffoletto and he wanted to know if there was any relation. We would speak everyday....Even hooked up a camera to the computer. They sent us a package of wonderful things from Sicily all with special meaning to them. Well The only thing I knew to send back was a few USA souvineers and I made them a scrapbook...I used pictures of our family and photos they had emailed to us....I put most of the emails we had sent back and forth trying to figure out if we were related and a few other unique photos of Muffoletto family members who lived here in the states. They loved it...Well after searching thru records we came to a dead end..... We can't make a paper connection between our 2 families but after 2 weeks with the family, being treated like we were one of the family and living life as they would live everyday life. They forever have a stamp on our hearts. The country is beautiful and we got the best tour of many places in Sicily....Each place we saw had a personal story attached to it...For example....One day we went down by the harbor in Palermo...There was an ice cream shop....Only this is Gelato and served in a bread roll. Francesco told us that when his grandfather was alive every Sunday he would take the whole family to this place and they would all have ice cream and walk by the sea. When we went for a day trip to Monreale....We walked into some of the old alley ways and off the beaten path to this "Forneria" It was a brick oven bakery. We had the most delicious Panini and bought bread for a family gathering we had later that evening. Francesco told us his father goes there every Tuesday for fresh bread! We were able to visit Cefalu which is recorded as to where my husbands family was from. Because Francesco could speak Italian we were able to do some research but because this was in the late 1800's when the family came to America we could not make any connections. One day we went with Francescos sister, Rossana and her boyfriend to Erice. Oh my, We were literally in the clouds this place was so high up in the mountains. It was awesome to speed down the highway listening to music I had never heard but loved and then travel up the this crazy curvy road to the top of this mountain to explore this cobblestone road little town. We saw beautiful churches and ate the most amazing food and met the most wonderful people. It was my true vision of what family is and should always be. Jasin, My husband and his brother were able to go back this summer. They had a wonderful time. I hear they may come for a visit to the USA next time.... They want to meet our children. They invited all of us to come and visit but because it is a 24 hour travel time, I don't think it would be much fun to travel with 4 small children. Maybe in a couple of years. I made this mini book of my trip to Sicily. There is journaling I will add and many more photos....Just wanted to share with you some special moments!

The beautiful lady smelling a rose I cut out of an old wood crate label. The she reminded me of Sicily so I used her for this mini book. This photo was taken in front of a church we visited in Cefalu, Sicily. When we were inside it brought my husband to tears with the thought it was old enough to have been visited by my husbands family when they lived in Cefalu in the 1800's.


Jasin is eating "real" flat bread. We went to a little cafe' in Mondello, Sicily. Francescos Mother and Father live there. We had just spent the morning at the sea. I was able to walk around and take a few photos. My favorite was this one of the little fishing boats. It was neat to watch the old fisherman repairing their nets right in their little boat. Francesco's father took us to on a tour thru some small ports on the sea. In this picture Jasin is eating a gelato served in a bread roll. I wish I had one of those right now! One this day I had my camera but the day before we went on a little tour up into a mountain overlooking this little port. I did not bring my camera. When we walked to look at the veiw....There were 2 young sicilian boys playing their guitar. Francescos dad asked if Jasin could play along with them. Jasin plays the guitar and has since he was 17. This was an awesome highlight of our trip and no pictures....But that is okay had I been taking a bunch of pictures it may not have played out like it did. Everything happens for a reason.

I have left a bunch of space for journaling.... The photo is of a mountain we traveled up to when we went to Erice. When I say we were in the clouds....I mean it! The little town is at the highest peak. I took this photo because they told us that is where we were going. So amazing.


There is a photo of a gorgeous church. On the inside it is covered in real gold mosaic of bible stories. Such a magnificent place of worship. This church is in Monreale. We went for a short walk into the back roads of this little town to a real brick oven bakery. Francesco bought bread for a family gathering we were having later that night and we all ate a sandwich....could not tell you the name of it I was too busy savoring each and every bite. I could eat those everyday all day. It was cheese and fresh tomatoes taosted in the brick oven...a little seasoning and voila! Mmmmmm. Do you see those cakes...? On the last night one of Francescos cousins had a birthday. Yep. another family dinner, home cooked and very delicious. These cakes came from a pastry shop. Yummy, mini strawberries and sugar glazed fruit...Very different from any cake I have ever had.

Carmello, Francescos father and Jasin cooking up some BBQ. On this night they had many family members come over to Modello for a wonderful dinner. They had a little of everything...It was funny to us that they eat in several courses and use a separate plate for each course. The food was better than any I have ever tasted. The next photo is all the ladies we met and grew to love.

Here are all the men.....Francesco is on the right end. I love what this tag says.....
What we choose changes us.Who we love transforms us.How we create re-shapes us.What we do re -makes us. Many people told us we were crazy for trusting this family we did not even know. I know we live in a crazy time but had we not trusted them or ourselves for that matter we would have missed out on this amazing experience, one to cherish for a lifetime. It is one of the best times in my life.


The back of the mini book....Our trip began June 11th....And we never wanted it to end. One night we had a dinner with the family Francesco pulled out the scrapbook I made them. It was so cool watching them look thru it. They had never seen anything like it. Well Francescos dad stole it from Francesco. He loved it most of all. On the last day he gave me a piece of paper.


1. For us were really a pleasure to have you with us!
2. Embrace your childrens for us.
3. I hope for you it has been an important experience.
4. { this is what happens when you don't scrap things that are important right away but I truly can't make out what #4 says}
He had put some sentences into google translator and wrote them down in english. This was the hardest part of the trip trying to express our inner most emotions and feelings. We paid for nothing on this trip. 2 weeks of just amazing sights, family and love. We left with the money we came with and an experience of a lifetime. I remember saying goodness, there is not enough of anything in this world to repay the kindness they shared with us. Well when he handed me the paper he asked one thing of me.....I was a picture taking crazy woman on this trip.....it was actually annoying I think at some points. But he asked me if I would make him a scrapbook of all the photos I took and send it to him. I did with pleasure....So I will say this mini book is the first thing I have made for me as a momento of the trip...I plan on making a bigger album and hope to finish that soon......

Back on-line with some pictures to share!

We have been without internet and a home phone for 3 days. It is amazing how much ya miss it when it is gone. I have been taking my camera with me wherever I go cause I am tired of saying, "man, I wish I had my camera." So here are a few snaps I took the past couple of days!

Alex and her friend went and took some pictures of themselves Sunday afternoon. She is so photogenic. This one is my favorite!


This is Chip. She is one of our chickens. We have let them out of their coop so atleast they can try to defend themselves against the creatures of the night. I read that chickens actually scare snakes away. I think she is my favorite chicken.


We have the best weather right now! Cool evenings and beautiful sky scapes. Most every evening we eat dinner together and then take a walk around our little townhouse complex. I know I have told you this before but last night was just peaceful and nice. I took some pictures....The background is supposed to be blurry...That is my favorite kind of photo. I just wish the magnolia was not so far away but it was high in the tree and came out a little blurry.





Awe, This is Jacob. He wanted me to take a picture of him jumping in the air! He is such a good boy and quite the character!


Have a great rest of the week. Hugs, Amy