A new addition...

First of all, no, I'm NOT pregnant. Just thought I would get that out of the way. :)

As I'm sitting here typing this, I have this little 4 1/2 pound bundle of chihuahua joy snoozing on my lap with a full belly. Yes, we got another dog. For crying out loud. Wanna see a picture???



Cute, huh? That little face was peering out to my husband through a glass at the pet store. Really, how was he supposed to resist? (I should mention that Scott and I HATE pet stores. The whole idea of them. We always swore we would only adopt from a shelter or from a rescue group. Ha. That worked out well.)

We had a date day on Friday...we went to see a matinee of Frost/Nixon (amazing - even though we were the youngest people there by a couple of decades) and got some delicious Italian food at Anzi's at Stonecrest (where I got eggplant in lieu of pasta to try to stick with my diet). After that we didn't have any plans, but we weren't really ready to head back home, so we decided to drive around. We ended up at the Arboretum, where we love to go to the pet store to ooh and aah over the cute little puppies.

We were walking through the store when this little guy caught my hubby's eye. An attentive employee noticed the puddle that was my husband's heart on the floor and, thinking it might be an opportunity for a sale, asked if we wanted to hold him. (Word to the wise: ALWAYS SAY NO WHEN THEY ASK YOU TO HOLD A SNUGGLE-DEPRIVED, ADORABLE, WIGGLY LITTLE PUPPY.) To make a long story short, we hold him, we play with him, we're hesitant, we agree if they'll throw in the microchip activation for free, employee leaves to check with the manager, I'm about to tell Scott I don't think we should do it, employee comes back with a cheery "You've just gotten yourselves a dog!" Crap.

We leave about half an hour later with this little furball, and I have to admit he's a pretty good little pup. His name is Cash (which is twofold - one reason is for a random Friends reference, same with Rosita, and the second is for Johnny Cash, who we love). He and Scott are definitely buddies already (Scott actually agreed to use his gig money for the dog rather than buy the new midi controller he's had his eye on...that's a big deal, people!). He hates being in his crate (it's probably akin to prison flashbacks, right?) and he wants to be right on top of us all of the time. He even has a little sweater to wear because when we took him outside the first couple of days he would just stand there and shiver. :( Rosita (our other pup) likes him but doesn't realize that she could crush him without much effort so playtime has to be carefully supervised. The kitties seem to be in denial about this intruder in their home. And me? I'm adjusting, even if it's a little begrudgingly. It's hard not to love him when he's curled up on my lap sleeping peacefully. Talk to me when they're running around the house like a couple of crazy pups.

I'll leave you with a picture of the 2 boys in the Spruill household:



Yeah, they're cute... :)

Yaaaaaaayyy!

Just wanted to say that I'm sooooo excited about the snow! I feel like a five-year-old...I think Scott's getting a little irritated at my giddiness. :) My boss's work was closed today, too, which means I get a snow day to curl up all warm and toasty and watch the snow continue to fall (although, to be honest, I kind of wish I was at work so I could play outside in the snow with the kiddos!). Rosie and I have already been out once, and I'm sure we'll go out and play again later!

There's always a reason...

So, Monday is my piano lesson day...I drive over to Baxter Village and give lessons to four students who all live within about ten seconds of each other. Even though the kids didn't have school today, we still planned on doing lessons for all of them. To make a long story short, ALL of the lessons ended up falling through for one reason or another, with me finding out about the last remaining one WHEN I GOT TO THEIR HOUSE. Twenty minutes away. Their mom was very apologetic, and typically the first time I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to stuff like that. Thankfully, the trip was not a total loss...

I've started downloading sermons from Matt Chandler at The Village Church. I've been trying to listen to their podcasts when I have a substantial amount of time in my car by myself, just because I'm not usually in the service at Crosspoint and it's important for me to hear sermons every once in awhile. :) The sermon that I listened to in the car today was called "Two Great Temptations" and he talked about how the biggest temptations keeping us from God are not "bad things," but actually our families (putting them - especially kids - before Christ) and seeking happiness (rather than the true joy that comes from Christ). Although the kid issue doesn't really apply to me (yet), I realized how easy it is to focus on finding happiness in people and things rather than the joy that comes from walking hand-in-hand with Jesus. It was just a great, Biblical message about making sure God is the ultimate priority in our lives. So even though I made took a 45-minute drive today for no apparent reason (thankfully, with the Prius I didn't waste too much gas!) I really feel like I was supposed to go so I could spend a little quality time with God. And my prayer for my own life is that I would strive to pursue the joy for Christ rather than the happiness that things can bring.

On a side note, I've joined Weight Watchers with some friends, and I'm trying really hard to stick to my number of points. That may be easy to say since I've only been doing it since Saturday... ;) Tomorrow, I'm going to Zumba class with my friend Miranda, so hopefully that will kick my butt into gear a bit. I've always wanted to go, but I get anxious about doing things like that by myself the first time, so I'm glad I get to break the ice with a good friend! I just want to get into the best shape that I can so that whenever we decide it's time to start a family I can already have healthy habits established... :)

It's about bedtime...I'm going to fall asleep hoping that there will be SNOW on the ground tomorrow! Seeing snow on a regular basis is probably the thing I miss most about living in Indiana (except for the people that I love, of course!)...we got to see just a little bit when we were there for Thanksgiving, so I'm praying for a SNOW DAY! Plus, if the schools cancel, my boss is off from work, which means I may get to sleep in a bit...that's just a side benefit. ;)

My new endeavor...

So, for those of you who don't know, I am learning to play the hammered dulcimer -- and contrary to popular belief, it has nothing at all to do with alcohol. :) You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that joke already...

For awhile now, I've been feeling the need to do something creative. I've played piano for years and years, and studied musical direction for theatre in college. Even after I graduated I played piano at my church until I moved to Lynchburg to be with Scott. After I moved, it all stopped...

Believe it or not, I was totally okay with that. I was suffering from an extreme case of burn-out. I had a passion for music and theatre, but when they became something that I had to do for hours and hours every day, it became tedious and I lost the love of doing it. It took about three years before I got that craving back. When I finally started really wanting to play again, Scott very graciously let me sit in on keyboards in the Crosspoint band...that was sooo much fun because it was a totally different type of music than I had ever played (contemporary worship music with the occasional secular song thrown in). It's fun to fill in, but my responsibilities with the children's ministry don't let me do it too often.

Then, this summer I found out from my friend Bridgette that she was moving from her one bedroom apartment into a room at her sister's house and she was worried she wouldn't have room for her stuff. She owns a hammered dulcimer that's in pretty great shape and when I mentioned that I thought it was a cool instrument she asked if I wanted to borrow it while she lives in Charleston. It worked out great for both of us -- one less thing for her to fit into her new room, and I could try it out without investing in an instrument.

Once we had a little money to spare for lessons, I contacted Susan, a dulcimer player from York, SC who teaches lessons. I just had my second lesson today, and I'm loving it so far. She's helping me develop my ear and not rely on written music as much, which for a visual learner like me is no small task. :) I'm attending a workshop at her house next weekend about arranging music that I think will be super beneficial. I have no idea where I'll ever play the dulcimer, but for now I'm just enjoying getting to know the instrument and fulfilling my neglected creative side... :)

I'm baaaaaaack...

Soooo...

Apologies on the nearly year-long blogging hiatus. I would like to think that I'll keep up with it this time, but who knows...life may intervene and take my attention away again.

For today, a simple post...a story from work today that has made me laugh every time I think about it. My job is to hang out with some great kids. T (11 1/2), G (10), M (4), and A (2 1/2), oldest and youngest are girls and the middle two are boys. I'm with the younger two during the day (except for the few hours they're at preschool) and the older first thing in the morning (depending on the day) and after school for awhile...

A was 3 months old when I started and it's pretty amazing to have watched her grow up. She is one of the girliest girls I've ever met, which her mom blames on the fact that she prayed for a girly girl while she was pregnant (T, the older daughter, is a little bit of a tomboy). Her "faborite" color is pink, and on any given day you can find her dressed up as any of the Disney princesses. She gives me instructions how many ponytails she wants every day (1 or 2) and the littlest speck of dirt must be brushed off of her arm instantly when we play outside. She also loves her "pacie" and would love if I would let her have it all day (rather than restricting it to naptime and bedtime). She has a "faborite" pacie that is (of course) light pink, and she even has a "pacie drawer" in the kitchen where she will throw her pacies in the morning when she wakes up.

When it was time to lay down for a nap today, I told her she could go get a pacie from the pacie drawer. She ran into the kitchen and opened up the drawer, but she could only find a pacie that was not her "faborite." She held it up and said "I don't like this pacie." Then -- and I saw her entire thought process -- she looked down at her outfit (a pink Disney princess sweatsuit), back at the pacie (which was pink and yellow), and put the pacie on her shirt to see if it matched. Then she looks back at me and says "Oh, I like this one now," and popped it in her mouth. Hahahahaha...what a girl...