These are a few of my favorite blog posts! Happy Blog-tember Challenge day 19

Hope you are enjoying this blogging challenge as much as I am. Today's is a hard challenge for me, because even though I have had this blog since 2007 I haven't done too much with it until recently.
When I first started to blog, I used it to share about what was happening with our family. Because we moved away from all of our family I was trying to find a way to share about what was happening. At this time Facebook was only used by students and if there was Twitter, or Instagram or anything like these I didn't know about it at the time.
Here is an early post that I wrote that will give you an idea:
around and about the house

Some of the posts that I really like are the ones where I dig deeper and talk about what God is teaching me.
Just a Taste

One of my most popular posts was one that I posted for Invisible Illness week. I hope to do a post for that again this year. I really liked this because it gave me a chance to share a part of me that is really hard to share.
30 Things about My Illness That You May Not Know

This past year I have been working hard on trying to find my niche and blogging more. I have tried to write a post about once a week and then picked up in June and July as I put on my first ever crafting challenge. The posts from this last year have been the most fun for me to write. I really enjoyed doing the craft challenge and hope to do more of these here soon. Here is a link from one of the challenges.

25 Days of Christmas Crafting in July Craft Challenge

My iPad has changed my life! Blog-tember challenge day 18!

Hope that this finds all of you well. We have had a crazy last two days. Our three year old son fell on Friday and broke his arm. It was one of those crazy "I'm running on adrenaline" experiences. Thankfully, they took great care of him at the hospital and he almost seems himself again.

Needless to say, I was unable to do day 17's challenge.

For today's challenge I am to tell you about a product that simplifies my life, it is my iPad. I hardly go anywhere with out it now. There is so much I am able to do on it that I don't have to sit at my computer as regularly as I used to. This really helps me because of my disease. I am often tired and in pain and just need to lay down, so I didn't get much work on the computer done. With the iPad, I can lay on the couch and write my blog posts, catch up on email, connect on social media and more. In addition, it helps when I take my three year old with me to various appointments.  There are a wealth of apps that he can play. There are so many more ways that the iPad has helped I have only named a few. 

What product has simplified your life?

Here's to hoping you are having a quieter weekend then we are! 

We are having our grand opening for our ETSY shop in one week. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MtNittanyCreations

Visit our Facebook page and make a comment in the product pictures you like for a chance to win a 20% off coupon. One winner will be chosen on 9/24/16

https://m.facebook.com/mtnittanycreations/

How I chill! Blog-tember challenge day 16!

Today Bailey blog asks us answering the question "How do you de-stress/take care of yourself?"
There are several things that I do to de-stress/take care of myself:

1. I love going to the local cafe in our little town and just sit in the corner comfy seat with my feet up and read my Bible and/or a book, pray and catch up on my on-line to do's. Of course, I sip my cup of tea. They have a wonderful selection of tea leaves that you can brew. To be away from home and not have my responsibilities to think about allows me the introspective time that I thrive on and recharge.

2. I love yoga, especially restorative and slow flow yoga. With my health, I can't do any heavy cardio or high impact workouts. I have found that these types of yoga really work well for me. They help me stretch out muscles that get overly tight from my disease and help me keep moving during the week.

3. I also really enjoy making crafts, particularly jewelry. I have started taking some jewelry classes at Michaels, and it has been really fun learning some new techniques and spending time with my girls. To be able to create something with my hands brings such joy to my heart. This is one of the reasons that we thought of opening an ETSY shop. We almost have everything set up. Watch out for a Grand Opening really soon. Who knew there was so much to go into starting a crafting business online.

4. I adore reading. When I was a kid, I would spend hours sitting and reading during the summer. I don't have that kind of dedicated time anymore but still really love to read.

5. I also enjoy watching Netflix. I am so thankful we have it, particularly on the days when I am not feeling well and just unable to read or do much of anything. I enjoy being able to watch through all the seasons of a show and watch the story unfold and not have to wait week by week to find out what happens.

How do you de-stress/take care of yourself? I would love to hear from you.

Happy Blog-tember!

If I Could Go Anywhere in the World... Blog-tember challenge day 9

This is a tough question. There is so much out there that I would love to see. But alas I am limited by my health, so we don't travel far from home too often. This past year though we went and visited friends and family in Texas and that was a lot of fun.

One place I have always dreamed of visiting is Prince Edward Island. I adore the Anne of Green Gables book series and the first two movies in the series but I only tolerate the third just because I love Anne so much.

To see the places that inspired the story would be so much fun and I hear that it is just gorgeous there as well.

From Wikimedia

One other place we hope to visit soon is Paris for our 15th wedding anniversary. Praying and hoping that the Lord will make this possible in the next couple years.

Where would you go if you could travel anywhere in the world?

What are you up to? Blog-tember Challenge day 4.

What are you up to? I wasn't super creative so I took what Bailey Jean did on her blog and put in my own answers. Thanks for the example Bailey Jean.

Reading... Everyday Worship and Tomorrow's Garden
Playing... catch up on life... there is so much to do around our home, it doesn't seem to come to an end.
Watching... The X Files, on my own and Death in Paradise and Fuller House with my sweet husband!
Trying... to get caught up on my homeschool prep and get our new ETSY shop off the ground...my mind is swirling!
Cooking... food my family hopefully will enjoy and then special diet food for me.
Eating... food compliant with the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP)
Drinking... Tea, tea, water and kombucha tea...love my tea :)
Calling... not too many people, I text more often...but for now doctors and others I need to make appointments with.
Texting... my dear friends, hubby and my kids friends moms!
Pinning... jewelry ideas, crafting ideas for the next challenge and anything that strikes mine or my daughters fancy. We love to lay on the couch and go through pinterest together on the iPad :)
Tweeting... with my new network of twitter friends, trying to gain a following in prep to launch our new ETSY shop.
Going... to various appointments and meetings, mostly for my kids :) Mom's taxi service.
Loving... spending time with Jesus and praying through a 40 day prayer challenge for our kids.
Hating... having an autoimmune disease that limits all the stuff that I can do.
Discovering... my love for Instagram...I am addicted!
Thinking... about the next steps in getting my ETSY shop off the ground and what to do for the next crafting challenge.
Feeling... like I could sleep and sleep and sleep...
Hoping (for)... a week where I can accomplish much without a lot of pain or tiredness.
Listening (to)... the christian radio station in the van and the Two Towers on CD with the kids also in the van.
Celebrating... in a month my 40th birthday :)
Ordering... packaging, labels and all kinds of things for our ETSY shop.
Thanking... All my friends and family who have been such a great support as I walk through life having a chronic disease.
Considering... what to do next to help our kids and get our ETSY shop off the ground!
Starting... to plan posts for The Blog-tember Challenge! And working on homeschool stuff and our ETSY shop stuff....
Finishing... not sure at the moment...maybe past projects!

My Favorites from the Summer Season! Happy Blog-tember day 3!

We had a good but very busy summer this year. How was yours? What are some of your favorite memories from your summer? Here is a list of mine.

Summer Favorites!

• We were so glad for warmer weather and no more snow!
• Our family had a lot of fun swimming at the local pools.
• The kids and I are were glad for a break from our regular school work and a chance to do our summer school work. The kids actually asked when we could do summer school work :).
• Watching the Olympics together as a family and with my wonderful husband, Jeff after kiddos went to bed.
• Watching the swimming and gymnastics events, these are some of my favorites.
• Watching our girls in their Theater Camp performances.
• We had lots of fun visiting family and having family visit us.
• It was a blast to take a trip to the lake with our friends.
• We also took a couple trips; Delgrosso's Amusement Park, staff conference and with our ministry team to a house in Maryland for some hang out time and rest.
• Having dear friends come to visit over Fourth of July weekend.
• We love going to the local minor league baseball team's games. Go Spikes!
• I really enjoyed the lazy days when we could sit and watch the kids just play in the yard, enjoying our new trampoline. 
• I also enjoyed running my first craft challenge. It was a lot of work but so rewarding and fun.

It was a good summer. What were some of your favorites?

Thanks Bailey Jean for having us think through these fun memories!

Our youngest at the lake!

My current goals! Happy Blog-tember challenge day 2.

Happy Friday! What are your current goals? As part of the Blog-tember challenge, I am to list my current goals. Hope some of you out there will join me in this challenge.

Current Goals

• For me to work on getting our homeschool year off to a good start.
• To encourage our one daughter in her math work, hoping that it won't be a struggle anymore.
• Start our ETSY shop with a Grand Opening in September.
• Finish Baby and Wedding gifts that are overdue.
• Make my sister-in-laws birthday gift.
• Spend time in the Bible and in prayer each day.
• Read through Everyday Worship and Tommorrows Garden.
• Post things on my Amazon wish list for my birthday coming up :).
• Finish my Craftsy class and attend the next Jewelry making class at Michaels.
• Get back into my Yoga practice.
• Love my family to the best of my ability, with God's help.

Would love to hear about what are some of your current goals!

All about me! Blog-tember Challenge Day 1.

Hi, all! My name is Amber and I am joining in on a challenge, Blog-tember (link at the bottom), where I will try and blog each day, answering the challenges that Bailey Jean posts. 

Day # 1 we are to introduce ourselves. So here we go:

I am a stay at home mom of four sweet kids. They range in age from 11 down to 3. I have been homeschooling since my oldest was a wee one. I love homeschooling. It is so fun to watch the kids grow and learn. Our youngest has some special needs so starting next week he will be going to a special preschool four days a week. I am a little nervous about putting our youngest on a small bus and that he is the first of our kids to go to school.

Over four years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, MCTD. This really limits what I can do in a day or in a week. Most days are spent with me being in pain and tired. For over a year, I have been on a special diet, autoimmune protocol (AIP), in hopes to reduce my symptoms and delay the progress of my disease.

I love to travel, but I also love Pennsylvania. I grew up in the Philly area and now live in central PA. I have had the chance to travel the US, going cross country several times. I have also been in other countries. One of my favorites was Mexico.

My husband and I are missionaries with DiscipleMakers, a ministry that seeks to make disciples on college campuses. Come check out our web page: www.dm.org

Our sweet family!

I love crafting. Recently I have taken on a love for jewelry making and have been working on stocking an ETSY shop which I hope to open this month. We hope to also sell crafts that will raise money for a nonprofit that is raising money to study my disease, Hope4MCTD.

Come check us out on:

Instagram:@mtnittanycreations

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mtnittanycreations/

Twitter: @scottaenator 

Pinterest: scottaenator

I am looking forward to getting the opportunity to meet other bloggers and share more of myself. Blessings!

Our new logo created by Becky MacDonald.

One of our bracelets in our shop!