Introducing: Bethshaya

Hey Chickies!

I'm Liz or Beth (I answer to both). This is the downfall to having a name that has many nicknames. I've been called Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzy, Beth, Bethy, Betsy, Betty, Lisa, Lucy...just call, I'll answer to something.  I grew up in the same area I am in and have been blessed enough to travel all over the world growing up.  I am an only child to two of the best parents in the world who celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year (Big Party!).

I turn the BIG 4-0 this year! I live in Fairfield County, CT with my fiancee, John, my son, Jonathan and two Pomeranian pups; Callie, our 10 yr old “mamma”, and Bella, our 6 mo old, better known as “Sweet Pea”.   John has 8 brothers and sisters, so I am marrying into a foreign world of lots of siblings.  Oh, the drama...I am so not used to that!  I work full time at Mercer, a division of Marsh & McLennan as a Senior Admin.  We are a Human Resources consulting company and are hoping busy now with all these health care changes.

I was married for 10 years, divorced for 12 and have met the man of my dreams now.  We're engaged and our wedding date has been set for October 1, 2011. It has been a long, long time coming. We've been dating for 9 years and engaged for 2. John is from Tennessee, so this is definitely a North and South Union.  Oddly, I'm the one that is "A Little Bit Country" and he's definately the one that's "A Little Bit Rock and Roll".  We may be opposites, but he is my soulmate.

My son is 16 and has “special needs”.  He has a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. He does well in school, usually making honor roll, but has social and motor skill difficulties. He's just transitioned back to the local High School from a private school for kids with autism and he is doing great!  Lots of new friends and he's involved in a lot of activities.  He had such a rough go when he was little, but now he is a dream as a teenager.  I am so proud of him and how far he's come. 

I enjoy reading Christian Historical fiction and role-playing games. I love slipping into a character and playing that role out. I can be anything I want to be. This is where the name Bethshaya came from. Olde English nickname for my real name. I've been a master sleuth detective with OCD on a crime laden paradise island, an adviser to King Arthur in Camelot, and a medic on the planet of Naboo among others. I met John in “Camelot” and he became my “Knight in Shining Armor”. You can find out about my “Alter Egos” on my other blog: The Alter Ego.

I'm the newbie papercrafter of the group. Santa brought me all of my supplies this past year when I decided that I wanted to have a hobby other then online gaming. So be gentle on me, I'm still learning. I think my style is clean and simple, and I love my copics. 

As a newbie, I've been looking for ways to create and try new things to get better.  Since John's family is so large (I now have 30 nieces and nephews and 8 sets of in laws) I have plenty of occasions to create for.  We have 4 nephews in the military with 1 on active duty in the Pacific and 3 waiting for deployment orders, so we also have plenty of care kits going out all the time. (Cards are always welcome if you are interested in sending too).

I'm inspired by a lot of different design team people, but mostly the Papertrey Ink Design Team, Suzanne Dean, the Copic Queen and Becca Freeken from Amazing Paper Grace.

I'm very excited to join the Papertrey Chicks! I'm really looking forward to having challenges that will push me to try new things. I'm looking forward to "meeting" my fellow Chicks!

I can't wait for our first official challenge! Thanks for including me in the group!

Beth