Picnics, Movies and Fireflies

Today was absolutely perfect! Church this morning was wonderful and afterwards, a bunch of people stayed for a picnic! Justin came home with us and Matt surprised me by showing up soon after. While he and my dad talked about some paintball plan, I ran to Erin's open house though I didn't stay very long. When I got home, the boys were restless to get out so we went to a movie! Prince Of Persia again, but they paid for me so I didn't dare protest. We had fun and after they left, my dad built a bonfire and we had hot dogs for supper. I finished the day by running around after fireflies with my siblings in the backyard. All in all, a very pleasant day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IISaqrS_XpQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cc9ofwF-e4

Until next time!

Graduation

It's done! Over! Yesterday flew by and suddenly I was walking down the isle in my robe and cap. We laughed, we cried, we were hugged, we were blinded by flashing camera lights, we smiled till our faces hurt. Ah graduation!

Everything went smoothly! I was soooooo nervous but it made it better to have my two fellow graduates up there with me. My speech went well and I had several people ask me if I was nervous. Apparently I didn't look it. How I pulled that off, I have no idea. My hands were shaking!

Out of the three graduates, my parents had the longest speeches. They thanked a whole bunch of people and oh look! They finally remembered that it was my graduation by the end. So I returned the favor by thanking them last out of my list of thank yous. But hey, I always save the best for last.

As for guests, all my family and Co-op friends came, including a couple former Co-op students I hadn't seen in a long time (namely Chris and Kelli)! After the ceremony, we all gathered in the gym for some cake and fellowship. It was fun! Then Shelby, Kristen, Erin and I all went to a movie and I didn't get home until like 12:30. I felt so grown up!

Looking at my diploma this morning, I had this thought. What is this worth? Big picture, big step back, scanning my life, what is this worth? My answer: nothing. It's just a piece of paper. Sure I worked hard in school and did my best but in the end, it's just a piece of paper. I really hope that I've achieved more in my life (and will continue to achieve more) than good grades. Life isn't about passing the next test and I've been living like it is.

Also, as you will notice, my countdown is now over. I made it to graduation (sane and in one piece) and I was trying to think of something else to count down to, but then I had this thought. I don't want to count away the days of my life! I don't want to always be looking forward to something in the future. Oh sure I will be but I also want to look for what I can do today. Take the moment by the coattails and conquer! Seize the day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB0oPgCexh0

By the way, I got a new laptop for graduation! :D

Until next time, have a lovely day dear reader!

Friends

Phew! These past two days have been almost a blur! I've been through the good, the bad and the ugly with a few different friends and now, instead of giving you all the little details, I'll just give you a song that sums up how I'm feeling right about now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHFy3YWpRx8

Graduation is tomorrow! I have my speech written, my dress and heels laid out, my family invited and my cap and gown ready to go! And I'm VERY excited!!!!

Until next time!

The Unexpected

Today threw a few surprises at me. Don't worry, all of them good ones. But before I go on, I wore my pink ribbons in my ponytail today and it made me think of this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrzYEo9DyA

So, today I went book shopping with my Grandma. What a better graduation present then some good summer fiction! The surprise was that she also insisted on getting me a new dress for my open house! I really do love new clothes. :)

My next surprise was a very sweet card from my little sister, Maisy. She told me that she was excited for me to go to college, would miss me while I was at my classes and that she thought I was the best big sister in the world. It made me cry because, well... I'm not. I love my little siblings to infinity and beyond but I still get impatient and can be very short with them. And yet, they still love me! I only pray that I can be a better big sister and give my little sisters someone to look up to.

I hope your day, dear reader, was filled with good surprises and some sunshine! Until next time!

In The Good Old Summertime

Just in case you haven't noticed, summertime is here! And boy was it hot outside today!

Today was awesome! I got to sleep in until 8:30 and still got my graduation speech written fairly quickly. Then I was invited to go to Frosty Boy with Matt, Jess and Steve. Carl was here working on my dad's car so we invited him to join us. Including my two brothers and myself, we made quite a merry party or, as my mom says, "a motley crew". We had a good time eating ice cream and talking and watching Carl baffle us with some mind games. :)

When we got home, I helped Gavin collect the cut branches around the yard and then folded laundry while watching some Robin Hood. My mom reminded me that I had volunteered to make dinner the other night and hadn't gotten to because I went to Becky's instead. So I cooked up a little something (which turned out quite well by the way), cleaned up the kitchen as usual and finished the last episode of Robin Hood on the disk. Tonight Garrett and I are planning to stay up after everyone else goes to bed and watch Disturbia in the dark!

I've also been busy getting this babysitting thing sorted. Why must everything be so complicated? Why must my dad volunteer me for things I don't want to do? *sigh* Ah me. Life. Sometimes (like today) I wish I could find a place somewhere over the rainbow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5T6gyCPDvM

Someplace where troubles melt like lemon drops. If only if only. Until next time!

The Weekend

Don't you just love weekends? I do! And what I thought was going to be quite a dull lifeless weekend turned out to be an amazing weekend!

Yesterday, Karlee came to get her couch as planned! I was so glad we could help her out in that area. After lunch, my mom was lamenting about cleaning the church so I volunteered to do it for her. Of course I didn't want to clean all by my lonesome so I kidnapped Jess to help me! I ended up bringing her back to my house for a few hours. We were then invited to Becky's house to hang out so we went there for a while. It was great fun to talk, play piano (and sing along), eat pizza, watch Becoming Jane and just be together. That turned into spending the night at Jess's! We..... excuse me, Jess straightened my hair and after two hours of hard work (and a few interesting stories), I have lovely LONG straight hair! Unfortunately the curls come back when I wash it. Joy.

So, church this morning as usual. My dad did a great job..... as usual. :) His main point was about people getting into the Word again. How true! After first service, home we came to eat and leave again. This time my dad, Maisy and I went to my cousin's graduation. When we got home, I finished a movie I started a few days ago called Amadeus. It's the story of Mozart, the great composer. Honestly, the ending is horrible BUT the music throughout the movie is amazing! So, all that classical amazingness put me in a classical spree again and I just had to share some of it with you! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df-eLzao63I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lC1lRz5Z_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OZCyp-LcGw

Until next time!

Peter Pan

I think I might have posted something like this a while back but as it's been a while, nothing like a reminder!

Today was my last day working at Zion (sadness!) and we watched Peter Pan. That movie always makes me think.

First, there's the fact that Peter never grows up. He even tells Wendy that he will never grow up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWii---CKwY

This is not something to encourage in my opinion. All children must grow up. We will enter the adult world eventually so there is no point in acting like a child when you are in a grown ups body. Believe me, you just look ridiculous. So, grow up! Don't shy away from it! Take it on as a new adventure, a new challenge and go for it! You never know, you might just like it!

Second, there's the way Peter views girls. "One girl's worth more than twenty boys," he tells Wendy. I love it! That a mere boy would view us girls in such a light! He teaches Wendy to fight and to fly, showing his respect for her as his equal. Yet he still respects her girly qualities such as telling stories and "mothering" the lost boys. No wonder all girls fall for Peter at some point in their lifetime!

If you've never seen the movie Hook, you really should. I won't tell you what it's about but you can probably guess part of it from the title. :) Here's one of the songs from that movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5lVOeh3qU

Until next time!

Sunshine, Picnics and Cookie Dough

I love how your day can be packed with so many good things! Mine certainly was!

First, I woke up at 10! :D When does that ever happen in my family? Let me answer that for you. NEVER! It was fabulous!

For lunch, I went over to my friend Jessica Green's house to hang out with her and her new baby, Natalie! We went on a picnic with a short walk afterwards. It was so pretty outside and we had a great talk. I love having grown up friends!

I went to work this afternoon and took some cookie dough to split with Karlee. Oh we have fun!

Now I'm home and looking forward to a good night hanging with family and talking to friends! Time for a song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=salIrFCh3cY

Oh! Do you like the new background? I do! My friend Carl fixed up the banner for me and he did great! Thank you Carl!

Until next time!

Slowing Down

Well, after a busy weekend, I finally have some time to come up to breathe. As far as I know, I'm doing nothing but working at Zion today, tomorrow and Friday. I babysit at church tonight but that's it! It's oh so nice! Maybe I'll get my graduation speech written! Hmmm......

Today in the car with my mom and Lucy, we were listening to Veggie Tales! Here's a few of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpcf_qD3GW4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldnLxqCo3dU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muo1S4R2hXQ

Listening to Veggie Tales just makes me happy! :) Until next time!

Fun, Fun And More Fun

Yeah! You better believe it! I've had a most wonderful day today!

I got to sleep in until beautiful 9 am! Then I spent the morning chatting with friends online. Rachel came over and we talked for hours before going to see Letters To Juliet (which was a pretty good movie by the way). THEN we talked for a few more hours. I love how some relationships you can just pick up where you left off, even after long absences. That's one of them. After she left, I had some ice cream and now I'm here!

This song pretty much sums up how I've been all day. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmxSL6H2QEg

Hmmm.... maybe I'll bake cookies tomorrow. So much time and so much to do! Until next time!

Fun And Not So Much Fun

What a day! I feel like it's been a week since I've slept. Now I'm past tired. Yes, now I am giddy. Beware!

So, three big events today. First, I went to Brian's funeral. I felt kinda bad because I had to leave right after but I got to give Matt, Steve and Dawn hugs. It was very nicely done (by my father of course) and I think everyone felt that Brian was honored as he should be.

Next came that horrific three hour dress rehearsal. Ms. Kathy was like general in the army strict with us. This should have been her theme song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4kiXh8YOzk

Thankfully we got through practice and no one died! Finally it came time to perform. I don't think there were any mistakes made in the play and I thought everyone did fantastic! I sang my solo and.... well it was hard. I was nervous beyond belief and on top of that, I couldn't hear myself! I guess that's a good thing since I won't know if I did good or bad.

The best part of the night was all my friends that came to see! Jackie, Matt, Jess, Carl and Hannah! You know you have friends when you sing horribly and they can smile and say "You did awesome!"

So there you have it! A great day! I hope your day was just as good, my dear reader. Until next time!

More Fun

Today was great! Church this morning was AWESOME! I mean, I don't want to brag but my dad gave an amazing sermon this morning. It was all about how we don't pray enough and how God wants us to bring him the little things as well as the big things. And then we spent the last fifteen minutes of the service in prayer. Like, if you have the urge to pray, then pray! Out loud! It was great!

After church, I got lunch for the kids and then took Garrett and went to Brian's viewing. We saw lots of people there we knew and it was nice to see Steve and Matt smiling. THEN we came home and I turned right around and left again, this time going BACK to Shannon's. I went with her, Danni, Kristen, Zach and Eli to see Rissa's play! She was Ms. Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice! She did wonderfully too!! After the play, the six of us hung out at the Redden's, watching Dr. Who and eating pizza and strawberry shortcake. Now I'm finally home and writing you this! Feel special.

Now for a song that's been stuck in my head for a while:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO3gg2cVfxg

Until next time!

Fun

Well, let me say that the past two days have been very satisfying! Can I tell you why? I can?! Sweet! Here we go!

Friday, after I got done blogging, I talked to Steve (Matt's brother) and we decided to go to lunch. So I had the pleasure of treating Steve, Matt, Garrett and myself to Frosty Boy! Beautiful day for it too! Then I had some time to kill so I folded a few loads of laundry while watching Robin Hood! At 3, I went to work as usual. Kelsey and I took the kids straight outside and stayed out the entire day. Finally, when the last kid left, I made my way to Shannon's. We had pizza and got all "prettied up" and went swing dancing! To my great surprise and delight, my friend Rachel was there! We spent almost the whole time in the balcony, watching the dancers, talking and swaying to the music. Great fun! (Yes, I did also get a few dances, for those of you who were wondering.) I then went back to Shannon's (we didn't get home until midnight) and we stayed up till 3 watching a movie. Needless to say, I collapsed before it was over.

Saturday! I was up at 9 (absurdly early if you ask me) and crept out of the sleeping Redden household to pick up Garrett from a friend's house. We got home and I showered and went to a friend's wedding! My dad did the ceremony and it was GREAT!!! Then I helped my dad with the bulletins for Sunday and we had a good conversation about college and work. When we got home, I changed (again) and helped my mom address envelopes before heading over to the Redden's again with Garrett. We helped paint the sets for Monday night and they look amazing! I'm actually a little excited about it! Anyway, after getting thoroughly splattered, we came home and I got to watch the last Robin Hood episode (on the disc we have) with my dad.

You know, it's kinda funny how no matter what predicament Robin gets himself into, he always gets himself out again. I wish life was like that all the time. You go, find adventures, get into trouble (never self created of course) duel the bad guy and come out walking tall. Only in make believe I guess.

Until next time!

Summertime

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Summertime!

I finished my paper yesterday and I'm officially done! Now that I have extra time, I realized how tired I am. Funny what you don't notice when you're so busy. Anyway, I talked to my mom this morning and she pretty much said to focus on babysitting and having fun this summer. I guess that's what I'm going to have to do so I don't go depressed. One day at a time. Or at least one weekend.

So, fun is exactly what I'm going to have! After work today, I'm going swing dancing with Shannon and a few other friends! Tomorrow I'm going to a wedding and then back to the Redden's to help paint the sets for Monday. Sunday is church, Brian's viewing and then I'm going (with Shannon again) to a friend's play. Monday is Brian's funeral, three hour dress rehearsal and See What I've Done Night! Tuesday, my wonderful friend Rachel is coming over and we're going to have a picnic and maybe go see a movie. That's about as far ahead as I've thought right now.

I thought that, being the first day of summer, a Beach Boys song would be appropriate. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpP7tWXjcnc

Until next time!

Tribute to a Dear Friend

Brian Remmel passed away this morning just after midnight. It's very sad but I know that he has finally defeated his cancer and is in a place where there is no more pain and no more hurt. I know God met him with open arms this morning and that's the only comfort. Please keep praying for his family he left behind; his wife Dawn and his sons, Matt and Steve. I'm dedicating this song to him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_4g8_e16dc

We'll miss you Brian.

Epicness

So, for some reason, I've been feeling pretty epic today. Like, ninja roll across my living room, run out my door, strike a pose and go leaping off the front porch epic. It didn't help that I watched Superman Returns with my family this evening. Now I want to fly! Cape and all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLNt8nP1Rw

Ok enough of that. Despite my feeling epic, my day was pretty normal. I had planned to write my research paper about Australia today but my mom wanted to go visit the Remmel's so guess who had to watch the baby? Yeah, me. It was ok though. I got to watch the baby and fold laundry and make lunch for everyone and take care of Maisy who wasn't feeling well. Somehow I managed to take my worldview test (DONE WITH THAT CLASS! :D) and make it to work by 3! With Superman topping it off, I'd say it was a pretty good day. You can probably guess what's on the schedule for tomorrow. Yup, my paper. *sigh*

Until next time!

A Research Paper

Phew! I've been outlining a research paper for hours and needed a break. So I decided to do some blogging. Feel special.

It's my last research paper! :D I'm writing it on Australia. Personally, I find Australia fascinating since I know almost nothing about it. My mom never gave me a world geography class so I've studied Europe and Asia and some of South America but we never really did Australia in depth. I'm not sure why.

Anyway, it's kinda cool! There's so many more animals and plants that live only in Australia than I knew about. I think the Koala is probably my favorite (by the way, it's a Koala, not a Koala BEAR). And have you ever heard a Didgeridoo? It's a long tube and somehow the player makes it sound like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFGvNxBqYFI

Isn't that awesome?! I don't think a whole lot of people can play it because it's one of the aborigine's instruments. Ok call me a nerd but I think it's cool.

Here's my real song for today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPNiha5PFLU

Pretty epic if I do say so myself! Until next time dear reader!

A Legacy

WOOT!! Guess what! Today was my last day of Co-op!!! EVER! Oh yeah we have our See What I've Done Night next week but no classes. It's so weird to think about! I will never go to Co-op again. I will never have those amazing moms for teachers. It kind of makes me sad but I pray that God will allow me to keep many of my teachers and classmates for friends.

Finishing today made me think, how are the people I leave behind going to remember me? What will they think of when they hear my name? Will they think "Heh, Casey. She was always the teacher's pet,"? Will they think "Oh yeah! She was great! Always so kind and happy,"? I know that now it's too late to change what they may remember but I'm determined to keep this in mind for the future. I want people to, when they think of me, think of Jesus. I want to be His mirror to the world. Here's a song that perfectly describes that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dZG2yqB_I

Well my dear reader, I hope you had as good a day as I did! Until next time!

Listless

Happy Mother's day to my wonderful mom.

Now for a song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdAMAbb3oUA

That's all.

Whirlwind

Man, such mixed feelings about today. On one hand, it was a great day! But Matt came over and, though it wouldn't say it ruined the day, it certainly dampened it.

His dad Brian is now in hospice and they don't expect him to live very much longer. Matt and his little brother Steve just found out yesterday evening. I'm glad that Matt feels he can come over here but at the same time, it hurts. Literally, my heart hurts. He came over and we pretty much just sat for an hour in silence. He made a few quiet comments here and there about school and his day today and his band but that's it. When he got up to leave, he actually gave me a hug. He opened his arms, asking for one. I was almost in tears. His hurt is so visible! How I want to take it away! How I wish that there is something I could say or do to make it all better! But there isn't and it just hurts.

So there you have it. My insides feel like a spinning top. I had such a good day but then again I didn't. I hope your day was better dear reader.

Until next time.

It's Finally Friday!

Well, we've almost made it through another week. Saturday is looking very promising! I'll hopefully be taking Gavin, Garrett and maybe Matt to see Iron Man 2! But first I have to write my E.T. essay and get through one more day of work. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Updates on Brian (Matt's dad): My parents visited him last night and found out that the doctors think he might have some kind of fungus in his lungs. He was coughing so much and they took out the equivalent of four small cups of coffee out of his lungs. No wonder! My mom told me that last night when they were leaving, he was telling his wife all this information, pretty much saying goodbye. BUT he made it through the night! Today they're putting him under to do surgery to take out a piece of his lungs so they can check for the supposed fungus. He's so weak and so tired and my mom says he's afraid to give up though he wants to. We're praying that even if he does give up, that God's not done with him yet and he'll make it though. Keep on praying! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOKQu4-ZVlk

Have a lovely day dear reader. Until next time!

Prayer Request

Hey guys. I'm pretty sure I've told you about my friend Matt in the past. Well, his dad has been going through chemotherapy to get rid of cancer. He went through it pretty well but now he's back in the hospital and it sounds really serious. Like, his mom called my dad (the pastor) to come up there serious. I would really appreciate it if you would be praying for him and their family. Prayer warriors unite! Thank you dear reader.

Slow Poke

Yeah, that's right. You're behind. So catch up slow poke!

First, for those of you who didn't prefer my music yesterday, here's another short list of some good soundtracks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UuyeYdQnI4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYrgHuV9rAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jxkqG0gWc

Ok, now that you have your music, I'll tell you what I've been about the past few days. First, prom was amazing. That's all I have to say about that. Babysitting Saturday night was great but I was sooooooo tired. Sunday, church was good and I had a fabulous time with Matt at the B&B! Then the youth group came over and we had some good conversation but I was still tired. Monday was Co-op which went well (I got two compliments from our drama teacher which never happens) and then Garrett and I went back up to the B&B to finish cleaning. You can imagine how tired I was after that. Tuesday and today I've done school and worked. And yes, I'm still tired.

So, tomorrow and Friday will be spent much like today. School and working. No surprises, no adventures, no murder in the library. I can't wait until Saturday for a whole day of doing blissfully nothing!

Until next time dear reader!

Big Day

Guess what! Today is huge for my blog! Know why? No? Well let me tell you then! First, today is my blog's 1 year birthday! I was reading through some old posts the other day and I can't believe how much we've been through the past year. Right now, I look at myself and I don't think I'm any different than I was, but when I read those posts, I see that I have grown. I've definitely grown closer to God and learned so many valuable lessons by trusting Him. It just amazes me how good our God is!

Secondly, this is my 200th post! Yeah! 200 posts in one year! I'd say that's doing pretty good.

So, in order to celebrate, here are a few favorite songs that have been posted over the year. Hope you enjoy! By the way, since a friend asked me to give you warning, I will say that one of these songs is in fact The Birds and The Bees. Just so you know. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMBVbEUd7o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsmGSnq3lE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCf84ov2MZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzCpBoxF2gc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpxkCu8Ri9c

And now for my theme song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHFy3YWpRx8

So there you have it my dear reader! If it were possible to send food over the Internet, I'd send you some cake. But since that isn't possible yet, I guess a virtual hug will have to do. Until next time!