Barn Raisin'

Today was the greatest day! We had a barn raising at our house today! Ok ok.... shed raising, but still. We had the people and the materials and the food! All we were missing was the dancing. Oh well. I guess I'll live. ;)


It started at 8 am this morning and went ALL day. Several guys came over from our church to help my dad out and along with my two brothers and Carl, they got it almost all finished! Just a few little things left to do. One of the guys brought his wife and three month old daughter so I spent the morning hanging out with them and helping my mom prepare lunch. Then, being such a nice day, I sat on the porch swing all afternoon and watched the progress the guys made. They worked until almost 7 and then Carl stayed for dinner. :) We had some good conversation and cheesecake and many laughs. So all in all, it was a fabulous day!


Now having a barn raising today, I just had to post this song. It's the dance sequence from the barn raising scene in 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' and I found it appropriate. So, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOqB-m00eus

One last thing. I got my college books today. Can you say BORING!!! I looked through them and there's so many words. And of course my math book would be the thickest one. Blah! Oh how I want to just skip it! *Sigh* Ok, back to reality now. 


Until next time!

You Had To Say That?

Have you ever had a great day that was ruined by one comment someone said? Yeah, that was my day today. 


Mostly, it was fantastic! I babysat Blacksmith and Skunk Monkey today and we had a great time together! We did devotions and got new prayer journals and danced around the kitchen and went to see 'Despicable Me' (which was an adorable movie by the way) and rode bikes. When I got home, Garrett and I went on a long bike ride and we had pizza for dinner and I helped my mom get ready for tomorrow (what's happening? I'll save that for tomorrow's post). I finally got my room cleaned up too. 


However, this evening, a person who matters very much to me and who's approval I crave made a comment that stung. But we'll just put it with all the other pins on the pincushion. I'm sure they don't realize how much it hurt but it still managed to be pretty sharp. 


It's times like these that I have to do my best to let my Heavenly Father be my comfort. That's hard. He can't physically wrap His arms around me. He can't dry my tears. I can't hear Him telling me that He loves me and thinks I'm beautiful (even though I know it). And it's hard. There's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that helps a little. I listen to it and imagine dancing with Him around my room like a little girl dances with her father.  But here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUk5SZ18WhY

I hope your day was as good as mine with a happy ending as well. Until next time.

Good To Great!

Today was.... in a word.... awesome! First of all, it was a half day at work! And Austin having another doctor's appointment, Jack played video games almost the whole time. That left me free to chat with friends most of the morning. :)


Then came the afternoon! Being free, Garrett and I went to hang out with Zach and Joe at 2! :D We had the greatest conversations, some not worth repeating, some very interesting and some just playful banter. After a while, Carl joined us and we sat for another hour or so, eating our ice cream and talking. I don't remember the last time I had such a pleasant afternoon! 


Honestly, not much else happened today and I've not had any really deep thoughts worth sharing. My apologies. Maybe tomorrow will be better. 


Now for your song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC2nFFu-mj4

Until next time!

Everything and Some Things and Nothing At All

Today has been your normal day. Good points, bad points. Shall I go through them for you? K. We'll go with the bad points first. 


Bad points:
- I had to get up at 5:30 this morning for work
- I've been kinda bipolar today because of..... girl issues. You know, really happy one minute and then mad at something or other the next. NOT fun. 
- Also, these girl issues have put me in pain pretty much all day. Again, NOT fun. 


Good points:
- I'm done babysitting for Awesome One and Princess Peach so I just had Blacksmith and Skunk Monkey!! :D Those two are awesome!
- Having just the two of them, we went to Frosty Boy for ice cream! Oh happy day!
- Blacksmith had a doctor appointment so I got to go home early!
- It rained today and I was fortunate enough to be outside when it first began. I saw the most awesome thing! As the first drops of rain began to fall, all the butterflies rose and flitted into hiding. It was so cool! There were countless pairs of wings across the yard.
- It rained today! You know what that means? Right! Dancing in the rain! :D
- I got to talk to my best friend for a few hours this afternoon!
- My whole family being gone this evening, my daddy took me to dinner! We had a pleasant time together. It was really nice since I've not spent all that much time with him lately. 
- I got to watch the last three hours of Pride And Prejudice tonight while folding laundry! And the best part? Gavin watched with me! :D I do adore that kid. 


So there you have it! I think, since there were so many good points, it could be labeled as a good day. And to celebrate, here is the amazing trio!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0I_GO9udgw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQcv2v8pmms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy_qlYjAh8o

Until next time!

Too Many Thoughts

Since today was one of my days off, I've had a lot of time to myself to think and ponder lots of things. So before I start, here's the trio for you to listen to. :)

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK2LinUnhGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owfp3sWYblM

First on the list, familiarity. I watched the first half of Pride & Prejudice today (yes, the 6 hour version) and it was like coming home. I know that may sound silly to you but it's true! I've not watched it in quite a while and it was kind of comforting to slip back into the familiar story. All the characters are the same as they were three years ago and respond the same way to the same situations. I knew what was coming next, could quote countless lines (Gavin got quite annoyed with me) and could hum the background music. Yeah I know, I'm a P&P junkie. But there are worse things! 


My other big thought for today, feminism. Oh boy. Here's what got me thinking about it. This morning, I posted a quote on Facebook that I quite like.

“But when a lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way.” ~ Jane Austen

Two of my good friends commented on it with the following:

Girl 1:  ‎... that just doesn't really sound that a great thing to me. if she can do it herself why should the hero get in her way?? dude ur too late, she doesn't need you!

Girl 2:  i think every lady should be her own heroine, but that's just me......at some point a hero and a heroine might compromise and join together in wedlock, but a woman can't say "i'll sit here in my own mess and wait for the right man to pull me out"

Ok, call me old fashioned but I don't agree! Sure, a girl should be able to take care of herself to a degree but the role of protector and provider is that of the Father's until she gets married. Then it becomes her husband's. It also has to do with how we girls are made. We WANT someone to be our hero! No matter what we say about taking care of ourselves, there is that deep inner desire for the knight in shining armor to ride to our rescue. 

Well anyway, ironically a post on one of the blogs I follow touched on this subject VERY well today and I thought I'd share it with you:

http://truefemininity.blogspot.com/2010/07/feminist-informed-submission.html

AMEN!!!! 

Until next time!

Life Is Good

No it really is! Now that's not thinking about the ever looming college ahead. Just the here and now, today. Why? Because I've had the greatest day today! 


First, I didn't have to work today which meant I could sleep in! That hasn't happened in a while. Next, I got to take lunch to a good friend of mine who just had a baby! We had a good talk and I got to hold baby Kaylie Jane for a long time. :) After that, I went to Shannon's for a bit and hung out with the girls. Silly girls were just getting up when I got there at 1! When I got home, my mom tells me she's taking me out. Oooookay? Turns out she and my dad decided I needed some new clothes (guess they were getting tired of me wearing the same old t-shirts all the time) so my mom and I went to get some stuff. We also had a very good talk about lots of things. I love my mom! So, anyway, after that, Garrett and I went to see 'Inception'. Let me tell you, that movie was amazing! The plot was so complicated that it was hard to keep up with! But I will warn you, the message of the movie is very postmodernist. When we got back, I spent some time straightening my room and watching one of my favorite movies, 'Runaway Bride'. So you see, today has been a very good day! 


Now on to the music. I've kinda been stuck on jazz lately so I figured I'd share my trio with you! Please welcome Sinatra, Buble and Connick! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGwcg4g-1Ik

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLnvi5JHNlA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uij5s69iEjs

One more thing! I got my old daycare job back!!! :D Three cheers for amazing bosses!!!!! I called in Friday and asked if I was still wanted. She said "Oh yes! Most definitely! What's your schedule? We'll work you in!" Woot! I just love my boss! 


Ok well there you have it. Until next time!

The Summer Camp Experience

Well folks, I'm back. Mosquito bitten, sun burnt and thoroughly tired out but I'm back! And let me tell you, I had a great weekend!! Here's just some highlights: 


Friday I discovered that I was the counselor for six crazy second and third grade girls! By lights out on Friday night, we had them all nicknamed (of course).  Giggles and Wiggles (appropriately named), Rae Rae, Panda, Twizzler and Kit-Kat. The phrase of the weekend: "Where is Giggles and/or Wiggles?" The not so fun part? We all swam on Friday and lights out was at 11. Except....... they weren't tired. So an hour later, I had to confiscate flashlights and they finally got quiet. 


Saturday was wickedly hot out! We had a treasure hunt thing in the morning and water games and swimming in the afternoon. Then after dinner, the big event of the weekend, Center Stage! Each cabin prepared a short skit to perform in front of everyone and we saw some pretty creative stuff! My cabin performed a skit that our CIT (counselor in training) called "How Not To Be A Gentleman". It was quite clever and we got one of the guy counselors to play the not-so-gentlemanly gentleman. Everyone liked it and the girls really enjoyed themselves. Afterwards, the eight of us sat around our cabin, painting nails, eating candy and listening to a story about Princess Ramona, Prince Bubbleguts, Pinky the chocolate dog and marshmallow elephants (all compliments of myself). 


Sunday was spent mostly packing and I got a blissful 45 minute nap on the drive home! Oh, and contrary to the popular belief that camp food is disgusting, ours was quite good! 


So now I'm home and very very very tired. And being the brilliant girl I am, I actually found a song that has to do with summer camp! Just so you know, nothing in this song happened this weekend. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Hx_X84LC0

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

Happiness

Would you believe me if I told you that I had a great day? Well I did! 


I woke up thinking "Great. Thursday. The day I have all four monkeys all day. Oh boy oh boy." Things went quite well actually! Well... besides having to listen to them fight all day. But we had no major incidents or disasters. And the best part? Blacksmith and Skunk Monkey's mom is not too happy with this babysitting situation. So she talked to Awesome One and Princess Peach's mom about finding a new sitter for her kids. Do you know what this means? It means that I'll hopefully only be babysitting two kids from now on!!!! :D I sincerely hope that works out cause just Blacksmith and Skunk Monkey are so easy. 


So, after I discover this, I went to hang out with my friends Zach and Joe! We sat for about an hour just talking and had some...... interesting conversation. Then, much to my delight, Carl joined us! We sat for another half hour, talking some more, and then went our separate ways.


When I got home, I began packing. I'm going to Kids Camp tomorrow! :D I'm a counselor and let me tell you, I have packed a ridiculous amount of chocolate and nail polish. We girls are gonna have some serious fun! And I will come back on Sunday with all kinds of stories to tell you which should make for a long overdue interesting blog post! 


Now for a song!

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

Well my dear reader, have a lovely weekend! Until next time!

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

What a day today turned out to be! At one point, I was ready to pack up and move to Ireland. However, apparently I'm not allowed to do that. Something about people missing me too much or something. 


Anyway, first of all, I was babysitting today at a house where there is no wifi! Feel free to gasp. It was horrific! So I just left my computer at home. 


Secondly, one of the children I watch flooded the bathroom today. But that meant there was water all over the bathroom, kitchen AND pantry. So, I did my best to clean it up and when I was done, it looked like nothing happened besides a small wet spot on the carpet. Think it's over? Oh no! It gets better! 


When their mom got home, I told her what had happened and what I did to correct the situation. She thanked me and I left. Five minutes later, I get a phone call saying that water had dripped into the basement and because they are trying to sell their house, I may no longer watch her children at their house. That wasn't what got me though. What got to me was her tone on the phone. She was mad! Like, genuinely mad at me! So I pretty much stayed silent, apologized to her at the end of the sharp "conversation" and waited till she hung up. NOT fun!


Things got a little better when I got back though. I had a good conversation with a friend and lots of fun dancing around the kitchen with my little sisters. They make me smile. :) 


Now for my song of the day, the song that's been running through my head. And nobody does it better than my dearest Harry! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUqV1HoEYLw

I hope your day was more pleasant than mine, dear reader. Until next time!

Life, The Universe And Everything

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm now going to attempt the impossible. I am going to try to cover the title of this post, a very broad subject, in just this post! Watch and be amazed! 

First, life. Honestly, I have not much to say here. My life right at this very moment has it's bad points and it's good points. Bad points, college is still ever looming. Babysitting has its ups and downs. The usual. Good points, I'm going to kids camp this weekend! :D Also, I get to talk to my best friend again after three weeks!!! :D :D :D

The universe. I think I can cover that with a few Bible verses:

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out!" ~ Luke 19:20

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. ~ Psa. 150:6

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ~ Psa. 19:1

I think that covers just about the entire universe. The living, the unliving and even the heavens! We can't help but praise our Creator because..... well, in short, He's amazing! 

Everything. Another Bible verse for you:

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. ~ Gen. 1:31a

Ta da! Now for my song of the day, brought to you by Carl. Enjoy!

http://www.rlewatkins.com/audio/08%20To%20Life%20(Roby%20Lakatos).m4a

Until next time!

A Pleasant Valley Sunday

Believe it or not, today has been quite nice despite the cloudy sky! First, church was excellent as usual! I got recruited to read today. For our Revelation study, we've been having someone read the passage at the end of the service. Well yesterday my mom couldn't find anyone else to do it so I got to! I didn't mind though. Chapter 6 is quite interesting. :) 


After church, I had my friend Hannah over and we had a great time hanging out, talking and watching old homemade videos made years ago by different friends, my siblings and me. Actually, they should probably be burned so I'm not sure why they're still on my shelf. Oh well.


When Hannah left, I spent a pleasant hour reading and listening to my new soundtrack! It's from the movie Leap Year and I highly recommend it! Anyway, then we had our traditional Sunday night pizza and I was able to go for a walk! Now I just finished my ice cream and I'm quite tired and ready for bed. But before I go, here is the song my title refers to. Next to The Beatles, The Monkees are the best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ICup8O_1M

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya, tomorrow! You're only a day away!


Until next time!

Family, Friends And Chick Flicks

Hello again. I'm back! You may groan if you wish. Though I guess if you did, one would wonder why you are still reading this blog!


Anyhoo, last night was great and today's been fun! Let me share with you my highlights:


Last night, as you know, the family came over. The crazy side of the family. We had a pretty good time talking and laughing and eating good food and looking through old pictures (like decades old pictures) and watching the little kids run wild. Everyone liked my cheesecake! Phew! However, I still have a whole one left. Now to figure out who to give it to next. Anyway, after hanging out for a while, I headed to Becky's! We had an awesome night! We talked and watched some chick flicks and drank hot chocolate at midnight and talked into the early hours of the morning. Seems like I always forget how much fun it is to hang out with girls! Best line of the night: Becky got up to turn out the light and was like "I can't see!!!!" A moment later, her cell phone light pops on and she uses it as a flashlight to find her bed. But what else are cell phones for right?


We slept in until about 10 and spent a nice hour sitting at the kitchen table, eating cherry coffee cake (YUM!) and coffee (of course). When I got home, I picked up Garrett, Gavin and Maisy and took them to lunch, something I'd love to do more often. Then we went to get a bunch of odds and ends, mostly stuff for Kids Camp next weekend. I'm going to go be a counselor for a bunch of second grade girls and I cannot wait!!! So, after our errand, we ran by DQ and got a strawberry shake for Lucy, her being sick and all. When we got back, I folded laundry and watched 'Jane Eyre'. GREAT movie by the way! Dinner was leftovers and we've all just been hanging out this evening. I'm actually quite tired for it only being 8:30! 


Here is your song for the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRYU4cqUAUs

Tomorrow is Sunday! And then it's Monday! :D


I hope your day was wonderful, my dear reader. Until next time!

Anticipating

Hello again dear reader! I have yet to destroy anything over having to take classes! Yes, you may applaud my amazing perseverance. 

So, speaking of college, I went to IT again today, except the downtown campus. It was quite amusing. I got my student ID and stuff and as my dad and I were walking to the bookstore, we pass this kid who has his iPod headphones in and is singing away. My dad turns to me and goes "Welcome to college!" It was awesome. I am actually kinda looking forward to maybe making some new friends. Strange friends at that. But we'll see. 

Now, I have ever so many things to look forward to! First, I've made two cheesecakes (one last night as I told you and one this morning) and I'm anxious as to how they turned out. I asked Maisy to taste test later when we have dessert time. Since my family is coming for dinner (the crazy side), I figured it'd be nice to have some warning. 

Later, I'm going to Becky's for a very impromptu sleepover! That's also why I'm writing this now instead of later. So I'm sure I'll have an evening filled with chocolate and chick flicks and good girlish conversation filled with smiles and laughter. I'm quite looking forward to it! 

I'm also insanely excited about Monday!!!!! However, I don't think I'll tell you why, but I'll give you a hint! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLnvi5JHNlA

Three more days!!!

Hope your day was lovely, dear reader! Until next time!

College, Cheesecake And Creativity

Goodness what a day! Though it did contain some good parts, the biggest part of my day was most unpleasant. 


Today, I went to Ivy Tech for orientation. You know, where you sit for two hours while getting information crammed down your throat and are then expected to pick all your classes in about fifteen minutes. Horrible to the max! Everything was so confusing and and they went through it all so fast. On top of that, I had this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. You know that feeling of "I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be doing this."? Yeah, that was me. 


I know I have to go to college because my parents require it, however, that is not what I want to do. God put the desire to be a wife, mother and homemaker deep in me and I think my time would be better spent by preparing to do just that! Learning to cook (or at least cook better), manage a household, teach children (by practicing with my siblings of course). The list goes on and on and on! And I won't be able to do that as much as I'd like because I'll be studying and working and preparing for the next test. So needless to say, I spent the ride home in tears. Oh how I wish I could choose my life! 


Anyway, I'm now signed up for five classes over the semester. The first two classes, Physical Science and American Government, are semester long classes. First quarter I have a Public Speaking class. Second quarter I have English Comp. (which is my only online class) and Concepts In Math. All drudgery classes but better to get them out of the way now if I have to at all. 


Ok, I mentioned I had some good points in my day. After I got home from orientation, Garrett and I went to hang out with the Heady boys! A good laugh was just what I needed and they certainly provided much of that. When we got back, I fixed a chocolate chip cheesecake for tomorrow's Family Reunion. 


Oh! This morning I added the last of the first posted short story to my other blog. Please please please send me feedback! It's not the best story I've ever written (by a looooooong shot) but I'd love to hear your opinions anyway! Thanks! 

http://rapunzelsnotebook.blogspot.com/

Well I think that's about it. I hope your day was more pleasant than mine, dear reader. Until next time! 

Growing Up

Before I begin, I've been stuck on Swan Lake all day so I thought I'd share it with you. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ea90L91eZk

Now then. Yesterday was pretty normal. Babysitting all day and then had a prayer meeting at church in the evening. Today is almost the same. Babysitting all day and Bible study at church tonight. Boy oh boy! Life can be just thrilling sometimes!


Lately, I've been thinking about growing up. Or rather, how fast we grow up. My cousin and I were just talking the other day about how it seems like yesterday that we were playing dress up at our Grandma's. Putting on old dresses and pretending to be grown ups with jobs and love lives and sometimes even children. And now we are grown up, even if we don't have quite that much responsibility yet. 


Something else that I've noticed is how much my siblings have grown just this summer. Lucy is bigger every time I see her! Every time she opens her mouth (which is a lot now), it surprises me at how much she says. She comprehends more every day and is constantly reminding me that she isn't a baby anymore! 


Maisy is growing too. She turns ten soon which is quite hard to believe. I remember being ten! She and I have been spending a lot more time together and I've finally been able to stop treating her like a little girl. We can talk about girly stuff and she gets it now! She also enjoys watching chick flicks with me, satisfying my long time desire for sister time! 


Gavin, oh boy. He's going to be thirteen in a few months. Gavin! A TEENAGER! I can't believe it! He and I have been spending more time together too. When I'm at home babysitting, he'll just come and sit on the swing with me and talk. He's really maturing this summer and it's so sweet to watch him stand up for me once in a while. Oh! And he'll let me hug him now! THAT is progress!


Garrett is much as he ever was. He's done lots of maturing this past year and most of it I've been able to watch. He's a lot more confident with himself and not afraid to just go for it (whatever "it" is). We're still the best of friends and pretty much tell each other everything. It's great to have him around! 


I am so glad that I'm friends with my siblings! They're so encouraging and constantly remind me that I have the best cheerleaders ever. Their hugs and smiles and laughter are what get me through the day. I can't accurately express my love for them! Words just aren't enough. 


Well this post is much longer than usual so I'll stop rambling. :) Until next time dear reader! 

Music, Music, Music

I really don't have all that much to report today. It was pretty normal besides having to babysit all four kids at my house instead of the Kern's. The afternoon took forever but they all finally left and I had a good time dancing around the kitchen with my siblings during dinner and then watching A Little Princess with my sisters. So all in all, not a bad day.

Now I have music galore for you! First, the song of the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LukG3yBJvPg

Hawk Nelson is growing on me. :)

Ok, now for the song that's been stuck in my head all day! And no I don't know why Phantom Of The Opera is stuck in my head. It just is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjM1Lrsb7I8

Two more. I started playing with some mime choreography for two new songs today! They're both amazing songs but I think the first is my favorite. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xwzItqYmII

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMwk0vHsNQo

Well I think that's about it. Until next time!

"To The Batmobile!"

Woke up this morning to a beautiful blue sky and the sunlight bathing the end of my bed. Garrett and I were actually able to take our time this morning getting ready and I drove to church! The service was awesome!! We looked at Rev. 4 and 5 and sang my favorite worship song at the moment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_3W8XI7W2w

Then Garrett and I stole Justin for the day and came home. After hanging out for a few hours and helping get food ready, the three of us headed to my friend Brock's open house. That was very much fun! I hadn't seen him in quite a while and we were able to catch up a little bit. I also saw my friends Katie and Anna while there. Twas great! But if you can't tell, I did a LOT of driving around today. That was ok though. The title of this post was the standard phrase of the day and the boys and I had a good time jamming to the radio. :)

After that, Garrett, Justin and I headed back to church for our PPP (Pitch-in, Praise and Prayer) night. The food was delicious! However, I was recruited to watch the kiddies so I didn't get to sit in the praise and prayer part. But I'm sure it was great! I'll definitely be reminding Father Dearest to pay me though.

And that's about it. Tomorrow's back to the same ol' same ol'. Up at 5:30 to babysit. Joy. Until next time!

Life, Love And Dancing

Ah me. Here I am once again. I can sum up last night's dance in one song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ezy50aY6Bg

But fear not! The only handsome men I danced with were the two that accompanied us girls and were consequently good friends of mine. We all had a great time and I actually fell asleep during the chick flick we watched when we got home. Surprising, I know.

So, I got home today and spent most the afternoon folding laundry and watching 'Alice' with my family. During dinner, Garrett taught me how to do the Cotton Eye Joe and we did the Cha Cha Slide with Lucy. It's so cute to watch her try it!

After s'mores for dessert, I went on a walk. As I was walking, I realized that I look at my feet too much! I completely miss so much beauty of God's creation when I'm looking at the pavement. The clear blue sky, the Queen Anne's Lace growing by the side of the road, a robin flitting by, the rustling corn leaves. All of it made me smile and reminded me yet again of how much God loves us. He made a beautiful world for us to live in and I think He likes to see us smile at it. So I've purposed to be more observant wherever I go and look for the little things God has blessed me with.

Until next time!

Goin' Dancin'

That's it ladies and gentlemen! You guessed it! I'm going swing dancing tonight! That's what I was packing for yesterday evening. I can't wait! Swing dancing the night away with some pretty good looking guys, hanging out with a bunch of friends and spending the night with two girlfriends afterwards! It's gonna be a blast! Here's the kinda stuff we'll be listening to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJE-onnw2gM

So, earlier today, I was reading some of Shakespeare's sonnets and came across one of my favorites. Sonnet 116. It's probably my favorite because I have it memorized from Sense And Sensibility. :) But anyway, I thought I'd share the first part with you:

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments

Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds

Or bends with the remover to remove

Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempest and is never shaken"

It made me think, do I love like this? My family, obviously, no questions asked. But all my friends? Do I love them no matter what? I think there are certain friends that I do but others, I gotta work on it. Which brings me to another song! One of my favorite Chris Rice songs that kind of furthers my point. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9a0Jhsw-0k

I don't know about you but I want to love like Jesus loved. I want to love like crazy! Definitely something to think about.

Until next time!

Movies, Friends And Air Conditioning

You know that feeling of opening the door to your house (or anyone's house) on a hot day and the rush of cool air comes to greet you? Isn't that just wonderful?! Especially the past few days as it's been unbearably hot outside! Thankfully the kids agreed with me and we've stayed indoors all yesterday and today. So I've been air conditioner hopping. From house to car (which gets cool after a few minutes) to house to car to house to car to church to car to house again. Though I never enjoy the blast of hot air that smacks you in the face when you open the car door.

Now then, today I've been babysitting all day as usual and I discovered something! Awesome One actually likes musicals!!! A nine year old boy! Likes musicals!! :D It made me quite happy for him. We actually watched Meet Me In St. Louis today for our movie of the day. Oh how I love that movie! Here's my favorite song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ224PLpY9o

And yes, I do envy Judy Garland's voice!!

So, tonight I have plans to go hang out with Joe and Zach. Hopefully they won't be foiled like they were last week!! Then I have to pack for tomorrow night. What am I doing? Well I'll leave that until tomorrow's post. :)

Stay cool! Until next time!

Variety Post

I have lots to show you today! First, the Ty and Jill are over and since Maisy is gone today, Jill and I had some time to get creative! We took journals and covered them with paper and pictures. Mine turned out quite well and I thought I'd show it to you!

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

One more thing to show you. I started a new blog! I realized today that I have so much "dead" writing that's just sitting in a folder on my computer. And lots of it I've not put forth for any critique or opinions! So, if you're interested, here is the link! Enjoy!

http://rapunzelsnotebook.blogspot.com/

So, the kids are here for the rest of the afternoon and then I'm off to Bible Study after dinner. I'm looking forward to it!

I hope your day has gone well, my dear reader. Until next time!

Faithfulness

Today turned out being a pretty good day for waking up at 5:30 am! I got to wear my new purple skirt today so maybe that's why...

Anyway, the kids were good today for the most part. I had no disasters and was never tempted to throw them in the dungeon. I think this is a first! There always seems to be one or the other.

This evening, we had some friends over for a cookout! I got to catch up with my friend Becky and we had a lovely time laughing and just having some long overdue girl talk. I'm going to miss seeing her every Monday. Then we watched a Tim Hawkins video with everyone, had some dessert and they left.

I've been thinking today. Yes I know, blond thinking. There should be a warning sign someplace. But nevertheless, I've been thinking. You know, patience is hard when you try to do it by yourself. However, when you're trusting in God to lead you through your struggles, He will and it's a lot easier. We don't have to do it alone. While I was going about life today, this song came to mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o

He is ever faithful! He knows what's best for us and will care for us! His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me! I find that very comforting.

Until next time dear reader!

My Holiday Adventure Continued

You just missed my contented sigh. Today was wonderful! A beautiful day spent out on the lake with family and good friends, the Remmels and the Ostendorfs. But before I elaborate, let me give you a song to listen to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sVqGYXBVG0

Now then, my day started at about 8:30 this morning. After a quick cup of coffee, hurriedly getting myself ready and loading the van, we met up with the Remmels and started on our way. It was about an hour drive and I got to ride with Dawn, Steve and Gavin. We played the alphabet game the whole way there and we girls lost by not being the first to find 'Z'.

The Ostendorfs were already at the lake house and when we got there, we had Subway sandwiches for lunch. Then we all donned our suits and headed to the water! We swam for.... oh..... about 5 hours or so. The boys were thrilled about jumping off the 18ft high dock and after LOTS of pressure, I jumped off once. I hate heights. Of course Steve didn't see it but no one made me do it again. At some point during the day, we all went for a ride on the pontoon boat and then Larry O. and my dad and I took Garrett, Matt, Steve and Maisy out tubing in the speed boat.

What fun! Speeding over the water, the wind in your hair, being splashed by the waves, laughing at the tubers. Ah, the thrill.

Dinner was burgers and watermelon with strawberry shortcake, piled high with whipped cream for dessert! Then we packed up and left for home.

So now I'm sitting here, a little sunburnt but happy. Tomorrow begins the work week but I have a few things to look forward to. What you ask? Well if I told you, I wouldn't have anything to blog about!

Until next time!

My Holiday Adventure

Happy Fourth of July to all! I hope your day was filled with good friends and fireworks and watermelon! Mine was quite interesting indeed! Now if you'll just make yourself comfortable, I shall relate to you my tale.

First I had church this morning as usual. My dad preached on Rev. 3 (which was wonderful) and then I got the kids lunch and brought them home. After dancing around the kitchen, eating and cleaning up from lunch and putting baby to bed, I spent a few hours chatting with some friends online and reading. Then my parents arrived home from wherever they went and we all got ready to leave.

Soon after, we went to our friends, the Dickey's, house. Our families had a great time hanging out with the intention of going to see fireworks later. Matt joined us and we all ate dinner and I taught him how to play James Bond (and I won by the way). By then my family had decided that they wanted to socialize at the Dickey's and give up our fireworks plan so, with my big blue eyes and irresistible puppy face (HA!), I persuaded Matt to take me to see them.

So after a quick stop at Starbucks (to which I treated), we made it to Brandywine CC for some fireworks. After spending almost half an hour finding a place to park, we walked up to where a few of my friends were. What a surprise to see Zach and Joe there! By the time we got up to them however, the fireworks had ended. So I stayed and talked while Matt went to get the car. Poor guy. I had quite a nice conversation and finally I saw him coming up the street, very slowly but surely. I began to edge toward the road as planned, still talking to Zach and what do you know but Matt keeps on driving! I literally had to run all the way down the street and around the corner to catch up with him! In a skirt and flip flops too!! But I finally did and he brought me home.............. only to discover that I was locked out of my house! So I had to run over to my grandparents until my family got home. And now I'm here!

One thing I have to say. Driving home tonight, the sky was filled with bursts of sparkling color but that's not what I was looking at. Yeah, the fireworks were beautiful but my eyes were on God's fireworks. It seemed that every single firefly had come out to dance tonight. The blinking yellow green lights hovering just over the bean fields and grass were even more beautiful than the bursting blues and reds and purples. It just makes me marvel at how wonderful God is! How He can create something so majestic as mountains and oceans and yet also something so small and delicate as a firefly. He is so amazing!

Well I'd best stop for tonight. I'll have so many more adventures tomorrow to relay and maybe write another interesting blog post. Until then dear reader, goodnight!

Why I Kissed Dating Goodbye

The other day, I received a comment on one of my posts about one of the books I recommend (I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris) and a link to a blog containing some thoughts on the book and courtship in general. I know I'm only 18 and my social circle is quite limited so I'm probably not the best authority but here are my thoughts on the subject of courting:

First I should probably give you my definition of courting. I see courtship as a couple spending time together with the intentions of possibly getting married. Of course the guy should first seek the father's approval to court his daughter and all parents must be in agreement. Then the couple spend time together with either family or groups of friends, spending very little/no time alone. This gives both the opportunity to see the other in real life situations. How they relate to their family, friends and different circumstances.

As I said, I've not had a very large social circle so this may attribute to my reasoning not to date, but from what I've seen in my friend's dating lives, it doesn't work all that well. At least at this stage of the game, it doesn't work. You're going out with a guy one day and the next, you're sitting on the couch with red eyes, bleary makeup and chocolate ice cream. Personally, I have no wish to willingly put heartache in my future.

Another of my reasons comes from the Bible. God gives us many examples in His Word of not just courtship, but actual arranged marriage! In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. Isaac has no choice in the matter whatsoever but God provides a wonderful wife in Rebekah. Genesis 29 displays the story of Jacob and his infatuation with Rachel. He had to work 14 years to gain her (more of a courtship story). Genesis 41:45, the Pharaoh of Egypt gave Joseph his daughter in marriage, another arranged marriage. Exodus 2:21, Reuel gave Moses his daughter in marriage, another arranged marriage. Judges 16, Samson chooses Delilah himself and pays the price. Ironic? Hosea chose his wife at God's command. Matthew 1:18, we are told Mary was pledged to me married to Joseph, another arranged marriage. The way I see it, at least with courtship, you get to choose who you're marrying!

My last reason may sound quite silly to you. It's simply the fact that I'm a girl. We girls like to be chased. It really means something if a guy is serious enough about our relationship to ask my dad for permission to deepen that relationship.

Instead of dating around to figure out who may be right, I've been trusting God to bring me the man I'm to give my heart to and I pray that I will soon have my own courtship story to tell.

So there you have it. That is why I kissed dating goodbye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cPvRlnY-As

Until next time!

Patience

My mind has been quite busy this morning and I had to write some of it down.

First, I had a long talk with my mom yesterday when I got home. She reminded me that I am spending more time with these four kids than their own parents do and that it's my influence they're seeing. Honestly, it's one of those obvious things you never think of until it smacks you in the face. What am I teaching these kids? When they watch me, what are they seeing? I realize that as the summer goes on, my patience gets thinner. But I'm just getting a taste of what I want someday! God is giving me a chance to see what it's like being with the same kids all the time. And I got it easy! I'm just with them during the day. I'm not having to take care of sick kids or get up fifty times a night with them. I know, it'll be different with my own children someday but I need to practice my patience now.

Speaking of patience, there's something else going on in my life that requires it. A certain relationship that I'm waiting to see what will happen and let me tell you, it's hard! I have no idea what God is doing here but I miss my best friend! I sincerely hope that God reveals His will soon.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psa. 37:4

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." ~ Prov. 16:3

God give me patience! Until next time.

Change Of Plan

Of course on a horrible day like today, I wouldn't get to go hang out with my friends. Of course! So to handle my disappointment, when I get home, I'm gonna change into my pjs, have popcorn and ice cream for dinner and watch Pride & Prejudice until I fall asleep. SO THERE!

Proving My Skills

Ok, someone take me away now before I prove that I am a spy and that I do in fact have skills!! How will I prove it? Well... just try looking for the kids. You won't find them.

Today started out pretty good and has been going downhill. This morning, they were all great and did exactly what I told them to do. So I'm sitting here thinking "Lovely! Finally a day I can go home and say 'Yeah Mom! Today was great!'" Thought too soon.

All four loved our walk in the woods yesterday so much that they wanted to do it again. So I took them to the park after lunch. Big mistake. We got there and suddenly, no one could listen to me. I had kids running out in the road and almost falling in the creek and trying to run away in the woods!! Apparently they were trying to get killed and no one notified me. So we didn't stay too long before I dragged them home and had the brilliant idea of Rest Time. Currently, all four of them are in separate rooms and quiet. FOR A WHOLE HOUR!!! Why did I not think of this before now?!

So, after this we'll watch a movie and then probably ride bikes until their parents get here. Then I get to go home, drop my stuff, eat and head to New Pal to hang out with Joe and Zach for the evening!! I sincerely hope that makes up for the bad day.

Well that's all I've got for you. Until next time.