Merry Merry Quite Contrary

Sunny afternoons with Jarvis

2012-02-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

I've been messing around with manual focus on my Canon Rebel xsi a lot lately and I now have quite the collection of pictures of random objects around my house. I don't think I've mastered it just yet, but here are a few of the attempts. I would love tips on how to master manual focus!

these are a few of my favorite things- January 2012

2012-02-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

-Planning summer road trips with friendzies

-Going on a black diamond trail and not dying because of it

-Discovering a lovely fireplace at the ski lodge

-Buying a Land's End bathing suit for $14, getting it in the mail and finding it fits me perfectly and is the cutest ever

-Reading Psalms 34 and coming back to verse 11 every day for encouragement

-Getting inspired by Siobhan's blog post (finally-living.blospot.com) about focaccia bread, talking to my mom about it, getting her inspired and having fresh baked bread for the past week as a result

-Listening to more and more of Darlingside's music on repeat

-Going on a teen romance novel splurge

-Starting my Live your Dreams collage

-Reaping the benefits of my mom experimenting with coffee and spices

-Starting "one thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp

-Having wonderful devotions with God

Darlingside

2012-01-29T16:07:00.001-08:00

I think it's essential to spread awareness about the truly important things in life. That being said, every person who thinks they know good music should listen to Darlingside. My brother became familiar with their music after seeing them play at a friend's wedding and shortly thereafter, their music made its way into my home. Then came the part where I listened to their music obsessively and fell in love with it. Now, comes the part where I share it with everyone BECAUSE IT'S AMAZING.

Darlingside's website: darlingside.com
The strings in this chorus make me really happy: The Catbird Seat
I've never seen such cool socks in my life: Still music video

Good luck discovering their music. It's a wonderful thing to do. Once you do, come see them live with me on March 3rd at Bennington. 'Cause it's gonna be grand.

P.S. It's not my fault I can't give you direct links to their music on Youtube, blogger is not cooperating.

of bucket lists and living my dreams

2012-01-23T07:11:00.001-08:00

I have a little box in my bedroom filled to the brim with Dove chocolate wrappers. I love finding the ridiculously random ones like "You look good in red." I keep them all, no matter how cheesy. I was looking through my collection one day when I found two of the cheesier kind, both about living your dreams. One said simply "Live your dreams" and the other said "Go out there and make your dreams happen." I was suddenly inspired. I was going to make a Live your Dreams collage! Have you heard of anything so self-indulgent and girly? Neither have I, and I'm so stinkin' excited about it!

Over Christmas break my sisters and I spent a lot of time writing bucket lists and narrowing them down 'current age' Before 'next birthday' lists. So of course that means that I wrote a 'Thirteen Before Fourteen' list. In the process of doing this, I discovered I have very high expectation for the things I can do in less than a year. My list includes:
-improve handwriting
-try as many different smoothies as possible
-road trip to north shore
-do yoga regularly-actually, any exercise is a plus
-read Nehemiah
-create a personal gallery of at least ten favorite picture taken by ME
-try all Chobani flavors available in one sitting, if possible
-learn Creation Sings on the piano
-go on an extremely long hike
-spend the night under the stars, on a roof
-read twenty books
-spend the year wholeheartedly following God
Maybe I'll succeed with all these, we'll just have to wait and see.

In a moment of pure genius -in reality it was a DUH moment-, I decided that I would combine my Live your Dreams collage with my bucket list AND my Thirteen Before Fourteen list! I have already put both my lists on my bedroom wall and stuck the Dove wrappers up with 'em. Now I just have to add pictures of my dreams. HA, you have no idea how fun it is to say that! I'll add pictures of visiting Europe, dance, photography, sign language and all the other things I hope to do all my life. It's gonna be the best. I love thinking about doing all those things and wondering who I'm going to do them with, what kind of person I'm going to be and what it's going to be like. Ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that making bucket lists and Live your Dreams collages is a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable way to pass you Christmas vacation!

"How sweet it is to be loved by you"

2011-12-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

I'm am not very good at telling this story, but it's one of those that just has to be told, so am going to do my best and you guys can fill in the rest for yourselves.

My brother spent his entire summer in 2009 working to buy a Canon Rebel XSi camera, and as soon as he brought it home and let me play around with it, I fell in love and promptly starting saving up for it. Of course, scrubbing toilets every other week brings in a different kind of income than a college kid working five days a week in the library, and so that leaves me in the spring of 2011 only almost half way there, but believe me, I was no where near quitting. It was around this time that my church was having a bible study about being the good Samaritan in the world and really making a difference, and while attending every single Sunday night, I starting feeling as though the importance of me finally getting that camera was very little compared to the importance of putting others first and living in total surrender to God's will. Maybe, just maybe, God wanted me to give up the money I had saved for my camera to something that would impact the lives around me in an amazing way. But no, that was ridiculous because I was going to bless people with my photography when I got my camera. So I pushed that ludicrous thought aside and about a week passed in which I did my best not to think about. As I sat there with my youth group the next Sunday and heard the discussion about ways in which we could, together, live differently in our community, God just wouldn't leave me alone. I felt very, very strongly about what exactly He wanted me to do with my "camera fund". And so, when I couldn't hold it any longer, I blurted it all out. I told my youth group that I had looked at the Samaritan's Purse magazines as a child and of all the things you could donate money to, I daydreamed about raising the money that was necessary to install a well in a community which would probably have never had clean water before. I thought of it as something I could do if I ever became rich or had a whole bunch of money dumped in my lap. It was never a feasible goal in my head.

That night, as I sat with my youth group and poured my heart out to them, it became a feasible goal. It became a goal that, with the jump-start of the money I had saved for my camera and lots of working together, we could reach. I told my friends that I was giving up my camera to start a well fund. As I did, I was surprised to find I felt total peace about it.

I thought it was all said and done; I knew that I had just started a well fund with my youth group and that I was very happy about it, and I thought I knew that I would probably not get my Canon XSi for years. Little did I know, my God is way cooler than that.

I sat in my room with the fan on high, sprawled out on my bed, waiting impatiently to go swimming. I heard my dad calling the family into the living room and I slowly made my way down the hall in a lethargic state of confusion. I was all the more confused when everybody gathered around looking expectant and excited, and Cheryth walked up the stairs with a pale yellow gift bag in her hands. I thought, "Wait, it isn't anybody's birthday today!" As she made her way across the room, straight towards me, I resolved that it definitely wasn't my birthday and that I had no idea why she looked so nervous. She placed the bag at my feet and sat down silently at my side. Seeing as there was no instruction and nothing else to do, I slowly pulled the tissue paper off and immediately recognized a Digital Canon Rebel XSi sitting at the bottom of the bag.

As I sobbed into my older sister's shoulder, the story slowly came out. Cheryth had been considering buying an iPod earlier that spring, but didn't feel right about it and finally decided against it. A few weeks before I told the youth group of my decision, she had felt as though God was asking her to buy me my camera. She didn't understand the feelings though, since I had made it clear that I was so excited to buy the camera myself. As soon as she heard about my change of plans she understood. Time passed as she prayed and researched where to buy the camera. About two weeks before we left for our family vacation, she decided to order it online.

And that is how Jarvis and the well fund came to be.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." -Malachi 3:10

Oh hey, it's me, talking about Christmas... AGAIN. Get over it.

2011-12-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMASSSS IS EVVVVVVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it's making me really happy.

Christmas Anticipation!

2011-12-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

As you can see, my Thanksgiving was filled with warm candlelight and copious amounts of delicious food and of course my family, all of which I am supremely thankful for.

But, as you can also see, I have now very excitedly moved on to Christmas with things like putting stockings up with the family, the Hanging of the Greenery service at my church and though not photo documented, sitting around the dinner table with my mother and sisters, drinking tea in our PJ's and putting every Christmas activity we could think of on the calender. These activities included, but are not limited to: Family light-looking, the Nutcracker Party, caroling, cookie baking, annual Christmas mall trip with mom and sisters, and Christmas tree hunting. It's a pretty, pretty calender right now.

Sabbath

2011-10-27T18:10:00.001-07:00

Oh, the happiness this photo brings me.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Narcissism on my part of late

2011-10-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

I am a really narcissistic person. End of story. I love taking online tests to further delve into the depths of my character. I took both the Meyers Briggs and the Love Languages tests this morning when I should have been doing my math, and after reading my testing results, I realized that I need one heck of a lot of affirmation and attention. According to the Meyers Briggs test I am an ESFJ; Extroverted-we all knew that-, Sensing, Feeling, Judging. The quick overview of an ESFJ's character pointed out few things I could relate to, but it was when reading the "Weaknesses" list that I knew this computer generated character categorization test had me pegged. My sister and I read through the list together and as I would nod my head , "Yes, definitely" she would nod her head, "I can see that". It included 'Extreme dislike of conflict and criticism', 'Need a lot of positive affirmation to feel good about themselves', 'May be overly status-conscious, and interested in how others see them', and 'May tend to use guilt manipulation as a way to get what they want'. In regard to the last asset, I'm not sure how much I do this already, but I can see myself doing that if I felt desperate and insecure. I find it interesting that ESFJ's are often extremely loyal, unwilling/unable to see bad qualities in those they love, supportive and vocal about their affection in an effort to bestow the thing that they need most- Affirmation.

After taking the Meyers Briggs, I took the 5 Love Languages test for a second time, wondering if the results would differ since the last time I took did it. As it turns out, they had. When I took the test last fall I expected my love language to be Quality Time and because of how the test is set up, I'm pretty sure I made the results to be more Quality Time prone than they naturally would be. I got 8 Words of Affirmation, 10 Quality Time, 6 Receiving Gifts, 2 Acts of Service, 4 Physical Touch. At first I was confused by why I ended up with a much higher Receiving Gifts score than the rest of my sisters, but than I realized that letters fall under the category of gifts and welp... Letters are like my favorite thing in the whole world. I also got thinking about the little things that people I love have been given me in the past and how much I value them and I could see why I had gotten the higher score. All this being said, I took the test again this morning, got 9 Quality Time, 9 Words of Affirmation, 0 Acts of Service, 8 Receiving of Gifts and 6 Physical Touch and decided that this all around score was more accurate. Except for the Acts of Service part, that doesn't make any sense because I LOVE it when people treat me like a princess. :)

To conclude this rambly, un-organized, narcissistic blog post: I tend towards co-dependency and I need to be intentional about finding worth in what God says and thinks of me, not the people around me, the co-dependency part is what is unhealthy, the feeling loved when people speak words of affirmation over me is just how I'm wired, I feel loved when people write me a letter or buy/make me a gift to show their affection, AND... my birthday is in three days. 'Using guilt manipulation as a way to get what I want' much? Absolutely.

Beginnings of Fall

2011-10-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

I could see the first signs of autumn in the leaves around me, could hear their satisfying crunch beneath my feet, their quiet rustle in the trees. The air felt clean and crisp. I made my way slowly up the road, trying to absorb the merging greens, yellows, oranges and a few splashes of red. I felt completely and totally happy.

This is what autumn does to me. Maybe it had a little to do with the fact my two older sisters and I made it into the play, Twelve Angry Jurors and we had just found out, but I do think that out of the four seasons, Fall makes me feel most alive. I love seeing the change right before my eyes. I love going apple picking. I love shutting the house up and lighting the candles for Friday night Sabbath dinner. And like I wrote during that walk in the woods the day I found out about drama...

... "I love the sound of rustling leaves. I love color. I love Jarvis.* I love sunshine. I love chirping birds. I love crying with happiness. I love feeling peaceful. I love that I'm in Twelve Angry Jurors with my older sisters. I love Fall. And I might just be convinced to love the person who gave these things to me."

*Jarvis is my new Canon Rebel xsi who is responsible for above pictures and who also has a quite amazing story which I promise to tell at some point.

Baking Galore

2011-09-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Growing up in such a big family has many, many advantages, but sometimes I find it has drawbacks. All of my older sisters are amazing cooks and whenever Mom needs help with dinner or dessert, the job is given to one of them. Thus, I am left with granted, more experience than the average teenager, but compared to my sisters I'm quite devoid of baking/cooking skills. I've been wanting to put this right for while now and last Monday I jump started that process by making some pretty fabulous Orange-Chocolate Chip Cookies. Now I just need to start cooking. We'll see how that goes...

1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate, sweetened and cooled
1 egg
2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven at 375F. Combine butter,brown sugar, and melted chocolate in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg, concentrate, peel and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough two inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake seven to nine minutes or until set. Cool two minutes on cookie sheet. Remove to cooling rack. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.
5. STUFF YOUR FACE.

Summer is in the air

2011-06-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was getting ready for bed I realized that I should have posted a fun, quirky blog about how it was the first day of summer. It was too late then, so I just got into bed and was mindlessly staring out the window, when I noticed a blinking yellow light against the blackness. At first I assumed it was an airplane way, way up there, but than I realized it was a tiny little firefly chillin' out by my window.

Happy summer y'all. Make good memories and drink lots of iced coffee.

And the peace of God....

2011-05-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

As a little girl around the age of seven, I went through a very bizarre stage where I worried about everything. I worried that I had hurt my friend by giggling when she stubbed her toe, three days after the fact, or that I was sinning all the time and would never know. I worried about anything that could possibly be worried about and more. I would sit on my bed and cry because I felt so overwhelmed by all the things that I couldn't control. I remember one day I fell asleep on the couch and woke up thinking, "Wow, I didn't have to worry that entire nap. I'm going to sleep more."

When I finally found the words to explain to my mom about all the anxiety I felt, my parents taught me two things. They helped me memorize Philippians 4: 6-7. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." They also sang "No Condemnation" with me every day. I presented the request for the worried feeling to go away and slowly my relationship with God grew.

But, as I learned that every little annoying thing I do is, in fact, NOT a sin and that I don't need to apologize over and over to my family, I also started to forget Philippians 4: 6-7 and sing "No Condemnation" less and less. As I was listening to "Your Love is Strong" by Jon Foreman today, I started to realize that maybe I need to remind myself to "not be anxious about anything" just as much as I did then. Actually, scratch the maybe, I worry a lot and it's not a God-honoring thing that I want to continue with the complacency I've gotten so used to. The beautiful lyrics reminded me that my Lord's love for me is so strong that He is willing and able to completely vanish the worry, and guard my heart in and my mind in the peace that surpasses all of my understanding.

Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I look at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day

So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need

Chorus (3x):
Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens
Is now advancing
Invade my heart
Invade this broken town
The kingdom of the heavens
Is buried treasure
Will you sell yourself
To buy the one you've found?

Two things you told me
That you are strong
And you love me
Yes, you love me

(Chorus 3x)

Our God in heaven
Hallowed be
Thy name above all names
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us wicked sinners
Lead us far away from our vices
And deliver us from these prisons

The musings of a very busy person

2011-04-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Drama season has gotten to the point where your weeks are measured by when you go to drama and when you come home. My sisters and I are going to paint set from 2:30 'til 4:00, then we're actually practicing the play from 4:00 until 8:30. Tomorrow isn't much better and the next day... Well, that's our first production of The Sound of Music, so I try not to think that far just yet. It's still a little too daunting.

Something that I've been thinking about this week, is how much I love the drama peeps. A couple days ago we started talking about how that day people were getting kind of stressed out and how much easier it was for us to remain cheerful and calm because of our parents who have always taught us to take everything to God. And I realized how much I long for each and every one of them to know how much God loves them and follow Him. It got me thinking about how I am a very open person, and wear my heart on my sleeve, but yet I seem to bypass talking about the one thing that matters to me most ALL the time. I feel like because I love both God and the people at drama so much, it's my duty to both to tell them about God.

I'm so thankful that I have my three older sisters who are constantly giving me examples of reaching out to people and being really honest about their belief in Jesus. Even though I am still figuring out how to incorporate God into the conversation, I can rely on them to do just that, thus giving me the opportunity to talk about God.

My hope and prayer is that in these VERY last crunch days we will shine God's peace and strength through everything we say and do.

Into the Land of Sandals: The blog that will put me to shame

2011-02-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

My older sister, Anna, just started a blog about God and her life long ambition to serve Him in Mali, west Africa. You should read it, because she's uberly profound and cool. I considered not helping set it up because I know that anyone who looks at her blog and then mine, will think that I have a ridiculously pointless life. But, I was helpful and kind and now you can follow her at landofsandals.blogspot.com

I can't wait til it's over....

2011-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

Auditions are always a little scary, no matter how confidant a person you are. It's when "they" judge you, and it only makes it worse when "they" are members at your church who you love whole bunches and who you don't want to make a fool of yourself in front of. I consider myself a pretty self-assured person, but when drama auditions roll around, all confidence I have mysteriously vanishes. And now as that time has rolled around, my insides feel like jelly.

Auditions for the straight show -non-musical- made me nervous, but the idea of singing a song and doing a monologue is terrifying. It doesn't really help that my oldest sister is doing a monologue where she screams at her dad and has been practicing it constantly. Incredibly well acted, angry screaming never helps with the calming of ridiculously frazzled nerves. Sista, you doing great, but could you please practice it in a sound proof room? And that doesn't count as the bathroom, as you seem to think. :)

I seem to have not mentioned yet that it's The Sound of Music I'm trying out for. With the song "How do you solve a Problem like Maria". Yup, the song that hits a high F. HA, this is humorous.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

I'm currently extremely excited about Christmas. 'Cause you know, it's tomorrow. So yeah.

2010-11-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

I love this girl's music...

I say remember this moment
In the back of my mind
The time we stood with our shaking hands
The crowds in stands went wild
We were the kings and the queens
And they read off our names
The night you danced like you knew our lives
Would never be the same
You held your head like a hero
On a history book page
It was the end of a decade
But the start of an age

Long live the walls we crashed through
All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming, "long live all the magic we made"
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered

I said remember this feeling
I passed the pictures around
Of all the years that we stood there on the sidelines
Wishing for right now
We are the kings and the queens
You traded your baseball cap for a crown
When they gave us our trophies
And we held them up for our town
And the cynics were outraged
Screaming, "this is absurd"
'Cause for a moment a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world

Long live the walls we crashed through
All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
I was screaming, "long live all the magic we made"
And bring on all the pretenders
I'm not afraid

Long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life
Fighting dragons with you
I was screaming, "long live the look on your face"
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered

Hold on to spinning around
Confetti falls to the ground
May these memories break ???

And you take a moment
Promise me this:
That you'll stand by me forever
But if God forbid fate should step in
And force us into a goodbye
If you have children someday
When they point to the pictures
Please tell them my name
Tell them how the crowds went wild
Tell them how I hope they shine

Long live the walls we crashed through
I had the time of my life with you

Long, long live the walls we crashed through
All the candlelight shined just for me and you
And I was screaming, "long live all the magic we made"
And bring on all the pretenders
I'm not afraid

Singing long live all the mountains we moved
I had the time of my life
Fighting dragons with you

And long, long live the look on your face
And bring on all the pretenders
One day we will be remembered

One-Liner #5

2010-11-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

I ate a brown, spotty banana today and missed Eileen.

Today's Agenda

2010-11-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Piano lessons which are sure to be interrupted by lots of non piano related passing of the time, as is usual, school, school, a break for tea, more school, school and then I'm planing on listening my big sister's iPod, drinking more tea and writing lots of letters to loved ones. I like this agenda, personally.

One-Liner #4

2010-10-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'm headed off to celebrate my parents 25th anniversary with a fancy dinner and a dance rave.....

One-Liner #3

2010-10-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

I want to know why math hates me.

A small snippet of Maine

2010-09-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

Just some of the beautiful nature there!

I love very last minute visits to fabulous aunts....

2010-09-18T11:22:00.000-07:00

They're the best!

My Random Obsession with Peacocks

2010-08-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

Peacocks are basically just awesome. Right? Right.

Sand on the Side of the Road...

2010-08-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

A place with only cold running water, no sink in the bathroom, lumpy mattresses, and sand everywhere... Why then, did I leave the church parking lot screaming "WE'RE GOING ON VACATION TOMORROW"? Because the small camp in the Maine has that restful atmosphere which is soooooo wonderful to take part in!!!!! My mom has gone to this camp in Maine since she was only five years old and ever since then, she's been able to spend time in God's beautiful creation at least once a year, give or take a few times. I can't remember a year when I didn't go with my mom's side of the family for two amazing weeks. Tomorrow, I'm gonna wake up at 5am, pack the car and drive five hours in the cramped family van. It usually isn't awful because my family has fun traditions like when we cross the Maine bridge, we all SCREAM. It's a great way for us all the let out our excitement and energy :) When we're only about 30 minutes from camp, I always notice the sand on the side of the road, the trees that whiz by in a blur of green and the pine scent that I love so much. When we get to the camp road, I climb out with all my siblings and run down towards our cabin screaming. Hehehe, writing about this makes me want to scream with excitement!!!!

Family Reunion Nature Pictures

2010-07-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

My family and I recently met up with ALL the wonderful people on Dad's side of the family. My uncle knew a guy who owned property out in the boonies, who could provide tents, picnic tables and music. So, we snatched the opportunity for a fun filled, family afternoon! I also saw the opportunity to explore the woods and get lots of cool pictures.... As I am wont to do!

Oh the Joy of Saturdays

2010-07-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

I awoke to a the sun streaming through my window, sounds of baking from the kitchen and the general air of a relaxing Saturday about. In a few minutes I will sit up to the table with my too-wonderful-for-words family and stuff my face with pancakes. After that, I'll be doing nothing but hanging with my family until about 7PM tonight when I'm going to a nearby park and seeing two of my friends perform in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". Saying I'm happy is a little bit of an understatement..... :)

One-Liner #2

2010-07-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine life without music.

This man really knows how to say things...

2010-06-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

C.S. Lewis rocks; but then again, so does the God that I find he most often talks about!
"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

I have overcome my laziness!

2010-06-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Yay, I'm finally getting the photos of my cousin's wedding up for you!

One-Liner #1

2010-06-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am about to start a new series of blog post that will occur when I have no interest what-so-ever in writing a long blog. That would be now. Anyway, here goes.

I want to be consumed from the inside out by God.

Vacation in Less then 24 Hours!

2010-06-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

The two things I love most in this world are: 1. God 2. My massive family. So, when I realize that in less then 24 hours, I'll be on a week long vacation with my family and lots of time to read the bible&pray, I'm very, very excited!
The wedding of my cousin and his amazing fiance seems like a great excuse for a week of family time, right? That is absolutely right! My family and I will eat, read, play games, swim at a near by lake, eat some more and sleep. 'Course, we're not known for keeping to a strict schedule on vacations, so I'll probably have lots more to write about when we get back. At least, that's what I'm hoping! : )

Comment Moderation and Stupid Creeper Men

2010-05-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if me having comment moderation on my posts adds an extra step for you when commenting, but if it does, I'm sorry! If any of you have noticed, this person keeps commenting in Chinese (sometimes in English) and I have no idea who he-for I'm guessing it's a guy- is. At first I was just slightly annoyed by it, but then I noticed that there was a link after one of his posts and I wasn't to pleased with what I found. I had to put comment moderation into action, because I didn't want any more of his crap on my page.

One WHOLE Year

2010-05-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Can ya believe it? I have had this blog for a year now. I've had so much fun posting all of my thoughts and random outbursts on here. Thank you to all who have read my nonsense, and especially to Eileen who started this for me and has given me support and ideas for posts throughout these past 365 days!

Fighting Abortion with Sugar Cookies

2010-05-29T13:47:00.000-07:00

Rolling the cookie dough out, cutting it into hearts, putting them into the oven, getting them out.... I repeated these 4 steps over and over last night. When I woke up this morning, I tied ribbon around a small bag already containing a big heart cookie and a Care♥Net card. A very satisfying box of 90 cookie baggies met my eyes after some 20 minutes of working. All for what, you might ask.
For the Care♥Net booth at Mayfest! My sisters and I, plus our friend, have been doing volunteer work at Care♥Net, a Christian organization which gives help and support to young girls and/or women considering abortion. 'Course they have lots of other outreaches that they're working on, but let's get back to original story! :) To get their name out there, Care♥Net did a booth in the Mayfest the community fair that place this afternoon. We passed the cookies with the card out, invited people in to see some of the stuff we have set up-which included a bunch of informational fliers, pins, shirts, etc- gave balloons out, painted faces, and had a great time together. We ran out of the cookies within the first 30 minutes, which is good and bad! We really hope that people really take a look at the cards that got passed out and if they could benefit from the great support Care♥Net is able to give, walk up the steps, onto the porch of a small yellow building on Silver St.

Hey look, it's some MORE Farm Photos

2010-05-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hehe, pictures are such an easy way to get out of actually putting effort into a post! :)
Oh, in case you were wondering, Eileen gave up on the blog challenge so therefore, I did too. What's the point of a blog challenge if you're not challenging anybody!?!?!

Farm Photos!

2010-05-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

When looking through some old stuff on my computer, I found pictures that I had taken at my best friends farm and never gotten to uploading to my blog. I suppose it's better late than never, right?

Picture 1. Garden tools and a tree
2. A beautiful blue sky and a field
3. A random piece of cool looking metal
4. A pretty leaf and the sun
5. An old rake and some leaves that I raked up

My Awesome Siblings!

2010-05-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

Having a spunky, spirited, little three year-old in the house is always lots of fun. My lil' sister came up to me today with a box of toys in her arms and declared, "Mewwy, I can hold this box because,"-she put down the box, stuck her hip out and clenched her fist, "I have muscles!" Really, is that so? : ) Later in the afternoon, she marched in from playing outdoors and said, "I have to go to the bathroom, so I have to take my shoes off. I have to do all the work." Geez, if she thinks that that is work, she's in for a big surprise!
My little brother and I have an interesting relationship, to say the least. I love him and he tolerates me, but we get on each others nerves more than is necessary. Still, we have a lot of fun messing around together! I have a habit of walking up to him and giving him a hug/strangling from behind-it depends on what mood I'm in. Today, instead of giving him a hug, I told him to give me a piggy-back-ride. He took me seriously. We both ended up on the ground, laughing really hard and Younger Brother said, "Woah, you're heavy!" We tried horsey-ride, and airplane, but we came to the conclusion that Younger Brother can't pick me up!
I'm so blessed with a great family who not only is there for me when I'm in a fix, but also smiles along with me when I'm perfectly content.

Superly-duperly Satisfying Purchases

2010-05-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Weddings are a big deal, therefore, they deserve clothes that are a big deal. Especially weddings of awesome cousins :) Besides, I'll take any excuse to buy cute new clothes! I found this awesome dress at JC Penny's. I'm very satisfied with how it looks on me. There were other options very similar, but I didn't think they were as pretty on me. This dress makes me feel very pretty and ya know, feeling pretty doesn't hurt!

Of food, family, hugs and happiness

2010-05-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

1. Mexican food is absolutely amazing and so is mandarin soda. 2. Oldest Brother is graduated from college! He repeated over and over that he had a great weekend hanging out with those of his family who could make it, but I'm pretty sure we had an even better time! : ) We got a chance to meet some of his teachers at a biology soiree, and while we were there, Oldest Brother let the kids -that includes me!- look at some insects through the microscope. Afterwords, we had a picnic in a gorgeous placed called The Sunken Garden. With food, awesome family, beautiful scenery, a wonderful make-believe game with imaginary bad-guys, and lots of laughter, we passed the afternoon pleasantly. Shortly afterwords, we had arrived at a friends house who lives close to Oldest Brothers, with plans to crash on their living room floor and have a good night's sleep. Those plans played out very nicely and the next morning was a flurry of eating cereal, showering, getting dressed and driving back to Oldest Brother's college for the graduation ceremony or 'Commencement Ceremony'. I suppose giving the graduates their pieces of paper with some words that are none intelligible on it,(a.k.a. Diplomas) is sorta necessary, but they should have had the students do cart-wheels across the stage, or something interesting like that. We did have fun clapping/yelling our heads off when Oldest Brother's name was called and he walked -sadly, no cart-wheeling- across the stage to get his diploma.

To celebrate this great feat of Oldest Brother's, we stuffed our faces with Mexican food and sodas. One of the many foods we enjoyed was a very, very spicy chicken dish that I have long forgotten the name of, but not forgotten the burning sensation it left in my mouth for a while afterwords. Man, was it delicious, but I had a difficult time eating large amounts of it at a time. After the fantastic meal, we drove back to Oldest Brother's apartment and helped him pack some of his stuff so that we could take it home. Hugs were passed all around, before we piled into our very large, black van and headed home again. It is going to be great having Oldest Brother home again, though I'm sure there will be an abundance of his clothes lying around the house very soon....

A very awesome thing called: BREAKFAST CLUB

2010-05-14T06:07:00.000-07:00

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning to clean your living room, set the table, set the tea and coffee buffet, peel eggs and to stumble all over the place in a half dead manner might not sound appealing to you, but it all results in a very awesome thing called Breakfast Club.

My parents were a part of a youth ministry, Breakfast Club in the church that we attended before we moved to the town we are living in now. The kids would come at around 6:30AM, eat some sort of breakfast and hear someone-I don't really know much about it- talk about God and then the kids would leave for school. When we moved and my older brothers went high school, they had a lot of friends who knew very little about Christ and his unfathomable love for us. My parents felt a passion for them -as they do for all lost people in this world- and it resulted our own B.C. My family and I have been blessed by this and we are always hoping that the teens are too. Mommy, makes all kinds of fantastic food to feed to the hungry teens, including coffee cake, muffins, bagels and cream cheese, deviled eggs, spicy eggs and every week coffee, and two teas. Daddy prepares usually two songs that we listen to and then he puts a spin on them about God. It's great!

3 Days Missed Already!?!?!

2010-05-14T05:58:00.000-07:00

This is pathetic. Is it really that hard for me to post a blog once a day? It shouldn't be! Of course finding subjects to write about is a little tricky at times -if anyone has any ideas of what I should write about, that would be greatly appreciated! Also, my family and I are going to my big bros graduation at his college this weekend and I'm know that I'm not going to be able to post on here. SO, I'm pretty sure I'll just do two extra posts today that will count for this weekend. Now, that's enough rambling...

Of Movies and Attractiveness

2010-05-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

Coming in half-way through a movie is very frustrating and usually just leaves me feeling annoyed. Except, of course, when it's a movie who's main character is Zac Efron. Then, of course, it leaves me thinking that he is absolutely beautiful. And marveling at God's wonderful talent ;)

I only slightly understood 17 Again and I really want to start it from the beginning tomorrow. I went to a kids bible study at my church and while I was gone, my sisters and some girlfriends that had come to dinner, watched the first halve of 17 Again without me. Too bad, but I don't really mind that much. Welp, I guess I should mayhaps get some sleep now, even though talking about Zac Efron's attractiveness is really fun...

Oceans

2010-05-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Oceans have always fascinated me because of how little we know about them. Also, the creatures that survive under such pressure and in such different atmospheres than anything we know, are absolutely mind boggling to me. Electric eels, for instance. I'll give you that they look very weird -they have a few pictures on the internet that may help you out-, but can you send brain signals through the nervous system to the electric cells? Then open an ion channel, allowing positively-charged sodium to flow through, reversing the charges momentarily. By causing a sudden difference in voltage you then generate a current? No, I bet you can't. You see, electric eels are quite interesting! (BTW, if you understood that crazy string of sentences including words like 'ion', please tell me at once, because I have no idea what the heck Wikipedia was saying!) I over the fact that they looked slightly creepy quite soon when I learned about the 500 volt shocks they can produce.

Anyway, back my original subject. I've always wanted to learn more about these mysterious oceans because even though man-kind doesn't know much about them, some people know a lot more about this interesting subject than I do and it would be very fun to read books and watch interviews with these oceanographers, as we call them. That is why a certain movie that is in theaters currently, has caught my eye. Upon looking at the trailer of Oceans, I heard some words that were said by one of the said oceanographers that interest me, Sylvia Earle. She said-and you can see for yourself in the link to the trailer I will post-, "Less than five percent of the ocean has been seen by human beings." So, I would like to soak up all the 5% of pictures/videos and excess information before new discoveries so that I will be all caught up! And one of the way I plan on doing that, is by going to see the new movie, Ocean. Anyone care to learn right along with me?

Random, and slightly scatter-brained, I know. But, isn't that what this blog is all about? :)

To all mommy's, but to mine in particular...

2010-05-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

...Thank you. Us kids can be quite the pain, but still you love us. I love you more than words can express. ♥Merry

Would you just look at the CUTENESS?!?!?!

2010-05-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

My family and I visited my older brother for his birthday today, and we ate beside a pond filled with geese. The only goslings we saw that afternoon, were a group of four fuzzy looking, awkwardly walking, yellow babies that made me want to give 'em a big kiss. I don't think they would really like that. I got quite a few pictures of them waddling around under a big willow tree by the pond. I haven't loaded them up to the computer yet, but I suppose these pictures from off the internet will do.

Eileen

2010-05-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just to spite Eileen (she had said in a previous comment that if I made a post about all the things she did that annoyed me, it would be very long) , I have conjured up a list of the things I love about her. I could go on and on with this, but I will keep to a reasonable size.

•Her fabulous humor
•Her love of all my siblings
•Her smile
•Her consciousness of the earth
•Her habit of writing wonderful blog posts that make me very hungry-BTW, you are a great writer.
•Her willingness to help me with my homeschooling-I still remember you staying after Breakfast Club helping me with my spelling words.
•Her hair-I haven't played with it in much to long!
•Her ability to explain things well-you have a habit of using long words that I don't know when you talk, but you always can explain to me exactly what they mean in a way that I understand.
•Her cooking panache
•Her belief in me-You are a very inspiring person, who always has encouraged me to great things with my life.

I love you so much and I always will.

36 minutes!

2010-05-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's right, I just finished my math in 36ish minutes. That hardly ever happens. Math is so stinkin' boring that I get sidetracked very easily. I plopped down in the backyard hammock and did question after question, only getting one wrong. VICTORY!

Earaches- Oh Joy!

2010-05-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

A typical earache begins when a congested Eustachian tube-which runs from the back of the throat to the eardrum- can't regulate pressure or fluids in the ear. Pain starts when mucus or pus builds up behind the eardrum. The more fluid builds, the greater pressure and pain. -This information was found online, to my great disgust. I mean, who wants to know that mucus is gathering up in their ear? I certainly don't!

I went to bed last night with a throbbing ear, but I couldn't find the ear drops so I brushed it off and just went to bed. I woke up at 3 in the morning, hurting so badly that I got up and asked Mom where the ear drops were. She proceeded to be the best mom in the whole wide world by finally finding the ear drops, warming the oil up, making me a bed on the couch-so she didn't have to carry the oil all the way down the hall- and saying that she loved me and it didn't matter, when I apologized. All at 3 AM. Yeah, she's okay.

When I woke up at 9:30 this morning, Mom told me to go back to my own bed and sleep for another two hours. After so much sleep and the earache oil, my dang right ear is finally getting a better.

Happy, Eileen?

The Blue Castle

2010-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

A very oppressed 29 year-old girl goes through teenage rebellion. Sound interesting? It is.

Valancy Stirling has been pushed 'round and pulled 'round all her life. Her family is selfish, boring and prissy. A trip to the doctors office and some startling news is all it takes for Valancy's inner wit and independent nature to reveal itself. L. M. Montgomery unfolds a wonderful story of mystery, humor and romance in The Blue Castle. This novel is absolutely worth your time and endurance for the perhaps dull first few chapters.

"If it had not rained on a certain May morning Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different. She would have gone, with the rest of her clan, to Aunt Wellington's engagement picnic and Dr. Trent would have gone to Montreal. But it did rain and you shall hear what happened to her because of it." Intriguing, aye?

5 Things....

2010-05-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

5 things I'm thankful for!

•Sunshine
•Chocolate
•Tea
•Books
•Music

A May challenge

2010-05-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

By a perhaps stupid co-blogger, I was recently challenged to have one post for every day of May. A very fun aspect of this challenge: If either of us miss even one day, we owe the other a bag of Ghirardelli chocolates. HA, you're going DOWN Eileen! (Her blog- eileeneats.blogspot.com)

Well, thus is my first blog post of May!

Messin' Around

2010-04-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

I was playing around on Picnik because it's just so fun, and I didn't know what picture to edit. Upon browsing around, I found the pictures that are naturally set in your computer when you first get it. I'm not sure what you call them, but I had a great time completely changing one of them! Unfortunately, on Picnik it doesn't keep the original photo so you could see the before and after. Phooey!

A autoiography- Well, sort of!

2010-04-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

Just another writing assignment!

The name "Meredith " isn't famous or flowery like Brad Pitt or Tiger-Lily. But, for many that name puts a smile on their face for different reasons. Maybe it's because of what they will always see in their heads when that name comes up, a short brown eyed, blond girl with nothing on but a diaper, coming to the door to say, "I'm Meredith and I can Riverdance. Wanna see me do it?"
That little girl was me and I've changed very dramatically throughout the eight years since then. I am no longer short, I still have brown eyes, my hair has gotten considerably darker and I never wear a diaper. It's not all just the outward things that have changed. I've been growing, maturing and living for eight years since then, so I'm a very different person. In some ways though, I remain the same. I'm still very outgoing, confident, and I Riverdance every so often.
I sit here at the computer desk and talk like I'm an experienced adult who knows all about life. Really, that's all hog-wash! Eleven years seems like a very innocent, far away age to someone who is ninety. To me, it is a very now, not always so entirely innocent time that all jumbles together to make an extremely fun, adventurous place to be at. Some children my might look at me like I'm crazy and say,"What are you talking about? We get no privileges, have to get up early for school, we have to get bossed around by our parents and we have to live with our annoying siblings." Well, I've been raised in just the sort of family that would wipe away any notions like that.
My parents are as "cool" as you can get! My parents have loved me unconditionally since the day of my birth. They have strived (sp?) to be the best, most loving, wisest, funnest parents they could possibly be. Mostly though, they wanted to follow all the rules that God has laid before them as parents and people because they knew that if they did, they would be the said best parents in the whole entire universe. That's the kind of God they follow and have taught me to love and obey.
At only eleven years old, I have millions of amazing memories that are constantly replaying in my head to make me laugh, smile, giggle or shake my head. Imagine all the things I'll be able to ponder, think over and grin at by the time I'm ninety years old! I fully believe that if I follow God with my life and give everything to Him, the good memories and thoughts will far outnumber the bad.

God's Own Fool

2010-04-10T14:19:00.000-07:00

To see where all my wild ramblings are coming from, you must read the lyrics to the song my Michael Card, God's Own Fool. Otherwise, you would be slightly lost!

Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind

For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane

Chorus
When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
And so we follow God's own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
And come be a fool as well

So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

Chorus

So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable,
And come be a fool as well

Aren't we all longing to be fools? Some people refuse to admit that they do, but everyone has to want the feeling of being loved, cherished, and taken care of. God can fulfill that deep desire, all we need to do is come be a fool as well. Jesus came across as a complete fool to many and think of what they missed out on. Access to heaven and personal contact with God.

And you'll have the faith His first followers had, and you'll feel the weight of the beam. "Wait Merry, I thought you said that God will take care of you! Isn't there supposed to be no hard things along the way?" Heck no! There is a beam, but instead of trying to lug a some thousand ton heavy load all over our lives by ourselves, we have each other and above all, the Trinity. Is there a bigger honor you can think of, than the honor of simply accepting a love so great and divine that it sent it's own, dear, fool to save us from our dirty rags?

If you have never heard this song, it is my privilege to enlighten you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvejyvnEidY

Hello......

2010-04-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

I was pondering what to say after my lent was finally over and I hadn't come to a decision when my friend Seth said quite simply: "I'm back works fine, Merry." Well, I guess it does! SO, I'm back. Ha, now you'll have to hear about my favorite books, places to go, and people again. You've put up with it thus far, so I think you can deal! : )

Goodbye!

2010-02-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Like last year, I am giving up the computer for lent. It wasn't so very hard not to get on myself, it was the forgetting not to look over people's shoulders that gets me! I am so used to look at the news on Yahoo with Dad, watching Damien Rice videos with my sister and watching my little brother maneuver a snowboarder on a half-pipe, (Addicting games is his favorite) that it's hard to snap out of the habit! I'm excited because I love getting on my email after over a month and having close to thirty new letters to look at! :) So, this is a heads up to why you ain't gonna be hearing from me for awhile! 'Till the Saturday before Easter! -Merry

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

2010-01-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

The night sky has always fascinated me, and whenever I look at it, I can't help but have a strange feeling that my God is cool. Last night definitely confirmed that. Looking up at the brilliantly lit moon, I knew that the light rays that were reaching my amazed eyes weren't from the moon at all, but the sun. The sun's light reflected off moon, making it a beautiful thing to behold. Why can't I be like that? Oh, right. I can! In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 God has given me a light through me excepting him as my personal savior and he wants me to use it. So for Pete's sake, I am!

Skiing Pictures!

2010-01-28T11:44:00.000-08:00

These are from the last ski day we had! Picture 1: Me falling! 2: Me posing beside the beautifully snow covered trees 3: Me starting off again

Skiing is canceled, so we party it up!

2010-01-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, it was raining pretty hard and all the snow around our house melted away pretty fast. Dad thought that the conditions might be different at the mountain, but turns out they were pretty rough too. So why would we ski on bad slopes when we could just prolong the fun? When we are skiing, Mom goes to the McDonald's play place with my two little sisters and another family that have big siblings who ski. We thought it wouldn't hurt to go as a bigger group and the old fogies would just sit outside the play area and talk. The younger kids and I climbed all over that play place this afternoon! I'm positive every square inch was covered by our fast moving hands and knees! We ended up dragging the three older kids home to watch Enchanted with us. We made shortbread and munched on nuts. I'm actually glad skiing was canceled, I hate thinking about it ending so soon.

Laziness and Life

2010-01-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

Like my new backround? I like it too, because I didn't have to change the colors of the font! Laziness is wonderful! My older brother and his girlfriend got back from their missions trip to Peru safely and they have been telling us about it all day (she came over in the morning), while I try my hardest to get school done. They had stayed with my older cousin who has been a missionary there for awhile and really had fun. My cousin gave my entire family gifts that David brought back, and my little present was a pair of very Jezebel earrings! I love them : )

Other than hear all about the trip, I've done school and ate a lot of Dove chocolates today!

Hello, from my little sisters :)

2010-01-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

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khiitiur h jdgtv uytr utjukrikhkhjgmkt hdsjhndhuufhjythjhkiguifuie jvjriekgfhujekigfyrnfmjlurijufudjkhjfdujk91q3 cbhsnghdggfk juruhyqapjhirki

That was greetings from my two littlest sisters (ages 2 and 5)!!!!!! hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhia And that was a goodbye from the two year old :)

Skiing!

2010-01-08T14:11:00.001-08:00

Did I mention that our home-schooling group goes skiing six times in the winter? We hadn't done it before because it was too expensive, but I got a job so parents are only paying for Dad and my seven year-old brother. I was really, really excited because I had heard so much about it, but when I finally got out there with these huge things attached to my feet, I was angry at myself for even thinking I could do it! They started out with lessons and I improved a lot from them. Rico, our instructor, was really funny (he told us that all the other instructors were boring and he was the only good one) and he showed us the wrong way and then the right way to do things. Very helpful, I assure you! After the class we all went back the to Main Lodge and ate, because that is always a good thing. Then, we were FREE! During lunch, I got used to being without the skis and then went directly to the Bunny Hill without practicing again. That was stupid. If Sharon hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here to write this! I could hardly get off the lift. Long story short, I went back to the Magic Carpet. After a little more practice on that dwinky little thing, Rico told me to go to the steeper Magic Carpet. Then, I tried the Bunny Hill again and only fell once. It was awesome! :) After we had brought back our rentals and everyone was rounded up, we piled into the Phippen's big van. And guess what! I'm hardly sore! hahaha! I'm so excited about the next ski day!

And a HAPPY New Year!

2009-12-31T20:48:00.000-08:00

Know that I am thinking of you, and wish you a great new year with lots of blessings. But, I'm a little too tired to write anything more, so....... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My Christmas:

2009-12-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well, to start off. It was wonderful! I had planned on getting up at 7ish with the kids and hanging out in the big girls room, but turns out I'm more of a pre-teen then I thought. My older sister had to wake me up! After I got dressed, we woke up the boys and trooped down the hall to sing Oh Come all ye Faithful to Mom and Dad (We always carol to them to wake 'em up!). When up and dressed, we opened our stockings. In my stocking was: a pair of ski socks (now that Christmas is gone and out of the way... HERE I COME SKIING!!! :), a camisole, a bag of Werthers caramels, a bag of dried dates, gum and a bra. Then comes breakfast, the bible story and PRESENTS! I got: A Name the Sate book, underwear, hairbands, a pashmina, a necklace and earring set, a Dover Coloring book, a pair of really cute blue earrings, three Nancy Drew books, and a scrapbooking scissor set! After presents Dad set up his flatscreen tv Mom and us kids got him and started watching Finding Nemo, but we got bored so we ate lunch and chilled. It was cool.

Christmas is almost HERE!

2009-12-24T10:19:00.001-08:00

Tonight our church is having a candle-lit service at 7pm. Mommy and Daddy usually sing a song together and us kids will sometimes join 'em. This year we are singing Angels from the Realms of Glory together and Sim's playing his violin and Dad his guitar.

I really can't believe that when I wake up tomorrow morning it will actually be Christmas. Ahhh! I'm very excited! One more day.... : )

The Annual Nutcracker Party is...

2009-12-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

TONIGHT! Every year we dress up in our fanciest clothes, make yummy food and watch the Nutcracker. We have planned it for tonight at 7:00. My two brothers are bringing their girlfriends and we love them so I'm really excited! Over the years my sisters and I have acquired a very large array of hand-me-down prom dresses and we will be sharing them with Alicia and Semira! Last night, my family decorated our tree. Or at least we tried to! Mom insisted upon saving some for when the two oldest boys get home.... Anyways, it looks very pretty for our party!

Life's Good

2009-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow Saturday, the 5th and it was beautiful! My oldest sister was in the drama production, This is a Test. Actually, This is a Test was only the opening twenty minutes and it was just for all the people that tried out for Rumors and didn't get in. Laurel was the main character, a crazy, tired, stressed, kid who stayed up all night studying for a test and how it all goes wrong for her. It was hilarious. Anyway, I helped make the set for Rumors and helped with make-up. It was really fun! Sitting down at the table and pushing threw math for a half an hour isn't quite as pleasant after all the hub-bub, but I'm living and enjoying it.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

2009-11-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

I hope your day has been just as grand as mine! I woke up this morning, read The Mystery of the Fire Dragon, ate a breakfast of smoothie, home-made sausage, sourdough bread and then just chilled with the family until we took a walk. The set time for our meal is in.... Approximately 5 minutes! Now, I'm going to list some of the things I'm thankful for but it won't even get close to how much I'm actually thankful for! Here goes: Food, a home, friends, family, the sun, stars, moon, the Son, dance raves with sisters, tango sessions with Anne, painting with Noel, the mall, shoes, this blog, books, little annoying brothers who purposely ask too many questions, birthdays, holidays, my brother's awesome girlfriends and the love I feel from my amazing family. Oh yes and my wonderful beauty. I'm very thankful for that!!!! :D

Yup, this is my Jesus!

2009-11-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Seeing God work in the lives of people I love is.... awesome. I can't explain it any other way! My sisters and I just had a very encouraging, wonderful, God honoring and amazing conversation with our best friend/brother's girlfriend. Jesus is her absolute love and center. Watching her really fall in love with Christ makes me want to do it all over again!

What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak? What will people do when they find that it's true? I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak, there ain't no disguising the truth.

Farm pictures!

2009-10-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

When looking through some old stuff on my computer, I found a bunch of pictures that I took at my best friend's farm awhile ago. I love taking pictures there, because I have so many options on what to capture!

Picture 1. A rake next to a pile of leaves
2. The view from a barn roof
3. An old, rusted hay mover thingy-me-bob
4. A leaf and some sun!
5. Some garden tools leaning against a tree

And yet another post about ears......

2009-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of my earrings for all of you to enjoy :D

I've been loving them, they make me unreasonably happy! I just can't wait until I can put in other earrings........

Of apples, ears, excitement, exclamation marks and the number eleven!

2009-10-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yeah, life's just going along at it's normal pace. Oh, except for little fact THAT IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My family and I got up at 7:30 (ugh!) and went apple picking to start the day of. It was beautiful, though maybe a little cold! Daddy let me steer the tractor over towards the apples. Oh the privileges of being eleven! The kids were getting in the way of picking, so I took them out to take a walk on the field behind the orchard. The youngster's feet got soaked with dew the youngest of them stepped in a hole. Other than that, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and had fun.

Towards the end of the day, I was told "That there was one more tree to pick." So I dragged the bin over and saw a bag hanging of a branch!!!!! I opened it up and found a little card that said: "Yes! You can! Right now!" Now, if you know me, you would understand the ruckus that thereupon folded itself out. If you don't, well it was wonderful! And if you don't already know, I will have to tell you why a ruckus was thereupon folded out. Because, I, Meredith Grace, was finally permitted to get my ears pierced. That is the reason.

Now, I did read the Right now! part of the slip, but it didn't really sink in. So, when I was told that we were headed to the mall right now to get my ears pierced, I was very happy indeed!

Anyway, the lady was very nice, it only hurt a little, I love the purple of the studs, and I now sit with my own ears pierced. I must admit, I am little happy! :D

Cleaning

2009-10-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

The first day of my first ever job went great! Laurel and I got the dusting done first, then she vacced while I cleaned the first bathroom. Next, I mopped the kitchen, swept the dining room, swept the hall, cleaned the stove, changed rugs, and Windexed the porch door. Everything was fairly easy, Laurel and I had fun! Oh wait, except for Kevin's room. That was torture. The dust, the grime, the squalor, the naked statue.... Ugh! (Satisfied, Kevin?)

Fail Blog

2009-10-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hahaha! This is the complete opposite of my previous post, but it's ridiculously hilarious. I'm gonna try to give you the link to the G-rated ones now....... http://failblog.org/tag/g-rated/

Children's Story

2009-10-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Children's Story
One cold, starry, night, Lillian Hutchens was sleeping in her big orange bed. That is, until she awoke because of a scuffling in her nursery. She climbed out of bed and went to find what the cause of the noise was. When Lillie entered her nursery, she found a small mouse eating a snack the cook had prepared but not put away. Lillie was not happy, and if I must tell you, angry. She was about to put our small mouse outside, when she actually stopped and looked at him for the first time. While Lillie Hutchen's was looking at the mouse, she discovered a sorry sight. And this is what it was: a small brown mouse with fur that stuck out in every direction, over sized paws, wilting whiskers, and big, round, chocolate brown eyes. Lillie took pity on the skinny little mouse and discarded the idea of taking the mouse out (for the present at least).
Even though Lillie was only eight, she was a very practical girl and did not believe in beating around the bush. So she said, "It will not do for you to steal the cooks food, for she might hurt you. So, we will make a deal. I shall help you find a warm place to live, and you will not take food or make holes in the walls. Father hates them! I will give you some of my food, also. We will make sure your home is near a supply of food so you can gather and fend for yourself, too. I would hate to see such a gentlemen as you are, turn into a lazy old mouse!"
The little mouse thought this over and then said in a surprisingly deep voice, "That sounds very well thought out and fair. I will shake paws on it. Thank you for being so kind to help me! I really did feel bad about the food, but I had to." Lillie smiled showing the big gap in her teeth. Then she said in a soft voice, "That's alright. You have to eat just like I do." The mouse smiled back. Why, he had just been thinking the very same thing! "Well," said Lillie "My feet are turning to ice so let's shake hands and make it official." They each reached out a hand and a paw and shook hands and paws. The mouse and Lillie were about to disperse, when Lillie exclaimed, "Oh! It must have slipped my mind. I am Lillian Hutchens. What is your name?" "My name? Why I don't have a name!" said the small mouse. "No name?" cried a very disturbed Lillian, her huge violet gray eyes turning round. "What should I call you then? Just plain sir?" Lillie said. "No, no, that just won't do. We must name you. What names do you like?" she asked. "I suppose I've never thought about it before. What names would you suggest?" asked the now very excited mouse. "Well," said Lillie who now also very excited about the naming of her new friend. "What do you think of Jaden?" The little mouse didn't look very content with the name so he said, "Hmmm... That name sounds like it belongs to a knight in shining armor and a big gold sword. I don't quite think it belongs to a small mouse who can't even keep his fur in order." At this, Lillian's whole face transformed into one big, huge, happy smile. And while she was going on with her delighted smile, the mouse discovered the two cutest dimples he had ever seen. But, since the discovery of dimples is of little consequence to this story, I will continue.
"Oh my! I know the perfect one. How do you like Clarence for a name?" "That is perfect!" said our newly named Clarance. Lillian was altogether pleased with the naming of her friend. Although being pleased did not in the least make her teeth stop chattering. "Now, I really must be getting back to bed or I shall catch a cold," said Lillie between the chattering of her teeth. "So goodnight Clarence! Goodnight and goodbye until tomorrow," said she. "And goodnight to you, Lillian." So they parted. Clarance muttering his new name with satisfaction and Lillian chattering until she was positive she would arouse her parents.
They both slept well and were rested and ready for the task of finding Clarence a home. After Lillie ate breakfast, she brought Clarence a piece of bread and a thimble full of milk. While Clarence ate, Lillie went to don some mittens, a scarf, a coat and a pair of boots. After Lillian had gotten dressed, the two went outside into the swirling snowflakes. The next while was spent tromping around in the snow, laughing and a little bit of searching for a house. They juggled the idea of a mailbox, but Clarence did not take kindly to the thought of having mail dumped upon his head. They also considered a shoe, but Clarence was a bigger mouse and that would too confining. They were both getting cold and downhearted when they stumbled upon it. That "it" was an old, gnarled, unnoticed, hollow and big tree. It's branches-which varied in size and shape- stretched far and wide. The trunk was roughly four feet in diameter and the bark that surrounded it a dark brown. To Lille and Clarence, the tree looked like a door to all sorts of fun. They both knew that the lowest branch was to high for Lillian to reach, but they thought that her father could put a rope up. There was another stout strong branch on the west side that would carry a swing perfectly. After the taking in of all this, the two figures ran towards the tree. Once they reached it, Lillie scooped Clarence up in her hands and four eyes were soon peering into the opening. The sight that met those small eyes was a good one indeed! Aside from a small pile of wet leaves, there was nothing offensive about the hollow. In fact, it was a very warm, well lighted and spacious place that Clarence knew he would love.
Lillie reached into the bag of furniture she had brought along, and started placing the small objects in the hole. She put a matchbox in the far right corner and in that, a little homemade blanket. Then, Lillie added a rug and an old doll's rocking char. Clarence-who had been watching from the corner- came and climbed into the chair. Lillie made herself comfortable and rested her chin on the rim of the hollow. Then, they told each other stories, laughed, and talked until Lillian's mother called her home.
The End.

This is a writing project I did last year and I have finally uploaded it onto Google Docs. Reading it over, I saw a lot of stuff I would have changed now, but I tried to keep it as original as possible! Mom's note was: Very good, Merry! Your little siblings will love it. So yeah.... Here it is!

I finally got a.... JOB!!!!!!!

2009-10-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's right. Our neighbor just hired my sisters and I to clean her house once a week. Yay!!!! She's very relaxed and will be an amazing boss, with lots the cheating mops. Er, uhhh, I mean, the mops that help out so much! No, really it's going to be really easy and I'll finally be able to save up for that amazing camera by brother has :D AHHHHH! I'm sooooo happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gives Me Hope!

2009-10-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome site called givesmehope.com which consists entirely of little experiences that have brought hope. It's even better than it sounds, so totally check it out! http://www.givesmehope.com/?page=1

My older sister and I sit around for hours just getting our days made :D Enjoy!

After the Dancing Days

2009-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

I recently read After the Dancing Days by Margaret Rostowski for school, and soon realized just how amazing school books can really be ;-) It is post World War I and is about a thirteen year-old girl, Annie. While picking her father up at the train station, she sees some badly wounded men and it affects her greatly. Annie later goes to St. Johns hospital with her father (he's a doctor) and her grandfather to read out loud to a blind neighbor. There she meets Andrew, a young man of about 22. Andrew was exposed to mustard gas and is very bitter about it. Annie actually sucseeds in opening him up some and they become friends.

It's a very good book and I recommend it to everyone!!!!

School paper!!

2009-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

The 53.1 million US gallons of oil were packed away and the ship master, Joseph Hazlewood left the wheel house to the third mate. It was 12:04am, March 24th, 1989, when The Exxon Valdez hit Bligh Reef.
The ship had left Alaska's Valdez oil terminal at 9:12am and was to drop of the oil at Long Beach, California. To avoid icebergs, The Valdez had to go out of the shipping lane. Hazlewood soon discovered that the outbound was worse of than the inbound. So, the captain got permission from the Cost guard to go through the inbound lane. That is when one of the worst at sea catastrophes happened.
10.8 million gallons of US oil eventually spread out to 11,000,000 miles. It was disastrous to the surrounding animals and environment. The estimate of destruction was about 500,000 seabirds, 1,000 sea otters, 250 bald eagles, and 300 harbor seals. Unfortunately, Prince William Sound could only be reached by helicopter and boat so immediate clean-up was not easy. When help was gotten, the thick oil clogged the machinery. Prince William Sound has many crevasses in the rocks that soon filled up with oil. The oil was treated with high-pressure hot water, but it also blasted out a lot of the natural organisms. There were many ups and downs to this long, hard process.
Even though the people did a lot of work that helped, around 26 thousand gallons of oil are still in the sand at Prince William Sound. This amount is only diminishing at 4% a year. The destruction that March 24th, 1989 left behind, will never be forgotten.

My favorite ending was not really liked but Mom, but here it is anyway! So, don't hit icebergs when you are bearing like a million gallons of oil and I won't have to write a stupid, boring paper about a stupid, boring oil spill ever again. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha!

I am totally open to criticism people, so bring it on.

Happy Fall!!!!!!!!

2009-09-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's ll going by so quickly!!!! It's seems like just yesterday when I was getting ready for Spring. But, I guess it has gone by and there's nothing I can do about it. So, I'll enjoy all the color and get out my camera. I think Fall makes beautiful pictures and you all know how much I like taking them :)

Anyway, HAPPY FALL TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Playing with my little sister

2009-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

My little sister and I were playing on the slide out back and my OTHER little sister(age 5) took these really fun photos!!! Isn't she good?

A random case of randomness......

2009-09-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Mom says carrot juice is good for you. Apparently it is, because I see NO other reason why she should drink it =] Though, I have to admit it's mighty pretty. If you've never seen it, then I will enlighten you!!!

The juicer we own reminds me(for what reason don't ask me!) of a creature from Hayao Miyazaki's works. A fat little thing with short and likewise fat wings. I really don't know where I'm coming from, but I thought I'd share the notion to see if any agreed with me!!!

Also, here is my looonnnnng shadow that portrays my actually body quite well and a "artistic" touch on my flip-flops!

More photography!!!!!!

2009-09-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

I was walking down up our road and I noticed a bush with peculiar grape like berries. The sun was just going down and the dark purple/yellow mix was beautiful. I ran home, got my camera and started taking pictures. Some of them turned out very well, if I do say so myself!!!!!! =]

Stuff........

2009-09-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

School is going fantastically!!!!!!! I asked Mommy today, why math has been so easy. She said "Well, Meredith. It's because your attitude is so much better this year!!" Yayyyy =] Life is going great! hahahaha

I have felt recently that my bible reading has gotten to the point of "Oh read one Proverbs, tell God thank you, and check of devotions on your list!". That's not how it's supposed to be or how I want it to be!! I was feeling down, though I wasn't sure why. It suddenly hit me! I started reading the new Bible Olympian Club book and am enjoying a lot. For three days now, I've read the scripture, done some sort of "fill in the blank", answered a question about the scripture and my life and prayed. It's simple and not hard to follow!

I'm hoping and praying that the other kids in the group come to the club and feel the same encouragement as I do. Your prayers certainly wouldn't hurt either!!!!! =]

Stray Cat and Broken Glasses!

2009-09-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

A stray cat came to our house and Anne finally convinced Mom to let us give her a bowl of milk. Maybe you shouldn't feed, pet and talk to a cat that doesn't look like it plans to leave, but I'm not really sure ; ) Upon asking my little two year-old what we should call her for the time she wouldn't leave us, Noel said "Brook!" So, Brook she is! But, don't you think that being ignored for at least two hours, and shot at with a water would scare you away? Apparently this cat isn't intimidated :) Hopefully she'll go away soon.

Also, I'm not really sure how it happened but I took of my glasses and the next time I looked at them, they were broken. (That was a slightly abrupt change in subject wasn't it? :) Anyway, it is the screw to the ear piece that came off. Daddy says it's easily fixable, but he had to go to a meeting. Therefore, I've been going around the house without the right side ear hook thingy-me-bob =]

Here are some pictures of both story!

Happy Birthday, Rose!

2009-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Today is my older sister's 15th birthday!!!! We always go on "Daddy Dates" for our birthday, so they went to a nearby museum and then lunch. I don't know exactly, but I believe they picked Sushi Thai. I've never gone, but I hear it's quite delectable! My cousins will be coming later for a HUGE chocolate cake. Yummdelumtious!

School has started again!!!

2009-09-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yup, and I'm sorta scared about it. Mom is giving me a lot more work than last year. I have creative writing, math, history, four science books, english, spelling and devotions. It may not be a long list, but I'll be doing a fair amount of each. I naturally like science and this year I'm doing astronomy!!!!!! So, history and science should be very fun this year.

Yaayyyy!!!!!!

2009-08-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am thoroughly satisfied with my new backround, and want to thank Sharon Phippen for putting it up for me!!! I love it Sherry =]

I'm slightly confuzzled!

2009-08-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of my bright pink backround and I want the light blue and brown one that I believe is called "My Scroll". But, there is one problem. I tried and it won't work. So, if any of you know how to do it and could tell me, that would be greatly appreciated =]

Growing up is not okay

2009-08-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Three older brothers gone all at once. The family seems so small. Morning tea out on the picnic table just isn't the same without David singing off tune in my ear. There is a sudden absence of Levi's clothes everywhere, and Daniel's techno music driving Mom crazy.

I don't approve.

Dad's sermon!

2009-08-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

Daddy-Boy's sermon today was quite good. It was about how our only enemy is ourselves. God has given me all the protection that is needed, but it is I that decides to unlock the door and let Satan in. In conclusion, Dad said that with the Lord's help we can defeat any selfish desire that we might have.

God= Hope
Dad= Awesome

Vacation!

2009-08-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Vacation was tons of fun! This year wasn't nearly as rainy as last, thank goodness. My cousins and I made our very own newspaper, saw 14 shooting stars, went on numerous boat rides for the sake of talking about boys, played M.A.S.H. a lot, and did a music video to Beyonce's song, Halo. So, it's good and bad to be back! =]

VBS again

2009-07-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

VBS went great! For the last skit I was the Bedouin Cook and even though I didn't have any lines, it was allot of fun! Of course practicing the same play about 5 times in a row isn't the best, but for the cast party we had pizza and soda. After that we blasted christian music in the sanctuary and threw loaves of bread at swords. As I said, it was fun.

For the last day the parents came and the kids got a chance to show them what they had learned, etc. Then we did the final closing skit and ate ice cream. VBS was great!

VBS!

2009-07-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

VBS will be starting tonight at 6:00pm. I'm not sure exactly how many kids signed up, but I know 20 kindergartners have and usually there are some extra kids. So, looking good I just hope the 5th and 6th graders are better then they were last year. I wish I was older then them so that I could tell them what to do........ I guess I still do ;) lol!

I'm tired :D

2009-07-09T18:55:00.000-07:00

The mall was fantastic! We went to: Forever 21, Aeropostle, Abrocrombie and Fitch(only to make fun of the shirtless guy/girls), Old Navy, Claires, Fantastic Footwear, and some other stores I forgot. I was in heaven :) ALL DAY. My favorite store was definitely Forever 21. I tried on skinny jeans! But, Mom said it was too tight :'( To bad! I had a wonderful day..... *Snooore*

The Mallll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

We are going with one of my best friends, Rose and her mom. Todaaaaay. Super excited! But, I now have to go clean up because you can't be greasy for the mall ;)

Laurel and Dad...

2009-07-09T05:39:00.001-07:00

....Are safely in Mali, Africa. They had been working at a hospital in Koutiala (Don't know how to spell that but this is how you say that: Koochala) but now are working on three different VBSs in three differant little towns. With the kids they will be making: Personally decorated trumpets, bible verse stones, and felt lion masks. When we talked to Laurel and Daddy on Skype, Dad seemed pretty normal, but Laurel just talked straight for the entire halve hour! :) I love you big sissy!

P.S. Sorry I did not update here sooner!

Fathers' Day so far!

2009-06-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Anne left church early so that she could whip up a batch of shrimp dip(I personally think it's rubbery and probably won't touch the dish ever again:) and we cut up cantaloupe and rinsed cherry's for our appetizers. I used the dark green paper from my scrapbooking, Punch-Out-Pack as the base of my fathers' day card. I than added little maroon flowers to the inside. Daddy-Boy is taking a nap now but, and after he wakes up we will have a big meal of Chicken A La King. Yummm!!!!!