This Saturday we went to see Bella for my Grandma's birthday. Even though it was kind of slow going it was really nice to sit back and enjoy a quiet "happy" movie :). I think that the pro life theme has become more popular in Hollywood and the group that produced the movie Bella sound like they are going to make lots of really good movies! YAY!

We went to our women's monthly meeting a while ago and I decided to branch out and sit at a table that none of my sisters or Mom were sitting at. Wow, that was brave for me. I usually like to stay in my comfort zone and let someone else start all the conversations. I sat at the table with two people I knew and around four that I didn't. It turned out that I was sitting next to the lady who was going to speak that night and Mom and another lady had met her before I got there and prayed with her. It turned out that she spoke on studying the bible and what it did in her life. It was so amazing and just what I was needing to hear. I have been struggling with how to dig deeper than just the main story line. I told her this and I found out that she leads a women's bible study Wednesday mornings. I was disappointed cause I have school, work, and guitar lessons so I probably would not be able to go. I really enjoyed talking to her though and I got very inspired to start my own in depth study using one of Kay Aurthur's books. On the way home Mom, Hope, and I talked a lot about youth small groups, women's meetings, and our own bible readings. We were all really inspired by the teaching that night and decided to start getting up at 6:30 every school morning and work our way through Daniel. Sadly we haven't gotten far cause we have been staying up to late and cannot gt up early but we started again today and we plan to keep it up every day. We are also going to start going to the Wednesday morning meetings and do school ahead of time. I think God has been speaking to our whole family to really live in the word especially in hard times and to prepare ourselves for the attack. I have just recently decided what my favorite verse is because I have needed it the most in my life so far.

Ephesians 6: 10-12. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

So what happens if you're wierd??

I haven't blogged in a while so this is going to be an update on anything I can think of.

School is going GREAT! I am studying American government and biblical law...Sound boring? Well it's not! I absolutely love it!!! One of the books I'm reading is called Tools Of Dominion. Wen I read the first bit I had to take notes just to understand it, But after a couple weeks I could begin to get it all without writing it down :P. Since then I have really learned a LOT from it.

A couple of days after my 17th birthday I finally got to go and get my drivers licence...Yay!!! So now I can run errands for Mom or go do things I want without having to make sure one of the girls is able to take me.


We went to the North Myrtle Beach with Uncle Kenny and Aunt Lori and had a BLAST!!! It was GREAT hanging out with my cousins on the beach (they live next door but we never get sick of them). We stayed at a beach cottage that had four huge bedrooms and right down the road were three towers that had pools, a game room, and good beach access. A big plus was that I got to play with baby Sarah every day for almost a week :P!!! Aunt Lori took a lot of really good pictures but left her camera at the pool and when they went back to find it, it was gone.



We left the beach a couple days early to go visit Dads family who live in NC while Uncle Kenny and Aunt Lori stayed behind till Sunday. We had a great time visiting with our relatives there. We went shopping with Dads sister and found Mom her mother-of-the-bride dress. Since none of us but Hope like to shop it was nice that we found what Mom wanted right away :) . Finding the dress lessened like all of Moms "wedding stress".



This Sunday we went to church and saw some friends that we hadn't seen in a while cause we have been gone a lot. We went out to eat with some of them and ran into Uncle Kenny, Aunt Lori, and the kids coming home from the beach....Yeah that was weird!!! Now we're home hanging out with all the rest of the family around Shadybrook Acres. So there's the update on the going on's 'roun here.

Later ;D

Good Song

This song has meant a lot to me in the past! I was raised on Twila Paris and I still find so much meaning and encouragement from her music.

Twila Paris
I Am Not Afraid Anymore

I said I belonged to you
But in a secret room, I kept a secret list
I said, "Anything for You"
"Anything but this"
"Anything but this"You knew it all along
You knew it very well
You knew the sturdy walls I hid behind
Were nothing but a prison cell
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I am not afraid anymore
You have opened all the windows
Opened all the doors
I am not afraid anymore
I feel the wind of freedom like
I never did before
The light is filling up the corners
Dancing on the floor
I am not afraid anymore
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You have always been the same
I ran away from You
Every time You called my name
I tried to hide the truth
You knew it all along You knew it verry well
You knwe the more I covered up my heart
The more I didn't know myself
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No room for fear
No room, no room

No room for fear

Perfect love is living here

Thoughts on Harry Potter

About a year ago I read the Harry Potter books because Mom and Dad had realized that they hadn't really looked into what the books contained. First Mom read book 1 and said I was old enough to read them. I read it because I wanted to understand what other kids were reading and I wanted to be able to back up my beliefs.


Now I have read all the books and seen all the movies that are out. I have formed quite different beliefs than I had to start with and I have really tried too look into both sides. I also read two books called What's a Christan To Do With Harry Potter? by Connie Neal and Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger. I have learned a lot from them and I highly recommend both books even if you are not considering reading the Harry Potter books or letting your children read them!!! These books will help bring you understanding of why so many people including strong Christan adults love Harry Potter.

"I am convinced that the fundamental reason for the astounding popularity of the Harry Potter novels is their ability to meet a spiritual longing for some experience of the truths of life, love, and death taught by Christianity but denied by secular culture. Human beings are designed for Christ, weather they know it or not. That the Harry Potter stories "sing along" with the great story of Christ is a significant key to understanding there compelling richness."
-Looking for God in Harry Potter


These are some questions most Christan parents ask in concerns about the Harry Potter books.

Might kids be lured unsuspectingly into occult practices?

My answer is no. I think being afraid of occult involvement is a valid fear and the Bible warns about tampering with spirits and getting involved in sorcery but the Harry Potter books do not encourage "sorcery" or invocational magic. The magic in the Harry Potter books is incantational magic. The difference is?? Well invocational means "to call in" this kind of magic is usually referred to as sorcery and the bible is very against this!!! Incantational magic is magic that shows in a -story form- the human desire for magic beyond the real world we live in. Like wands, trolls, giants, unicorns, invisibility cloaks, talking hats, and other objects that are fictional.

Might kids learn disrespect for Adults and Authority?

Harry has many different authoritie's in his life and some he resents at first but towards the end of the books Harry realizes the importance of all those adults and sees how it would have been detrimental if he had not obeyed them (which he did).

Might kids come to think that Wizards and Witches are cool while non magical people are not?

On the contrary the evil characters are the ones who hate non-magical people. Harry and his friends acknowledge that non-magical people are just as important and interesting as they are. That is the main thing the whole fight is over. The dark Lord Voldemort wants to take over and make non-magical people slaves.

"Perhaps you're wondering if you should allow your children to read or watch the movies. In order to make responsible decisions, you need to know what is really in the stories." -What's a Christan to Do With Harry Potter?

Of Kids and Snakes

This week Pris, Hope and I have been teaching a dance track at church for Camp kidstuff. We are teaching twelve k-5th grade girls a dance to Steven Curtis Chapman's The Great Adventure and it has been really fun!! It's really cool how we've gotten to know all the girls pretty well just this week and they've learned the dance really fast. Yesterday we went a few hours early to hang out with some of the teenage girls and go see a movie.

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Friday morning Abel came in my room to wake me up and as soon as I sat up he bombarded me with a story about how a vicious thing attacked him and gave him a very swollen hand and arm. By the time I could open my eyes I was pretty impressed with the size of his arm. He was excitedly telling me that he thought it was probably a copperhead bite. I wondered if this was what he wanted it to be. After further questioning he told me that he was in the woods, had shot an arrow and went to retrieve it. As he was searching he felt his hand sting and instead of looking at what had hurt him he looked at his hand and thus did not see his attacker. Dad was at work so Mom took him to the doctor who said he should go to the emergency room where we spent four hours there just to find out that it was a copperhead bite and it had injected poison but Abel's arm would get better on it's own. Easy end to an interesting day.

Ok I'll do a new post!!!

Yeah, I figure I should put a new post up here. I've been kinda' busy lately and I've been losing heart with the whole bloggin' thing but I'll try to snap out of it :). We went to MO recently to go to an H2O meet... We had a blast!!!! It's always nice to hang around a bunch of kids who love the Lord and will support each others standards! After we played games like Frisbee, whiffle ball, and watter balloons we all went down to the fire and all sat around in chairs. We sang some worship songs and then they took some time for testimonies and prayer requests. Wow! I couldn't help but be encouraged!!

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It's hard here at home not having a supportive group of friends. I think I would rather have no friends than friends who drag me down though. Please pray for me in this aria because I've been getting very discouraged.

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I think things are going to get better though! When we got home we had a big home school picnic and 12 families showed up!!! We had a great time even though all the kids were quite a bit younger than me I still had fun! When it was around time to eat it started to pour so everybody brought their blankets and food inside and laid them out on the floor and we had an inside picnic :P. Then later the sky decided to clear up so we all went outside and each made his own ice cream in a bag that turned out to taste very good!

Here's the recipe.

1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup half & half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag
Ice cubes

How to make it:
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put half & half, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully.
Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes.
Wipe off top of small bag, then open carefully and enjoy!

food and good company...I think?

OK, well I haven't blogged in a long time cause getting the computer has been murder around here. Our main computer broke down so all we have is Moms laptop between all nine of us. Yeah... don't try to picture that!! So I've got about five minutes before someone comes barging in saying they need to do something really important. I have my doubts about the important part. Wow, as I was typing Hope just came in with Dad on the phone asking me to look up some website. How predictable. For Father's Day we went to a lake about an hour away from where we live. Dad brought our canoe and Grandpa brought his fishing boat and, as usual, Grandma brought a boatload of food (we tried to tell her to go easy on us this time but she couldn't resist). I thought it would be a fun challenge to swim across the lake and I made it there and back. I don't know how far it was across but it's three miles around.We had a lot of fun and ate till we all were sick.

Yesterday we were sitting in our living room, mom was trying to read to the younger kids while I made breakfast. When we saw about six boys come running down our hill. Luke and Abel stood up and began to stare with longing out the window and Mom rolled her eyes. "Sit down and ignore them!" was the first thing Mom said, knowing this was not possible. Luke immediately said, "I think Pal (our dog) just went in the chicken house." Again Mom rolled her eyes, "Whatever." she closed the book for now. Aunt Lori was babysitting eight extra kids (our other cousins). With school canceled until afternoon we all went out to say hi.
Candace and I went over to Loris to help out with the kids and had a ball. The kids were pretty good but very energetic. Some of the younger kids went out and cleaned Lori's two foot deep baby pool and filled it up and all of the kids had a blast jumping in it. Then we went inside and played a really fun game called Apples to Apples which was highly entertaining. Then I ran home to get Mad Libs and after playing that our stomachs were all sore from laughing. Then we went and had a ball outside. As you can see.
Poor Aunt Lori ...all those kids!!

Candace asked her to pose for the camera.

Journaling

For years I tried to keep a journal. I would start one and only write a page and forget about it for months and then I would hate what I wrote and just get discouraged. So Mom told me that I could start a journal of quotes since I read so much. Here are some of my favorite quotes from my common place book.

This is one of my favorites and I think it can apply to boys as well as girls.

So laugh and play and rejoice in your youth, dream your glorious day-dreams, sip the honey and nectar from every passing hour: but guard well your feet that they do not slip into one of the snares and pitfalls along the way. Be pure, be true, be sincere, be earnest, and life will bring you peace and happiness.

Beautiful Girlhood

I love this one because it is just how I feel about books.

In books I meet the dead as if they were alive, in books I see what is yet to come... All things decay and pass with time... All fame would fall victim to oblivion if God had not given mortal men the book to aid them.

The Philobiblon

I have always loved the Chronicles of Narnia but The Horse and His Boy was always my favorite. I love it has to teach.

It doesn't follow that you'll be anyone very special in Narnia. But as long as you know you're nobody very special, you'll be a very decent sort of horse on the whole, and taking one thing with another.

The Horse and His Boy

Good Books

I have been reading and listening to a couple of really good books lately. One is called Heaven for kids. Mom is reading it aloud every morning. She started it mainly for the boys, but I am really enjoying it too. Yesterday it went over a story Jesus told about a rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). It talked the fact that they still had their bodies while one man was in heaven and the other in hades. Jesus told of how the rich man could see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham and spoke to Abraham. The book goes through questions that kids might ask and answers them through bible verses. Randy Alcorn also has a book called Heaven that is focused towards adults; I haven't read it yet but I am sure it's good too.

I also started reading The Fight along with my bible every day. It has been very inspiring and has encouraged me in my prayer life. It goes pretty deeply into spiritual warfare. I think it is one of those books everyone should read.

The other day mom got these books in from the publisher asking her to read them and write her honest opinion about them on her blog. Mom showed them to me and I wanted to read them too and hear are my thoughts on them.

They are written for about seven and up. I have always been a fan of fairy tales and these (though they were a bit young for me) were no exception. They are very cute stories about little girls who have fairy spirits and can change into their fairy form at will. There are problems they have to solve and are sometimes faced with danger. I wish these books had come out when I was younger, they would have got me reading with no trouble at all. These books are full of magical creatures like fairys, brownies, trolls, gnomes, and talking animals. There are four in the series so far. Today I made some powered sugar puff pastries from the back of the first book in the chronicles. They were very good!

YAY! My Aunt Lori started a blog yesterday!! It is called Life on Oak Hill but she hasn't posted anything yet so you might have to wait for crazy stories about Uncle Kenny or just some good thoughts from a homeschool mom.

Banana

This post is for Victor who seems to be entirely fascinated with this subject.

Uh haven't we evolved since then? Or not... at any rate we should be above that!

When I was in MO Candy found out someone's cell number who was with me at the moment and called all the way from TN asking what channel to put the TV on to start a DVD. What can I say I am the only one in my whole family of nine who can get a movie started, DVD or VHSThis a lot like my family, except they couldn't watch a DVD.

So, four blond girls photograph a dead squirrel for fun...Weird!
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So this was my week :
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Monday: School, worked in the garden, designed a pir of x-high top converse, played volly ball with Hope, and layed in the sun and read.

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Tuesday: Cooked breackfast, did school, went and got pictures taken at dance all afternoon... Ugh! Went to pauls game and played dodge ball and hot potato with some of Luke and Abel's friends, and finished A Tree Grows in Brookyln.

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Wendsday: After school I went to dance and after dance we played tennis with some friends.

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Thursday: Did school then started a book called When Character Was King (a story of Ronald Reagan). While we were gone in MI Candy started a fad of ping-pong and that's what we have been doing for the last few days. With nine people in the family we heve to have a big dinner table and we don't have anywere to put a ping-pong table so we just put the net on our dinner table. I practiced my guitar. I am hoping to find someone to give me lessons.

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Friday: After school I went to dance. We are doing a dance to Jesus Is Just All Right (DC talk version) and it is turning out really cool and a lot of fun. Our recital is on may 11 and my group is doing a dance for a mother-daughter convention this Wendsday. I went to another of Paul's baseball games and played catch with our friend Tayler and the same boys I met Tuesday.

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Saturday: We worked in the rain most of the late morning and afternoon. Then we lazed around at Kenny and Lori's and watched most of the Lord Of The Rings movies.

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Sunday: We've started going to the first service at church and since we live an hour away we have to leave the house at 8:00. Which means in order to get a shower I have to get up at around 6:30...bummer:( . we met a family at church today, they have six kids and they look like our family did ten yeasrs ago. They have four blond little girls and two really cute little boys. They invited us over for lunch and we had a great time with their family.

Missouri Trip

We had a blast on our trip to Missouri! I had a good time browsing and spending money on the books at the fair, and I got a pretty good sunburn when I went to some of our friends' track meet. I got to hang out with some people I hadn't seen in a while including Zach (the screaming penguin), the family from the H2O blog (we stayed with at their house), all their home schooled friends, and we met some new friends while we were at it. We also went to a good friends graduation and we had a great time at that too.

Pris brought her books to sell at the book fair but didn't sell many which didn't really matter because that wasn't really why we came. You know, any excuse works to go and visit some friends.
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The day before we left I mentioned to the Dad of the family we were staying with, that I was disappointed because my Dad didn't like to hunt and wouldn't take me. Well our friends' Dad up and said he would take me turkey hunting at 5:30 in the morning and I said I would love to so that was the plan. That night when we got back to where we were staying. I asked Pris to wake me up when they started a movie which was the plan and I fell asleep. Well they never watched the movie and Pris never woke me up and I didn't set an alarm so didn't get up in time to go hunting :( . Oh well, I will defiantly go hunting next time we go there.

This doesn't look like a wild turkey but it is cute.

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I am hoping to go to a camp in June called Camp David. They work with children of prisoners. I would appreciate all your prayers for me and my parents to make the right decision about me going. I am not sure if I am ready to handle that kind of situation yet but I hope I am.

I was kind of surprised to just find out I was nominated for Best Teen Blog.

I if you want you can place your vote here.

Dumb State and City Laws

Alabama
It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.

It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty.

You may not drive barefooted.

Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.

It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.

Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.

Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.

It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to
the front of your automobile.

You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

Masks may not be worn in public.

Women are able to retain all property they owned prior to marriage in the case of divorce. However, this provision does not apply to men.
It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.

Tennessee
You can't shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile.

Hollow logs may not be sold.

It is illegal to use a lasso to catch a fish.

Stealing a horse is punishable by hanging.

No Christian parent may require their children to pick up trash from the highway on Easter day.
Driving is not to be done while asleep.

It is legal to gather and consume roadkill.

The definition of "dumb animal" includes every living creature. –Including people?
It is illegal to dare a child to purchase a beer.
Skunks may not be carried into the state.

Georgia

It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroners office.

Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session.

Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.

No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.

Acworth
All citizens must own a rake.

Atlanta
Against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.

Columbus
Can't cut off a chicken's head on Sunday.

It is illegal to carry a chicken by it's feet down Broadway on Sunday.

Gainesville
Chicken must be eaten with the hands.

Jonesboro
It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy"

Kennesaw
Every head of household must possess a firearm of some kind.

Marietta
Though it is illegal to spit from a car or bus, citizens may spit from a truck.

St. Mary's
No spitting on the sidewalk is permitted after dark.

Quitman
It is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.


North Carolina

No one may be a professional fortune-teller, and if one wishes to pursue the practice as an amateur, it must be practiced in a school or church.

Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields.

Organizations may not hold their meetings while the members present are in costume.

Bingo games may not last over 5 hours unless it is held at a fair.

South Carolina

It is illegal to display a confederate flag on a courthouse.

By law, if a man promises to marry an unmarried woman, the marriage must take place.

A railroad may not remove itself from a town of more than five hundred people.

Dance halls may not operate on Sundays.
An exception to the above law is that light bulbs may be sold.

Musical instruments may not be sold on Sunday.

Horses may not be kept in bathtubs.

When approaching a four way or blind intersection in a non-horse driven vehicle you
must stop 100 ft from the intersection and discharge a firearm into the air to warn horse
traffic.

It is perfectly legal to beat your wife on the court house steps on Sundays.

Every adult male must bring a rifle to church on Sunday in order to ward off Indian attacks.

A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.

I Found My Happy Spot!

Well, I enjoyed youth immensely this week. There are five girls in our girls group plus our leader. We had a great time in our bible study. We are reading through Colossians and we read Colossians 4:2-6. we talked about prayer, shining our light through our conversations and in how we treat other people, and trusting in God through hard times. Go figure. That was just what I have recently been learning. We had some really in depth conversation and I definitely made some new friends!
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At the end of study we all left Subway in the rainy weather and all piled into the youth leader's car though there wasn't quite enough room :) and drove to The Dock (which is where we have our main meeting). We got there and Jonathan who is our main youth pastor taught about submission and how God is in control of all authority and we should submit unless the laws we are under tell us to disobey Gods law. Romans 13:1-7. Over all I had a great time and I thought the teaching was really good.

So yesterday was kind if a lazy day for me. Mom let us sleep in till about 8:00 and we didn't start school till 9:00. After school (which I finished at about 3:00) I decided to go see what Pris was doing at Aunt Lori's. On Sunday I had bought Sarah a stuffed bunny that was pink and very soft. So I brought that over. Sarah was very excited and kept hugging and kissing it (that was very cute). I would put a picture up but our camera cord is not working for me :( .

The rest of the day Pris, Hope, and I hung out with Aunt Lori, held babies, and watched I Love Lucy. Yeah, I know LAZY! At about 10:00 Uncle Kenny came home from baseball practice with Josh and Paul (Josh is 13 and Paul is 9). Paul had gotten a padded shirt from the coach because it's dangerous if the ball hits him really hard in the chest and since he's a pitcher, it's more likely that he will get hit. Well, Josh put the shirt on and asked me to punch him hard in the chest just so he could feel tough. I reluctantly did and he said it didn't hurt. Priscilla couldn't handle not having part in the fun so she wanted to hit him to and Josh was glad to oblige. Don't say it, I already know my family's weird. After Pris punched him a couple times Kenny wanted to try. He promised not to hit him to hard and Josh agreed..... well, it did hurt that time but Josh was still laughing. At about 11:00 we went home .

Sunday we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and played Catch Phrase until we got talking and everybody forgot about the game. Friday was Grandpa's birthday and we ate at there house then too. I always enjoy our talks with them and I know when I am old those are the times I am going to love to look back and remember.

Hope and I have started to go to our church youth group. We had gone with Candace and Pris a few times before and we sort of quit going; it was very big and there was not enough time to really get to know anyone. Honestly I'm not a big youth group fan. I would more like to hang out with a mixed group of teenagers and adults of all ages. But I think I am going to enjoy this youth group in spite of all that. Some of the girls meet and have a bible study before the meeting and Hope and I were invited to that. I think we will enjoy it and be able to grow. I am really looking forward to meeting some new friends.

I am reading a book called A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. I'm really enjoying it. It is about a little eleven year old girl and her little brother and who live in the slums of Brooklyn. Their father is drunk a lot and there mother is hard pressed to make their living. The story is interesting and it is giving me a lot of food for thought. There are many different kinds of people in the book who have many different opinions about life. I like thinking while I read of how I would try to explain my ideas to some of the characters.

For me there are several different categories of books. A book can be a fun book that I read for pure enjoyment (I save these for rare occasions), or a lesson book for me that is a true or inspiring story of someone I want to learn from, a self improving book which is usually the bible or a book about the bible, or a think book. A think book is a book that I don't agree with everything in it and it makes me dig into why and what I believe. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is definitely a think book.

Trust

Lately I have been struggling with worries about the future and a few other things that have burdened me for a few years. I know being caught up in worry can be a very bad thing especially when they are things I can't do anything about. so far no advantages have come out of worrying. I have started to struggle with discontentment which I'm pretty sure is a product of worry. Tonight I just started to question myself asking why I feel discontent and why do I feel like I'm not doing everything I should? Well I was thinking and I've realized what I should have known all along. There's no gain in worrying about things that I can't fix.

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I've realized that I haven't been giving God quite everything. I've been saving the things that are closest to my heart for myself to carry. But those are the things that matter most. It's been hard to trust God with those things because they are important. So starting now I am going to let go of all my fears but I don't think God wants me to forget about burdens that have been given me. I just need to learn to keep coming to Him and keep laying them down at His feet.

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Here are some bible verses that have encouraged me.

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Phil 4:6 -Be fretful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

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Psa 37:5 -Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him for He will do it.

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Psa 34:22-The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants:

And none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.

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Psa 62:8- Trust in Him at all times, O people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

With Boys Anything Can Happen

This afternoon Joshua, Luke, Hope, and I went to the creek. We went on the command not to get wet so we were going to explore the woods around. Once we got there we found a fallen log to cross the stream. Hope and I went to the waters edge and squished our toes in the freezing mud for a while while Luke and Joshua went ahead for a while. After a minute they called us over to a place where it was shallow enough for us to wade across. We found a little stream that branched off the creek and we went up that for a bit. Then Luke found an enormous skeleton of a cow scattered around beside the water.

We sat there for a while contemplating just what could have killed the cow. And we came up with some unlikely but good ideas!! Luke picked up a huge bone and waved it in the air yelling like a caveman which got a few good laughs. The boys found a few bones that they thought could be made into swords and were demonstrating battle scenes with far to many sound effects. Meanwhile Hope and I were laughing at some parts and being grossed out at others.

Then Luke found the jaw bone and decided he could not go home without the skull so a search party was sent out consisting of four explorers. We made our way into the nearby cow field and found many other interesting bones. Luke finally found the skull and Josh found a bone that he liked.

It was finally time to go home so Luke and Josh made us help them carry a few bones home for them to clean and use for who knows what. Hope and I refused to touch the "filthy" bones so we wrapped them in Luke's shirt. The walk home was relatively uneventful besides the fact that Hope and I where very embarrassed when we had to walk a ways on the road and we were given strange looks from passersby.

Viking and Caveman(aka Josh and Luke)

Sorry if this picture scares you! It scared me!!

P.S.

Luke and Josh did shower when they got home.

Recent and Upcoming Events

Not much has been happening lately. The sickness has made a full rotation around the family. Hope was the last to get it and she just got better yesterday. This week is going to be crazy at dance as we do some final cleanup on some dances. Next week is going to be even worse because the big History performance will be that weekend. Yikes! No, I'm not really that nervous but that will probably change as it gets closer. We are going to have live singers and professional lighting! If you don't know what History is it is a dance/drama our studio has done on the life of Christ, showing his birth, death, and Resurrection. Here are some more pics.

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I recently read a book called The Ishbane Conspiracy by Randy Alcorn and his daughters. It is about four teenagers who are trying to make there way in a fallen culture. Two of the teenagers are Christians who try to stand strong themselves while also trying to teach their friends about God. This book addresses many different things that teenagers can struggle with. Some of them are suicide, eating disorders, abortion, the occult, and witchcraft. Throughout the book there are two demons conversing in letters to each other trying to bring these teenagers down.

I think this is a really good book for teens to read so they will be prepared to face our fallen culture. Especially ones going to public school who have to face these things on a daily basis.

"I already got my hair cut at the Cuttin' Corral." We know that place is messed up.

Yesterday afternoon I was hanging at the house, taking it easy cause I was sick the day before. While I was doing nothing and wanting to do something, we heard a little knock at the door. I opened it to see John (our five year old cousin) standing there with a huge grin on his face. I asked him what he needed but all he said was "Geet ovah heeeeere" dragging out the here. We asked him who it was he wanted but he just smiled squinting up his eyes and repeated himself. We were a bit "weirded out" and had to ask a series of questions in order to finally come to the conclusion that our uncle Jacob was at his house. Lori wanted us to come over and visit. Mom and I went over for a while but Jacob had to leave. He came back later with the rest of his family and we got to see his new baby girl.

Well, they got to talking about hair cuts and Jacob said he had had some experience with cutting his brothers hair. Lo, all the boys were lined up for their desperately needed haircuts. First went John who ended up with a buzz then Paul got one. Uncle Kenny was next. He got his cut except the whole back side of his head and he told Lori he was done. This was not acceptable so Jacob finished it off. Joshua is now thirteen and he was very worried about looking cool and it took some pressure from the girls to get him in the chair. In the end he only got it slightly shorter. Then Luke and Abel got theirs trimmed.

A few nights before I had lent Joshua Napoleon Dynamite. They watched it every night for about a week and Josh had the whole movie memorized. So we spent last night being entertained by Joshua, doing Kip very well, and a pretty good job on the rest of them too.

Yep

Modesty

Mom found this site with a modesty survey on it. A group of girls put together some statements about modesty and sent out the survey to over fifteen hundred christian guys. The results amazed me! I had always cared about modesty and Dad and Mom had helped tell me what was and wasn't acceptable but to really know for certain that Dad and Mom where right was kind of cool. Though most of the things I pretty much already knew, it was encouraging to hear that a lot of guys care about a girl's modesty. Most of the guys said that modestly dressed girls were more attractive (in a good way) than immodest ones.

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A 13 year old said:
"Modest girls are always more pretty to me than immodest girls. An immodest girl might be really pretty but her actions are ugly and they cancel out her natural beauty, making her ugly. A modest girl is pretty not only in looks but in actions and deeds and that is the type of girl I like to be around."

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I think it is really cool that a thirteen year old boy can have that attitude about girls at such a young age. I think that every girl should see what this survey has to say and even guys can be encouraged by it. If us girls can grasp this idea of not needing to show off our bodies to attract the right kind of guys I know we would be a lot happier. Most girls need to realize that attraction is so much more than just looks.

The Bridge to Memories

Thursday us girls went to see The Bridge to Terabithia. I think we all cried at least once, I know I cried more than that. The movie is about two kids who are bullied at their school but every day after school they go play in the woods. They find a big tree house and pretend they live in a land called Terabithia. They play that trolls and the woodland animals are evil creatures working for a "dark lord". This made me laugh because of all the times I played in the woods building forts and running from imaginary enemies. Hope and I were inspiried to take a walk in the woods again. Even though we may not play war or build a tree house I know I will never be to old to enjoy the woods.

Hope has her own blog now. It's @ hopespinkflamingo.blogspot.com

Encouragment

This poem I came across was really encouraging and a neat way to think about not only some things we've been through, but also everything that seems so bad now, & how differently we'll see it all later. I didn't write this one, but I wish I would have.

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Sometime

by May Riley Smith

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Sometime when all life's lessons have been learned,

And sun and stars forevermore have set,

The things which our weak judgments here have spurned,

The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet,

Will flash before us out of life's dark night,

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue;

And we shall see how all God's plans are right,

And how what seemed reproof was love most true.

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And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,

God’s plans go on as best for you and me;

How, when we called, He heeded not our cry,

Because His wisdom to the end could see.

And e’en as prudent parents disallow,

Too much of sweet to craving babyhood,

So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now

Life’s sweetest things, because it seemeth good.

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And if, sometimes, commingled with life’s wine,

We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink,

Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine,

Pours out the potion for our lips to drink;

And if some friend you love is lying low,

Where human kisses cannot reach his face,

Oh, do not blame the loving Father so,

But wear your sorrow with obedient grace!

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And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath

Is not the sweetest gift God sends His friends,

And that, sometimes, the sable pull of death

Conceals the fairest boon His love can send;

If we could push ajar the gates of life,

And stand within, and all God’s workings see,

We could interpret all this doubt and strife,

And for each mystery could find a key.

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But not today. Then be content, poor heart;

God’s plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold;

We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart,—

Time will reveal the chalices of gold.

And if, through patient toil, we reach the land

Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest,

When we shall clearly see and understand,

I think that we will say, "God knew the best."

Kids in the way?

Not much has been going on lately. It's been snowing a off and on today and it's snowing pretty heavily right now. It's been kind of a lazy day today as Saturdays always are. Kezzi, Luke, Josh and I are going to a youth service tonight at our neighbor's church.

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I was thinking about this Christian rock band called 'Kids in the Way' who have a song w/ that title which repeats "we are, we are, kids in the way". I was really sad not just that this is the message they're portraying to the youth, but that this is the "Christian" message they want to get across. That, to me, pretty much implies "We're just immature kids who can't make a difference and are only a hindrance till we grow up". I don't think that's the mindset God wants for us as Christian young people. (Just so you know though, I'm not at all against anybody who listens to them, so please don't take offence if you do. They may have other music that's really good. I haven't heard much of them.)

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I believe that God wants to use us as a major impact on the rest of society & show that we don't have to be just immature people waiting to grow up, but can be an influence and inspiration wherever we are. To me, it's so exciting to think that I'm not just waiting to grow up and be a light, but that I can be a light to anyone wherever I am in small ways, weather it's at church or anywhere else. Even just standing up for what's right & not going along w/ things I know are wrong can make a huge difference & even sometimes change people's minds.

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It's been nice, lately us girls have started helping out during one of the church services and I've been helping w/ the 4 and 5 year olds. I really enjoy it. I was thinking though, that even in simple little things like this I can help make a difference. There was this one girl who had told me a few weeks before, that she didn't have a mom anymore because she died. I felt so bad for her. Later, she looked really sad & had sat by herself not talking to anyone. When I asked her name, she wouldn't tell me (& wasn't very nice about it), but when I started helping her w/ a couple things & trying to help her have fun, she warmed right up and was totally different toward me & seemed a lot happier too.

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I know God can use us young people in lots of ways, but it's our responsibility(mainly speaking to myself here)to look for those ways & jump at the opportunity.

*Update* I went and looked at the lyrics of the song, Kids In The Way, and realized they were saying something different than I thought. They were just using that phrase saying that's how the world thinks of us but we're much more than that. I guess I was just thinking about this subject of kids being a light in the world and the song title came to mind. My bad. :)

Family Weirdness

My family and I have a strange fascination with phrases that sound funny. Like when our aunt Lizzi came to visit us she started saying "Aw that's filthy" or "oh filth". For some strange reason we thought this was funny. I guess it was partly her tone of voice and personality. Well we started saying it and it sort of stuck so it is now the family word. Several friends have even picked it up from us. Then a little later we went on a drive with our uncle Levi he looked at the mountains and said "Oh, Wow! That's an an awesome!" We made fun of him for a while for his bad grammar, but then we started saying it too. We also say "that's a stupid" or any other adjective that doesn't belong there. A few days ago Pris found something new. She got into the car to go to dance and I started to tell her we were late. All I got out was "Pris..." before she interrupted me with "You shut up." I was a bit shocked at her rudeness(not realy.lol.). She was playing of course and now we all say it. The tone of voice has to be just right and we cant say it at the wrong moment or we will get in trouble for really meaning it. It is funny when you interrupted someone before they can ask a question.Another thing that's weird is when Mom was a kid her dad would yell out "I'm going to bring everyone a surprise when I get home!" and sometimes they would ask for a surprise. Moms little brother Levi could not say surprise then and always called it a buprise and eventually the whole family called it that. Last night on Valentines Day Mom and Dad went out and Mom told us if we did all our jobs she would bring a "buprise" for us. It was candy and a movie.

This morning Candace and Priscilla flew out to a conference and I don't know what I will do with myself while there gone. :( Oh well Hope and I will get some party time and maybe we will use their rooms to host a few friends. Just kidding. That was a joke. c'mon I'm laughing. Ha ha ha ha. Okay that was lame lets move on here. Not to long ago Lizzi called to chat she said she had something else for us to start saying. It was "Little weird", she had used it on several occasions and it had had satisfactory results. You have to say it in a slow drawling voice to get the desired affect. I know what you are thinking. "What a weird family" and I would have to agree but hey, we have fun and sometimes people laugh at us. That's a good thing right?

Some of our friends from Alabama got in last night & they'll be visiting for the weekend. They have 5 little kids. Two boys and three girls. Also, since Lori and Kenny are in Missouri, we've been taking care of Sarah and Lilly some of the time. The littlest ones are so funny. Elizabeth just came in running and spinning around in circles, jabbering to me about something. It was so cute.

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We danced yesterday, and it seemed like a really long day but it was good. During the rehearsal, Doug, (the guy that sings for our performances) came & we practiced the new songs w/ him. I kinda wish we had just a little longer than March till HiStory so I can know my new parts longer. I'm really exited about it though, I can't wait! I start liking dance a lot more just knowing it's coming up. I'm hoping it'll be even better than last time. It'll probably be somewhat different having new guys play Jesus & Joseph. Those of you who are coming to see it, we'll have the tickets to sell soon.

I haven't had time to blog lately so here is the overview. Super bowl was great as usual. We went to our cousin Davids house who has DVR on his TV so we could fast forward the things we didn't want to see. Our team won. YAY!

Yesterday was Priscilla's 18th birthday and we went Ice skating with Grandpa and Grandma and Lori and Kenny. Most of the kids had never ice skating before so it was interesting. They all loved it and 5 year old john was even able to skate alone after a while. Once The Littlest Princess fell and Aunt Lori helped her up asking "do you want to stop sand rest for a while?" She looked up crying and said. "I would but I love it to much!"She also cried when we had to go. While we were skating in a corner Pris saw a metal stand thing with a baby seat attached to it. it was meant to push a baby in. We immediately thought "Sarah" so we fetched her and strapped her in. We took turns pushing her around. While Pris pushed Sarah Hope and I skated ahead and watched Sarah's reaction. She giggled and smiled until it was time for them to clean the floor then she got mad. When we got home Pris had a dance she had choreographed for her birthday to a song by Twila Paris.You can read the lyrics here. Maybe I will post some pictures when we get them on our computer.

Sledding in the mountains

Today we went to the mountains to go sledding with a few friends. We never get any good amount of snow here, but there's usually quite a bit about an hour away. The scenery was incredible driving up there. The mountains were amazing with all the trees covered with ice.

Someone said it looked like we could have been in Narnia. Anyway, it took us a while to find the place where we go to sled, with an occasional, "Oh, that's it!" and then finding out it wasn't.

Once we got there, the guys got a fire going. It was great for warmth, but they built it right in the way of people sledding. So we had to either come to an immediate stop, or steer strait into the brush. (Which was not a pleasant experience.) Except when we'd watch people flip & wreck then get up laughing. That was most often my uncle Kenny and Candace who'd come flying down in a 2 person sled.

For the most part it was a lot of fun, besides getting a cut on my face and the fact that the temperature was 14 degrees with a wind chill of 0 or below. We wanted to have a giant snowball fight, but it was too cold. The snow just wouldn't stick. (Yeah, just a few complaints: ) But it was worth it. We'll probably go again soon with the families who couldn't make it this time.

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We found out yesterday that a family related to our cousins/neighbors just lost their oldest son. He was 17 & committed suicide. It sounds like a pretty traumatic situation. Please be praying for that family.

The rescue mission gone bad

Yesterday morning began like most mornings for us. The routine of us kids never getting up quite on time. Mom ringing the intercom a thousand times until every last one of us is upstairs. We read the Bible and Pearlkeeper got up to fix breakfast. Mom got out our literature book to read and while she was reading, we heard a loud bang at the window. We looked toward the window to see a confused looking cardinal fly shakily away. After eating breakfast, we heard the dogs barking so the boys went to check in out. They found the cardinal sitting on the ground with the dogs barking at it. Smokey bear picked it up and brought it in the house. He put it in a cage we have, and put a blanket in there with it. The poor cardinal looked very scared and he had a stick in his mouth. After about an hour he looked like he was getting over the shock. He was walking around and looking at us with interest. When lunch time came Mom had to go to town with Grandma and Lori. Sarah was dropped off for me to babysit. I brought her over to the bird cage and showed her the cardinal.She was thrilled and kept saying what sounded like "birdie". The bird ended up just falling over and dying. We couldn't figure out why, maybe shock or he might have broken his neck. After he died Smokey bear wanted to feed him to the cat. I was appalled and refused to let him. I think he ended up getting buried. Well, we had fun the rest of the day. Our friend who we hadn't seen for a few months came over and we played games and entertained Sarah. Here is a cute pitcure of her napping.

One More Blonde Joke

The other day, Mom & Pris went to town to get a few things and while they were out Pris got something for me. A little after they came back, while I was busy in the kitchen, she kept trying to get me to notice it by putting it closer & closer til it was right next to me and I still didn't notice. Finally, I was standing right over it and looked down. It took a second to register that it was actually for me, but when I did everyone started laughing at me for not noticing. It was a Mark Schultz CD I'd been wanting for a while because it has my favorite song on it 'Think of Me'. I thought of another blonde joke Kezzi should have added below.

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How to give a blonde a gift:

You shove it right in her face, because otherwise she won't even notice(even when you put her name on it & set it right beside her. lol)

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I guess I really am a blockhead after all:).

Anyway, I just got back from dance. I'm really exited about our perfomance coming up. It's a little bit scary that it's only in March and I have several new parts to learn, but I'm sure it will work out fine.

Tomorow, early in the morning, Pris & I are going to a dance workshop over an hour away. I also heard one of the teachers is really tough, but I hope it wont be too bad.

Well, I'll probably be posting again soon.

~Hope~

Hey folks!

I have added a new team member to my blog who just so happens to be my little sister, Hope.

Obviously, I won't be calling this kezzi's cove anymore. We've decided on ~the pink flamingo~. Sort of random but we liked it and that's what matters. :)

Am I blonde? I don't remember.

Q:Why did the blonde run out of shampoo?
A:She kept following the instructions: lather, rinse, repeat!

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Q: How do blonde braincells die?

A: Alone.

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Q: How do you change a blonde's mind?

A: Blow in her ear.

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Q: How do you measure a blonde's intelligence?

A: Stick a tire pressure gauge in her ear!

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Q: How does a blonde kill a fish?

A: She drowns it.

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Q: A blond is going to London on a plane, how can you steal her window seat?

A: Tell her the seats that are going to London are all in the middle row.

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Q: How do you amuse a blonde for hours?

A: Write 'Please turn over' on both sides of a piece of paper

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Q: How does a blonde commit suicide?

A: She gathers her clothes into a pile and jumps off.

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Q: How do you make a blonde laugh on Saturday?

A: Tell her a joke on Wednesday.

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Q: What is the blonde doing when she holds her hands tightly over her ears?

A: Trying to hold on to a thought.

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Q: Have you heard what my blond neighbor wrote on the bottom of her swimming pool?

A: No smoking.

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Q: How do you drown a blond?

A: Put a mirror at the bottom of the pool.

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Q: How do you drive a blonde crazy?

A: Give her a bag of M&Ms and tell her to alphabetize them.

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Q: How did the blonde burn her nose?

A: Bobbing for french fries.

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Q: Why don't blondes double recipes?

A: The oven doesn't go to 700 degrees.

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Q: Why do blondes drive BMWs?

A: Because they can spell it.

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Q: Why do blondes like lightning?

A: They think someone is taking their picture.

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Q: How many blondes does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Two. One to hold the Diet Pepsi, and one to call, "Daaady!"

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Q: Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, a dumb blonde, and a smart blonde are walking down the street when they spot a $10 bill. Who picks it up?

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A: The dumb blonde! because, there is no such thing as Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, or a smart blonde.

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Q: What does a blonde say when you ask her if her blinker is o

A: It's on. It's off. It's on. It's off. It's on. It's off.

Well it looks like Pearlkeeper beat me to it and posted her painting. Here is a few of mine though.

I was inspired by Waterhouse to do this one. This was my art teachers favorite.

This is my most recent. My art teachers reaction to this one was "WEIRD!". I told him it was a fairy tale painting for TheLittlestPrincesess' room. He said "that's great! Put a scary painting in your little sister's room."

I'm terrible at still life and I pretty much hate this one:P This is the only one I've done in art class so far.

I sorta like unicorns and I've painted a few. This is kinda old but I like it so I put it up.

Update

Nothin' much has happened since we got home from the beach. I've been working on writing a book. I haven't gotten far but it's something to occupy my time. I've been visiting my Aunt Lori a lot lately and Joseph has been getting cuter every day. Monday I went with Lori to the hospital cause Joseph was coughing and choking at night. I went with her to help with Sarah. We ended up staying at the Hospital for almost four hours. They were running blood tests and he had to get an X-ray. It turned out he would be ok and but they gave Lori a breathing machine just in case. That night she was still worried so they brought him to the children's hospital. The doctor told them that he would admit him if he was just a little bit younger but he would be ok. He is doing a lot better now just a slight cough.

Us girls have been obsessed with painting lately. Pearlkeeper BLOCHhead and I started an acrylic class Monday and we think we'll like it. Mom and Pearlkeeper went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and came back with a boatload of canvas for painting. Maybe I'll post some of our stuff later. Mom is wanting me to do some fairy tale paintings for TheLittlestPrincess' room so I will have fun with those. At church I started volunteering and today I helped with the babies.

Life hasn't been very fast pace lately but I've been enjoying the peace.

We have been here for 4 days. Here are some things we have done.

We went to the St. Augustine lighthouse on the way down. Us kids got to go to the top while Mom and Dad stayed at the bottom. We thought the stairs were going to go on forever but when we got to the top there was an awesome view.
A couple days afterward we all walked about five miles in the sand to go see another light house. When we got there, there was a man made bay and we climbed on the walls. This is Pearlkeeper and I. Though it doesn't look like it here, the wind was blowing so hard I thought I was going to choke on my hair! On the way to the lighthouse we found this huge fish head just laying in the sand. That is Dads size 10 shoe next to it.


The next day we drove through the Everglades and I got to touch this bird.

The Holidays

I haven't posted in a long time. Sorry:) We have been very busy lately so here is the update.

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Christmas

When Christmas morning 10:00 came around Uncle Kenny refused to weigh and handed Adventure Queen the money. Pearlkeeper gave him as a gag gift a box full of diet books and slim fast shakes with nasty looking veggies thrown in here and there.

Of course he had to shove some in his mouth immediately.

SmokeyBear got a German shepard puppy(as if we needed more dogs)and I thought he was going to cry for happiness.

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The night before New Years Eve

Well Friday night Pearlkeeper, BLOCHhead and I brought the Matrix#1 over to Uncle Kenny's at about 10:00. We played cards till about 11:00 and then started the movie. After the movie we hung out till 3:00. Pearlkeper said randomly, "I want some pizza!" so Kenny said "Lets go!" and that was that. We showed up at Wal-Mart in P.J.'s except for Josh who had a black trench coat on trying to look bad. We were walking around Wal-Mart acting like dorks and the workers were already giving us suspicious looks when Kenny ran and slid on his belly. Pearlkeeper took off her shoes and slid in her socks and we slid in our shoes. After that we all went to the game area and played games for a while, then got pizza and went back to the house. We cooked the pizza and watched Rambo#1(Which I though was stupid!). We ended up in bed at about 7:00am.

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New years Eve

We had a big party with family from MI and we stayed up that night till 4:00am playing Texas Hold 'em (and I won all by the way).

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Now

We have been packing and getting ready for a five day vacation to the beach. It will be nice to get a break from the cold!