Changes

Happiest of Fridays to you all!

My blog is going to be getting a makeover sometime soon!

Layout, background, content, purpose...it's ALL gonna be revamped! I'm very excited. So please stick with me for bit - I'll be changing things, bit by bit, slowly but surely.

And a shout out to all my followers (and especially those who comment) - You are WONDERFUL! You all are an encouragement to me, and I lovelovelove reading your comments. I'm going to try to do better about replying to them :)

God bless you and keep you and make his face shine about you!

i love jane austen

Jane Austen is amazingly clever. She just randomly sprinkles all these great quotes throughout her novels!
I read Pride and Predjudice while we were on vacation, and fell in love with it once again. I couldn't put it done! I hadn't read since I was around eleven, and it didn't make a bit of sense then. But this time, I devoured it. (I read the Mr. Dary/Elizabeth propsal scene while sitting in a swing near the edge of the lake near sunset...it was beautiful!)
Anyways, I jotted down some of my favorite quotes while I was reading, and thought I would share them with you!

"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love."

"They found Mr. Bennet still up. With a book, he was regardless of time;"

"He is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "Sensible, goodhumored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! - so much ease, with perfect good breeding!"
"He is also handsome, " replied Elizabeth, "Which a young man ought likewise ought to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete."

"That is one great difference between us. Compliments always take you by surprise, and me never." (Elizabeth, refering to Jane)

"He certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him." (Elizabeth, again)

"Affection of candour is common enough - one meets with it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design - to take the good of everybody's character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad - belongs to you alone." (Elizabeth, speaking of Jane)

"Miss Bennet was therefore established as a sweet girl, and their brother felt authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose."

"That the Miss Lucases and Miss Bennets should meet to talk over a ball was absolutely necessary."

"I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine." (Elizabeth, speaking of Darcy)

"Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have other thinks of us."

"We all begin freely - a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragment."

Paraphrase - Giving a ball is a subject which always makes a lady energetic. (Darcy..tee hee!)

"A lady's imagination is very rapid, it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment." (Darcy)

"I often think," said she, "that there is nothing so bad as parting with one's friends. One seems so forlorn without them."

"My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life." (Mr. Bennet)

"I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh. Mr. Darcy send you all the love in the world, that he can spare from me." (Elizabeth...I think this one is my very favorite!)

What's your favorite Jane Austen book/movie?

We're heading off to Branson today and won't be back until Saturday!

I can't wait!! :)

xoxo!!

Hurray - a giveaway and an award!

First, I'll tell about the giveaway - cause WHO doesn't like free stuff?

Carlotta over at pastor's girl's pondering is having a fabulous giveaway - check it out here!

Second, the award!

Costume Queen over at Aria of an Amateur has kindly awarded me a "sweet blog" award!! Thank you so much, Costume Queen! :)

When you receive this award, you're supposed to thank the person who sent it to you and then pass it on to ten sweet-as-pie bloggers. Soo, here are the lovely bloggers that I'm passing this award on to!

1. Haleymay at Music in the Rain

2. Grace at The Rambling of a Knitting goddess

3. Ellie at The Glamorous Life of a Laundry Girl

4. carlotta at pastor's girls ponderings

5. Rachel at A Cupcake for moose

6. Lindsay at Content in Christ

7. Anna at From the Blue Notebooks

8. The Girls at Love Unawakened

9. Emily at Practically Pink

10. Melody at Vividry

To all those who have been chosen: You are a wonderfully sweet blogger and you deserve this blog award! Please save the blog award image (which is shown earlier in this post) to your computer and post it on your blog.

My New Room - Part I

(I drew this during my driver's ed lesson...definitely craving an iced chai tea latte!)

I'm slowly setting up my new room, and I thought I'd post pictures of the things I finish, just for fun!

(I moved from sharing a room with my two younger sisters into the former "baby room". We don't need it anymore! And let me tell you, I am LOVING having my own room. So peaceful - and all the messes are my own. AHHH! I'm in love.)

Introducing...the makeup stand! *yaay* I don't actually use it for makeup - little hands would definitely find their way into it. So, it's more like a jewelry/hair stand. Still way fun!

My jammie pants make me smile! :)

We're having a "Get Together" at Church tonight with some friends! Fun is sure to abound.

I'm also studying for the PSAT. Bleh. Ok, it's not that bad. Let me be succinct - concise, terse - because I abhor circumlocution and grandiloquent. I consider altruistic acquaintances to be philanthropists of the highest order. Haha. I'm in the vocabulary section of review, and I'm supposed to be integrating the words I study into my everyday speech...so don't be alarmed if I throw in a weird word every now and then ;)

Well, have a beautiful day, sweet readers!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21

Savorin' Summer

I'm a fan of summer. Yes, indeed.

It's been a long time since I posted! In that time, I went to SBFYC - which was fantastic. Beyond fantastic. Then, I visited the Hardens and spent five AMAZING days with them!

Now I'm back home, trying to make these last weeks of summer last as long as possible.

Sitting on the front porch reading is oooh so nice. But oooh so hot, as well.

Been trying to finish Driver's Ed before school starts...

Mmm, slushies. We like slushies, especially on hot days. Swimming + Slushies = Super!

Made "Breakfast Cookies" the other night, and decided that they were not only good for breakfast, but really for any - and every - meal.

Today, we completed our "Quest II" trailer!!! So. Much. Fun. We're having a cast swimming party tomorrow, and Ashley made us these awesome t-shirts.

Now I'm off to Bible Study...but SOON I will post about my new room!!

no words needed

Amy, Ashley, Will and I took our digital cameras and walked around downtown (in really hot weather - I have a sunburn to prove it) for about an hour today and took PICTURES. So much fun :)

Yes, I just got back from a terrific trip to Texas (alliteration! ahh.) And it was truly terrific. My dear friend Grace summarized it beautifully in this post. I am SO blessed. I really don't deserve the beautiful friends God has graced me with!

(Haley, me, and Grace in our Oklahoma! attire)

I'll try to post a video from our performance of "Oklahoma!" soon! Right now I'm about to order the Hugh Jackman version of "Oklahoma!", which, from the snippets I saw of it, looks fabulous!

This week we are preparing for a visit from a dear family from Tennessee. Since they have seven kids, just like us, we will have quite a party! We're planning to go boating, have a church youth capture the flag game, sip tea and munch scones, and just have a great time!

Grace introduced Haley and I to Leddra Chapman while we were at Haley's house, and now I'm hooked! I would *definitely* recommend her songs, especially Summer Song and Wrap Me Up. Ahh.

My mom just signed me up for an AP English Language/Composition class for this fall! It's part of the Patrick Henry Prep Academy, and it looks really exciting..hard, but exciting! I'm taking it along with my other dear Texas friend, Haley! Yay!

There's less than two weeks 'til camp. YES! I had a dream last night that I forgot that we were going, and missed the trip because I was still frantically stuffing clothes into my suitcase >.<

(Camp 2009)

Have a lovely afternoon! Don't forget to smell the flowers :)

Let it be known that Texas, despite it's humidity and scary highways and distance from my house, contains some of my favorite people in the world.

This and That

Today I have been packing!

To go where, you may ask?




To visit these two lovely ladies <3!

I. Am. SO. Excited!

My Mom and I are leaving early tomorrow morning! YIPPEE!

We filmed some today in Cann Gardens...it was so much fun, as always :) Our trailer is going to ROCK, if I do say so myself.

I've gone running three times this week. I'm so proooud of myself ;)

We started a new book in our girl's Bible study called "Identity"! It looks terrific, and I'm very excited. We had such a great time, and a very encouraging talk. I have such amazin' friends, and an even more amazing God and Savior.

I tried a new recipe this week! It was coconut chocolate chip banana bread, and it was uberly yummy!

I've broken a bowl AND a glass this week. Oh woe is me...

Ooh! I watched "The Young Victoria" on Wednesday night, and *loved* it. Can I have my own Prince Albert? Pretty please?

Levi, Will and Josiah pretty much ROCKED in Godspell Jr. last night! Yeah!

And now, onto finishing up my packing.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! :)

If I were a gemstone, I'd be an opal.
If I were a scent, I'd be butterfly flower.
If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be fun flats.
If I were the weather, I'd be a warm summer evening.
If I were a facial expression, I'd be a smile.
If I were a car, I'd be a volkswagen bug.
If I were a time of day, I'd be midnight.
If I were a month, I'd be October.
If I were a place, I'd be the library.
If I were a liquid, I'd be a caramel macchiato.
If I were a taste, I'd be sweet.
If I were an animal, I'd be a butterfly.
If I were an a sea animal, I'd be a sea horse.
If I were a food, I'd be a warm blueberry muffin.
If I were a color, I'd be fushia.
If I were a dessert, I'd be cheesecake.
If I were a musical instrument, I'd be the piano.
If I were a flower, I'd be a daisy.
If I were a song, I'd be "Smile" by Uncle Kracker.
If I were a planet, I'd be Mercury.
If I were an object, I'd be a travel mug.
If I were a fruit, I'd be a pomegranate.
If I were a sound, I'd be the whirl of a fan.
If I were a day of the week, I'd be Tuesday.

Now it 's YOUR turn! I'd love to see you all's answers on your blogs! :)

midnight pondering

"How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!" Psalm 147:1

How pleasant and fitting indeed! There is no great joy than honoring and praising our Lord and Savior.

As I lay here with a candlelit and the thunder rumbling outside my window, I'm struck by the beauty of the Lord that fills and surrounds my life as a Christian. God fills my life with a joy, peace and motivation that I could never find in myself or in anything on this earth. Though earthly pleasure bring fun and excitement, even the best things are stained by the taint of sin. Without God's lovingkindess, and the beauty He provides, my life would be ugly and parched.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Psalm 150:6

Christ is the King of Loveliness, and yet He submerged himself in the disgusting, grimy, stinking, gross mire of my sin in order to save me. I can be clean and beautiful through His sacrifice; through His strength, my life and actions can be clean and beautiful too. How incredible!

"You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." Isaiah 62:3

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

"He has made everything beauitful in it's time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

What a sweet ambition for my attitude and lifestyle:

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
1 Peter 3:3-4

Pink Cupcakes and Cherry Pie

Li'l Abner is now officially over. Ooh happy day!

Goodbye party for Miss Lindsay Pauls...

Note the pink cupcakes!

Lindsay...being Lindsay :)

Summer reading!

Kate's 5th Birthday! We did each other's hair :)

Now is when I miss being a little girl...

Pink cupcakes strike again!

Dolly tea party...

Emma, Kate, Faith and Mom :)

Drawing :)

Made Cherry Pie with my Grandma! (With our freshly picked cherries from our front yard!)

We enjoyed it with our neighbor, Miss Jessica, on the porch.

Mmm.

Drove out to watch Levi and Will play in a Baseball Tournament on Saturday! They both did great, and it was fun to get out with the fam and shop and eat :)

Shopping at Old Navy! Pretty much my favorite place..I can't even tell you how much I love their clearance section!

Sister o' Mine :)

Eating frozen yogurt at the Orange Leaf after a hot afternoon at the ball park.

Ahh, this stuff is WAY too good. Mmm.

Toppings galore!

You can pick however many flavors you want...which is good, because they're all so very delicious.

Papa John's pizza on the way home! Yuuum.

What a fun day! God has blessed me with a pretty incredible family!

I got called a little Audrey Hepburn last night

Guess what I've been doing?

Ok, I'll just tell you. Right after Seussical finished, I popped on over to the other theater company in our town and jumped in, as a chorus member, to Li'l Abner. Oh, and there was two and a half weeks till the first performance.

Why is this, you ask? Well, the auditions for this play were RIGHT in the middle of Seussical. Plus, to me anyway, the play didn't sound very appealing.
They hardly had anyone turn up for auditions (Only one girl auditioned) They were a bit lacking on parts. So, they called in the recruits. (Most of the cast didn't audition, but was "drafted")

By the way, if you have no idea what Li'l Abner is...it's an old, old comic strip:
"Li'l Abner was the unlikely son of tiny Mammy (Pansy) and Pappy (Lucifer) Yokum. Mammy was the industrious "sassiety leader" of backward Dogpatch who instilled honesty and All-American ideals in Li'l Abner. Pappy, in contrast, was an illiterate and hopeless parasite. From the inception of the strip, Abner was vigorously pursued by Daisy Mae, a beautiful Dogpatch damsel hopelessly in love with the bumbling, unappreciative and seldom amorous bachelor. Abner spent nearly two decades outracing Daisy in the annual Sadie Hawkins Day race but the couple finally married."

(Here we are! I'm in the front row, bottom right corner)

Final Dress Rehearsal is tonight! The show runs for two weekends (Fri. Sat. Sun. one week, and Sat. and Sun. the next) It's been fine...if I could go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't have done it. Oh well! The Director is wonderful though!

Seussical Pictures..coming sometime!