Britney and the fall gathering.

Tonight there was a fall gathering at my church. The youth helped run it and it was a fun night all around. This is my friend Britney. She's a fun girl. We had started getting really close a few months ago, but our schedules got the best of us. I miss hanging out with her and having a blast together. But tonight was a good excuse to do so.

Jason Gray.

I saw Jason Gray tonight and it was a blast! There were a lot of things that were up in the air with this concert to begin with. My mom had told me I could go, but then changed her mind, then changed her mind again and I was able to make it! Jason is one of the greatest people I have ever met. He is great with making his fans his friends, which is exactly what we have become. It's hard to understand something like that, if you haven't experienced it. Just take my word for it. We spent the majority of the night laughing and joking around. I always look forward to hanging out with this man. He's a gem. Now I can't wait for January or February. Which ever one he is coming to my church during! :-)

Renovated room.

Today Brad repainted my whole room. Four years ago two hurricanes ripped our house apart and my room was hit the hardest. Half of my wall had to be cut out and put back in because of water damage, my closet was a moldy mess, my dresser got ruined because of water damage. In the end it was a very huge project that never got done. I got a new dresser, new half a wall, new carpet, new everything basically. But my mom and I just never finished painting. So for four years my room has been sitting unfinished. Well..today Brad took the time on his vacation and repainted my whole room. I love it! It's so fresh and new! I enjoy being in here now!

P.S. I went to a dermatologist today. I have a mountain of STUFF to use and it's dreadful. That's another story for another day.

Hot chocolate and Skype.

Today was the coldest day that we have had. It was in the 60's all day. It was absolutely beautiful, but I have to admit, I tried to stay under my covers as much as I possibly could because it was FREEZING in my house. My mom made homemade hot chocolate and it was some of the best hot cocoa I have ever had. I sipped away on it while have an evening Skype chat with the marvelous Monika.

Perfectly Pleasant.

This is what the thermostat in my house said at 11:00 this morning. I woke up this morning and it was absolutely freezing in my house. I don't know what the temperature was outside, but it was enough to make my house almost 60 something degrees three hours after I woke up. It was a pleasantly beautiful day all day long. Not a cloud in the sky, with the wind blowing through my windows. Tonight it is supposed ot be in the 40's. Crazy! I am looking forward to it!

Walking the cat.

There's a cat on the loose! Just kidding. More like there's a cat on a LEASH! I walked my cat around the back yard this afternoon, to let her have some adventure. She's only been let out of the house two other times before. The first time she attempted to climb the oak tree in our front yard, broke her collar, and almost got away. The second time, she was a crazy kitty cat and was just running all over the place. Today was the third time. It had been well over a year since I let her out, so I was really scared for what was going to happen. She pounced around the yard, had me chasing her a couple times, but other than that it wasn't too bad. It was just such a beautiful day that I could not sit stuck inside.

It's over.

Today I finished the last book in the Harry Potter series. It was such a good book and kept me at the edge of my seat the whole entire time I was reading it. In the end, the series being done is kind of bittersweet. I grew up reading these books. From 4th grade all the way to 12th grade. The above picture is of the books that I have lined up to ride. I'm more than halfway through The Oath. I just need to muster up the motivation to finish it! I won't be reading the dictionary. Are you kidding me??

This needs to be cleaned.

My room could use a good cleaning. My nightstand it pretty cluttered at the moment, there is laundry that needs to be folded, there is furniture that needs to be dusted, and there is a floor that needs to be vacuumed. I guess that's something that needs to be done this weekend.

P.S. Yes, this is about as exciting as my day gets! Although, I took my final exam for marine science and didn't do too bad.

Being blown around.

Today was a very overcast and windy day. We have a cold front on the way and i'm really excited about it. I walked out of my house to walk the dogs and my hair probably could have turned into a helicopter propeller and lifted me off into the sky. Either way, I can't wait until we starts experiencing some 50's, 60's and 70's this weekend and next week.

Freshness.

Whenever a new season comes around I always feel so fresh and new. It's like i'm starting over and I love it! I feel fresh, new and free whenever Fall comes around. Probably because I can come out of hibernation from the heat and actually get outside and enjoy my surroundings. Yesterday and today I was able to get out and go for a bike ride with the little girl that I babysit. I don't really remember the last time I did that, but it felt amazing. It's so nice to see neighbors walking their babies in their strollers as the sun is setting, and little kids running around in their front yards. I love it and I have a feeling that i'm not the only one that feels that way. The photo above, I actually took yesterday so I cheated alittle bit, but it still feels like fall so I didn't cheat that much. All of the stuff on our hope chest is real except the leaves. We don't have those here!

Ready for a concert!

I got my concert tickets for the Jason Gray, Rush of Fools and Big Daddy Weave show in the mail today. I wasn't that excited until I realized that it was less than two weeks away. Now i'm pretty excited. It will be nice to be in the presence of JGray and Rush of Fools again. It's been since April for JG and since last August for Rush of Fools. It will be a blast! :-)

Fall is here!

Today has been a gorgeous day! I have been waiting for fall to come and and it is finally here! It takes so long for fall to finally make it's way to Florida, but when it does, it is so pleasant. Whenever is comes, it's like something just hits me and my mood changes immediately. I'm sitting here with my windows opened, with the sun shining into my room, without a care in the world. Beauty!

Relaxing Saturday.

This is what my day has been. Getting caught up in magnificent stories with Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Also checking my computer every once and while in between the wonderful world of wizardry and hanging out with my cat. Everyone was gone and out of the house for most of the day, so it was just me, my book and the animals. That's my kind of day! I am a little over half way through the book and I don't want it to end. :-(

I has a bruise.

I have bruises all over my legs and this one on my arm. I got the one in the picture on Wednesday night when I was probably learning the behind my back catch. OUCH! It looks worse in person, so it's kind of hard to see here. But it hurts. Just like my arms. My muscles are coming! I feel them!

Banana shake.

Today for lunch I made myself a banana shake thingy. It had one banana, lots of ice cubes, and some skim milk. We didn't have any ice cream, so I had to deal with what I had. It was really yummy though! My grandma made banana milk shakes for my brothers and cousins all the time when we were little, so I love them to this day. I wanted a healthier alternative besides juice and I was tired of water, so I went with this. It was delicious.

Harry Potter

I have loved the Harry Potter series ever since I was in 4th grade. That was when I started reading the first one. Now I may as well be out of high school and I still love the series to this day. I'm on the verge of finishing the 6th book. It will be done by tonight and out of my sight tomorrow. Then hopefully I can start on the 7th one. It's taken me over a year to finish this one because I kept reading it on and off. But the other night I picked it up and really got into it again. Hopefully I can do the same when I start the 7th one.

Keturah.

I had been anticipating this day since last Thursday. That was when I found out that I was able to take a ride down to Miami with Debi and Keturah's two brothers Billy and Jimmy, to see Keturah before she flew to Peru to do missions work for a month. Keturah has been gone since June 27th in Texas as part of YWAM [Youth With A Mission]. Staying in touch with her since she has been gone has certainly been tough because she's so busy. When she's not busy, she's tired. There was a point where I was mad. Mad that I couldn't talk to her as much as I would have liked to, mad that she was gone and mad that I didn't have my best friend here with me. It felt like things had been changing in our friendship, but that's not what was happening. It was exactly the opposite. I think the distance has done our friendship some good. God has been revealing Himself to me in ways that I couldn't imagine in these past four months. At the beginning I think we were all going into this thinking that we weren't going to be able to handle it. But knowing that this is where God wants Keturah right now, knowing that God is also revealing Himself to Keturah throughout the past few months is what keeps me going. I was mad out of selfishness, and I had no right to be. But seeing Keturah today made me realize how important her friendship is to me. I could have very well thrown our friendship down the tubes a month and a half ago if I wanted to, but I didn't. God showed me that a friendship like this couldn't have just been thrown out. It's a good thing I listened to Him because if I hadn't today would have been a tough day. For both Keturah and I. It meant the world for her to see us there for her. I know that she would have been extremely hurt if no one had been there, and I am thrilled that I was able to be a part of it. This trip meant more to me than I can even put into words. That's just a little piece of it.

The one dollar coins.

I found these little gems a couple of weeks ago when I was cleaning out my purse and wallet. I don't ever use change just because it takes way too long to get the exact amount out. So I always just save it and put it in a jug then either give it away or deposit it, because it all adds up. Well..I dumped out the change that I had in my wallet and saw these sparkling and shining things staring me right in the face. They are one dollar coins that someone at a register accidentally gave me mistaking them for quarters. I think it happened last month at Rock the Universe, because that's what most of my change was from. I just thought it was cool though. I cam across them again today when I was cleaning my room.

Ministry Appreciation.

This evening was the ministry appreciation dinner at my church. I went and helped set up and ran errands with people, then got to enjoy the evening. I didn't really know that I was a part of the ministry at my church, but apparently I am! I help in the nursery a couple Sunday's a month. I love the kids. They are precious, for the most part. But I think tonight was a night when it really came to the surface what a body of one we all are. My church family is so amazing. I can't think of one person there that I don't love. We all get along and have a great time together. It's not like that in every church, so it's refreshing to know that the people in my church will always be there to pick me up when i've fallen down.

The picture board.

This afternoon my brother Clayton and I went down to my Grandma's house to have dinner with our Dad, Aunt, her boyfriend and our Grandma. We had a nice big dinner. My dad loves to cook and he does an amazing job of it. he always cooks way too much food and we always eat way too much. Then he always sends home a bunch of food with us and we get to enjoy it for a couple of days. After I was done helping with clean-up when we were done eating I found myself looking at the picture board hanging on the wall. I always end up looking at the picture board every time I am at my Grandma's house. I think it has become a habit. When I was little I remember being picked up by an adult so I could be at just the right level to see all of the pictures. The pictures would be different every single time we went to my grandparents house, because my Grandpa LOVED taking pictures. He was always snapping pictures every single time we were all together. So he had a very good reason to change them. Once my Grandpa passed away on April 8th, 2005 the pictures stopped changing because he wasn't around to change them. There weren't any new pictures being taken, so they couldn't be changed. Even though they are the same that they were over three years ago, I still stand there every single time and look at every single detail of every picture. Perhaps they haven't been changed because the picture board was Grandpa Duane's thing. The pictures on that board range from my brother's and I being two all the way up to my brothers being 16. Some of those pictures are from before my brothers and I were even brought into this world. Needless to say, I miss my Grandpa. It always feels like something is missing whenever we go and visit. My grandma hasn't been the same since he passed away, but tonight she was in a good mood. It made things easier on all of us and I want to remember this night for the rest of my life. Just like the Christmas before my Grandpa passed away when my grandparents were swing dancing together. Then I got to swing dance with my Grandpa. He was a fun and loving Grandpa. There are so many memories that are left on that board, but more importantly in my heart. <33

Alumni Night.

Tonight was alumni night at the high school that I went to before I started homeschooling. I have to admit, I felt alittle faulty being there because I didn't necessarily graduate from there. I haven't even finished high school yet! So it was definitely a little weird. But it didn't really matter in the end. I was very very involved with the band and colorguard, so I guess it was okay. I ended up getting to see a lot of old friends. Including my freshman! The big hugs that I got from everyone were so awesome! I had a lot of fun getting to do the stand dances with the guard. I miss all of my friends from high school so much! I wish I was better with staying in touch with people from my past. But this is a happy post. In the end I am really happy that I decided to go because I had a really great time!

Brave New World.

This is the book that I have to read for my English class. I've never been a fan of required reading for school. I usually end up liking the books a a lot though. Unless it's Shakespeare or something. That just about killed me last time. I'm interested to see if I enjoy this or not, because it's sci-fi and I've never ever been interested in that at all. Today has been a day of being buried in my computer screen and in Wordpad just working away. Now I am going to be buried in a book.

My equipment.

Today I went and practiced with my friend Nikole again. Last week she ended up getting some equipment that isn't being used at the school so I could use it. So it's not necessarily my equipment, but it will be put to good use. Better use than what it was getting before. 'My' rifle looked like it had been dropped way too many times and was all swollen. I quickly fixed that though and took the three pounds of tape off that were wrapped around it. This rifle actually holds a lot of memories for me. It's one of the rifles that I first learned to spin on when I was a freshman, it reminds me of it's brother, Frank, who I dropped and broke my freshman year. I was actually the only person to do that in the last 'four' years I was a part of the colorguard. Hopefully I can keep my rifles intact this year. :-)

World Vision.

This is my beautiful child that I am sponsoring through World Vision. I started sponsoring her back in April, and it has quite possibly been one of the biggest blessings I have ever gotten to opportunity of experiencing. The smaller picture is an updated picture I got a month ago. It's an updated report of how she is improving and how her health is. She is a very smart little girl, and is in very good health. The little drawings beneath her picture are ones that are hand drawn by her. So precious!

Running Errands.

This was the most exciting part of my day. I left my house before 10 a.m. this morning to go get registered to vote. I was afraid that there was going to be a long line, because today was the last day to register. There wasn't a line at all! Thank you Jesus! Then we went and visited my grandma and grandpa for a few minutes. I love going to visit my grandparents, but I hate seeing my grandma in the condition that she is in now. She isn't getting better, which means she's getting worse. Honestly, I try and block things out because it hurts me too much to think about it. What I love about my Grandma the most is that she always has nice things to say. Even when she isn't doing well. Today before I left she said "You look like you have lost some weight. You look really good." I love my Grandma. She is such a sweet lady! After we left there my mom and I went to the grocery store. i was cutting coupons out basically the whole time we were in the car. So that's what the picture above is. We saved $6.00 and change. Sweet! I'm a fan of saving money!

Gina and Liz.

I just finished having a nice soundless chat with my friends Gina and Liz. I know both of them from the downhere message boards and they are such sweet people! I met Gina back in December and we saw Jason Gray today. We hung out afterwards at Perkins for a dinner/dessert thing. I still have yet to meet Liz, but I can't wait to see her sparkling and shining face in person! They are hanging out this weekend and going to see downhere tonight. Do I wish I was there? HECK YES! Liz even said she was going to get buy a copy of Ending is Beginning for me and have them all sign it. Gina and Liz are seriously the sweetest ever! Yes, I will send you both something in return! <33

Ballet.

These are my very last pair of pointe shoes from my years and years of ballet. The last time I used these I was in 7th grade. I started ballet when I was three and quit when I was in 7th grade. I did pointe for two years and loved every moment of it. Even when my toes would get crunched and bruised and bloody from standing on them for two hours at a time, I loved every minute of it. So I miss it? Heck yes I do! This afternoon was folding laundry and then Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" started playing on the radio. It always makes me want to just start doing ballet in my room. So that is what I did. I've lost my touch though and it makes me sad. I'm not longer graceful like I was years ago and i'm definitely not in shape. I'm alot more tough now because of colorguard. Colorguard still requires some grace, but it's more precise than anything else. This week has just been the week of my activities, hasn't it? Well we've got one more coming tomorrow, unless something more exciting comes up!

Babysitting Jaycie.

I have been babysitting Jaycie and her brother Jarett since they were four and six.. She is now 10 and he is 12. That means I was 12 when I met her and her brother. I remember almost every single day in clear detail. We have all shared so much of life together, it's crazy. I was there when Jaycie was first learning how to swim, when she first started kindergarden. Now next year she will be going off to middle school. I miss the days when Jarett actually enjoyed my company. I think he still does, but Jaycie always needs more attention than he does. I love these kids though. Even if they usually drive me crazy! It's going to be a sad day when I am done babysitting.

Colorguard

This is a rifle. It's Nikole's rifle. Rifle has always been and probably always will be my favorite thing to spin. I enjoy flag, because you can make things look pretty with it, but in my opinion it is way too easy for me. I could definitely improve upon somethings, but rifle gives me a challenge that flag doesn't. Sabre...well, I was never taught how to correctly spin a sabre so I basically taught myself. I get the basic point of it, but since I don't quite know how to correctly spin it it's not favorite.
Tonight I practiced with a competitive colorguard team called 27th Parallel. I thought I was good at PSLHS, but these people...WOW! They are good. I definitely kept up and I really surprised myself with how well I did. Especially for not spinning at all for over a year. I did really well with flag, then we did rifle. I did pretty well, but I definitely got a run for my money. I kept up to the best of my ability, which is all that really matters to me. I know that with practice i'll be able to keep up even better than I did today. It was just so refreshing to be able to spin again and spin with people that are actually on pretty much the same level as I am. I can't wait for the 15th!

Tough day.

I woke up to it raining and pouring outside. I didn't even catch a glimpse of the sun until what is pictured about. That was no sunrise. That was certainly a sunset. All through out the day I had a splitting headache and my back was killing me for most of the day, too. I couldn't sit up or lie down because something was hurting. So I was uncomfortable all day. On top of all that, with the dreary weather it made me less than productive with my school work. But then I peaked out of my bedroom window and saw this beautiful thing waiting for me. God is awesome even on the days that I struggle and don't even think to call out to Him.