A Weekend Review...

Busy, busy, busy!
There are so many times I want to post,
but I always find something else I need to do.
This week was especially busy with Thanksgiving.
I thought I'd share at least 10 things I'm very thankful for...

1. The wonderful gift of salvation!!!
2. A great family and church friends.
3. The privilege of audience with the King of Kings.
4. The freedom to worship the Lord and to homeschool.
5. The strength Christ gives me to face the battles.
6. The victory He gives in those battles.
7. The trials He has given me to grow me.
8. The grand piano He's giving us in church!
9. The ability to play various musical instruments.
10. Jesus' sweet fellowship,
always being there to hold my hand,
and His faithfulness of never letting go or failing me.


Wednesday evening we had a fellowship
after the church service and giving testimonies.
I made a cake for the occaision...



I also brought along my guitar and violin,
so after the service I played
while the children gathered around to sing...



I, also, played the violin while the men were moving the piano out
for the new grand piano that I mentioned we're getting!

Thursday we had a family Thanksgiving dinner...



We had ham, mashed potatoes, oreo fluff, and various other goodies.
Then afterwards, we set up the Christmas tree.
This, being a major bird lover, is my favorite ornament!



Yesterday I sewed my Christmas dress for our family photos.
Mom made hers and is now working on the girls' as I type...



Today we had some old friends visit, which was a blessing.
I decided to give myself the day off from schoolwork
Thursday and Friday, so I'll probably catch up some today.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Mathematical Musings and More...

Sorry I haven't posted all week.
I've been, as they say, 'cracking down'
on doing a lot of schoolwork.
And we've had various other things during the week.
But I was so thrilled when we returned from grocery shopping
last night to find a package for me at the door!
It was my math that I was waiting for...





I used Teaching Textbooks a few years ago for Algebra 2,
and liking the method, I wanted their pre-cal as well.
Now this particular subject was NOT my first choice,
(I'd have rather taken Algebra 2 again!)
but it was this or Geometry!!!!!
So naturally, I picked the calculus,
which will help me in Advanced Chemistry anyway.



Speaking of Chemistry, we went to the library yesterevening
and I went to my favorite section (can you guess??)... science!
I found a whole shelf of chemistry books and had a hard time choosing.
Since the books were so big and thick, I just got two.
One is all about Physical Chemistry,
and the other is Chemical Bonding... my two favorite branches!

Well, today we have a homeschool park day.
My friend and I like to bring our violins to play while we're there.
And then, it's 'Friend Friday' for us!
And speaking of violins, I'll be playing my violin for church
sometime next month for the congregational singing.
And my friend's mom will be taking my place at the organ,
so we'll have a 3 person 'orchestra' for some Christmas carols!

Well, it's about time to leave.
I'll try to post again next week.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Friday Fun and Busy Baking...

As our usual Friday tradition,
our friends came over and we had a great time.
We had fun doing Bible study and fellowshipping.

Before I go further, I wanted to say "Thank you, Mom"
for the baking book she purchased for me!




Oooooh!
It was so thoughtful and sweet of her!

Perhaps you can guess what my friend and I did?
Oh yes! We spent 40 minuets drooling over the book
and then we had to make the hard choice of what to bake!
We decided on chocolate mint wafers... yum!


(these are NOT our wafers, unfortuneately,
these are from the book)
Thankfully, we had just enough mint extract!
So she started mixing the cookies
and I started making the sourdough pizzas
that we have every Friday...









We had a great time in the kitchen.
After the pizzas were done and the dough was chilled,
we sat together making shapes for the cookies.
Lots o' fun!

I've also been really busy crocheting gifts.
I'm finally almost finished with Mom's, but I can't
tell you until after Christmas because she reads my blog ;-)

I've also really been enjoying my Advanced Chemistry...




I've finally learned all there is to physical chemistry
(my favorite branch of chemistry!) and I love it!
Actually, the one who wrote my Advanced Chemistry
said that most chemists don't like physical chemistry
and have a difficult time comprehending it.
But I sure LOVE it!

Speaking of Chemistry,
we did one of my experiments together yesterday.
I dippped a Q-tip in colbat chloride solution
and wrote on a piece of blank paper.
You couldn't see it until I blow dried it,
and the solution was readable in blue...
(Please excuse the hideous faces mom caught us in!)



(Colbat Chloride is originally pink,
but I won't explain all the deatils in the experiment! ;-)
You can hardly see the writing in the picture, though.

The Lord's creation is SO wonderful and complex!
How can anyone believe this all happened by chance?
There is so much evidence of God in His complex creation!

Well, I hope everyone's had a great week!


"Therefore also now, saith the LORD,
turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the LORD your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil."
Joel 2:12&13

Not I, But Christ...

Sunday morning, I sang a duet
with our assistant pastor's wife.
And the song we chose really spoke to my heart.
It was a good reminder that we can do nothing
on our own, and to give God the glory for the victory.
I loved singing the words
and the tune went so well with them.
I thought I'd share the song...


Not I, But Christ


Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted.
Not I, but Christ be seen, be known, be heard.
Not I, but Christ in every look and action.
Not I, but Christ in every thought and word.

(Chorus)
Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord!
Oh, to be lost in Thee!
Oh, that it may be no more I, dear Lord,
but Christ that lives in me.

Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow.
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear.
Not I, but Christ to lift the heavy burden.
Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear.

Christ, only Christ ere long will fill my vision.
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see.
Christ, only Christ my every wishful filling.
Christ, only Christ my all in all to be.

words by Mrs.A. A. Whiddington
music by Mac Lynch



"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Galatians 2:20

Appointments, Baking, Chemistry, Dress, and Everything Fun!

Well, as you can, likely, tell by the title,
I've been very busy lately!
Yesterday we went over to our friends' house
and Stephani and I did our science experiments.
She's doing Apologia's General Science
and did the experiment with baking soda,
vinegar, a 2 liter bottle and balloon.
And I did an experiment with my elements!
I used the sodium ferrocyanide,
colbat chloride, ferric ammonium sulfate,
sodium carbonate, and something else I can't remember!
Anyway, LOTS of different colors! It was really neat!
(We didn't really get any good pictures)



Then we came home and I sewed a dress...



I used the Renaissance dress pattern's skirt
with my regular pattern's bodice, to make the skirt much fuller.
Mom has a matching one too.

We also had one of those ‘fun nights with the camera’!
Be prepared… ;o)











LOL!!!

And when I was blowing the leaves Saturday,
(I'm still out of breath from it! LOL)
I came across a cute little guy…



Remember!
‘The 15 minutes it takes you to read this post,
you could save 15% on car insurance!’
LOL!




Today I worked on some schoolwork and
we just arrived home a little while ago from shopping.
We bought LOTS of fabric and
will be busy with sewing for a while!
We also picked up something to take to a fellowship
after church tomorrow night.
I'll be baking lemon bars tonight, too! Mmmm!

Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment an hour away.
It's worth the drive for us, though,
because we get to eat at a favorite place while there!

I thought I’d share something that we got in the mail
(junk mail) for a coupon to eat at Arby’s…
The ad was kinda funny...





ROFLOL!

I hope everyone's week is going great so far.


"Who is like unto the LORD our God,
who dwelleth on high,
Who humbleth himself to behold
the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!"
Psalms 113:5&6

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!
how great is the sum of them!"
Psalms 139:17

My Adventure To The Past...

Well, I'm back!
(Sorry it took me so long to post!)
I thought I'd share photos of our trip!

We arrived last Monday and had a blast.
On our way to my great aunt's,
we passed byLowe's Motor Speedway.
They had just had a race on Saturday
and we weren't allowed to go in the race track,
since they were cleaning up from Saturday's race.
But a nice security guard let us in and gave us a 'v.i.p.' tour!
And there were a few racers driving around, trying out their new tires!



It was neat! And loud.
Cars zooming by at 200 mph literally shook the ground!
But we did have fun.

After that, we went to my aunt's.
We had supper, fellowship, and I played my violin
outside on her front porch.

The next day, we got up early and went
to the Carolina Rennaissance Festival!
(Which was our main destination for this trip!)



Upon walking up to the gate,
we said hello to a lady playing the bagpipes!



(By the way, I made the cape the day before we left
to go along with my dress!)

The queen, princess, and prince gave us
a warm welcome, then a cannon fired and the gates opened.
We first went to watch two hilarious men perform a duel and more,
Don Juan and Miguel...



After that we walked around and did various other things.
It was really neat having people talk to me
in a Rennaissance style and always say, 'M'lady'!
I was able to practice my OldEnglish
and did a lot of curtsying!
We all really enjoyed a lady playing the celtic harp...



After more walking around and doing other things,
some special people arrived!
We got to meet the Brittany and her family at the festival!
Here we getting ready to watch the joust...



Will and his new friends...



Brittany and I...



It was a fun jousting tournament to watch!
Afterwards, we went to the petting zoo.
Then Brittany and I took our younger sisters
on the giant rocking horse...



After that we left and had dinner together.
On our way out, Brittany and I had our picture taken with...


.. Not quite our 'knight in shining armour'!

I really enjoyed meeting them!!!

On the day we left, we went to an ancestoral homesite:
the Hezekiah Alexander homesite and the Charolotte muesam.





We also had our picture taken with a statue of our
great great great.... etc...(grandfather) Hezekiah!



Too bad the house wasn't passed down through generations :(
The muesam had some great things in it too.
I especailly liked this old pianoforte...



It was a lot of fun as well.
Then we made it home just in time
to be about 5 minutes late for church!

Oh, before I close, I just thought I'd say...



LOL!
(Excuse the pirrahna plant thing,
I was attempting to make a rose for the first time
and obviously failed!)
I made the cake last night for us to eat today!
Sourdough pizza night with our friends, as usual! ;o)
Stephani and I practiced some violin and piano duets.
And earlier this morning, my family went to the dentist!!
I love them almost as much as I love the doctors!
Well, I hope you all have a great weekend!

Time For A Vacation

I know, I just had a break,
but I must declare that I'm going on another one.

We'll be on vacation next week
and I won't be able to post until,
maybe, late next week or the week after.

As a part of my 'good-bye' photos,
I thought I'd include a special bird.
I don't usually play with my food,
but I couldn't resist with the chocolate chips...

I hope everyone has a great week!

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD,

and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Psalms 55:22

"O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good:

for his mercy endureth for ever."

Psalms 106:1

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins;

nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as the heaven is high above the earth,

so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth his children,

so the LORD pitieth them that fear him."

Psalms 103:10-13

A Finished Dress and Violin Progress...

I purchased a pattern a while ago
because it was 'medieval looking',
so, of course, I LOVED it!
The pattern is 'NEW LOOK #6614',
if anyone's interested.
I had to adjust it a LOT!
It took me a while to finish because the bodice
has 10 panels and I lined the whole dress!
Mom declared that she wouldn't be helping me,
so I could practice figuring out a pattern on my own,
and I did just that... all on my own!
I was so excited!
(She was willing to do the invisible zipper in the back, though,
because I didn't want to risk messing it up!
Thanks, mom!)
I finally finished it Friday
and thought I'd share...



It took me forever to decide on fabric.
Mom pointed it out and I wondered,
'Is this ugly?'
But I ended up liking it.
I have no idea what color it is!
Purple? Grayish?
Any ideas?

Anyway, our friends came over Friday
and we had a great time!
We did some duets on the piano and violin...



Her and I are teaching ourselves how
to play the violin.
I started my lessons 2 weeks ago, so I'm a little ahead,
but I'm sure she'll catch up fast!
We took our violins to church last night
and I tuned hers and played some songs.
It was fun!
I thought I'd share some videos
of 3 of my favorite songs to play so far...
(you can stop my blog's background music in the sidebar)

This is called 'Country Gardens'
(Please note I just started learning,
so there are some mistakes:)






This is 'Can Can'...





This one is really fun to play!
It's called 'Fanfare Minuet':



I also really like playing 'Dixie',
even though I'm a born yankee ;)


Oh! The Lord is so wonderful!
I read today in my quiet time:
"The LORD is good,
a strong hold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust in him." (italics mine)
Nahum 1:7
He's really been speaking to me lately
about faith and trusting in Him.
As Louisa M. R. Stead finely puts it,

"'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know "Thus saith the Lord.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I've proved Him oer and oer!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!"

He is so good to us!
To God be the glory,
great things He has done!

I hope everyone's having a great week so far!

Elements by Mail!

Oops... so much for 'posting tomorrow'
and 'responding to comments Wednesday'.
Sorry, I've been really busy.

But last Saturday, I received the loveliest package :)
I got my Advanced Chemistry and lab kit!!!!!
In my lab kit I got elements!!!
Oh, I'm so excited!
Here's some pictures...




The elements I received are:
Ammonium Chloride
Colbat Chloride
Copper Sulfate
Ferric Ammonium Sulfate
Sodium Borate
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Ferrocyanide
Sodium Sulfate
Sodium Thiosulfate

I also got:
Lime Water
Phenolphtlaein Solution
Polyvinyl Alcohol Adhesive
Potassium Iodide Solution
Universal Indicator Solution

Things I'll be covering this year:
The Electronic Structure of Molecules
Intermolecular Forces
Solutions and Colloids
Solutions and Equilibrium
Acid/Base Equilibria
More on Equilibrium
Electrochemistry Part 1 and 2
Chemical Kinetics
Organic Chemistry
Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry
Nuclear Chemistry - for some reason,
I'm not scheduled for any experiments this module:(

Of course, most of this I covered a lot of this year, (save the nuclear!!!)
but this year is going to be even more in depth and complex!
Ohh! I'm SOOOO excited!
I'm planning on officially starting 11th grade next week!

Oh, One more note.
As working in 'the lab' with chemicals this year,
I must be careful...



I do not wish to make the slightest
miscalculation and possibly end up as...


LOL!
Have a great weekend!
(I really do hope to respond to comments tomorrow)