We Interupt This Bloggie Silence To Bring An Update...

Where have the past 2 weeks gone?
I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while.
Things have seemed to be so busy!
As I'm finishing up 11th grade,
I can hardly find time to do anything else
but schoolwork (and music)!
My Calculus, especially,
is taking up a LOT of time and studying!
Oh well, I plan to be done by next month
and then hope to get back to posting a little more.

The above is pretty much what's been going on...
Lots and lots of schoolwork.
I was excited this past week when I got to talk
to Dr. Jay Wile twice over the phone. ;o)
(For those who don't know, Dr. Wile is the author
of the Apologia cirriculum... the science I use.)

I was struggling on an Advanced Chemistry equation
and decided to call, as he says you can do in the book.
Dr. Wile is as funny on the phone as he is in his books!



And he also indirectly helped me with my calculus ;)
I LOVE Chemistry, but anytime I try to explain
things to the people I know they're like "HUH?"
So it was REALLY neat to be able to speak
"Chemistry language" with someone else!

I am also very thankful that the Lord
provided a specific graphing calculator for me.
I needed it for my calculus but they cost over $100!
The local base high school was kind enough to lend me
their TI-84 graphing calculator until I was finished with Calculus.
Praise the Lord!

Today was our homeschool group park day.
It felt so good, being mid 40s!
While I waited for my friend to show up,
I read some books I borrowed from the liabrary:

"Mathematical Preparation for Laboratory Technicians"
and an SAT Chemistry subject test preparation book.
I'm not planning on taking the SAT or anything
but I wanted to quiz myself on the questions for fun ;)
(Dr.Wile said that after I've completed my Advanced Chemistry,
that it's equivalent to a 1st year college course Chemistry,
so I wanted to see how much I knew :)

When my friend arrived, we took pictures of everyone:
The little girls were burying their toy horses...


The older ones were playing tag, I think...


My friend and I were having fun with the camera...




The moms also were enjoying their time together...
(My favorite one is marked with an arrow!)


Hee hee, I LOVE YOU, MOM!

My friend and I loved watching the dozens of robins.
We tried feeding some with molded bread (kind of us, huh?)...

but red-winged blackbirds came and scared them off.

Then we ventured home and my friend and I
practiced a song we'll be singing soon for church.
Then all of my violin 'students' gathered
into my room for the lesson...



About an hour ago, my dear 5 yo sister, Beth,
came upstairs and said, "I want to play my violin wits you!"
So I got out my violin, tuned hers,
and gave her her first lesson...



She learned E and A string.
We played counting 4 Es, then 4 As.
It was so cute watching her getting use to
holding it and playing it...



Oh how I thank the Lord for my family!
My siblings are so sweet and my parents are so wonderful!
He has given me so much!
I hope you all have a great weekend!

By the way, the picture in my last post
was a CROCHETED HAT that I turned inside out. :)


"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,
and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant..."
Genesis 32:10

Embellishing, Hair Cuts, Artwork, & Photos...

Well, it's been a busy weekend and
beginning of the week so far.
Last week we had fun making a welcome home sign for Dad
and I enjoyed playing around with the fabric markers...



I decided to embellish a plain apron that we had.
Here it is half done...


And here's the finished project...


I love birds!

I was, also, excited this past week
when I was able to figure out how to restring my violin! ;)
I was a little nervous to take the strings off,
but I did do it and now my violin sounds much better :)

Today I had an orthodonist appointment,
for I'll soon be getting braces again :( ,
went to teach piano, and went to our friend's house.
We intended on doing schoolwork together,
but didn't get around to doing it.
She really wanted me to cut her hair
and so we had fun doing that in the bathroom...


She wanted me to cut off quite a bit,
so what was down to her hips
is now barely past her shoulders.
It does look nice and healthy, though!
Speaking of cutting hair,
I, also, trimmed my mom's hair the other day.
She allowed me to do my first haircut ever on her.
I was thankful for the tips she gave me,
they came in handy today!
Tomorrow I'll be cutting my friend's 2 sisters' hair :)

Well, I thought I'd share some of
my personal favorite pics from the weekend...

Mom just being herself... lol


Will's self-photo...


The girls "eating the wind" as we drove
down the road with the windows down...


Also, I was having fun doodling this evening.
After about 20 pages of nonsense
(except my cute 'Cardinals in Alaska')
and lots of scribbling out,
I finally drew something that I liked...



Bread.
Why bread?
It just looked fun to draw.

Because it's late, I'm just a little tired
and I tend to get a little goofy when I'm tired.
(A family trait ;)
But can anyone guess what in the world this might be?



I'll tell you soon!
I saw it sitting on the table and
couldn't resist changing it's form a little.

As I listen to the classical station online,
hearing beautiful violins, violas, cellos,
basses and double basses harmonizing together to
create beautiful music by Mr. ?
(one of the many classical music composers)...
poor Mother is trying to finish sewing
Carolynne's birthday present for tomorrow,
and she just broke the second needle tonight!
And I am frequently hearing 'OW!',
for she keeps poking herself with the needles.
She's, also, talking to the sewing machine:
which, in return, is not cooperating. lol

Well, have a great rest of the day!
Well, actually, enjoy the new day!
(It's midnight, oh deere!)

How About the New Year?

The new year is another year of opportunity
in our youth that we have
to mature and grow in the Lord.

A few ways that are necessary to grow are:

1. Have daily quiet time with the Lord
2. Pray often (all day long)
3. Memorize Scripture
4. Meditate on Scripture
5. Review and study notes
from sermons and personal quiet time

Listing ways are simple,
while applying them can be more of a challenge.
It takes time. OUR time!
When we don't take the time to spend with the Lord,
it is sin, it is selfish.
God has something to say to all of us,
no matter what our age.
We cannot really grow when we aren't in His Word.
Listening to the preaching (although good to do)
isn't enough for our spiritual growth.
God talks to us personally and changes us
through His Holy Word.
We, also, need to be memorizing and meditating
on His Precious Word.
When we are memorizing and meditating,
His thoughts become our thoughts...
We are armed for spiritual battle.

Another way He can grow us through trial and error.
We are always failing somewhere in our life,
making mistakes and bad choices
but the Lord wants us to learn from our mistakes
and we can... if we choose to.
He also gave us parents to help us grow, guide us,
teach and train us while we're still at home.
But there will come a time when
we'll have to make our own decisions.
They are helping to train us now,
so we can be prepared for those times in the future.
We should heed to what they say.

2007 was a year that we can use
as an example and a learning experience.
The trials we went through, decisions we made,
the paths we chose, and our failures and successes...
the Lord wants us to learn from it all.
We need to think back and see where
we were useful for the Lord and praise Him.
And we need to see where we can improve and grow.

How about the new year???
Let's make a goal and decide to be in His Word daily,
memorize it, meditate on it, and use it in our lives to
become changed more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.


"But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night."
Psalms 1:2

Wow! I haven't posted since last year!

I hope you're all enjoying the 1st day of 2008!
Sorry I haven't posted much for a long while.
I've been very busy the past few weeks,
so much that I even took, almost,
the entire month of schoolwork off! :(
I had to finish my mom's present... a crocheted tree skirt.
I also had many, various other thing going on.
A surprise... I had my hair cut on Friday!
I haven't had it cut for a little over 2 years
and it was down to my hips.
Mom cut the dead ends off... about 6 inches!
Now it doesn't even reach my elbows :(
But it does look healthier and the length will grow back. ;o)

This Sunday evening was our 2nd annual Youth Night Service.
I thought I'd share some videos...

Here is the children's choir...




This was my offeratory...




And my friend and I sang a duet for the special music...
(I lost my pick at the beginning! LOL!)




Afterwards we had a fellowship of pizza and brownies.
It was a lot of fun and I look forward to next year's.
(This year's, really :)

I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
On Christmas morn, Mom lured me out of bed
with a cup of Christmas coffee... yum!
I could have slept the rest of the day
but the younger ones were so eager to open presents.
We read a chapter in Luke and then opened our gifts.
I got a lot of sheet music I'd been wanting,
a lab coat, fluffy socks, a really neat pen/pencil,
a face wash, and CANDY!!!!! ;)
I felt kind of bad because I wasn't
able to completely finish my mom's present.
I still have to sew on 11 more poinsettas!!!
By hand!!!

Let's see... what else is new?
I'm now teaching piano
and will (this month) start teaching violin.
I've also been baking like crazy.
We made baked goods to send all of our family.
And I was busy making our yearly Christmas video.

Well, I had some extra time today so I thought I'd post.
I think I'm finally able to start posting regularly again.
Oh, and great news!
My dad is coming home from Iraq VERY soon!!!

Happy New Year!

Another Year for Thee

Another year is dawning!
Dear Master, let it be,
In working or in waiting
Another year with Thee!

Another year of leaning
Upon Thy loving breast
Of even deeper trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace;
Another year of gladness,
In the shining of Thy face.

Another year of progress,
Another year of praise;
Another year of proving
Thy presence "all the days."

Another year of service,
Of witness to Thy love;
Another year of training
For holier work above.

Another year is dawning!
Dear Master, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for Thee!

Compiled by Dale Crowley

(But don't know where we found it!)

Our 9th Annual Christmas Pig Pickin'

Sorry I have not posted this week.
We've been very busy preparing for this special event at church!
Saturday we went to the church early to decorate...






Then after a few extra erands, we went home to start cooking for it...


My friend spent the night Friday and Saturday night
so she could help prepare for the Pig Pickin'.
We decided to make a cute snowman cake
from out of my Taste of Home Baking Book.
It took us two days to make...



While we worked on it,
mom sat on the floor and braided the challah bread...


Then finally, it was finished...

The Pig Pickin' was a lot of fun!
I brought along my guitar and violin again.
Pastor and I are going to play 'Silent Night'
next Sunday on the violin and guitar.
(He'll be playing my guitar.)
So we practiced for that

and I practiced a violin/piano offeratory duet

for when I play my violin at church this Wednesday

with our pastor's wife.
We'll be playing "The First Noel".

Well as you can see, we've been very busy.
I hope to post again sometime soon.

"Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth;
and break forth into singing, O mountains:
for the LORD hath comforted his people,
and will have mercy upon his afflicted."
Isaiah 49:14

Through Trials and Suffering...

"To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose
under the heaven...
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
Ecclesiastes 3:1,4

As life goes on, we all experience
different seasons in our lives.
As these verses say, life isn't just
'woopty doo' and all fun;
there will be times of
hard trials and sufferings.
Though we have no option
of if we want the trial or not,
we do have, basically, 2 choices:

§ To turn from the Lord,become discouraged or even bitter;
§ Or to draw closer to Him than we've ever been before.

And, as with all things, there are
consequences with which we choose.
If we say we've had enough, throw up our hands,
and are 'through with living for God',

then we've made the obvious foolish choice

and will reap the consequences.
We will no longer be able to experience the joy
and peacefulness of our salvation;
we break our Heavenly Father's heart,
as well as others' around us.

So then maybe we should just pretend

it's not really happening or hurting us,

and we decide to take it as "nothing".
We just keep it in the back of our minds and

try, half-heartedly, to 'trust in the Lord',

because it really might work out after all.

Oh yes! This seems to work!
But suddenly, I don't seem to get the same feeling

when I pray or am in God's Word.
Why does God seem so far away?
Well, just because we think we've dealt with something
or 'pushed it aside', doesn't mean it isn't there.
Satan will always try to creep in where he can and say,
'You can't handle this! It's too hard!'
But let's remember:

"I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
The fact is, we can do nothing on our own.

When a soilder would get wounded from an arrow in battle,
he could either leave it in and 'deal with the pain' or remove it.
If he leaves it in, it will cause an infection and he'll end up dying:
but removing it would be so painful!
Plus, he couldn't do it on his own...
he might not remove it all the way or he may cause more damage.
He has to trust an experienced one to remove it for him.

Well, we can't just leave that 'arrow' in and 'deal with it'
or 'tough it out'; that will ruin us.
We cannot trust in our own knowledge of the matter.
We need to trust in a much Higher and experienced One
to lift the load, rather than try to do it ourselves.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
We must fall on our knees and cry out to God

that we simply cannot handle a situation on our own.
Yes, it can really hurt sometimes to let something go,

especially if it, at the time, seems dear to us go.
But completley give it all over to the Lord
and He'll not only free you from your heavy burden!...
He'll bandage the wound, pick you up, hold your hand,

heal you, and see you through.
He'll never let go!

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Psalms 55:22

"For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
Isaiah 41:13

He promises never to leave us or forsake us,
no matter how hard times will get.
What a friend we have in Jesus!

The purpose of trials is to grow us more like Him
and to bring us closer to Him.
If we missed that, then we'll certainly feel
our suffering was in vain (and it will be in that case).
But, "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God..."
Romans 8:28

If we hearken unto God and turn to Him,
then He will grow us and draw us closer to Him.
And any trial is worth that, really.

As the beginning verses say,
there is a time for everthing.
Our trials will not last forever, praise God!
"...weeping may endure for a night,

but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5
When we pour out our heart to the Lord,
He will give us that peace and joy we've been thirsting for.

And something that really helps me to keep going...
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us."
Romans 8:18

The hardness at which we suffer down here
is not even worthy to be compared with
the greatness and glory that awaits us in heaven!
To think that one day I will see Jesus face-to-face
and hold His nail-scarred hand as we walk

down streets of gold together:
that's enough to make one shout

"Amen and glory to God!" 100 times a day or more!
The One who was always there,

Who carries us through the deep waters,
Who we can tell everything to, pouring our hearts out,
and Who cares and understands like no one else,
is waiting to greet us over in Gloryland...

where no more sorrow is!

Praise God!


(graphic from allposters.com)

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