Umm... what do I call this post?

I'm feeling better, made several things today including a necklace to wear at the wedding I'm going to tomorrow! :) I will have to post pictures of that soon.

Oh, and Rachel and Jessica are giving away two adorable pairs of flip-flops! Go See!

A verrrry quick note before I go back to bed...

Hi All -

Thank you for your comments! I do appreciate them ever so much! I will have to try the remedies you reccomended. They sound very good!

Today we had a change in plans, apparently, as Mama woke me up at 8:30 this morning and told me we were leaving to go to the doctor's office in half an hour! :D So we went, and I explained my symptoms to and was examined by a very nice lady doctor. When we told her I'd been coughing for a month she perscribed an antibiotic for me. So I took some of that this evening and I hope to be recovering shortly.

Mama and I made the most out of our drive up to the city with a decent doctor (lol) and went SHOPPING! :D I got some delightfully scented things at Bath & Body Works, picked out some stunning beads and lovely yarn at Michael's, and found more yarn (and beads) at Joanne Fabrics... and Mama and I got my antibiotic for FREE at Publix. Not a bad day. :)

Again, thank you for all the prayers and kind comments! :) Now I shall go back to bed and rest and use up lots of tissues... and yeah. :P

I am not feeling well at all. :(

Hello Everybody ~



Please pray for me (again, sorry!) I am still coughing and now my nose is all stuffed up and my head is achy. Uggh. Mama was thinking about taking me to the doctor but we've decided to wait a few more days and if I'm worse, then we'll go. This is due largely to the fact that I'm the kind of person who doesn't take any medicine at ALL unless it is absolutely necessary, and the last time I've been to the doctor is more than a year ago. :P



But meanwhile I feel pretty crummy and would definitely appreciate your prayers. (and if you have any tips for home remedies and suchlike that would be excellent too!)


I don't have the patience right now to wait for my computer to upload pictures, but when I feel a bit better you'll get to see a bit more of our trip.



Finally, let me close with a notice of two giveaways I've entered...

The Week-Long Summer Blast Giveaway at Young Homemakers ending July 31st.

The Happy Scrappy Quilt Giveaway at Marie-Madeline Studio, ending August 8th.

Blessings to all of you...

A Newsy Little Post #4

I have a cough at the moment and a general feeling of listlessness which is why I've been resting a lot and not on the computer as much... okay, I admit it, I've also been not as frequent in posting as I would like. I could have been posting on my blog but I chose not to. :(

Now since I dislike reading other bloggers bemoaning their lack of posting, I shall stop right there and try and make this a cheerful and uplifting post! :)

So, more pictures from our trip...

How about some Ice Cream? :D

My Aunt took us out for ice cream one evening and we all made our own sundaes! They had us choose a flavor, then gave us our ice cream in a dish and allowed us to top it ourselves with whatever we wanted! I put caramel sauce, strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and marshmallow topping on mine. Yum. *dreamy smile*

Speaking of Yum, uh..... I put on a few pounds on our vacation. I'd been kind of gaining ever since my graduation party (where we had an incredible amount of delicious leftovers...) And on our vacation there was a lot of tasty food to eat... so when we got back from New York I purposed to really start eating in a more temperate, healthy way again. I've been doing better... this morning I weighed 157.0 ... now don't gasp, I'm very tall, but a better weight for me is 146, which is what I want to get back down to. :) Pray that I keep on going! :) So... after that long rabbit trail...

Once we got to the Museum there was this HUGE chair outside and I just had to make everybody pose for a picture. My dad took this one. (obviously, since I'm smack dab in the middle in that aqua hoodie)

It was really cold -like in the 60's- the day we were there (defying the fact that it was JULY!) and a tiny bit drizzly too... so all of us were glad for our warm sweaters and hoodies. ;)

Here is everyone in front of one of the many amazing boats that were at the museum... Grandma doesn't usually use a wheelchair but her leg was bothering her that day so we borrowed one from the gift shop. :) Daddy and I took turns pushing her around.

Here's the view from the restaurant... we ended up stopping for warm drinks and I shared a small bowl of some amazingly good chili with Mama. (don't have a picture of that for some reason)

I probably took more pictures of the landscaping outside the museum buildings than the exhibits inside! :D But don't you just love this flower? I think the center looks just like a chocolate drop.

God Bless you all and I hope you have a delightful day!

Feeling Better... and Pictures!

Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who prayed for me! I am feeling so much better! The pain in my neck is 99.9% gone... I will be resting a lot today so hopefully the remaining 0.1% will get better. Thanks, dear friends!! I really appreciate it.

Now for some pictures for all of you who have been sooo patient! :D

After I last posted those pictures of our trip, we went hiking...

Us at the trail head

(L to R) Daddy, Steven, and Mark on a BIG rock...

Me on another big rock

In this picture Daddy is showing us where a spring started... the springs running down the trail made it extremely muddy! Most of the time we were walking on the side of the trail instead of in the middle, just to avoid all the mud!

However, despite the mud, it was a beautiful hike. :)

But the best part was climbing THIS...

9-story-high firetower.

And seeing the incredible view!

Note the amazingly gorgeous clouds above the shimmering lake....
It was SO windy up there... which didn't make the climb up and down any easier for the boys and Daddy. (I discovered that I have absolutely no fear of heights, especially on a nice sturdy firetower.)
It was truly amazing being up so high and seeing so far.
Okay, that's all for now... I will see if I can do a post about the Blue Mountain Lake Museum next time. :)

Prayer Request

This is a humble plea for your prayers regarding my neck.

It's had a twinge in it all day, on both sides in the back kind of near my spine... it was very painful this morning but has gradually gotten a bit better. I've been resting on flat surfaces and tried a heat pack and it still hurts. :(

So, if you could all pray for me I would really appreciate it! :) Thank you ever so much. It's great to have friends you can contact via the internet like this!!

On a side note, I uploaded all of my pictures today! I'm estimating I took about 1,000 pictures and 20 or so short videos on my camera! :) So perhaps tomorrow I can post some of those.

Oh, okay, here's one to tide you over...

Yes, you are looking at a moose head. VERY BIG. It could hold a small car in its antlers.

More to come! :)

We Made It Home from New York!

Hi Readers of this Blog Post...

Just had to let you know we're home now in our small city in Georgia after a long drive yesterday! We stayed the night in a trendy, mod hotel room in southern Virginia... (I loved it, Daddy thought it was weird) and enjoyed swimming in the sort-of-chilly-pool.

I took LOTS of pictures of everything and I will see how soon I get to uploading those to our computer... it's not happening tonight, I can tell you that! We got home at around 5:45 pm, mama whipped up a delicious hot dinner including some handy-dandy-home-canned chicken, and then my brothers and I watched a new-to-us Errol Flynn movie called "The Sea Hawk" and WOW was that good. I love international intrigue. :) We can't wait to watch it with some other Errol Flynn fans we know. *wink-wink*. :D

Anyway, it is getting time for me to go to bed... (yawn!) and get some much needed shut-eye. Maybe tomorrow you can catch a glimpse of some pictures of ... oh, say.... the New York pics I haven't posted yet, Amish Horse-&-Buggies, quilt shops, and the wonderful things we got at the shops...

Toodles!

Update from Bird-In-Hand, PA!

Hello there!

I am sitting in a lovely hotel breakfast room in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania! We have been enjoying the countryside and farms, and we've caught sight of several buggies driven by Amishmen and pulled by horses! :) It's been very exciting for me especially because I've read so many novels based on the Amish and now I'm getting to see it in real life! :)

Since I last posted, we've been hiking up a mountain and climbed a 9-story firetower to see the incredible view, we went to the Blue Mountain Lake Museum and got an amazing glimpse into the Adirondacks, we toured the Barton Garnet Mine and got to 'mine' some real garnets, (that was SO COOL!) we swam in an actual Adirondack lake and took a boat ride around it.

Of course I've been taking a LOT of pictures but I'm currently using the Wi-Fi in the hotel and you will have to wait a little bit for pictures. Thank you for your patience!

We miss you all, and though we are having a blast on our vacation, I am also looking forward to being home again and seeing all our dear friends! :)

Hugs and Blessings,

Pictures From New York

Hello Everyone! :)

I decided you might like to see what pictures I've taken so far on our trip, so I figured out how to use my Aunt's computer (lol!) :) and I've selected a few for your enjoyment. :)

We got up early on Saturday and got a great start - we were out the door at 7:00. (yeah, that means I had to wake up at 6:00 to get ready...)

Then we drove, and drove, and drove, and .... you get the picture. :D We went up through South Carolina, and then North Carolina, and then Virginia...

This was shot out of the window of the car, it's just a fleeting glimpse of some of the beautiful Virginian countryside.

This is a flower blooming cheerfully at a rest stop we stopped at... and I just had to capture a picture of it! :)

These are some crochet blocks I made on the way up here... I made one other one w' popcorn stiches but it's not in this picture... the pink/yellow/brown one is a 'Catherine Wheel', the aqua/tan/brown one is a 'Spinner', and the half-finished green/brown/tan one is a 'Gothic Square'.

We stopped at a BP in West Virginia to gas up and I spotted a cute little produce stand and just had to snap a pic. :) I loved the watermelon wagon!

We stopped at 8:15 pm, having gotten all the way to Hagerstown, MARYLAND! Whew! Not bad for one day's drive!

As I said before, we found a lovely Holiday Inn Express and were able to get a suite for only $13 more than a regular room would have cost us. Yay! It was beautiful, and sparkling clean. The ideal hotel room!

No air matress for me... This is the most comfortable pull-out I've ever slept on! It didn't even squeak! And the blanket was soooo soft. Ahhhhh.

Mark here is reclining on the bed he and Steven shared... I think he looks pretty comfortable. :)
I have this button on my purse (it belonged to my great-grandmother) ... and it was so perfect with the moment that I took a picture of it. "It's Good To Be Here!"

The next day we got up early, ate a delicious continental breakfast in the hotel, and headed out! Within a few minutes we had reached Pennsylvania, and we drove through lots of pretty scenery and a mountain ridge. There were so many gigantic cornfields!

And then, finally.... We reached New York!

We stopped at a very pretty Rest Stop/Welcome Center right inside the New York State border. We stopped to get gas a little farther in and went inside to get some ice cream... and we met a real "New Yoaker"! He welcomed "Youse Guys" to New York and was amazed to hear we were all the way from "Gee-or-gee-ah, the Peach State!" (That's how he pronounced it)

We stopped at a babbling brook just outside of Cooperstown... You know, where James Fenimore Cooper wrote "The Last of The Mohicans", and "Deerslayer". (I saw Lake Glimmerglass!!) right before we got to my Great-Aunt's house and took a few pictures...

Me and my two big, strong brothers...

The lovely brook....

A peach-tinted Daylily... (There were tons of these alongside the roads...)

Then we got to my Aunt's house (Yaaay!) And discovered....

We had a stowaway!

Survivorman had tagged along! :D He did that when we went camping in North Carolina too.

After a delicious dinner of beef and potatoes, Mark and Steven enjoyed relaxing on the floating dock ... some friendly ducks came over to see who the newcomers were.

We all got a great night's sleep after our long two days of driving! :) Daddy woke up to the sound of a loon calling, out on the lake.

Daddy took Steven out for a canoe ride this morning after breakfast... I was amazed at how well my camera behaved, letting me get such great long-distance pictures from my Aunt's porch!
The view....

Well, that's all for now! We plan on going hiking this afternoon and I will be sure to take along my camera. :)

A Hello From New York

Hey Everybody!

My family and I are having a great time! We arrived at my Aunt's house in time to eat a delicious dinner. She lives on a lake and the cool breeze is so refreshing after the heat of Georgia. :) My Grandma and Aunt Barbara were astounded with how tall my brothers have gotten! They now dwarf me... and I'm 5 feet 9 inches! :D

We had a very good trip up yesterday... we left from GA at 7:00 am yesterday morning and made it all the way to Maryland before stopping for the night at a beautiful Holidy Inn Express. :) We loved our room! I will have to post pictures of it soon. This is just a quick update...

I'd better go now, we're starting a game of Apples to Apples! :)

I Am Going to...

New York! :)

My family and I are leaving Saturday (the 11th of July) to go visit my Grandma and her sister, my Great-Aunt Barbara. We should be back on Sunday the 19th. We will take 2 days to drive up and 2 days to drive back, but the remainder of the time will be spent with these wonderful ladies! :)

I am so looking forward to seeing my Grandma and Aunt Barbara again. The last time I saw them was a little over a year ago. I wish you could meet them... they are so spunky, energetic, and fun! I want to be just as active as they are when I reach their ages... which are somewhere in the 70's and 80's, respectively.

We plan on seeing some of the Adirondack Mountains, and we may even go Garnet mining. :) That will be fun! But the most fun thing of the trip will be seeing my Grandma and Aunt again. :)

MOHL Post 7/8/09

I did a post today on our devotional blog, Meditations of His Love. The title... The Straight Gate AND the Narrow Way. <- Click there and go check it out! :)

How to Add a Navigation Bar to Your Blog

Miss Elizabeth has asked me how I made my Navbar (navigation bar... the thing at the top of my blog that has different links to click)

• I followed the tutorial Here -> This Tutorial ... To make the actual Navbar.

• And I used -> This Tutorial... to help make pages, or links, for the Navbar.

• And if you want groups of posts on your Navbar, see -> This Tutorial . :) Hope that helps!

Happy Fourth of July!

Today is all about the Fireworks, right?

Well, no. Not really. Although I do love fireworks. "Whizzzzz-BANG-cracklecrackle... 'Ooooooh!'"

Today is Independence Day, the day we celebrate our country's independence from Great Britain. Our forefathers fought hard and some even gave their lives to give us a better future, free from oppression. Liberty.

Keep that in mind while you're out enjoying the hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, potato salad, sparklers, and fireworks! :)

We will be going to our friend's house for a cook-out and then light sparklers afterwards. I'll try to get a few pictures of those... we actually found some rainbow ones at Publix this year! :)

Blessings to all and... HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

My Graduation Party

Well, here it is, the long-awaited Graduation Party post! :) First of all I have to say how much I appreciate the hard work of my mom, helping plan, get ready for, host, and then clean up from the party! :) I have such a wonderful mother. :)

And then I would have to say how much I appreciated all the dear friends who came to my party! It wouldn't have been any fun without you all! :)

Here is my bedroom before the party.... I re-arranged the furniture last month, so there was space to put a table in the center of the room where guests could eat.

In this shot you can see the pink balloons hanging on the wall... I was kind of going with a pink-and-purple theme.

I had to stand on my bed to get this angle... :D

One of the decorated tables. (pink ribbon, butterfly sequins and silver confetti)

Balloons and Streamer... ready for the party...

One of my cakes - I baked these myself the day before the party... I was literally in the kitchen all day long! - This is the strawberry one, with strawberry icing, strawberry fruit-by-the-foot, and strawberry skittles. :D Can you tell that .... *Somebody* likes strawberry? :)

This is one of the other cakes - it's a 2-layer vanilla with homemade icing and decorated with peppermint patties, green M&M's, and 'peachie-O's' gummy rings cut into quarters on the top and halves on the sides of the cake. :)

My mom came up with the idea for the petals. I would have never thought of trimming them the way we did.
And then the guests arrived! :)

Our kitchen, decorated, and filled with food and friends!

Our living room, full of guests! :) some of the people seated at the table are writing on our 'heart of wisdom' quilt squares. More on that in another post. :)

Here I am seated amongst some of my girl friends... we are looking at my old school portfolios, which contain some funny/sweet/memorable pictures of myself and my two little brothers when we were younger. (Much younger!)

The younger young ladies having a blast with my "Pollys" and stuffed animals... :) I keep some on hand for young guests to enjoy.

My beautiful, highly skilled, talented hair stylist, Allison, doing my hair ... Wow, is she good or what? :)

My Graduation 'Congratulations' cards... :) (some of them...) They are all so sweet and beautiful!

In looking at my homeschooling education experience, I cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the hard work of my parents, especially my mom, in raising me. I am so thankful for their choice to teach me at home! Love you Mom & Dad! :)

The party was wonderful and I enjoyed it very much! So, there you have it. Hope you liked this post! :)