So that's how these things get started... (A Tag)

Hannah from Heart of Purity Tagged me! She made it up. (I've always been meaning to do that)

Here goes>

~Your Favorite:

~Color? Aqua or Pink
Candy? Anything chocolate, or sour
Main dish? Lasagna (My mom makes the best!) Or lemon-pepper grilled chicken.
Dessert? Strawberry shortcake
Drink? Lemonade or apple juice
Veggie? Hmmm... tomatoes. :) Or corn.

~Do you?~

Go to Starbucks Coffee Shop? Never - the closest one is probably an hour away.
Go to the mall a lot? almost never
Talk on the phone everyday to someone who is not family? No I don't.
Read your Bible everyday? Not every day. I need to though! Just felt a little prick of conviction!
Do lots of reading period? Absolutely.
See your grandparents everyday? No - mine live up north and way down south.
Bake a lot? Oh, yes! :) I love cakes.
Clean your room everyday? Yes I do! :) But I don't vacuum every day.
Have to say your sorry to someone everyday? I don't HAVE to say sorry every day but usually I do for something.

~A Certain Thing You Dislike Of Each Category~

Veggie? Okra.
Color? Chartreuse.
Drink? Anything with aspartame, most soda.
Animal? Scorpions.

~Do You Have A~

Pet? Yes - we have 38 chickens.
Gift card at the moment? Yes. I just had a birthday.
Sewing machine? Yes - Mama has three, but only two work.
Big mess under your bed? believe it or not, no.
Pack of gum in your bag or purse? No.
Computer in your room? Yes. But not this one. :)

Have you ever~

Been on a plane? Yes, when I was a baby
Been out of state? Yes.
Out of the country? No.
Been in a eight-teen wheeler? No!
Been in a car accident? no.
Read about a hundred and fifty page book in about and hour? I'm downright sure I have.

~Your Favorite Place to?~

Go shopping? Garage sales! :D I love a great deal.
Eat out? American Pie Pizzeria
Go visit? Hmmm.... not sure
Read a good book at? On my bed or during lunch

~Random~

What color is your room? You'd have to see it. It's kind of rainbow - but it used to be lavender and pink.
Do you share a room with anyone? No and I never have. I don't have any sisters. (sniff)
Have you ever went swimming in a pond? Yes I have. I prefer swimming pools. :)
How old are you? 18.
What year were you born? You'd be able to deduce that from my previous answer, but - 1991
Are you related to anyone important or famous? Well, since we're all descended from Noah, you could say that. :D
Have you ever met a vice president? No I have not.
Are you getting bored yet? No but this is rather lengthy...
What are you thinking? That I am about to change my blog background to something more cheerful. :)

I tag anyone who wants to do this. :)

Blessings!

Meditations Of His Love is now up and running!

Go check out the first devotional post on our new blog, Meditations of His Love! :)

I'm still here! I promise!

Hi There!

I know, I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been busy! :) I've been working on the devotional blog (Which is looking splendid and the posts waiting to be published look so wonderful!) And I have also been crocheting quite often on some lovely granny squares... I'll be making them into an afghan... and I cannot wait to use it this Autumn. :)


I've also been on Scrapblog a lot. :)

This one is the theme verse for Meditations of His Love, our devotional blog... I love this verse!

This has always been one of my favorite passages of scripture, and I've always taken the "All the days of her life" to heart. ALL doesn't mean "just after marriage".

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and kicking! :)
Blessings Abundantly,

Coming Soon ~ A Lovely Devotional Blog for Young Ladies

I am so delighted and thankful to announce that I've been sweetly invited to co-author a new Devotional blog with some very wonderful young ladies:

Rachel

Jessica

Arielle

Arianna

and Sarah.

If you'd like a sneak peek click here: http://meditationsofhislove.blogspot.com/

I designed the header to go with the gorgeous background that Arianna found and we all voted on to use. It's made by AquaPoppy Designs - and they have some neat Free Backgrounds!

We've got some amazing things in the works right now and I'm highly anticipating the start of the posts! :) The first post is coming, I believe, on April 20th.

Thank you for all the sweet "Happy Birthday" comments! :) I enjoyed every one.

I'll be posting more soon, this is just a quick update. :)

Blessings!

Yesterday I did 30 Sit-Ups

...in a row. :D And the best part is I'm not sore today! :) I also did 20 push-ups. I'm working on doing some reps every evening, and that's been very good for my stomach muscles and biceps. :) I've also been riding the excercise bike faithfully and continuing my diet, which I now prefer to call my 'lifestyle'. :)

***Anyway.....***

Hi everyone! :)

Just a quick update to let you know that so far I'm having a wonderful birthday! I got several sweet e-cards, birthday cards, and hugs from loving family members. :) Mama made French toast for breakfast (yum!) and we're going to make a strawberry-vanilla checkerboard cake possibly around noon. :) Hopefully, if the weather cooperates, we'll be heading up to play Ultimate Frisbee with our home-church group - such nice people! :) I hope it doesn't rain!! It's supposed to be "Stormy with large hail". ACK! Not very good frisbee weather! :(

Thank you for all the sweet comments! :) You're all so wonderful. :)

New Background - Once Again! :)

Well, my 18th birthday is coming up on the 10th, and I'm thinking of all I did in this past year, and to celebrate just how much I'm loving my life I made a new blog header and changed the background to go with it. :)

The Cutest Blog On The Block has started making free header pictures to use with their free backgrounds! How wonderful! :) When you click on a background there are usually a header picture and a matching blinkie that you can use underneath it. :) They have some new springy backgrounds, so if you've been thinking about changing your background, head on over there and check it out! :)

I'm feeling so Creative!

Chirps From The Barnyard #2

The chicks have grown quite a bit since their last update. My brother Mark remarked the other day ... "picking them up, they feel like tiny turkeys or something!" They do. They're plump little things! They're starting to lose their baby fluff and grow new, adult feathers. One gray chick named Margaret (After Margaret Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility) has sprouted white wing feathers. (?) We even have two chicks - Egg-gret (an invented name) :) and Lady Catherine De Bourgh (From Pride & Prejudice) - who have feathers on their little feet!

Here's a video:

Some of our other names - for those who are interested - are The Black Princess - Mark named her after the Black Prince of English history - Anne, (Persuasion) Caroline Bingley (Pride & Prejudice) Georgiana, Elizabeth and Jane (Also P&P.) :) We'll be adding names as they grow more unique. Usually we can always tell the adult chickens apart - sometimes the chicks look exactly the same, if they're from the same breed of chicken. :)

Love & Hugs!

All The Colors Of The Rainbow...

First of all, we've been so busy lately that I haven't had long hours to devote to blogging, so I'm sorry about the infrequency of my posts! :) That blogger dashboard is mesmerizing... all of you fellow bloggers I follow write such interesting posts! For the past few days I've sat down at the computer to write a post, but haven't done it because I spend all my time reading YOURS! :)

My 18th birthday is coming up on Friday the 10th, and for a birthday present, my mom let me get ...

some very beautiful yarn! :)
I'm using it to make an afghan out of granny square blocks for my queen-size bed. I did get my crochet block patterns book in the mail (hurray!!) and have been thoroughly enjoying it!!You can see from this picture below the diversity of the blocks I've been making... Some of those you may recognize. :)

Our weather lately has been warm, but today and yesterday were quite chilly! I'm just glad it didn't freeze. Our flowers are blooming!

I absolutely love these azaleas ^, they look as if they've been painted with one brushstroke in the middle of every petal. Gorgeous. :)

Our dogwood trees have also burst into bloom.

And our garden is thriving! :) (These pictures are rather old, but I thought it was about time I told you about the garden...)

We planted two kinds of lettuce... romaine and 'head lettuce', which to me looks suspiciously like greenleaf lettuce...
We also have tomatoes, bell and jalapeno peppers, carrots, onions, and a strawberry patch! :) (I don't have pictures of that yet) Since our soil is extremely rocky on our hill, we had to plant everything in containers with potting soil. But it works, though! :)

Hope you're having a wonderful week!

The Foolishness Quiz, created by: The Botkin Sisters

FOOLISHNESS.

I had a wonderful talk with my father at the Father/Daughter retreat about foolishness and maturity, and the aspects of both. He suggested several ways for me to mature a bit in my own life, and reminded me that as a nearly 18-year-old young lady, I am a role model for the younger girls in my circle of acquaintances.

This really brought a new awareness to how I view my interaction with others.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. - Proverbs 12:15

A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. - Proverbs 29:11

Have you ever done that? I have. "Uttered all that was in my mind". And later I regret it, but words once spoken can't be taken back. A sobering thought.

My dear friends, two very wise young ladies, Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin have once again done a post very timely to what was going on in my life, and this time they've created an excellent quiz. I highly encourage you to go take it, answer the 13 questions honestly, and use it as a soul-searching tool to brighten up any unpolished areas you might have in your life.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I'm Currently....... Pensive.

If You Have A Bad Day...

All of us have bad days.



*Note, before you think that I am having a bad day and chose to sit down at the computer and gripe about it via blog-world, rest assured, I am having a perfectly fine day. I just have a point to make. So read further. :)*



There are a whole lot of things that can make you have a bad day. In case you didn't know this... there is actually an enemy out there who is trying his best to make you have a horrible day every single day of your life. He has several names, some of which are Satan, the devil, and the Accuser. He loves it when you have a bad day! He hates you as much as God loves you.


I won't go into detail about specific causes for bad days... I am sure you can think of your own examples.

The big question is... can I avoid having a bad day?


Well, yes. To some extent, anyway. :)


When you wake up in the morning, an excellent idea is to pray over your day. Out loud. Before anything unpleasant happens. (This is an especially good idea if you know you may have a lot of things to get done that day, or you know your schedule could be rather hectic.)


If you're in the middle of a bad day, it can be reversed. Really! Something I do when I'm having a bad day - or, really, just when I'm upset about something - is to go off by myself somewhere and pray.
Sometimes I lie down in my peaceful bedroom, sometimes I go for a walk outside and listen to the birds sing. It is such a comfort to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit wash over me and calm me.
I have had times where I'm sobbing, completely upset, and I manage to get out the words "Please, Lord, calm me! Give me peace!" And instantly, the inner turmoil vanishes. No, the problem or reason I was upset doesn't go away, but still I have peace in my heart. It's indescribable how wonderful this is.


John 14:27 ~ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

On 'bad days', searching the Bible for verses that contain the word 'peace' is also something that will calm your heart. Psalms is where I read when I need reassurance of the Lord's care for me. reading the words of King David when he was struggling with something in his life and then when his troubles are dealt with is quite uplifting.


I pray that you are all having a wonderful week!

Right now I feel... Peaceful. :)

Chirps From The Barnyard #1

(Be sure to read my post on the Father-Daughter retreat below this one!)

Our baby chicks are here!!! They are adorable, sweet, fluffy, chirpy, tiny, soft, wonderful, enchanting, cute little things!

They're nice and warm in their little brooder box. We have some heat lamps on them to keep them nice and toasty... baby chicks thrive in warm temperatures. The green stuff you might spot in their food is called "Grow-gel", and it's some special vitamins to help them get some extra nutrients.

We have a variety of mixed breeds, but they're all brown egg layers and they're all hens. (How you can tell, when they're that little, is beyond me... but this company is great, we've ordered from them before, so I'm sure they'll be what we need... hens!) :)

And they just love being held in warm, caring hands.

Can everybody say "Awwwwww...."?


Blessings!