Singing for Days Straight

We watch music videos the way sports people watch the Olympics. Cheering, judging, and enjoying. Then we come away inspired, stoked, and ready to sing for a couple days straight.

Whenever a video starts, my family and I gather from all four corners of the house. We squeeze in on the couch even sitting on the back of it (like I did last night when we were watching snippets of the actual Olympics), and time stops until it's over.

We recently spent a couple of mornings binge watching Peter Hollen's YouTube channel. We'd seen some of his songs but hadn't thought of looking at his channel until we discovered that he had covered some of our favorite songs. 

We love this one! It is not only beautiful but also filmed in an area in Oregon that looks exactly like our hometown. We have fun speculating. ;)

This one isn't the best musically; but it's pretty fun and we love how the mom looks like Maria from A Life of Music. ;) (Enjoy the goat scene!)

For some reason, this is my absolute favorite. I haven't even seen the movie, but this song is so hauntingly beautiful and he does such a good job singing it in Latin.

What music have you been enjoying lately?

Josh Gwoban

Happy Leap Day, everyone! I hope you are enjoying this day since it only comes every four years. (Well, presidential elections do too, but that's a totally different story.)  I don't have a lot of time for blogging at the moment even if this day is "extra", but I thought I'd share with you a few hilarious videos we recently discovered. (Please be mindful of the fact that YouTube is a secular site. I also cannot wholehearted endorse the words of the first song since I've never been able to understand them all.) ; ) Enjoy!

Let's say you take a dramatic song like... maybe this...

\

and you do something like this to it...

Then you get us singing along to the dramatic version in husky little kid voices and just cracking up over it. (Add to that that we are coming off a cold so we're husky anyway...it's pretty great!) Poor Mr. Gwoban, though. I bet he's never been able to sing that song normally again! Especially after this...

Pretty awesome, eh? ; P

A Few of My Favorite Things (Blog Tag)

The wild southwest has its pros. It also has its cons—one of which is definitely that winter always seems to end with Christmas. Now, of course, we still do have some good weather, but it doesn’t quite feel winter-y probably because of the lack of snow. When I found out that Elanee (from Elanee’s Endeavors) had tagged me for this survey, I was super delighted. And then I began to wonder, “How in the world does a desert gal like me write a post about her favorite Christmas/winter things when it really isn’t either right now?” I’ve decided to give it a try, and we’ll see what I come up with. ; )

The rules for this challenge happen to be… (1) Use the same title and adorable picture. (2) Answer the questions. (I promise to do that in a sec.) And (3) Tag five fellow fanciful fantabulous bloggers.

Okay, let’s get down to business…

1. What are some of your favorite “Snuggle Weather” books?

Good question that I’m really not sure how to answer since I love so many different kinds of books. I would have to say my Bible and anything that stirs me poetically and fits the moody weather. ; ) Those would probably be The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis (amazing essays), Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W.E. Cule (medieval Pilgrim’s Progress-like journey), Dreamlander by K.M. Weiland (amazing fantasy), Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris (heartwarming family story), and on and on. Another really great winter story I discovered last month is At the Christmas Lodge by Rebekah Morris. It is so cute! I also think that if I had the Aggie’s Inheritance series, I would definitely be reading through them right now. ; )

2. What is you favorite wintry snack?

Oh, snacks. Yummy. Definitely apple pie!!! I love making it, I love eating it, and I love the joy it brings to the people I serve it to. I can also convince myself that it is pretty healthy since the crust is so thin. ; ) Peppermint bark and some ginger cookies I just discovered (that I simply MUST get the recipe for) are also high on the list. Because we are trying to switch to gluten-free, however, my answer should probably be different next winter. ; )

3. What are some of your favorite hot drinks?

Chai tea!!!! I am totally crazy about it right now!!! It’s spicy, it’s milky, it’s sweet, it’s like coffee without the dirt taste and (the way I make it) without the caffeine! What could be better? The people in my family who usually don’t drink tea love it too! ; ) (And, just so you know, if you eat some chocolate on the side the flavors are even more perfect.) I also really like hot chocolate and hot apple cider, but Chai definitely ranks first. ; )

4. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

I can answer that one really easily!! For as long as I can remember, we’ve watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Nativity Story” every Christmas. They definitely spell Christmas for me! (Although I was all right when I didn’t get to watch the first one this year. ; P) They are both so amazing, but I especially love “The Nativity Story” as it reminds me of how beautiful God’s Gift to man really is. I also really enjoy “A Joan Walsh Anglund Christmas” (great childhood memories with this one) and “The Fourth Wiseman”. ; )

5. What are some of your favorite holiday songs?

Andrew Peterson’s outrageously awesome cd “Behold the Lamb of God”, Nat King Cole’s cd of Christmas favorites ; ), Josh Wilson’s recent song “Once A Year” (if that’s the right name…), and, of course, “The Carol of the Bells” in all three versions. ; ) I also love the hymns we sing in church to celebrate this special season especially “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”. “Adam’s likeness now efface…Stamp Thine image in its place…Second Adam from above…Reinstate us in Thy love…” We really should sing Christmas carols all year!

6. Favorite snow [rainy, cloudy, rainy-ish, cloudy-ish] day crafts?

Well, definitely writing. Cozy, gloomy weather helps me to get in the creative mood sometimes. ; ) I also discovered this year that I kinda’ like making Christmas cards whether or not I’m good at it. Baking, some sewing, and a bit of knitting are always fabulous too. ; )

7. Do you want to build a snowman?

No, actually. *sheepish smile as I prepare to make a horrible confession* I-don’t-really-like-snow. Phew. There, I said it. ; ) Don’t get me wrong—I love the decorative aspect of snow, the crunchy pretty aspect of snow, and even occasionally a vicious snowball fight—but I don’t love being in the snow. I’d rather stay indoors. ; ) (Though I have to say toddlers that look twice their regular chubby size because of their snow clothes are definitely special.) ; )

So, there you are! Those are just a few of my favorite things, but since I don’t get bit by dogs or stung by bees very often I’m very grateful for the reminder to look for the marvelous things in every day. ; ) What do you love most about Christmastime/winter?

Since that was so much fun, I’ll pass it on to Perry, Holly, the Tons and Bunches people ; ), Mrs. Bowes, and Rebekah.

Have a great day, everyone! ; )

Christmastime Is Here!

Ten days ‘til Christmas, wow! This year has really sped by for me. These first two weeks of December, there has been so much to be grateful for! Let me share some of it with you…

I’m grateful for…

• Our family’s Advent celebration. Every night (at least every night we are able), Dad pulls out the Advent calendar after dinner and reads aloud that night’s little book that tells a part of the Christmas story. It’s a time where we all slow down to remember the Story again, sing Christmas songs together, and share in good conversation. This year, my littlest sister is finally old enough to participate in the celebration and understand what’s going on. It’s a really special time. ; )
• Our church’s Christmas recital early this month. I got to sing alto to “Joy to the World!” in a performance with some of my family members and friends. ; ) It was so amazing to be a part of! I also enjoyed listening to Anna and her friends sing “O Come, All Ye Faithful”; Tyler and Perry do “Mathew’s Begats” (by Andrew Peterson); and Tyler, Perry, and Dad perform “The Holly and the Ivy/While Shepherd’s Watched Their Flocks” (another Andrew Peterson).
• Babysitting nice nephews while their parents did music at the recital and that Sunday for church. Chap was hilarious sitting on my lap and coloring all over my sermon outline. Later when he was sitting with his parents again, I used his crayon to take notes. ; ) I also got to experience the “cry room” with the littlest one, which was a new experience. ; )
• Funny to say it, but…the clothes! All the best colors—red, green, black—are Christmas-y and my family actually finds it pretty easy to coordinate during this season. ; ) And I actually get to wear my warmer, favorite things since it’s a tiny bit cold out!
• My Christmas-present-making buddy! Betsy Bea and I are partners this year to prepare gifts for the siblings whose names we drew. It’s so much fun discussing our secrets and surprises. ; )
• The awesome gifts boxes we got from Aimee’s yard sale. That yard sale had a ton of Christmas stuff, and we bought some really cute little boxes from her. We turned on Christmas music and dragged all of our wrapping and scrapbooking supplies into our place of choosing. With a bit of decoration (one of them had lime green decorations that I colored darker green so they weren’t so hideous), Bea and I have them ready for their presents to go inside. ; ) Very exciting!
• Christmas music! Right now I’m listening to a cd of orchestral music; but it’s ranged from Nat King Cole to Andrew Peterson, from a collection of Christmas favorites to even a bit of the radio. ; ) Last Saturday, we got to hear a live performance of Handel’s “Messiah”! It was so amazing!!!
• Inspiration! Besides my story “Snowman”, I wrote another one currently called “Package” which I finished last week. They're even a little bit related. ; ) So much fun!
• Elderberry syrup to help us get healthy and stay healthy!
• All the Christmas baking I’ve been able to do since we are almost healthy now. ; ) I got to use my mini muffin baking tin for the first time ever last week! I brought the brownies to church yesterday which was pretty fun. I plan on making more for our church’s upcoming ladies’ tea.
• Mushy Jimmy Stewart Christmas movies. ; ) We just watched his little-known and hilarious movie “The Shop Around the Corner” (thanks to a generous friend); and I look forward to watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” soon among our other Christmas favorites. ; )
• The fact that Aimee and I get to host a table at the ladies' tea together! It will be really fun, though we do have somewhat different decorating styles. Not as far apart as they used to be though. When we were younger it was really bad. ; )
• The cold-ish weather that is coming!
• The book of Isaiah. I’ve been trying to read two chapters of it a day this Christmas season since there are so many prophecies related to Jesus. It’s pretty amazing!

Soon we will decorate our house for Christmas, if we are well enough; and we ladies will participate in the tea. After that, Christmas caroling with our church and then Christmas day—the celebration of our Lord and Savior coming to earth for us. What more could we ask than the Maker of the universe would humble Himself to come to His people? God is with us, and I am truly grateful.

This Christmas, what are you grateful for?

The Carol of the Bells (x3)

I love the song "The Carol of the Bells", and I love three different version for three different reasons to boot! ; ) Would you like to hear them? Enjoy, and remember to be careful since YouTube is a secular site!

First off is this Irish-y, awesome-y version by Keith and Kristyn Getty. 
I love the peppy, excited sound! ; )

And the PianoGuys version meshed with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"...very dramatic. My littlest sister used to love pretending to sneak up on something whenever we listened to this song. ; ) 

Love the cello!

I had to share this one just because it's funny, and I love the Swedish Chef. ; )

Which one is your favorite?

Happening Now

This is seriously what is happening right now as I write this blog post. ; ) (And I actually wrote this last night, so don't worry--I didn't have spaghetti for breakfast.) ;)  Hope you enjoy!

Seeing...my computer screen ; ), my lovely family, and a pile of dried leaves my mom bought home from her Oregon trip.
Hearing...music by the Willis Clan. (Not us, but we do sing along when we can.) ; )
Smelling...starch from spaghetti noodles. (My sisters will tell you I have a weird sense of smell.)
Tasting...starch from spaghetti noodles. ; P
Needing...sleep.
Wanting...more books to read. I just finished The Blackstar of Kingston last night.
Regretting...that that book is over.
Feeling...happy. ; ) ; ) ; ) (And itchy from bug bites. Happy summer. Oh, wait, it's autumn!)
Wishing...that Rebekah Morris' newest book was already out.
Thinking...about this blog post, the gorgeous music I'm listening to, the conversations going on around me...
Laughing...over an awesome family inside joke. ; )
Recovering...from putting my foot to sleep. (Wow, do I have big problems!)
Believing...that God is good all the time.
Anticipating...maybe getting to watch a Gregory Peck movie with the olders in my family. ; )
Dreaming...about the future.
Praying...that I would learn to trust the Lord even when fear seems to completely overwhelm me.
Reading...nothing. Oh, dear!!
Singing...nothing right now, though I was humming a little. You can't exactly sing fiddling. ; )
Wearing...my super old, super faded (but only in some random places) blue jumper and a long-sleeved red t-shirt. (I'm constantly pushing up the sleeves, and I think I stretched them out.) Quiet evening at home clothes. ; )
Preparing...this post for tomorrow. I shouldn't write a blog post about what I'm doing when I'm writing the blog post because then that's what it's about.
Remembering...that tomorrow we may go to PE.
Trying...to concentrate. ; )
Questioning...pacifism vs. revolutionaryism. (Wow! New word!) We discuss really fun things over here.
Fearing...relational conflict.
Loving...my family.
Googling...nothing. I haven't done it in a while, actually. Though I do need to figure out which way the glass goes when you shoot the window out of a moving vehicle. Yeah, story stuff.
Choosing...peace and trust. (That's funny after talking about shooting out windows.)
Working...on getting this done because I've neglected this blog for two weeks.
Emailing...nobody today, but I emailed both Rebekah's yesterday. (Yeah, I'm blessed to have more than one.) ; )
Sewing...sewing??? I haven't done that in ages. Argh.
Texting...not that either.
Considering...whether or not I'll be doing anything at PE. Sports are not my thing, but I probably should get the exercise.
Turning...into a pumpkin because I'm getting tired. (You know--like Cinderella's coach at midnight? Get it?)
Longing...to publish, to get married, to have children, to go to heaven. ; )
Suffering...from slight allergies.
Recognizing...that I have a letter to reply to that is at least two weeks old.
Checking...Amazon just to see if my favorite authors have anything new. I know, I'm hopeless.
Organizing...well, today I did some laundry, does that count? ; )
Reckoning...myself blessed indeed!!
Smiling...over how a baby boy I know says my name. I taught him to say "Katie" in a sing-song voice and his version became "Ti-ti". So sweet. ; )

Spray Bottles, Dragons, and a Makeshift Choir

I could start this out with an apology for not keeping up with the loose posting schedule I had been doing. Or I could just tell you what I've been up to and let you decide if blogging has been the most important thing on my plate right now. Hmm... I think I like that second option better.

Forget I even said any of that. It was awkward and self-conscious. Starting the blog post over...


Summer days in this baking desert have been very full of work, play, family, and community. So many things to be grateful for!!
I'm grateful for...

• My nephews--Bobbers, Lum, and Beef Stew (or Stewy). Each one of them has touched my life so much in their own little ways. We were so happy to have them live with us, but we're also very glad for them that they have their own little house. ; )
• Being able to help Perry and Tyler move. It was great to be able to see their house and help unpack some things. What a cute little house for a cute little family!
• The old Jimmy Stewart movie "You Can't Take It With You". Wow! It is so awesomely funny! If you ever want a glimpse of what our life is like--watch that movie! We had a family movie night with that and some yummy microwave popcorn.
• Bible Bee hive meetings. My memorization partner is such a joy! Hi, Hannah!
• The Green Ember by S.D. Smith. Don't let the Beatrix Potter style cover fool you! It's a full-blown, amazingly written adventure! Very good!
• The Restoration Hardware store! *Alice steps into Wonderland* *Angels sing* *Kate goes crazy*
• Singing in a makeshift choir after church. Thank you, Paul and Matthew for setting it up!! It was so much fun. We had a great time singing to the Lord, and it was surprisingly good sounding for a bunch of people who hadn't practiced together before. ; ) One of the newcomers to church actually thought we were a choir which flattered us all immensely. Very good times. ; )
• The sweet texts we're getting from Perry telling us all the cute things that the babies are doing. We taught Lum part of the cup game while they live here, and he just decided to do part of it today! ; )
• Little friends at church! So many of them came up to greet me and give me hugs or hang on my arm as I was talking to someone older.
• Matching my two littlest sisters at church. We wore red skirts and white shirts. ; ) It was so fun! (Every time Daddy would say, "Where's so and so?" I'd just say, "She's in a red skirt.") ; ) 
• Hilarious family discussions of whether or not the word "both" could mean more than two. Google may have settled the issue. For now... ; )
• Music. I'm loving Josh Groban's instrumental "The Wandering Kind (Prelude)", almost everything by the PianoGuys, and "The Cup Song". Here's the original version of it from the movie. (Please note that these links are on YouTube, so be careful to guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Also, "The Cup Song" does unfortunately have a reference to drinking, but what I enjoy about that song is its sound.) Great background music for working in the kitchen or any time the mood needs a little lightening! ; )
• A fresh notebook and about four story ideas! County fair story here I come! Children's picture book second draft here I come! Dragons and chimney sweeps story here I come! Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Queen Susan, and King Arthur all in one story here I come! (I know, the last two story ideas are crazy. I love them.)
• Crazy family spray bottle fights. Wow, enough said there. O.o.
• Our sweet dog Ella. (Lum calls her "Lella".) Love. ; )
• Danny Kaye. We were laughing over our favorite parts in his old movies ridiculously late last night. ; )
• The love of God, so rich and pure, all measureless and strong.

Today what are you grateful for?

Renewed

Before we moved to the Northwest, someone who had been here before told us, "You see more shades of green than you ever knew existed." He was right. I am so thankful that I can look out our dining room windows on a lush, awakened world. For some strange reason I always expect the scene I am looking at to be like a flat picture; but instead I am pleased to find the 3d essence of the pine trees, and somehow I feel as if it is more real than it actually is. Sounds weird, I know, but I'm thankful for it and so many other things besides.

I'm thankful for...

• The family of God. Last Sunday, we gathered together for a church picnic and the crowd of forty people was drawn together closer than ever.
• The hilarious, insightful, and memorable devotional one of the men from our church led. It involved inflating balloons. One of my best friends and I were sitting near him when he popped one. You can imagine our reactions. 'Nuf said. : )
• The fact that my mocha brownie mess-up wasn't so much of a mess-up, but instead it just became mocha cake.
• Our window air-conditioners. They have done such an amazing job that we hardly noticed when the temperature hit 100 degrees one day.
• Ripening apples! They are so red that it is delightful to look at them.
• The e-book our oldest sister gifted us with. It's Firmament: In His Image by J. Grace Pennington. It's her best book yet, and sooo interesting!
• Stories. I'm officially working on one right now, but the others are begging me to give them some more thought. (Mara, here I come!)
• Bananas and chocolate chips. (Get the recipe from my post last November called "Banana?")
• The power of prayer. What was lost has now been found!
• My brother's latest board game creation—the settling game! We read about Settlers of Catan and decided to make our own version (at least for now). : ) It truly is a lot of fun. He won with about 10,000 more people than I had.
• Our terrific thunderstorm!!!! It was probably the third one we've had in six years and the best so far! It was so close that we could hear the crackle and pop in the thunder and watch the lightning split the sky! Brings back fond memories of Southwest electrical storms. : )
• The other great thing about the storm was the rain! We've needed it so badly, and now everything is greatly renewed.
• The big picnic this Saturday! There are lots of people I am looking forward to seeing including my pen-pal whom I've only seen two times in the last year. : )
• Music! Lord willing our family will be singing a song at the picnic. So fun!
• Deviled eggs. Imagine our delight and surprise over a double-yolk deviled egg! My youngest sister was cooking with me, and she was pretty cute rolling eggs to peel them.
• The animated short Burn.E. Uh, yeah, it isn't high literature, but now every time I hear "The Ode to Joy" I hum it just like he does. : )
• A clean house for the Axis and Allies party and weekend visitors.
• Giving my littlest sister a lesson in military time. My watch battery is about five years old so it's stuck in that mode plus it's running eight minutes late. She's still managing to keep track of the time though and looking forward to the coming of our guests! : )
• Old sheet music. I was organizing all the music inside our piano bench, and it struck me how blessed we are to have 3 years worth of chorale music. : )
• Letters and emails to answer! It's been so much fun to get to know these special people.
• The way that the bright red pencil I am using matches my bright red, picnic themed stationery.
• God giving me a clear philosophy of beauty at 10 o'clock at night.
• Family music practice. : )
• The funny thing that happens if you compare my relatives to movie stars/characters. Audrey Hepburn and Captain America are the parents of Charlie Brown and Russell (from Up). My brother is Gregory Peck and my older sister is Keisha Castle-Hughes (from The Nativity Story). Wow, that's fun! Maybe I'm Dori (from Finding Nemo). : )
• God, Who has loved us just as we are; but is not content to leave us that way. Instead He is renewing us day by day and conforming us to the image of His Son.

Wonderful Music Video

I love, love, love this music video! I know I haven't posted on here in forever but I had been intending to start posting again and this was too awesome, tear jerking, beautiful, and right to pass up!

Thank you to my sweet daddy for showing it to me! Enjoy with a tissue in hand all you fans of true love and commitment!

A Whirlwind Weekend

Last weekend (and the two weeks leading up to it, might I add) was a whirlwind of preparations, practice, and finally the big day of our performance in the chorale! I thought I would share with you some of the things I am thankful for from the Christian Heritage Conference.

 

I'm thankful for...

Parents who were willing to take the plunge to spend the time, money, and effort on getting us to this great event. They trotted us around to stores so we could find clothes for the chorale, took us to several extra practices, and actually waived the usual school schedule so we could practice our brains out.

All our friends from church and the church universal who practiced with us and shared their unique versions of jokes.

A mom who was willing and able to cook tons of food, put up with 2 3/4 teenage girls asking for clothing advice, and stay up 'til two Thursday night/Friday morning making sure everyone had socks and the like.

The neighbors' cows (with the sheep leading!) being driven down the road in front of our house. That broke up the routine of a very busy day and gave us something to talk about.

A big sister who loaned me one of her denim skirts for the weekend.

A dad who got up at four thirty on Friday morning to drive us there. (For four hours, starting out in the fog to boot!)

A "baby" sister who kept asking her highly intellectual equivalent of "Are we there yet?"

GPS.

Those cool name tags that you just have to snap yourself with every year. (For old time's sake.)

This year's amazing, inspiring speakers--Ken Ham, R.C. Sproul Jr., and Israel Wayne. There were many more, but those are all the ones I heard between being in the chorale and arriving a little late. : ) I enjoyed hearing Mr. Ham's behind-the-scenes on his recent debate with Bill Nye. Mr. Wayne gave a historically interesting and inspiring talk called "What About Socialization?" where I learned that the most important thing in a child's life is that their heart belongs to their parents. (He was mainly talking to the parents but I found some application.) : ) He did a great job considering the fact that he had bronchitis, a sinus infection, an ear infection, and had visited urgent care the night before.

The curriculum hall--especially the Lamplighter booth! Do you think they know that all the beautiful books spread out draw me in? A scratch and dent copy of Comfortable Troubles came home with me. : )

The wonderful performers who blessed us with their music before the sessions and during the Family Night. We were treated to music from bluegrass to classical and even got to witness a skit on homeschooling. I most enjoyed the family with the adorable triplets and the Dunn Mountain Boys. (Not to mention the people I know and was there to cheer for!)

The Fellowship Dinner where we split up by regions and got to meet new people in our general area. Aimee and I gained a new pen-pal, and Paul found that boys universally love computer coding and animal trapping.

Chorale practices!!! (You knew this was coming.) This was our main reason for going, actually, and it was very rewarding. The two directors and the piano player worked together to make sure we sounded amazing. They handled us in a sometimes hilarious and sometimes serious way. I'll never forget having to practice putting the 's' on the end of a word on the next one and repeating "endle--ssbe" over and over. The words of the songs were very beautiful, and they didn't neglect talking about them either. There was even a complete Gospel presentation mixed in with the technical work.

All the little children. The adorable little girl who smiled at us while we tried to listen to a session, the chunky baby boy who greeted us with the universal salute of a finger up his nose, and the curly headed tot who waved goodbye to me as their family's van left the parking lot.

Food, glorious food! Especially the ham sandwiches.

The marvelous friends who decided to finance two hotel rooms for our family on Friday night. (We are thanking God for you! You know who you are.)

The comforts of said hotel room and the family party we had that night. Popcorn, Studio C episodes, and lots of laughter combined to make that night memorable.

Breakfast the next morning with about twenty other homeschoolers in the tiny hotel breakfast room. : ) 'Nuff said.

All the wonderful volunteers, the Craig and Bradrick families, and everyone else who made sure this conference happened.

A gigantic-ly tall "little" brother to escort me places. We did four flights of stairs together.

Elevators and escalators so you don't have to do four flights all day!

A "baby" sister who wore black and white just to match our performance clothes. So sweet!

Comfortable black shoes to wear on those crowded risers. I'm afraid the abundance of sopranos and altos squished the guys so hard that some had to share music. : )

The performance! The members of the audience I talked to later said it was wonderful, but I know the best part was being up there in the midst of the choir singing out God's praises at the tops of their lungs. The words were so beautiful, and when I sang "I could feel God's pleasure."

The funny dynamics of trying to fit 250+ young adults into the hallway behind the stage. I knocked the doorstop loose twice moving around people, so my gigantic-ly tall "little" brother and one other young man had to help we with it since it was a particularly rebellious doorstop. : )

The ending session and the congregational singing afterwards. Gotta' love the universal church!

Goodbyes with our new pen-pal.

Dinner on the long drive home and the awesome discussions about vision, roles, and so on that were held above the sound of the pounding rain.

Sleep. : )

Church the next morning where our favorite 93-year-old man accompanied the song he was leading on the piano. : )

 

Altogether it was an encouraging, exciting weekend, and I'm so grateful that I got the chance to praise God in song with so many other brothers and sisters.

The Gift of Music

This year we oldest three have the privilege of being in the Christian
Heritage Youth Chorale. It's been so much fun to practice our various
parts, and even the younger kids are getting in on it. Betsy Bea plugs
her ears every time the sopranos get way up there and claims that she can
do all the parts like "bass, alto, melody..." The songs chosen for this
year are quite beautiful, and all the work is worth the experience of
standing up there with 300 or so other "youth" praising God in song. I'm
very excited for next weekend and to see how my favorite songs turn out!
We'll be singing arrangements of "Holy, Holy, Holy", "Crown Him with Many
Crowns", "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go", and "Little David, Play On
Your Harp". : )

Adventures in Dollhouse Land

In our new school schedule each of us older kids has a scheduled time to play with Emma and/or Betsy Bea. Betsy Bea's hands-down favorite thing to play is dollhouse. Although I keep branching out to other games for us to play, we always return there. I thought I'd share some funny things that have happened while we are playing.

Betsy Bea insists on always using a certain dollhouse Daddy and when I asked her about it she said, "He looks like Tyler."

Any other dollhouse daddy was declared to look like "Goob from Meet the Robinsons." : )

Yesterday, I threw her doll a birthday party with real miniature books I had made as the presents. One of the books was called "Christy Hunt". Her doll replied, "Oh, thanks, I'm sure my dad will read the hunting one."

Today, she was looking through a bag of accessories before our dolls went camping. She discovered an interesting hinge that was in the bag for some reason and the 'wheels' starting turning. "I can use this for a tortilla press," she decided.

Whenever our dolls would go places, my daddy doll would open and shut the door for the mommy doll. Her people used to always explode out of their separate doors and get to business. Now her daddy opens the door and the mommy politely thanks him.

We played dollhouse dentist one day, (BTW-the dentists were always washing their hands in a bird fountain rigged up for the job), and the boy doll named Avery had a cavity. A few days later I was talking to Anna about a story I was writing with a character named Avery in it and Betsy Bea pipes up with, "Avery had a cavity." That took me a little while to make the connection.

So, it's been fun and she even sings me a Josh Groban love song while we play. I asked if she liked the song and she said, "No." "Then why do you sing it?" "Because it is dumb."

Summer is Almost Over!

Yes, summer vacation is coming to a close. I'm not sure if can bring myself to be sorry because the best season is coming next, but when I think back I have a lot to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for U-pick farmers, their blueberries, and their generosity as well as God's sun and God's rain to make the berries grow.
I'm thankful for friends that liven the days with their picnics, invitations, silly games at camp, and emails and letters.
I'm thankful for relatives that want to come over, soak my brother, watch a movie, and let me hold their baby.
I'm thankful for the garden that God has made grow so amazingly with 5 inch long green beans (some smaller too), potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and spinach coming out of our ears, the radishes early on and more vegetables to come.
I'm thankful for the fawn that visits our yard and makes me love God's creation even more.
I'm thankful for the lawn mower that has taught me perseverance, steering, and kept the lawn so nice. (Thanks for not acting up as badly as you did last year!)
I'm thankful for the van that started the year badly, but has taken us numerous places like the miracle vehicle it is.
I'm thankful for the weeds that help me to be grateful for when they are not there and get my vitamin D when they are.
I'm thankful for the Family Vision Library, the scholarship they gave us, and the books they send us, G.K. Chesterton for writing awesome things for my Dad to read to me, and all those good movies we've enjoyed this vacation.
I'm thankful for our church that has enjoyed social and spiritual things with us.
I'm thankful for new friends, and ones I have gotten to know better.
I'm thankful for balls that seem to be the center of just about every game.
I'm thankful for our forefathers who gave us something to celebrate with loud noises and ice cream.
I'm thankful for creativity that keeps things interesting.
I'm thankful for pencils and notebooks that work together so beautifully if I can just get over my writer's block.
I'm thankful for dishes that provide interesting conversations with my hilarious siblings, and a chance to listen to "The Reckoning" all over again.
I'm thankful for the internet which helps us keep in contact with faraway friends.
I'm thankful for Blue, she livens everything, makes things cute and funny and is my buddy. : )
I'm thankful for Em, she loves to set up paperwork and hilarious doctors' offices and we are learning to be better friend's every day.
I'm thankful for Pearly. She is hilarious and we've written together up in her bunkbed. (Or at least tried to). : )
I'm thankful for Anna, she was willing to listen to "The Reckoning" with me while we scrubbed the kitchen floor. (She volunteered to help!)
I'm thankful for Paul, he makes cool things, and funny things, and talks when we are trying to write things.
I'm thankful for Aimee and that we go to the mail together, and dig in the garden and have an awesome time of it.
I'm thankful for Perry, she is so cool (no she's not into rock) and she'll listen to me talk about writing for half an hour, and she has really good ideas. And she has a nice baby I'm extremely thankful for too!!! : )
I'm thankful for Tyler, the valet for Perry and nice baby, and the soaker of brother. : )
I'm thankful for Mommy, who gives me motivation to pick blueberries, blueberries to eat, compassion, advice, tips on growing up, etc. (She gives me dishes to do too, that comes under the growing up heading.)
I'm thankful for Daddy, who reads cool books to us, lets us stay up later for that, gives really convicting sermons, advices, etc.

And I'm thankful for God who makes all these things work, all these things beautiful, and gives us salvation.


I'm ready for school and autumn, anyone else ? Who wouldn't want books and leaves and rain and sweaters?

This week is one of the last big summer events and the week after is getting ready for school. (You'd think we'd have it down to a science, but our family grows and changes). : )
Then school. And sweaters!!!!!

"The Gift" by Aselin Debison

I remember the day, several years ago, that we heard this song on the Christmas music station in AZ. We enjoyed it and jotted down the artist's name. I have since lost the piece of paper, but her name stuck with me. After hearing a country version of "The Gift" on the radio just now, I finally looked up this version. Enjoy...
Merry Christmas!