The Story of Sparkle

Once upon a time, not too long ago, a curl was born.

Or maybe it was a sparkle. Whatever she was, she did both. And as she grew...

And grew...

And grew...

And grew...

And grew, she continues to do both spreading her unique love and laughter to everyone she meets. Today is Aimee's 21st birthday; and we are so grateful for the hilarity, decoration, and love (and sparkles) she brings to our life. Happy Birthday, Aimee!

The Misplaced, Normal Friday

Well, this post was originally supposed to be for Friday. I totally intended to draft it and post it that day. I had the time for it. Only problem--I didn't know it was Friday. I've been one day off all week. ; ) It happens like that when you don't look at the calendar for a week and a half because you really don't need to. We were too sick to go anywhere for several days so everything was on hold.

We were all flat out on the couches at some point or another watching probably a million movies and feeling worth half a cent. We recently pulled out of the fevers (although congestion still lingers), and it has been such a blessing to have our health back again!!! Friday (even though I did it the dishonor of thinking it was Thursday) was, consequently, one of our first nice, normal days in a while. I always love those.

There was weeding (gorgeous job, Mom!), PianoGuys music, first taste test of the homemade orange juice the little girls and I had made the day before (that day was pretty normal too--making orange juice and a doll tutu), the tail end of Sense and Sensibility (Aimee loves to watch movies while she does laundry), tons of work for our used book business (sorting through it all, listing some, and finding out that we have a ton to turn into the used bookstore for credit!), and then...an Amazon adventure.

That's right. An Amazon adventure. And I'm talking about the Amazon that has a smile instead of snakes. Just near the beginning of when we were getting sick, Amazon had me to do some focus group work for them and a phone call interview that included a complementary gift card. GIFT CARD. Thank you. Let's just say, without gloating, that it was a big one. So you might be hearing about some more Amazon adventures lately because--it was a big one.

Anyway, my normal Friday did have it's spark of the exciting because it is always exciting when you've been tracking your package while working on other things and "out for delivery" is staring you in the face. And then you take a few enthusiastic little sisters to the mail, and there is your gorgeous, fat yellow mailer.

And you have this inside...

Yay!!! You have been patient long enough and not bought "inferior" ebook copies! You may now hold, sniff, and love (that can also mean bend) real copies!!!

And take pictures of them with your dorky green couch in the background! Yay!

You may also see the back cover of the book you test read and point out to your siblings that your name (and your book's name!) got to be on the back. ; ) I always find it so cool to see something I've test read be published and know that I've helped in a tiny way to get it published. It's especially awesome because this time I get to read it with the illustrations. ; )

But back to normal Friday. I interrupted my siblings' projects to specifically show them Through the Tunnel since we had all gotten to help out with the snowflakes inside. They were all thrilled to see their own creations in a real book, and the credit with their names telling that they had made some. Even Anna who hadn't made a snowflake but helped me trace everyone else's was included with a special thanks that both surprised and delighted her. Here's my snowflake...

But the day wasn't over. Now I'm not so sure it was normal; because now that I think of it, it was pretty exciting. I guess I just use the word normal for "not-sick-or-too-busy-or-overly-stressed-out-day". Daddy brought home a little ice cream to celebrate how normal the day was and some Valentine's Day flowers for Mom. That ice cream was so yummy!!!

After the younger sisters were in bed (have I told you about their reindeer names? Hmmm... I may have to get special permission...), Dad, Mom, Paul, Anna, and I watched "Beyond the Mask" together on our starry projector. It was Paul's and my second time around (I enjoyed it way more this second time!), but the others had never seen it. Dad and Mom both really liked it (which is a huge compliment to an independent film!), and so did Anna; so altogether it was a hit! ; )

So, that was my nice, normal Th--Friday. ; P Lots of good excuses there for not posting. ; ) How was yours?

Sick Day

Last weekend, we were at the Southwest Family Vision Conference hosted by our church and a few others in the valley listening to amazing sermons like "Conforming Marriage to the Image of Christ and the Church" by Scott Brown and "Are Family-Integrated Churches Legalistic" by Greg Thornberg. (There were many others, but those two are my particular favorites.) ; ) We were also enjoying fellowship with friends from church and making new ones.

This weekend is a bit of a different story... We are keeping company with lemon/ginger tea, zinc lozenges, elderberry tincture, and crackers. Mom carries her thermometer like her life depended on it, and we are keeping the hours of retired people. (With an emphasis on the tired...) Kid Snippets, VeggieTales, and other random family friendly movies have been the daily fare; and yesterday the living room was a regular sickbay. (The dog even got in on it deciding that the end of the mattress on the floor was perfect for napping on.) We seem to be on the mend as far as high fevers go, but we are all still very tired.

Sometimes it takes being sick to make us grateful for health, and I think we are all excited to get back to our regular everyday lives no matter how ordinary they are. ; ) So, here's to being patient and riding it out and eating chicken soup!

Just Another Gift

“God who is the Creator of the world is also the source of knowledge for the Bible. God does not lie or contradict Himself. True science is a search for the truth of God’s world. The Bible is truth. By the very nature of the two, they will not disagree.”

~ My science textbook “Investigating God’s Orderly World”

Today I am thanking God for the privilege to be schooled and discipled at home where my book lessons never contradict my Bible ones! ; ) 

I also wanted to thank you for bearing with my short, infrequent posts this month. ; ) We've been really busy with everyday life, ministry stuff, and our church's conference; but I hope to be back soon to update you on these adventures or move on to telling you about new ones. ; ) Thanks for reading!

Real Men Wear Pink (Helmets)

This week has been really amazing, but I think this part has probably been my favorite...

Sorry, boys, your aunties really don't own any other helmets. Pink is the only option. You both look awesome anyway!!! ; )

Book Review: Stephen

"Norman Mavrich has no need for another hired hand, but when a young boy shows up asking for work, he can't turn him away. But where did the boy come from and what really brought him to the Triple Creek Ranch? The search for answers sends Bruce on an investigation and brings an unexpected conflict to the ranch family. Join the Mavriches, Mrs. O'Connor and the ranch hands for an eventful summer of hard work, fun and excitement."

If someone asked me which of the Triple Creek Ranch books by Rebekah Morris is my favorite, I would probably just give them a blank stare and say, “Ask me a question about the end times—even that would be easier to answer.” To tell the truth, Stephen comes the closest to being my favorite. I actually read it soon after we moved down here last year but never had time to write a review. I hadn’t realized how much I liked it until I just reread it. ; )

The Setting:

The story is, of course, set on the fabulous Triple Creek Ranch during summer. Awesome descriptions of the season and ranch life (including how to fix a fence, though I still don’t think I’ll ever be able to do it since I’m not strong enough). ; ) Probably my favorite part of the whole setting is the horses especially since there are a few new ones added in this book.

The Storyline:

The storyline was really amazing! Although the book is mainly about Stephen, the author didn’t drop the continued story of Orlena’s growing in Christ. I loved the lessons on reaching out to other and loving them especially the part where Norman says, “God made love to grow, if we share it. We can’t use it up.” Once again, the love of Christ really shone through the characters, and I loved the story of how they cared for Stephen.

The Characters:

The characters were delightful (and I almost have the ranch hands’ names down!) as always. The Mavrichs are just the cutest ever, and I love watching their family grow. Lloyd, Ky, Stephen, and Orlena rank next in my favorites; but I enjoy just about every character there is. (Nice detective work, Bruce! Thumbs up!)

The Concerns:

Parents should have caution in considering this book for younger readers because of some schoolgirl spats including calling another girl a liar. (Resolved, of course.) Also, the marriage relationship in this is very sweet and godly, but some parents may not want younger children to read this because there is a lot of married kissing throughout the book. : ) My main concern however would be SPOILER ALERT!!! an evil, distant relative that has mistreated the boy and is coming to take him back.

I was very excited to read this book and bought it ASAP with the Amazon money I was gifted with for that Christmas. (My relatives know me!!!) It arrived at our new house as we were barely just moving in, and I hurried to read it up. (Like snap it up. Yeah, forget I said that.) Now, I’ve started this year almost the same way (but not with the moving part, thankfully) by skimming Stephen again so I could finally review it. I’m sorry if this review is a little sketchy since I usually like to write them directly after I read the book the first time.

Altogether, I really loved this book! The only disappointment—after reading Rustlers, I had been completely drawn into Ky’s storyline and hoped to hear more about him. And then Rebekah Morris asked me to test read the fifth book—Ky’s book. But that’s a story for another time. ; )

Living Sermon

Here is my dad's sermon that I promised a few posts ago. This sermon has really blessed me, and I hope it blesses you as well! Have a great day!