Memories of 2005

As a tribute to the year almost gone, I thought I'd make a little list of some of my favorite memories of 2005.

~My 2004 New Years Eve Party~
-empty sparkling-cidar bottles
- Taboo
*"Play-dough...." "OH! Mac & Cheese!" "YES!"
~"The Rising" (February 9)~
-A good concert/worship-time by whatever the name of David's band was. (David Kavanaugh, Cory Doiron, Dana Budovitch, and Rob Meeks.)
-Another good concert/worship-time with Holyfire. (Justin, Chrisy, Jim, Brandie, John-Boy.)
-After everyone left, doing a 4-part harmony of "Amazing Grace" (Katie Bradley, Nicole Ballard, Christy Zbylut, and myself.)
-Making shadow puppets way into the night with Nicole
-Sleeping on the chairs of the New Sanctuary
-Having breakfast with all my awesome friends
-Going home, taking a nap, then going back to church that night.
~My birthday (June 11)~
-Getting all dressed up for church on Saturday night
- Going to see a movie with Nicole Ballard, Christy Zbylut, Nicole Bull, Katie Bradley, Alex Willette, and Chris Lavaway (Did I forget anyone?)
- Accidentally (!!!) locking Nicole Bull's keys in her car.
- Waiting for literally 2 hours while they looked for a spare key at Nicole's house.
*The people from the theatre called the cops on us, thinking that we were "making mischief".
*The cop was really nice and understood and said that it was fine. (Thank God.)
*Nicole comes back with her key and we all head to Washburn.
- Going back to my place, eating cake, talking for a while
- Sleeping in the awesome tent in my backyard.
`THE NEXT MORNING`
- Torrential rains cause us to quickly go inside.
- Christy and Nicole (Ballard) leave because they are on the praise team
- Nicole Bull stays and watches Back To The Future with me.
~Friend Day (June 26)~
- roast pig
- sun burns
- sunglasses
- my Lia Sophia necklace broke
- lots of water
- meeting of the interns
- walking around with Pam and embarassing her (Sorry, Pam...)
- the Flewellings arrive
- hang out with Danielle for the rest of the day
*walking a lot (that girl can not stay in one place for long)
* watching the TSA concert
~Easton Field Days (July)~
- rain
- face painting
- good food made by a local Mennonite family
- the art show featuring work by my great-grandmother Marguerite Foster
~Riverside 2005~
- great fun
- sprained ankles
- really slow falls.............................
- awesome worship
- getting to know my dear friend, Laura Mitchell
- spiritual cleansing
*"To Hell With The Devil" (Yay for Stryper, eh?)
- tearfully saying goodbye to many people
*the end of my senior year at camp was sad...
~Chris Tomlin Concert Experience(October 7) ~
- I won front-row tickets to the opening concert for the Indescribable tour
- I originally wanted to take Nicole Ballard, but things got all screwed-up and it just didn't work out.
- Got a ride down with Adam Canales, Erin ? , and Sarah ? .
- There was 2 huge traffic jams that day.
- We were going to miss soooooo much of the concert, but...
- Adam decided it was okay to go 95 for a while...
- We managed to find a parking spot on the FIRST LEVEL of the parking garage! HOW PERFECT!
- We walk the long way around to the doors...(there was a much shorter way, we just didn't know)
- I didn't really need them at this point, and the music was already playing
- I rush around to find the place that has my tickets
- I find it
- Gabe appears and takes my other ticket
- We walk in the doors and *BAM* loud music
- It ends up that we had only missed the first half of the first song (Thank You, God.)
- Awesome Concert
- Get my photo taken with Chris Tomlin
- Get the band's picture
- Get their autographs
- Catch a ride back to the Flewelling's house with Kim, Marissa, and 2 other people
- We drive around with the Labbe's following us, trying to find an icecream place that's open
- There is none.
- Continue to go back to the Flewcrew's.
- Stay up talking at their dining-room table until 3:00am
- Kim L., Danielle and I fall asleep while watching Fever Pitch
`THE NEXT MORNING`
- coffee
- I can't remember what we ate. I just remember coffee.
- Danielle and I finish watching Fever Pitch.
- Danielle and I play the piano and sing for a while
- We all sit around the table and talk some more
- Around 2, Kim, Danielle, Gabe, and I go to the Bus station
*I take my first bus ride all the way back to PI from Brunswick
- Overall, the whole thing was awesome.
~Big Top Bash (October 31)~
- extremely hot conditions
- a leaf taped to my forehead
- cotton-balls all over Nicole's hat and shoes
- black-light performance with the creative worship crew
*me having to introduce everyone (it's a wonder I remembered everyone's last name...)
- fighting with Nicole over MY lollypop.
*grumbling*
- watching other people pick up the popped balloons
*I was hanging out with the interns, Nicole, and Kyrstin
~Christy's Surprise Birthday party (November 13)~
- meeting at Reno's in Caribou
*Nicole Ballard, Nicole Bull, Cale Jones, Nick Bull, Laura Mitchell, Sherri Zbylut
- walking a block and a half to Christy's house
*I wore the worst shoes in which to walk... <---like that gramatically correct sentence? - waiting at Christy's house for about 30 minutes - Christy walks in the door, and sticks her head around the corner and everyone "yells" "Surprise!" - Christy's happy :) Yay. - talking; eating of chips & dip, popcorn; drinking of soda; taking of pictures - opening of gifts - more talking - more pictures - hugs goodbye - driving home and seeing 3 deer next to the road (!!!) ~Christmas Party Numero Uno (December 2)~
- The guests arrive around 6:30
*Nicole Ballard, Laura Mitchell, Christy Zbylut
- way too much food
*brownies
*apple crisp w/ ice cream
*meatballs
*cinnamon rolls (made from wheat-flour) (Lor was happy)
*pretzels
*cheese pastry things (good stuff!)
*hot apple cidar (the best!)
- LaPointes music
- Dutch Blitz
- talking
- opening of gifts
- crying about Lor leaving
- Laura:
"Okay, I have one more gift for you guys, but I couldn't wrap it..."
- LAURA IS COMING BACK! WOOT!
- more tears than before
* we're just a bunch of pansies
- more food
- I go photo crazy with the parent's digital camera
*Christy won't let me take a serious photo of her. Silly girl
-Everyone leaves to go home around 11:30
- I clean-up the mess that we left behind
~The Light Parade (December 3)~
- extreme cold
- handing out candy canes to the little eskimoesque children
- seeing Ashley, Stephanie, Laura, Seth, and Rob
- extreme cold
- walking up to the Sandwich Shop
- riding back to PIWC on the float
- extreme cold
- warm hands up under icy-water
*my hands were in so much pain
*stupid circulation
- LaPointes' concert
*harmonizing
*jokes
*stories we've heard before, but are still great
~Christmas Party Numero Dos (December 16)
- the first blizzard of the year
- I drive Nicole's car on the backroad to Caribou
*Going 30 in a 45
*2 cars passing us
*listening to Russ Taff's Christmas album
- arriving at Stephanie Plourde's in once piece
*er, make that 2 pieces, there were two of us...
- yummy appetizers
*special crackers and cheese
*pineapple & lime dip w/ apples and strawberries
*punch
- Alex and Susan arrive
- Doug Plourde comes back with Christy
- FOOD
*Spiral Ham
*Turkey
*Baked Potatoes
*Herb-Broccoli w/ sun-dried tomatoes
*Home-made Cinnamon Rolls
*Orange salad thing (good!)
*Apple, Pear & Cranberry Tart (ohhhhhh)
*Sparkling Cidar in wine glasses (yesssss)
- photos
*the ever-popular "I got drunk off of a non-alcoholic beverage" shot
- move into the family room for presents
* awesome purses, Stephanie! :)
- more photos
- move into the living room for games
*insanely hot fireplace
*Scattergories
*Taboo
- red & green Junior Mints
- peppermint chocolate *sigh*
- say goodbye to our lovely hostess & mini-hostess
- clean off Nicole's car...
*so much freakin' snow!
- I am driving, yet again
- I cannot back down a long driveway in a straightline unless I can see out the backwindow.
- A nice drive to Christy's house
*almost missed a turn because I thought the snowbank was a snow-covered median........oops.
- A nice long talk with the other two parts of the Three Amigos
- Sleep
~Christmas Eve & Christmas 2005
- Go over to my grandparent's house in Easton for Chrismas Eve
* opening of gifts
* eating of food
*holding of new baby cousin, Amelia
*taking of pictures
*aunts that want the gift-opening session to go by as quickly as possible...
*more food
*more baby
*more picture-taking
*saying of goodbyes
*go home
-Stayed home for Christmas
*woke up at 6:45am to pick up my mom in PI at 7:15am when she was done work...
*went home and slept for half an hour
*the siblings wake me up
*opening of gifts
*cd player
*Michael Buble, David Crowder, Jeremy Camp cds
*Farside Gallery (heck yes)
*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory dvd
*digital camera (ohhhh yeah....)
*food
*cinnamon rolls
*hashbrown casserole
*quiche
*family time!



It's been a pretty good year, and if you actually read all of this, I am very impressed.

That's my year in a nutshell.

I love my friends.

You know who you are.

(Leave your name on a comment if you're one of my friends. )

Love you all, and have a very Happy New Year!
Rachelle

Me and Amelia

She was almost asleep at this point...

Just to give you an idea of the snow we've received over the past day and a half...

My dad's van only half way through the storm...

Standing in my garage looking across the street...

This morning...snow everywhere....a good 2ft in most places....

Merry Christmas, Jesus.

I love You.

Farside

I've decided that I'm going to post one of these a week from now on. So, enjoy!

Oh yes, you really are reading this.

For all of those people out there that are as picky as I am about having the accurate time on your computer and clocks... Here it is... The official time of the United States of America.

http://www.time.gov/index.html

*Puts hand over heart and hums the Star-Spangled Banner*

quick post

-The winter concert was tonight at PIHS. My solo didn't go so badly, every one else did great as well.
-A huge high-five to Nicole Ballard for not bursting into laughter everytime I caught her eye. She also did great on her solo.
-I love Mr. Schneider's "blooper" of saying "Merry Christmas!" followed by a 20 second pause and then "Uh, I meant, Happy Holidays...."
-Yay for Jay Nelson in saying "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays."
-Went to Governors after the concert. I had a burger. It was good.
-Sang to Lifehouse on the radio while family paid for bill.
-Went home.
-Chatted on MSN for the first time in a long while.

And now it's time to...climb the stairs.
I'm tired.
More update later.

I do not in any way approve of this...

8 things to do in department stores this holiday season:

-Set all the alarm clocks in housewares to go off at 5 minute intervals.
-Go to the Service Desk and ask to put a bag of M&M's on lay away.
-Move a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.
-Set up a tent in the camping department and tell other shoppers you'll only invite them in if they bring pillows from the bedding department.
-Look right into the security camera and use it as a mirror while you pick your nose.
-Dart around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the theme from 'Mission Impossible.'
-Hide in the clothing rack and when people browse through say, 'PICK ME! PICK ME!!!!!!'
-When an announcement comes over the loud speaker assume the fetal position and scream 'NO! It's those voices again!'

I love Gary Larson & Farside.

time for a lyrics post

"One Real Thing"
Skillet

Speak, and my heart starts aching
Reach, and the numbness dims
Beat, still my minds uncertain
Breathe, it begins again

You are the One Real Thing
You are the One True Thing that I know
You are the One Real Thing
No matter what the future brings
You're the One Real Thing

Stay, locked within Your presence
Truth, renew in my mind again
Rest, cause I know You're faithful and I
Trust, cause I know Your name

You are the One Real Thing
You are the One True Thing that I know
You are the One Real Thing
No matter what the future brings
You're the One Real Thing

I get down on my knees and I
Feel Your love wash over me (One Real Thing)

Speak, and my heart starts aching
Reach, and the numbness dims
Beat, still my minds uncertain
Breathe, it begins again, again...

You are the One Real Thing
You are the One True Thing that I know
You are the One Real Thing
You are the One True Thing that I know
You are the One Real Thing
No matter what the future brings
You're the One Real Thing

I get down on my knees and I
Feel Your love wash over me (One Real Thing)

*hangs head in shame*

Go check out what Kyrstin said on her blog...
I must go find some way to redeem myself...

Yeah babe.

*music starts*
This is the night...it's a beautiful night...and I call it "gonnakickkyrstinsbutt"....
*music ends abruptly*

Yes, that's right. The night has finally come.
Kyrstin. You're going down.

No one, repeat, NO one, is going to beat me tonight.

Not even you, my little friend.

Buahaha!

AH! My eyes!

I am in desperate need of new contacts. I have been wearing my current pair since the beginning of November...

My eyes feel like they're in the middle of the Sahara desert right now... So dry...

If only the optometrist's office would get my new contacts in...

*reaches for the saline solution*

Finally...

(Start at the bottom and work your way up...)

Laura with her scarf, jewelry, and collage.

Ah yes, good friends make for good times.

Christy wouldn't let me take a photo...this is the only good one I got...

I really like Christy's hair in this one.


Laura intensely listening to Christy.

Nicole listening to the conversation.

I love these girls.

Such a precious moment...

This is a somewhat random post, but oh well.

Go and buy the new MercyMe Christmas album. I guarantee you will want to sing-along. Saturday, as I was sitting at an extremely long stop-light in PI, I cried as I was listening to "Joseph's Lullaby"...

"The Shadow Proves the Sunshine", "The Blues", "The Setting Sun" and "Daisy" by Switchfoot have been songs that I've been playing repeatedly over the past week. Good stuff.

My family bought "Revenge of the Sith" this weekend. I love that movie! (I totally saw it on opening day!) I'm so excited to watch all the behind-the-scenes stuff!
*pushes glasses back up her nose*

"Good Times"

Much thanks goes to Nicole Ballard and her family for letting me stay at their house this weekend. Even if I did have to leave their house at 5:30am this morning...

Nicole insisted that we play Scattergories both nights that I stayed there; 'twas quite fun.

Here are some quotes from the weekend...I don't even remember what some of these pertain to, but I wrote them down, so they're going on here. Keep in mind that I was very tired and not myself. Or perhaps I was.

*Nicole lists "fire" as something you're allergic to*
"Uh, Nicole, everyone except God is allergic to fire..." - me

"...because I don't want to poke holes in your cup of life..." - me

*Rachelle says she felt a checking in her spirit*
"You have a checkbook in your Spirit?" - nicole

"I walk around in circles so you don't have to." - me

"Jewish stop-signs..forks...parks...tools..." - nicole

"Mo. King. Bird. YEAH!" - nicole and me quoting Dumb & Dumber

"I love fingerpaint. It has a very distinct smell to it." - me

"Yeah, I put Christmas tree lights all over my chaps." - me

"...well...if I can fit a ladle in my mouth, then probably yeah...." - me

babies, babysitting, and bats

Finally, after 9 months and 7 days, she arrived. Kristie and Irahn decided to name her Amelia Marguerite Bate. I think it's a really cute name. Marguerite is my great-grandmother's name, and the original due-date was supposed to be on her birthday. So it's kind of cool how things turned out.

Tonight I'm going to the Rhyno's to babysit. Nicole Ballard is going to be babysitting with me, so once the kids go to bed she and I will have someone with which to converse. Or with whom to play Scattergories.

But, man-oh-man, those kids are adorable. I love how everytime that I babysit them they want me to play "Junior Church". How awesome is that they want to play like they're in church and lead worship services? So cool.

I now leave you with a quote from the 1966 Batman television series from my favorite caped crusader...Robin.

"Batman, I don't dig this."

Amelia Bate

How adorable is she...?

Announcement

On Tuesday, December 7, 2005, at 2:16pm a baby was born to proud parents Kristie and Irahn Bate. She tipped the scales at 8 pounds 10 ounces. She arrived with dark hair, dark eyebrows and long dark lashes. Mother, Father, and Daughter are all doing well and resting at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, Maine.

Amen, Linus, amen.

Charlie Brown: *shouting in desperation* Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?
Linus: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you. Lights, please. *A spotlight shines on Linus* "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown.

I so love this quote.

"...but out of that, a new holiday was born. A FESTIVUS FOR THE REST-OF-US!!!"

Finally...

I took mom into Presque Isle an hour ago...My aunt should be giving birth to my new baby cousin in the night...I am excited, but I am really tired...so I'm going to go now. Have a great day/night, whenever you read this.

Yeah, the fourth post of the day...so what?

I just wanted to give a little update on the aunt/baby story...
She's most likely in labor, and my mom will probably be going downstate tonight...
Yesssss...

On a sidenote... I really love Lifehouse. (Currently listening to "You & Me".)

GAH!

I need a new network card for my computer...
Hand-me-downs....ehhh...not so much.

'nough said.

When, oh, when...

...will my aunt deliver my baby cousin?? Her due date was November 30th, and it's almost a week later...
I guess that they did something (I will spare you the details) that has possibly started early labor, but we won't know for sure if it worked until around 4 today... If it didn't work, she has an appointment at 7:30am on Wednesday, and they will induce her.
My aunt is very tired of being pregnant. Her words: "I just want her out!"
And hey, guess what, I'm tired of her being pregnant too. I want to see the new baby Bate! We know it's a girl...but Kristie and Irahn haven't revealed the name that they've decided on. The baby will probably have the middle name of Marguerite though...it's my great-grandmother's name. Pretty sweet.
But...whether she has that kid today, tomorrow, or wednesday...I can't wait to see her at Christmas! :)

Here's to hoping that the kid isn't called "fishbait" when she grows up...

YES!

I finally have Holiday Inn on video! It's a movie starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and I have been looking for it for years... It was on AMC last night (much love to AMC) and I recorded it. I am so ready to watch it and hear good ol' Bing break-out into "White Christmas"...

*sigh*

I am not ashamed of my love for old movies...

Some of my favorites:
Singin' In The Rain
My Fair Lady
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
The Pirate
Oklahoma
Easter Parade
In The Good Old Summertime
Meet Me In St. Louis
Du Barry Was A Lady
Dr. Dolittle
Brigadoon
Top Hat
State Fair
Yours, Mine and Ours
An American In Paris
Swing Time
Send Me No Flowers
Swiss Family Robinson

Wow...I could go on forever...but...I will not.
If you ever have a chance to watch one of the movies listed above, do so. I promise you it won't be a waste of your time.
If they only made movies the way they used to...

Snowman enjoys his cup of cider...

*joyful sigh*

The Christmas party went better than I could have imagined...
Here's a rundown of the events...

-Everyone arrived at 7:00
-We ate some food
-We popped a LaPointes cd into my dvd player
-We played Dutch Blitz (I lost every single time...)
-We ate some food
-We talked for a while
-We ate some food
-We opened gifts
-We talked for a long time
-We ate some food
-We talked for a while longer
-We had applecider and hot cocoa
-Everyone left at 11:30

It was really really great... I wish I could tell you about everything, but I think it's only meant to be shared between us 4 for now...
It totally was a God night though... It should be...especially because it was Christmas... ;)
Once everyone had left I cleaned up all the food and mess in the living room and managed to get to bed at 12:30...

Photos will be posted soon!

heh-heh-heh...

I love Christmas parties.

I still have yet to decorate...or really prepare anything yet.
Way to procrastinate, Rachelle, waaaay to procrastinate.

I so am looking forward to spending some time with the girls... I am so glad we decided to do this.

My wish at this moment:
That it would snow so that my house would look really cool and old. Not that it isn't old. (Yay for 100 year old houses!) But I would really like it to look like a Thomas Kinkade painting...

morning...?

It's amazing to me how it takes a whole hour and a half for me to fully wake up...

I've heard that you can make yourself be a morning person, but I really don't think that's true. I mean...I am definitely NOT a morning person. That doesn't mean that I'm crabby or nasty all the time, but I normally don't speak for a good hour after I wake up unless it's absolutely necessary. And my face feels like it's still sleeping. And I move as little as possible. I just flip on the Fox News Channel and eat my cereal. Pretty much a zombie in most aspects, aside from the dead part and being controlled by something evil.

And then...there are morning people.

BOY! are there morning people. They can hop right out of bed and get ready for their day with such an energetic attitude that it astounds me. They can be bubbly, talkative, and awake without really trying to be.
I'm sorry, that just is not me.
I shuffle around with my eyes have closed...and when a "Good morning!" comes my way I'm usually known to give a caveman-like response. Either "Mmm.." or "ughhh" or something to that effect.
It's not that I'm not glad that a new day has begun, because hey, this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. But I believe that my way of "rejoicing" at 7:00 is just a wee bit different than it is, say, at 9:00.
It's a time of contemplation for me...I can almost see things more clearly when I'm eating my breakfast in a fog. It's normally the time when I go over my schedule for the day. I also go over things that have happened during the past few days, and wonder how I could have handled situations differently and in a better way. It's also a time of learning patience and love. With 3 younger siblings, you have a really good opportunity to exercise that Christlike attitude...
But one thing that always wakes me up...
My morning time with God.
How I love Him.
He is so good.

Have a blessed day, and if you made it to the end of this extremely boring post, I commend you.

(Have you read Deuteronomy 28 yet? No? What's keeping you?!)

*yawn*

so much HTML to learn...so little time, energy, motivation...

Read Deut. 28 today. It'll do you a world of good. Believe it. God promised those things to YOU.

oh...PSSSSST! Thanks, Christy for the ride home...it certainly was "meant to be" as you so often say! ;) I love you, and have an amazing day at school tomorrow! See you at church!

Yes, yes, another post...

A excerpt from an email that my dear friend, Danielle Flewelling, sent to me a while back...

ok well...the devil went down to georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal. but he can't have mine. cause it doesn't belong to me any more and the guy that i gave it to is a lot tougher than the devil. so anyways. have a good night and don't let the devil in your house...he might want to steal someone's soul...so make sure they all belong to someone tougher.

Keep in mind that when she wrote this it was after midnight...
But the truth in this little, er, "song" still remains.

Music...

I thought of something today...
It seems that these days people are so wrapped-up in listening to music than they are in making it. They buy albums, download songs off the internet, watch music videos on tv, listen to radio stations, attend concerts, but whatever happened to the lost joy of making music? All of these so-called "stars" of the music industry, in my opinion, do not even come close to comparing with TRUE stars Sinatra, Garland, Bennet, Andrews, etc. And, seriously, aside from movie scores, who last sat down and wrote a song that even comes close to comparing to Mozart's Sonatas? Chopin's Seasons?
It's just sad to me that the complex art of making true, good, thought-provoking music is slowly fading away...

For your viewing, and wearing, pleasure...

http://www.randomshirts.com/home.htm

Comments?

i really don't feel like making a witty title

haaaaaaaaaaa, check out this link while i pass out.
http://www.offthemark.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving.htm

One of those beloved biblical posts...

If you don't already know, I am currently in a mentorship/accountability/Bible study kind of thing with Threasa Doiron. (She is AMAZING.) And we're going through this series called "Fully Devoted - Pursuing Spiritual Transformation". It's written by John Ortberg, Laurie Pederson, and Judson Poling. But anyway, what I really want to get to is something I read today as I was preparing for our meeting tonight.
This week's topic was "Growth" and what it truly means to grow in Christ Jesus. It covered things like reading and meditating on Scripture, solitude and prayer, and corporate learning and worship. The corporate learning and worship section really caught my attention. So...I've decided to bless you all, (all 2 of you that read this) by typing out this section!

Corporate Learning and Worship
Let him who cannot be alone beware of community...
Let him who is not in community beware of being alone...
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
Just as we must pursue the stillness of solitude, we must seek the fellowship and accountability of community if we want to fully experience and express spiritual life. So we commit ourselves to coming together and submitting to the teaching of the Word. We also gather to worship God. We do this simply because God is worthy of our praise. In addition, God, in his grace, has decreed that in worship we are often encouraged and transformed in ways we could not be apart from this practice. In these corporate practices we root out self-absorption. We are reminded that we need and are a part of each other, that our life is about something bigger than just ourself.


Amen.

a random post...

This sounds really dumb...but I love cleaning out my mouse. It fascinates me how it manages to get all that crap in there... Why? What? Where? Who? When?

The girl that was always thought of as my "twin"

Does she still look like me?
(Give me your answer in a comment.)

God is good...

Matthew West - "If you ever need me"

I saw your sky fall today
Suddenly turn from blue to grey
Till one by one the raindrops
Turned to tears upon your face
Wish there was something I could do
Wish I could ease this pain from you
But I’ve never felt so helpless

It’s like you’re drowning right in front of me
And I’m reaching out and you can’t see
There’s something holding on to you so tight
So I guess this is all I’ll say to you tonight

If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I will be waiting where I’ve always been
If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I have never left you, I’m where I’ve always been
Right by your side
Right by your side

If the whole world is on your back
If the strength you need is the strength you lack
If you’re in a crowd but all alone
If you can’t stay here but you can’t go home
If you can’t answer all the why's
'Cause you're too tired to reach that high
I want you to remember

If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I will be waiting where I’ve always been
If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I have never left you, I’m where I’ve always been
Right by your side
Right by your side

If the whole wide world is on your back
If the strength you need is the strength you lack
If you’re in a crowd but all alone
If you can’t stay here and you can’t go home
If you can’t answer all the why’s
'Cause you’re too tired to reach that high
I want you to, I need you to remember

If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I will be waiting where I’ve always been
If you ever need me
You know where to find me
I have never left you, I’m where I’ve always been
Right by your side
Right by your side

Wow....

bougainvillaea:
Any of several South American woody shrubs or vines of the genus Bougainvillea having groups of three petallike, showy, variously colored bracts attached to the flowers.

what a crazy word is that??? gotta love my literature course...

In my own little corner, in my own little chair...

I can be whatever I want to beeeee....whoa, sorry. Didn't see you there.

If you can't tell, I'm going to see Cinderella tonight at PIHS. My cousin, Paige Nichols, is playing one of the step-sisters, and I am so very proud of her! I have threatened to make a huge sign and jump up and down screaming, but...seeing as how my mom and I did that to her when she was in 7th grade...I will spare her the horror.

I just got done reading "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. Very interesting book. I really like the point of the story...

Anyway! I must be going! Jazzband is going to start soon, and I need to get to Presque Isle!
Have a lovely day!

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones."
-Proverbs 17:22

Ever wonder what those little things at the end of your shoelaces are called?

ag·let (n. )
A tag or sheath, as of plastic, on the end of a lace, cord, or ribbon to facilitate its passing through eyelet holes.

I need to go and make myself a life now...

Check it out...

...the new Strong Bad email.
www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail138.html
At the end make sure to click the tire, the cardboard box, and the CD.

Enjoy!

The word of the day for Nicole and Rachelle

Nicole's WOTD: ragamuffin
Rachelle's WOTD: tatterdemalion

(FYI- the mean the same exact thing. Mine is cooler though.)

A song that is flippin' sweet to play and sing....

"Don't Give The Devil An Opportunity" by Janny Grein.
Sure, it's old school, but it's awesome.
It's super fun to sing and play on the piano, and the truth behind it is pretty darn sweet as well.
I'll post the lyrics on here sometime soon when I have the time to type it all out... (I can't seem to find them online...probably because it's not that well known...)

Major prayer request...

I have family coming to visit from Ohio this weekend and I need some serious prayer-coverage over the whole thing. They aren't Christians, and my family and I desperately want them to be. (Every Christian should want them to be...) They are AMAZING people, and I can't even begin to think of how much more amazing they would be if they had Christ in their lives. So, be praying about that. A lot. And seeing as how I won't be attending church this weekend, (because I'll be spending time with da family) I'll update you on how things turned out next week.
Thank you so much.

Songs...

It's amazing how a song can get stuck in your head for hours, possibly days, at a time.
Just a few of the songs that have been finding their way into my mind over the past few days:

"Unfailing Love" - Chris Tomlin
"Daydream Believer" - Monkees
"Existence" - Kevin Max
"Say It Loud" - Sanctus Real
"The Blues" - Switchfoot

Quite an assortment there, eh?

Okay, well, it's off to another family birthday party. These things never get old.
Not with the entertainment my family provides. No way.

Who is like our God? No one at all...

It's amazing how when you humble yourself, you can just sit in the presence of the Lord for hours and never grow tired. Whether you're praising Him or just sitting and listening, it's just so comforting to simply sit in your Father's presence. To feel His strong arms wrap around you... To listen as He speaks words of love into your ear... To know that He sees the depth of our hearts and loves us anyway...

disgusting.

October 25th marks the first snow of the year.
I really find this sick and wrong.
I must go now.
I can taste bile.

New blog!

Yes. I have a livejournal. But I felt like having another place to empty my mind... bare with me.