Let's see if you can find your way to this place... ;)

Come on, try:
http://www.homestarrunner.com

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the bonfire." - daniel

Yesterday it looked as though it were going to rain and storm all day, but I was supposed to have my senior pictures taken by one of my mom's co-workers. Well. I really needed to have them taken lest the people in charge of the power point at PIWC flip out. So I went upstairs to grab some clothes to wash, and I sat on my bed saying "Lord, nothing will go right today unless I spend time with You." So I did. And my devotional was about not wavering in your faith. It's either faith or fear. And I needed to stop being tossed about like the waves of the sea. So I simply told the clouds and rain that they had to go away in Jesus Name. So later I'm downstairs folding my laundry and Satan tries to whisper in my ear "Hey, look, it's still cloudy. You're not going to end up getting your photos taken today after all." but I told him "No, faith is the substance of things unseen. I do not rely on my senses to tell me what is truth and what is not."
So, about an hour and a half later as I'm packing up all my outfits, sunlight streams in my window.
I just smile.
Then, as mom and I are driving to this lady's house, she comments "Well! It just ended up to be such a gorgeous day! Not a cloud in the sky!"
I just smile.

So 120 photos later (I KNOW! SERIOUSLY!) we head back to my house and pick up my family and head over to the grandparentals.
We have some goodeats (yay for fiddleheads!) and then Uncle Steven drops by. I love my Uncle Steven. Be praying that he would accept Christ into his heart, please.
Then we all head out to the backyard for a big bonfire.
Wow. I wish that the heat from the fire could give me a tan, because I'd be a nice crispy golden brown if it could. I had to resort to roasting marshmellows over glowing embers, because it was the coolest spot.
On the way back home my brother, Daniel, entertained us all by quoting SBEmails non-stop. By the time we pulled into the driveway, mom was ready for a break, but I had loved every second of it.

Anyway. I should go. Have an amazing day my fellow bloggers!

I love spring weather...

Today it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so I grabbed my sunglasses, camera, and siblings and headed to the backyard.
I managed to get a bit more tan, which is always a good thing, and I took a few pictures too.
This is just a glimpse at our day.

Lilacs.

Yup. Lilacs.

Mmm...Lilacs.

Bird's Nest.

Daniel catching (see how crazily tall he is??).

Dan catching again.

Ethan trying to decide whether to dive for it or not.

He is actually quite good.

I said something to Ethan that caused him to decide to come "beat me up".
He mainly just stood next to me threatening with his fist.
I then wrapped my arms around his knees and took him down. :)

When watching Hidalgo with my family tonight

Dad-"Was this the part when he carries his horse?"
Mom-"Yeah. That's when there were two footprints instead of four."

Homeschool Recital

Hmm...
What comes to your mind when you hear the words "homeschool recital" ?
Perhaps you think:
*Cute kids.
*Adorable acts.
*Pieces practiced to perfection.
*No competition.

Well...
This is what I remember of my recital days:
*The neverending Sullivan children.
*Feeling as though I had to live up to the Sullivan's crazy standard of perfection (however, I did not succeed.)
*The Sullivan father coming to my father and saying "Your daughter really hasn't made much improvement from last year."
*Danielle and I making fun of the Sullivans. (Is anyone sensing a theme here?)

But there were a few not-so-life-scarring memories:
*Good times with family and friends.
*Feeling proud of myself that I played my piece(s) with few mistakes.
*Talking about how Danielle is going to have "pot" roast at her wedding reception.
*Matt L. hopping around the room in one of the skirts that Kim L. brought for some reason.
*Danielle and Nicole singing beautiful duets together.
*PLAYING THE BUMBLE BOOGIE!!!!!! (MAN! I showed the Sullivan's THAT year!!!)
*Tons of good food.
*And (surprise of all surprises) having one of the middle Sullivans come up to me and say "You did a really good job." (I was so shocked that I believe I blushed and managed to blurt out a "thank-you".)

Good times...good times.
But...sadly, the past couple of years I have "outgrown" the recitals.
They are no longer exciting to me.
Perhaps it's because the Sullivans are no longer there.
And neither are Nicole Bull and the Flewellings.

But! the tradition lives on through two of my siblings.

Tonight Nicole and Ethan played 2 piano pieces (each) and did an amazing job.
I'm so proud. :)

Ethan playing "My Favorite Words" and "Thundering Chase".


Nicole playing "The Rainbow" and "My Garden".


All the participants with their certificates.
I'm happy to say that my siblings actually had their WHOLE name spelled correctly. I don't believe I have one certificate in which there wasn't a mistake in spelling.

If you click this picture so you can make it larger, you can see Nicole's and Ethan's personalities so clearly.
Nicole - the sweet, self-conscious young lady
Ethan - the "anything to get a laugh", hilarious young man

I pray they both grow up to be such amazing children of God.
And I pray the same for Daniel.
By the way, Daniel is almost as tall as I am now...
Scary.

my favorite flowers!

Thanks to Stephanie's buying a digital photography magazine for me, I learned how to mess with the EV compensation on my camera and came out with this beaut of a picture. :)


(Thanks, Steph!)

this comic strip MUST have been created with me in mind

One of the most peaceful things...

Just a little bit ago I was laying on my bed, completely consumed in what I was reading in the Word, and all of a sudden I just kind of stopped reading and listened.

My window was open and through it streamed sounds of someone hammering, a lawnmower in the distance, and little kids laughing and playing.

Mixed with the gentle breeze that entered my room, and the amazing words I was reading, it was an extremely peaceful moment.

I just lay there and thanked my God for moments with Him that fill every ounce of my being with joy and peace.

"Heeyyyyyyyy!!! Don't my wrists look AWESOME?"

Yeah...so I got my first french manicure ever today.
Nicole did it, and I thank her greatly.
I want my nails done like this for my wedding*.

Went to see Christy's softball game tonight!
Go #13!!! :)
I miss you, girl.

Laura Mitchell is such an amazing gal.
Laura, I don't think you could ever really know how much of a blessing you are to me.
Remember that in His joy there is strength and victory.

I had my first cup of coffee in a month thanks to Stephanie tonight.
Thank-you once again for buying me a "double-double".
You are pretty much the epitome of a cheerful giver.

Well, it's off to bed with me.
I haven't had a decent night's sleep since Friday.
I love my bed.

Lovin' you like a jackrabbit loves the sunshine,
Rachelle.

*-I am not getting married anytime soon, however.

Ow.

Nicole just hit me in the face.
Hard.
She didn't mean to.

Wow.
Half of my face is numb.

this is white panther. do you read me? over.

Babysat overnight last night.
I'm tired.
If I hear "why?" one more time I may just scream.

I love my cat because he isn't cuddly.
Cuddly cats are annoying.
I pretty much shoved a cat off a couch last night because it was in my face.

Nicole Bull and I are meeting together for some girl time today.
She should be calling me later.
I believe we're going to go swimming.

Youth tonight.
I hope they have good food...not just hotdogs and sweets.
I mean, I love devil dogs just as much as the next guy, but when you're watching your caffine and sugar in-take, you need something better.

Brilliant Brunette is my all-time favorite shampoo and conditioner.
I'd like to buy every Brilliant Brunette product.
Actually, I'd like to buy the whole company.

I've been thinking about posting my song on here...
But I'm still undecided.
What do you think?

Nicole Ballard is coming over tonight.
We're going to watch Pride & Prejudice.
She has never seen it, and she's ecstatic.
I have seen it and I'm ecstatic.

19 days until June 11.

little guy in the lilacs

A weekend in the life of Rachelle...

Last night after church I headed over to the Labbe's for Kim's 17th birthday party.
Sam Porter and Matt decided to show off how macho they are by jumping over the massive campfire...
*coughidiotscough*

I didn't get home until 11:45 and I didn't actually fall asleep until about 2. But I was like "Oh, that's okay. It will actually be kind of nice! Tomorrow is the first Sunday in a long time that I'll be able to sleep in!"
8 hours later I was awakened by the opening of my door and the sound of my father's voice encouraging my cat to go and wake me up.
I was racking my brain trying to figure out WHY in the world he was waking me up, but I couldn't find a reason. So I stopped pretending I was still asleep and said, with my eyes still closed, "What are you doing? Why are you waking me up?". And he says "Well...you are going to be attending the Family Potluck today with your family." I immediately sigh, because I totally forgot that the homeschoolers were gathering today at PIWC... So he then tells me that mom is waking up in about 30 minutes and I need to go eat and shower.
So anyway, I do that, and then we all head to PI and have a good time with fellow homeschoolers. Granted, there were maybe 2 people even close to my age, but I still had a fairly good time anyway. The mothers and I talked about a bunch of different things... some of the topics including multiple face-piercings, birthdays, and how the first born is always the guinea pig of the children.

The sun actually broke through the clouds a few times today. It was a nice reprieve from the rain that has not ceased since arriving late Tuesday.

My family and I just got done watching The Legend of Zorro. MAN! I love Antonio Banderas! His accent is seriously out of control. I love that guy! And Catherine Zeta-Jones is the most beautiful actress in all of Hollywood. Hands down.

Ooooo...the sun is shining through the window.
I must go take a better picture of my lovely lilacs.
Until next time, this is Rachelle...signing out.

I agree.

l-l-l-lilacs!

I am pretty much jumping with joy right now.
My lilac trees are soaking up all this rain that has decided to extend its visit, and buds are forming! They are so little and purple! It's great!

Yeah, I know, it's a crappy picture.
But it was taken through a window...
(It's raining outside and I do not wish to get wet.)

But how exciting is that?!!


22 days until June 11.

stupid

Superman Returns is coming to theatres June 30.
And let me say this right now...

v v v v v v v THIS v v v v v v v

Is NOT Tom Welling!

And...

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THAT^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
is NOT Michael Rosenbaum!

I think it majorly stupid that they've made a Superman movie and haven't casted the people that EVERYONE now identifies as the real characters!

I love Smallville.
Boy, what a season finale, eh? I won't really give anything away, just incase you have not seen it, but here are a couple of screen shots to remember... ;-) (No, I did not take these myself...)





I cannot wait for Season 6!

Yellow and Black Attack

Ahem...
Let me introduce you to a lovely band that goes by the name of Stryper.

I will be seeing them live in concert on Wednesday, August 2, 2006.
I am oh-so-very excited. :-D

Stryper-1986

clockwise from left: Timothy Gaines (bass), Michael Sweet (lead vocals & guitar), Robert Sweet (drums), Oz Fox (guitar)

Stryper-2006

l-r: Oz Fox , Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Tracy Ferrie (new bassist)

I love my Bible

So I'm reading Acts, right? Well today I read Acts chapters 8 & 9.
The last two verses of chapter 8 totally took me by surprise.

Here's how the story goes:
Philip, this Holy Ghost filled man, is told by the angel of the Lord that he needs to go into the desert. So he's like "okay" and he does. He then comes across an Ethiopian in a chariot. And the Lord says for Philip to go up to the chariot, and he, being the obedient servant he is, does. Philip finds out that this guy had come to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way back to Ethiopia. This guy just happens to be reading from Isaiah. And so Philip asks him, "Do you understand what you're reading?" and the Ethiopian replies "How am I supposed to understand without someone explaining it to me?" So Philip is then invited to go up in the chariot with the guy and sees that he is reading from (what is now) Isaiah 53. Paul then opens his mouth and starts reading the same scripture and preaches Jesus to the guy. And so they were ride along in the chariot, and they come across some water and the Ethiopian really wants to be baptized, so Philip takes the guy down and baptizes him. So, listen to this, when the guy came up out of the water, Philip has disappeared. The Spirit of the Lord took Philip away! He was later found in Azotus preaching the gospel! Isn't that amazing?!??!!! It's like an Elijah experience...except Philip wasn't taken to heaven...

I want that to happen to me one day.

Una noche para recordar!

My taco...
It was so lovely that I had to take a picture....


We look like we could be the cause of some serious trouble...
Aren't we cool?


I didn't take this next photo, but I had to post it just the same...
(Photo by Sherri Z.)

White Ninja Has A Taco

This was me last night at the fiesta....

I'm about to Do-Sum-Bow-Dis!

And by "dis" I mean sneezing, itchy eyes, scratchy throat...

I'm going to take my vitamins and pack my vitamin C, E, and Zinc supplements in a little plastic baggy for later.

Gregor is a funny name.

"I've told you a thousand times in the last 1 minute, CHANGE THE CHANNEL!"

Well...I've tried about 4 times now to upload photos so I could share what my weekend included, but something isn't working in the photo uploading section of blogger. I shall try again later.

It's pretty beautiful outside right now...I'd love to be able to spend the day in the garden, but I have to babysit from 1-5 in PI which means I leave here in about an hour.

MAN! I love the smell of tulips! We got mom some for Mother's Day and they smell a lot like lilacs! Speaking of lilacs, our lilac tree is getting little buds! I'm so excited! I think next year the lilac tree will be directly outside my window...right now it's directly below it. I love lilacs!

May is going by so quickly... it's already half gone! (Or half here. Depending on how you look at it.)

27 days until June 11.

Natalie Catherine Turner Salavarria

To the one who held my hands as I learned to walk
Who didn't care if she dealt with baby puke
To the one who played dolls with me
Who picked out adorable outfits for me to wear
To the one who held me when I cried
Who covered me everyday with prayer
To the one who selflessly gave herself away
Who mended my stuffed animals with such care


To the one who believed in me always
Whose gentle embraces said much more than words
To the one who I love so dearly
Who is my hero, role model, and friend...

Happy Mother's Day...
I love you.

new template

thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

kcabekorb

I'm on the phone with Nicole Ballard right now.
Ohhhh my word. We are laughing so hard right now...

Memories...

Rachelle: "Why does he hate it?"
Nicole: "I don't know. Because it's better than him."


I LOVE HER!

*foot slips*
"Oh shoot...!"

And! we are both NUMB3RS fans! WOOT!

"And what exactly do YOU do all day; I'm sorry..."

Mmm...Creative Worship is not going to May Rally for reasons of which I am not certain.

I'm going into PI in about 45 minutes to go to the dentist.
BOY! This one snuck up on me. If I had known that I had an appointment I would have actually flossed this past week...

Then it's off to TAMC to get this stupid heart monitor off.
Praise God.

Good thing White Ninja ran into that turtle

don't tell my heart...

Well...I was in the hospital for about 3 hours today.
Don't freak out, it's nothing huge..

I had an appointment to check out my heart.
It had been having a lot of palpitations and skipped beats yesterday and today, so at 1:45 my mom and I went to good ol' TAMC.

I was asked a bunch of questions, had a lot of bloodwork done, and had my first (and hopefully last) EKG.
They found that my resting heartbeat is in the hundreds...which isn't really good. But they said that it could simply be that I was stressed and nervous about everything.

Then...at youth, I pretty much broke down crying on the couch because I was so exhausted. Everyone was freaking out and trying to comfort me and I was like "I'm okay! Stop!" Haha...good friends. I love my friends.

Anyhoot, I'm going in tomorrow morning at 9:30 to get a heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hours. I'll also have to be keeping a little journal of what I do and when...

I'm not worried. I've got some awesome prayer warriors behind me, as well as my God.

Okay. It's been a long day. It's off to bed.

gather 'round folks

After about a month of questions, uncertainness, and more questions, it has finally been announced.
Anointed is performing at May Rally 1, maybe 2, nights.

The tentative line-up:
Shake Yourself Loose
Awesome God
Dry Bones*

Am I nervous, ha! Of course I'm nervous!
It's the biggest "gig" we've ever had!

One situation that is going to be tough to resolve is the one with everyone finding the funds to make it there. We have about 20 people in our group, and it's about $150 per person. Now, it's sad to say, but I know that many of the people in Anointed do not have those funds readily available. I believe that Barb & Debbie are going to approach the church and trying to get them to provide some of the money until we pay them back. After May Rally is over we'll be doing fundraisers.

And in the end, it will be all worth all the hard work that we put into it, because, not only will we be gaining free entry to a Newsboys concert, but we will be ministering to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

I love Jesus so much. He is doing such a work in not only my life, but the lives of those closest to me. That overflow of blessings is beginning to show, and that makes me very pleased indeed.

His love is amazing.
My mom and I made up a new word this past week
It's "God-azing". I don't know if we'll actually use it...but it's referring to when God does something totally out of this world (because HE is totally out of this world) and it's amazing.

*sigh*


Got Jesus?


*-Provided everyone keep their mouths shut and listen to the INSTRUCTOR when we're learning how to do it. One instructor, many students. One Obi-wan Kenobi, many Anakin Skywalkers. One chef, many eaters. One chief, many braves.

I will PAY my dues when you send me my tusks...

Holy MOLY, my cat smells.

a good day

It was BEAUTIFUL outside today! In the mid 70s and hardly a cloud in the sky until late afternoon. So I basked in the rays of the sun for a good hour while reading Macbeth. I almost fell asleep at one point in the warmth that was shining down upon me.
I now have a nice little tan started. (Thank-you, Spanish roots.)

Tonight I went to the circus. Yes, that's right, the circus. No, I do not think that I'm too old for something like that. Granted, I do not find the clowns as enchanting [read: frightening] as I once did, but I enjoy the trapeze artists, illusionists, etc... They had a lot of new acts this year, and they did fairly well for their opening night!
I get so angry at the crowd though! They are a bunch of stuck-up, inappreciative brats. They don't cheer or applaud like they should. I mean, seriously! These people DESERVE your respect and attention! So my mom and I try to make up for all the people that give the half-hearted, limp hand clap by yelling and cheering and applauding like no one's business. I guess we kind of see it as our job.

Nicole did an awesome job tonight! She made somewhere around $30. And that's pretty good considering she only gets 15% of whatever she sells. I got a couple of pictures of her and the elephants (good ol' elephants), and I plan on posting them tomorrow most likely.

Okay.
Time for me to go to bed.
I'm exhausted and my pillow is looking very attractive right now.

Blessings to all who read this.

No More Surprises

1 Corinthians 2
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

livin' the good life...

...in the back of a jeep in the PIWC parking lot.

May 4, 2006

The National Day of Prayer


Pray for your family.
Pray for your town.
Pray for your state.
Pray for your country.
Pray for your continent.
Pray for your world.

Just pray.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
-James 5:16

You've gotta be kidding me...

http://www.datetosave.com/

Mayday! Mayday!

Oh my goodness.

It's May already.

*shocked look*

I know, I know, I posted already today, but the full impact just hit me.

It's MAY!

Last month totally flew by...
Though it definitely did not seem like it at the time...

I love May.
It's one of my favorite months.
Why?
The birds start to sing...
The flowers are growing...
My lilac tree is budding...

Everything is being reborn.

May just may be my favorite month of the year.

Either May or June.

Have a great May Day. :)

whattaya talk? whattaya talk?

This weekend was pretty cool.
I went to church this Saturday and it was great.
It really challenged the people to stop using the altar as the only place to do business with God.
The "altar" is a relatively new thing when it comes to Christianity. The altar was first introduced in the 1800s. The early church (meaning when Paul was on his massive tour) didn't have altars. They simply heard the Word of God and did their business (with God...) wherever they happened to be at the time. AND! they continued to do business (once again, with God...) as their schedules went on.
Point - We shouldn't depend on an altar call to make things right in our walk with God. We should be in that never-ceasing state of prayer, and that way, we'll hear Him when He says "Hey, listen up. We've got some stuff to work out."

A couple of quotes to mull over:
"We lay our lives on the altar but we don't alter our lives." - P. Rick
"The altar call turns intentions into actions" - P. Rick

I then stayed the night at Nicole's for the first time in about a month.
Her dad was actually being pretty funny and cool. It was a nice change.

Then on Sunday A-dawg*, N-unit**, and Rsal*** went to go see Ice Age 2. Rsal and A-dawg had already seen it, but N-unit had not, so they decided to go again anyway. Then the caravan (plus Jacob) went to the baseball diamond in Washburn where Rsal's family was playing some catch, football, and throwing a frisbee around.

Rsal, like always, broke out her camera and got some pretty awesome shots. (She's got skill.)
You may be able to find some of her photos right here, yes! that's right folks, RIGHT HERE, later on today!

Go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.
I mean it.

*-Alex Willette
**-Nicole Ballard
***-obviously me