Keep Calm and Tuesday On - Absence Explained . . . Oops..

So, how did it happen that I missed out on 2 Tuesdays worth of blogging?  Well...lemme just tell yas... I've been in Colorado!

Apologia flew us out to work the CHEC homeschool conference, and while we were there, they graciously let us stay an extra week to visit some of our cousins who live up in Winter Park and Pueblo.  :)

If I could live anywhere in the US, it would most definitely be CO - in a HEART BEAT!

Explanations being made, I'm back home now after enjoying myself immensely out west, and am ready to settle back into a {somewhat} normal routine here at my home sweet home.  

Planning for the Summer - HERE I COME!

  {Best friends}

Winter Park

Some of our cousins live on an old retired dude ranch out in the middle of a canyon in Pueblo...pretty cool.

Keep Calm & Tuesday On ~ FRIENDSHIP

 

Just finished listening to this song on Pandora, and thought, "oh, how fitting!" 

In the not so far gone past, I struggled with not having any friends, and when I say struggled, I mean struggled!  It bothered me, I tell ya!

When I was younger, making friends was always easy for me, but as I got older and we moved from VA to NC, it started to get harder and harder. 

Ever seem like everybody is either much older or younger than you? 

Well, that's how I felt until I (finally) realized, 

"God has a good reason for this.  I bet that I have been put in this hard place in order to get closer to my family, and become more dependent on God before he gives me "outside" friends."

And do you know what?  I was right!  My family members became my bestest of best friends, and God became more real to me than ever before!  It was an amazing work that He did in my heart to make me refocus my thoughts from what I didn't have, to what he had already given me.  

Then, and ONLY then, did he bless me with what I had been longing for so badly;
Friendship.
That is why the song by Francesca Battistelli was so applicable to my thoughts today :)

"But when I fix my eyes on all that You are

Then every doubt I feel

Deep in my heart

Grows strangely dim

All my worries fade

And fall to the ground

Cause when I seek Your face

And don't look around

Any place I'm in

Grows strangely dim"

Until everything else starts to look dim in comparison to Christ, all of our longings and desires are simply going to eat us up, like they did for me.

Phlippians 4:11-13 sums it up perfectly:

~

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

~

Just 2 years ago, we became members of Burk Community Bible Church in Morganton NC, and not only did they teach the Bible, but they also taught their kids Biblically.  

They are a really neat bunch.

Happy Tuesday!  

(Wow, and I actually got this posted on Tuesday!  BONUS!!!)

:)

Keep Calm and Tuesday On - NCHE Homeschool Conference & Memorial Day

Good afternoon everybody!  Hope you are having a super fabulous Tuesday so far.  

At the moment, I am looking outside at the clouds of pollen that are passing by in waves . . . it's crazy!!!  

I feel really sorry for whoever has allergies with that kind of stuff...ugh.

So, what did you do this past week?

Mine was spent in finishing up the last bits of school (which I am now done with until July :D !!!) and attending the NCHE homeschool conference in Winston Salem.  

To tell you the truth, I've never been to a homeschool conference other than to work in one of the Apologia booths, so it felt kinda weird at first to walk around in the book fair and see all of the other vendors hard at work without me.  :)  But at the same time, it was nice to have the freedom to go to the workshops with one of my friends, and cousins.  

One of the talks was especially thought provoking, and I can't for the life of me, remember the guy's name who gave it!  

Basically, it was a challenge to teens in particular to have enough faith in Christ to be able to share the gospel in any given situation that might come up. 

 I had to ask myself, "have I searched the scriptures thoroughly, and do I know them well enough to be completely ready when situations do come up?" 

. . . very thought provoking for me.  

Another good talk that was given (and that I do remember the name of that speaker), was by Scott Klusendorf on abortion, and how to argue convincingly against it.  

Actually, what he had to say was so convicting to me, that when I came home, I looked up our local Pregnancy Care Center to see if there was anyway that I could volunteer to help around the Summer.  

Here is a small piece of what I read on the their website:

Volunteering would be a wonderful way to support McDowell Pregnancy Care Center for those who feel they cannot afford a donation.  There are always items in the "store" to take care of, or calls, or sometimes just keeping someone company.

Extra smiles being around when these young women come in go along way in setting the mood and the atmosphere.  We know your time is valuable, but assisting us in our efforts is "priceless."

That kinda sealed the deal for me, so I emailed them this morning.  We shall see what comes of it.  :)  

~

 Then....Came.....Memorial Day.  

A very relaxed day full of planting seeds, lizard hunting, grilling out, arm wrestling, and watching Nate do some pretty awesome flips.  

At the end of the day, as we were having devotions together, Dad mentioned something in his prayer that reminded me of why we celebrate Memorial Day in the first place.  He prayed,

"Thank you for the men who have fought and died so that we have the freedoms to do all of the things that we did today."

A lot of times, I forget exactly why we celebrate this or that holiday, and just enjoy the day instead.  

I don't want to be one of those people who celebrates the celebration rather than the reason for it.  

I want to remember and BE THANKFUL!

In Response to This Morning's Post . . .

Heeelllloooo peoples!!!  The test went super well today, so thanks for all of your prayers!  God was so incredibly gracious to me in that I got 2 essay topics that I already knew something about.  That definitely made a difference!  

The only thing that still kind of 'rankles in my soul' (not a phrase you hear often) is that just as I was typing out the last few words on the very last essay, I ran out of time.  

Oh, well.
:)

Besides being nervous about taking a test every time we head up to Boone, the drive is so beautiful.  

This morning, the sun was out with a little bit of fog covering the mountains, and we basically had the road to ourselves for most of the way up.  

{As soon as I finished blogging this morning, I had to run out the door and hop in the car  . . . well, guess what I forgot!!??!! . . . the CAMERA!  I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with phone pictures...  :/  }

Man, I felt so FFRRREEEE once I got out of the testing center!  Soo happy . . . can you tell? 

:D
I'm pretty sure that Caelen and I were singing pretty much all the way back down the mountain.

~
Until next time, folks!

Keep Calm and Wednesday On .... :/

Wow, Keep Calm and Wednesday on #2!!!  That's . . . a . . . pretty sad  :/

~

Alright, alright, I'll just cut to the chase.  I bet you are wondering if I have a story to share concerning my College Composition CLEP test that I was supposed to take last Friday . . .

Well, the truth is, I never ended up taking it then.  Instead, I had to get it rescheduled for this morning at 9:00 am.  You guys can (yet again), pray for your ol Hannah's nerves. 

...And don't worry, I'll bring my camera so I can have something to show for it  :D

See ya when I get back!!

Luvs!

KC&TO - May 14th

So, what's been goin on since last Tuesday?  Lemme summarize it for you:

Had a picnic with this lovely lady on Saturday:

{...After a while, Ben got kinda jealous of all the snacks we were eating, so he decided to try to sneak up on us to steal them....}

{...Elizabeth quickly took care of that...}  

:D

He ended up making his own picnic spot not too far away in spite of her... poor guy  :P

  

. . .

Made a wordle for Mom on Tagxedo for Mothers Day.  

You know, where you have a whole bunch of words all jammed together into a shape?  It looks something like this: (although this isn't the one I made)

They're a lot of fun to make, and look really nifty too.

 . . .

I discovered at least 2 new things:

a nest of newly hatched baby birds up in one of our ferns...

...And this lil grump on the couch tonight...a newly acquired skill .... jumping up on furniture.  

. . .

And...lastly, I've been marveling at how big my little bro has become lately! 

 He's not so little anymore!  The best partner in crime there ever was.  

Both of them are such HUGE blessings to me, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

(can ya tell?)  :P

 Have a great rest of the week!  I for one am going to be frantically studying for another CLEP test that is comin up this Friday... 

...Prayers are greatly appreciated!!! ...

I'm sure there will be a story to tell the next time I blog ;)

Pssst....How do you guys like the new header?  :D