M is for MINE!

I went with my sisters yesterday to check out two new stores in hagerstown Fivebelow and Best Buy. Well, while we were in Best Buy I found the camera for me. My heart fluttered when I read it's information. This camera was there and I was completely amazed at how close to being perfect for me it was. If you read its information you'll see that it's water-freeze-shock-and crush-proof! The only down side was that it had digital image stabilization instead of optical image stabilization (and it was a tad too expensive for me). This camera is perfect for my accident prone lifestyle. I've already been too rough with two digital cameras in my life. The first one I lost to the ocean (St. Petersburg, FL where we were kayaking and the bag I placed it in was faulty), and the other to hard use (I think it got dust/dirt in it causing the lense to not open properly). I still need to take my camera to a repair shop to find out if there's any hope in repairing it.

My title makes it sound like I'm one of those totally spoiled little kids that think they can get anything they want if they play their cards right. While this does not accurately portray my temperment I have to admit that I do feel that way sometimes. Most often when it comes to my life and how I life it. I am constantly having to remind myself that this life is not my own but God's and everything in it belongs to Him.

Another L post!

I was thinking up this post for quite a while and when I finally came to write it I realized that I had already written up an L post but hadn't posted it yet due to lack of pictures. Well it ties in really well with my idea of L is for Lost.....

I feel completely lost sometimes without my camera. I keep coming up with ideas for posts and then not following through because I haven't had the access to a camera for photos. It truly is amazing how visually dependent I (and I think a lot of other people out there too) have become. It's like something is not worth giving your interest if it is not visually appealing (which is definitley not true by the way). I'm trying to save up to either repair my current camera or get a new one and if I have to continue on without photos or using old photos than so be it. I enjoy this medium of expressing myself (blogging that is) and something as silly as not having new photos isn't going to stop me.

I lost myself in my thoughts yesterday hiking up a familiar trail. The colors of fall are all around right now and I have been feeling drawn to go enjoy them all week. Work and rain made that impossible though so I'm so glad that I was able to get out yesterday and be surrounded by it all. The feeling of my heart beating as I was hiking up the mountain was just the reminder of living life that I needed.

L is for life

How often to we try to fill life with things that we think we're supposed to do but really they're not all that important?

I want my life to be one filled with the most important things out there:

God, Love, Family, Giving, Breathing, Learning, Being, Creating, and Living.

Still working on trying to prioritize what things need to be done (eating, working, cleaning, sleeping), with things that are fundamental to wholeness. I tend to focus on one thing at a time and forget about the other important things that I should be doing when I'm focused on a task.

k is for kids!

Kids are an absolutely awesome part of my life. They always have been and always will be. They are the reason that I act the way I do most of the time (I'm very much like a kid myself most days, completely crazy, loud, and annoying, but also creative, fun, and full of love). I'm working a job right now where I'm surrounded by kids at work. It's a before and afterschool program where I chill with the kids either until they go to school or their parents pick them up (before and after school).

The first few weeks I struggled with getting down the rules that the kids follow and dealing with kids trying to tell me otherwise and being thrown into classrooms not knowing any of the kids names or temperments and being expected to teach them. Those situations have been trying but the people I'm working with have been very helpful. I've gotten to know about half of the students already and will hopefully learn the rest here before the month is over.

It truly amazes me how different each and every one of these kids are. They're so amazing and unique to get to know. I'm truly blessed to be working with them.

One thing that I hadn't realized about kids (either because I've always worked with smaller groups of kids or because it's been so long since I was in elementary and middle school myself) is that they're LOUD! Volume control is difficult with a bunch of kids who've just gotten out of school and all they want to do is wild and be loud (or so it seems). I have to admit that driving home in my car without the radio is absolutely blissful.

J is for Joy!

I'm so lucky to be able to have this beautiful face around for another week. Along with her mother of course!

And just because here's a piece of one of the beautiful quilts that my Grandmother and I saw the other weekend at a quilt show in Harrisburg, PA.

I is for "I don't know".......

I don't know the answer to all life's questions.

I don't even know all the questions.

I don't know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow let alone next week, month or year.

I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I don't know how to be a great friend.

I don't know how to plan things out very well.

I don't know how to not procrastinate.

I don't know enough about the Bible and my relationship with God.

I don't know how to explain my thoughts very well to others (verbally).

What I do know is that I have a God who does know and I can trust in Him to be there beside me always guiding me. I just have to be obedient to His gentle promptings. If I'm not obedient then what's the point?

This isn't a post of me depreciating myself, it's of me knowing and understanding the things I struggle with and making a conscious effort to improve myself.

I know that even though there's a lot of things that I don't know, I am very capable and willing of learning the things that I don't know.

Lord help me to never settle to be content with where I'm at. Help me to always be hungering to know You and be ever-growing in You and Your way.

H is for Home

The thought of home has been on my mind a lot today. Not that I'm having a bad time in Texas with my family or anything because I'm enjoying my self very much. It's just that my trip is coming quickly to an end and I will be heading home shortly. Growing up I didn't always know where home was for me. We moved an awful lot and I was always trying to find my place in the world. It wasn't until we moved to Maryland that I truly felt at home. At first it didn't feel like home to me because it was all so new but after settling in and making some roots (pronounced ruts) I can definitely say that I really feel at home in Maryland. I've been able to invest my life in people here and it's been such a great blessing to get to know as many people as I have here. My family has grown tremendously since moving here and our relationships continue to develop and grow here.

As much as I love my home in Maryland I also know that it is not and will not be my home forever. My Mom grew up much the same way I did, never staying any place for very long and I like how she puts the situation into perspective best. She says that her home is in Heaven and that each of these temporary residences are just one step closer to her eternal destination. I agree with Mom that my home is in Heaven, but I also thank God for the home that he has given me on earth.

Now for other H's........

* I like to help people out (more than I like to help myself sometimes)

* I love to hike!

* Hair is not a big priority of mine (I try to brush it once a day, but that's pretty much the extent of it, I know....... shameful).

* I really love a good hug. You know the kind that let you know that you are loved! My Grandmother actually cracked a rib of my Grandfather's one time she hugged him so tight. Now that's what I'm talking about!

G is for Gone

Yes, I am gone. Gone to Texas that is. I'm visiting my sister and her husband and baby in Texas for a week, helping them to get settled into their new apartment. Today we finished setting up the baby's room and tomorrow we're going to get some dressers and finish getting their room put together. The part of Texas where I am visiting (Fort Hood), looks an awful lot like one giant strip mall. I hadn't seen anything but stores in Texas until today when Symphony and I got lost on an adventure. We were trying to find a Thrift shop where we could hopefuly get a good price on a dresser for them when we found ourselves out in the farmland of texas. It was actually very nice to see and the trees are much different here. We saw some farms with cows, goats, and donkeys. We never did find the thrift shop on our adventure but it was enjoyable none the less just to see a different side of Texas than I had seen before.

Symphony chillin' in the morning.

The reality of motherhood. Exhausted 75% of the time.
Not entirely true but show anyone this picture while saying that and they'll believe you.

We're going to visit Colorado Bend State Park while I'm visiting and possibly some other parks. We're just kind of chillin' though and getting her settled here as much as possible. What with changing doctors for her and Joy, and getting her a new library card I'm sure we'll have plenty to do the whole time.

as for the letter G...
* Symphony has a Gnome!
* I've been known to be very goofy
* and grumpy
* I don't really enjoy chewing gum (it makes me feel like a cow, and it gets tiresome).
* Oh and I'm very gullible.

F is for Fire

This past year has definitely been a big one for me when it comes to fire. I've had more experiences with fire this year than I have in my entire lifetime. You see, it all began with taking a course in Ceramics. The various ways in which you can burn things to make them beautiful had never been revealed to me before. It all started with raku and gradually built up to a woodburning kiln where I singed my bangs off (at a mere 1280 degrees F).

There's also been lots of bonfires with friends. One in particular in which we built a fire so high it was over the roof of my friends parents house. The Thorpe's are a really laid back couple and really cool to hang out with, but I think we freaked them out with the fire that we built there that day. The biggest disappointment though, was not being able to burn slor nino.

* I don't know what I would do without my family and friends

* My sister thinks I am some sort of Free-Spirited Freak (Melody that is:).

* Oh and Fudge rocks!

* Then there's my Faith......

Growing up I thought that my faith needed to be tested so that I would know that I truly had faith. I used to wish that I could just go off on the road with absolutely nothing and just rely on God for all of my needs. I figured that I could drive off with a full tank of gas and where ever I ran out I'd find someplace to work or some one who needed some help and we'd sort of trade for things that I needed. I'd trade helping someone mow their lawn or weed their garden for a meal or me, some gas for my car, or a place to stay the night. I'd go to church wherever I found myself and tell people my story. I don't know how well this would have built my faith in Christ but for the longest time I thought that I had to do something daring to get an opportunity where I would have to rely on God and test my faith.

Our world is a world where we think we don't need God most of the time. We have plenty of money and resources and lots of people to help us out in a scrape (well I do anyways). I guess I felt like I had to be without to truly experience the kind of faith I'd always read or heard about. I never took my grand adventure (even though I still wish to do it sometimes, for different reasons), but I learned that faith is something that can be obtained if you simply ask for it. It can be given to even those who have everything they physically need. While I know whom I believe in, it also doesn't hurt to have a fire to know him more breathin inside of us every moment. I truly hope to know him more every moment of everyday. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not one of those saints who can actually achieve these kind of goals in their daily life but I wish to be able to live up to them.

Lord, help me to know you closer every day. Help my eyes and ears to be open to your voice and our spirit, and to never doubt that it is You speaking to me.

E is for Eyes

* My eyes are uneven. No really, one eye-lid is bigger than the other. Not that it's a big deal or anything it's just the way it is. I know random and weird but I'm running out of things to say about myself. Either that or it's beginning to weird me out. I'm such a boring topic.
* I love looking at interesting pictures of peoples eyes.
* I'm pretty Easy-going. You almost have to be in this life with all of the troubles that are thrown at you on a daily basis. My motto is "No Worries" though. Now of course I didn't come up with it all on my own, I've borrowed it from the Australians, or for the young one's The Lion King.
* Just finished a bible study on Ecclesiastes and I hope to do a study of Ephesians next.

D is for Day

Do you ever feel like you can accomplish so much more during the day time as opposed to the night? I think I've created in my mind some sort of theory that once it becomes dark the fun begins and you don't have to DO anything until it's daylight again. This of course is simply an illusion. I know that some people can get so much more accomplished at night but for me I get too preoccupied with wanting to sleep when the sun goes down (granted not immediately after the sun goes down). I don't see how people can stay up all night to finish papers or projects for school or work. I'm not saying I've never done it before because believe me I have more times than I'd like to admit.

* I am also quite the Dreamer. I have all of these crazy ideas that I think would be super cool (yes I just said super cool, and no I'm not 14 yrs old), it's just that reality sets in and tells me that they would be absolutely difficult to do. Like that stops me though.
* There's too many Depressing things that begin with the letter D. For example, depressed, distraught, down, dunce, dope, distressed, dumb, doubt, dork, duck, etc.
* I grew up reading about Dufflepuds
* Shasta Daisies are probably my favorite flower ever (well at least one of them, it's so hard to choose from all of the beautiful varieties). I really want to plant some for cutting next year!
* For now I am Done and going to bed.

C is for Community

I have been truly blessed to be a part of a community of friends and family that are always there for me (and of which some are cardboard). These pictures don't even begin to describe the many people in my life that I care about they just have the most in each picture. We share our faith and our lives together going on adventures and putting up with each other quite tolerably.


* I love cameras (which is why it's really hard for me right now without a camera until I get mine repaired), especially capturing life with it


* I planted about 16 tomato plants in my garden this year and found out alter that about 10 of them Cherry Tomato plants (I must read signs more clearly, good thing my mother loves them)
* The first author I remember reading and one I continue to read and enjoy is C. S. Lewis
* I was a Ceramics intern for a year


* Color combinations make me insanely happy
* I can draw a mean stick cow
* Most importantly I am a Child of God and I daily try to live a life that is Christ centered

B is for Balance

I've constantly been trying to find some sort of Balance in my life. I have been blessed to be named a name as beautiful as Harmony but I have to admit that sometimes it's downright hard to life up to. I struggle with balancing my thoughts and what I want to do with what I actually do. This past month has been incredibly difficult for me in figuring out what my next step is in life. I've finished school and have moved back home. Adjusting to that has been alright. I still have to find a job though and I'm not entirely sure what I'm waiting for. I've applied to one place so far but to no avail. There are a few others that I'm interested in I'm just not sure how well they would fit into my life right now.

I've been working since I was 10 and I've always done any job that came to me. I've done paper routes, data entry, stocking grocery shelves, retail, babysitting, mowing lawns, cleaning construction sites, renovating houses, making costumes, teaching at camps and waitressing. Now all of these jobs have been great experience for me and I can truly say that I enjoyed them all (most aspects of them anyways), it's just that I've never actually done a job that I've searched for or sought out that had to do with my interests and degree. I guess I am just ready to do something that I have been training for all this time now. The only thing is that I don't exactly know what that is. What I do know is that I love working with kids and art and if I could combine these two that would be wonderful. I would love to teach but I don't really care to work in the public school system. I would love to start my own school of Art for home schoolers. I'm just not sure if I want to start out doing something so unstable and risky. I don't know if anything like this already exists in my community and if not how to start one.

While I am still searching for a job I've been helping my Dad out with some work on the properties. I've also been teaching some girls from my church how to quilt and that has been an absolute joy. They are quick learners and a lot of fun to work with. Spending time with family has been at the top of the list also during this in between time. I know that God has something in line for me I just hope and pray that I'm not too blind to see it when it's sitting right in front of me.

As for the rest of my B list here you are.....

* I think I'm terribly boring when it comes to conversing with others.
* I've been known to be boisterous


* My sister tells me I have a big mouth
* My all time favorite family recipe is broccoli and cheese casserole
* I went berry picking for the first time ever this summer down near Harpers Ferry.
* I'm going to Baltimore tomorrow to pick up my cousin after spending almost a month with our uncle's family in New Jersey.


* I love going barefoot.
* I'm incredibly blessed to have the family, friends, and faith that I have.

A is for Anyways

So I'm going to do something slightly different here for the month of August. I'm doing an encyclopedia of me. Each day I'll share something different about me using the a letter of the alphabet. The idea came from a lovely blog belladia.

I know it's not the first of the month but I'm starting today anyways. So what can I tell you about me that starts with the letter A???

* I use the word "anyways" in conversation when I don't know what to say or I want to change the subject.
* I am an Art student


* I enjoy the Appalachian Trail very much
* I love adventures
* I just became an Aunt for the first time and I must say, it's awesome!


* A favorite author of mine is Jane Austin
* I love to sing the song Amazing Grace under bridges and in tunnels with anyone who will sing with me, I love making any sort of noise actually where there's interesting reverberations.

I'll be back tomorrow with the B's of me!

Wallpaper is the devil!

I like a good renovation, don't get me wrong, but wallpaper is a huge mess to deal with. My dad and I are fixing up one of the cottages for some renters coming in on the first and 'he' started a project we just couldn't finish. This one room had 4+ layers of wallpaper on it and we've been working at it for several days now without much improvement. In fact we're making the room uglier by the second. We tried using vinegar and hot water on the walls to get it off and then a miracle product DIF that doesn't work a true miracle. We even went so far as to rent a professional steamer to work on the walls but none of them are doing the trick. And we're both getting impatient about it. Dad finally decided today to just cover it up with some extra paneling we had from a previous renovation (our motto, save everything because you may need it one day). It will cover two of the walls and we're going to mud over one of them and just prime and paint. This post is just to remember how horrible removing wallpaper is and to prevent myself and anyone else out there reading this from ever doing it again.

p.s. I didn't write this for suggestions on how to remove wallpaper because we did everything we were supposed to and it was still awful. We scored the walls with those little circle tools and followed all the instructions but to no avail. Never again!

Unexpected Joys

I got an unexpected call from my cousin last week wondering if she and her husband could come up to jolly Maryland for a visit. Now considering Symphony and Caleb had just come home with Joy I very quickly realized that they didn't want to really see me but the baby instead. I am completely fine with that I just wish they would have said that to begin with.

All kidding aside it was a wonderful two days spent with Emily and Rob. They just moved to North Carolina so they're only about 5 hours away from us instead of the 17hrs when they lived in FL. It was a joy to visit with them.

Joy isn't afraid of heights at all and the sun doesn't bother her when she's sleeping either.

We went to Antietam Battlefield and did some drive-by reading of the monuments. And of course we went to the top of the Tower at Antietam (don't ask me it's real name because I couldn't tell you).


And after that we went to Harpers Ferry where Emily really wanted to take a picture by one of these white informational signs. Go figure.



There were kind enough to pull over so I could take a picture of one of the canons at Antietam battlefield. I thought the color of the aged/oxidized copper was really cool. Maybe something to incorporated in a painting or quilt.

All in all it was great fun seeing them both. Hopefully I can make it down to see them before the end of the summer is over.

Blessed

So the moment that everyone has anticipated in my family for months arrived last Saturday. Symphony and Caleb came home bringing with them Jaclyn Joy Lovelady. It is so amazing to be able to hold and love this little child of God that came into our family so unexpectedly. She is truly a blessing like none other. While I pick on her a lot for looking like a little old man (and if she scrunches her face just right one of those little tree monsters off of the movie the The Mummy II, sorry Symph) she is of course the most beautiful child I've ever seen. She's so tiny but she's already got character and strength all her own. Symphony and Caleb are going to have their hands full with this little wiggler. She's going to be crawling around getting into all sorts of mischief before they know it.

We had most of the Brown family over this past weekend to celebrate .
So of course there was lots of family portraits.

Here's Great Grandma and Grandpa.

The four generations picture. Four generations of love and life.

And of course Joy and her favorite Aunt posing pretty for the camera!

I don't know how I'll ever survive with them living so far away in Fort Hood, Texas. It's just not fair. Symphony and Caleb are going to be great parents, I know that, but Joy is going to need someone to play with and who better than her favorite Aunt.

Father of all,
Be with this new family of yours as they move so far away from their earthly family. Please provide them with friends and a church family in Texas that will help them when they need it, and keep them close to you always. Keep Caleb safe as he works and Symphony sane while she takes care of Joy. May Joy grow daily learning about You and Your world so that she'll never forget who You are. I love you and I thank you for your many blessings.

So you know I love you

Some no bake cookies for Symphony, whom I've promised for a while to give, to be sent with mom tomorrow!

*edit: make that try to let you know that I love you because you won't be getting these. I goofed the recipe up! This time instead of cereal type no bakes I got gloppy no bakes due to adding too much milk (oops!). Sorry but know that I will have plenty of goodies for you when you come home:) I love you

Jaclyn Joy Lovelady

In case you haven't heard yet there's a new addition to our family as of yesterday. Here is my niece Jaclyn Joy Lovelady. She was born July 9, 2007 around 11:30 am eastern time. She ways 6lbs. 7oz. and I have no idea how long she is but does that matter? Look at her adorable face.

Granted the picture is not the best but mom will take care of that when she flies out to Arizona tomorrow to visit her kids (Symph and Caleb) and hold her new "joy". How I wish I could be on that plane with her tomorrow but I'll just have to wait another 9 days before they come home to visit before moving to Fort Hood, Texas. Mommy and baby are doing just fine (and I think daddy's doing okay too now that he's gotten some rest:). They're already home and recovering and discovering everything they can about each other. How I long to hold her and tell her just how much I love her and have anticipated and prayed for her coming into this world.

Thank you God for the many blessings that you give us in this life. May we never forget to give credit where it's do and have a joyful and thankful heart in you.

It's about time!

So I finally got my vegetable garden started this year! It's not much of anything right now simply because I don't have a lot of time to take care of it nor the equipment to get it bigger quick. I've been hand tilling the earth and planting seedlings I started as well as store bought plants. Most of the seedlings actually didn't survive but there are a few zucchini plants that survived and that makes me so happy! If only I had an entire garden of zucchini I'd be even happier. No I'm just kidding. Although I am a bit partial to zucchini I also love many other vegetables. Here's some pictures of the plants I've started......

These are all my tomato plants! I like tomatoes almost as much as I like zucchini.

Here's a picture of the rest of the plants. There's mostly tomatoes right now. With a few zucchini plants a yellow squash, cumber, and green pepper plant. I want to get more in the ground still, but this will have to do for now.

Then there's this mysterious vine that was right next to my little garden. Have any idea what this plant could possibly be? If you do please let me know so I can know to either let it be or pull it.

I know it might seem crazy to be planting a vegetable garden when I can just go to the store and buy vegetables without all of the work. A certain sister of mine thinks I'm crazy for doing it I'm sure (among other things). There's a certain satisfaction in planting your own garden and being able to eat plants that you helped to grow. I enjoy the being outside and seeing the plants mature. The best part though is being able to just go out in the garden and pick something to cook for dinner. So much better than having to go to the grocery store!

Next summer (or maybe even this summer if I get around to it), I want to plant the back field of my parents property with sunflowers of all kinds. We'll see if that ever happens though.

Not goodbye

So yea,

Only one of the coolest people I know is going to begin her journey to Australia in about 3 hrs. She's going to be there for two years training people to be disciples through an organization called YWAM. She's going to be on staff there working in the Biblical Studies program.



She's not one of those girly girls (no offense to those of you who are), that like to talk about hair and make-up or boys all the time (again no offense to those of you who do). This is probably one of the reasons that I appreciate our friendship so much. I'm not very girly (or at least I don't feel so most of the time) and it's nice to have someone around that I can relate to. She is very "real" and not afraid to be herself in front of everybody.



An instant friend to anyone, she is super-fun to be around, and always easy to talk to. I value her friendship and insight into life and God's workings in it, more than she knows. Although she can be a little dramatic sometimes (something to do with her being a middle-child and all), there's never a dull moment.


It is my hope and prayer that while she is back in Australia, she continues to glorify you God in all that she does. Father, help her to train up disciples to follow you and know you more. May she remember that You are always with her in the good times and the bad, and that Your plans for her are better than any she could have planned for herself. I love you and thank you for putting her in my life.

It's a girl!

There's going to be another girl in the family! Symphony found out today. Pray for dad with all of us girls to contend with:)

Remembering

For Good Friday this year my friends and I watched the Passion of the Christ and then spent some time together talking, reading scripture and singing. I had seen the movie before but never really taken the time after watching it to think about what I'd just seen. Something that stood out to me while watching was how Jesus was silent for the most part while the people persecuted him. He didn't defend himself or show them their own faults, He simply let them do what He knew had to be done in order for all of us to be forgiven. I kept hoping He would say some cutting remark (trust me, there were a thousand going through my head), to hurt those hurting Him. But that would have completely defeated the purpose of His sacrifice. There was also the scene with Judas running down the hill with all of those little demonic children chasing after him and harassing him on all sides. I've definitely 'felt' like that before, when there's too many conflicting thoughts coming at me from all sides trying to break me down and I let them get to me.

After the movie we sat around thinking, reading scripture, and singing. Just generally worshiping God. It was something I haven't done in a long time. When it comes to worship that is sung I often find it hard to do in church. It's not that the worship is bad (all of the time) or anything like that. It is mainly because worship became more about me hearing my own voice than worshiping God. Then there's the issue of analyzing the songs that you're singing to see if they are praiseworthy enough to sing for the glory of God. Oh and don't forget about the music being so loud that you're too irritated to actually sing, let alone worship. I think that one of the most amazing things to hear is the sound of hundreds of people singing out to praise the God that we are all congregated together for. Worship for me in the past couple of years has been more of a time spent with Him in His creation along with prayers of thanksgiving and praise. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it felt good to sing again and glorify God.

worship-The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity

Alas no kayaking

While I don't like to admit that I'm a fair weather kayaker, I'll admit that I did not go kayaking today partly because of the rain. The other part of me not kayaking was because I wanted to spend some much needed time with my family. I was able to spend some time with my two sisters whom I love and hardly ever get to see, so it was a pleasure to see them both today. They are both so much fun when we're all getting along.

Glorious Spring!

I went for my first bike ride of spring yesterday and it was absolutely wonderful. I'm looking forward to the next! Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow and some kayaking can be done too.