Wow, I'm really bored.

WHAT WAS YOUR:
last beverage -water, water, water.
last phone call -Chiropractor?
last text message - Hannah
last song you listened to -Wait for Me, Rebecca St. James
last time you cried - This morning during quiet time. 
LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
blue.
black.
pink.
SO FAR (2011), HAVE YOU:
Made a new friend -plenty, yes. :)
Laughed until you cried - ohhh yes. 
GENERAL:
How many people on your Face Book friends list do you know in real life -depends on your definition of "know", but I do have a general acquaintance with most.
Do you have any pets - i have a turtle. his name is fred. he lives in my windowsill. don't tell me he's not real, because he is as real as any unicorn ever was.
Do you want to change your name - no way.
What did you do for your last birthday - went to a mexican restaurant and got serenaded by some crazy dudes with sombreros.
What time did you wake up today - 6:45 to my weird alarm noise. Its ducks. Like, the quacking kind. But hey, it got me up.
What were you doing at midnight last night - watching The Borne Supremacy.
Name something you can't wait for-Winter!!! Jk. Uhhhh. Tomorrow?
Last time you saw your mother- ten minutes ago.

What are you listening to right now - you are my sunshine. :)
Have you ever talked to a person named Tom?- Well, of course!
What's getting on your nerves right now?- the lack of accurate information on Google. 
Most visited webpage -Facebook, probably.
Nickname - Hailz, Jojo, Buckshot, Hey you!, Haileybop, Bitty Bop, Squirt, Fruitcake, Joey, Josephina, many, many more.
High School - is..awesome? 
Hair color - Blonde...
Long or short - In between.
Height - Short, let's just leave it at that. And yes, I am aware. You don't have to let me know. :P
Do you have a crush on someone? -hardly.
FIRSTS:
First surgery - When i was 2.
First piercing - ears
First best friend - Marg.
First sport you joined - soccer.
First vacation -China.
RIGHT NOW:
Eating - Delicious soup.
Drinking -water.
I'm about to - Go outside and run around with the kids.
Listening to -Haven't i already answered this? Oh but now it's different. Everybody Hurts, by Avril Lavigne
YOUR FUTURE
Want kids? - Without a doubt.
Get Married? - If the Lord wills, yes.
66. Career? - We shall see.
WHICH IS BETTER :
Lips or eyes - uhh...well, if someone just had eyes or just had lips, they would look weird. so..both.
Hugs or kisses -XOxoxoXOxoxoxXOOxoxoxXX
Shorter or taller -Shorter?
Older or Younger -Depends on who we're talking about.
Romantic or spontaneous - uh. spontaneous.
Nice stomach or nice arms -THE SKY.
Sensitive or loud -Both.
Trouble maker or hesitant -i like monkeys.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
Santa Claus -YES!

Day 11- a picture of something you hate

This is Isaiah. 

Be assured, I do not hate Isaiah.

What I hate is this picture. 

I hate seeing a child that tiny.

I hate seeing my baby brother starving.

I hate seeing people throw away money on worthless junk when for, what, like, ten cents a day you could save a life. 

Isaiah was starving to death when he came to the orphanage. 

He weighed 7 pounds.

He was probably around a year old.

He didn't deserve that. 

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger.

Hunger is preventable. 

No child should have to die because they're parents don't have the resources to get them food. 

15 million children shouldn't die of hunger every year. 

But they do. 

So what are you gonna do about it? 

It doesn't take much.

Anyone who knows Isaiah, knows that he is now healthy and happy, thriving in a family who loves him. 

I'm not saying you all have to go and adopt, but research this stuff. 
Its a serious issue. 
Don't ignore it. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KGXd4TUEMc

 

Day 10- a picture of the person you do the most messed up things with

Hahaa. Yes.

Day 09- a picture of the person that has gotten you through the most

My mom, my dad, and Jesus.

My mom:
She's beautiful. Inside and out. She's my best friend.
I would hope one day I will be as great of a mom to my kids that she is to me.
She is so amazing. The number one thing I admire in her?
Her sense of humor and her quick wit. She knows how to make me laugh when I feel like crying.
I love our late-night talks. I can talk her ear off and beat around the bush for hours, but she listens to me the whole time anyways. I love that I don't feel like I need to keep any secrets from her because she knows what I'm going through.
Also, She's suffered through 15 years of ME. So yes, she's a superhero.
I love you so much, Mom.

My Dad:

So, my dad is significantly cooler than your dad. In my humble opinion, of course.
He has such a passion for Jesus, the Bible, and theology. And that passion rubs off on everyone in our family.
He has taught me so much. He's also a great listener, and gives me tons of awesome advice.
My dad loves to invent stuff. (i.e. the bike with a bike behind it with a trailer behind that. It makes life more simple when you have three children that simultaneously get the urge to go for a bike ride. See picture...)
He's insanely creative.
Also, he's hilarious.
Best times with my dad ever?
This one time we were driving in the car and he handed me this random object from the garage and says, "Figure out what that is."
After quite a few lame attempts at figuring out what it could possibly be, he tells me what it is for, how it helps us, and how this can tie into our life and our relationship with Jesus. Yeah. He's just cool like that.
I love you, Dad. You're the best. 

Jesus:

Words can't describe how much He has gotten me through. When I feel like I have no one else to go to, Jesus has always been there. I just open up my Bible and fall at His feet. When nothing I say seems to make sense, I know He understands. And I know He loves me no matter what.

Chapter of the Bible that has gotten me through the most:

 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
 I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, 

I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, 

they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
 you will not be burned;
 the flames will not set you ablaze.
 For I am the LORD your God,
 the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...

since you are precious and honored in my sight,
 and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you, 

nations in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
...everyone who is called by my name,   

whom I created for my glory, 

whom I formed and made..

No one can deliver out of my hand. 

When I act, who can reverse it?

 ...Forget the former things;

 do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! 

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness 

and streams in the wasteland...

 I, even I, am he who blots out 

your transgressions, for my own sake, 

and remembers your sins no more..."

 Isaiah 43, of course.

So there you have it!

--Hailey

This was a hard one. i thought about it a lot. 

But i couldn't think of anything that i would ever want to forget. 

Everything happens the way it does for a reason.

I want to be one of those old people that never runs out of stories.  

I want to remember everything.

Never forget.

Day 07- a picture of your most treasured possession

My Bible and my iPod for sure. 
I go absolutely no where without my Bible, and almost no where without my iPod.
I read my Bible a lot. I find it really crucial to my relationship with Jesus. I love, love, love my Bible. God wrote me a book, that's reason enough to read it. :)
And if you know anything about me, you know I listen to music pretty much all of the time. This is also pretty crucial to my relationship with Jesus.
  
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also..." 
Matthew 6:21

Get out and enjoy this gorgeous weather!

Day 06- a picture of a person you would love to trade places with for a day

Yes, Homer. I would LOVE to trade places with this wonderful man for a day. Just, you know, to see what its like to be a potentially blind Greek poet living in, like, the first century. Who wouldn't want that? No, actually I think I would enjoy the fact that he would come and see what it's like to be a teen girl in the 21st century having to read his books. Maybe in that day, I could convince his friends to tell him to stop writing. It would spare many a young person from suffering through his Odyssey thousands of years later. Just kidding, I know they are priceless works of art and history, and they help us to...be...smarter...But right now, I don't really like him. Also, I feel as if there's something quite endearing about the little hairdo and sheet-type thing draped over his shoulders.

Day 05- a picture of your favorite memory

Well, I realized I skipped a day, because of my busyness. You know, just getting my permit. No big deal. Just kidding. I'm, like, very happy that I passed the permit test and am (finally) completely done with drivers ed. Watch out, World! Here I come. Well, not quite yet. I kind of have to practice a lot. Went driving once already...in a parking lot. Didn't go over very well. But at least it was beyond entertaining for all those present. :) Heehee.

Anyways. Today I am supposed to post a picture of my favorite memory. This is hard, because I have so many favorite memories, and it's hard to pick just one in particular. So I'm going to post three pictures, which is completely fine, I think, because its just a challenge to post the pictures. No one ever said I couldn't do multiples... :)
 These are in no particular order. They are numbered according to my ability to find them on our less than organized computer.

#1. Florida. We had a condo right on the gulf of Mexico, and the view was breathtaking. Definitely one of my favorite memories as a family.  Yes, I took this picture from the condo building we were in. The sunrises and sunsets were completely, insanely amazing. Swimming in the ocean and walking along the beach was fun too.

 #2. CHINA.
I loved China. It was amazing. I could post a billion pictures right now, but I'll save that for another time. We went to Beijing where we got to see Tienanmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, walk on The Great Wall,  see the almost-finished Olympic buildings, and watch an amazing acrobat show. Tourist must-sees. Then we flew to Chongqing, one of the largest cities in the world, as well as one of the five 'furnaces' of the world. It was really hot there. Ha. But the best part about Chongqing is that it was the place that I first got to meet my beautiful little sister, Ella. She was so little!!! Just adorable. Then we went to Guangzhou and got to do a little more touristic stuff and got to know Ella. This was a once in a lifetime experience and it was definitely one my best memories. :) 

              #3. Anything that happens on just a normal summer day or night.  Whether its swimming all day, playing night games with neighbors, having a campfire, watching sunsets, going for long walks, going to concerts, or anything else that happens during the summer is usually a good memory. This picture just makes me happy.  I can't wait for summer.            

Yes. I think that's a good (and vague) top 3. Hahaa.

Have an awesome day, drink lots of water, go outside, sing really loud, and glorify Jesus!!

(how's that for some good one-sentence advice?)

Also, I think I am going to command you to comment. Just say something like "Hi, you're really weird." Getting comments makes me oddly and infinitely happy. Even if you insult me. Heehee. Well, maybe not.
But comments just make blogging so much more fun. :)
So, you should comment. Kay thanks. :)


♥ Hailey Jo

Day 04- a picture of a habit you wish you didn't have

Yes. Yes, I procrastinate. A lot. Like right now, I should be doing school, cleaning, and/or playing an epic April Fool's joke on someone. But no, I'm sitting here listening to classical music off of someone's blog, and writing this paragraph on the very thing that I shouldn't be doing. Oh, the irony. Anyways. I went swing dancing last night.
Also,  I won the lottery.
And I'm moving to Maryland.


Oh forget it, I'm flat out of good jokes.
Happy April Fools day y'all.
P.S. It's Friday!!!

Day 03- a picture of the cast from your favorite show

Psych, of course.

Day 02- a picture of you and the person you have been close to for awhile

Caitlin Lemmon, for sure. :)  I've known her forever, but I've only gotten to know her in the last couple years. She is such an awesome friend. She is so encouraging and loving and just plain funny. I love you, Carrot! :) This picture is from last summer. Good times :)

Day 01- a picture of yourself and 15 facts

1. I love Jesus. Without Him, I would be nothing.
2. I listen to music pretty much 24/7
3. I've always been fascinated with the sky. It goes on forever, you know. :)
4. I read a lot.
5. I write even more.
6. I'm getting my permit in 4 days.
7. I love being a girl. I will unashamedly admit that my bedroom is, as a matter of fact, primarily decorated with flowers, hearts, and butterflies. and, yes, my phone is pink.
8. 2 Corinthians 12:9 is one of my favorite verses.
9. I have a heart for missions.
10. Raisin Bran is the best cereal.
11. I can't make up my mind about my favorite color.
12. I love my friends.
13. Florida is my second favorite state. With Minnesota as my obvious first favorite.
14. I enjoy sleep however overrated it may seem. 
15. 'tis my age.

Hey! So, everyone has been doing this "30 day photo challenge" on Facebook.  It looks like fun, but only for the person doing it. Its like photo spam for everyone else. So I got this brilliant idea to do the challenge on my blog, and spare my friends on Facebook. :) 

We'll see how this goes. 

Day 01- a picture of yourself and 15 facts
Day 02- a picture of you and the person you have been close to for awhile
Day 03- a picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04- a picture of a habit you wish you didn't have
Day 05- a picture of your favorite memory
Day 06- a picture of a person you would love to trade places with for a day
Day 07- a picture of your most treasured possession
Day 08- a picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 09- a picture of the person that has gotten you through the most
Day 10- a picture of the person you do the most messed up things with
Day 11- a picture of something you hate
Day 12- a picture of something you love
Day 13- a picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14- a picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15- a picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16- a picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17- a picture of someone who has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18- a picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19- a picture of you when you were little
Day 20- a picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21- a picture that makes you laugh
Day 22- a picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23- a picture of your favorite book
Day 24- a picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25- a picture of your day
Day 26- a picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27- a picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28- a picture of something your afraid of
Day 29- a picture that can always make you smile
Day 30- a picture of someone you miss

Today I: will be doing a lot of school work, drivers ed homework, and hula hooping.

I'm feeling: thankful. 

I'm wearing: sweatpants, t-shirt, and my favorite sweatshirt. its a comfy day.

Outside my window: I'm trying to imagine what it would look like if it was summer. I think i forgot.

A song that's stuck in my head: Girl Next Door, by Saving Jane. HA.

Something that has inspired me recently: the realization that summer is just around the corner:)

A prayer of my heart today:
For all of the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and for all of the relief efforts... and that God will be glorified even in the most devastating of circumstances.

I am reading: My drivers ed manual. Who knew that "car A" and "car B" would both have the right-of-way if it wasn't for "pedestrian 2"? I know I didn't.

I am thinking: about how much i would love to walk outside and not get frost bit.

A scripture verse or passage of scripture that has stuck out to me: Hebrews 10, 11, and 12

A spiritual lesson I'm learning: God is teaching me how to live in such a way that it is obvious to everyone that Christ is my only Treasure.

 A picture i would like to share:
Dear Winter,
Just...go away.
Thanks,
Hailey
(This is the dreary view of the sky from my window...so sad. but a cool picture nonetheless.)

"Rejoice always..."
 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Have a great day :)

In Christ alone,

Good Morning!

So, just thought I'd say something... because... I have a couple minutes before I will convince myself to go do other stuff.

1.  My dad was showing me some pretty sweet 70-80's music. It was SO funny, and weird to listen to the music that was "cool" back then. 

Check it out.  These two were my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldyx3KHOFXw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZThquH5t0ow

Just got me thinking... what will MY kids think when I look back and show them the music that I listened to? Oh, I can't even imagine. 

2.  Driver's ed homework is SO time consuming.  I spent at least a few hours yesterday trying to get done with it.  (FYI. this was not a highlight.)

3.  Stuffed monkeys should never sing, but when they do, they are creepy, and hilarious.      just saying.

4. Went to the movie 'I am Number Four".  It was really good.  The soundtrack is awesome. 

5.  My friends are really funny.

6. Walking home from work in sub-zero temperatures can be a good thing. Although I can't  feel my legs, my heart is full of joy, because I get to worship Jesus, by myself, with my ipod, for a little over a half an hour and get exercise too! It's a win win.

7. Owl City's facebook page makes me laugh so hard. This was one of his posts yesterday.

"Aliens are coming to Earth on Monday to abduct all the quirky, nerdy fruitcakes. You will be safe, but I just wanted to say goodbye." 

I think I'll be going too. ;)  

8. I have a hula hoop, and it is evil. 

9. This number is overrated. 

10. You're Beautiful, by Phil Whickam is one of those songs that is stuck on replay on my Ipod. I love it. 

"I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful"

God, You're Beautiful. 

Trying to live for His glory today.

Have a great day!! :) 

In Christ,

Oh, hey there!

Been awhile, eh?

Well, here I am now, alive and well-ish.

It's been snowing outside. Again.

If you know anything about me, you know that I love snow.

So it is with great joy that I will announce that this is the third, yes, third snowiest winter that Minnesota has ever had on record. And it's only February.

Seriously though, Minnesota weather is screwed up. Last week, it was 45 degrees and sunny. In February. I was outside with flip flops on for goodness sake.

Fast forward to the beginning of this week, and you get 20 degrees, windy, and the sky pouring out enough fluffy white precipitation on my front yard to cover the whole planet. Well, maybe not, but you get my point.

Minnesota weather is outdoing its own reputation this year.

Besides the luxurious weather, or lack thereof, I have some exciting stuff to write about.

On Friday, I climbed into a van, with all the gracefulness of a frog in a blender, to embark on a three and a half hour journey to Big Sandy Camp.

My church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, puts on one of the most amazing winter retreats in the history of winter retreats.  It has been the highlight of my winter for the last three years, and this year was no different.

I love everything about these retreats. God truly works through them to bring me closer to Him, and out of that winter slump that I tend to fall into.

This year's retreat theme was "Unseen".
God convicted me in so many ways this weekend.
I took some time to write down a few things that really 'hit' me.
First, I was convicted that so often I settle for things that this world offers me, short-lived moments of self-focused glory, plastic trophies, that always end up being sat up on a shelf and forgotten anyways.
God started to show me all of the "plastic trophies" that I have in my life.
We, as humans, are created for glory. We have a yearning to give attention, and to get attention. But God is the only One deserving of this glory. So instead of getting attention and glory for myself, I'm giving it to God.
Because the glory that I would get for myself isn't worth anything. at. all.

Cool story:
While at the retreat, I had the opportunity to be on the worship team, which was awesome. So I was standing up there during one of the practices, waiting for whenever we were supposed to sing. One of my friends who was also singing was standing up there also. He seemed to be amusing himself by grabbing at the dust in the air, which you could easily see because of the lights. I was caught off guard with this weird act of.... weirdness, so I turned to him and said, "Uh, Justin, what, exactly, are you doing?" and he replied,
"Oh, just catching dust."
Well, of course, my brain is always set on figuring out cool names for a song/album/band, just because. "Catching Dust" or "Chasing Dust" seemed like one of the coolest ideas yet.... and later on we had some good conversations about the possible allegorical content* of the phrase and I was really blessed by it, and besides that, it really ended up tying into the whole message of the retreat...
So often we strive after things that are fleeting and pointless, things that will end up turning to dust.
Psalm 119:25 says, "My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your word!"
Our hearts cling to the dust, the dust that we were made from... but God has breathed his life into us, and we are no longer dead, but alive in Him. We don't need to chase after stuff that will turn to dust, but seek after the things that are unseen, because that's what lasts forever.
Just thought that was cool....


The retreat also taught me that my Mom has an abnormal, somewhat unhealthy fear of a bed bug infestation, and she thinks her children are contaminated when we arrive home from said retreat. (while at the retreat, a single bed bug was spotted in one of the cabins, not anywhere near mine, I didn't tell my mom this until after the bed bug shock had set in). You know, nothing says "welcome home, sweetie" like being told to go take a shower and leave all your stuff in the car...Oh, I do love this family.

Nonetheless, it's good to be home, and after the initial headache, I was back to being happy in a loud house with a million little kids running around. Just kidding, there isn't that many, and honestly, just between you and me, I'm praying for a couple more. ;)

Also, it would seem that this retreat has started some sort of epidemic, where everyone in our youth group is and/or has suffered from some sort of illness since the retreat. I am not immune. Though I like to think that I have a strong immune system, it would appear that my immunity is lacking in the area of your classic cold, and abundant in the area of random parasites from water in other countries.
Then again, maybe I just need some sleep, but how does one sleep when they can't stop sneezing?

Sleep deprivation? Achy muscles? Uncontrollable sneezing? Yes, but, God is still good.

I have no need to complain. Ever.

Especially when I have a God who creates sunrises like THIS.

Praying God blesses me with this same attitude in the morning.

Goodnight, y'all.

In Christ alone,








* 'allegorical content' is REALLY fun to say. Also, disestablishmentarianism. Just saying.

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends..."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Happy Valentines Day! <3

Babysitting.

That word. "Babysitting". It just sounds so, I don't know, odd. The word doesn't even make sense. In fact, if there were two words that should never be morphed into one, they would be 'baby' and 'sitting'.

Newsflash: Babies don't SIT.

Babies cry. Babies scream. Babies eat. Babies...oh nevermind.

But for real, whoever came up with that word was obviously delusional.

Also, this word carries on to the slightly older, larger, louder version of babies. That being children.

So, what is it considered when you take care of children? Childsitting?

I don't know what to call it.

But anyways, this weekend, I am playing "Mommy" while my parents are at a marriage retreat with our church.

I love my parents, and they are taking advantage of a much-needed break. I think it's awesome for them to have time away.

With that said, I will begin to go into a rampage about how "fun" it is to take care of these little things we call children.

A few months ago, my mom was on the phone with a friend of hers. She made one of the most profound and painfully accurate statements that I have ever heard. It went a little like this: 

"I am quite sure children do not grow brains until they are at least 9 or 10, and after that it is spotty at best..."

I believe it. 

Children have terrible timing when it comes to getting sick. I mean, not 45 minutes before my parents left, Isaiah starts sniffling and crying and whining and looking drowsy. So we give him some medicine, and set him down on the floor. What happens then? He stands up, walks over to Ella's toy kitchen, grabs a bowl out of the cabinet, and proceeds to throw up in the bowl. I mean, really? Maybe he does have a brain. Ella witnessed this event, and thought she'd reiterate it to everyone, so she screams(quite loudly) "ISAIAH PUKED. In the BOWL!!!" You'd think it was the end of the world. Well, thankfully there wasn't any mess, and he hasn't thrown up since.


Children are demanding. They like, no, they love to get their way. They will take every opportunity to make sure we know that they want something. This is my conversation with Ella every, oh, ten minutes.

Ella- "Haileeey...I have twoooooooooo kweshunns."
Hailey- "Okay, what are your two questions?" 
Ella- "Well, ONE, I want to have a tea party and, TWO, I want to go outside."
Hailey- "Ella, not right now, okay?"
Ella- "But, but, but, but, OH NO!!!! HAILEY, PLEASE????????" 
Hailey- "Ella, I said NOT RIGHT NOW."
Ella- "Ugh, FINE."


Yep, that is definitely a very accurate interpretation of our conversations.

Where she gets her attitude, I have no idea. I know for sure its not from me. Ahem, anyways....

Then there's the outdoor adventure incidents. Ella loves being outside. Yonas, not so much. 
I took Ella and Yonas outside last night, to get some fresh air and to get them out of this house. 
(it was a good idea, and i guarantee we will be spending a significant amount of time outside tonight.)
We were outside for about ten minutes when Yonas starts saying, "Hailey, my hands...cold...why?" 
Let me just clarify that it was 27 degrees out yesterday, which is relatively warm for a February in Minnesota, and Yonas was properly, maybe even overly, clothed in warmth. But nonetheless, his little hands were cold. So I started giving him techniques on how to warm up his hands. 
There was the "Shake your hands as fast as you can to increase blood flow", the "take gloves off, against all better judgment, and breathe on your hands", and last but not least, the "fold arms and hope that your body heat will improve the state of your frostbit fingers". 
But despite his best efforts, he was still complaining. So I told Ella that we had to go in. Now, Ella is invincible in cold weather. She's never cold when we are outside. She enjoys being outside. She does not enjoy being inside, when she could be outside. So when I told her that we needed to go inside, she starts to...oh...you know....just...melt. Heehehee...pun intended.
About twenty minutes later we were inside, warm and happy.


Don't get me wrong. Most of the time, we are happy. Most of the time, we are having fun. Most of the time, we all love each other. Most of the time, its all good. But that wouldn't be much fun to write about, now would it? :)

Well, I have a sudden urge to go do something productive...Homemaking, here I come! 
Oh, never mind, I think I've just had too much caffeine. 


Have an awesome weekend, everyone! :)

Reminded today of how blessed we are and how far this little guy has come in the year since this first photo was taken. Love you Isaiah!!

These are from Emma Katka Photography. 
Her photos are simply beautiful!
Whenever I'm editing photos and taking pictures i definitely have her photography in mind. Its crazy how amazing they are. I could seriously sit here and post picture after picture after picture. They are breathtaking.
I've talked to Emma and she is such a sweet girl. She has a passion for telling people that they are beautiful, and although i don't agree with her on a few things, i think her heart is in the right place. She loves Jesus, and is using her God-given gift for His glory.  Which, of course, makes it all the awesome-r. :)
 Anyways, just thought i would share a few of these pictures with you... there's just something about them that inspires me.
I've been doing some editing myself and will post some...later...
*que long, drawn out, i'm-too-busy-to-do-anything sigh* 


Also, I've been completely addicted to Beau and Reagan's music...check it out here!!! They have really good voices, and they go to my church...i find that very cool. :)

5 more things:
1: I got new snow pants. It makes me very happy, considering the fact that the past two winters i have been wearing Cole's old snowmobiling pants. So not cute. :P But now its all good. 
2: I just had a pathetic conversation on Facebook chat with my brother. He's sitting across the room from me. Like i said, pathetic. I love him anyways.
3: I watched the movie God Grew Tired of Us last night. Amazing documentary on the lost boys of Sudan. They follow three Sudanese men as they come to America to start a new life...It was so cool to be able to watch them learn how to live in such a drastically different culture. 
It really reminded me of Yonas coming to America.
For example, the first time we took him into Target, he was in AWE of all of the stuff. Stuff, stuff, stuff. We have a lot of stuff.
God Grew Tired of Us brought a whole new perspective to me on our culture...one of the young men was completely surprised when he stopped at a random house to ask for directions, and they called the police on him. What has this country come to? Its a conspiracy. *ends rant*

4: Listen to this song, i can't get it out of my head. 

5: It was -29 degrees outside, with windchill, this morning. That. is. COLD.


Speaking of cold, i have this sudden urge to get cozy. I'm going to go break out the sleepy time tea, sweatshirt, blanket, and a good movie with the quieter half of my family. ;)

I just realized that this is the most relaxing Friday night i have had in a while. Epic-ness.

Have an awesome, God-glorifying weekend!! 

In Christ alone,