So Long Accounting Class!!!!!

Fa La La La La!!!!!

Time To Give Thanks

          What a week, what a couple of weeks.  I am happy to say today was a decidedly uneventful day.  No hawk attacks, we lost a second bird and have since turned the chicken coop into a fortress.  No more mounts to build, they are all built and off!  No new injuries, I did something to my left leg last Saturday running down the stairs which is taking longer to heal than I would like.  Today we just spent a normal busy day working, cleaning, and preparing for an extraordinary holiday.  Tomorrow Aunt Cindy arrives!  And I know her arrival will be the start of a wonderful holiday season, and definitely a fun Thanksgiving!

A Long Week

           I am so thankful for Friday.  Friday means the week is coming to a close, and I am ready to shove this week far back into the recesses of my memory where it can wither away into oblivion.  A hawk killed my beautiful rooster yesterday.  I think I failed to mention that the fancy Golden Polish turned out to be a boy, not super surprising considering his fancy plume and pathetic attempts at crowing.  Unfortunately that fancy headdress impeded Mr. Makutsi’s vision considerably and I warned the family if a predator ever attacked he would be a likely target, sometimes I hate being right.  This is the second hawk attack this week; the first attempt was at dusk and unsuccessful.  Dad and I were working hard to build and ship out an order of mounts, one of the great frustrations of this week since we received a batch of bad parts which need a lot of reworking to be usable, when we got the call. Rachel had chased off the predator by the time we arrived, but the stiff decapitated Mr. Makutsi was a sad reminder of the hawk’s attack. 
          I cannot blame the hawk.  It was only doing what God designed it to do, hunt and eat.  We have seen hawks many times flying overhead with a rodent or snake clasped in its talons, the fact it is hunting such large prey shows how hungry it must be.  Up till now I have not been at all concerned for my large chickens’ safety from birds of prey, but now I know better.  Life is full of challenges, heartache, and loss.  Sometimes it feels so overwhelming I just want to crawl under my covers and sleep a few years away.  But, without sadness would we be able to understand and value happiness?  I always appreciate the rain more after experiencing months of hot sunshine, and again I appreciate the sun after the clouds and rain have paid a lengthy visit.  Last night in accounting, our tiny class of four all groaned that the last week had been challenging or hard in some form.  The teacher responded with the sentiment that so many things bad happening at once means that a lot of good must be on its way.  I hope that is true, because I am tired of sitting on the low end of the see-saw.  I am ready to spend some time on the high side.

Lost Time

           Time is such a precious thing.  A couple weeks ago I lost time, well, I lost my watch actually.  I looked everywhere that made sense (and a few places that didn’t), and because I was house-sitting I had multiple locations to comb through.  I began faithfully wearing a watch about a year ago so I would not need to be dependent on my phone as my time keeper.  I gave up looking for my watch after about a week, but the habit of glancing down at my empty wrist was going to be a hard one to break.  But, time turned up again, wedged between the dryer and laundry-room wall; still intact, and still ticking.  My best guess is I stuck my watch in a coat pocket, and it fell out before actually making it into the washing machine.  So, once again I am willingly shackled to my watch. 

          I know for a fact time is constant, but depending on how life is going time seems to speed up or slow down.  I remember the agony of waiting for time to go by as a kid; waiting for events to start, waiting for friends to arrive, and waiting for holidays pushed my patience to the max.  Now I face the opposite problem, time is going by so quickly!  I have never been a big fan of birthdays, just one more year to add to my age.  But with 24 quickly closing in, and a few silver threads showing up in my brown mane, I am feeling a bit more time conscious.  I have experienced enough loss to realize how precious time is and how easily it can be taken away.  I hate wasting time (and I am pretty blunt about vocalizing when I believe things/people are wasting my time), but I also know we should not race through life so busy we forget to stop and actually enjoy it.

          So, as I tack on another year, I am adding a new resolution to my life list, make time a friend.  Recently time had become an unwanted enemy always moving too fast or too slow for my liking; no more!  Whether I like it or not, time is a constant companion, so I need to call a truce and stop fighting with it.  After all, fighting time is such a waste of time!                            

Pulling Away

          I took the plunge and pulled the plug on facebook.  I do not see this as being a permanent parting, but I intend to stick solely to the face God gave me until after the New Year.  I am shocked when I look back over the last few weeks and realize how many hours I spent wandering around the virtual paths of the social network.  Seeing what people were doing, waiting for anticipated messages for hours, and just plain wasting time.  No more.  Life is way too short to live virtually.  I do intend to make my blog a top priority however.  I have, somewhere along the way, lost sight of what I always intended my blog to be, a scrapbook.  I wanted this space to be a place to store and share parts of my life, and lately life has proven to be rather challenging.  Growing pains are never easy, but ignoring them rarely makes it any easier. A wonderful friend passed along this beautiful poem . . .

When the way I see is stony

And the path ahead is steep,

I’ve learned a way to climb it

And grow flowers at my feet.

Lift up the feeble hands that hang,

And eyes cast toward the ground.

Look high above the mountain-tops

To Him who wears the crown.

Let praises flow from stumbling lips

While glory shines around.

The way is UP, which makes it hard,

But you have covered ground.

Progress stalls and grovels low

When your spirit is cast down.

The rocks are sharp and hurt your feet;

You see your brother’s frown.

But praise Him in the hardest spot;

His Spirit will bring cheer,

No harm can come from trusting Him

And He the way will clear.

See now the flowers at your feet

Where once were only stones?

These grew while you were praising Him,

And looked to Him alone.

-Chris Josephson

          Too many times I become so focused on cursing the stones, that I totally forget the flowers; or worse, I trample them in my unseeing frustration at the hardships blocking my path.  Life is definitely not easy, but we only get one try at it, that alone should be an incentive to give it our best shot.  So, I begin the first moment of the rest of my life . . . now!

Loneliness

          Loneliness, according to my word processor dictionary, is “feeling sad through being without friends or company.”  I am house-sitting currently and always feel lonely to some degree from the lack of people surrounding me.  But sometimes, loneliness becomes more than just a temporary feeling.  It seeps into your core, becoming a heavy, hollow feeling. 

          Yesterday, mom read me a couple of versus from Psalm 51 she had shared with a facebook friend who needed encouragement, “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to thee (12-13.)  This morning I pulled out my bible, a falling apart book that continues to be my favorite, and read the entire Psalm, it is entitled A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
³ For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
⁴ Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸ By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

          I repeatedly allow myself to become so wrapped up in work, school, events, people, and my own selfish desires, that I lose sight of what truly matters; what the big picture really looks like.  I have become a measuring stick instead of a burning bush (click here to read this eye-opening post by Ann Voskamp), and nothing good can come from that.  I am turning 24 in a few weeks; looking back over my life I am so frustrated and disappointed by the fact that I continue to make the exact same mistakes over, and over, and over again; will I ever learn?  The answer is no.  I alone, relying on my own abilities, will continue to fall, will continue to fail, and will continue to be lonely.  So my daily, no, my constant prayer shall be Psalm 51.  Because I am a sinner in need of pardon, and God is the only one capable of accomplishing that.     

           

The Christmas Bug

          Yesterday, I caught the Christmas bug.  That seasonal disease that has you playing Christmas music, planning holiday feasts, and deciding which Christmas film you want to watch first.  Last year we started playing Christmas music in October!  We decided not to repeat that this year since by the time Christmas actually arrived we were ready (well, I was ready!) for some different music selections.  Last week, as Lydia and I were doing a major clean of the downstairs, I joked that we should put up the Christmas tree as we moved furniture around so I could vacuum underneath.  We laughed at the idea, but as we moved the furniture back into place I had already rearranged everything in my mind to accommodate our tree. 

          This years’ tree trimming will be especially fun since Aunt Cindy will be here to help with all the festivities.  If forced to choose, I would have to say Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday, but by the time my birthday rolls around on the 2^nd, I want the pilgrims packed away and the Christmas tree all glittering and shining.  According to the calendar, Christmas marks the end of a passing year, but I feel that Christmas is the start of a new year; we are celebrating the birth of our savior, our salvations, the beginning of life.  I know Thanksgiving is still over three weeks away, but I cannot resist, Happy Holidays!                

Back Again

          Today I was challenged to write more.  I tend to be a bit of a yo-yo when it comes to blogging.  Sometimes it is simply because life gets so busy writing gets shoved off the priority list, other times it is because I do not want to write about what is going on.  Either way, I never want to let my little blog lie fallow for too long.  But for now, I think I am going to hop into the hot tub, watch the sunset, and just think.  Be back soon! 

October!!!

"Stop Taking My Picture! Give Me That Camera!" ;)

Cake Time!

Rolling Down A Road Rapidly

Once again I have unintentionally left my blog to gather virtual dust, not that I have been doing much real dusting either.  Over at the HPB Society we just finished reading Up A Road Slowly by Irene Hunt, a beautiful book about one girl’s growing up story.  Over at The Fairy Bookworm, Lydia wrote about turning 18 and her own journey, “Like Julie, I am walking up a road slowly, wondering what is at the end.”  I, on the other hand, have been taking life at such a fast pace I am surprised I have not crashed by now!

There have been a lot of changes here on the home front.  Tiffany decided to move back home, so once again I am rattling around in that big house by myself.  I will not be entirely alone for long, dad will be moving his office back up with me and his office down at home (aka, my old bedroom) will become a guest room.  So this past week I have been doing the great room shuffle again, there is one bookcase I have moved four times in four months!

Other things on my ever-growing list are a couple of long house-sitting jobs, and a triple-digit order for DLC which will be keeping me extremely busy till it is due in November.  Lastly, I still have my accounting class to fill any little chink in my schedule.  I am not overly thrilled about accounting, but it has not been a difficult study so I cannot complain too much.

I think that is everything going on right now.  Soon I will be able to flip the calendar to one my favorite months of the year, October!  I hope I have enough free time to actually enjoy it!  Till later!!!  (And by that I mean a few days, not weeks!) ;)        

           

Beautiful (Grown Up) Lydia

Candle-Lighting Team Work

More Candles

Yummy Dessert (With A Birthday Candle Of Course)

Sisters :)

Mom & Rachel

Our Favorite Mexican Restaurant, Las Katarinas

Lydia's 18th Birthday!!!!!

Rain! :)

Puffy Clouds

Young Rattlesnake

Autumn Apple

The Roses Are Still Blooming

A Heavenly Fragrance

Sir. Fluffy-Head

Eww! Why Must They Come In The House?

Lacy, Again

The Last Mimosa Blossom

A Little Bit Of Heat In The Garden

These Blooms Are So Amazing

Fashionable, and Functional, Decorations

DVD Shelves! (Complete With DVDs)

Just Hanging Out

Mickey Mouse In A Cup

Autumn? Is That You?

          Normally Labor Day brings sun, barbeques, and a new school year to mind.  This year torrential amounts of rain accompanied by a symphony of thunder and a display of lightning made up our holiday show.  I was excited!  I love fall.  I look forward to the first rain, the first day I can wear a sweater, and the first evening I can wrap a scarf around my neck.  The style of clothing, the warm vibrant colors of the trees, and the clean sweet smell of rain causes my skin to tingle with excitement.  Unfortunately, this little taste of autumn is already regressing back to warm summer days.  But I have had my glimpse, and will wait patiently for fall to make her reentry.  Until then, I shall be airing out my sweaters and fluffing out my scarves.