Hold on to spinning ground.....

Hey you guys! It's been a while. These past few weeks have been a flurry of activity, consisting of alot of farm work, nannying, and shopping for our trip in 6 days! We truly cannot believe that next Tuesday we will finally be crossing the border from Hungary into our dear Romania. :) Oh, and for those of you who are interested in what our team is planning on doing while there, please check out our mission blog: www.tmcmissiontrips.blogspot.com We both are so blessed to be a part of this team and we cherish your prayers for health, travel safety, and that the Lord would bless our efforts and fill us with His Spirit while we minister.

circled are the cities we'll be traveling to during our 2 week stay!

We'll be in the air for a total of about 13 hours, so if you have any traditions or grand ideas of passing the time, we'd love to hear them! ;)

Feeling: very-excited-kinda-overwhelmed-cough-cough-PACKING-cough-cough-hyped
Listening to: Be My Forever
Eating: nothing....but I've been craving donuts. Just thought I'd throw that out there. 
Liking: my new haircut! 
Working on: finishing preparing my mini sermons/testimonies. Oh yeah--and PACKING LISTS
Enjoying: this gorgeous weather we've been blessed with.
Hoping: this cold of mine is gone by next week.........>.<
Loving: the Lord's grace and mercy evident in my life and those of my friends. <3

-Sarah

2013

Looking back on the huge year 2013 was, I thought I'd note the biggest events, the highest highs and lowest lows of each month.

Janurary-  the year started off with one blessed bang when we found a beautiful new van left in our driveway! The Lord just wanted to show us how He's our Provider, and can do things far beyond our imaginations.

February- I began to do classes with two special 6 year olds, and began fundraising for our upcoming trip to Romania.

March- God blessed Daniel with a job up with all the awesome GenJ crowd, which resulted in him relocating to NoVa.....that was a bittersweet time. Crazy last minute fundraising for said missions trip, in which the Lord provided all the necessary money!

April- Romania, Romanians, Romanian, Dominus. ;) Such a life changing, exhilarating, world-traveling two weeks. God worked in wondrous ways.  I also joined Facebook.

May- Well to start it off, a got a pretty major haircut....we also went on our first vacation in 6 years! Then Rach, Daniel and I were blessed to attend the Transfer conference down in FL. :)

June- I was very excited to finally go to an iGovern camp and had a fantastic week up in NoVa. Did a lot of volunteering with great people at AFP.

July- Went to the NCF Girls' Retreat with Anna and Leah. Also had lots of summer fun with friends.Gracie accepted the Lord as her personal Savior. <3

August- Helped pull of Maryanna's beautiful wedding. :)  I turned 19. Mom and Dad celebrated their 25th anniversary, and we kids made a musical.

September- Grieved with a family so near and dear to us, as the Lord took Jotham to be with Him. Continued my classes with the girls, but geared into 1st grade. County fair awesomeness with these people. Kept on AFP-ing and became a member of GenJ's Leadership Corp! Got addicted to Sharpie Therapy.

October- Led a whole bunch of great kids on Operation Shock and Awe, my first SAT as a leader. Went through the grief and confusion following a dear friend's death, and saw God's amazing grace and peace beyond our understanding. Directly after which, I spent a week in CIT training down in NC.

November- It started off with a week and a half of crazy, crazy, tiring, wonderful, time with VA Beach SAT and all those lovely people. Saw Thor 2 . A barn dance, driving hither and yon. Had a truly blessed Thanksgiving, enjoying a visit from some NoVa friends and finally seeing Frozen!!!

December- Bought a new and much needed DSLR, busy Christmas season prep, and midnight premier of the Hobbit movie! Long and enjoyable visit from Daniel, Saving Mr. Banks, and finally Christmas finished out the year!

Somewhere along the way I became a Fansie, fell in love with Cabin Pressure, made lots of new friends, got Instagram, became Hack5's number one fan ;), and saw many great films.

Well this has gone on long enough, but I thought it'd be good to recount all what 2013 held for me. God's mercy and grace were shown in countless ways, blessings and tragic losses grew and stretched me, and I come away from the year much changed. :)
-Sarah

Auld Lang Interview. (Sir Laugh a Lot)

This New Year's Eve you get a treat! Abigail Taylor is here and she's interviewing me (Rachel) and right now we can't figure out whether it's going to end up as a sappy, emotional, weepy sort of post or a HAIL THE NEW YE LADS AND LASSES thing or maybe just a lot of nonsense. So this is for all of you who are struggling to stay awake till midnight and have logged onto your computers just for lack of something more interesting to do. ;)

last sunset of 2013!

A: Should I type?
R: Yes.
A: I hate your screen.
R: I'm sorry it offends you. "You offend reason, sir, but I should very much like to offend it with you!"
A: What's in your drink?
R: I can't see a bloody thing right now, but I think it's tea.
A: Could you see the sunset?
R: It looks like an abstract painting. No fault of the drink. I just have the wrong contact prescription.
A: How do you feel about the last sunset of 2013?
R: It's slightly nervousing thinking about it being the last one. But it's a very nice one. 2013 has been a good year for skies. I hope your typing is right, I can't read it.
A: Earlier we counted how many airplanes you'd been on this year. How many did we come up with?
R: 10 I think. After I forgot I'd gone to Orlando instead of Atlanta. That lessened the count.
A: Which was your favorite plane?
R: Even though it was a little awkward, probably Saint Louis to Denver because that's when I dropped Winnie the Pooh on that guy's feet. But that would be flight. Plane-wise I liked one of the trans-atlantic planes the best.
A: Favorite destination?
R: Romania. Although I didn't fly into Romania.
A: Did you have any near death experiences in 2013?
R: Yes actually.
A: Tell us?
R: I thought for sure we weren't going to make it on the drive from Hungary to Romania.
A: Why?
R: Because they'll do anything to avoid potholes. And there was the time dad was driving home at 2:30 in the morning. I also didn't think I'd survive that one. We saw one of every kind of animal on that drive. Unicorns and everything.
A: What was your favorite "first" of 2013?
R: Oh gosh. Probably an international travelling experience. It was a big year for firsts.
A: What happened in 2013 that you hope never happens again?
R: Hitting a friend's car with a friend's car.
A: There's a good reason I'm not a journalist. *thinking thinking thinking*
R: I thought you said "there's a good reason I'm not in pajamas."
A: What sorts of things made you cry in 2013?
R: Leaving people that we'd grown to love. Frustration. Unrequited love. Finances. "Saving Mr. Banks." The end of "The Return of the King." Andrew Peterson music. Hitting a friend's car with a friend's car. Watching friends go through painful seasons. Other friends dying. Laughter. Ok, that's enough things. Oh! Sophie Scholl.
A: What movie or novel character did you most relate to this year?
R: Probably Brother Tom in the "Hawk and Dove" series. And I feel like there was some girl, but I can't remember. Definitely Sophie Scholl... I identify with her because she was just my age. Oh!!!!  *bangs head violently* What's her name! In "While You Were Sleeping"!!!
A: Lucy.
R: Yeah. I'll fall in love just like her. Also Giselle, in a tiny weird way.
A: What tiny weird way?
R: I'm a little idealistic. Prone to break into song. And... I don't know. I always... I don't like the idea... welll... I don't know... I wish life was just like a fairy tale. I also really like "So Close"... that song, I feel like it describes my life really well. Well, my love life... which kind of doesn't exist.
A: When did you feel the most beautiful in 2013?
R: Hmmmm.... let's see. Well, when I was at the Gala at Bear Trap Ranch, I felt like people were surprised at how well I could clean up, after what I'd been wearing all week. HSLDA Christmas party was nice. I don't know if I was beautiful, but I was... suitable.
A: Favorite gallant act performed for you in 2013? I'm so glad you're answering these questions instead of me. I have such a terrible memory.
R: Oh this is a good question. I was rescued out of a Romanian creek but I didn't want that gallantry so it didn't really count. I'd have to say some of the small things that a lot of my guy friends did. The boys in my van on the SAT were always really attentive and I appreciated that. Friends remembering things I'd said I wanted to watch or read. Giving out compliments they didn't have to give. Things like that. Happy little things.
A: What did you do in 2013 that made you laugh the hardest at yourself?
R: Probably when I dropped the book on that guy's feet. It was such a Rachel thing to do. Also, I can really scare myself sometimes. Like, start imagining things in the woods and creeping myself out. And then I always laugh really hard. Or when I say something that just pops into my head and people laugh, and it makes me laugh because it was rather clever.
A: If I asked you about what scared you the worst, would that be the same as your near death experiences?
R: Well, it all depends on what you mean... I got kind of scared by the guy who was hitting on me in the grocery store, because he started following me all through the aisles! But I really was scared we were going to get hit head-on in Romania. Oh, it was creepy at the border between Hungary and Romania, when they took all our passports and took a really long time looking at them. It felt like "The Terminal."
A: What do you think is most different about you this year, than last?
R: I think I have a better concept of the different levels of relationships. And what a treasure a friendship is with the opposite sex, even if it never "becomes anything." It can be really encouraging and inspiring. Girl friendships too, but I already knew that before 2013.
A: Speaking of which, what do you most adore about me?
R: Your explosive goose-laugh. And your ability to say the right thing to quiet people.
A: Well. Should we end it there?
R: Sure. Merry New Year's everbody!
A: Parting words? Advice? Prophecies? Visions?
R: Okay. Ahem. First, "If it's half as good as the half we've known, here's hail to the rest of the road!" Second, never... *guffaws* Don't drink a lot before a road trip! And take social media breaks periodically. It's so much fun. And then, prophecies? Let's see. Umm. Some people who keep breaking up will continue breaking up but it won't be over yet. There will probably be 4 marriages in 2014.
Sarah breaks in: "Good grief! Who are you marrying off???"
R: I haven't done my visions yet. My visions. I see..... Sherlock Season 3 giving me an ulcer. Maybe another trip to Romania. I'll probably fall in love this year... mildly... I'm like Harriet Smith that way... just kidding... oh oh oh! I'm going to publish my book! I forgot to announce that here. And another vision!
Sarah: You have a lot of visions.
R: I see... salted caramel gelato!
A: It wasn't that good.
R: You had some??? *fighting for a few moments*
R: Well fine. One final vision. I see many more adventures and new friends. And exciting things. I'm making this all up on the fly. Don't hold your breath for any news. Toodles people. I love you.
A: *starts to say something*
R: And a lot of goat babies!

\\\\Nikon-ing\\\\

 

After quite a few months of not having a reliable picture-taking device, I was able to buy a Nikon D300 a couple weeks ago! Obviously that was super exciting, and now I'm enjoying getting back into the habit of being a shutterbug. Anyhow, here's a sample of an impromptu photo shoot with my precious models, Levi and Grace. :) 

{time travel: my way}

It happened. 

Tonight on the way home from Benj's first scrimmage of the season, on a long and dark country road.

The night was clear, the Big Dipper was sparkling and the evening was just beginning to cool down.

I rolled down the window. All the way. Cuz, why not?

The wind blew my hair in every direction at once, and I let it go.

I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment, and for one tidge of a second I was transported.

I was taken 5000 miles and four months back.

Back to a similar night, with similar stars and similar temperature.

It was a night that I'll never forget, and will always cherish.

The ride was fast---much faster than tonight's. 

The laughs were many, the screams were present, and the road was long.

For just a moment I was taken there.

Right back to the maiden-voyage of Adventura.

-Sarah

The Influence of an Older Sister

She dared me.

And I did it! 

{charcoal and rose}

Yesterday myself, Rachel, Daniel, Abigail, and Matthew headed to a Matt Maher concert Daniel had helped organize. We were volunteering to man the "merch" table which turned out to be a pretty fun job! :) Anyways, seeing as we never do many fashion posts around here, this is what I ended up wearing:

Shirt: Thrift store

Jeans: Lee's from thrift store

Scarf: handmade gift

Boots: Belk gift

Eye shadow: Rimmel of London Sweet Smoulder

Brown Black mascara and lipstain from ?

Are you interested in seeing more fashion themed posts on here? Please comment with your thoughts. :)

right now.........

I'm reading...............The Help, Heaven is For Real, Dombey and Son

I'm listening to............whoa! an a cappella version of "Fireflies"! Who'da thunk?

I'm singing................. "On My Own" in my most-est dramatic voice.

I'm thinking................."wow, it's getting dark early..." "so little time, and so much to do!"

I'm excited about.............the wonderful Daughters of Destiny conference we attend every year in the mountains of NC!!! 11 day countdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and not to mention the other whole host of events coming up...:)

I'm working on...............sending out save-the-dates for mine and Matthew's graduation and finishing Biology and Algebra 2 before December 8th.

thanks to somebody, I had un-erasable answers in my study guide. whoopsie! :D

I'm loving..................watching Cake Boss and Psych on Netflix every couple nights a week, this (on-the-average) cool weather we've been blessed with, having a nice fall wardrobe to get outfits from, my comfy hoodie/vest, Pinterest-inspired fall decorating, desserts, and fashion, and an awesomely packed October.

I'm hungry for................the caramel brownies Anna and I came up with this afternoon. Oh. and I really want to try out these apple cider caramels

I'm watching..................Rach make up her bed, because as she says "I cannot leave my bed unmade for the whole day." and "I would not want to be a hotel maid..." ;)

I'm smelling..................Vick's! what?--Vick's?! I have no idea why....0.o

I'm laughing about..............the explanation to the latter. :D

I'm wanting................to be able to make it out to the annual Life Chain event at the Beach on Sunday. To get the last few necessities before camp, and for the weather to cool off and stay that way. :)

I'm looking......................

slightly worn-out, tired from watching kids all day, and....that sums it up.

It's oh so smashing!

As I told you all while ago, one of my new hobbies has becoming Smashing. :) I've found that it's really fun, relaxing, and uses my creative energy in a productive way.  Here's their summary of what a Smash book is to be for:

Anyhow, as my book is filling up and getting thick, I thought I'd do a flip-through so you all can see what I've done so far. :) So, without further ado.............

My Smash book as of 9/2/12/.

I'm a terrible pack rat, but this has been a fantastic outlet for all the things I kept *knowing* I'd use them sometime! ;) Tell me what you think!

NCF Girls Retreat Recap!

 The week of the 15th I had the pleasure of driving 2 hours to a Girls' Retreat held at a friend's church. The Lord worked all the details out so that I could attend it this year, after being invited by several friends. Mom, Anna, Leah, Levi and I headed out Sunday morning and stopped at a mall on the way just for fun. :) We arrived at the church in high excitement and I was ready to have an awesome experience.

First things first, I got all checked in, greeted all my peeps, and set up my bag and cup for the week. 

I was a designated member of Team China, and found my table and the rest of my team. :)

Wasn't our table amazing? :)

GO TEAM CHINA!!! :)

Some of the other girls were in teams Ireland, Israel, Thailand, Mexico, and a few others.

One of the many uplifting and encouraging sessions during those 3 long days. :)

Amber sharing her thoughts on Courage.

Our worship team was terrific. Meredith, Bethany, Amber, Josie, Amy, Michelle, and others-- you all were such a huge blessing and added a neat level to my experience.

Praising Jesus! :) 

Some of the favorite songs of the week:

Meredith helped us to understand more about the persecuted church in a very powerful way. Check out this video. And after the session we had the opportunity to write a note of encouragement to Christians in prison in several different countries. :) It was really neat to be able to do that.

Along with all this wonderful stuff, there were so many fun games to be had! Here's just a sneak peek into all the craziness there was. ;)

Give six blind-folded girls makeup, and this is what you get. 

\\WARNING\\  **This is a very disturbing image** ;P 

Told ya. ;)

On Tuesday Josie had done a wonderful job of setting all us girls up with a jewelry making session. :)

And there was........

NINJA!!!! 

I actually did a pretty decent job and came in 2nd of all the girls. :)

One of the climaxes of the week was the notorious shaving cream war! This was the most insane, mayhem of a game, but it was well worth the mess. :) I was armed with two cans of Barbasol and went out there to be turned white. :D 

The ante-bellum picture. ;)

After you were thoroughly slathered up, you got to go jump into the farm pond! 

And then there was the waterslide......

Bethany, Amber, Amy and I went out on the paddle boat......until we realized that it was "kaput". We had to be pushed back to the edge due to having no steering and only one paddle. :P

Monday and Tuesday zoomed by and we all were looking forward to the special evening prepared by the leaders. :)

All those ladies had totally done a make over to the church and transformed it to a banquet hall. :) 

I felt so overwhelmed by all the love and effort put into this night, and will remember it always.

Each team's leader prayed for their group and presented each girl with a pretty scarf. :)

There was a really great time of worship and prayer and then some icecream cake concocted by the awesome Tina! :) 

The rest of the night (til 2 o clock) was a blur of dancing, music, laughing, smiles, and altogether a very happy time! 

This retreat was a HUGE blessing and I really enjoyed how all the young women and ladies led us girls to our Lord and the AMAZING love He has for us. :) It definitely was a refresher and rejuvenated my spirit. I think it's terribly impossible to throw a bunch of fun-loving godly young women together and expect them to not have an awesome time. ;) 

It was so good to meet all those sweet girls and I look forward to all the friendships that will blossom from this week. (and it was also fun to finally put faces to all these names I'd heard around. :D

 

Thank you Jesus, for the blessing of this retreat and how you've used it to draw all of us closer to your heart. 

And to this ^ crazy-wonderful-awesome-group of girls:

I miss you all a lot and hope to see you again next year! :)

"I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer....For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." -Isaiah 56:7

{{{{All photos Copyright Krissy Hinton 2012}}}}}