Wanna vote?

Just wanted to let all of you know that I set up a poll on the side, and the question is "What do you think about dancing". :) Please vote! :)

And also thank you Emily and Lauren for following our blog! We hope you enjoy reading about us.

-Sarah

What's Wrong With "Yes"? :)

I've decided that my tendency as an older sister is to say "no" to too many things. True, at times, the requests I deny are quite ridiculous like Gracie's the other day: "Rachie, can we go in the 'prinkler in our bathin' suits?" (40 degrees outside! :P)
Many times I say "no" out of genuine reasons to protect my siblings from foolish behavior or danger I can foresee that they can't. But there are the times when I say "no" out of purely selfish motives.
"Rach, can we build a tent with the dining room chairs?" (Don't want a mess to clean up, so I answer, "no".)
"Rach, can I borrow your hoop?" (Don't want to have to clean any more dirt off it next time I wear it than is already there, so I answer "no")
"Can I help 'make' with you?" (Want to get dinner fixed as quickly as possible and a pair of little hands are rather clumsy with a potato peeler so I answer once again, "no")

There is probably no genuine reason for my declining the request. I just don't feel like dealing with the extra mess or noise. But a little while ago I began wondering, "How often do I say 'yes' to their requests? Do they already anticipate I'll say 'no' before they even ask?"
And I could not answer that question as gladly as I hoped I could. Too often my stock answer is "no". So I began looking for opportunities to say yes to simple, harmless things the kids would love doing. It hasn't always been really easy to let them have their way in those areas once in awhile- I still don't relish the extra work. But I'm no longer looked upon as a "fuddy-dud". :)
After all, what is wrong with letting Benjamin and Abby play spies in the place beneath the stairwell? Or pack lunch in a picnic basket instead of slapping it onto plates? Or letting the music stay louder than I'd like while they dance to it? Aren't these all things that delighted me as a child?
As Mama always says to me: "I don't care if I come back and the house is a wreck, so long as the little ones' eyes are shining." :) ~Rachel

Am I Getting Old? Or is it This?

I hate to even think these words aloud but...I think I'm getting old! :D
What caused this revelation? Only the fact that I got excessive amusement out of looking through some of our old Girls' Gazette newspapers and reminiscing over those "good old days." (which we are trying to resurrect) We have grown up so much since the beginning of that society! :) Or maybe I'm not getting old, per se. Wouldn't anybody laugh to see these?

If Anna Mae took her nose out of Hudson Taylor, her day wouldn't be "all history".

If Zillah wore her reading glasses, she wouldn't be plagued anymore by convenient headaches.

If Josie was paying attention to the inaugural speech she wouldn't notice what color Michelle Obama was wearing.

If Louisa wore half the clothes she has stuffed in her drawer, the public would be astonished at the extensiveness of her wardrobe.

(We call them "hints"...perhaps "jabs" would be a better term! :)

And then you have weather reports and news like this:

"Schools all over South-eastern Virginia closed for expected 4-6 inches of snow only to end the day with clear skies and bare ground! Children are outraged and parents are equally disappointed. According to meteorologist Evan Stuart, a fast-moving band of dry air blocked the snow from making ground-fall over our area, and instead, dumped it all on North-eastern N.C. We are expected to have a bone to pick with Alina White on Sunday."

Or our recitation announcements that leave you in stitches over the memory of what sorry poetry they were made of at times:

Miss Potter will now recite "My father owns the butcher shop"

"My Father owns the butcher shop,

My mother cuts the meat.

And I'm the little hot dog that goes running up the street."

I mean really...it's so funny! :D And then the ridiculous advertisements that were so much fun to write :

Madame Angelina Corella Bellinetine Magritte Lela Susannadora Maria Rachelle Donnamina De Montmorency has requested the presence of all young ladies in the town at a ball given in honor of her son, Wilhelm Angelo Carryl Isaac De Lowell Christoph Michal Lucius Napolean De Montmorency’s 18^th birthday, on November 21, 1881. This ball is given in hopes he might make a match.

(Always written in huge print so that all might "take notice") We had so much fun, and now I'm inspired all over again to keep up that traditions-- if they give me so much pleasure now, how much more will they make me laugh when I'm eighty years old? :) Maybe I'm not getting old...I just know a good time when I see one! :) ~Rachel

My Favorites from 2010

I know I haven't posted in forever, but I thought, since it's still early enough, I'd post some of my favorite pics from 2010! :)

Leah's 13th Birthday cake

He,he, thanks Matthew! :P

Mom did a great job on that Candy Land cake for Gracie's 4th b-day!


As you can see, I LOVE the beautiful sunsets we get! The Lord's handiwork in the sky is incredible! :)

I loved those cheesecake bars! :)

So, there they are! :) I hope these were fun and a good change. :)
-Sarah

New Year Thoughts

At the start of every new year, there are so many things to think about! :) First off, recalling all of God's Providences and blessings throughout my last year, and goals accomplished, and things done. The serious business of closing out an old year.

And then I begin to think about this year, and some of the sobriety leaves. Strange thoughts flood my mind. Things like: "Wow! I'll be twenty next year!" and "Should I say "Two-thousand-eleven, or Twenty-ten?" and "Blast, now I'll have to get used to writing 2011!".

And then the remembrance creeps in that Dad asked us to make goals for this new year. I begin to think, and for once, can come up with my list quite easily. I guess I have a lot of things going right now, if I can compile a list with all the proper categories that quickly! :) Dad likes us to make lists like this:
Spiritual Goal: a goal like memorizing Scripture, or committing to personal devotional time with Jesus, or something like that
An Academic, or Intellectual goal: like finishing a certain something in school (for me, this year, graduating! :) or committing to reading a particular book, or something
A Creative goal: Learning a new skill, committing to a certain project, etc.
And General goals: whatever else doesn't fit in the above categories.

The list that comes out now and again throughout the year to make me feel slightly panicky with the realization that, although I've done many other things, I've procrastinated on the very goals I named for this new year. ;)

Nevertheless, I like ringing in a new year! It gives a perfect opportunity for a fresh start. And there are many things to think of. I stand on the brink of the new year wondering what the Lord will have for me this year, how Jesus can use me, and just what will my life look this time next year? And I have no way of knowing beforehand. My life could look much different than it does now. Or it could look much the same. Exciting things could have happened. Or I could have become up close and personal with the steady, simple, uneventful side of life. There's no way to tell! :)
So here's to adventure- the kind that a Christian finds in following Christ, letting Him lead you, and steer the ship, while you simply let yourself be a channel.
And here's to the New Year. May God bless you richly in it, and may you look on it next year, and be able to say in truth that you gave it to the Lord, and He, in turn, used it mightily. ~Rachel