We're Back! Albeit wisdom-less. :)

Well, here I am, lying in bed with icepacks on my face and a dizzy head, but okay after my wisdom teeth surgery.

*squints across to Sarah* Yep. She looks all right too. :P We got our teeth taken out yesterday morning. I was first, and my surgery went pretty well. I think the Doctor said my surgery was a little more severe than Sarah's because my teeth were more impacted. :P

But overall the surgery part was pretty much pleasant. I didn't feel the i.v. go in, and only heard their voices and the drill without feeling anything. The only thing I didn't like was that the blood-pressure machine kept squeezing me, like every five minutes. But once I was asleep I didn't feel it. :)

However, we are both doing well and not in *much* pain. (Except when we didn't have our medicine yet and I took a sip of icewater and burst into tears. :'(

Apparently we were both pretty loopy when we got home. I leaned on Dad till we got into the house, stumbled into the study, sat down, flopped over, and was asleep. Then I finally hauled myself upstairs and into bed where I awoke a short while later to find Sarah in her bed beside me. :P We slept a great deal of yesterday, watched The Young Victoria, and tried to read a little.

Unfortunately my pain medicine makes me feel yucky, so I'm trying to survive off of ibuprofen until Mama calls the pharmacy to change my prescription....I have 45 minutes till I can take my next dose...think I can make it?..... :/

Sarah's the good little patient who eats *all* her food when it's given to her, who doesn't feel ill every time she swallows her pain stuff, and who sleeps through the night....(Well, there is a story about *that* one... ;)

Well, I'm beginning to feel sleepy again. Just thought I'd give you guys an update! :P We took some pictures so as soon as our sense of humor comes back we'll post them! ;)

-Rachel

In Which I Speechify.

So I'm graduating July 16th and I have to give a speech. The writing of the speech does not worry me...it's the delivery that worries me. Of course, my dear friends remind me that it is only what God thinks of me that matters. That is a comfort, but my jittery feeling is by no means entirely squelched yet. I wish I could faint on command.....d'you think it'd work if I simply look at my dear Abigail and say, in woeful, Anne Shirleyian tones,

"I think I can be rendered unconscious." And then flop over? No? Rats.

I am putting the final touches on my speech before my wisdom teeth surgery in....2 DAYS!!!!!

Somehow, it feels terribly like writing a will before going to the guillotine. *sigh* The one nervousing feeling almost (but not thoroughly) wipes out the other. :P

Anyway. I was looking up public speaking tips and the ones that helped most, I've put below in order to remind myself and you if you're ever faced with this shocking predicament of having to speak in front of, perhaps, nearly 200 people! O.o

1. PRACTICE!!! You do not want to wait until you are five minutes from The Time and then start reminding yourself of what you've written

2. Be familiar enough with the speech that you do not have to read it as if it's a script. (I may cheat on this, and not do notes, but have my whole speech written out just in case my memory fails me. :)

3. If you're too nervous simply visualize your triumphant feeling at the end of the speech and try to calm yourself down by pretending it's already over. ;)

4. Release your nerves by having doing jumping jacks, jogging around for a second, or otherwise getting out energy. Then, depend on the rest of the nervous energy to get you through

5. Smile, no matter what. Even if something terrible happens, keep smiling, and, if possible, incorporate it into the speech to make everyone laugh. :P (Kinda embarrassing, wot?)

There you have it! :) Wish me happy speechifying! ;) ~Rachel

Happy Independence Day!

"Four Score and Seven Years ago", (times 2.7 :P) our fore-father's committed high treason.

"That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and, oh, my personal favorite: had their entrails cut out and burned!
So here's to the men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they knew was right."

But we celebrate this High Treason on our dearly beloved Independence Day because,
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and provide new Guards for their future security."

We will have fireworks, we will have parades, we will all wear red, white, and blue and cheer and laugh and enjoy our freedom because of these men who risked all to get away from tyranny.
It's worth a holiday.
(Please, no offense to any Great Britain-ers out there. It is simply my "Patriotism and...all that." to quote your Thomas Clarkson of Amazing Grace. ;)

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." -Thomas Jefferson

"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?"-Thomas Jefferson

It's totally a cliche, but today, more than ever, I'm proud to be an American. :) ~Rachel

Mother's Day.....way too late. :D

So, I know it has been a long time since Mother's Day, but I thought I'd share some of what we did for Mama. We designed a treasure hunt for her at a nearby historic park with plenty of wildness and interesting places to hide things....and an excellent wall for walking on. :) Then Daniel, Sarah, and I went early and hid everything, making up a rhyming map for her with clues

Our Gentleman goofing off...

He looks mentally disturbed in this picture! :D

Me, rather fuzzy-haired and hot, holding the envelope we had scrawled the clues on...I look a tad deranged...courtesy of the High Society English Dinner Preparation preying on my home-maker's mind. ;) I was the faithful poem composer and I always got left behind scribbling while Daniel and Sarah ran ahead. No wonder my mind was mixed up enough to wish two guys "Happy Mother's Day!" :P

Abby looking on as Mama opens the first of her presents...

The Mother we love best...

She sent a "monkey" up and down the spots that would be hard for a pregnant woman to get to...guess we should have taken her maternal condition into consideration when we hid everything... ;) (Anna climbing up the steep hill-side)

All of us kids lined up on the wall. :) I have always loved walking on walls, ever since I was little and would pretend I was Leisl from The Sound of Music and Daniel was Fritz, in the "I am 16" scene... ;) Left to Right: Gracie, Abby, Benji, Anna, Leah, Sarah, Me, Daniel....And from the other direction...Gracie, Abby, Benji, Anna, Leah, Sarah, Me, Daniel
Too bad it's all in the shade...we need to take a family photo-shoot. :)

Sarah....I don't know what was up with this, but there is a superfluity of pictures of her in our "Mother's Day" folder.... ;)Leah and Sarah...And one more of My Gentleman....I think he might have been attempting to hitch-hike. ;)

I think I must have gotten stuck with the camera, because that one with the envelope is the only time I made my appearance in close-up pictures.... :D Have fun looking at them! :) (Even though they are terribly late.) ~Rachel

The Saturday Morning Daybook. :)

Hello Everyone! :) I thought I'd do this weekly post hosted by Miss Jo March at Scraps today. :)

Date... July 2nd! :)

Starting time... 11:22 A.M. (thus, it's still the morning! :P)

Mood... Pretty good. Very hot. But excited about going to a Corn Roast later on!

Outside my window... the garden plot that we spent 3 hours weeding the sweet potato patch in this morning.

I'm thinking... Do I really have the energy to do all the weekend chores without Mom or Rachel here?! ;)

I'm currently reading... A Tale of Two Cities =) I really like it so far!

I'm listening to... ahem...Benj and Abby having a "heightened discussion" ;\

I'm wearing... My well-loved jeans skirt and my VA t-shirt! :)

I'm looking forward to... This entire weekend!! First the above mentioned Corn Roast at a friend's house this evening, then church, and then Independence Day and the free Picnic and fireworks our town holds every year! :)

I'm hoping... That in the next week or so Matthew and I can finally get together and do our photo-shoot!

Yesterday, I... Spent all day (7:15 in the garden, to 11:30 P.m. printing out flyers) working and preparing for today's market.

I'm hungry for... LUNCH! (I had a bowl of cereal at 7:45...but all that hoeing got me hungry!)

The song stuck inside my head is... None are quite stuck, but if any, "You are Being Loved" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I love... Anticipation!! (in the good way (not the anxious, nervous kind)....that's what makes anything exciting! :)

I loathe... Having constant dry and dusty feet.... :P

This week, my goal is... to get through my wisdom teeth surgery well....and not be in too much pain...and not to worry too much about it! :P Also I wanna take more garden pictures...I haven't had the time to recently, and I really need to.

Did I meet last week's goal?... N/A

Ending time...11:32

(I'll take Miss Jo's idea and do a "Quote of the Week" :)

Quote(s) of the week..... "I feel like I'm drinking Grandmomma!" =D

"Roses are red, Sunflowers are yellow,

If you'll be my girl, I'll be your fellow!" ;)

(After a LONG, hard day of preparing for market ....) "These signs just fealed my sate." :D

Okay! Hope that was diverting! :) And all you guys have a blessed 4th of July weekend!!

-Sarah