a few Christmas gifts

We got a ping-pong table. Mom and dad decided to face-off :) 

Miriam got a blue hippopotamus for Christmas and wanted to log it onto Webkinz :P Charlotte was teaching her how to navigate the website :) 

My parents got me this book, which I've already started and very much enjoy so far :) 

Merry Christmas

"And the angel answered [Mary], 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.' And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her." 

~Luke 1:35-38

Christmas Eve

Mimi got up early to make bread :) 

. . . and we actually got snow :) 

[photo credit: Miriam]

Also, I did Mimis hair :) 

. . . and I did Charlotte's too, but she took it out before I got a picture :/ 

We had a great time at my uncle's house and then we celebrated at our church's Christmas Eve service :) 

Christmas in Erie

My roommates and I and Blake, Ali's boyfriend, had our own Christmas in Erie on Thursday night. We decorated Ali's little tree with candy ornaments and ballerina ornaments and pretty little white lights. As we wrapped presents for each other, we put them under the tree so they had been sitting there for a few days and Blake started getting rather curious :) 

before we opened the gifts (obviously) 

the lights casting cool shadows on the walls :) 

post gift opening -- lots of wrapping paper and purple :) 

I got Blake Mere Christianity and he started reading it right away :) . . . with a bow on a his head :) 

buckets, bruises and bothersome presentations

So, I've obviously been quite busy again.

However, I've been working with a wonderful guest choreographer on a very innovative modern piece. There are 20 dancers and she could only come in this week so we've all had 5 hour rehearsals with her every day since Friday. The piece is all about buckets. We get to do many different dance styles, but each one includes the buckets in some way. Between sitting on buckets, drumming on buckets, running in buckets, walking on buckets and dancing with a bucket on my head, almost every part of my body is bruised, but rehearsals are over (until after Christmas) and I'm very excited to perform the piece in February.

Also, while studying for a test tomorrow, I came across this page of notes.

I should add that I really love all of my classes this term and I've had the chance to write some really interesting papers. However, the obligatory how-to-write-a-standard-persuasive-essay presentation is getting rather old . . . 

a weekend in the life of a tech study

I will be lost in the black hole otherwise known as the theater until Monday. 

laughter

While on Thanksgiving break, I got to see most of my favorite little friends at my parents' care group on Friday or at Church on Sunday :) In classic little boy style, some of the boys greeted me by piling on top of me and bursting out laughing :) I miss these little faces and so many others while I'm away at college. It was nice to know that they missed me too. I loved getting to spend time with all of them and I can't wait to see them all again in December :)

spider

There was an awesome jumping spider in Kathryn's and my room for a few days. He* kept showing up different places around the room. I thought it was fun to find him each day, but Kathryn wasn't so enthusiastic about it. She was terrified that she was going to wake up in the morning to find him on her face. I tried explaining that he wouldn't want to be on her face any more than she would want him there, but she remained unconvinced. I finally agreed to take him outside, but I wanted to take some pictures first. However, my camera doesn't have the best fine focus and I don't know how to use it very well so the pictures didn't turn out very well. 

Anyway, he looked like this

with a slight smaller abdomen 

Also, his orange spot was much cooler and he started rearing his fangs at me :) I didn't get any good pictures of that either :( 

*For all of you science people, I know that it could have been female. I'm not skilled enough in identifying jumping spiders to be able to distinguish types of leg hair. I just decided the spider was masculine because spiders, particularly hairy, black ones, seem masculine to me. 

hymns

So, you should definitely follow this twitter account because hymns have such wonderful theological depth and such eloquent ways of displaying the beauty of the gospel :)

home is . . .

playing games :)

making Thanksgiving dinner :)

my dish :) 

[the rest of the pictures are all of my Mama's dishes]

. . . and, finally, most of the finished food . . .

. . . before it was devoured :)

home is . . .

making Christmas cards :) 

home is . . .

standing at the picture window with my family watching a red tailed hawk in the backyard :) 

home is . . .

reading :) 

(with sock monkeys)

home is . . .

 

a homemade birthday quilt from Aunt Kate :)

 (for Midget's 9th birthday)

home is . . .

the wonderful smell of a fire constantly burning in the fire place :) 

home is . . .

baking cookies from scratch :)

I'm home :) :) :) :) :) 


. . .that's all.

(gah) snow

Erie almost made through the Fall Trimester without snow . . .

. . .almost, but, on my last day in Erie (before fall break), it snowed . . .

. . .I think Erie likes tormenting me (and I also think I'm being far too dramatic about this), but I took some pictures so here they are . . .

p.s. I'm way too obsessed with my Dr. Marten's so I wanted to get them in a picture too :) They're cute and waterproof and durable and so much better for my back than the flat shoes I usually like wearing - definitely the best purchase of the year :) 

:)

I walked out of a positively dreadful* Anatomy exam to find this text message from my grandmother:

"It was a dark and stormy morning, again, as a sleek and silver bullet** sped along the interstates on an urgent mission to rescue a fair princess from the rigors of acadamia and deliver her to the arms of her loving family. We're on the road."

...and people wonder why I adore my family so much :)



*believe it or not, this is not an exaggeration
**my dad's parents have a silver SUV

frozen yogurt

Kathryn, Ali  and I took a trip to Menchie's yesterday to celebrate the end of dance finals and the return of some sanity to our lives. 

It was delicious.

You know you live with a dancer when...

...you come back to your apartment and find that the ladder to your bed has become a leotard drying rack :)

yes, trying to double major is insanity

16 hours of sleep in the last three days . . .
2 hours last night . . .
more coffee . . .
almost done


 . . . looking forward to sleeping all day Friday and going out to dinner with friends Friday night :)


 . . . then rehearsal for an extra piece that I got asked to be in by one of the department's best choreographers, a final on Tuesday, a final on Wednesday . . . and then . . .


HOME :D

I haven't been home in three months and I can't wait to be home :) I'm eagerly anticipating sitting around the fireplace snuggled in a heap with my siblings covered in blankets and sipping tea while my dad reads a book or leads a family devotion :) :) :)
-and Mama will be there too of course :)

Bible Doctrine

I quite obviously haven't kept up with posting every day. These last few weeks have been absurdly busy. 

However, I just finished two dance finals today so I finally have a few free minutes and I wanted to post this :) 

This book has been so incredibly beneficial to me this week :) 

My dad gave me his copy of the book when I left for college which was so kind of him.

 He wouldn't let me leave for college without a copy of Bible Doctrine and a pocket knife :) 

I love having his copy of the book because I frequently find notes like this . . . 

Anyway, one of the guys who leads Bible Study (and has an incredible understanding of Scripture) was asked a question that he couldn't answer about the Devil. He was determined to find the answer so he asked the rest of the Bible Study Leadership Team. I brought my Bible Doctrine book to our meeting the next night. We were up until 1am researching the origin of angels and their purpose :) 

The next day my roommate asked why I was out so late and so I told her about researching angels and showed her Bible Doctrine. She was intrigued and spent the next 20 minutes reading part of the book. She then told me she was interested in getting a copy for herself :)

Today, my other roommate's boyfriend asked me about the Trinity again. We've had several conversations about it and we are going to talk about it again tomorrow, but I had to go at that particular moment so I handed him Bible Doctrine opened to the section on the Trinity. He spent the next half-an-hour reading the book as well. 

Thank you Lord for this wonderful book and all of the ways that it has been beneficial in understanding Your Word and glorifying You this week :) 

sooooo happy

My ballet teacher asked me to babysit her 5-month-old little girl while she teaches some rehearsals in the evenings :D :D :D ...needless to say, my year has been made :D

ballet skirt

My phone rings.

 *Finally, a valid reason for not doing homework*
 (not that I haven't stopped doing homework for invalid reasons because I've definitely been doing that all weekend)

My phone screen reads, "call from Mom-mom" :)

I pick up the phone and she says, "I'm at County Ballet and they have some beautiful wrap skirts on sale and I'd love to get one for you."

...Seriously, I'm spoiled rotten...

sugar

I received an email about an unexpected package in the mailroom.

I decided I needed a break from studying and that I should go find out about the package.

I had fun walking through the rain (and possibly jumping in a few puddles when no one was looking).

I almost dropped the package when it was handed to me because it was so heavy . . . and I immediately recognized my grandmother's handwriting on the address :)

All I can say is that I am spoiled rotten :)

joys of the morning

whole wheat bagel with pomegranate

wearing a twirly long green skirt and a warm knit sweater

meeting friends to pray in the Grotto at sunrise 

sitting in a study lounge reading about the mysteries of Swift's life with a latte and chocolate and worship music playing softly in the background

...yeah, today's been kind-of wonderful and it's only 8:35 in the morning :)

doors

Thank you Lord for the numerous conversations I've had with several different people this week concerning Your Word. Thank you for opening doors for me to speak Your truth and thank you for giving me the courage to start and continue those conversations.

"Peace if possible. Truth at all costs." ~Martin Luther

flashcards

Captain America and Chocolate Frozen Yogurt make creating flash cards for the origin, insertion and action of 55 of the face and torso muscles slightly more tolerable. 

muddy shoes

muddy, totally soaked pointe shoes from a photo shoot this morning

Wet grass and pointe shoes don't get along very well. Cold, wet feet aren't exactly ideal for pictures either, but it was a lot of fun :)

midget

*photo credit: Cyndi Sain*

This precious little girl was baptized today. 

Thank you Lord for Your grace and mercy :)

 He has already begun to give her an incredible servant's heart. When my family first transitioned from homeschooling to attending New Covenant, it was really hard on all of us. I remember being particularly humbled in the mornings when Charlotte would be dressed and have her backpack packed long before the rest of us. She would always ask what she could do to help everyone else. She would spend most of the morning running around the house finding people's books and helping to pack lunch bags. I remember looking outside one morning to see her attempted to carry a backpack as big as she was to the van. 

Thank you Lord for this and so many other examples of Your grace in her life :) :) :) 

I pray that You would continue to work in her life, that You would continually increase her desire to glorify and enjoy you, and that would use her life to bring about Your glory. 

prayer

I know most people reading this post already know about this and are presently praying, but just in case...

My parents teach at the school that all of my siblings attend, New Covenant Christian School. I graduated from the school in 2011. In the past three days, quite a number of the students or former students have had an immediate family member admitted to or flown to a hospital for various entirely unrelated reasons, some of them life-threatening. The school is small and all of the students are very connected physically, emotionally and spiritually (which is a beautiful thing). It goes without saying, that the entire school is coming together in support and care and prayer and also finding it difficult to focus on their studies. Please be praying for the students and their families and all of the dear ones presently in the hospital. Also, please be praying for the teachers and headmaster and the administrative staff as they guide their students through these trials with care and compassion and also attempt to work through their course material for the year.

In all things, may the Lord be glorified and may we trust His sovereign will.

"God never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people, nor does He ever seek our good at the expense of His glory. He has designed His eternal purpose so that His glory and our good are inextricably bound together. What comfort and and encouragement this should be to us." 
~ Jerry Bridges 

Father, How Sweet

I'm addicted to this song right now...

VERSE 1 

Father, how sweet must be the pleasure 

You find in Your eternal Son 

For long before You made the heavens 

Both You and He rejoiced as one 

And long before You formed the angels 

Before You made the day and night 

Jesus exulted in Your presence 

And He was all of Your delight 

VERSE 2 

Father, what love You’ve shown to rebels 

That You would send Your Son so dear 

Into this world of grief and trouble 

To bring unworthy sinners near 

We’ll never fathom how it pained You 

When You supplied the offering 

To rescue those who had disdained You 

To watch Your dear Son suffering 

VERSE 3 

Jesus, it fills our hearts with wonder 

That You would leave Your heavenly place 

To take on flesh to thirst and hunger 

To save the ones who spurned Your grace 

You came to forfeit every mercy 

To die that mercy we would find 

And then You hung alone in darkness 

So in our hearts Your grace would shine 

VERSE 4 

Jesus, in glory You’ve ascended 

Never again to leave Your throne 

Because of You we are befriended 

Received and welcomed as God’s own 

Father, how sweet now is Your pleasure 

In us, Your daughters and Your sons 

We will delight in You forever 

In Jesus You have made us one 

Credits: 

Music and words by Mark Altrogge 

© 2012 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

          ~Father, How Sweet, From Age to Age (Sovereign Grace Music) 

This album came out in the spring. I don't personally like some of the tracks because they're hymns with altered music (there's probably a much more accurate way to say that, but I have no idea what it is). I loved learning hymns when I started going to New Covenant Christian School. I love the depth, richness of the lyrics, but I also like the arrangement of the music. So, I'm not of big fan of rearranging the music. Also, I just have an issue with altering things from their original state, whether that be fairy tales or music or really anything else. I think this stems from living for and by an eternally stable and unchanging standard. However, I've been learning about the inevitability of change and the potential beauty of artistic representation, but I'll save that for another post. Anyway, there are also a few tracks from this album that I love (From Age to Age, Immovable Our Hope Remains*, Father How Sweet). 

*I've never heard the original version of this hymn, but I'm guessing I would probably like it better :) 

                          

thank you

Thank you Lord , thank you for...

(Thursday night)
...the first night of Bible Study
...a leader who humbly shares about his own life
...everyone being so open share about their lives and struggles in Bible Study

(Friday)
...a though-provoking English discussion
...a wonderful jazz class
...a perfectly balanced ballet class (i.e. with lots of jumps)
...stepping outside my comfort zone and sharing an article with a new Bible Study member
...spending time praying for this girl and praying that the article would be beneficial to her
...copying my notes so other students can use them as a study tool
...walking home in the rain without an umbrella
...smiling the whole way home (and hoping no one thinks I'm crazy)

(Saturday)
...a crisp fall day
...finally getting to talk to my Mama
...desperately missing home
...close friends to cheer me up
...grocery shopping to get healthy, yummy food for the week
...driving to the beach to see the sunset
...a giant peanut butter yogurt cone
...playing Clue with British accents
...being excited for tomorrow because it's Sunday :)

:) Kathryn and Ali :)

Erie wind and bad lighting = photo fail :P 

this was delicious :)