Updated Pics :)

I have not posted pictures in forever, and don't have much time now, but here are a couple from Dec. If I can get my brother to send me pics from our hike, I will post some of them..Hint hint David... :)

Funny,  but none of us girls realized we had rolled our sweatshirt sleeves up until we saw the pics, but we all had done it! I guess you can tell we are from the same family :)

There is another chaotic picture floating around, but this one is funny too :)

Neat Books and a Learning Curve!

For Christmas, I asked for a few books that I have always wanted and never acquired. My Mom graciously got them for me. As a result, during our Christmas break, my nose was often buried in one of said books. :) The two that I have learned the most from are Before You Meet Prince Charming, by Sarah Mally, and One Thousand Gifts, by Ann vos Kamp. They are both amazing authors and are truly seeking God's will in their lives. I wanted to do this post and just share some of the things that God really opened my eyes to through these books. Here it goes:)

 Before You Meet Prince Charming:
 As a young girl, I have read a few books on courtship or how to prepare for it. However, I have been singularly unimpressed with many of the few I have read. (If that makes sense:D) They all seem to have have a main theme that kind of runs like this..."Stay pure until married...God will bring you the right man at the right time...talk to your parents when puzzled...etc." This is all good advice, but I knew there had to be something bigger and more relevant. I also knew that my days could not be taken up with thinking about this, because there is also the possibility that I may never marry or marry later in life. (This is not my wish, but it still is a possibility.) When reading Sarah's book, I was amazed and very happy to find that you could not even technically call it a book on courtship. One of the chapters really hit home for me. It was on delighting yourself in the Lord. For some reason, it is one of my largest struggles to wait contentedly. This was a really good chapter for me to read. The princess in the story also struggles with contentment, and there lives an alligator who always is tempting her to go run with the youth of the world. One day, he sees her walking on the bridge above his moat. She seems unusually happy. (This is all a paraphrase FYI.) He asks her why she is happy. "Did a special someone send thee flowers today?" "Oh yes," she replies," a special Someone did send me flowers today. They were so lovely!" "Lovesick", muttered the alligator to himself. "I guess I should not be surprised."  "Actually, He has sent them before, but I did not realize they were for me," replied the princess." "So tell me," inquired the alligator, "when did you meet your special someone?" "Oh, I have known Him a very long time," the princess said, "but I am getting to know Him better each day." The conversation goes on, with him asking if they were engaged, and her replying that they were. They continue talking....but I just loved the perspective that He sends me some token of His love many times a day, but so often I miss them. Now, I am looking for them and see so much more beauty in life. The other day, He sent me a baby chick. It was so fluffy and tiny, and I just had to marvel that the same hands that made those huge stars and the entire universe can and does also create and love that which is miniscule. The day after that, He painted one of the most beautiful sunrises imaginable for me, and it just makes me want to sing because of the abundant love He has poured out on me and on all. And, most importantly, I have His love letter which I can read and study every day.

That chapter also correlates with the other book I have been reading called...
One Thousand Gifts:
Mrs. vos Kamp is a wonderful author and writes in a down to earth style, just like someone would talk to you  if you were having a conversation. My Mom and sister are reading the book right now, so I can't quote from it, but I will try to share some of the key passages.  She began her journey by a challenge from a friend to mark down one thousand gifts that she could see in her everyday life. Her book is centered around the word eucharisto, which is thanksgiving. She observed that the pattern throughout the Bible is Grace given, Thanksgiving offered, and Joy received. Thanksgiving always precedes the miracle. She began watching her children, who found joy in such little things, and found that all joy comes from a lack of expectation. The expectation ruins whatever joy He sends if we expect it. It is when we don't expect, and just let the grace fall upon us, that we truly experience the Joy of eucharisto. And when we don't expect, we find so many different blessings...gifts.

Ummmm Cake..or pile of Crumbs???

I made a cake today and tried to decorate it for the first time with a decorating set my Aunt gave me for Christmas. I have not made a cake for a loooooong time and forgot to flour the pans. Mistake number one.... So, the cake comes out of the pan in approx. 4 large chunks with a lot of crumbs on the side. Nice. I pieced it together with icing and moved on. Second, because I had the cake in pieces, I got the chocolate cake mixed with the white icing, and we suddenly had Oreo icing! I started doing swags and flowers, and, well it just went downhill from there.We had a really ugly, delicious tasting cake!!! I wouldn't even let my Mom take a pic:) I really hope my Aunt doesn't see this post, because she is like a pro at decorating cakes. She's REALLY good!!!! I am now determined to make pretty cakes, and thus, we may all get quite sick of cake before they are good :) :) :)