Musical Mondays

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! We are still in Cleveland Tennessee getting ready to move our Grandmum to our home in Charlotte! I'll have to share some more about our trip in another post, but today here's a magnificent song for you to enjoy.

Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke




- Emily

Expecting...

That's right, our household is about to expand by one, there is going to be a new addition to the family! We've been expecting and waiting for this day for many months now and the day is finally almost here! Sometime at the end of this month out grandma will be moving in with us!

(What did you think I was talking about?)

My grandpa died a few years ago and my grandma has been living in Tennessee by herself. But she keeps getting older and has been having some health issues, so she's going to be moving in with us.

We're in the process of getting permits to add a suite for g-ma to our house, but for right now we're all consolidating to accommodate our new addition.

While I'm not thrilled to have to share my room with Emily, I'm looking forward to this new adventure. I think (as Michael Bluth would say) family is one of the most important things (after breakfast:)) and we all have a lot to contribute and learn from each other.

Plus my g-ma is pretty awesome.

So, for us 2010 is not just a new year, but the beginning of a new phase of life for our family. How incredibly exciting!

~Katie

Musical Mondays

Since I wasn't able to post a song last Monday, I thought I'd post two today. Both of these are renditions of my favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy! 

O Come, O Come Emmanuel - Matthew Perryman Jones



Silent Night - Priscilla Ahn

- Emily 

Dear...

Dear Finals,
I am sooooo glad you're over!

Dear Christmas,
Wow, you're sneaky. How did you creep up on me so fast?

Dear Hair,
I know there's not as much moisture in the air, but couldn't you pretty please hold onto your volume?

Dear Skin,
Why do you have to get so dry in the winter?

Dear Broccoli and Cheese Soup,
Thank you for being so delicious, I need to find someone who likes you as much as I do so I don't keep eating whole cans of you by myself.

Dear Urban Outfitters,
You are amazing, I want you're entire inventory.

Dear Creepy (carnivorous) Plant in the bathroom,
You unnerve me more than I thought a plant ever could (especially when I find you hanging in the shower as i step in).

Dear Dad,
Please move the creepy plant. I know you like it, so maybe it should live in your room.

Dear Christmas Cookies,
I think I'm in love!

Yours truly,
Katie

Awesome Day

Today was amazing. I got a whole lot of school done, and then went Christmas shopping. And knocked out about half of my shopping, which feels really nice. Emily and I were listening to music in the car and Paparazzi by Lady Gaga came on about fifty times. I mean its a cool song, but a little creepy. You'll follow him until he's yours? I don't think thats the best way to catch a man. Maybe someone should tell her that. . . also Katie just made reindeer cookies. Which are awesome. I think they alone would make my day good even if it hadn't been good. And I have done a bunch of extra credit for a class, which makes me feel productive. :) And when my dad sang falsetto tonight it made me snort I was laughing so hard. He also is on a garlic kick and announced he had eaten six cloves and is now researching it. Its pretty hilariously awesome.  He is currently whistling very fast and loud, with headphones in and he can't hear us when we talk. I love my family.

 - Abigail

Great Books

This week I have been sick. At first it was just a sore throat and headache, then it progressed to congestion and now has turned into pink eye. Let me tell you, it is not fun. But on a better note, I have been surrounded by wonderful books, due to my family's excessive book buying habits. Here is one of my  favorites from this week:

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L'Engle

In this book I discovered some poems by other authors, such as this one by Sir Thomas Browne

If thou could'st empty all thyself of self, 
Like to a shell dishabited,
Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf, 
And say, "This is not dead,"
And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou are all replete with very thou
And hast such shrewd activity,
That when He comes He says, "This is enow
Unto itself - 'twere better let it be,
It is so small and full, there is no room for me."

And this by Henry Vaughn

 I saw Eternity the other night


Like a great Ring of pure and endless light,


          All calm as it was bright ;


And round beneath it, Time, in hours, days, years . . .  

  

Madeline L'Engle is one of my favorite authors and I asked for several of her books for Christmas... which is coming up WAY too soon. I still need to buy presents for pretty much everyone on my list... yay. 

 

Also, I really really want to watch the movie Amelie. 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 - Abigail

The Young Victoria

I really hope this movie is showing in Charlotte. The cast looks brilliant!

- Emily

Musical Mondays

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."

- Sergei Rachmaninov

Dark Hotel - K.S. Rhoads 


I hope you enjoy this song! Happy Monday!

- Emily

Blessed

Isn't that a gorgeous sunset?

Photo taken by moi in Cleveland Tennessee 

This past week has been rough for me. I got a cold last Saturday and everyday it seems to get worse. In addition to my cold I've now developed pink eye. Gross. Even though I feel awful and haven't been as productive as I want to be, I'm still very blessed. I have a mum who is taking care of me, a fire in the fireplace, and hot chocolate awaiting me tonight! Here's an inspiring passage about being blessed.

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

Not only that - count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens - give a cheer, even! - for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble."

- Matthew 5:3-12

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

- Emily

measure your words

                                              by frank chimero

i found this on 1001 rules for my unborn son,

it has inspired me to (try) to think before i speak.

~katie

(Belated) Thanksgiving List

I know we didn't post much about Thanksgiving, but we had a very nice long weekend. Our Dad's sister and her family came down from Delaware to spend the holiday with us, and it was super fun! We really didn't do too much, just hung out and enjoyed each other's company (and watched quite a bit of the office). Altogether a very enjoyable weekend.

However I realized that although i had posted a Christmas list I never wrote a Thanksgiving list. How backwards is that?

So here's is my thankful list:

1. God, He is amazingly faithful and has brought me so far this year. I can't begin to express how incredibly grateful I am for a God who loves me in spite of myself.
2. My family. They are awesome, and that's a fact. They help me through the hard times and rejoice with me during the good times.
3. Friends, I've got some great friends. I'm discovering (as I get older) the difference between fair weather friends and good friends and I have been blessed with several good friends that make my life richer just by knowing them.
4. Music! I'm deeply in love with music. It thrills me to no end when i realize that i will never run out of new music to discover and familiar songs to sing my heart out to.
5. Good health. Although I was sick a few times this year, altogether I have very good health. Two of my uncles have gone through really rough times health-wise in the last year, but they are both wonderfully recovered or recovering! Praise God!
6. My church. My family is incredibly blessed with an wonderful church. 

All-in-all I am a very, very blessed individual. I too often dwell on the negatives instead of the positives.

 I'm reading a book about family living in the slums of South Africa and the more I read the more I realize how incredibly blessed I am. I have food and a home and freedom.

And i did absolutely nothing to deserve everything I've been blessed with, which makes me even more thankful, I deserve nothing of what God has given me, yet he continually blesses me.

I guess what I'm really trying to say is, never take for granted what you are blessed with, never cease being thankful. Look for ways to bless others. Stop focusing on what you don't have and appreciate what you do!

~Katie

Musical Mondays

Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap 

This song was featured in the movie 500 Days of Summer which I loved! The movie comes out on DVD in December, (just in time for Christmas). Speaking of Christmas, can you believe it's only twenty-six days away? Time flies. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Monday!

"If music be the food of love, play on." 

- William Shakespeare 

- Emily

Happy Birthday Sarah!!

                                              

                                                  

Happy Birthday to our splendidly superb, serenely sweet, stupendously smart, slyly sarcastic, super stunning cousin sarah!

who is so graciously sharing her birthday with the pilgrims.

we love you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!" - Psalm 107:1 

Happy Thanksgiving! There are so many things to be thankful for! Today and everyday I'm trying not to focus on the negative things in my life, but instead dwell on the Lord's blessings. My thankful list for today is:

1. God's enduring love!

2. My wonderful family

3. Lovely friends

4. A great church family

5. Provision

6. Health

7. A break from TLC (teen learning center)

8. Delicious food!

I hope everyone has a blessed day!

- Emily

i'm wishing for...

these are some of the items at the top of my christmas list this year.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1. map of paris
2. peg bookshelves
3. holga
4. butterfly garden dress
5. 80s mini dress

i'm especially hoping for the map of paris (hint hint, mom).
i would also love a leather jacket, but i haven't found the right one yet.

~katie

Musical Mondays

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of every day life." 

- Berthold Auerbach

I've decided to start a new series on our blog: Musical Mondays. Every Monday (hopefully), I'll be sharing a song to enlighten and delight your ears! To start things off, here is a song I've been listening to constantly. Literally. As in I listened to it for two hours Saturday. And yes I do have a life, I was traveling and cleaning while it was on repeat. Enjoy!

- Emily

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love you,

Katie, Emily and Abby

Things.

This week has been hard for me. I feel ridiculous and stupid. After spending time in prayer, I have come to the conclusion that I need to let go of the situation and let God have complete control. For me this is easier said than done. I love my Heavenly Father and trust Him, but it is easier for me to be sad and moody than to be happy and hopeful. I'm trying though.

On a better note, Thanksgiving is coming soon, and our family from Delaware is coming in! I'm so excited, because we usually see my mom's side of the family more and we'll be getting to spend at least one holiday with some of my dad's. Don't get me wrong, I will miss my mom's family a lot, but I'm happy we'll get to see some of my extended family. Whoohoo!

 - Abigail

.

parachutes

it's rainy here today...ick
the bottom 6 inches of my pants are wet.
i'm pretty sure uncc does not want me to get into any of the classes i need.
my economics class has ceased to be even mildly interesting (which is why i'm writing this during class).
and i have a headache.


i've been in a pretty negative mood this morning. after trudging around campus in the rain all morning, going back and forth between the psychology building and the geology building trying desperately to get into the classes I need (which seem to have filled up two days before i could register) i was ready to give up, skip classes and go home. but i didn't feel like walking all the way to the parking deck where my car was (I'm not that lazy, it was miserable walking conditions). so here i am in class, where, while surfing facebook i found this:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Often, we may overlook that this is a conditional statement. "believes" is the condition, meaning "to TRUST in". Being saved isn't an accessory like a watch you wear but more like a parachute when you jump out of a plane. Do you hold on to Jesus like a watch or a parachute?

posted by my friend kevin




it made me feel so much better, because today (and every day) i really need Jesus as my parachute.

This week I have been unusually chilly. I am ready for a fire in the fireplace (hint: dad). I love the cold, especially when I can take a mug of coffee, a book, and a blanket and curl up with my cat in front of the fire. It feels so cliche, but I don't really care. :)

Speaking of my cat, today I was told by my parents to bathe her. If you have never bathed a fifteen pound cat with flea shampoo that says on the bottle "lather and let sit on pet for five minutes," you are a very lucky person. My darling cat, Ivy thought it would be good to jump out of the bath and run around the bathroom while soaking wet.  Of course I yelled for her to come back. Which did not help, all it did was make my sister and dad run into the bathroom, because they thought some emergency was happening. I ended up soaked. Then, my dad thought it would be good to blow-dry her. Let me tell you, cats do not like the sound of a blow-dryer. In fact, they tend to claw whoever is holding them. Which in this case was me.

But, on a better note, my dad bought us chocolate last night! And hopefully this weekend half of my family (including myself) will be going out of town! Until then, I will be slaving over my school work, because I didn't get any done over the weekend.

 - Abigail

finally!

i am so incredibly glad it is friday!
this (school) week has worn me out.
i really think teachers plan it so all of my tests and papers coincide in one week.
but it's over now... thank goodness!

~katie

this week i'm loving...

fall clothes: i love cooler weather clothes; tights, layering, scarfs, jackets, boots, all of it!

(plus no one gets to walk around dressed like a super skank and blame it on the weather.)

bejeweled: every so often i get hooked on a new computer game, (it was super mario for a while), but recently i can't get enough of bejeweled.

invisible kool-aid: try it.

hot rod: hilarious and super quotable.

"I used to be legit. I was too legit. I was too legit to quit. but now I'm not legit. I'm unlegit. And for that reason, I must quit. "

see?

i also tried matte nail polish this week and was not super impressed, my nails just look kinda dusty.

 ~katie

Runny Babbit

As a child, my parents read Shel Silverstein poems to my sisters and me. Mr. Silverstein's poems never fail to make me laugh, so I thought I'd share one from his book Runny Babbit in which Runny Babbit and his friends Toe Jurtle, Skertie Gunk, Rirty Dat, Dungry Hog, Snerry Jake, and many others speak a topsy-turvy language all their own!

Kugs and Hisses

Runny said, "I'm lonesome,

I feel so glad and soomy.

I need some kugs and hisses -

Now, who's gonna give 'em to me?"

"I will," said Polly Dorkupine,"

"'Cause you're cute as a rug in a bug."

Said Runny, "Well, I'll kake the tiss,

But never hind the mug."

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

- Emily

Happiness is back!

Remember how down I was last post? Well, I'm not down anymore! Wednesday night we had such a great youth service, worship practice and prayer time. After that, I felt so happy and I want to give everyone some of the happiness, because I don't think it will ever stop! It makes me so excited when something like this happens! Can you tell from all the exclamations!?

Also, at our youth revival some of our friends (and Emily and I) are dancing. We haven't practiced the dance in six months . . . and only two of the girls have any professional dance training. Needless to say, we're a little rough. Hopefully we'll get better.

After dance, our friends Jackie and Dana came over. We went to Target AND Walmart. And found footed PJs. That have dinosaurs on them and get this.... they're camouflage! I'm pretty sure I'm going back to get a pair. No, I am not joking. Here it is! Isn't it amazing! Anyway, following that escapade we got little baby pumpkins and painted them. Being the smart person I am when I spray painted mine, I succeeded in getting silver paint all over myself. I even got some on my face. It's pretty attractive.

Are you as excited for Christmas and the holidays as I am? I've already started listening to Christmas music, including Sufjan Stevens and Ten out of Tenn Christmas CD. Check them both out, they are amazing! I've decided my favorite Christmas song is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. AND... I already bought a couple birthday/Christmas presents. I'm feeling pretty good about my progress.

I just noticed that I sort of skipped Halloween. Probably because we never officially celebrate it, since my parents don't like it. This year we're going to a fall festival, though. They have fried oreos, so I'm excited!

Have a great weekend!

- Abigail

Almost...

I am in stress mode. Since we took a week away from school to go to the beach, I have been in frantic catch up mode. Which is not fun. Yesterday was not good. I was so tired and overloaded that I snapped at everyone. But, on a good note I did get a bottle of my favorite perfume for half price. That's good, right? Here's to November almost being here and another trip to Tennessee coming up (hopefully).

Here's my favorite perfume: G (Harajuku Lovers) by Gwen Stefani

this lovely picture was taken by my talented friend Rebekah.

photo credit: fashionesedaily.com

- Abigail

Happy Birthday, Emily!!

Happy Birthday, Emily!! You are now 18 and can order stuff off TV! Aren't you excited? We love you!

- Katie and Abigail

Beach Bliss

"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace."

- Kate Chopin

This past week our friends the Carroll's took us to Hilton Head Island for mine and Abby's birthdays! We had a wonderful time swimming in the frigid ocean, enjoying the hot tub, watching movies, shopping, boogie boarding, star gazing, dolphin watching, picture taking, and being with our lovely friends Aubrey and Rebekah and of course Aunt Kathy and Uncle Todd. Here are some pictures taken with my birthday present!

Abby and me

Aubrey and me

Abby, Rebekah, and me. Isn't that tree lovely?

Sunrise!

And now back to real life.

- Emily

The first three photos were taken by Rebekah Carroll and the last photo was taken by moi.

this week i'm loving...

autumn!

i love the music of owl city, especially their song seattle.

i've been in a jane austin mood.

i can relate to ann (from persuasion) right now.

and i've always love how sweet and innocent catherine (from northanger abbey) is.

i just started reading, at my friends suggestion, this book and am really liking it so far.

bought a bag of these the other day and polished them off in an alarming amount of time.

and, as always, i will forever love the office.

~katie

international birthday

our family has never been one for huge birthday bashes, but we always go out for a nice family dinner.

and since last friday was abby's birthday we all went out to the restaurant of her choice, she chose to go to ru sans, which boasts some pretty delicious sushi (see below). i always forget how much i like sushi until i eat it again, it's like rediscovering a favorite food all over again! so needless to say, i really enjoyed it.

my favorite

the birthday girl

and for dessert we made our way over to amelie's french bakery where we tried the cream puffs, chocolate mousse cups and a salty caramel brownie (not pictured) which was, by far, my favorite.

as you can see we stuffed ourselves silly

all-in-all it was a really nice night out with the family. emily's birthday is next week so stay tuned for more birthday escapades!

~katie

Lately I've been really bummed out. I can be really emotional sometimes, and for the past month, I haven't been very happy. Of course there are times when I am happy, but something or other always brings me down. But, while I was at the COGOP youth conference, I realized that I have been depending on other people to make me happy and I should be depending on God to make me happy. I'm still having a hard time realizing this, but I'm working on it.

Luckily, our friends are taking us away for a week of beach time! I get so excited and happy when I think about it. I'll be able to get away from everything and be with one of my best friends. Hopefully the water will still be warm, because we have every intention of swimming. :) And I got a camera for my birthday, so I will be taking LOTS of pictures!

This is from Bald Head Island a couple years ago... I miss it.

- Abigail

Nashville Trip

here are some pictures from my nashville trip this past weekend:

first of all, isn't mont the cutest baby ever!?!

second, our downtown adventures:

this is the nicest hotel i have ever seen, i aspire to stay at the hermitage someday.

i love the city of nashville!

and having amazing friends that live there is even more amazing.

~katie