News and cupcakes!

I'm back!

First off, I'm very sorry for the lack of cupcakes.
But here they finally are!

Red Velvet

Coconut

White Cake

I think my favorite were the white cake, although making the red velvet was quite an adventure.

I took a break this week, but I'll be back next week with rhubarb cupcakes (if I can manage to find some rhubarb).

In other news, guess where I'm going for spring break???

If you guessed San Francisco, you guessed right!

My friend Rebecca and I are venturing to the west coast.

I for one am super excited! 

I haven't been to San Francisco since I was 9.

And I must say I am very much looking forward to experiencing the city from a (somewhat) grown up perspective.

I'm not leaving for a week and a half, so if anyone has suggestions of fun stuff to do, or places to eat in the San Francisco area please let me know.

~Katie

You're Beautiful

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful


- Phil Wickham 


This song is beautiful! The lyrics are so poetic and powerful! I need to be more consistent in taking time to praise our beautiful savior. 

"The world's a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes close to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you."

- Psalm 40:5 (The Message)

P.S. In case you want to actually hear the song, here it is: 







-Emily

Awkward

I found this photo disturbingly hilarious. 

How would you like to pose like this for your next family photo? 

Photo from awkwardfamilyphotos.com 

-Emily

Wish You Well

Inspiring quote of the day: 

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
- J.R.R. Tolkien 

Well today starts off another week. I have mixed feelings about Mondays, but anywho. Since I last wrote, here's what's been going on. 

• My lovely cousin Sarah came to visit us!!! 
• Abby and I went to Bounce U with our Key Club which was tremendously fun! Basically Bounce U is a indoor bounce house for kids and grown ups. Sounds awesome right? 
• Katie made coconut cupcakes which were delicious. 
• I read the play Our Town and started To Kill A Mockingbird. 
• I dissected a sheep's heart. 
• Abby and I's volleyball team won another game! We are unblockable! 

Fun stuff. Here's a lovely song by Katie Herzig and Brandi Carlile. Enjoy!

-Emily

It is the star to every wandering bark

Sonnet 116 

William Shakespeare 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds 

Admit impediments. Love is not love 

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark 

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 

Within his bending sickle's compass come: 

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, 

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved, 

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

This is my favorite of Shakespeare's sonnets. It beautifully describes what love is and what it is not. How it is never shaken, but bears it out even to the edge of doom! I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day! Love! 

-Emily

(photo taken from flicker) 

Musical Mondays

Today I've been a little out of sorts. I wish I could be a perpetually peppy person (try saying that five times fast), but I just haven't mastered that art yet. Circumstances, people, and my own failures too often get me down. But I'm not giving up. I'm going to try to focus on the positive. I found this quote today:

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." 

- Leo F. Buscaglia

I need to be more caring. If I'm focusing on others, there isn't as much room for sadness. So here's to caring! 

Also, I hope you enjoy this loverly song by DeVotchKa! Oh violins how I adore thee! 

DeVotchKa "Clockwise" from Marshall J. Baumgartner on Vimeo.

- Emily

The new hair

First of all I must apologize for my lack of posts. I realize both my sisters post much more than I do.

Secondly, I decided I was going to cut all my hair off (even after several people telling me not to). Personally I really like it. Here are some pictures of what my hair has looked like this year... I obviously like to change my hair a lot, seeing as this was in the span of less than a year.

 my hair really isn't curly, this is what would happen if i wore it up

 

à la Dora the Explorer 

the cat looks super happy

what my hair looked like (when i fixed it) up until thursday. 

one thing i love about my hair now is that if i put anything in it, it spikes SUPER easy. so, sometimes i look like wolverine. which i love. 

 - abigail

Apologies, accidents, and appreciation

I'd like to start by apolgizing about the lack of a cupcake post this past week.
I did make cupcakes, and they were delicious (my mom's favorite so far).
I've just been lazy, and haven't felt like writing about them (but if you ever make "plain vanilla" cupcakes, add coarse salt).

I'm sitting here in the library at school, during my enormus (3 hour) break between classes, taking a break from school work.

I don't really know what to write about... we had a beautiful snow this past weekend (as did most of the south), I however didn't get to enjoy too very much of it...

You see, I'm a relativly clumsy person by nature, but this year I was sure I would aviod injuring myself with the help of my super-grippy rain boots and, because, well, I'm 20 years old, surely I can enjoy some snow play without seriously injuring or maiming myself.

Then I went sledding.

In a misguided attempt to "seize the day" I hopped on the fastest sled avaiable and set off down a hill... through the woods... that ended in a creek.

Not surprisingly I hit a (very solid) tree, foot-first (I think I was trying to shield the rest of my body?).

Which is why I've had to spend the last few days hobbling about or propping my nicely bruised foot up, until yesterday when I emerged for an earth history test.

While none of this experience has been particularly fun, it has made me appreciate how much of a blessing being able to walk is. And how marvelous it is that we can twist, sprain, break, lacerate, or mangle oursleves up and our bodies can heal themselves! How amazing is God that he made our bodies little hospitals for mending our cuts and bruses?
Just some thoughts.

~Katie

P.S. I will put pictures of the cupcakes up (although it may be with this weeks cupcake post).

Musical Mondays

My cousin Sarah recommended The Civil Wars to me last week, and ever since, I can't stop listening to them!

 Enjoy! 

-Emily