The List of little things that make you....

smile. A compiled list from all of you!

Brothers taking me out on a special date.

Friends and disasters. ~Krista V.

Playing Piano.

~Tori S.

Warm tea in a big mug.

A clean kitchen and house at night.

~Sarah H.

Gracie.

~Laura C.

Watching Gomer Pile.

~Susi C.

planning a very goofy movie with my

brothers who always make me laugh.

~Lydia S.

Walking outside right after it snows.

Peppermint Mocha

~Alexis B.

A quick hug from someone you didn't even know was there.

A dark sky at night full of stars.

~Miss Kay

Thanks for all the comments folks listing some of those fun little things!

And look! You're famous! Your name is on the internet! (who's isn't...)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." ~ Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas Everyone! God Bless!

Snowflake Party Pictures

Last Saturday my sisters and I hosted a Christmas party for several of our friends from church.

We called it a "Snowflake Party" because our craft for the day was making snowflakes from paper! Not the nonsensical, randomly cut up pieces of paper like when we were kids, but intricate, delicate ones made from patterns!

We had so much fun planning for the party, and Ali took great pictures, so I thought I'd post them.

Even the dry erase board got decorated....

This was my magnum opus...

Creating a a station where everyone could create their own personalized cup of cocoa with all the fixin's.






Ha! And we tease the boys about eating alot.....

What's a party without games? And better yet, an icebreaker game to get the ball rolling!

In this case, our icebreaker game was a relay with two teams. Each team member had to unwrap and eat a Hershey's Kiss wearing a giant pair of snow gloves!

We had about 13 girls.


Snowflake time!!!


Cut them out, flatten for a few minutes under a giant textbook, (the best use I've found for biology yet!) and decorate with lots and lots of glitter; all the while gabbing with sweet friends and drinkin' the good stuff. (and yes, I mean hot cocoa....)

Next game... pass the gift that's wrapped in who-knows how many layers of paper. When the music stops, whoever has it unwraps one layer. Whoever takes off the last one gets the prize.

Lovely, lace-like snowflakes.



Finish up the afternoon singing Christmas carols around the piano.

(Those who can't sing can just play violin...)

What a fun time we had celebrating this fun season!!!

The little things that make you smile...

You know, those little, inconsequential, nugatory things that just happen, that keep life from being monotonous, and banausic.

Like snow, or White Christmas by Bing Crosby on the radio, or buying a thesaurus at a thrift store... =)

For me, these smile-inducing little things include:

1. Black finger tips on my left hand from diligent practicing.

2. A thick, red callous on my right index finger from my violin bow.

3. Coffee and a Costco muffin.

What are some little things in your life that just make you inexplicably happy? Drop a comment with a list of two or three smile-inducing things, and if enough of you leave a comment, I'll publish a list with one thing from each of you in my next post!

Christmas Blessings,

Emily

Deep breath...*gulp*

The 5 performances of the Nutcracker Ballet are coming up this weekend and the next!!! (You may or may not have heard that I auditioned for a part in the professional orchestra that is accompanying them this year, and got the part!) We had a three hour dress rehearsal last night, and it's going so well! I'm so, so excited to be part of this.

Of course it also means hours of practicing music that looks like this... Sheesh.

At one point the concert master turns to us all last night, (after the dancers asked to go faster for the 3rd time) and in all seriousness, says; " I don't think it's humanly possible to play that fast. So just make sure you come in on the first beat, and just kinda fill in or skip the rest."

Whoa. So...I guess it's not just me!!! Even our phenomenal concert master can't do it! wheew. That makes me feel better! =)

Of course, after that loooooong rehearsal last night, I had sore muscles in my shoulders and back I didn't know I had! But hey, I'm glad I'm not a Ballerina... yikes.

Don't get me wrong, they're all beautiful, and so very talented, but sometimes they bend and twist in ways that I just don't think we're meant to bend! Ouch.

Can't wait for this weekend!

Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal Tonight!

Gulp. I'm so nervous....sheesh. I shouldn't be. It's not like I haven't practiced enough!

A Sweet Poem

The Lamb.

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed?
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing woolly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice.
Making all the vales rejoice:
Little Lamb who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee;
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by His name,
Little Lamb God bless thee,
Little Lamb God bless thee.

~William Blake

Merry Christmas! (kinda early?)

The day after Thanksgiving. Known as Black Friday to most of the U.S.

But at our house we call it...Christmas Decorations Day! (Yeah I know, that title was really a stroke of genius.) But we look forward to this day almost as much as Christmas itself! While many people dread the day due to the crowds, traffic, irate customers, too little sleep and over all chaos, for the most part, we stay huddled in our cozy, comfy little house. We dig out the first Christmas music of the year, (Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra please!) and the decorations come out! (He's SO CUTE!!) lol, I was so born in the wrong era...

Our decorations and ornaments are like old friends...

When they come out each year, so do all the memories! This is the ornament replicating our cruise ship from a last year!

Lots of Christmas music.




Don't forget the wreath on the door!

"Hmm.... How can I take this picture so they can't see the dishes in the sink??"

So what are your day after Thanksgiving traditions? Are you a shopper? A holiday decorator? An eat-the Thanksgiving-leftovers-er? Or just a hang-out-with-the bottle-of-PeptoBismal- thanks-to-yesterday-person? I'd love to hear your traditions, so drop me a comment and let us all know!

Happy Thanksgiving

But Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Cor. 15:57

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power, and riches, and honor and glory and strength, and honor and glory and blessing! ~Revelation 5:12

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

Had so much fun at a dance.....

On Camano Island last Saturday with our friends the Moores.. (Square dancing and the old fashioned contra dancing, just to clarify) And then I found this adorable picture, I just couldn't resist posting it...(I know, I know, it's about time I found something I can't resist posting right??) And.... OH MY GOODNESS!!! I just realized it's SNOWING!!! Our first snow of the year!! How exciting! I love, love, love snow. Someday I hope I can live in one of the states that has long cold snowy winters, I love them! Well, happy Wednesday to you all... and happy snow-day! =)

Good Grief!!!

Has it really been over a month since I last posted???

Shame on me. But what can I say? Life happens. BUT, I'm going to try and conjure up a blog post after I teach 2 students and make dinner, and maybe, just maybe I'll get done posted this week.

(In between 14 other students, Practicing for the Nutcracker Ballet, and 2 choir rehearsals of course! =) So thank you my dear readers for faithfully checking for my unfaithful posting, and I'll try and get it done asap!

I promise! And just to show you I really mean it, here are a few pictures we took over the summer.

Love in Christ,

Emily

Ok, so this made me laugh so much...

That I just HAD to share it... I don't usually post this kind of thing, but well, have a good laugh, and let me know what you think! =) (FYI, the dog is going down a slide at a park)

The best kind of princess.

When I was little, I adored Disney's princesses. Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine... I was infatuated. Beautiful dresses, high heeled shoes, tiaras and happily ever after... I didn't realize it till much later, but I've got it better than any Disney princess; after all, I'm the daughter of the High King. And when I was little, and used to to get all dressed up, and assemble all my dolls and any available siblings for balls and tea parties, I was only imitating my true calling as a daughter of The King of my life.

I accidently ran into this Youtube video on a hunt for something else Tchaikovsky, and thought you might all enjoy a little reminiscing of your favorite princess story. =) Maybe it's a little silly, but I've always loved The Sleeping Beauty Waltz, (it's even my cell ringer!) and the montage is kinda fun to watch. Especially for the you girlies out there who, like me, watch these movies a million and two times each growing up!

(Never mind the fact that if Princess Aurora were real, proportionately she'd be like, 7 feet tall, with a 14 inch waist and 4 1/2 foot arms, and that Prince Charming looks like he tried to swallow a pound of brie cheese, which instead adhered to his teeth. Just watch it through the eyes of a seven year old, and over look these little flaws.)

Enjoy. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vd8zshhW8c&feature=related

I am a child of royal birth
My Father is king of Heaven and Earth.
My spirit was born in the courts on high
A child beloved, a princess am I.

~A. Johnson

Are you all ready to see oodles of our Oregon vacation Pictures!? =)

So sorry it's taken me so long to post these, I know I've been promising them to alot of you for a long time! So I'll just caption one by one, and you'll get the idea. =)

The first two pictures are taken with our ipod-touch, which actually takes awesome pictures.

I got pink eye the day after we left, (yuck) so our first stop was was to pick up vitamin C and black tea bags and Starbucks. Personally, I think the coffee's what cured me....

Sunset pictures are so pretty! I picked one of probably every 10 pictures, so we took LOTS. Ali took some and I took some, so photo credit to her!

We stayed in Lincoln City, Oregon., and on one of the beaches not far from us, we found some tide pools FULL of anemones.

And the ever present mussels. (think of them as the ants of the beach, they're every where.)So I had these plans for a huuuuge sand castle. Like the kind groups of us use to build in Mexico.

I got the kids all hyped, and one morning we headed out to build our castle on the beach!
Buuut.... less then half way through, Brad and Ali lost interest, dubbing it "too big" and deciding they'd rather splash around in the ocean instead. Humph! Well fine... I'll finish it myself! =P
First words out of Ali's mouth when we get back? "Hey Dad, look out the window and see our sand castle!" Our sand castle?? Oh well.

We stopped at another beach about an hour north of Lincoln City, and as we walked, I kept my eyes on the ground. It paid off! I found a WHOLE sand dollar! I've only ever found pieces of them before, and for a beach comber, this was a score.

We visited Cape Meares Lighthouse. The shortest lighthouse on the West Coast.

Unfortunately, we couldn't go up inside the light, because a couple years ago, two guys shot out almost all the glass windows, and destroyed the light bulb. It's still being repaired.

We stopped at the Blue Heron Wine and Cheese Farm. It wasn't much to look at, but we had fun visiting the "animals."

One of the most fun tours ever, was the Tillamook Cheese factory we visited in...you guessed it... Tillamook Oregon!

The assembly line.

The sunsets on the beach are so gorgeous. The breeze blows the salty mist onto your face and gently tosses your hair, while the sun turns the sea into a watery expanse of molten gold. (for my dramatic friend Hannah.)

"My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow