It is the last day of the year. I really wish I had something deep, insightful, and philosophical to say. At the moment, I have nothing.
I'm very sorry for those of you who didn't "know" me well before Christmas. I am not like this usually. I'm not a depressing person, I'm not a short-winded person, and I'm definitely not one to forgo saying something long and deep at the end of the year.
(This is also not anyone's fault, >insert your name, you know who you are
The past few days (mostly nights...no, actually mornings) have been very interesting. In the good way. I have...
Stayed up very late. (I love you, Cavender and Kyle :D)
Talked to Ellie. (Thanks for helping, "sis"!)
Started a new Orphan Story :O (...*laughs nervously*)
Seen Avatar. (I'll explain that later.)
Acquired a new nickname (two, actually XD).
Learned about football. (Thanks, Daddy :D)
And that was just the past few days. 2009 has been a complete and total adventure, and one of the best ever. A lot of people I know are very glad to kick 2009 out the window, but I liked it. I liked 2009. Let's reminisce, shall we?
*backspaces huge post skimming over the entire year 2009*
You know what, 2009 was great. It was full of everything a year should be. I loved it. It was an amazing year for me. But 2010 can be great, too. My New Year's Resolution?
Stop being afraid of the future. Stop living in the past.
Just because something was great, doesn't mean greater doesn't exist.
2010 is going to be great. That's not a hope. That's a fact.
Because (not to quote Hannah Montana) life's what you make it.
So, let's Carpe Diem, people.
2010 starts now.
~Kendra
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tope Nine Blogger Pet Peeves!
Top Nine Blogger Pet-Peeves:
1. “Hidden” music players (THE VOICES! MAKE THEM STOP! MAKE THEM STOP!)
2. People who don’t caps their “i”s. (All ye from the Valley Girl School of Typing…)
3. People who post, like, five times a day. (Seriously, save your brea…fingers…)
4. Advertisement comments (*twitch*)
5. Fakes (Not just stalkers, those people who you can just TELL aren’t that nice for real.)
6. Word verifications (Don’t you love it when they spell funny stuff, though? I got one the other day that said “ausum”, and then one said “permed” when I was on a hairstylist’s blog!)
7. Beggars (Ever heard the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers??”)
8. When you have some tiny error in a html code and it causes your whole bleeping post to get deleted or reformatted (I. HATE. THAT.)
9. When you click on peoples’ names in the follower list, and it doesn’t give you the link to their blog, only the blogs they follow. (How am I supposed to stalk you?)
1. “Hidden” music players (THE VOICES! MAKE THEM STOP! MAKE THEM STOP!)
2. People who don’t caps their “i”s. (All ye from the Valley Girl School of Typing…)
3. People who post, like, five times a day. (Seriously, save your brea…fingers…)
4. Advertisement comments (*twitch*)
5. Fakes (Not just stalkers, those people who you can just TELL aren’t that nice for real.)
6. Word verifications (Don’t you love it when they spell funny stuff, though? I got one the other day that said “ausum”, and then one said “permed” when I was on a hairstylist’s blog!)
7. Beggars (Ever heard the phrase “beggars can’t be choosers??”)
8. When you have some tiny error in a html code and it causes your whole bleeping post to get deleted or reformatted (I. HATE. THAT.)
9. When you click on peoples’ names in the follower list, and it doesn’t give you the link to their blog, only the blogs they follow. (How am I supposed to stalk you?)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Cultural Honor
So, I’m reading this book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s kind of a strange book in that it doesn’t really help you do anything exactly, it just sort of helps you understand things. Basically, it examines some successful people, and tries to figure out exactly what it is that makes them that way. There are some really interesting parts, and some parts that I sort of skimmed. But my favorite part so far was this:
Cultural honor.
Stick with me, please, because I found this to be profoundly eye-opening.
You’ve heard about family feuds and stuff, right? How for generations and generations, families will just fight with each other for reasons they might not even remember?
Well, as Malcolm Gladwell points out, one family doing this is a feud. A ton of families right along the Appalachian doing it is a pattern.
What in the world makes those people so prone to violent out breaks with each other?
Did you guess it? Cultural honor. Because the main profession of the mountain areas was livestock and stuff, people honor was very important. I mean, if you were a farmer, you had to rely on other people and get along with your neighbors, but there was never a danger of having your crop actually stolen. When your job was tending sheep or something, people very well could steal your hard work, and it wasn’t necessary to get along with the people around you really.
All you had to protect your livestock and your family was your reputation. Build up your reputation as a tough guy and no one will mess with you. Keep your honor intact.
There are other reasons why culture honor was (and is) such a big thing in those parts. It has to do with heritage.
Back when people were still coming regularly to America, a certain group of people settled in a certain spot: the Scotch-Irish immigrants settled along the eastern/southern US.
That would be “from the Pennsylvania border south and west through Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, and the northern end of Alabama and Georgia.” And that’s where all this “cultural honor” stuff is big. You can steal my stuff, but you can’t insult my mama. That’s how it works here. *clears throat* I mean, there…
Okay, I’m from North Carolina. And when Mr. Malcolm Gladwell started raggin’ on my homeland, I started getting pretty hot inside.
And as I started boiling, I blinked and realized I was proving his point.
Oh.
…
I read on.
There was then an experiment described. In the early 1990s, two psychologists decided to get together a bunch of 18-21 year old guys and insult them, see how they would react. They came up with the insult they thought would resonate with them the most. “A—hole.” (I am quoting the book, sorry.)
Here was the experiment set up:
“The social sciences building at the University of Michigan has a long, narrow hallway in the basement lined with filing cabinets. The young men were called into a classroom, one by one and asked to fill out a questionnaire. Then they were told to drop off the questionnaire at the end of the hallway and return to the classroom.”
Half the guys were from the states that were high on cultural honor, half of them were not.
“As they walked down the hallway with their questionnaire, a man—a confederate of the experiments—walked past them and pulled out a drawing in one of the filing cabinets. They already narrow hallway now became even narrower. As the young men tried to squeeze by, the confederate looked up, annoyed. He slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut, jostled the young men with his shoulder, and, in a low but audible voice said the trigger word: ‘a—hole.’”
Through different tests that I go into in too much detail, the suspicions were confirmed. Confirmed A LOT. The cultural honor boys were mad. Even though they didn’t act out in violence, their handshakes were firmer than usual, saliva samples revealed that being insulted had raised their levels of testosterone and cortisol (hormones that drive aggression). The guys were also given a short story and told to supply a conclusion. The story had to do with a guy’s girlfriend being come onto by another guy. The cultural honor guys who had been insulted made it end violently, while the guys who lived in other places did not.
IS THAT INTERESTING TO ANYONE ELSE?
I’m going to be perfectly honest with you:
I never thought people reacted any differently.
Call me ignorant, but I thought this was the same everywhere. I had no idea that in other parts of the US, it wouldn’t be natural to react violently to having your honor insulted. I mean, you just don’t do that here. No one gets upset if you steal their stuff, but if you attack their honor, boy, it’s on.
It’s not just guys, it’s girls, too. I mean, I honestly had no idea that it would occur to anyone not to get wild about something like this…I think I’ve already said that :) But you get the idea.
Who knew? I had no idea that culture honor wasn’t the same everywhere. What a cool eye-opener!
Hope you guys found this at least half as interesting as I did :)
~Kendra
Cultural honor.
Stick with me, please, because I found this to be profoundly eye-opening.
You’ve heard about family feuds and stuff, right? How for generations and generations, families will just fight with each other for reasons they might not even remember?
Well, as Malcolm Gladwell points out, one family doing this is a feud. A ton of families right along the Appalachian doing it is a pattern.
What in the world makes those people so prone to violent out breaks with each other?
Did you guess it? Cultural honor. Because the main profession of the mountain areas was livestock and stuff, people honor was very important. I mean, if you were a farmer, you had to rely on other people and get along with your neighbors, but there was never a danger of having your crop actually stolen. When your job was tending sheep or something, people very well could steal your hard work, and it wasn’t necessary to get along with the people around you really.
All you had to protect your livestock and your family was your reputation. Build up your reputation as a tough guy and no one will mess with you. Keep your honor intact.
There are other reasons why culture honor was (and is) such a big thing in those parts. It has to do with heritage.
Back when people were still coming regularly to America, a certain group of people settled in a certain spot: the Scotch-Irish immigrants settled along the eastern/southern US.
That would be “from the Pennsylvania border south and west through Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, and the northern end of Alabama and Georgia.” And that’s where all this “cultural honor” stuff is big. You can steal my stuff, but you can’t insult my mama. That’s how it works here. *clears throat* I mean, there…
Okay, I’m from North Carolina. And when Mr. Malcolm Gladwell started raggin’ on my homeland, I started getting pretty hot inside.
And as I started boiling, I blinked and realized I was proving his point.
Oh.
…
I read on.
There was then an experiment described. In the early 1990s, two psychologists decided to get together a bunch of 18-21 year old guys and insult them, see how they would react. They came up with the insult they thought would resonate with them the most. “A—hole.” (I am quoting the book, sorry.)
Here was the experiment set up:
“The social sciences building at the University of Michigan has a long, narrow hallway in the basement lined with filing cabinets. The young men were called into a classroom, one by one and asked to fill out a questionnaire. Then they were told to drop off the questionnaire at the end of the hallway and return to the classroom.”
Half the guys were from the states that were high on cultural honor, half of them were not.
“As they walked down the hallway with their questionnaire, a man—a confederate of the experiments—walked past them and pulled out a drawing in one of the filing cabinets. They already narrow hallway now became even narrower. As the young men tried to squeeze by, the confederate looked up, annoyed. He slammed the filing cabinet drawer shut, jostled the young men with his shoulder, and, in a low but audible voice said the trigger word: ‘a—hole.’”
Through different tests that I go into in too much detail, the suspicions were confirmed. Confirmed A LOT. The cultural honor boys were mad. Even though they didn’t act out in violence, their handshakes were firmer than usual, saliva samples revealed that being insulted had raised their levels of testosterone and cortisol (hormones that drive aggression). The guys were also given a short story and told to supply a conclusion. The story had to do with a guy’s girlfriend being come onto by another guy. The cultural honor guys who had been insulted made it end violently, while the guys who lived in other places did not.
IS THAT INTERESTING TO ANYONE ELSE?
I’m going to be perfectly honest with you:
I never thought people reacted any differently.
Call me ignorant, but I thought this was the same everywhere. I had no idea that in other parts of the US, it wouldn’t be natural to react violently to having your honor insulted. I mean, you just don’t do that here. No one gets upset if you steal their stuff, but if you attack their honor, boy, it’s on.
It’s not just guys, it’s girls, too. I mean, I honestly had no idea that it would occur to anyone not to get wild about something like this…I think I’ve already said that :) But you get the idea.
Who knew? I had no idea that culture honor wasn’t the same everywhere. What a cool eye-opener!
Hope you guys found this at least half as interesting as I did :)
~Kendra
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Mostly Boring
Thanks so much for following, Katie G! You made my day (well, yesterday, but whatever XD).
Today was the get-together-with-cousins day. Garrett the Tall and Kathleen the College-Freshman are lots of fun, but more and more I'm finding that I'm closer to my friends than I am my own family. Is that bad? I can't decide if I feel guilty about that. I do have lots of fun with my cousins, though.
Oh, Kathleen was interested in Alias, so we watched the first episode :D Watching the first one made me realize something: they just get better as they go on XD
For lack of a Christmas Countdown, I'm left with not much to say. Haha, did some of you actually just cheer?? How rude :P Just kidding. I don't have any big revelations to post, but maybe you'd be interested in a few little revelations? :)
1. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. So much, in fact, that I wouldn't know where to start even if I were going to. I'm a confusing person, sometimes so much that I even confuse myself. And that's REALLY bad, right? XD Doesn't it suck when you don't know what you want?
2. VOTE ON THE POLL TO THE RIGHT. YES, THAT ONE. DO THAT FEW PEOPLE REALLY READ THIS THING? JEEZ. Can't blame you. This is boring :P
3. I have (once AGAIN) started the "fire fairy story". How far will it go this time? You guess. The winner will be given a lifetime supply of virtual cookies.
Just so you don't decide that without Christmas, I am boring, let me tell you some things I plan to post about in the final days of 2009 :)
- Cultural Honor (I like this one. Some of you may have already read it on Carpe Noctem.)
- More Fortuna Kendrae
- Top Ten Blogger Pet Peeves
- "Sex" is Not a Bad Word (This was originally entitled, "Sex is Not a Dirty Word", but I decided that came across a bit differently than I intended XD)
Stick around and maybe you'll learn something, or at least get in a few laughs at my attempts to be philosophical ;)
Hey, if you have an preference to which of those topics I do first, let me know!
~Kendra
Today was the get-together-with-cousins day. Garrett the Tall and Kathleen the College-Freshman are lots of fun, but more and more I'm finding that I'm closer to my friends than I am my own family. Is that bad? I can't decide if I feel guilty about that. I do have lots of fun with my cousins, though.
Oh, Kathleen was interested in Alias, so we watched the first episode :D Watching the first one made me realize something: they just get better as they go on XD
For lack of a Christmas Countdown, I'm left with not much to say. Haha, did some of you actually just cheer?? How rude :P Just kidding. I don't have any big revelations to post, but maybe you'd be interested in a few little revelations? :)
1. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. So much, in fact, that I wouldn't know where to start even if I were going to. I'm a confusing person, sometimes so much that I even confuse myself. And that's REALLY bad, right? XD Doesn't it suck when you don't know what you want?
2. VOTE ON THE POLL TO THE RIGHT. YES, THAT ONE. DO THAT FEW PEOPLE REALLY READ THIS THING? JEEZ. Can't blame you. This is boring :P
3. I have (once AGAIN) started the "fire fairy story". How far will it go this time? You guess. The winner will be given a lifetime supply of virtual cookies.
Just so you don't decide that without Christmas, I am boring, let me tell you some things I plan to post about in the final days of 2009 :)
- Cultural Honor (I like this one. Some of you may have already read it on Carpe Noctem.)
- More Fortuna Kendrae
- Top Ten Blogger Pet Peeves
- "Sex" is Not a Bad Word (This was originally entitled, "Sex is Not a Dirty Word", but I decided that came across a bit differently than I intended XD)
Stick around and maybe you'll learn something, or at least get in a few laughs at my attempts to be philosophical ;)
Hey, if you have an preference to which of those topics I do first, let me know!
~Kendra
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Boxing Day
It's the day after Christmas, AKA "Boxing Day (Canada)" as my calender so aptly puts it ;) I know this day is supposed to be a huge let down, and it usually is for me, but this year it's not. After three years in a row of cruddy Christmases that I ruined by trying too hard, this Christmas was basically perfect. I didn't regret anything, and nothing could have made it better. Everything was, well, perfect. I'm really glad I've been blogging throughout the season so I can commemorate it.
Today we went to my aunt's house, and did presents and Christmas with them. My aunt made lasagna, and, as some of you know, I don't like lasagna. It's not a taste thing, it's a texture thing. I hate ground beef. I know that's weird. I can hear you saying, "But it's in spaghetti!" Yes, well, I don't eat spaghetti with meat in it, which, in case you were wondering, is one of the quickest ways to get yourself considered a vegetarian. (I am not.) And then you say, "Don't you eat meat on tacos?" The answer that is, well, yeah, but it's different because A: it's softer and not as disgustingly coarse and B: the sauciness helps.
But that's really not the point of this. The point is, I hate lasagna. But when we sat down at the table, I mentally crossed my arms and said, "Kendra, today is the day you like lasagna."
And I ate it. Two servings.
The texture was occasionally gag-o-licious, but the taste was really good. I can actually say that I think I'll eventually LIKE lasagna, and for now I can at least say I can eat it. So, today was pretty productive. Some weird stuff happened on the car ride back, but that's not for right now, LOL.
I know I've been promising pictures from my new camera, but we (okay, I) haven't gotten around to attempting to upload them yet. I think I might still have a few more snow pictures though, so there they are:
Lizzy and Katie making snow angels :)
Katie
Me :D
At the Open House. Left to right: Daniel (the guy who always brings out the worst in me), Caleb (a kid from church), and me.
Playing LotR Risk. THAT was fun.
And, that's my post for the day. I hope you're continuing to have a happy Christmas season! The Christmas blog header and background are coming down the 31st, so if anyone wants to suggest backgrounds, go for it. No promises on taking the suggestions, though XD I can be picky.
MERRY DAY-AFTER-CHRISTMAS! ;)
~Kendra
Today we went to my aunt's house, and did presents and Christmas with them. My aunt made lasagna, and, as some of you know, I don't like lasagna. It's not a taste thing, it's a texture thing. I hate ground beef. I know that's weird. I can hear you saying, "But it's in spaghetti!" Yes, well, I don't eat spaghetti with meat in it, which, in case you were wondering, is one of the quickest ways to get yourself considered a vegetarian. (I am not.) And then you say, "Don't you eat meat on tacos?" The answer that is, well, yeah, but it's different because A: it's softer and not as disgustingly coarse and B: the sauciness helps.
But that's really not the point of this. The point is, I hate lasagna. But when we sat down at the table, I mentally crossed my arms and said, "Kendra, today is the day you like lasagna."
And I ate it. Two servings.
The texture was occasionally gag-o-licious, but the taste was really good. I can actually say that I think I'll eventually LIKE lasagna, and for now I can at least say I can eat it. So, today was pretty productive. Some weird stuff happened on the car ride back, but that's not for right now, LOL.
I know I've been promising pictures from my new camera, but we (okay, I) haven't gotten around to attempting to upload them yet. I think I might still have a few more snow pictures though, so there they are:
Lizzy and Katie making snow angels :)
Katie
Me :D
At the Open House. Left to right: Daniel (the guy who always brings out the worst in me), Caleb (a kid from church), and me.
Playing LotR Risk. THAT was fun.
And, that's my post for the day. I hope you're continuing to have a happy Christmas season! The Christmas blog header and background are coming down the 31st, so if anyone wants to suggest backgrounds, go for it. No promises on taking the suggestions, though XD I can be picky.MERRY DAY-AFTER-CHRISTMAS! ;)
~Kendra
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Surprisingly Perfect Christmas
Children
Hershey's
Rambling
Ideal
Stockings
True family
Magic
Always
Snow
:)
No more Christmas Countdown; Christmas is now.
Wow. You know that feeling--that warm, glow-y feeling--when you can't think of anything that would make something better?
When you clean your room well, and it just feels perfect.
When you see a blanket of snow without any footprints.
When you hear a beautiful song.
When you taste the perfect batch of cookies.
When you have the best Christmas ever.
I hope y'all's Christmases were as good as mine. I got lots of good stuff--stuff that I'm happy about--but when I stop and think, I can honestly say that the best part of today has been the people.
I was really starting to worry that this Christmas was gonna be another personal flop. Last night I was freaking out again, over-analyzing and basically ruining Christmas for myself. Then, I remembered the original problem and mentally slapped myself: "Kendra. This was the entire point of your thoughts this Christmas. I mean, it wasn't even a month ago that you figured out your problem was trying too hard. And what do you call this??"
I decided right then and there that this year would be the best Christmas ever. And you know what?
I think it was.
I woke up, and found Baby Jesus lying in his manger on the table in the big room downstairs. Taking him up in my arms, Lizzy and I climbed the stairs with our parents, giddy with the idea that this is the day we've all been waiting for.
Through the hall, across the living room, to the hearth in front of the fire.
My "stocking" on the left, Lizzy's on the right.
I see an iHome!! Lizzy squeals at a new scooter--one actually big enough for someone over the age of six.
My eyes fall on a calender reading: "1,000 Places To Visit Before You Die", and I love it right away.
I take in a memory card for the digital camera I opened last night, and I see a tiny glass bunny waiting for me to smile at it.
There's lots of candy, too, and a puzzle that's a sphere.
A Santa for my collection, and the Lover of Learning statue-doll I've been wanting.
Out of the stocking I pull candy, Bath&Body Works stuff, and more.
Everything is wonderful, and we watch my parents open their "stockings", too.
A little later, my grandma shows up with her bags of pre-picked-out gifts for us. I unwrap all the clothes I picked out and loved. I still love them.
Soon Mr. Keith-from-church comes to enjoy Christmas morning with us.
Not long after, as I'm putting the finishing pieces into my Jacob Black sphere puzzle, our neighbors come over for Christmas brunch.
Minutes behind are Matt and Katie.
Breakfast is huge: grits, two dozen eggs, biscuits, bacon, ham and orange juice.
I will discontinue the picturesque, poetry-like talk for a while because I hate writing in present tense and just realized I'd been doing it. *dreamy feeling vanishes rudely*
So, Matt (little brother) drank, like, half a bottle of orange by himself ;) while he and Cody thought of all the different angles of cannibalism (inspired by Cavender's cannibal peeps theme. Ask him for more details XD).
Examples the Two Came Up With:
- feeding a pig bacon
- feeding a chicken eggs
- feeding cheese to cheese...thanks for pointing that out, Cody...LOL.
- feeding a cow milk. (To this I said, "Well, that's not really cannibalism seeing how calves DO drink milk." Cody replied, "Oh, but it's probably goat's milk." >incredulous silence on my part< Then I was like, "From the cow's udders?" Cody: "...ohh, yeah..."
- feeding your nose a booger (Thank you, MATT.)
After eating a lot of good food, we kids went downstairs and played Outburst Junior. That was pretty awesome :) Matt and Katie found their presents under the tree, but I wouldn't let them touch them. (Well, sort of. Matt touched them anyway. *grumbles*)
Cue cross opening.
Yay, Lizzy! What a cute idea!! So great for the first Christmas in the new house. Perfect. You'll have to wait and see it when I post pictures ;)
After the neighbors left, everyone (AKA, my mom and Mrs. Martha) decided to point out the fact that Matt is getting bigger than I am. *glare* Thank you, I really would like everyone to just take a moment and notice that. *grumble* Just kidding...mostly. But it is irritating to say the least not to be able to actually hold him back when he tries to steal my last cookie, etc.
The funniest part was the feet thing. Matt got really nice new boots for Christmas, and
They.
Are.
MASSIVE. Truly MASSIVE.
I wear a size 11 in women's shoes, which is nearly unheard-of-ly big. I put my foot next to Matt's boots, and HOLY JEEZ THEY LOOK SMALLISH. I put his boots on, too (don't tell him, okay?) and they were roomy to say the least XD
Lizzy's getting taller than me, too. Well, not yet, but her legs are like two inches longer than mine, easy. She's gettin' there. But I don't really mind that much. It doesn't bother me that she's getting taller than I am like it does that Matt is. Weird, huh?
Lizzy got a scooter for Christmas, an iHome, cute clothes (that she said she'll let me wear!!!), a scooter, and assorted other cutenesses and candy.
I got lots of awesome stuff that I mostly already mentioned, but I got a cool journal, too. I wanted to mention the journal individually, haha!
Katie did not get a dog for Christmas. NO, REALLY? *SHOCK* :P Luckily we had gotten it through to her that she REALLY WASN'T GETTING A DOG, so she wasn't disappointed. *whew* But she got really cute stuff anyway. An awesome outfit that made me "jealous", a swing that will attach to your CEILING, and bunches else.
Matt got coats, boots, a camcorder (:O), a PS3 (um, I *think* that's what it is...), and more. Yay!
After everyone left, we watched my present to Lizzy: the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie. Complete with extended scenes, a rock that changes colors, special features, and, of course, wonderful older-brother-little-sister moments. *sniff sniff*
I really can't tell you how awesome today has been. I mean, if there was ever a You-Had-To-Be-There moment, this is it. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't share Christmas with us, because when you share it with friends like this, it just doesn't get any better.
Merry Christmas, bloggers. Let's always remember the reason for the season: the pregnant teenage girl, the confused (of course) guy, and the little baby that would save us all.
(Just one more time: don't you love God's sense of irony???)
~Kendra (the signature isn't working correctly, sorry!)
P.S. Pictures taken with my VERY OWN NEW CAMERA THAT I LOVE (even though it's purple XD) coming soon!
Hershey's
Rambling
Ideal
Stockings
True family
Magic
Always
Snow
:)
No more Christmas Countdown; Christmas is now.
Wow. You know that feeling--that warm, glow-y feeling--when you can't think of anything that would make something better?
When you clean your room well, and it just feels perfect.
When you see a blanket of snow without any footprints.
When you hear a beautiful song.
When you taste the perfect batch of cookies.
When you have the best Christmas ever.
I hope y'all's Christmases were as good as mine. I got lots of good stuff--stuff that I'm happy about--but when I stop and think, I can honestly say that the best part of today has been the people.
I was really starting to worry that this Christmas was gonna be another personal flop. Last night I was freaking out again, over-analyzing and basically ruining Christmas for myself. Then, I remembered the original problem and mentally slapped myself: "Kendra. This was the entire point of your thoughts this Christmas. I mean, it wasn't even a month ago that you figured out your problem was trying too hard. And what do you call this??"
I decided right then and there that this year would be the best Christmas ever. And you know what?
I think it was.
I woke up, and found Baby Jesus lying in his manger on the table in the big room downstairs. Taking him up in my arms, Lizzy and I climbed the stairs with our parents, giddy with the idea that this is the day we've all been waiting for.
Through the hall, across the living room, to the hearth in front of the fire.
My "stocking" on the left, Lizzy's on the right.
I see an iHome!! Lizzy squeals at a new scooter--one actually big enough for someone over the age of six.
My eyes fall on a calender reading: "1,000 Places To Visit Before You Die", and I love it right away.
I take in a memory card for the digital camera I opened last night, and I see a tiny glass bunny waiting for me to smile at it.
There's lots of candy, too, and a puzzle that's a sphere.
A Santa for my collection, and the Lover of Learning statue-doll I've been wanting.
Out of the stocking I pull candy, Bath&Body Works stuff, and more.
Everything is wonderful, and we watch my parents open their "stockings", too.
A little later, my grandma shows up with her bags of pre-picked-out gifts for us. I unwrap all the clothes I picked out and loved. I still love them.
Soon Mr. Keith-from-church comes to enjoy Christmas morning with us.
Not long after, as I'm putting the finishing pieces into my Jacob Black sphere puzzle, our neighbors come over for Christmas brunch.
Minutes behind are Matt and Katie.
Breakfast is huge: grits, two dozen eggs, biscuits, bacon, ham and orange juice.
I will discontinue the picturesque, poetry-like talk for a while because I hate writing in present tense and just realized I'd been doing it. *dreamy feeling vanishes rudely*
So, Matt (little brother) drank, like, half a bottle of orange by himself ;) while he and Cody thought of all the different angles of cannibalism (inspired by Cavender's cannibal peeps theme. Ask him for more details XD).
Examples the Two Came Up With:
- feeding a pig bacon
- feeding a chicken eggs
- feeding cheese to cheese...thanks for pointing that out, Cody...LOL.
- feeding a cow milk. (To this I said, "Well, that's not really cannibalism seeing how calves DO drink milk." Cody replied, "Oh, but it's probably goat's milk." >incredulous silence on my part< Then I was like, "From the cow's udders?" Cody: "...ohh, yeah..."
- feeding your nose a booger (Thank you, MATT.)
After eating a lot of good food, we kids went downstairs and played Outburst Junior. That was pretty awesome :) Matt and Katie found their presents under the tree, but I wouldn't let them touch them. (Well, sort of. Matt touched them anyway. *grumbles*)
Cue cross opening.
Yay, Lizzy! What a cute idea!! So great for the first Christmas in the new house. Perfect. You'll have to wait and see it when I post pictures ;)
After the neighbors left, everyone (AKA, my mom and Mrs. Martha) decided to point out the fact that Matt is getting bigger than I am. *glare* Thank you, I really would like everyone to just take a moment and notice that. *grumble* Just kidding...mostly. But it is irritating to say the least not to be able to actually hold him back when he tries to steal my last cookie, etc.
The funniest part was the feet thing. Matt got really nice new boots for Christmas, and
They.
Are.
MASSIVE. Truly MASSIVE.
I wear a size 11 in women's shoes, which is nearly unheard-of-ly big. I put my foot next to Matt's boots, and HOLY JEEZ THEY LOOK SMALLISH. I put his boots on, too (don't tell him, okay?) and they were roomy to say the least XD
Lizzy's getting taller than me, too. Well, not yet, but her legs are like two inches longer than mine, easy. She's gettin' there. But I don't really mind that much. It doesn't bother me that she's getting taller than I am like it does that Matt is. Weird, huh?
Lizzy got a scooter for Christmas, an iHome, cute clothes (that she said she'll let me wear!!!), a scooter, and assorted other cutenesses and candy.
I got lots of awesome stuff that I mostly already mentioned, but I got a cool journal, too. I wanted to mention the journal individually, haha!
Katie did not get a dog for Christmas. NO, REALLY? *SHOCK* :P Luckily we had gotten it through to her that she REALLY WASN'T GETTING A DOG, so she wasn't disappointed. *whew* But she got really cute stuff anyway. An awesome outfit that made me "jealous", a swing that will attach to your CEILING, and bunches else.
Matt got coats, boots, a camcorder (:O), a PS3 (um, I *think* that's what it is...), and more. Yay!
After everyone left, we watched my present to Lizzy: the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie. Complete with extended scenes, a rock that changes colors, special features, and, of course, wonderful older-brother-little-sister moments. *sniff sniff*
I really can't tell you how awesome today has been. I mean, if there was ever a You-Had-To-Be-There moment, this is it. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't share Christmas with us, because when you share it with friends like this, it just doesn't get any better.
Merry Christmas, bloggers. Let's always remember the reason for the season: the pregnant teenage girl, the confused (of course) guy, and the little baby that would save us all.
(Just one more time: don't you love God's sense of irony???)
~Kendra (the signature isn't working correctly, sorry!)
P.S. Pictures taken with my VERY OWN NEW CAMERA THAT I LOVE (even though it's purple XD) coming soon!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!
Read as many or as few sections as you'd like :)
Table of Contents (yes, it's one of THOSE post ;D):
1. The final day of the Christmas Countdown
2. So, there was this teenaged girl...
3. Awards
4. Tags
Today is the last day of the Christmas Countdown. There is only one day until Christmas. Christmas is tomorrow. One day.
One Waiting Manger...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, there was this teenaged girl.
She was a good Christian. She was kind and gentle and loved God (she was probably really fun, too, because all real Christians are! XD). She was also a virgin, and her name was Mary.
(Fun Fact #1: "virgin" in the Greek can sometimes just mean "young girl", but in this case, it means, you know, an actual virgin ;D)
Mary was engaged to this great guy named Joseph, who was also a good Christian. He was pretty awesome actually. Really fun, caring, Christian, even brave. They were pretty excited about getting married.
But then God just had to throw a curve ball.
One night, an angel suddenly appears to Mary. *freak out* And the angel said, "Do not be afraid" first.
(Fun Fact #2: We don't know much about angels, but we know one thing for darn sure: they are scary. Every time someone sees an angel, they're panicking so much the angel has to calm them down. Haha, I can see the angels getting impatient now, "*rolls eyes* GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF? Oh, I mean DO NOT BE AFRAID.")
So, back to Mary and the angel. The angel says, "God is so proud of you! You're doing great!"
...
...thanks...
"Guess what? You are pregnant."
*blink*
O.O
Imagine how Mary must have felt. I know I would have been absolutely panicking. I mean, I wouldn't have doubted it or anything--if an Angel of the Lord says you're pregnant, you're pregnant--but I would have been really scared. And I wonder if Mary was afraid she had done something wrong, you know? I mean, I would have been like, "OH MY GOSH, is there something I've...er...missed..."
The angel went on.
"You are to name the child Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
>insert awkward silence< But despite the weirdness, Mary takes it all rather well and tells the angel she's up for if it's God's plan. She is a little freaked out, though. And what do we girls do when we're freaking out? We go to another girl friend! That's just what Mary did. She went to her cousin Elizabeth's house, and they had a nice chat. Of course, let's not forget Joseph. Eventually, word of Mary's "situation" got around. If you were engaged to a girl, how would react if you found out she was pregnant? O.O Probably something like that, too. But, God sent an angel to Joseph, too, and got him in the loop about being the earthly father of God and everything. Joseph was pretty relieved, and was fine with marrying Mary after all now that he knew what has happening. See, guys, even then you were the last ones to be told what was going on XD But, unfortunately, there comes an annoying development: Caesar Augustus issues a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Everyone is supposed to go back to his hometown to be counted. Since Mary was engaged to Joseph, she went with him when he made the trip to the O Little Town of Bethlehem ;)
Imagine then tension here. Mary has to be a little irritated with the whole thing
"I'm nine months pregnant, Joseph!"
"Can't you tell Caesar to postpone this thing?"
"Why couldn't you have been born a little closer to home?"
"There better be enough room at the inn..."
And Joseph couldn't have been but so thrilled with the whole thing.
"Of all the times to issue a decree...the middle of--spring."
(Fun fact #3: Even though we celebrate Christmas in December, Jesus was actually born sometime in the spring.)
"I hope the ol' donkey can make it..."
"What if Mary has the baby while we're away...I haven't the slightest idea how to handle this..."
Well, everything seemed to go wrong. Don't you hate that? Just when you think things can't get any worse...
"I'm sorry, sir, there's no room in this inn."
>insert awkward, annoyed silence<
Let's not even get into what Mary must be thinking at this point. But, Joseph presses the innkeeper for help, and the guy points them over to the stables. So, they head on over to the stable and try to get as comfortable as they can.
(Fun fact #4: most of you probably already know this, but back in the day, stables weren't little barns like we have now. They were usually caves!)
So, Mary goes into labor, and now we will graciously switch over to what's happening with the shepherds.
Now, let's get something straight about shepherds. They weren't really considered important. They were kind of like today's garbage men. You need 'em, you'd miss 'em if they were gone, but it's not exactly what every kids dreams of becoming or anything. For the shepherds to be the first ones God had told (aside from the baby's parents, obviously) was ironic to say the least.
That's another thing I love about God: he's got a great sense of humor.
And here comes the part we all know. Say it with me now ;)
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Then tons more angels joined them and sang praises to God.
So, with that, the shepherds decided to go and see what the angels had been talking about. And they went into Bethlehem and found the stable, and WHOA! There *is* a little baby here, just like the angels said! (Shocker, right? ;D)
I can only imagine what Mary was thinking now. I'm sure she was overjoyed with Jesus, and I really don't think she minded having random shepherd guys show up at her "doorstep". I do think she might have been a little frightened, though. I mean, having your first child is supposed to be MONUMENTAL already, so imagine the huge burden it would be to have the SON OF GOD. The random shepherds showing up was probably a whole 'nother level of eye-opening to Mary. She was holding the Son of God in her arms, only a few hours old, and already he was drawing people to him.
What a beautiful story, is it not? It has everything a good story should: love, adventure, realism, excitement, irony, and even a little baby. But not just any little baby.
That baby grew up and save my life.
But that's another story ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been really appreciative of good friends lately. I have lots of acquaintances, but few really close buddies. Lately, I've been getting even closer to those close buddies. I'd like to award some of my good girlfriends and guyfriends if you don't mind :) I'm only awarding a few of you, but don't be upset, I really do love you all!
The Awesome Guy-Friend Award goes to...CAVENDER, KYLE, AND KNIGHTWING!
The Awesome Girl-Friend Award goes to ELLIE, GABRIELLE, BETHANY, AND SHEP (long story there)!
The Jace Wayland Award! Either you love him, or you think he's awesome character, or you remind me of him, or something to do with him. This award goes to ELLIE AND CAVENDER!! If any more of y'all are Jace fans, feel free to take the award under one condition: TELL ME YOU LOVE HIM SO WE CAN SWAP QUOTES! :D ;) Click to enlarge; I love this one XD
The Writing Buddy Award! To those of you who've helped me when I wanted to quit, encouraged me, read my stuff, or let me read yours! Thanks! It goes to Earwen, Shep, Gabrielle, Kyle, and Ellie.
Also, I'm going to redistribute some of the awards I've gotten over the months. Just take them if they fit you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*GASP* Okay, this post is taking FOREVER!!!!!!! Tag from Bleah...
SEVEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME (but probably do):
1. I have amazing luck. Like, you have no idea. I don't even jinx myself when I say that.
2. I have a problem with double standards.
3. My personal reading record is 187,000-ish words in 12 hours. That is roughly 260 words per minute. I have no idea if that's particularly fast or not. The book was Brisingr.
4. I like metal (music).
5. I'm sort of a hypochondriac.
6. I'm very OCD.
7. I hate turtlenecks. Why? Just read the word again. Jeez.
:)
I'll tag anyone who wants to do it.
Merry Christmas Eve, you guys :) Only one day until Baby Jesus's birthday!
Table of Contents (yes, it's one of THOSE post ;D):
1. The final day of the Christmas Countdown
2. So, there was this teenaged girl...
3. Awards
4. Tags
Today is the last day of the Christmas Countdown. There is only one day until Christmas. Christmas is tomorrow. One day.
One Waiting Manger...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~So, there was this teenaged girl.
She was a good Christian. She was kind and gentle and loved God (she was probably really fun, too, because all real Christians are! XD). She was also a virgin, and her name was Mary.
(Fun Fact #1: "virgin" in the Greek can sometimes just mean "young girl", but in this case, it means, you know, an actual virgin ;D)
Mary was engaged to this great guy named Joseph, who was also a good Christian. He was pretty awesome actually. Really fun, caring, Christian, even brave. They were pretty excited about getting married.
But then God just had to throw a curve ball.
One night, an angel suddenly appears to Mary. *freak out* And the angel said, "Do not be afraid" first.
(Fun Fact #2: We don't know much about angels, but we know one thing for darn sure: they are scary. Every time someone sees an angel, they're panicking so much the angel has to calm them down. Haha, I can see the angels getting impatient now, "*rolls eyes* GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF? Oh, I mean DO NOT BE AFRAID.")
So, back to Mary and the angel. The angel says, "God is so proud of you! You're doing great!"
...
...thanks...
"Guess what? You are pregnant."
*blink*
O.O
Imagine how Mary must have felt. I know I would have been absolutely panicking. I mean, I wouldn't have doubted it or anything--if an Angel of the Lord says you're pregnant, you're pregnant--but I would have been really scared. And I wonder if Mary was afraid she had done something wrong, you know? I mean, I would have been like, "OH MY GOSH, is there something I've...er...missed..."
The angel went on.
"You are to name the child Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
>insert awkward silence< But despite the weirdness, Mary takes it all rather well and tells the angel she's up for if it's God's plan. She is a little freaked out, though. And what do we girls do when we're freaking out? We go to another girl friend! That's just what Mary did. She went to her cousin Elizabeth's house, and they had a nice chat. Of course, let's not forget Joseph. Eventually, word of Mary's "situation" got around. If you were engaged to a girl, how would react if you found out she was pregnant? O.O Probably something like that, too. But, God sent an angel to Joseph, too, and got him in the loop about being the earthly father of God and everything. Joseph was pretty relieved, and was fine with marrying Mary after all now that he knew what has happening. See, guys, even then you were the last ones to be told what was going on XD But, unfortunately, there comes an annoying development: Caesar Augustus issues a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Everyone is supposed to go back to his hometown to be counted. Since Mary was engaged to Joseph, she went with him when he made the trip to the O Little Town of Bethlehem ;)
Imagine then tension here. Mary has to be a little irritated with the whole thing
"I'm nine months pregnant, Joseph!"
"Can't you tell Caesar to postpone this thing?"
"Why couldn't you have been born a little closer to home?"
"There better be enough room at the inn..."
And Joseph couldn't have been but so thrilled with the whole thing.
"Of all the times to issue a decree...the middle of--spring."
(Fun fact #3: Even though we celebrate Christmas in December, Jesus was actually born sometime in the spring.)
"I hope the ol' donkey can make it..."
"What if Mary has the baby while we're away...I haven't the slightest idea how to handle this..."
Well, everything seemed to go wrong. Don't you hate that? Just when you think things can't get any worse...
"I'm sorry, sir, there's no room in this inn."
>insert awkward, annoyed silence<
Let's not even get into what Mary must be thinking at this point. But, Joseph presses the innkeeper for help, and the guy points them over to the stables. So, they head on over to the stable and try to get as comfortable as they can.
(Fun fact #4: most of you probably already know this, but back in the day, stables weren't little barns like we have now. They were usually caves!)
So, Mary goes into labor, and now we will graciously switch over to what's happening with the shepherds.
Now, let's get something straight about shepherds. They weren't really considered important. They were kind of like today's garbage men. You need 'em, you'd miss 'em if they were gone, but it's not exactly what every kids dreams of becoming or anything. For the shepherds to be the first ones God had told (aside from the baby's parents, obviously) was ironic to say the least.
That's another thing I love about God: he's got a great sense of humor.
And here comes the part we all know. Say it with me now ;)
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Then tons more angels joined them and sang praises to God.
So, with that, the shepherds decided to go and see what the angels had been talking about. And they went into Bethlehem and found the stable, and WHOA! There *is* a little baby here, just like the angels said! (Shocker, right? ;D)
I can only imagine what Mary was thinking now. I'm sure she was overjoyed with Jesus, and I really don't think she minded having random shepherd guys show up at her "doorstep". I do think she might have been a little frightened, though. I mean, having your first child is supposed to be MONUMENTAL already, so imagine the huge burden it would be to have the SON OF GOD. The random shepherds showing up was probably a whole 'nother level of eye-opening to Mary. She was holding the Son of God in her arms, only a few hours old, and already he was drawing people to him.
What a beautiful story, is it not? It has everything a good story should: love, adventure, realism, excitement, irony, and even a little baby. But not just any little baby.
That baby grew up and save my life.
But that's another story ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been really appreciative of good friends lately. I have lots of acquaintances, but few really close buddies. Lately, I've been getting even closer to those close buddies. I'd like to award some of my good girlfriends and guyfriends if you don't mind :) I'm only awarding a few of you, but don't be upset, I really do love you all!
The Awesome Guy-Friend Award goes to...CAVENDER, KYLE, AND KNIGHTWING!
The Awesome Girl-Friend Award goes to ELLIE, GABRIELLE, BETHANY, AND SHEP (long story there)!
The Jace Wayland Award! Either you love him, or you think he's awesome character, or you remind me of him, or something to do with him. This award goes to ELLIE AND CAVENDER!! If any more of y'all are Jace fans, feel free to take the award under one condition: TELL ME YOU LOVE HIM SO WE CAN SWAP QUOTES! :D ;) Click to enlarge; I love this one XD
The Writing Buddy Award! To those of you who've helped me when I wanted to quit, encouraged me, read my stuff, or let me read yours! Thanks! It goes to Earwen, Shep, Gabrielle, Kyle, and Ellie.
Also, I'm going to redistribute some of the awards I've gotten over the months. Just take them if they fit you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*GASP* Okay, this post is taking FOREVER!!!!!!! Tag from Bleah...
SEVEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME (but probably do):
1. I have amazing luck. Like, you have no idea. I don't even jinx myself when I say that.
2. I have a problem with double standards.
3. My personal reading record is 187,000-ish words in 12 hours. That is roughly 260 words per minute. I have no idea if that's particularly fast or not. The book was Brisingr.
4. I like metal (music).
5. I'm sort of a hypochondriac.
6. I'm very OCD.
7. I hate turtlenecks. Why? Just read the word again. Jeez.
:)
I'll tag anyone who wants to do it.
Merry Christmas Eve, you guys :) Only one day until Baby Jesus's birthday!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Two in One...Sorry!!
First of all, WHOA. Thanks for following, Hannah Ross, Miss Zara and LaSara! Y'all rock :) Sorry I couldn't find links for Hannah and Miss Zara, though :'(
Sorry I didn't post yesterday! Gosh, I had the post all ready, really, I just wanted to put some finishing touches on it and never got around to it. Here it is, all finished:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We finished the first season of Alias. Amazing episode, but the worst cliff hanger I've ever seen. Imagine having to wait an entire summer to see the next season!!!!!!
So, Will got tortured, though, and he cried. *hyperventilatingshudder* Y'all know I'm not good with that, but be proud of me; I was okay. I felt like bawling or going into shock (LOL), but I watched it all. I hate how I suck at taking guys' screaming, so I'm working on the whole toughen-up-and-deal-with-it part XD
So, other than that, I went to a Christmas party today! It was kind of awkward, because I don't have mutual friends to talk about with these people, though. They kept talking about people that I didn't know. And they're all masters of innuendos and twisting things. It was pretty okay, though, I'm definitely glad I went. I just hope they don't all think I'm a total dork XD I got a really cute journal and a Hershey bar as a Christmas present, though :)
I've also been doing a lot of serious thinking about lots of people. I should go into more detail so you don't feel like you've bee gypped, but I don't think I will ;P But I could use prayer, and so could one of my friends, if you don't mind? That'd be great :-/
Okay, there are only three days until Christmas. Three.
Tres.
Trois.
Tria.
THREE.
So, what do we do when there are only three days until Christmas?
Christmas Jokes, how about?
1. What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It's Christmas, Eve. (WOW, that was lame.)
2. What do you get if you eat your Christmas decorations? Tinselitus.
3. Why did the elf push his bed into the fireplace? He wanted to sleep like a log.
MERRY THREE-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, now there are only--get ready for this--TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!! But we'll get to that in a minute.
Today, my family hung out with another family (descriptive, right?). I've mentioned these guys before: Daniel (14, but awesome), Emily (12?), and Caleb (...10?). We went and saw the movie The Blind Side.
Now, no offense to those of you who like them, but I hate inspirational movies. I hate them. To me, they are all the same: the underdog with a bad past gets someone who finally believes in him. They help him out, something bad happens, someone dies, he stops trusting them, and then it ends happily. The entire point of those movies is to make you happy, but to give you the illusion of happiness, they must first make you sad as crap so they can then lift your spirits back up with inspiration.
-.-
Yeah, I hate inspirational movies. Guess what?
I LOVED THE BLIND SIDE.
I mean, WOW. This is an amazing movie. Shockingly *amazing*. I recommend it to anyone. Everything about it was really good. Just see it. It's truly awesome.
Then, my dad dropped Lizzy and me off at good ol' Barnes & Noble, where Cavender and I "happened" to bump into each other XD Yay for texting!
Then, we went to get Matt (little brother) a Christmas present. He had showed me this remote control car he wanted when we were out before. He's very good at subtle hinting. NOT. LOL, his exact words: "Kendra, come 'ere." *drags me over* "This is what you want to get me for Christmas. That one." *points* "See it? That one, right th--No, wait, THIS one...Ooh..."
:)
So, we went to get it. But, it turns out it's a slot car. In the words of Kyle and Cavender, "FAIL." So we ended up getting him a trick kite.
*blink*
I really hope Matt doesn't read this blog secretly...Nah, LOL.
Then, we came home, ate dinner, and decorated a friend's neighbor's house for Christmas. He's having a rough time with his family, lonely for Christmas, so we decided to surprise him with Christmas cheer, LOL :)
I'm freezing and my stomach hurts. But it is all good, my friend(s).
So, anyway, Christmas Countdown!!! Two days :D TWO DAYS. Here we go...
TWO FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS (as suggested by Cavender and approved by Kyle, LOL):
1. The Cross Collection. Every year, someone in my family makes a small cross. Usually, the cross will represent something or be made of something you've done throughout the year. Something that's defined you, or something that you've been interested in lately. The first year my mom taught eighth grade, she made a cross with Greek letters on it, because she had to learn and teach Greek. My dad has made a lot of stuff with woodworking. When Lizzy was little, it was her turn and Daddy helped her make a little cross out of Play-Doh :) Last year, I wrote a cross. It's a poem about the cross, but it's not cross-shaped. I thought it was a cool idea, haha :) This year it's Lizzy's turn again. Wonder what she'll do...?
2. Christmas dollhouse :) I won't go into this more because I've been talking about it a lot lately, but yeah. I love that.
Also, COMING TOMORROW:
AWARDS!!!! :)
MERRY TWO-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
Sorry I didn't post yesterday! Gosh, I had the post all ready, really, I just wanted to put some finishing touches on it and never got around to it. Here it is, all finished:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We finished the first season of Alias. Amazing episode, but the worst cliff hanger I've ever seen. Imagine having to wait an entire summer to see the next season!!!!!!
So, Will got tortured, though, and he cried. *hyperventilatingshudder* Y'all know I'm not good with that, but be proud of me; I was okay. I felt like bawling or going into shock (LOL), but I watched it all. I hate how I suck at taking guys' screaming, so I'm working on the whole toughen-up-and-deal-with-it part XD
So, other than that, I went to a Christmas party today! It was kind of awkward, because I don't have mutual friends to talk about with these people, though. They kept talking about people that I didn't know. And they're all masters of innuendos and twisting things. It was pretty okay, though, I'm definitely glad I went. I just hope they don't all think I'm a total dork XD I got a really cute journal and a Hershey bar as a Christmas present, though :)
I've also been doing a lot of serious thinking about lots of people. I should go into more detail so you don't feel like you've bee gypped, but I don't think I will ;P But I could use prayer, and so could one of my friends, if you don't mind? That'd be great :-/
Okay, there are only three days until Christmas. Three.
Tres.
Trois.
Tria.
THREE.
So, what do we do when there are only three days until Christmas?
Christmas Jokes, how about?
1. What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It's Christmas, Eve. (WOW, that was lame.)
2. What do you get if you eat your Christmas decorations? Tinselitus.
3. Why did the elf push his bed into the fireplace? He wanted to sleep like a log.
MERRY THREE-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, now there are only--get ready for this--TWO DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!! But we'll get to that in a minute.
Today, my family hung out with another family (descriptive, right?). I've mentioned these guys before: Daniel (14, but awesome), Emily (12?), and Caleb (...10?). We went and saw the movie The Blind Side.
Now, no offense to those of you who like them, but I hate inspirational movies. I hate them. To me, they are all the same: the underdog with a bad past gets someone who finally believes in him. They help him out, something bad happens, someone dies, he stops trusting them, and then it ends happily. The entire point of those movies is to make you happy, but to give you the illusion of happiness, they must first make you sad as crap so they can then lift your spirits back up with inspiration.
-.-
Yeah, I hate inspirational movies. Guess what?
I LOVED THE BLIND SIDE.
I mean, WOW. This is an amazing movie. Shockingly *amazing*. I recommend it to anyone. Everything about it was really good. Just see it. It's truly awesome.
Then, my dad dropped Lizzy and me off at good ol' Barnes & Noble, where Cavender and I "happened" to bump into each other XD Yay for texting!
Then, we went to get Matt (little brother) a Christmas present. He had showed me this remote control car he wanted when we were out before. He's very good at subtle hinting. NOT. LOL, his exact words: "Kendra, come 'ere." *drags me over* "This is what you want to get me for Christmas. That one." *points* "See it? That one, right th--No, wait, THIS one...Ooh..."
:)
So, we went to get it. But, it turns out it's a slot car. In the words of Kyle and Cavender, "FAIL." So we ended up getting him a trick kite.
*blink*
I really hope Matt doesn't read this blog secretly...Nah, LOL.
Then, we came home, ate dinner, and decorated a friend's neighbor's house for Christmas. He's having a rough time with his family, lonely for Christmas, so we decided to surprise him with Christmas cheer, LOL :)
I'm freezing and my stomach hurts. But it is all good, my friend(s).
So, anyway, Christmas Countdown!!! Two days :D TWO DAYS. Here we go...
TWO FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS (as suggested by Cavender and approved by Kyle, LOL):
1. The Cross Collection. Every year, someone in my family makes a small cross. Usually, the cross will represent something or be made of something you've done throughout the year. Something that's defined you, or something that you've been interested in lately. The first year my mom taught eighth grade, she made a cross with Greek letters on it, because she had to learn and teach Greek. My dad has made a lot of stuff with woodworking. When Lizzy was little, it was her turn and Daddy helped her make a little cross out of Play-Doh :) Last year, I wrote a cross. It's a poem about the cross, but it's not cross-shaped. I thought it was a cool idea, haha :) This year it's Lizzy's turn again. Wonder what she'll do...?
2. Christmas dollhouse :) I won't go into this more because I've been talking about it a lot lately, but yeah. I love that.
Also, COMING TOMORROW:
AWARDS!!!! :)
MERRY TWO-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Family of Four...And Three Other Families!
VOTE ON THE POLL TO THE RIGHT! We have 44 so far. That's more than halfway, but we still need 39 more votes!
I JUST WATCHED THE BEST ALIAS EPISODE EVER!!!! It had all my favorite stuff, and plenty of Mr. Sark! <3 <3 <3 *SCREAM*
Today was the annual playing of Christmas Dollhouse! Every year, Lizzy, my mom and I get out all our dollhouse stuff and play Christmas with them. We play with each other, have a Christmas Parade, and open presents on "Christmas Eve". Unfortunately, we usually get so into it that we drag it out for a long time. We haven't even gotten to Christmas Eve since I was nine years old!!! I wrapped up presents for my dollpeople when I was ten, but since we haven't gotten to Christmas Eve...we never get to open the presents.
Well, this year we did!! We opened the presents, and I was absolutely so thrilled and surprised. I had no idea what was in the tiny dollpresents, so when I opened them, it was like really getting a present. I opened my favorite doll skirt that I've been missing for five years, a jacket I forgot I had, a globe, a CD player, a ball, and a pillow! The Parade was also one of our best. My dad videoed it :) Needless to say, Christmas Dollhouse this year is continuing in the trend of the Best Christmas Ever.
Wanna see some pictures? I took them all with the exceptions of the ones of Lizzy's and my mom's houses.
(**WARNING** TODAY IS KENDRA'S CLASH DAY. PREPARE YOUR EYES FOR MAGENTA SWEATPANTS, A PINK JACKET, AND A T-SHIRT WITH RED WRITING. ALSO, HER HAIR IS UNSTRAIGHTENED AND SHE HAS NO MAKEUP ON. JUST WARNING YOU.)
Captions at the top, click to enlarge. And by the way, do you prefer the captions at the top, or the bottom? I'm starting to think I might like them at the bottom, but what about you guys? Which is easier to process?
Here's my dollhouse all set up for Christmas! I got it when I was two years old, and have loved it for a long time.
The girls' side of the room
The boys' side of the room and the bathroom...I had limited space, okay?? :)
Tommy and Timmatheep (there is a serious story behind that name) playing the piano
The parents' room. Note the laundry basket ;)
Mom's in the kitchen! Baby Gloria is in the highchair. See the jacket draped across the chair; I thought that was a neat little touch :)
Dad and Cody watching TV. Yes, the Christmas tree is decorated with paperclips :)
Christmas wreath!
Lizzy's dollhouse setup. A newer model, seeing how she's two years younger than I am
Momma doesn't have a dollhouse, so she always makes her with some of our furniture and blocks and odd things around the house. Her houses always end up looking the best anyway! Here's a look at her living room:
The park
An overview of the downstairs with the dollstuff out. It's not usually this messy; we've been wrapping presents.
You were probably wondering what that line of stuff was. Or maybe you guessed. But anyway, it's the Parade floats! Here's another picture, with Rudolph in the lead, as always :)
The kids who aren't on the floats ride on Rudolph :)
Here's my family's float
Lizzy's family's float
Momma's float, with some other "neighborhood" children on it
Another angle, with Momma's legs in it, haha
The Christmas Queen :)
Spectators
The view from the back
Lizzy and I moving the Parade floats along their route :) Notice the random bald spot on my head...LOL! Weird. I don't think that's usually there...
YAY!!! After five years of waiting, my family finally opened their presents! They're all holding them, except for Mom and Dad, who are wearing theirs :) I'd been looking for that awesome skirt for a long time, and I'd completely forgotten about that jacket.
Everyone's in bed on "Christmas Eve night"! Wonder what Santa will bring them in the morning...?
:)
Okay, now for Christmas Countdown. Since there are only FOUR DAYS until Christmas, and there are four people in my family, I'll tell each person's favorite part of Christmas!
The Logan Family's Christmas Favorites:
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Amber Logan - Coming home from the Christmas Eve service, and that feeling, and going to bed...The whole Christmas Ever cheer.
Daddy Logan - Having special time with family
Momma Logan - Decorating the house
Kendra Marielle Logan - The time leading up until Christmas. All the parties and traditions. But if I have to pick one favorite part...well, the traditions! I love them. The Cross Collection, the Open House, Christmas Dollhouse...they're what make Christmas "ours".
MERRY FOUR-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
P.S. I have some more pictures of me, my friends, my dog, and the house in the snow. Would you guys be interested in seeing them?
I JUST WATCHED THE BEST ALIAS EPISODE EVER!!!! It had all my favorite stuff, and plenty of Mr. Sark! <3 <3 <3 *SCREAM*
Today was the annual playing of Christmas Dollhouse! Every year, Lizzy, my mom and I get out all our dollhouse stuff and play Christmas with them. We play with each other, have a Christmas Parade, and open presents on "Christmas Eve". Unfortunately, we usually get so into it that we drag it out for a long time. We haven't even gotten to Christmas Eve since I was nine years old!!! I wrapped up presents for my dollpeople when I was ten, but since we haven't gotten to Christmas Eve...we never get to open the presents.
Well, this year we did!! We opened the presents, and I was absolutely so thrilled and surprised. I had no idea what was in the tiny dollpresents, so when I opened them, it was like really getting a present. I opened my favorite doll skirt that I've been missing for five years, a jacket I forgot I had, a globe, a CD player, a ball, and a pillow! The Parade was also one of our best. My dad videoed it :) Needless to say, Christmas Dollhouse this year is continuing in the trend of the Best Christmas Ever.
Wanna see some pictures? I took them all with the exceptions of the ones of Lizzy's and my mom's houses.
(**WARNING** TODAY IS KENDRA'S CLASH DAY. PREPARE YOUR EYES FOR MAGENTA SWEATPANTS, A PINK JACKET, AND A T-SHIRT WITH RED WRITING. ALSO, HER HAIR IS UNSTRAIGHTENED AND SHE HAS NO MAKEUP ON. JUST WARNING YOU.)
Captions at the top, click to enlarge. And by the way, do you prefer the captions at the top, or the bottom? I'm starting to think I might like them at the bottom, but what about you guys? Which is easier to process?
Here's my dollhouse all set up for Christmas! I got it when I was two years old, and have loved it for a long time.
The girls' side of the room
The boys' side of the room and the bathroom...I had limited space, okay?? :)
Tommy and Timmatheep (there is a serious story behind that name) playing the piano
The parents' room. Note the laundry basket ;)
Mom's in the kitchen! Baby Gloria is in the highchair. See the jacket draped across the chair; I thought that was a neat little touch :)
Dad and Cody watching TV. Yes, the Christmas tree is decorated with paperclips :)
Christmas wreath!
Lizzy's dollhouse setup. A newer model, seeing how she's two years younger than I am
Momma doesn't have a dollhouse, so she always makes her with some of our furniture and blocks and odd things around the house. Her houses always end up looking the best anyway! Here's a look at her living room:
The park
An overview of the downstairs with the dollstuff out. It's not usually this messy; we've been wrapping presents.
You were probably wondering what that line of stuff was. Or maybe you guessed. But anyway, it's the Parade floats! Here's another picture, with Rudolph in the lead, as always :)
The kids who aren't on the floats ride on Rudolph :)
Here's my family's float
Lizzy's family's float
Momma's float, with some other "neighborhood" children on it
Another angle, with Momma's legs in it, haha
The Christmas Queen :)
Spectators
The view from the back
Lizzy and I moving the Parade floats along their route :) Notice the random bald spot on my head...LOL! Weird. I don't think that's usually there...
YAY!!! After five years of waiting, my family finally opened their presents! They're all holding them, except for Mom and Dad, who are wearing theirs :) I'd been looking for that awesome skirt for a long time, and I'd completely forgotten about that jacket.
Everyone's in bed on "Christmas Eve night"! Wonder what Santa will bring them in the morning...?
:)Okay, now for Christmas Countdown. Since there are only FOUR DAYS until Christmas, and there are four people in my family, I'll tell each person's favorite part of Christmas!
The Logan Family's Christmas Favorites:
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Amber Logan - Coming home from the Christmas Eve service, and that feeling, and going to bed...The whole Christmas Ever cheer.
Daddy Logan - Having special time with family
Momma Logan - Decorating the house
Kendra Marielle Logan - The time leading up until Christmas. All the parties and traditions. But if I have to pick one favorite part...well, the traditions! I love them. The Cross Collection, the Open House, Christmas Dollhouse...they're what make Christmas "ours".
MERRY FOUR-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!
P.S. I have some more pictures of me, my friends, my dog, and the house in the snow. Would you guys be interested in seeing them?
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Five Wise Men
VOTE ON THE STINKIN' POLL TO THE RIGHT! WE'RE BARELY HALFWAY! THIS IS PATHETIC ;) Just kidding.
THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING, BRIDGET ROWE! I can't find your blog, though, so no link :( Sorry!
*gasp* I am posting twice in a day??? *shock*
Yes. Sorry, LOL. I don't know why I didn't just save that little picture for this post. *shrug*
Okay, one quick thing: does anyone know how to get a scrolling blog button thing on the sidebar? You know, where the buttons scroll through and you can click on the button and it takes you to the blog...Can anyone tell me how to do that? Help would be appreciated, LOL, gracias.
Well, the crowd at church today was somewhat smaller than usual because of the snow. We all expected that, but we never cancel church because of weather. LOL, sometimes it's just my family, Matt and Katie's family, and one other family that show up!
After church, we went home, ate frozen pizzas, and watch Night at the Museum 2 until Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) called. She was going Christmas shopping and didn't want to go alone. So, my mom went with her :) Matt and his dad, Mr. Leon, were going to go see the movie Avatar. I was immediately jealous. "WHAT?!" I wanted to see that! DARN.
Mrs. Martha came to pick up my mom, and it turned out Matt and Mr. Leon were in the car! They hadn't gone yet! I could still go! I was very excited until I heard that another of Matt's friends was with them. Darn again. I thought Matt would probably not be pleased with me if I crashed his boy time, so I told Mrs. Martha I'd just stay here. *SIGH* Now I regret that. Forget annoying my little brother! I really wanted to see that movie.
Okay, wow, that just sounded SOOO selfish. But, really, Matt *probably* wouldn't have cared that much if I had gone...Oh well. There will be other times. There WILL be. I will MAKE another time, LOL :)
I also finished reading Earwen's book today!!! She gave me the honor of critiquing it for her! It's an allegorical fantasy called "The Elmeria Chronicles: Shadows". She's selling copies for $20 if you'd like one. (I *think* the offer is still going on...slap me if I turn out to be wrong.) For more details on the offer, click HERE. If you read it and don't love Eristor, then give me your address so I can come over and knock some sense into you ;)
On a completely unrelated note, I just found this website that has good pictures for your basic fantasy heroes, heroines, etc. Not a lot to choose from, but for some reason it gave me a couple of story ideas right away! Maybe you'll have the same inspiration luck? We'll see. Click HERE if you'd like.
Alrighty, Christmas Countdown time! FIVE DAYS! WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did that happen?? I've been counting down and it still snuck up on me! Christmas just has a way of doing that and there's apparently no way around it. *shrug*
Okay, ready?
Five Wise Men
...
Haha, you shoulda seen the look on your face--no, just kidding. But you were probably a bit confused, right? I mean, weren't there THREE wise men?
Nope.
I mean, there very well might have been, but there also might have been five. Or four. Or six. The truth is, the Bible doesn't actually say HOW MANY wise men went to visit Jesus, but since they brought three gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh), we tend to assume that there were three of them. But we don't know for sure, and I'm all about exposing common myths, so...
five wise men :)
MERRY FIVE-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING, BRIDGET ROWE! I can't find your blog, though, so no link :( Sorry!
*gasp* I am posting twice in a day??? *shock*
Yes. Sorry, LOL. I don't know why I didn't just save that little picture for this post. *shrug*
Okay, one quick thing: does anyone know how to get a scrolling blog button thing on the sidebar? You know, where the buttons scroll through and you can click on the button and it takes you to the blog...Can anyone tell me how to do that? Help would be appreciated, LOL, gracias.
Well, the crowd at church today was somewhat smaller than usual because of the snow. We all expected that, but we never cancel church because of weather. LOL, sometimes it's just my family, Matt and Katie's family, and one other family that show up!
After church, we went home, ate frozen pizzas, and watch Night at the Museum 2 until Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) called. She was going Christmas shopping and didn't want to go alone. So, my mom went with her :) Matt and his dad, Mr. Leon, were going to go see the movie Avatar. I was immediately jealous. "WHAT?!" I wanted to see that! DARN.
Mrs. Martha came to pick up my mom, and it turned out Matt and Mr. Leon were in the car! They hadn't gone yet! I could still go! I was very excited until I heard that another of Matt's friends was with them. Darn again. I thought Matt would probably not be pleased with me if I crashed his boy time, so I told Mrs. Martha I'd just stay here. *SIGH* Now I regret that. Forget annoying my little brother! I really wanted to see that movie.
Okay, wow, that just sounded SOOO selfish. But, really, Matt *probably* wouldn't have cared that much if I had gone...Oh well. There will be other times. There WILL be. I will MAKE another time, LOL :)
I also finished reading Earwen's book today!!! She gave me the honor of critiquing it for her! It's an allegorical fantasy called "The Elmeria Chronicles: Shadows". She's selling copies for $20 if you'd like one. (I *think* the offer is still going on...slap me if I turn out to be wrong.) For more details on the offer, click HERE. If you read it and don't love Eristor, then give me your address so I can come over and knock some sense into you ;)
On a completely unrelated note, I just found this website that has good pictures for your basic fantasy heroes, heroines, etc. Not a lot to choose from, but for some reason it gave me a couple of story ideas right away! Maybe you'll have the same inspiration luck? We'll see. Click HERE if you'd like.
Alrighty, Christmas Countdown time! FIVE DAYS! WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did that happen?? I've been counting down and it still snuck up on me! Christmas just has a way of doing that and there's apparently no way around it. *shrug*
Okay, ready?
Five Wise Men
...
Haha, you shoulda seen the look on your face--no, just kidding. But you were probably a bit confused, right? I mean, weren't there THREE wise men?
Nope.
I mean, there very well might have been, but there also might have been five. Or four. Or six. The truth is, the Bible doesn't actually say HOW MANY wise men went to visit Jesus, but since they brought three gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh), we tend to assume that there were three of them. But we don't know for sure, and I'm all about exposing common myths, so...
five wise men :)
MERRY FIVE-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Six Smiling Snow-Faces
WE'RE ALMOST HALFWAY. VOTE ON THE POLL TO THE RIGHT.
Kendra's Snow Gear:
- thick socks
- boots
- skinny jeans
- windbreaker pants
- camisole
- long-sleeved T-shirt
- sweatshirt
- coat
- hat
- "Elmo" gloves
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Wow, I've definitely seen some snow before, but this has to be the best ever! We've had MORE before, but never this fun! I'm telling you, this is ideal. The world is covered in a seven-inch blanket of clean snow. It's powdery on the top, with a harder, icy layer, and then more powder. PERFECT snowball snow!
My family went out around 9:30 this morning and went to the end of the street where there's a good hill that ends in a cul-de-sac. Pretty soon, the whole street + Matt and Katie's family had joined us! Everyone brought sleds and we all took lots of turns flying down the steep street.
It didn't take long for Lizzy (13) and Katie (11) to start a snowman. Matt (13), Cody (14), Anthony (8?) and I had a snowball fight!! Cody and I took the ditch on one side of the road, Matt and Anthony took the other. It. Was. Awesome.
But icy snowballs can sure pack a punch, let me tell you! Haha, one thing I like about playing with boys: they don't cry when you actually hit them and they actually try to hit you back, LOL :) Of course, before too long, we all gave up on staying on our own sides and just went for each other :)
Now, in some neighborhoods, the grownups stand around, talk, and smile lovingly at their kids.
Well, not in my neighborhood! Boy, you've never seen a snowball fight until you see Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) and Mr. Jeff (another neighbor) go at each other with wads of snow!! :) Pretty soon all the adults were in on it, chucking snow and ducking! Of course, we kids joined in and a massive snow-war ensued :) Matt hit me in the head like four times, but I retaliated >:D I may not be able to throw as far as he can, but I can throw a mean, close-range snowball when you're least expecting it. Bull's-eye every time ;)
This is going to sound cheesy, but I'm so thankful for my warm clothes! Usually I get too cold and miserable to play after about an hour, but thanks to my HUGE silver coat, I never felt the chill! I actually got hot! I was able to play for a wonderful two-and-a-half hours before heading inside to eat tomato soup and grilled cheese :)
It's times like this that I know God is looking down at us and smiling :) You know what I think? I think God would like to play in the snow with us. I know God likes to have fun. I can just see his face right now, laughing at us with pure joy in his kind eyes.
And I want him on my side in a snowball fight :)
Well, now the moment you've all been waiting for...PICTURES! Finally you can put a face on some of these names I'm always tossing around.
Click to enlarge, captions at the top!
The whole street came out! I'm the one with the goofy sky-blue pants and pink hat :) My momma is the one in the red coat to the left of me. The reddish-pink coat to my right is my second momma :) Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) My dad is in the middle of the picture, behind the sled, haha!
My neighbor Cody is the guy in the black jacket with the hood, Matt is the guy with the gray coat that has yellow accents.
The sledding hill (it gets a lot steeper as you go down)! My dog, Licorice, is in the middle of the road, and the two snowball teams are in the ditches.
Weee!!! :) Cody in the black, me in the silver, Matt in the gray on his stomach.
More sledding!
Here's Lizzy and Katie on the sled. Lizzy is the one standing, Katie is sitting.
Momma and Mrs. Martha being pushed by my daddy :) I'm in the background, Katie's in the foreground.
Sledding is so much fun...until you have to walk back up the hill! Left to right: Mr. Jeff, Daddy, Cody, me.
The long trudge back didn't seem to bother Matt and Anthony!
Snowball fight!!!! Team one: Me and Cody
Team two: Anthony and Matt
Lizzy and Katie's snowman being admired: Matt in the gray, Anthony in the yellow, Katie in the purple, Lizzy in the navy, and Mr. Wayne (he's the funniest guy ever) in the blue.
My little town :) Isn't it beautiful in the snow? I'm proud to be a smalltown girl! :)
You just can't beat days like this, you know?
What? I forgot the Christmas Countdown? Nah, it's here :) See the six smiling faces? Me, Cody, Matt, Lizzy, Katie and Anthony. After all, that's one of the best things about Christmas! The joy we experience when wondering at the awesome things our savior has made.
MERRY SIX-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
P.S. If you haven't seen the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Special, I highly recommend it :) We watched it for the second time today, all curled up on the couch in front of the fire! So funny!
Kendra's Snow Gear:
- thick socks
- boots
- skinny jeans
- windbreaker pants
- camisole
- long-sleeved T-shirt
- sweatshirt
- coat
- hat
- "Elmo" gloves
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Wow, I've definitely seen some snow before, but this has to be the best ever! We've had MORE before, but never this fun! I'm telling you, this is ideal. The world is covered in a seven-inch blanket of clean snow. It's powdery on the top, with a harder, icy layer, and then more powder. PERFECT snowball snow!
My family went out around 9:30 this morning and went to the end of the street where there's a good hill that ends in a cul-de-sac. Pretty soon, the whole street + Matt and Katie's family had joined us! Everyone brought sleds and we all took lots of turns flying down the steep street.
It didn't take long for Lizzy (13) and Katie (11) to start a snowman. Matt (13), Cody (14), Anthony (8?) and I had a snowball fight!! Cody and I took the ditch on one side of the road, Matt and Anthony took the other. It. Was. Awesome.
But icy snowballs can sure pack a punch, let me tell you! Haha, one thing I like about playing with boys: they don't cry when you actually hit them and they actually try to hit you back, LOL :) Of course, before too long, we all gave up on staying on our own sides and just went for each other :)
Now, in some neighborhoods, the grownups stand around, talk, and smile lovingly at their kids.
Well, not in my neighborhood! Boy, you've never seen a snowball fight until you see Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) and Mr. Jeff (another neighbor) go at each other with wads of snow!! :) Pretty soon all the adults were in on it, chucking snow and ducking! Of course, we kids joined in and a massive snow-war ensued :) Matt hit me in the head like four times, but I retaliated >:D I may not be able to throw as far as he can, but I can throw a mean, close-range snowball when you're least expecting it. Bull's-eye every time ;)
This is going to sound cheesy, but I'm so thankful for my warm clothes! Usually I get too cold and miserable to play after about an hour, but thanks to my HUGE silver coat, I never felt the chill! I actually got hot! I was able to play for a wonderful two-and-a-half hours before heading inside to eat tomato soup and grilled cheese :)
It's times like this that I know God is looking down at us and smiling :) You know what I think? I think God would like to play in the snow with us. I know God likes to have fun. I can just see his face right now, laughing at us with pure joy in his kind eyes.
And I want him on my side in a snowball fight :)
Well, now the moment you've all been waiting for...PICTURES! Finally you can put a face on some of these names I'm always tossing around.
Click to enlarge, captions at the top!
The whole street came out! I'm the one with the goofy sky-blue pants and pink hat :) My momma is the one in the red coat to the left of me. The reddish-pink coat to my right is my second momma :) Mrs. Martha (Matt and Katie's mom) My dad is in the middle of the picture, behind the sled, haha!
My neighbor Cody is the guy in the black jacket with the hood, Matt is the guy with the gray coat that has yellow accents.
The sledding hill (it gets a lot steeper as you go down)! My dog, Licorice, is in the middle of the road, and the two snowball teams are in the ditches.
Weee!!! :) Cody in the black, me in the silver, Matt in the gray on his stomach.
More sledding!
Here's Lizzy and Katie on the sled. Lizzy is the one standing, Katie is sitting.
Momma and Mrs. Martha being pushed by my daddy :) I'm in the background, Katie's in the foreground.
Sledding is so much fun...until you have to walk back up the hill! Left to right: Mr. Jeff, Daddy, Cody, me.
The long trudge back didn't seem to bother Matt and Anthony!
Snowball fight!!!! Team one: Me and Cody
Team two: Anthony and Matt
Lizzy and Katie's snowman being admired: Matt in the gray, Anthony in the yellow, Katie in the purple, Lizzy in the navy, and Mr. Wayne (he's the funniest guy ever) in the blue.
My little town :) Isn't it beautiful in the snow? I'm proud to be a smalltown girl! :)
You just can't beat days like this, you know?What? I forgot the Christmas Countdown? Nah, it's here :) See the six smiling faces? Me, Cody, Matt, Lizzy, Katie and Anthony. After all, that's one of the best things about Christmas! The joy we experience when wondering at the awesome things our savior has made.
MERRY SIX-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
P.S. If you haven't seen the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Special, I highly recommend it :) We watched it for the second time today, all curled up on the couch in front of the fire! So funny!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
