It's Mother's Day

When I was little, my mom was my best friend.

I would follow her around the house and say, "Remme dis book." She would stop whatever she was doing and we would read, right there.

She would wake me up every morning by singing to me. We sang all the time. We sang real songs, we sang made-up songs, and we made our own songs to go with Nursery Rhymes.

We would cook all the time, too. I would eat really weird and random things. Like raw onions.

We played Blocks. I had a lot of blocks. We built stuff, but not just that, we played SERIOUS BLOCKS. Like, all the longskinny blocks were people and we acted out legit stories.

My mom can sing.

My mom is a born teacher. And she teaches the 8th grade.

My mom is really smart.

My mom is one of those people that everyone likes.

In a lot of ways, my mom is like me. We're both logical and stubborn and LOVELOVELOVE to read. Our minds work really quickly and go in lots of different directions at once. We both have a "low idiot tolerance," which basically just means we're impatient XD

All of this translates to one thing:

Either we get along great, or we don't get along at all XD

When two people are so alike, there are bound to be lots of personality clashes. As I've been growing up, that's happened a whole lot. I can be quite an exasperating person. I'm great at learning peoples' buttons, and I'm also great at pushing them. The past couple of years have been rougher than ones before, but lately I think we're getting along again...

You'd think that hitting Sweet 16 and trying to grow up would make a relationship even rockier, but life (and moms!) are full of surprises. Lately I've found a really cool, reasonable, logical, fun friend and ally in my awesome momma. I don't wanna say it's a shock, but..well... ;)

My mom is pretty cool after all :) Okay, fine, VERY cool. I do love you, Momma.

~Kendra

Fact...or Fiction?

Weird Fact Day!

*GASP* I just had a better idea!! :O :O :O What if I change this to Fact or Fiction Day, and you have to guess whether or not the fact is, uh, Fact or Fiction! First person to guess it right gets an award, and everyone who guesses at all gets and award, too.

Ready?

Fact or Fiction? In Missouri, a man must have a permit to shave.

(No fair Googling it -.-)
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Today Lizzy and my dad and I went shopping for my mom's birthday, which is tomorrow. We got some good stuff, but I didn't quite finish all my school work because of the shopping trip. But, hey, for my mom, it's worth it :)

My mom is one of those people who tries to do everything, and is good at everything, too. She speed-walks seven (I think) miles every day, comes home, works out, then homeschools Lizzy and sort of me, and does her job, which is being the state manager for the company Classical Conversations. She's also really involved at church, including singing in the church band.

She's also an amazing speaker. She's inspirational, and clear. She helps people see the big picture, and how they can get there.

She's good at pretty much every subject in school (physics isn't really her thing, though). She's a great mom, as well as being a great person in general. Happy almost-birthday, Momma!

If she even read that. Which I doubt :P

Anyway, life is pretty good at the moment. Can't really complain, I guess.

I started watching Disney's Alice in Wonderland for the first time in eleven years yesterday. It's not a little kid's movie at all! It's really quite thought-provoking if you want to get into all the symbolism and questions asked. The idea of a world where everything is nonsense in itself has incredible discussion possibilities.

We're reading the book this year in school, and I can't wait to discuss it.

XD I'm such a nerd.

There hasn't been much writing action lately. I've had lots of ideas, but nothing has made it onto paper, or the computer screen, yet.

I have two things to remind you of:

1. Followers Say...On Carpe Noctem is coming up in September! Let me know if you want to do it.

2. Questions for Question Day are always welcome ;)

I hope I don't sound like a broken record...

Anyway, if you want to guess whether the fact is Fact or Fiction, leave a comment! Thanks for reading, y'all! You're the best.

Oh.

Em.

Gee.

I just did the tag that Bethany tagged me in, and now it's not showing up. I am not kidding. I just spent like twenty minutes on it, and it's, like, deleted. *ISMADISMADISMAD*

Sorry, Bethan, but I don't feel like doing it again right this sec. I'll do it later.

*moan* Blogger can be so retarded.

Citizen Soldier

Sorry for not posting yesterday! I was just about to when we had some unexpected company. This lady that my mom works with and her three kids: Daniel (14), Emily (12) and Caleb (10). I had so much fun! I just thrive on people. Being crowded gives me energy, so these past few days of PEOPLEPEOPLEPEOPLE has been so much fun for me!

We all went swimming, and then I got my mom to ask if they could stay for dinner. They did! Yay! Daniel is a really good musician. He taught himself piano from YouTube vids, and now he's taking lessons. Guitar is the same way. He played our old pump organ, and the little keyboard we keep in the unfinished part of the basement! I really like to listen to him play, and he doesn't mind playing in front of people, so that's cool.

Tomorrow we're going shopping for mission trip clothes. I know I haven't said much about the mission trip at all, have I? Well, it's for a week and we're going somewhere seven hours away. I won't say where, though, just for safety's sake (not that I think any of you are stalkers, lol).

I'm kinda nervous, but I don't get nearly as homesick as I used to, so I think I'll be okay. My lil' sister Lizzy is going this year! That's gonna be weird. Not bad (necessarily), just...weird. And so is Matt. That'll be like having a little brother, too. His mom already told me like all this stuff for me to ask him and make sure he does, lol! Hopefully having people to look out for will make me less nervous. It usually does.

Tonight is Challenge B orientation! (AKA, orientation for 8th grade, which my mom teaches.) One of my friends is going to come because her little brother is gonna be in my mom's class, so that should be cool.

I really love Challenge B. Like, I would sit in on the orientation if Kirsten wouldn't get bored to death. Challenge B was, like, the best and funnest year of my whole life.

Well, I need to go, so let me do Word and Picture Days really fast:

Word Day: Agape (pronounced ah-GAH-pay).

No, it's not actually an English word. It's Greek.

"Agape" means love, but not just "love". It means brotherly love, the love you have for your friends and family.

You see, in Greek, there are actually three different words that mean "love": agape, phileo, and eros. Agape is brotherly love, and phileo is kind of the same, only more unconditional (I think). Then eros is more like lust.

Cool, huh? I think we ought to have three words for love, too. It would take away so much confusion, don't you think?

Picture Day:

Whether you believe in this war or not, it is our duty as Americans to support our troops. They put their lives on the line every day for you and me. They are so brave, and we cannot forget it.

Citizen Soldier by 3 Doors Down.

P.S. SOMEONE MADE AN OFFER ON OUR OLD HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? SOMEONE MIGHT FINALLY BUY OUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Please pray that this works out!

In the Words of Peter Pan, Think Happy Thoughts

I am trying to inspire myself to think positively. I will post only positive things today.

1. I feel a little better than I did yesterday.

2. Daddy took me to the bookstore last night and I got three books (4 and 5 of the Pendragon series and 4 of the Ranger's Apprentice series).

3. I had a fine time at the orientation meeting for Challenge II (tenth grade) last night.

4. I slept well.

5. My mom hugged me this morning.

6. My mom announced that we won't be leaving for the practicum until around 5pm.

7. Lizzy isn't going. (That's not *necessarily* a good thing, but it can be. She's not that good in the car sometimes, but she's a lot of fun to have around...I'm trying to make the best of her not going.)

8. Pendragon book 4 is good so far.

9. The people we're staying at for this practicum sound nice.

10. We might be going to see Star Trek with David and Daniel next Sunday (*screams like a Trekkie*)

Yay! I feel much better actually. Oh, AAAAND, "The Mirror" is going pretty darn well. I'm into the 90,000 words! Yay! YAY! YAAAY!!

Sorry for being such a pill these past few days. I'm going to try not to let myself get so low next time. Carpe diem!

P.S. Don't forget to vote on the Star Trek poll. Only two people have so far, and one of them is me, lol!

WARNING: Babyish, Complaining Post

I'm going to be annoying, babyish, complaining, and just an all around pill for a minute or two.

My allergies are bothering me. My throat is all burning and tingling and it feels like crap to swallow, so I'm not drinking enough so I'm dehydrated so I have a headache and I'm not sure how much medicine to take, but my mom is busy and when I went in to ask her how much to take, she goes, "Don't come in here and ask questions."

I feel pitiful. At the moment, I hate Classical Conversations. I hate practicums, I hate being tired and sick, and I hate how my mom works all the freakin' time. I miss the days when I was little when I was sick and she would be really sweet to me and tuck me in on the couch and bring me my medicine and tell me she was sorry I felt bad. I miss the days where I could feel sick without being labled some mean things.

I miss how my mom used to have all the time in the world for me and my sister and she was always there for us no matter what. I miss the days where she would offer to make me a jelly sandwhich. I miss the days when I would come downstairs and see her sitting in "her" chair reading a book. I miss the days when she wasn't stressed 24/7. I miss the days when she was my mom and ONLY my mom. Not the director of Classical, not my teacher, not someone else's teacher, not the trouble-shooter, not the go-to person for everyone in Classical.

I miss the old days and I want them back.

Sorry. I just feel pathetic right now. I'll get better in a few days.

Gotta go. Mom is yelling at something again.

Driving with God

So far this has been a really strange morning. But good strange. I think.

I woke up a little before eight, which wasn't exactly ideal since I was planning on being out until at least nine and I'd had a bad night's sleep. It was one of those nights when you just keep waking up all tangled in the sheets every hour or so. *moan* But I couldn't get back to sleep, and it was a really beautiful day, so I just opened the blinds and read in the bed for a while. At nine, I went upstairs and said good morning to my mom, came back downstairs and put on some ripped jeans, and went out to weed my little garden. I was in an uncharacteristically good mood.

My garden is doing REALLY well! Nothing is eating the leaves, everything looks very healthy, and they growing like...well, weeds, lol! I'm growing nine tomatoe plants, three red pepper plants, and four squash and zucchini plants.

I got all the little weeds out in like ten minutes and came back inside. I got dressed, made my bed, straightened up my room, and then--you might wanna sit down for this--I did my laundry.

I KNOW! I actually did it without being nagged for days on end!

Then, I ate a bowl of cereal, and came down here and started checking emails and blogs and stuff.

Oh, what a beautiful morning.

Only now I'm all stuffed up and sneezing because my mom made me sweep outside. *shudders* I don't mind sweeping the front walk and porch, but the back patio is really big with tons of beams where spiders string their webs all over. And those giant misquito things are all over. I HATE THOSE THING!! They're actually called the "crane fly", but they look just like enormous misquitos. EEEEEK! If I had to pick one bug to become exstinct, that would be the one I'd pick. Pictures:
1. http://schools-wikipedia.org/2006/images/70/7028.jpg
2. http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/qa/images/cranefly.jpg
3. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1315/542599649_56bd0af6c6.jpg?v=0

EEEEEEK!! JUST LOOKING AT THEM GIVES ME THE CREEPS!!

Anyway, time for my Bible thing that I missed yesterday:
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Okay, I actually came up with this on my own; I didn't hear it in youth group or anything.

It occured to me during driver's ed driving that driving with the instructor is a little bit like living life with God.

Now, I'm not saying that my instructor was all-powerful or anything, haha. It's just that the situation is kind of familiar.

I mean, we just live our lives, making our own decisions. (I drive around, controlling the turns, and stuff like that.) For the most part, God will leave us alone and let us do our own thing. (The instructor gives guidlines, but he lets me drive and make my own little mistakes.) But, I know that if I get into real trouble, God won't let me down. He's always there with his "emergency break" ready to save the day if things get out of hand.

Practice driving really is a lot like life with God. God tells us what he thinks we should do, the best routes to take, and when to start breaking. Sometimes we listen, but sometimes we think we know better than God. Of course, when we try our own way, and God lets us, it usually doesn't turn out quite like we thought it would, and God ends up gently taking the wheel or applying the break in order to save our butts.

There's also that trust thing going on. At first, I was really nervous about driving, and I always double-checked what the instructor was saying. He would tell me the way was clear, but I would always look anyway just to see for myself. At first, that's how we are with God. We want to trust him and everything, but it's like, "Um, yeah, let me just make sure that fits with MY plan...". By the last day of driving, the instructor could just say, "Move over into the left lane" and I would immediately flick on the turn signal, even if I didn't see the lane change yet.

That's how we should get with God. Just totally trusting him to know what's best for us--because he does! God loves us, and he's always looking out for our best interests. He lets us make our own mistakes, but he'll always be there to help us out when things get crazy.
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On Wednesday, I'll be leaving to go to a practicum. That's this three day workshop kind of thing that's for Classical Conversations, the homeschooling program I do. A bunch of people who do Classical or who want to can come and hear people speak about it. It's really organized and all that stuff. My mom is one of the main speakers (she's awesome ;D), and I'm going to help in the camps.

There are four different camps that the moms (or dads) who are coming to the practicum can leave their kids at. Last year I helped in the 6-8 year olds in ArtGeo camp, which is pretty much what it sounds like: Geography disguised as Art. This year, I'm going to help in the 9-13 year olds camp. Their camp changes every year. Last year it was Trig (trigonometry), so I was like, hahahahaha NO. But this year it's going to a Logic camp, so I was like YESSSSSSS!!! Logic was one of my favorite classes in Challenge B (eighth grade). I love it.

So, anyway, what I was trying to say is this: we're leaving on Wednesday, and the practicum is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. That pretty much means that I won't be able to post from Thursday until Sunday. :( I'm going to miss Name Day. Darn. But, I just wanted to let y'all know that so when it looks like I've fallen off the face of the Earth, you can know that I haven't; I'm just helping 9-13 year olds with Ps and Qs and hypothetical syllogisms :D

I am a nerd.

And I don't mind :P

Maybe I'll do the Name on Wednesday or something. *shrugs*

Well, I'll be going now! Talk to you later! Carpe diem! Get outside! It's gorgeous! (At least it is here...)