Happy Holidays... in September!

Happy September everyone! It is official fall in my book. :) So, did you know that (according to a website I found) September is:

• Classical Music Month
• Hispanic Heritage Month
• Fall Hat Month
• International Square Dancing Month
• National Blueberry Popsicle Month
• National Courtesy Month
• National Piano Month
• Chicken Month
• Baby Safety Month
• Little League Month
• Honey Month
• Self Improvement Month
• Better Breakfast Month 

So here is what I'm hoping to do this month:
~ Listen to some of the collection of classical music CD's I own
~ Write letters to my wonderful Hispanic friends in Arizona
~ Wear some cute, cozy hats (I do so like hats!!)
~ Re-read a lovely little book I have about etiquette, courtesy, and manners
~ Play piano, as always!! :) And listen to piano music - I have a couple of CD's of just piano music, too
~ Eat chicken! We have some in the fridge right now :)
~ Have honey in my tea (whenever I drink it, which isn't often) instead of sugar
~ Re-listen to all the Paul Washer sermons on my iPod, so as to grow spiritually, which is the best way to improve oneself
~ Eat healthy breakfasts more often

Yes, there are a few of those I'm skipping because I don't know how to celebrate them.

The neat thing is that I have been wanting to do some of these things anyway! It is going to be a good month, I can tell already. And, each day there are special days to celebrate. You can look at them on this website. I love any opportunity there is to celebrate and have fun!

Pain has purpose

"Man has a claim on God, a divine claim for any pain, want, disappointment, or misery that will help to make him what he ought to be. He has a claim to be punished, and to be spared not one pang that may urge him toward repentance; yea, he has a claim to be compelled to repent; to be hedged in on every side, to have one after another of the strong, sharp-toothed sheep dogs of the Great Shepherd sent after him, to thwart him in any desire, foil him in any plan, frustrate him in any hope, until he comes to see at length that nothing will ease his pain, nothing make life a thing worth having, but the presence of the living God within him; that nothing that nothing is good but the will of God; nothing noble enough for the desire of the heart of man but oneness with the eternal. For this God must make him yield his entire being, that He himself may enter in and dwell with Him."
~George MacDonald

*Autumn*

Ahh it has been an amazing summer. And a VERY busy one, too! I've been so busy that I basically dropped out of the blogging world without any warning - and I am sorry for that. I missed it a lot! But now, after a month in Arizona, a week at Teen Leadership Conference, a week with my brothers home, and who knows what else making life crazy in between each of those, life is beginning to wind down.

Having had such a full summer, I couldn't even hope to tell you everything that has happened. But I will tell you that it was amazing. I learned a lot, and changed dramatically. I never knew one summer could change a person so much! And, I'm left with hundreds of pictures and memories to cherish.

But now - moving onward, looking forward! My favorite season is approaching! Just the mention of the words "fall," "autumn," and "September" give me such excitement! So here are some things I've noticed (and like) about this end-of-summer sort of time.
~The school year is about to begin.
~The adventures of summer are becoming fond memories.
~There pace of life slows down.
~Homeschool families are lesson-planning, buying curriculum, and getting energized for the new year.
~The leaves are changing.
~The weather, the changes, and the "ending, but beginning" feeling make me more thoughtful.
~The weather's getting cooler.
~The color scheme of the wildflowers has switched to deep purples, oranges, and golds.
~I can wear jeans, long skirts, hoodies and sweaters again.
~The harvest inspires delicious baking.
~I can't wait to get back to the books.
~I get to enjoy keeping the home, cooking, baking, etc.

Oh, I can just feel it in the air! And it feels good :)  Happy autumn, everyone!

Sunset near our house - taken by Cody Lutz

Hey from Arizona!

Hello from Arizona! I could make this post really long, but I don't have the time or the brains to right now. I'll tell some highlights.

I'm working with Minor League baseball players from the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Indians most weekdays, teaching them English. Most of them are from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Taiwan. It's fun and sometimes kind of crazy, and I've gotten a chance to witness to the Taiwanese translator! PLEASE pray for him - he and his wife have heard the whole gospel, are seeking to read the Bible, and need the Holy Spirit to regenerate them and enlighten the eyes of their heart. I have also gotten close with the Marquez family, and I will miss them a lot when I leave! It is hot here, and I'm not used to city life. At all. I did not realize what I country girl I was until I came here! I miss my green, scenic, peaceful home and life, and friends and church. But I love the people here, too! My Spanish is improving and I have made friends in the church.

It is time for me to go now, so adios!

A day in my life

I've had a wonderful day so far. This morning Mom, Dad, Zach, and I went to a favorite restaurant in town  for breakfast out as a family, which we haven't done in many years. It ate so much I didn't eat lunch, and still haven't at 3:27 PM! After two enormous chocolate chip pancakes smothered with peanut butter and drenched in real maple syrup, accompanied by four satisfying sausage links and a glass of milk, who wants lunch anyway?

When we got home, mom and I had a nice talk in her bedroom, with no other distractions and no multitasking. Just... talking. I cherished it, knowing that we won't have another like it for a month. Soon she had to go off with my dad to get a vehicle checked, so I steeled on the couch with Anne of Green Gables (which I have been devouring for the past week or so), intending to read three chapters and leave the last four for tomorrow. But when you're only four chapters away from the end of such an enchanting book, it's awfully hard to put it down! I finished the whole book. The beginning of it is sweet, and it makes you laugh, but the end is truly beautiful. I cried, of course - I always do at those sort of things!

Finishing the book, I went outside to wander around and think and pray. I decided to pick some daisies and make a chain for my hair, and the closest place where the daisies are growing is in the ditch by the road. So, I stepped into the deep ditch beside our dirt road and started picking the nicest looking ones, and stringing them into a crown. As I did, though, I noticed some tiny, wild strawberries growing! Oh, there is nothing quite like wild strawberries. Cultivated ones are alright, but the wild ones are so much sweeter. And they look so much prettier, springing up here and there amid daisies and buttercups, instead of in unimaginative rows.

So I traversed the rocky ditch up and down, wearing a heavy denim skirt and a too-big t-shirt since all my other clothing is packed and a tiara of daisies which looks much less romantic than it sounds. But I didn't care if someone did drive by and think I looked silly, because it felt delightful. That's the nice thing about where we live though - people rarely do drive by! Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of deerflies, and two of them discovered my presence and would not leave me alone. When I had eaten all of the berries I could find, I came in here to write this post, and so I sit, filled with a delightful peace about life. To think that in 48 hours I will be boarding an airplane by myself and heading off across the nation... wow! It's thrilling.