Yay!

my second family... what a night! =) the only people missing from this picture are Kelley, Courtney, Sophia, and Diana.

pictures from my 17th b-day party comin... what a blast! thanks everyone, you are such a blessing to me! whether i've known you for years or just a few months there is something about each of you i really admire and respect =)

Kristin likes to make faces =) Love you girl...

"I am sixteen going on seventeen
Innocent as a rose
Bachelor dandies, drinkers of brandies
What do I know of those..."

Art Class Needed

Today we are painting our whole upstairs and Ellie wanted me to do something "artsy" on the inside of her door. I do more drawing but I do like to paint. I thought I was working with this:

when in fact I was working with this... she put magnetic paint on the door first... and then wanted me to paint over it... yeah. so anyways... she wanted to take pictures of the progession so here they are:
need to mix the paint!

So anyways, in the end it was very... abstract. My sister liked it though and that was the whole point plus it was fun =)

Oh Wait... I Do Live at the Zoo!

This is our temporary addition, his name is Cody! Josh and Kelley are house training him for the Smiths...

Roxie really wanted to get into the Murphy's apartment!

On another note... yesterday Clara and I went to the Hoovers to hang out with Kitty yesterday...

They love playing with my phone...

Oh yeah we had fun!

Later last night we had a few of our friends over to watch Red Eye. It was SO much fun! That is a pretty scary movie though and we had it on surround sound. At one point we all screamed because we got so freaked out! Haha, and they were having singles caregroup downstairs... oops =D

If I Lived at the Zoo...

you are a Panther : You are mysterious. You are someone who can handle pressure with ease, and can handle any atmosphere without going berserk. You can be mean at times . Very prim and proper. You like all situations and things to be in the way you desire, which, sometimes is not possible. As a result, you may lose out in some relationships. But otherwise, you love to help people out from difficult and tight spots when they really need you.

I got this on some random quiz... for some reason this doesn't seem to fit my character at all... oh well! Anyways, what are you guys?

January 01 - 09 ~ Dog
January 10 - 24 ~ Mouse
January 25 - 31 ~ Lion
February 01 - 05 ~ Cat
February 06 - 14 ~ Dove
February 15 - 21 ~ Turtle
February 22 - 28 ~ Panther
March 01 - 12 ~ Monkey
March 13 - 15 ~ Lion
March 16 - 23 ~ Mouse
March 24 - 31 ~ Cat
April 01 - 03 ~ Dog
April 04 - 14 ~ Panther
April 15 - 26 ~ Mouse
April 27-30 ~ Turtle
May 01 - 13 ~ Monkey
May 14 - 21 ~ Dove
May 22 - 31 ~ Lion
June 01 - 03 ~ Mouse
June 04 - 14 ~ Turtle
June 15 - 20 ~ Dog
June 21 - 24 ~ Monkey
June 25 - 30 ~ Cat
April 01-03 ~ Dog
April 04 - 14 ~ Panther
April 15 - 26 ~ Mouse
April 27 - 30 ~ Turtle
May 01 - 13 ~ Monkey
May 14 - 21 ~ Dove
May 22 - 31 ~ Lion
June 01 - 03 ~ Mouse
June 04 - 14 ~ Turtle
June 15 - 20 ~ Dog
June 21 - 24 ~ Monkey
June 25 - 30 ~ Cat
July 01 - 09 ~ Mouse
July 10 - 15 ~ Dog
July 16 - 26 ~ Dove
July 27 - 31 ~ Cat
August 01 - 15 ~ Monkey
August 16 - 25 ~ Mouse
August 26 - 31 ~ Turtle
September 01 - 14 ~ Dove
September 15 - 27 ~ Cat
September 28 - 30 ~ Dog
October 01 - 15 ~ Monkey
October 16 - 27 ~ Turtle
October 28 - 31 ~ Panther
November 01 - 16 ~ Lion
November 17 - 30 ~ Cat
December 01 - 16 ~ Dog
December 17 - 25 ~ Monkey
December 26 - 31 ~ Dove

If you are a Dog : A very loyal and sweet person. Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends, all of them being quality-personified.

Mouse : Always up to some sort of a mischief! The mischievous gleam in your eyes is what makes you so cute and attractive to everyone. You are an extremely fun-to-be-with kind of person. No wonder people seek for your company and look forward to include you for all get-together's. However, you are sensitive which is a drawback. People need to select their words while talking to you. If someone tries to fiddle around and play with words while dealing with you, it is enough to invite your wrath. God bless the person then!

Lion:Quite contradictory to your name, you are a peace loving person. You best try to avoid a situation wherein you are required to fight. An outdoor person, you dislike sitting at one place for a long duration. You are a born leader, and have it in you how to tactfully derive work from people. You love being loved, and when you receive your share of limelight from so meone, you are all theirs!!!! Well, well... hence some people could even take an advantage, flatter you to the maximum and get their work done. So be careful....

Cat : An extremely lovable, adorable person, sometimes shy, with a passion for quick wit. At times, you prefer quietness. You love exploring various things and going into depth of each thing. Under normal circumstances you're cool but when given a reason to, you are like a volcano waiting to erupt. You're a fashion bird. People look forward to you as an icon associated with fashion. Basically, you mingle along freely but don't like talking much to strangers. People feel very easy in your company. You observe care in choosing your friends.

Turtle: You are near to perfect and nice at heart. The examples of your kindness are always circulated in groups of people. You, too, love peace. You wouldn't like to retaliate even to a person who is in the wrong. You are loved due to this. You do not wish to talk behind one's back. People love the way you always treat them. You can give, give and give love, and the best part is that you do not expect it back in return. You are generous enough. Seeing things in a practical light is what remains the best trait of you guys.

Dove : You symbolize a very happy-go-lucky approach in life. Whatever the surroundings may be, grim or cheerful, you remain unaffected. In fact, you spread cheer wherever you go. You are the leader of your group of friends and good at consoling people in their times of need. You dislike hypocrisy and tend to shirk away from hypocrites. They can never be in your good books, no matter what. You are very methodical and organized in your work. No amount of mess, hence, can ever encompass you. Beware, it is easy for you to fall in love....

Panther: You are mysterious. You are someone who can handle pressure with ease, and can handle any atmosphere without going berserk. You can be mean at times . Very prim and proper. You like all situations and things to be i n the way you desire, which, sometimes is not possible. As a result, you may lose out in some relationships. But otherwise, you love to help people out from difficult and tight spots when they really need you.

Monkey : Very impatient and hyper!!! You want things to be done as quick as possible. At heart, you are quite simple and love if you are the center of attraction. That way, you people are unique. You would like to keep yourself safe from all the angles. Shall your name be dragged or featured in any sort of a controversy, you then go all panicky. Therefore, you take your precautions from the very beginning. When you foresee anything wrong, your sixth sense is what saves you from falling in traps. Quite a money minded bunch you people are!!

Road Work Ahead: Diligence

Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander, no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--
and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Main Point: Work Today for Tomorrow

Wow, this message was so amazing and so convicting! I find that I struggle with the issue of diligence more and more now that we're approaching the end of the school year. Technically, it should be the other way around, the years almost over which means I should be worker harder than ever. But I find myself constantly falling behind and wondering, "why didn't I get that done when I had the time a week ago?" Some people call it "senioritius" but I don't believe that at all, its just a cover-up word for laziness.

"The path of diligence is the path of wisdom, the path of laziness is the path of foolishness."

"Diligence is doing what God wants, when he wants it, and how he wants it."

It so easy to forget that we are doing this all with an eternal goal in mind. So often I can focus on the here and now, how will this benefit me now? Why should I do it now when I can do it later? Why should I do that today when I can do it tomorrow? Well, usually tomorrow ends up being really depressing because I get up with a list as long as my arm of everything I need to accomplish. Not only what I have to do that day but the previous days work as well. After all, what is today but yesterdays tomorrow?

The BIG problem: the sluggard

A sluggard doesn't consider the decisions about today because he doesn't believe they will affect the future.

A sluggard is someone who doesnot listen to reminders.

A sluggard is someone who goes after things that will give him/her immediate pleasure.

The sluggard says "Why should I be diligent today when I can enjoy my laziness?" = BIG problem

The tiny answer: the ant

The has no one reminding her of her work, she knows she must be diligent today in order to survive tomorrow

Important Questions -

1. How often do my parents need to remind me of the obvious?

2. What are the small things that are getting in the way of my goal?

~The goal being to be satisfied in God, to not be in want.

3. What am I doing to cultivate a love for home?

4. How am I following my parents?

"It ought to be the buisness every day to prepare for the last day."

Spring Cleaning

So on this first day of spring break Clara and I decided to do some serious room cleaning... it was nice. We spent some quality sister time together...
we cleared out everything first... (and yes i did do half the work! not just take pictures ;)

Clara does get very "mom-ish" though when we clean the room. she says things like:

"put that there!"

"don't touch that!"

"stay still and don't touch a thing!"

She kicked me out of the room when she vaccuumed so I just got some ice-cream and sat on the floor like a good little girl...

busy vaccuuming...
yup. it was fun.

vaccuuming the ceiling... she really got into it!

roxie likes the clean floor.
woah! its empty... how crazy is that?

This is everything that came out of our room... so depressing. Luckily only about half of it went back in!

Anyways... now our room is clean! its so nice... we worked from 9am to 4pm so we were pretty tired. Josh and Kelley came up and had dinner with us tonight (love you guys!) and then my mom, Kelley, Clara, and I went shopping. Fun times =)

Hanging with my Girly =)

CRaZY hair!!!
people keep saying I look like Jennifer Aniston... I don't see it.