Elevators and Bicycles

Today is my very last day of community college! To celebrate, I rode the elevator. This may sound like an ordinary thing to do, but it was actually quite thrilling. When I first started classes in Building 11, this elevator was being constructed. Although it was soon finished, I spent the semester trekking up and down three flights of stairs (because "skinny people always take the stairs!").

But today, today, I took the elevator. It's not just any elevator. It's glass. And you can kind of see the levers and pulleys as you ride. It was so fun that I went down, then back up, then back down. When the doors opened a cleaning lady shuffled in. I stayed on. We rode up to the top floor, and she said, "You go ahead." I answered, "Oh, that's ok; I'm staying on." She look at me like I was a lunatic, gave this very long "ohhhhh" and shuffled off the elevator, pulling her cart behind her. I rode back down. A very flustered girl got on. She told me she was late for her final. We rode up together. She ran off. I rode back down. Then I walked off that elevator, slid into my car, and drove away--to return to that place nevermore and nevermore.

And now I'm going to go for a long bikeride in spandex I stole from my mother (they most assuredly DID NOT come from the 80s. At least that's what she says...) and a tie-dyed man's undershirt. I look great. Don't leave your houses.

Life could only get better if my spandex look like this....

It's Magic

When I flipped my calendar to December, I turned my radio dial to Magic 107.7. As the Christmas music streams from my stereo, I've been thinking about the true magic of Christmas. Even though this is a completely secular station, they cannot help but declare Christ as they air Christmas carols. "Christ is LORD" I heard on the radio today. And that really is magic.

Hands.

Working

Reaching

Holding

Growing

An Act of Worship?

Advent has come.
Two candles are lit.
My church is wreathed in garlands and shining with twinkle lights.
Sitting in church this Sunday, I remembered how I used to think it was a little silly for the church to spend all this time and money decorating the church for Christmas. Now I realize I was the silly one. By making something beautiful, we reflect the image of God, who makes all things beautiful. This is a time of year when it is especially meaningful to beautify. Each red bow and white light and green tree reminds that Jesus was born into the ugliness of this world to make it beautiful. Decorating is an act of worship, a proclamation of the glory of that humiliating birth.

Andrew David

It's the big 2-0! Amazingly enough, Drew has made it through many wild adventures and is still going strong in this his twentieth birthday. Since I gave a post to Macy, I figured I'd better give one to Drew, too. ;)

I love Drew because...

He's so very handsome.

He has a princess-like quality about him.

He looks nice in incredibly short shorts.

He attracts small reptilian creatures.

He saves people's lives. Literally.

(Insert picture of Drew decked out in full Boy Scout attire. I was having computer issues, so this post is missing pictures that I would have included if I could have.)

He's sweet.

He loves his sisters.

And, of course, he's part of this great family!

These few pictures don't even begin to describe the fun, funny, fishing, reading, hiking, climbing, guitar-playing, spontaneous, wacky, smart, good-natured, beastly strong man Drew is. I'm so glad you're my brother, Drewby! Love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Back to the Grind

What exactly does that statement mean? I'm really not quite sure, but it does conjure up vague images of coffee filters and Indian squaws smashing corn kernels.

Before I got "back to the grind," however, I had a stellar Thanksgiving weekend.

It began with HAIR! I decided to straighten my hair for the occasion, but had to blow-dry it first. Above was the result. After over an hour of Macy and Tori pulling at my head with flat irons, I ended up with stick-straight hair.

We went to the F's for the Thanksgiving feast, and had a wonderful time with them. After dinner, we children put on Little Red Riding Hoods for the parents, which was loads of fun.

Later in the evening we went to the park. (Note the straight hair.)

Once at the park we had lots of fun with the camera.

And jumping off picnic tables...

Tori and I spent the night so that we could wake up at 5:00 the next morning to go Black Friday shopping with Mrs F, Gabriela, and Renata. I get up at 5:30 every morning, but somehow the fact that we were at Old Navy at that hour made it seem a lot crazier. (Can you pick out the real people from amongst the mannequins?)

Best picture of Renata. Ever.

Later that same Friday, I drove Macy, Tori, Gabriela and Renata to go ice-skating outdoors along with a bunch of other people (like Emma :) from youth group.

As if the weekend hadn't been enough fun already, Macy had her Candy Land Sweet 16 Party on Saturday night.

The bathroom was a whirlwind of make-up brushes and bobby pins as we got ready for the evening and finally stepped out--the final product--into the night.

Christopher and Drew DJed the party.

If you hadn't guessed, it was a dance party.

A pretty "wild" one at that!

While the rap blared and the hips swayed in the studio, I chatted in the front room with these lovely ladies.

During the party we discovered that Caroline is a pretty impressive comedic dancer. Watching her prance around the floor was very entertaining, to say the least.

Best of all, Macy had a fabulous evening!

And the fun didn't end with the close of the party. After all the guests had left, we cleaned up the dance studio and headed home. Chris, Mollie, Andrew, and Calvin came along with us and we crowded into the living room to watch Macy open her boatload of presents. Once she'd unwrapped a vast array of lip gloss and nail polish, we just sat around and chatted--until 2:30 in the morning!

Still the party weekend continued. Since we didn't have youth group on Sunday evening, my sisters and I invited the youth over to our house for a bonfire in lieu of our usual meeting. Quite a few people came and we passed a very enjoyable evening roasting marshmallows, riding the zip-line, and passing Willanona from person to person.

Yet again I am reminded of how much I love my family ("adopted" siblings included). Although the Thanksgiving holiday has come to a close, I continue to give thanks for my crazy, spontaneous, open, wild, loving, beautiful family.

Macy Michelle

Today is my sister's 16th birthday. Since it's such a very special day, I thought I'd take a moment to celebrate the life of Macy!

I love Macy because....

She's really beautiful.

She was top of her Kindergarten class.

She has a really bendy back.

She had seriously cool bangs for about one week.

She goes for younger men.

She has friends with really great style.

She's not afraid to fight for what she believes in.

She's a hard-core exerciser.

She has mad peanut "unshelling" skills.

She's a star.

She's my sister.

But seriously....

Macy really is beautiful.

She's fun and she's funny.

She loves without judgment and she's [almost] always cheerful toward everyone.

And she's part of this family, which is really the coolest thing a person can be. ;)

I love you, sister! Keep those birthdays coming.