Deep Roots are Not Reached by the Frost

The past few days I have been reflecting back on the past 18 years (almost) of my life. And I would be telling a lie if I said I've had a terrible life. There have definitely been some extremely rough spots, but the joy and happiness I have felt quite drastically outweigh the sorrow and sadness. There were bad, dark instances that I thought would never end, and I don't know how they ceased, but I'm glad that my family was there to pull and shove me through my life at some points...haha. I look back on these 18 years and can distinctly see the Lord's hand in all of it. Any experience I think about, I see how it has helped me, how it has tested me, and how the Lord showered me with love. There have been very sacred experiences that will never be forgotten, and I thank the Lord dearly for who I have become, and who I will become with his help. There are definitely times I very much dislike things I do, who I am at times, but understanding that the Lord can help me o...

For Family Night tonight we watched family videos and oh....my.....gosh!!! I love my family!! My memories from the period we watched are not that great, but watching our family interact just made me so happy. We obviously loved each other very much and mother was quite patient. A lot of the time was spent on Georgia as she was only two and talking quite a bit so of course the cutest thing will be recorded the most, but we all had our bit to give.....haha. Laurel was always trying to be mature and the sister who kept everyone in check. Lydia noted how bossy she sounded on the video. :) I had no pretenses about being mean......or modesty.....eek. Lydia....oh my....hahahaha! There was one part when Dad was talking to Lydia about being obedient and I could have sworn that Ruby was on the video, not Lydia!!! Their mannerisms were almost the exact same, their word choice, the way they stressed their words.....everything Lydia was doing looked exactly like what Ruby does now! It was f...

So I found this picture and I can't decide what it is....any suggestions??

AP tests are almost here. The most terrible week of music is almost over. I don't know if I have it in me to endure much more emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. There's about a month of school left and.....I don't think I can make it. And not making it means being grumpy all the time, hardly sociable, lots of headaches from crying, my friends not wanting to be around me, my family getting irritated with me, me getting more and more confused.......I feel hopeless right now. Why do people have to do things that make it harder?? Can I push my way through everything? The only way I know of doing that is shut down all emotion and not let anything out. I've kind of been doing that the past few days....do I keep with it and get through this last month?

Yesterday my family and I planted our garden for this year!! Here are some pictures provided by the great Lydia!! Tomatoes Peppers More Peppers Potatoes (they're under the ditch) Watering the Tomatoes Mi Padre Zucchini More Tomatoes Broccoli Georgia laboriously watering the onions. Our baby peach tree. We planted it last year! One of our maple trees in the front! And there it is! We had a very fun time, and as far as I know, no one got sunburned. :) Now we're going to be SO excited when late summer and fall come around. We're going to have a substantial amount of food. :) We're going to have onions, peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, green beans, pumpkin, and butternut, buttercup, acorn, yellow, and delicata squash. I think I got them all. So yeah!!

So today Ruby's friend, Tessa, came over to play and a little later her little brother came over because their mom had to go to work. He is the most adorable little boy! We've watched him many times before so he has gotten to know us and we've gotten to know him. Today was more exciting than usual because he was talking SO much and that wasn't how it used to be. His cute little boy voice is to die for and his fragmented sentences make it even cuter. Today it snowed about 8 inches so Georgia, Ruby, Tessa, and Emma went out to play in it. When Caleb, the little boy, arrived he wanted to go outside and join the party so we let him. About five minutes later he came up to the back door and opened it. Mom went over and asked him if he was done. "Yeah!" was his reply but then he promptly turned around and ran back to the girls. Mom closed the door. 2 minutes later he came back and opened the back door again. "Do you want to come in? Are all done in the...

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME VIOLENCE. Characters: Susan (Mother) Amelia (Daughter/Sister) Lydia (Sister/Daughter) Laurel (Sister/Daughter Setting: Begins in the Dining Room and eventually moves through the kitchen into the Family Room of the Theobald home. Scene 1 Curtains open. Amelia and Lydia are sitting at the dining room table doing their homework. Amelia: GAH!!! I hate this!! ( Slams down pencil and dramatically rests head in hands. Lydia continues to sit there reading, taking no notice of Amelia's distressing situation. Suddenly, Amelia gets an idea.) Amelia (to herself) : I think I will text my elder sister, Laurel, a random exclamation, just to see what she does!! ( Amelia proceeds to text Where are you?! to her sister. Giggles come from Amelia as she contemplates what her sister's reply will be. Giggles turn into random bursts of laughter which becomes uncontrollable laughter.) Enter Susan Susan : What is going on? Lydia: It's her friends. Amelia: No! No.....