Winterfest Lights in OC with the Balls.

A tradition like no other...

My siblings have dubbed this the cutest photo of us ever.

The best is yet to come.

All Photographs were taken by Anna (and her new camera) and are used with her permission.

Copyright 2006. AGH.

Who has updated?
I have not.
There has been no work or school to avoid.
Hah.


* Sarah wrote about her Christmas break.
* Anna posted pictures from the Townsends Christmas Eve Party.
* Mom wrote about her Christmas.
* Linnea is going to Urbana.
* Mrs. Shelton received a red camera.
* Mr. Howard posted a really awesome quote today about what we laugh about.
* Sarah Meadows posted about her super, awesome, white Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Updated Blogs:

* Luke and Sarah switched blogs last week, so you can read up on that. And just in case that wasn't enough excitement, Luke just posted a picture of Ben and Greg from long ago. It is pretty funny.
* Anna post pictures of Jared and I opening Christmas presents from my parents last time I was home. I think it was Friday night. Mom and Dad gave us all steam powered motor boats. You light a candle in them and then put them in the water and they putter all around. They are really awesome!!!
*The Toilet Paper Doll is amusing, if you haven't already seen it go NOW.
* Linnea posted that Hayley was coming home and that it was Hannah's Birthday.
*The Howards posted neat pictures.
*Mr. Howard said happy birthday to Pax.
*And SARAH MEADOWS POSTED!!!! She is out in Colorado getting snow and eating lots of good foods and enjoying family time.

You know what is great about having a school break?
You can do things you wouldn't normally do or you can do things that you never would want to do, but since you siblings are doing it, it is fun (like watching the Cosby Show are 11:15 and Star Trek at Midnight). I never watch TV, but last night I felt like sitting and doing nothing. Plus my siblings can make anything fun. I love my siblings! I'm so happy to be home and I am so happy to have time to spend with them. What fun! Isn't life grand?!?


"Spock is the man." - Luke

One more

Pray!

One of my favorite Christmas Carols...
It has my name in it! heh.

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Happy Birthday Hannah Singer!!!

and

Happy Anniversary Parents!!!
Congratulations on 23 years.

For Mrs. Peipon.
This is Hope with her hair sort of messy because it was in braids, but at this point in the day it was falling out. But I think this picture is still cute.

I'm home.

Until I have to leave to take my finals...

I'm not sure when I will leave, but it is good to be home now. :)

And it was fun walking in last night when only Dad and Mom knew I was coming.

I love my family.

I had Dad invite Jared over last night and I walked in in the middle of dinner.

I've been having so much fun planning coming home with Dad and Mom for the past two weeks. It gave me something to look forward to during my last six exams.

It is so weird how the end of my braids curl.

I miss them.
God be wih you until we meet again.




I love you all so much!!!

Please pray for Grandipop (Joe, Mr. Howard - whatever name he goes by to you, I call him all three, depending on the day or who I am talking to). He went to the hospital last night because he leg has been swollen and it is filled with fluid and is very painful. They ruled out a blood clot, but have no clue what is wrong. So, as of when I left for class today (about an hour ago), he was sitting on the couch doing the crossword puzzle. But he is in a lot of pain and can't keep pain medicine or food down. So, if you could all keep him in your prayers, I know he and Mary would appreciate it.

And I would like to once again say how much I love Mary. She is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet in your life!! I don't think she ever gets mad. She is great. I love staying with these dear people.

I have spent four Mondays, out of the last six, in four different places to sleep. Once in a bed, once on the floor, once on a futon, and once on a couch. I usually have all my stuff in the car ready for anything on Monday nights, but this week I had taken my stuff inside and so I had nothing!! No toothbrush, no soap, no pajamas, to change of cloths, no books for today, nothing but my contact solution and glasses (I normally always carry those). So I crashed on one of the girls couches and she lent me her sweatpants and a tshirt to sleep in. I didn't fall asleep until 2am, which is funny since I had gotten up at 5:30 that morning and normally would have been so tired. Then I woke up this morning at 6:30 when the sun started peaking through the windows. It was a beautiful sunrise this morning. I hope you all were up to see it. I love those colors and the way that light is scattered (we just learned about this in physics - I just had an exam on it yesterday. haha).

Anyhow, then I walked out of her apartment and grabbed a cup of coffee (I only drink coffee once in a while, but it was cold enough this morning and my eyes wouldn't stay open wide enough). Then I headed clear across campus (25 minutes) to my favorite engineering building and now I am sitting here reading the news and enough the peace and quiet. I still have to go back to the Howards and pick up my schoolbooks for today. KLast day of class today!!! I am so excited. Bring on the exams! My life is such an adventure. Praise God for his love, protection, and grace!!

It is beautiful outside today!!!
I finished one of my finals and I have four more to take (only one more today, thankfully). Then maybe I'll be back to blog... or maybe I'll just enjoy my break without blogging... I might actually be able to get some photos while I am home though... I might have to blog those. Anyhow, 9 days until I get to come home for Christmas break. WOOHOO!!!

Look!!
No make-up at the RUF Christmas party.
It will be five months since I wore make-up in five days!!
Woohoo.

So it is official: I MISS HOME!!!

I am ready to come home.

I am tired of not being home.

I want my Mom to cook for me.

I want to see my cat.

I want hugs from my dad or Anna.

I am sick of people that don't understand me.

I want my own church.

I want my own bed.

I want to sleep for hours and not worry about missing school.

My brain is tired of studying.

I want to play games with my siblings.

I want to watch Christmas movies and make Christmas cookies with them.

I am tired of spending Christmas celebrations without anyone that I love.

I want to stay up late and talk to Sarah and Anna.

The food just doesn't taste as good when my mother doesn't cook it.

I want Luke to come in and draw on my mirror.

I am tired of not knowing where any stores are.

I am tired of having to walk out to my car alone in the dark.

I am tired of not being able to see the stars.

I want my siblings to make me laugh.

I want to hear them tell their funny stories.

I want to see my woodstove.

I want to start a fire and carry in wood.

I miss my Dad.

I miss my Mom.

I miss Sarah.

I miss Anna.

I miss Luke.

I miss Hope.

I want to go home!

I long to go home.

COME DECEMBER 20th!!! COME QUICKLY!!!

* I reread some of your letters last night.

It made me miss you all more.

Thanks for writing me all those letters.

I love to read them.

Oh and to Mrs. Taylor, I will write you back, but please know how great it was to get a letter!!! It was so encouraging to here from home. I really really really appreciate it! I know it takes a lot to sit down and spend the time writing a letter. Thank you so much for your prayers on my behalf. I love you and miss you! Can't wait to see the green room.

I thought I would let you all know that:

* Melanie Adams in going to Ukraine this summer and here is her blog to read her adventure.
* Sarah is finished school this semester.
* Hayley posted Scotland pictures. I don't know why see went there. I would like to hear the story, maybe I will when she comes home.
* Anna has a new blog.


And I think Albert Einstein was a genius.
I am studying quantum again in physics and it is blowing my brain all the different topics that he came up with. We just studied special relativity and E=mc^2. It is funny that people quote this formula becaue it is the rest energy... the real formula that we have to know for physics is E = (gamma) * m * c^2 (where gamma = sqrt (1/(1-(v^2/c^2)))). So just in case you were wondering what I have been thinking lately. I wonder if he has a biography. I am sure he does. I need to check the library over Christmas break and see if I can find any. I bet it would be a really interesting read because I can probably understand some of the stuff that he came up with. Some of it is really crazy, but it is amazing.

The neat thing is, that no matter how much we know, there is always more to know, and you really begin to see how wonderful and complex God is. If He created something this vast and beautiful, and we still can't explain it, how much more wonderful is he than our brains can imagine? That came out rather confusing... hmmmm. Anyhow, have you ever thought about the universe and how huge it is and how it seems to go on and on and on and on forever and we have never found the end of it. Do you ever wonder what is out there? And how beautiful it is that we don't just fall into the sun, but we orbit around it? And how we stay in the right orbit so that it isn't too hot or too cold for us? Once you get into the math behind all of these things, you start to marvel at the fact that they do work. It is amazing!!! The world is AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!!! Appreciate this wonderful creation! Praise its perfect creator!

Since I have one exam and two tests tomorrow, I thought I would update now for tomorrow's sake.

If you posted in December you have made it on this weeks updated list:
(this is really sad... I am disapointed in a lot of you!)

* Linnea has posted about some of her favorite Christmas movies.
* Dasha updated her blog. I really like this blog.
* Sienna and Kyrie have finals. Pray for them and offer encouragement.
* Mr. Howard is faithful to his blog.
* Brae posted a video.
* Mrs. Peipon has impressed me with her posting spree.
* Mrs. Wingard has updated her blog. I haven't read most of it yet. But Mr. Howard told me so. haha. So go read. Also, her husband has a blog, so you can go read that as well.
* Hannah updated with lots of pictures.
* And Rachel posted and I updated my links.

My Dad has always said "bitter providences" and it has always intrigued me. I decided to look up online today who else uses this term. Surprise surprise... John Piper uses it too. And since I love John Piper so much I thought I would post a little bit of what I had found. This comes from a sermon called, "To Be a Mother Is a Call to Suffer." Hmmmm, makes you want to rush off into motherhood doesn't it? I love my mother and I don't know how she raised all of us kids. I respect her a lot, we have her a lot of grief. I miss my parents (only 14 days). :)

"Elisabeth Elliot ended with a poem by Martha Snell Nicholson (a "mendicant" is a beggar):

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne
And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."
He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."
I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

That's where we have been in Romans 7. It isn't law-keeping that justifies us before God. It isn't first law-keeping that sanctifies us. It is the lifting of the veil so that we see Jesus for who he is, dying in our place and rising again so that we receive him as the treasure of our lives.

And if it takes a thorn to pin aside the veil – if it takes disappointment and loss and heartache and calamity and bitter providences – then, for Christ's sake, and for the sake of our eternal joy seeing and savoring him, let it come. Amen."

Romans 7:4-6
4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Psalm 150

1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,

4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,

5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

I am feeling extremely thankful today.

Eight exams, 16 days, and I get to come home!!!

"I'll be home for Christmas..."

Christmas is more exciting to me this year, than it has been in a long time.

Although, I will Miss Grandimary and Grandipop and their chili on Christmas.

We've been having lots of soup lately. It is awesome. I love soup!!