whoa.

usually, i think of Tim as pretty big. Almost 6 feet tall, near 200 pounds, strong as anything - I don't know, he just seemed big to me.but, at St. Johns on the basketball court, he looks like a pygmie. I'm so serious - he looks tiny! Obviously, compared to Muresan, anyone is small.this is a teammate (i'm not sure how tall he is...maybe 6'10''?) who is going to George Mason next year.aaaw. the little guy...

"...things too wonderful for me." psalm 131:1

"i see trees of green,
red roses, too": "i see them bloom
for me and you": "and i think to myself,
what a wonderful world": "the colors of the rainbow
so pretty in the sky": "i see friends shaking hands
saying 'how fo you do'":"they're really saying
'i love you'":"i hear babies cry
i watch them grow":"they'll learn much more
than i'll ever know": "and i think to myself,
what a wonderful world"

"And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

almost like a tv show...almost

so, during lunch, we anxiously waited for dash's text (by the way, forget chocolate -- give me a philly cheesesteak when i want comfort food. it was sooo good.)waiting...waiting...still waiting...finally! dash is in the building. show time.we dashed (hmm. love puns) through the mall hoping to surprise julie. why? i don't know, but it was fun.lydia, ladybug and i came around the corner of Aeropostale, but *horrors* dash's brother was right there. we were almost caught. steathfully, we snuck around the jean jacket rack, ladybug bumped into the shirt-folding-girl-who-was-wearing-an-Old-Navy-shirt-but-working-at-Aeropostale and we were almost spied by Dash's sister and neice. thanks to our Yankee ingenuity and super fast feet, we got to the back of the store unseen. once dash was found, we sent ladybug out to talk with her, while we continued hiding. boo! doesn't she look glad to see us? after all that work, too. (jk)then, lydia went jean-diving...and bear did some spinning. so glad we could see you, jules!

dash's par-tay!

julie had a pretty awesome party for her 17th birthday:"R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
Find out what it means to me
(sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)":
"Why do you build me up (build me up)
Buttercup, baby, just to let me down (let me down)":

"Sugar pie, honey bunch

You know that I love you

Oh, I can't help myself

I love you and nobody else:" "Put your left foot in, take your left foot out

Put your left foot in and you shake it all about":
Where did you come from, where did you go?

Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye-Joe?
happy birthday, julie!

a little elbow grease...

on saturday, dash came over and helped me pull up staples. yeah, we're crazy like that.
new hard wood floors are coming (hey, has anyone ever heard of "softwood floors"?)
there was this one that was really, really stuck. julie is a fighter, though.she finally got it- victory face! see those all those staples? i didn't think so - we got pretty much all of them.
"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord...
Blessed are those whose strength is in you...
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere."
-- psalm 84:1,2,5 & 10
julie - i love you and am praying for you today. God is so good!
ps. sometimes, when you do stupid things, you get what you deserve.

love them...

ladybug and i baby-sat these five, wonderful, Wizard-of-Oz-loving girls on friday. when i was cleaning the kitchen, i was listening to "Before The Throne" and i realized how much i loved that song!
so, i'm using that song for their pictures (surprise surprise!)

before the throne of God above
i have a strong and perfect plea:
 a great High Priest whose name is Love
who ever lives and pleads for me:

isn't it eerie right after it rains?

it's like that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night on vacation and you can't, for the life of you, figure out where you are. or, when you see somebody and you know that you have seen them before, but can't remember where. that's how i feel right after it stops raining - it's just strange. pretty, but strange.i took these next three pictures standing in the exact same place, only about 17 seconds apart. strange how one part of the sky can look like this:and the other part looks like this!: i told you it was eerie.

some friendly advertising...

i have a few great friends who are also "into" photography. so, if you don't already, check out their work:

lydia's photography - http://lydiajanephotography.blogspot.comha. sometimes we need to laugh at ourselves. ugh.

taylor's photography - www.flickr.com/photos/taylorangel

and brittany's photography - http://thewayitakeit.blogspot.com

*edit* please, check out ellie's blog, too - http://home.comcast.net/~foreverfriends21/ellieblog.html
we're going to start a business together, right ellie?

hmm...i like rainy days...

psalms are wonderful on rainy days (so are cheez-its, squishy pillows and driving the basketball carpool while singing "independance day")
"when i look at the work of Your fingers, what is man that You are mindful of him?" psalm 8:3-4
 "praise the Lord from the earth...
mountains and all hills...
fruit trees and all cedars...
beasts and all livestock...
kings and young men...
maidens and old men and children!" psalm 148:7-12
"let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" psalm 150:6 "whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth...it is He who makes the clouds rise...who makes lightning for the rain...who brings forth the wind..." psalm 135:6-7
"for a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere" psalm 84:10
i can't wait!


ps. "puhhht um up, puhhht um up! i'll fight 'cha on wun foooot."
who else loves the wizard of oz?" ladybug and and i do.
scarecrow: "well, now, that's getting personal"
tin man: "ya, why don't you get up and show him a lesson?"
:-D

veterans conference...wow...

yesterday, i had the extreme honor to go to Washington DC for a veterans conference with my class. we were able to see "The Doolittle Raiders," "The Band of Brothers," Vietnam POW's and more. it made me even more grateful for my dedicated leaders, brave soldiers, amazing country and merciful God. i do not deserve to live life in this country! thank you to all the veterans who sacrificed their lives, so i can live in freedom! (special thanks to my veteran mother, who served in the army!)

the song that these pictures are with is a great song, but montgomery gentry missed a big point. it isn't just that i am "proud" to be American and living freely, it's that i am grateful to God for this life.
but, please enjoy the amazing song, regardless.

first and foremost: my two siblings, who are absolutely huge blessings in my life! they didn't get a picture in my last post, but they should have. if you ever need a good laugh, hang out with my sister for about three-and-a-half minutes and if you ever need to know anything about sports, skip "espn.com" and ask my brother.

"she don't know she's beautiful
(never crossed her mind)
she don't know she's beautiful
(no she's not that kind)": -- kenny chesney

"cause i've been watching you,

dad, ain't that cool

i wanna do everything you do

so, i've been watching you": -- rodney atkinsas much as i love fall and taking pictures like these:"good night, moon - good night, stars - good night, room..."i am slightly in "summer withdrawal" again. the weather today was unbelievable. i clicked on a few memories today. the ladies, slightly burned and tanned, playing at Kelley Park, mildly chlorined from the pool, smelling like sunscreen - i can almost hear their giggly laughs, their sandals chunking in the wood-chips, the "croook-criiick" of the swings.

okay, mildly over-sentimental and way too gushy, but i do miss it.

ha. trouble with a capital T.
*one last massively exciting note* my joke-stealing-brother made varsity! as a freshman! he is going to play on espn! aah! he's almost famous! (at least, i think so)

how great Thou art

this post is my favorite song and some of His greatest blessings to me.

-- i know that when people post songs, it is easy to breeze by them. but, man, these words are unbelievable. really read them. then, go back and read about my blessings!

"O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made": "I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed":"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art":"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee
How great thou art, how great thou art": "When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees":"When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur,
 And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze":
"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art":"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art":
"And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in":
"That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin":"When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart":
"Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim 'My God, how great Thou art!":"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art":"Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art":
-- if i had a picture of Jesus or Heaven, i would put it here. the day is coming, though, when i will see Him in heaven and can sing Him this song and thank Him for all of the blessings He gave me on earth!

* EDIT * I didn't forget Kevin and Katie! I'm giving each of them a whole post in the near future. Both of them are massive blessings in my life. They are honestly some of the most fun and enjoyable people I know and I love them so much.

"a dream is a wish your heart makes..."

disney princesses + ice-skating = pretty much my california dream


a couple weekends ago all the girls went to watch this princess ice show. we got there very, very early:
finally, the show started:
of course Mickey has to be at any Disney event:
i love the seven dwarfs. love them. for dash and katie:

how come the ice didn't melt? it boggles my mind!thank you mom for taking us!

sorry!

i have been a terrible blogger this week! school and soccer have taken up my time -- i have much to show everyone tonight! can you feel the suspense?

New Format!

It was time. I needed to mix it up a little bit. Oh! super cool - you actually do "pull" the string that says "pull." fun, right? that was my favorite part! well, almost my favorite part. my real favorite part is the one of my best friends -- LYDIA -- did this change for me!!! thank you, skweegy! please look at her amazing blog: lydiajanephotography.blogspot.com!