My own little Narnia

It has been snowing pretty consistently for the past couple days and has resulted in quite a bit of snow. :D Here are some pictures to show you my own little piece of Narnia!!!

The snow was swirling off the side of the road and across it.

So pretty!!!!

My fierce little attack puppy!! Haha. :D

How Many Kings

For Christmas, the signing group at church signed "How Many Kings" by Downhere. Here is the link. (I know it says facebook, but you don't actually have to have an account to see it.)

How Many Kings by Downhere

Sorry this took so long to post, Blogger would not let me upload the video and I just figured out I could put the link without anyone having to log in.

Goodbye, '13 Hello, '14

Well, it's now 2014 and a lot of jazzy stuff has happened in 2013, so I will recap. :D

• On New Year's Day I took Daddy to go see Les Miserables (the movie)
• Saw my darling Sharyssa as an evil eel
• Went skiing for the first time
• Got a new van (named Sparkles)
• Had a civil war ball
• Heard Bill Jack speak twice (APACHE and Worldview Academy)
• Celebrated the Ninin's 3rd birthday as she pleased :D
• Went to fake prom with dear friends
• Created the Fuzzy Llama Lovers
• Learned how to work Mom's pretty camera (aka Baby Camera)
• Had my favorite piano recital piece of all time, Bring Him Home from Les Mis
• Went to a dear friend's wedding
• Returned to Worldview Academy (and had a blast!!!!!!!)
• Made incredible new friends
• Planned a Sweet 16 surprise for my "sister" Rebekah
• Was thrown a Sweet 16 surprise for me 
• Went to the Indiana Dunes for the first time
• Began my second year of watching by Bella girl (aka Ninin, Nunkey, Turkey Girl, and any combination of these.)
• Started college 
• Visited the new library (many, many, many times!!!!)
• Started theater classes (YIPEE!!!)
• Got a guitar (and started learning it...sort of)
• Babysat for the first time overnight
• Was left home alone with Caleb for a week. (yes, we are both still alive and sane...okay, take back the sane part, we were never that in the first place!)
• Saw my first Broadway show (WICKED nonetheless!!!!!)
• Saw Sharyssa turn into a wicked witch (the wicked witch of the west to be specific.)

There is so much more that happened this past year that I just am not remembering, but I am so thankful for everyone that I met, reunited with, and/or became closer to. I hope this next year is full of God's grace, joy and love and everyone experiences it to the full measure!!!

Happy New Year's!!!!!!!

WICKED

On December 18th, 2013, I went to go see my first Broadway musical. To make things better, the show was WICKED. WICKED!!!!!  I fell in love with the music to the show, but had never seen it, so this was a big adventure. On top of that, I got to go see it with my "sister." (we're not really sisters, just super duper best friends!)

It was in downtown Chicago, so it took a while to get there, and we planned on eating dinner before the show downtown. I got ready and Sharyssa and Mrs. Greene arrived to drive us. Sharyssa and I had decided that we were going to dress up for the occasion, since it was both of ours first Broadway shows. The car ride felt like it took ages, but in reality it was pretty fast. We had to walk across the street to get to the restaurant, which was on the seventh floor of Macy's. Sharyssa and I looked pretty funny walking through downtown Chicago in formal dresses (and Sharyssa in heels) with both of us not liking all of the people pushing around us. We laughed at the thought of everyone who grew up in the city watching the two of us try to maneuver around the people. :D

After a lovely dinner, we pushed our way back to the theater and waited in a very crowded entry way, until they opened the doors. We excitedly went up the stairs and began a very long wait to get into our seats. The cast was running behind, so the wait was longer than usual. Finally we were able to sit down and admire the gorgeous theater and stage. The stage was just that, gorgeous!!! There was a giant dragon above the stage that had light up red eyes and moved with smoke effects. On the sides of the stage there were gears (facing the audience) that spun when they moved in and out. The curtain was a map of the land of Oz and the Emerald city glowed with green lights.

You can only imagine the excitement going through me and Sharyssa as we sat there waiting, and waiting, and waiting to see one of the most popular (if not the most popular) Broadway shows. When the lights dimmed and the orchestra began playing, my heart was beating out of my chest. Flying monkeys started swinging off all sorts of things on the set and the chorus began singing "No one mourns the Wicked." Sharyssa and I were holding hands through the first song and both squeezing with excitement.

Intermission came way too soon, but ended with my favorite song, "Defying Gravity." I was even more in love with the show than I was before, which I did not think possible. The cast was phenomenal and the show itself was beyond compare!

The show ended with a very dramatic finale and bows (of course!). There were about one thousand five hundred people at the show!!! Obviously, it took quite a while to get to the doors. Once we pushed through, we stopped at a little coffee shop, where I got some boba, then headed back to the car. It was all over. That brilliant night had ended. If you asked me if I would do it again, I would say "YES!!!" in a heartbeat!

Christmas

I remember being little and waking up at four in the morning to open presents. Now, I don't get up until almost seven. How much things have changed!

Ever since I can remember, Christmas has been the same every year. We wake up, read the Christmas story, open presents, going around the room youngest to oldest until everyone is out of presents, and then opening our stockings. This is my family tradition, and I love it. 

I got a new camera and a shirt from Mom, Dad, and Caleb, a guitar pick holder from Caleb, guitar lessons and a case from my Dad's mom, and money from my grandparents on my mom's side. I also got hand-knit hand warmers, homemade soap and perfume, a hand-spun and knit headband (see picture below), homemade snickerdoodles (YUM!!!), a cat scarf (see picture at end of post), a Wizard of Oz Scanimation book (the pictures move, so it looks kind of like a movie!), and hair chalk. 

The rest of the day was pretty laid back and chill. We played some games, but mostly rested. It was a very good day overall!