U N C E R T A I N

 In a dessert of uncertainty 

Lost in it all 

Feeling like its smothering me 

I’ve lost all control 

And I don’t know where I am  

I’m losing all sense 

Of where up is 

And I’m ready to curl up 

And admit defeat 

But I’m still lost 

Without a way out 

And I want to live 

Really live 

I sit surrounded 

Uncertainty on every side

And out of the darkness 

A star appears in the east 

Guiding me out of this 

I follow not knowing 

Where I’m going 

But knowing it’s leading me 

To the one who knows all things

Amid the darkness

I follow the star

5 Ways to Give to Your Local Food Pantry

I know everyone is trying to grab your attention this time of year and get you to give their cause, but I wanted to share some ways you could help your local food pantry. Here we go!

1. Give time. 

Your time is one of the most valuable things you can give. Seriously, almost all food pantries need volunteers. That will look different at each one, but they need you. At my food pantry, they desperately need people to come and simply put an assortment of food in bags to give out easily. I normally only help out for an hour a week, so it's not like it's a huge commitment, but it's great to work there. 

2. Give (Good) food. 

My family was unemployed for two years. We depended on food pantry food to eat for a lot of weeks. I distinctly remember one week getting very excited because we had gotten a box of food which meant finally some variety in our contact diet of mac and cheese. I cannot express my disappointment when inside the box was limp cabbage and cans of stuff I don't think anyone actually eats if they aren't desperate. We ate it, and my mom used it as a lesson on how we should be grateful for everything God provides and I still appreciate that lesson. But I can't help but hope that a lot of kids won't have to learn that way and that they'll be excited to get bags because they have good food in them. Most food pantrys depend on donations, and so what you give is very important. Out of date, super weird, or half-used food items are not a good way to go when donating, but what you give may mean the world to someone. I remember getting chips one month and it was the biggest treat we had had in a long time.

3. Give money. 

Food pantries often have a lot of monetary needs. Most of the time they buy food to supplement donations, have to pay utility bills and have to buy equipment to keep operating. Giving money is a great way to help them stay afloat. 

4. Give prayers. 

Handing out food is not a photo-op event, it's pretty rough a lot of times. So pray for your local food pantry and the people who come through. 

5. Give cards. 

Most food pantries will accept cards to give out to the clients. You can write encouraging notes to make people smile. Or simply write your local food pantry and tell them you appreciate them. 

So there you have it, five ways you can help out at your local food pantry. I hope you will at least look up the food pantries in your area and check them out. They can be so awesome! 

Merry Christmas y'all!! I may not post next week since it's Christmas. =) 

R E C O N C I L E

I wrote this for myself because it's what I needed to hear. 

 Reconcile 

Is not a word we like today

We like words like

Toxic 

Hurtful

And detrimental

We're not as into words like

Forgiveness

Grace

And putting things in the past

We don't like 

Loving when it's painful

Or facing hurt again

We don't like to be uncomfortable

But if we don't like words like

Reconcile

Forgiveness

Moving on

Loving 

Or being hurt for people

Then I guess we don't love

What Jesus did for us

That He came to reconcile us to Him

To forgive us

To move past our sin

To love us

Even when it killed Him

November Highlights

This month had some ups and downs, but the good far outweighed the bad. <3

I was watching my favorite little kid. He's almost three, and I told him I loved him, and he said he loves me too. My heart just about melted. Two and three-year-olds are just about the best. <3

After a Bible study zoom one night me and my sisters made a late-night run to get ice cream. =D 

I had a cold for part of the month. It was rather uneventful, just mild discomfort and staying home. Thankfully it cleared up in a couple days and I was able to go back to work. But telling people your sick in 2020 is terrifying. XD 

I participated in NaNoWriMo. I had been unsure as to whether I was going to do it (Due to stress, and recent questions about the site) but I decided to go for it. I write 30 thousand words with of short story and book beginnings. Nothing stuck until I got to the last 20 thousand and I managed to write a Novella about my character Mandy.  I finished on the 27'th and really enjoyed my experience. I have never been so busy while doing NaNo. There were a lot of nights when I was writing till 1AM (A time of night I do not enjoy), and a lot of writing in the car between jobs, but I loved it. All the stress was worth creating again.  

A Bible study group I've been a part of met up in the park for the first time. After seeing everyone on Zoom for the last few months, it was super fun to be able to meet up in person (from six feet apart). 

My dad pinched a nerve in his back (super painful), and so we've been taking him to a lot of appointments. I've tagged along to keep my mom company, but thankfully he's finally starting to feel a bit better.  

I did a lot of Christmas shopping and wrapping. I had a bunch of fun buying things for my friends and wrapping them. <3 I was going to go black Friday shopping online, but the sheer volume of things on sale completely killed my enthusiasm, so I didn't. 

We had our family Thanksgiving celebration. We weren't able to go up and see my great-aunt this year, so we just stayed home, had fried chicken, and enjoyed being together. It was sad not to be with extended family, but I am so grateful my whole immediate family was able to be here. <3

I became a rep for Mudlove.com. They are an awesome company, so I was super excited when they started an ambassador program. I'll be one for six months and I'm super excited!!

Honestly, the best part of my whole month was getting to meet Jesseca Wheaton and Deborah Cook. We went to Magnolia Market (which honestly, I'm not really impressed by), and then we went to a drive-in For King and Country concert. It was pouring rain, so we all stood huddled under an umbrella and blankets freezing, but it was worth it! The songs sounded even better in person, though my favorite had to be hearing them sing Together and Priceless. <3

I am excited to be featuring both the books I've read and the movies I've watch this month!

Books: I re-read my all-time favorite Dear Mr. Knghtely along, and discovered The Story which was my favorite new read of the month. <3 The Traitors Game was also a first, but it was my least favorite due to the romance. 

Movies: I watched a lot this month, but most of it was re-watching. The far-right row was the four new movies I watched, none of which I liked. XD Unleashing Mr. Darcy and its sequel were my favorite thing I re-watched and A December Bride was my least favorite new movie. 

Most of the posts this month were Black Friday deals. XP

What If  Summer of 1999

Inktober 2020 A Farm Girls Life

Gingerbread Cookies Ellen's Musings 

20+ Unique & Thoughtful Gift Ideas A Farm Girls Life 

How was your Thanksgiving? Do you like the addition of movies in my posts?

Why I Love MudLove

About five years ago I was given a MudLove bracelet that said "Be the Change. It had a brown band and I loved it so much I wore it out. I'm not kidding, it literally snapped in half because I used it so much. I was so in love with that bracelet that I bought more from their site. I now have 20+ bracelets and a couple of mugs, and I just became a rep for them for the next five months. I am super excited about this because I not only love their products, but I love their mission. I just want to be clear here, I'm not here to try to shove products on anyone, I just want to share about one of my favorite companies with y'all. I thought I'd give y'all some reasons why I love MudLove so you can know some of my reasons why I applied to be a rep. 

1. For every product you buy from them it gives a week of clean water. They are partnered with a company called Water for Good that builds well's in Africa. So by buying from them, you're also giving back. 

2. They are super durable. Their mugs are dishwasher and microwave safe. Their bracelets are adjustable so there's no growing out of them, and they are waterproof. They also hold up under pretty much anything. 

3. They have the best customer service. Like ever. I've had a couple issues with their site and every time I've emailed them they've always been super nice and fixed the problem right away. 

4. Did I mention that if you break your bracelet they will replace it for free? Yup. All you've got to do is pay shipping, which is a fraction of the cost of the bracelet. 

5. They might be sold near you. There is a map here showing places that carry their products. I've only been able to buy in person once, but if you like shopping in person they have a lot of places you can buy. 

But if you like online shopping like me, for the next three days (through Sunday) you can use my code and get 30% off at MudLove.com. If you order before the end of Monday you also get free shipping on top of my code, which is an incredible deal. So here's the code: MIKAYLAH30 You'll be able to apply that in your cart. 

Again, me being a rep will not be one long ad of me hoping you'll buy their products. I really love Mudlove and I hope y'all will be able to check out their products and maybe love them as much as I do. I might pop in once in a while to tell y'all about deals going on.  

Do you have a MudLove bracelet? If you do, will you tell me the story behind it?

My Top Five Christmas Books

I just put up my Christmas decorations. Yup, a week before Thanksgiving. I know some of you are groaning in , but honestly, I just love Christmas so much I didn't want to wait. I've got a Christmas candle burning and have already done a lot of my shopping. I'm in the mood so I wanted to share my top five Christmas books, so here we go:

Treasures in the Snow by Patricia st. John. This was my all-time favorite as a kid. It still has a powerful message for kids and adults. 

A Very Bookish Christmas. The collection is epic and I'm linking it on Amazon because it's only going to be available for a bit longer before it goes away forever. I would highly recommend all the stories in it. <3

At Christmas Lodge by Rebekah Morris. This is a tiny, but awesome little romance. <3

The Five Little Pepers by Margaret Sidney. This isn't strictly a Christmas book, but it has one of my favorite Christmas scenes ever. 

Gift From the Storm by Rebekah Morris. This is a sweet story with great characters and family relationships. 

Also, as a bonus, Little Women by Lousia May Alcott has some awesome Christmas's in it as well. The book starts just before Christmas. 

What's your favorite Christmas book? 

U N D E R S T A N D

Sometimes I don’t understand 

Why all this has to happen 

But as I struggle 

Finding no solid answers 

I realize you have a purpose 

And even if I don’t get it 

There’s a reason for all of this 

I don’t like it 

But I don’t have to 

All I’ve got to do is trust you 

And you’ll take care of it

Please help me to hold to you

And not question you 

Cause I want to trust 

I know you are good 

Help me to live 

Like I believe that 

October Highlights

This month felt jam packed with social events. I hadn't realized how much I had gotten out until I started writing this post. 'cause wow, it was full!

Our church had it's anuel picnic. This year was pretty different since we all had to bring our own food, and stay apart from each other, but we managed to have fun. =) 

On the fifth was my aniversy of accepting the Lord, so my family celebrated by taking me to lunch. I am now a spiritual teenager. 

My mom and I went to the zoo, but I decided to go without my camera. It was refreshing to be able to just walk around without any pressure. I got a couple pictures on my phone, but mostly we just enjoyed walking around looking at the animals. 

My sister and I attended our young adults meeting, then we decided to get ice cream. So at 10PM we pulled into Sonic and got shakes. Dispite peoples dire warnings that ice cream will keep you up at night, it gave us no bad affects. Our group also had a s'more's and worship night. I'm thinking this needs to be a regular thing. 

Me and my siblings from left to right: Sarah, Michael, Rose, Grace, Rebekkah, and me!

We went to a pumpkin patch! I was super excited that they were open this year, and we got to walk around. I got two tiny little pumpkins, which are sitting on my desk. 

I got some great chill time at home with my sisters. We watched some movies, I played a computer game (Something I haven't made time for in awhile), and just hung together.

Someone had a boat they had painted as the SS Minnow on the side of the road, so I got to get my picture with it! I used to be a big Gilligans Island fan, and while I'm not much of one anymore, it was still fun to see!

It got cold enough for hot chocolate. (And promptly warmed right back up into the 80's. No complaints here.)

The biggest thing that happened in October was me and my siblings went on a four day trip to the beach. We did a lot of Madlibs in the car, spent a ton of time on the beach, played games, watched youtube, and ate a lot of junk food. I got to take my first moonlite walk on the beach, which was epic. We ended it off with lunch at a restaurant on the seawall. <3 For those four days it really felt like 2020 had paused. I was off social media, we didn't have to wear masks at the place we rented, and the beach was practically empty. It was a delightful break. 

As for work, I've been continuing on my awesome Monday preschool that I help teach, and then two other days I watch one darling little girl. She and I spend a lot of time doing chalk drawings and playing pretend. The paycut was 110% worth how chill this has been. 

I just wanted to add a note down here that I never post any of these as a way to brag or show off. I realize in 2020 a lot of people have not been able to get out nearly as much as I have. I fully realize how blessed I am to be able to get out as much as I am, and how many of my events are up and running. I'm sorry if my posts ever make you feel bad. My intention is simply to share what's going on in my life.

I felt book starved going into October, so I spent a ton of my free time reading. It was fun to re-read a lot of book. The Riddle of Ages was probably my most enjoyable re-read and The Captive Kingom the best new read (with reservations). 

Clear Skies Totally Graced

We'll Keep On Stories by Firefly

A Forest Photoshoot A Farm Girls Life

Top 5 Favorites of the Year so Far The Destiny of One

A Few Autumn Delights  || Top 5 from 2020 Ellen's Musings 

The 12 Days of NaNoWriMo || Maybe I'm Back Once Upon a Time

I've got a question for y'all: Should I add movies watched to my highlights? I already keep track of the movies I watch in my bullet journal and have been thinking off adding them, but wanted to know if y'all would be interested in seeing those. 

How was your October? What's your favorite beach?

 

The Narnia Tag

I found this tag over on Jenna Terese's blog and it looked fun, so I decided to pick it up! I wouldn't call myself a huge Narnia fan, but I do love the storys. 

Rules: 

Thank the person who nominated you (Thank you, Jenna!)

Describe the rate of your Narnia fanatic (Nostalgic, Serious, Maniacal)

Answer the questions below

Tag 5+ bloggers

Have fun!

Rate of Narnia Fanatics:

01. Nostalgic Fanatic—You read the book and/or watched the movies as a child and the word Narnia gives you a warm feeling

02. Serious Fanatic—You rediscovered the wonder of Narnia after you were older and have read the books and watched the movies

03. Maniacal Fanatic—You have lived Narnia from childhood, hid in closets on more accounts than is healthy, have read and watched all the movies including the BBC version

I'm going with Serious Fanatic. I listened to the audio drama's when I was around 10-12, but didn't watch the movies and read the real books until I was older. 

A screenshot from my last re-watch of Prince Caspian

The questions: 

01. Who’s your favorite Pevensie child?

Honestly, it's a toss-up between Lucy and Edmund. I used to love Lucy hands down the best, but I have related to Edmund more as I've gotten older so now they're both kind of my favorite. 

02. What is the most underrated book in Narnia?

The Horse and His Boy. It's the best Narnia book but highly underrated. 

03. Who is your favorite Narnian king?

Peter. He made a fantastic king. 

04. Who is your favorite Narnia queen?

Lucy. <3 I felt like she was a bit stronger of a queen than Susan. 

05. Which non-human Narnian do you like best?

Mr. Tumnus. He was so awesome and kind. <3 

06. Which book deserves a movie?

The Horse and His Boy. I've always wanted to see a movie of it.

07. What is one thing you did as a Narnia fan that you do not regret?

The first time I watched Narnia I watched all three of them in one day. That was a long day, and I was super brain dead but it was 100% worth it. I still intend to do that again someday, but I haven't made time.  

That was fun! If anyone wants to do it, just go ahead and grab the tag! 

What's your favorite Narnia book?

Half Stress, Half Chill

Here is a picture of a turtle for your enjoyment. 

I'm behind on my Goodreads challenge. 

I haven't been training with my puppy. 

My room is in a constant state of looking like a tornado went through it. 

I've eaten corndogs for my work lunch for two weeks 'cause I'm too lazy to make better lunches. 

I haven't posted much of anything on social media lately. 

I haven't prepped anything f or my vacation next week. 

I haven't written anything for months. 

I have a whole pile of letters that need replys.

I haven't used my camera in weeks. 

I've read some epic books lately. 

My dog still loves cuddling me. 

I actually managed to clean my room today. 

Corndogs are epic. Especially with ranch dressing. 

I haven't really missed posting too much. 

I get to go on vacation!!

I'm sure writing will continue eventually.

People are really patient waiting for letters.

I'll take photos again soon. 

I've been feeling the pull of two different sides of life lately so much lately. I'm half chill, and half stress at this point, but the two things do not like to coincide. This results in a lot of nights staying up until midnight watching movies, then getting up early to get to work on time, and falling asleep on the couch when I get home. I proceed to get up, work on my own stuff, and then repeat the whole process. Not a terrible way to spend time, but I am hoping to learn a bit more balanced. 

This post doesn't have some great deep meaning. I'm excited because I'll be going on vacation next week and so I'm going to seize the time and take a break from social media. I'm trying to work on some better habits, but also learning to let go of some of my expectations. 

How are you doing? 

Autumn Smiles

This is kind of a continuation of my post 35 smiles except the Autumn edition. Not all of the things are really fall-ish, but they're what I'm thankful for right now.

Pumpkins

Morning tea

Reading on the porch swing 

Open windows 

Leaves crunching underfoot 

Cute sweaters 

Socks 

Pumpkin scented candles 

All the red and orange 

Only two months until Christmas

Baking 

Fall break 

Lego’s

Mini photos 

New stickers 

Sale’s on binders 

Bike rides

Stargazing 

Kitten cuddles 

Curling up under blankets

Fall movies 

Planning trips 

Journaling at night 

Watching sunrises 

Haybales 

Going to bible study 

Kids tackle hugs 

Midnight Masquerade (the movie)

Golden hour 

Fluffy clouds 

Burning sunsets 

The deck being cold in the morning 

Family meetings 

Spontaneous board games 

Gold sharpies 

Sketching late at night

Happy Together by The Turtles 

What's one of your favorite parts of fall? 

S I L E N T

The ink jar is full 

Ready to form words 

Ready to go on the page 

But I can’t do it 

I’m out of words 

I’m empty 

I’ve stayed silent so long 

The words were suppressed 

And then they disappeared 

And I don’t know where to look 

For so long in my life 

I wrote every time I hurt 

I bled onto the pages 

And now the wound is still there

But it doesn’t bleed

It just festers 

And I can’t help it anymore 

I feel trapped inside myself 

Unable to let it all out 

So I hide 

Unable to deal with it all 

But I don’t think that's helping 

I think I’m making it worse

September Highlights

Wow, so September was packed. I felt like it was really the beginning of getting back to normal as I worked, and got to go to real events. But also it was the end of summer, of lots of free time, and held some kind of hard stuff. 

So at the beginning of the month, I was working four days a week. Not gonna lie, that had me pretty stressed. I felt like I was running back and forth to work every day, plus trying to fit in other events. I'm not super good at time management. =P Well, about three weeks into the month... I was let go from my main job. The people I had been babysitting for no longer needed me. So yeah, I'm going to be home a lot more. It's kind of a mixed blessing. I'm glad I no longer have all that stress, but I kind of did like having the paycheck. XD 

One day at work it started raining. In Texas summer this is a big thing, so me and all the kids ran outside. We got soaked and it was a blast. The only thing that wasn't was drinking home wet. ;) 

A lot of times after work this month I met up with family for shopping, or dinners, which was pretty fun. =) 

We had our last day at the water park which felt to me like the end of summer. 

We had smores for no other reason then that we had the stuff for them. 

I did my first scavenger hunt, which was epic!! Our zoo hosted it. We had to find information, take pictures, do videos, and it really was a blast. We got an otter snuggly for participated, which was great! 

My sister Rebekkah and I at the zoo.

My bible study I attended started up again, and we met in the park to just get to know each other. We played Scattergories and 20 questions. It was awesome to meet up with them, even from six feet apart. <3 

A teacher of mine from co-op passed away mid-month. He was an absolutely amazing guy, and I wrote a post about him here. His was the fourth funeral I've ever gone to.

I realized I hadn't cleaned my SD cards off since March. O.o So suddenly deciding it must be done right away, I stayed up till midnight one night cleaning them off and going through the photos. It was worth it. ;) 

I joined my young adult's group in helping a family from our church move. It was a lot of work, but super fun. I hadn't gotten the chance to haul boxes and just hang out with my young adults group in a long time. We worked really hard, ate a lot of pizza, and just had a blast. 

I got to virtually watch High School Musical two with my friend Micaiah. <3 It is surprising how relevant that movie is. 

Yeah, I read a whopping six books. But I enjoyed all of them! A Portrait of Loyalty was my favorite. <3

What a Year Stories by Firefly 

Stars and Sparklers A Farm Girls Life 

Words and Life Once Upon a Ordinary 

Emojis, Photos, and a Surprise Ellens Musings 

Star Trek: Exploring Emotion The Destiny of One 

So yeah, this was not my best month, but there were definitely some awesome points! Have you ever been on a scavenger hunt? 

G O O D B Y E

I woke up this morning 

To find you were gone

And I never had the chance 

To say thank you 

So it may be a little late 

But here goes 

Thank you for being my teacher 

For being so patient with me 

Thank you for always making time 

For giving me hugs whenever I needed

For giving of your time sacrificially 

Thank you for being so positive

And for making everyone feel loved 

Thank you for being like a second dad 

To me and everyone at our co-op

I never had the chance to tell you in person 

But I know you wouldn’t be mad 

I look forward to telling you in person 

What an impact you made on me 

But until then I’m going to miss you 

Goodbye

Until we meet again 

In memory of Doug Dedger

We’ll miss you 

How to Level up Your Babysitting Skills

I've been a babysitter for five years now, with over ten different places I have worked, and every time I walk into a new job I feel completely unprepared. Each set of kids are different which makes each job unpredictable. But I have picked up some tips along the way, so here they are:

1. Pray a lot. 

I try to use my drive to work to pray. I am not a naturally patient person, so I usually pray for a lot of patience, that I would be a good influence on the kids, and that they would react well to my authority. It's hard for a lot of kids to have someone different come in and be in charge, so I pray extra for them, knowing it's not going to be easy for them. 

2. Cultivate genuine love for the kids. 

I have walked into jobs before where there are 10 kids I'm helping watch and I don't like any of them, but choosing to love them despite not liking them makes a world of difference. You can't change how the kids act necessarily, but you can change how you react to it. Choosing to like them to doesn't hurt either. ;)

3. Get down on the floor. 

Kids like to be played with. I personally love sitting on the couch and watching kids play, but they do well with adult interaction. Sit down, play with the toys, let them knock down block towers you build. It's really fun, trust me. 

4. Focus. 

Don't let your focus get off the kids for to long. Phones, books, movies, they're all fun, but even if it's a pretty casual babysitting job, it's a good idea to just leave your phone in your purse (With the ringer on so parents can contact you) and focus on the kids. 

5. Don't take it personally. 

My mom told me this and it has been the number one biggest help in my babysitting career. If you work enough babysitting jobs, you'll hear a lot of stuff (i.e. I hate you, you're mean, go away) none of it fun to hear, but you don't need to take it personally. More often then not, kids are just upset that they're parents are gone, and are taking it out on you. Choosing each time a kid acts out to not take it personally but it just deal with the issue helps way more than getting flustered.

6. Be willing to work (and play) hard. 

When I go into a job, I try to let the kids have as much fun as possible. I'm here for only a short part of their day, and I want them to look forward to coming back. Parents may not always have the energy to play tag with their kids after a long day of work, so I try to do it. I don't always feel like showing kids how I can do a cartwheel (Which is still lopsided, but I guess that's beside the point), but I never regret it when I see how happy they are. So go the extra mile, read a book when your voice is tired, iron 20 pearler beads and get burns, play hide and seek for an hour. You'll enjoy the memories. 

Bonus tip: Keep track of funny things kids say. I have started doing this recently and it is the best! 

I may not be a world-class babysitter, but I do love working with kids and I hope these tips help. 

What's your favorite thing a kid has said to you? Comment below and I'll tell you my favorite kid quote from this week.

Shouldn't You Love Today?

Just some thoughts on the pressure to join different movements, and days to talk about certain issues. Typically I try to keep my poetry happier, but this is just what I've been feeling lately and I wanted to share. 

Shouldn't you love today?

Shouldn't you love this movement? 

They do a lot of good

They change the world

Shouldn't you love that? 

Shouldn't you speak up? 

Shouldn't you take a stand? 

They need a reminder 

They need a voice 

But I can't

I'm trembling on the inside

Every time this day comes

I feel like I should speak 

But I'm not like you 

Your pain caused you to be bold 

Your hurt turned into helping 

Mine left a bruise 

And made me shelter it 

Talking about it doesn't help 

And speaking out isn't just painful 

It's debilitating 

And I'm not ready for that  

Please don't tell me my silence is weak 

Please don't tell me I'm hurting people 

Please don't say you're saving a life

And I'm just watching them die 

'cause you don't know me

I've got my own pain 

And you've got yours 

I want to love today 

But I can't 

I'm not ready for it

So please don't ask me to 

I'll tell you when I can

Go change the world 

I'll join you when I'm ready

Ausgust Highlights

August was a mix of super chill, and hecticly busy as work started up again. 

I went completely off of lactose for two weeks. I am a weird mix of more than just sensitive, but not highly allergic, so I went 100% off to see if that would help some problems I was having. It helped a ton, so I am now about 95% lactose-free. If it's low enough on the ingredients list, I'll still eat it, (Like below salt or things like that) because that means there's probably not enough in the product to give me problems. So yeah, that's meant mainly just giving up a few products, but not to much.

I saw my first accident actually happen. I was with my mom and we saw someone using the turn lane to get around traffic, and they plowed into someone turning into the business from the median. Thankfully they both seemed fine, but it was still kind of scary to see. Needless to say, I sincerely hope you never catch me using the turn lane for anything other than turning. =P

I deep cleaned my room in anticipation of work starting. Boring, but it felt very good to get done.

I did something I haven't done in a long time: I sat down and read a book straight through. Six hours on the couch just reading through Follow the Dawn by Rachelle Rea. The book was epic, and just reading like that was great.

Me and a random feild of cotten, because why not?

We're getting a new young adult pastor,  which is pretty bittersweet. Aaron was my first Young Adults pastor, and he is awesome. It's sad to see him go, but our new pastor, Bart, is pretty cool as well and I'm looking forward to seeing our group grow.

So I was reading a book and came across this really creepy part... at midnight. My sister happened to be up, so she watched a very chill Star Trek Voyager with me to get my mind off of it. It worked beautifully, and now we can say we've watch Star Trek till 1AM. XD

My brother and I were on our way home from church and we saw some stuff out by our neighbors trash. We got two tables with stools, and a fishtank with all the plants, food and stuff. That was pretty fun. Trash out in our area can be awesome. XD

I played a lot of Mario Kart. That was really fun.

Some of my sibings and I. <3

I started work at three new jobs. I'm a babysitter, so on Monday I work with my sister Rebekkah teaching preschool at a homeschool co-op. On Tuesday I watch one darling little girl (We mainly just play), Wednday and Friday I watch 3-5 kids (including my darling). It's been a lot to learn since I'm not used to working with this many kids just me, but it's been good. My sister Rose and I get to carpool, so we're reading a book together! =D

Us three youngest randomly met up in town for Pizza. <3

Our church met on Saturday night once becasue the hotel we meet at had a wedding on Sunday morning. So my sister and I got dinner together, then went to church. It was pretty fun!

My whole family went to the zoo together. It had been quite awhile and it was HOT but we had a blast. =D

Honestly I love SO many of the books I read. Follow the Dawn was amazing. In 27 days might have been my least favorite, but it was my own fault. I knew what I was getting into. ;P

Currently... Eliza Noel

It's All About Perspective Ellens Musings

Cute Iron-on Transfer Shoes Life Without a Latte

There is Good Coming. There is. All I Know is Grace

Save the Supportive Best Friends Once Upon an Ordinary

So, how was your month? Ever rescued treasures from someone elses trash?