Friday, July 9, 2021

B R E A T H E

 Hyperventilate 

Breathing to much 

That’s not what I feel 

I feel like I’m not breathing enough 

But then it comes 

 And I feel dizzy as I realize 

I’m breathing too much 

Maybe that’s the point 

I’m trying to take in too much 

To breathe too much 

Instead of just taking one 

After another 

I’m trying to take them all at once

 I need to breathe now 

But just for now 

Not for later 

I can’t store up oxygen for later 

Or prep 

All I can do is wait 

And breathe 

And try to live now 

Not all at once 



Just as a note for all worried readers: No, I did not literally hyperventilate.

Saturday, July 3, 2021

June Highlights

This was a packed month, but a lot of it was with very chill stuff, which was fun!

Since my brother moved to his apartment I've been meaning to just go hang out with him, so one day after work I swung by and we ate lunch together and just watched movies. He introduced me to Phinious and Ferb, which I think is adorable. 

I got to see my friend Aubri for the first time in two years! Wow, it felt good. Her family was in town for something else and she made time to meet me for lunch. <3 There is nothing like sitting across from someone and catching up after a few years of just keeping up online. 

Michael, Grace, and I swimming in Inks Lake.  


We went on our sibling's retreat. We normally do this in October, but since my sister, Rose went off to YWAM's discipleship training at the end of the month for five months, we had to get it in early. So we packed up, had a picnic in the park, and then went for a hike at Ink's lake. We had just come off three weeks of rain, so the lake was really full. By the time we got to the turnaround point in our hike, we got pretty hot, so we jumped in the river and took a swim, which was awesome! We went to our little rent house, and over the next two days played a lot of games, ate a lot of awesome food, and watched some movies. When we left, we went to a restaurant that overlooked the river, and then found a little man-made beach, which was pretty cool! (Pictured at the top of post) It was an amazing little vacation. <3

I got to go on my first overnight babysitting job with my friend Shawna. We got to hang together a lot and just talk before the job started, and the job itself was pretty easy! The kids were very nice, and after we left Shawna and I ate dinner out of the vending machine at the hotel, and the next day went shopping. It was amazing. 

My mom and I went to lunch and when we finished the waitress told us someone else had paid for our meal! We honestly both just sat there for a moment stunned, it was so unexpected! It was a really fun way to start our day together. 


Since Rose was leaving at the end of the month, we had to smash our birthday celebration together, so one of the things we did was go Kayaking with some friends! It was amazing because it ended up being fairly cool that morning (A rarity for Texas) and we were able to kayak for an hour and a half before deciding it was too hot. For our family birthday celebration, we had lunch together at home and opened gifts, which was really fun! 

My friend Hannah got to come to my hometown with me and we were able to walk around on a Saturday when most of the shops were open. We have an adorable little farmers' market on Saturdays, and we both got flowers, and I got some potatoes because farm-fresh potatoes are far better than store-bought! It was really fun to walk around and introduce Hannah to my sister Rebekkah! 

I have a tradition of taking a late-night walk on the longest day of the year, so I and my family took one down to watch the sunset, which was very simplistic, but fun. 

My mom was up in Tyler to send my sister off to YWAM and she got lonely, so I drove up one night to be with her. It was a bit of a quiet drive, but it was awesome to be with Mom. She took me to the Tyler zoo, which was fun. I got to see white tigers and Penguins for the first time in person, so that was amazing! 

There was a family in our church that needed some trees down, so I and some of my siblings went and took them down. We managed to have a blast, and get it done before lunch, so we were able to pick up pizza and go crash at Michaels apartment for a few hours! 


I saved the best news for last: My sister Sarah got engaged to Scott!!! He proposed on her birthday, which I think was epic of him. We had lemon bars to celebrate and skyped in Rose for the celebration before calling his family and talking with them for a while. It was a late, joyful night, and I cannot wait to see them married!



Corona and Christ was my favorite new read (Though still not stunning), and Follow the Dawn was my favorite re-read! 


Voyager: My sister Sarah and I finally finished our re-watch of this! It was fun to see it again with Sarah. 

Pirates of Penzance: We always this on our sibling's retreat and it is a family favorite. Comedy, music, and amazing acting. It doesn't get much better than that. 

Bionic Woman: This is one of my favorite shows just to chill with, so my sister Grace and I watched it while sorting photos together. 

Mysterious Benedict Society: My friend Kate and I read all the books, so we were excited to watch the show, so we've been watching them as they came out. So far they have been really good! If you like the books, I would definitely recommend it! 


Rick Steves Europe: My sister and I watched a video on Germany. I was not super impressed. 

Newsies: Since I had Disney for the month I watched the broadway Newsies. I didn't think it was as good as the movie. 

Phineas and Ferb: I thought this show was adorable. I watched through the first season, and have really been enjoying it. 

The Boxcar Children: My sister got this for her birthday, and it was super cute. The changes they made from the book were minimal, and it kept very well with the spirit of the book. 

Frozen and Luca: I watched these with kids I babysat. Frozen I do enjoy (I mean, the songs!), Luca was rather lackluster, but kind of cute. I probably won't bother to re-watch it. 

Winnie the pooh: I love Pooh. <3 The show is just adorable, and a sweet way to wind down. 

Rapunzel's Tangled Adventures: I was watching through the show, but I gave up midway through the first season because things just got weird. The girls I babysit for showed me some later in the series that just gets weirder. I was really disappointed in it since it's supposed to be a kid's show, but that's Disney for you. =P




Untitled Summer of 1999 
Paid in Full Ellen's Musings 
Behind the Scenes Aria Lisette
The Great Comeback Life Without a Latte
For the Love of Libraries The Left-Handest Types


This was an amazing month! I haven't had so much fun in a long time. <3 What was the best part of your month? Have you seen Phineas and Ferb?

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

New Email Subscription

Hey everyone! This is a break from my regular posts to tell you that my email service (Feedburner) is about to go away. If you want to continue receiving emails, you are going to have to sign up for my new emails on Mailchimp, here: http://eepurl.com/hCDw3z 

If you don't sign you will no longer receive any emails about new posts on my blog. I will continue to post every Friday/Saturday, so you are welcome to just hop on my website as wanted. Thank you so much for faithfully following my blog, and for all your lovely comments. <3 

I'll see you Friday (Or Saturday ;) ). 


Saturday, June 26, 2021

Life Lately


I  honestly just wanted to catch y'all up on some of the things that have happened recently and share some of my plans for the summer. 

Above is a picture of me from a hike my siblings and I went on. It was hot, and most of us ended up swimming in the river because it was just too awesome to resist. That led to walking around the grocery store wet, which was cold, but funny. XD 


My awesome sister Rose just left for Youth With a Mission discipleship training, so she'll be there for three months, then a two-month missions trip. I am super excited for her, but also, sad, cause I've never had to be without her this long before. She is running a blog though, if you want to keep up with her: Rose With A Mission.



I honestly don't love posting a lot of pictures of myself, but this one just fits the month. We had a big celebration for all of our birthdays since Rose is going to be gone so long. It was almost like Christmas in June! We had cake and spent a lot of time just talking. 


Just a random sunset from west Texas I loved. <3


My siblings and I went on a short weekend together like we do every year. It was a bit bittersweet because we know this will be our last time together for a while, but we had a blast just playing games, watching movies, and hanging out.


A photo from our birthday celebration. <3 Maybe not our most our together photo, but I just love us together. 


So our dog Belle had puppies!! Just three this time, two boys and one girl. They are adorable, in an ugly newborn puppy kind of way. XD The girl looks like a mini version of Belle! 


This is F.T. (The Grey one) and Orangesicle. O and I have been forming a bit of a friendship as I give him treats and he's learned that I can scratch under his chin. XD He has been such a happy thing in my world. 

This summer is already looking crazy full, but here are some of the things I'm hoping to do: 

1. Pick out my bridesmaid dress (One of my best friends is getting married!!!!).
2. Go for a lot of bike rides. 
3. Read a lot of books (My family has made a book challenge.) 
4. Watch fewer movies (I want to focus on what's in front of me). 
5. Write again. (I've gotten out of the habit). 

There's a lot more I'd love to put on this list, but that's it for now. What have y'all been up to lately? 

Saturday, June 19, 2021

I N B E T W E E N



The top and the bottom 

Feel a lot alike 

Just with opposite problems. 

Family still pulls together 

And friends surround you 

Some days drag 

And others fly by 

I don’t understand 

How the top and bottom feel the same 

But like fire and ice 

They just seem to go together 

When I’m at my worst 

I think about my best 

And at my best 

I think about my worst

And somehow I just realize 

I should have been more grateful 

For the days in-between 

The “boring” days

The days where life just went on 

Sometimes I miss those 

But I am so grateful 

For all the highs and lows 

And especially 

The days inbetween