Aug. 28, 2009
Homeschool Alumni 2009 National Reunion!!!!!!!
So most people go to Colorado for the mountains, or the other great natural wonder’s of the beautiful country God created out there. I can totally understand that, and I might really enjoy doing just that someday if I can figure out how to breathe at 7000 feet above sea level. ;)
However…that is not why I went.
Many people go to reunions; family reunions, class reunions. But not many people trek across the country to a reunion where they are meeting people they have never met before.
That…is the reason I went to Colorado.
I attended the Homeschool Alumni 2009 National Reunion. Over 200 other homeschool graduates from across the nation and continent gathered at the foot of the Rocky Mountains for four days.
Words fail to describe the amazing awesomeness I encountered there (too many to name…you know who you are! ;) ). I mean, seriously, how do you explain 200 plus people of various ages and walks of life getting together because they were homeschooled? More so, how do you explain the energetic, shining atmosphere that radiates from such a gathering? It’s nearly impossible. It is something you have to experience, and not just experience, but love dearly. To just say “We had fun” doesn’t cover it. In the words of the great Michael McBride, “We came. We saw. We danced.”
It was unbelievable.
So what did I do there? Weeeeeeeeeellllllllllll. :D
In a nut shell, I shook hands, talked, hugged, smiled, laughed, ate incredible food, talked, laughed, walked about sixty-trillion miles (okay, maybe not that many), danced for a total of about 6 hours (approx. 3.5 hours ECD, 2.5 hours Swing), attempted the learn Irish step dancing (note I said attempted), played Ultimate Frisbee, talked, laughed, stayed up too late, made the most amazing friends, admired the mountains, talked, laughed, was in a skit, listened/sang to some great praise and worship music, talked, laughed…(we call it socialization. ;) ).
Yeah…but who wants nutshells??
Since it would take me a really long time to write out a full account of the Reunion, and probably very few of you would actually get through it if I did…I’m going to do a Highlights/Lowlights post.
Yeah. It’s probably going to be long anyways. :P
But without further ado, please enjoy this transcription of The Reunion from my perspective.
August 13-16, 2009
The Ponderosa Christian Conference Center and Camp
Larkspur, Colorado
HIGHLIGHT: Flying in an airplane for the first time. My brother Gordie and I flew from Cleveland to Denver Thursday morning. It was incredible! We were absolutely in marvel at how much wide open space there was as we headed further and further west.
HIGHLIGHT: Meeting a bunch of other HSAers at the Big Fountain That Wasn’t Working. Piling our luggage in the middle of the floor. Sarah Aly, Kim, Kris and Gabe Godin and I all sat on the floor (hogging up a good portion of the space, even after Kim moved a plant.) and played Crazy Eights and Rummy. It was a good way to pass the time. :)
HIGHLIGHT: Getting to the camp!!!! The Ponderosa is so beautiful and heaps of fun. After we went into registration and got out shirts and autograph books, the fun officially began…
HIGHLIGHT: Meeting all the great people who’d come from near and far…people whom I’d seen/known online for a long time…people I’d met earlier in the year and was so glad to see again (Mark, Susan, Carrie, Kim, Mike… ;) )…and brand new people too! Totally amazing.
LOWLIGHT: Dragging my heavy bags to the Cherry lodge girls’ dorm…which happened to be on the top of the biggest hill in the camp. And then of course walking back up said really big hill any time I needed something up there. Oy…But hey, it was a nice dorm, so I guess it was worth the hike.
HIGHLIGHT: Meeting more of my friends…
Brief Interruption: Okay, just so you know, the People at the Reunion was the best part of the Reunion. In fact, when asked to go on a hike by my brother, I informed him that I would rather stay where the largest group of people was going to be. After all, that IS why I went there! :) SO…perty near everything you read here will be about the peoples. I love da peoples. :D
HIGHLIGHT: The opening ceremony. Enthusiastically counting down the seconds till the official start of the Reunion!
HIGHLIGHT: Supper…okay, ALL the food there all weekend long was totally, completely, absharootly, fantabulously, scrumpdillyious!!!
HIGHLIGHT: Playing “Do you love your neighbor?” with Gordie’s and my team. That was the first time I’d gotten to play, and I had a blast.
HIGHLIGHT: Hanging out around the bonfire in the Allison Pavilion (aka, the “Bear Claw” :rawr:). Listening to Gordie and Mike Godin talk guns ;)
HIGHLIGHT: Going to bed. Okay, that’s a weird highlight, but actually, by 11:30pm, I was ready to sleep! My roommate, Susie, was SO kind in letting me sleep on the bottom bunk!!! I went to sleep nearly right away, and slept awesomely. :)
HIGHLIGHT: Me and Susie both waking up earlier than we had planned! It was nice to be the first one in the shower.
Really Cool Moment: After getting all cleaned up, I walked outside to find Linnae and some of the other girls hanging out. They pointed to a spot in the grass about 30 yards from our dorm, and there was a mule deer fawn! Soon, the fawn lept off right past us, following it’s muley mother! Come to find out, Gordie had been waiting for me to come out of the dorm, and had spotted the muley doe…so he took off his shoes and socks and stalked it!! Got pretty close too!
HIGHLIGHT: Breakfast!!!!! Getting up at 6am+breakfast at 8am=really hungry bellies.
Fun Point: Amusing whoever was at my table with the “flipping forks into cups” trick. :)
HIGHLIGHT: Amazing Praise and Worship session with Mr. Jim K.!!!!!! Wow. I could seriously do that, like, everyday! The energy in that room was incredible.
HIGHLIGHT: Sitting with some of “the Crickets” and doing a chat on a napkin. You guys are a hoot. :D
Super Fun Highlight: After lunch a bunch of us headed to a field behind the baseball diamond to play Ultimate Frisbee! That was great fun! I didn’t do a whole lot more than just run around looking clueless and trying to block the only person shorter than me on the other team (Dania). I did get to throw the Frisbee once, but I think I just did so bad, that they didn’t throw it to me again. :P That’s okay though. It was a hoot anyways.
Humorous Bit: While Josiah was explaining the rules of Ultimate, Kim and I were standing, trying to pay attention, but talking and visiting more, when all of a sudden, Kim reaches down and picks something leafy looking. She rubs it, sniffs it and squeals, “Ooh! Smell this! It smells really good! Just rub it and smell it!” So I did, and it smelled amazing!! I picked some too, and Kim laughed, “We are such girls,” she said. Indeed we are! :)
HIGHLIGHT: So after the team I was on won :grin:, Gordie and I headed over to the ECD lesson. It was already going on, so I jumped in head first. Thank you Marcos, for jumping in with me so I wasn’t left partner-less. :D
HIGHLIGHT: The session with Kevin Swanson. Absolutely dynamic! What a great and inspiring teacher he is.
HIGHEST OF HIGHLIGHTS: English Country Dancing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had been waiting for this for-ever!!! After supper and hanging out for a little while, everyone got cleaned up and dressed up, and headed to the Chapel. It was incredible seeing a good number of us in period costume (and yes, those who weren’t in costume looked real snazzy too!). :)
We danced about 15 dances, all wonderful!! Thank you, all my awesome dance partners! I have to say I think Virginia Reel was my favorite this time… :spinspinspinspin: :) :) :then spin some more, just for the fun of it...thank you Jared!:
After ECD ended and some of the people waltzed, Laura played a Postie’s Jig for us. I had no idea what I was doing, so I danced with Mike Godin, who also had no idea what he was doing. Worked out good. ;) Once we caught on, it was quite fun though!
LOWLIGHT: The dance ended. We had to go to bed. :(
HIGHLIGHT: Saturday morning began with breakfast, praise and worship/hymn sing (Gordie wanted to go to the hymn sing that day, so we did), and then the amazing session with Eric and Leslie Ludy! I had never heard them speak before, so that was indeed a treat. They were so very inspiring and really hit on some down to earth points.
Awesomeness Highlight: LUNCH. :mrgreen:
HIGHLIGHT (second only to ECD): Swing Dancing!!!!!!!!! I actually initiated and coordinated getting a group together for a few hours of Swing dancing. It was superbly fun! I attempted to teach, but flopped, so Ian Diamond came to my rescue and taught everyone (including a very thankful me!) some tricks of the trade. I’m hoping everyone else had as much of a blast as I did!!! Thank you, my great and amazing dancing partners!!! :)
After everyone was kind of getting tired of Swing, and the crowd started to dwindle, we threw in Marie’s Wedding and did a round of that. :yay: And then Julie taught us some Irish step dancing. I did not catch on very well. :P So she and a few others ended up doing some sweet stepping to “The Little Beggarman” and I made Gordie do a (rather short) polka with me.
:sigh: Great fun we had. :D
HIGHLIGHT: After the swing dancing ended, Gordie and I ran over to catch the very end of the Entrepreneurs Expo. I bought some HSA swag and a Twintastic Tote!!!
HIGHLIGHT: After that, Carrie and I finished up some stuff for our skit, listened to Kim, Gabe and Mark jam for a few minutes, and when we had finally gotten all of our props gathered, Carrie went wandering and I ran over to catch the end of the Roundtable discussions. Very interesting stuff! Maybe I shall have to go to the whole thing next year. :P Unless I am in the Talent show again… ;)
SUPER GREAT HIGHLIGHT: The Talent Show!!!!! Goodness gracious what a time! All the acts were amazing, and it was incredible fun to actually be in one. :) Thank you everyone for laughing at Carrie’s and my skit…I was rather worried it wouldn’t be funny, like I wanted. :D I’m looking forward to hearing the whole thing on HSAIR. Everyone did such a good job, from the announcers, to the acts, to the sound and lighting people! I hope it was enough of hit to do again next year, because if (Lord willing) I am able to make it, I already have an idea for something. ;)
HIGHLIGHT that would have been better had I been more awake: After the Talent Show, Gordie and I ran over to the Lobby with Marcos and found a quiet area downstairs to sit and do a little Bible study. Unfortunately, I was running on about two brain cells, and although I had a million thoughts running through my head, I couldn’t put any of them into words the way I wanted. So Marcos talked (and nearly put me to sleep…he’s got one of those very comforting voices), I listened, and Gordie, being a bit more awake than me, asked a few questions. It was very good and interesting…but Marcos, I’m sorry I wasn’t more into it!
HIGHLIGHT: The Step Party Ladies. ;) Yes, I was exhausted, but no, I couldn’t resist staying up with some of the girls in my dorm. About 5 of us stayed up till almost 3am talking! We started by the little kitchen, then moved to the stairs leading to the 2nd floor, then finally to the carpeted landing at the top of the stairs. The final place was deemed the most comfortable. Our eyes were slamming shut, and we kept several girls awake with our chattering, but none of us wanted to go to bed!
As a result, I slept in slightly, and Susie had to wake me up! What an awesome roommate I got…did I mention she let me sleep on the bottom bunk? ;)
LOWLIGHT: Loosing my nametag. :(
HIGHLIGHT: Another amazing Praise and Worship session. :)
HIGHLIGHT: Having my nametag returned to me!!! Thanks to whoever found it!
LOWISH HIGHLIGHT: The Closing Ceremony. It was great, but very sad, because I knew it was the end and I was going to have to say goodbye.
HIGHLIGHT: The sound guys played some rather rocking music, just for background sound, after the ceremony, and it had a nice beat to it. So Jared, me and Gordie did some synchronized bopping to it, complete with hand moves and laughter. ;) Awesome.
HIGHLIGHT: The last meal. :sigh: Gordie and I sat at a table with all the Godins and a couple others. I ate fast, because our carpool to the airport left early.
HIGHISH LOWLIGHT: Saying goodbye. I missed saying goodbye to so many people! But I hugged and shook hands with as many people as I could as we ran out the door, and then ran back up to say goodbye to and hug Allison and Jared, who happened to be outside the dining hall, while Gordie went to find our luggage and our ride. :sad:
HIGHLIGHT: The ride to the airport was a blast! We rode with Laura, Robert, Nicole and Benjamin, with Mr. Lisinski as our great driver. Gordie entertained us with Jack Sparrow imitations for much of the ride.
LOWLIGHT: We had to part ways with our fellow carpool people almost as soon as we stepped in the airport, which was very sad.
So then, for the next few hours, after getting through security and feeling like we’d just stepped into a den of wolves after spending four days in heaven, Gordie and I sat in the terminal and read our autograph books. I hugged mine and read it over and over. :) We ate some food, shared memories, and lamented.
HIGHLIGHT: About twenty minutes or so before we boarded the plane, the Nagle brothers showed up! We were very happy to know they’d be on the same plane as us! It really made the trip home a lot easier knowing there were a couple of HSAers nearby. They ended up being a few seats behind us, so we didn’t get to chat. But it was still good.
We arrived in Cleveland around midnight, found Mom and Dad waiting for us, said goodbye to John and Tim, and began the 2 hour trip back home.
Truly, that was only the end of the beginning. I know that much goodness with come from the sadness of having to say goodbye to such dear friends, because it really isn’t goodbye…it’s only farewell for now.
I left out soooooo very much…so many little moments and memories that keep popping up in my head and making me smile…but this post is way long enough and I’d probably loose a good amount of people’s interest if I kept going. :P
So there you have it. My full and incomplete record of my wonderous experience at the 2009 Homeschool Alumni National Reunion.
Lord willin’, I am SO going next year!!!!
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Jul. 21, 2009
Update!
How are you all? It's been a while since I talked to my HSB friends! A lot has been going on...
I've been really busy with puppies. :) We got one litter all sold and off to new homes, and we now have on four week old litter for sale. You can see pictures here: www.freewebs.com/summitkennels
I spend a lot of my internet time on HSA. If you've never heard of it, PLEASE check it out!!! It is an amazing place!! www.homeschoolalumni.org
I also just joined Facebook. I'm liking it a lot more than I thought I would. :) If you'd like me to add you on there, let me know...I do have a couple rules though: I don't add guys unless I've met them or know them personally, and I don't accept blind friend requests from girls, I would prefer to know you a little bit. :) Thanks!
Last weekend I got to go to Heritage Days here in the town I live close to, and it was great! Book sale, parade, historical encampment, and English Country Dancing!!! Had a lot of fun!
And one thing I am really excited about is that I will be going to Tennessee with my dad and two of my brothers! We are going down there this coming Sunday through Wednesday (26-29) for a Homeschool Alumni get together!!! I am soooo happy!
I also got a Regency dress. It is navy blue. And so gorgeous. I am really excited about getting to dance in it at the TN gathering!
Well, that's about it for now. Talk to you all later!
Love, Hannah
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Jul. 5, 2009
Pictures of the Josties visit/concert!!
Hey, sorry it took me so long to get this up! But at last, here is my video slideshow of pictures we got when the Jost family was here.
I'm sorry the pictures and music aren't so good. The music was recorded by my brother Charlie holding the microphone up to the speakers of his computer while playing the end of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (I believe the song is called "The Call"...very nice farewell song for friends, that and "The Parting Glass" by the High Kings... ;) ).
So here you are!!! Enjoy!!
EDIT: Sorry the video wasn't coming up! Technical dificulties... :P
Try this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=91703348421
if this doesn't work:
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Jul. 3, 2009
Twintastic Creations Giveaway!!
My fellow HSAers, Amber and Angela Covington, are doing a giveaway in their business!
Here's the link: http://twintasticcreations.blogspot.com/
Pass it on!!
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Jun. 21, 2009
In which the Jost Family comes to visit
The Jost Family was able to come to our house on their way back to Alberta! We got to spend a wonderful weekend together, filled with long talks, much laughter, bonding of friends, telling of jokes and stories, an awesome concert, even more awesome friends, dancing, whiffle ball and Capture the Flag, food, late nights, a bonfire, the creation of a language, the counting of Cheerios, more laughter, good natured teasing, non-stop conversation, much good wit, even more laughter… :sigh:
And I’m really sorry if this post seems vague and non-descriptive, because many of the little vignettes, inside jokes, conversations, etc., only make sense and are funny and meaningful to those that were there, and would probably sound really stupid to those who weren't. :P
It started out with about two weeks of planning, emailing and anticipation (cleaning, shopping, baking, excitement…). Finally, Saturday came! The Peters family stopped by on the way to their hotel, since they came down for the concert too. They arrived at about 9pm, and about fifteen minutes later, Jesse and Heidi pulled in, followed a minute later by the Josts. The fun began immediately.
Most of us “kids” stayed up till about 1am talking and laughing. Gordie and Joel stayed up till 2:30am, however!
The next morning began with breakfast, a few of us getting showers, visiting and RAIN!!! Yep, it started to rain! This wasn’t good, seeing as we wanted to have the concert outdoors. The Josts decided that if the rain didn’t stop by one o’clock, we would set up everything in the house. So while we waited, Mr. Jost gathered his family for devotions, which he graciously allowed my family and the Peters family to sit in on. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and worship that I personally will cherish forever. We sang Great is Thy Faithfulness together and spent a good deal of time in prayer as we went around the room and each person that wanted to said their own prayer. Most of us prayed that, if it was God’s will, we’d like the rain to stop. And, lo and behold…the rain stopped literally by the time we were done praying!!! That was a huge praise!
So with the rain stopped, we began the set up. The Ferrars arrived during that time! It was SO great to see Michaela, Anna and Mrs. Ferrar again and get to meet their three precious little sisters and Mr. Ferrar.
The Josts did an excellent job of getting their things set up on our back porch. The guys set up a big umbrella over Joel’s soundboard in case the water dripped off the trees. Joel and Emily taught me how to set up microphones. Everything went entirely well!
People arrived for the concert, and we had a pretty good turnout. We got chairs set up and people sitting and everything done hunky-dory!
My dad introduced the Josties, and they began their concert. As usual, they did an AWESOME job! I laughed, I felt like crying several times, and totally enjoyed every bit of it!! Except for the part about half way through when my chair broke and refused to stay back together, so I ended up sitting on the ground. :) Mrs. Jost got hilariously into the end of their song “Don’t Go Moping Around”, which she said was especially for Pennsylvania. It was super! I completely love that lady.
After the concert, we ate snacks, visited, danced, played whiffle ball and Capture the Flag, sat in a circle, talked a lot, and did other homeschooler-ish stuff. :) We helped the Josts pack up their equipment. Emily taught me how to put away microphone stands, and I passed Joel’s cable wrapping test! :D
The Peters family had to leave that night, so we bid them goodbye with lots of hugs and farewells. It was so great to have them down here!
The Ferrars left too, about ten o’clock, after one last round of Mairi’s Wedding and listening to/singing “The Parting Glass” together. There were many hugs and much fast talking in the last few minutes of our visit.
After that, the boys built a fire and we toted our chairs out and sat in a circle around that. We like circles. :) We swapped stories, and jokes, Emily told a “scary story”, Emily and Joel came up with a “rap” song about our visit, and so much more! Finally about midnight, the younger people needed to go to bed, so we all tromped inside. Josiah, Joel, Emily, Gordie, Charlie and I stayed up till about 1:00 in the dining room talking, until Heidi “the ghost” came out and said we were being a little loud, so we moved into the kitchen for about another half hour. :) Such good times!
The next morning, the Josts packed up their things (minus the things they accidentally honored us by leaving behind! ;) ), and ate breakfast. The culmination of our incredible visit consisted of Joel and Gordie counting Cheerios. Yes, folks…this is what homeschoolers do. The question came up: How many Cheerios are in an average box? So Joel and Gordie split one cup of Cheerios and simultaneously counted them on foam plates. Joel then did the math on his iPod, and found out that there is approximately 6,660 Cheerios per box. They also found out that there are approximately 3 Cheerios per one calorie. Take a bow guys. :)
We all gathered for prayer before the Josts left. Jesse and Heidi were heading to a different area than the rest, so there were special goodbyes and prayers for them. After much hugging and handshaking, and with many Josties hands waving from the van windows, we said farewell to our dear friends.
My family is now trying to figure out a way to get up to Alberta sometime. :)
Pictures to follow soon!!!
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May. 21, 2009
Dance Day and Jost concert!
Finally, I have enough pictures uploaded to make a decent blog post! :)
Okay...so we ended up having Dance Day on the 13th instead of the 14th, because it was supposed to rain. It worked out really good...sunny, pretty windy, but cool and not rainy. YAY! We had so much fun! Homeschoolers are so awesome. :P
Mairi's Wedding:
The Virginia Reel (Hannah G. and Gracie were so adorable dancing together.):
I think this was Hole in the Wall:
The group:
On the 17th, we went to the most amazing concert in Canada, and in the process got to meet some awesome new friends! The Jost Family. www.josties.com Their music is beautiful, their fellowship is encouraging, and their movie ("Little Jake and Harry", www.hagiazofilms.com) is incredible!
The Jost Family (minus Joel, who was running sound):
The Jost Family (plus Joel, and minus Jesse and Hiedi):
Left to right- Katie H, a very blurry Josiah :), Kayla H, Sandra P, Hannah (Me!), Emily P, Katie P, and Janet P. :)
Joel giving Gordie a cord wrapping lesson, one of the many things which intrigued us and made us laugh during over five hours of visiting time: :)
(Sorry the pictures are blurry!)
Needless to say, we had a wonderful time, which ended far too soon. Hopefully we will get to fellowship again soon, Lord willing!
Meanwhile, our Shampy is due to have her puppies tomorrow, and looks like she will probably be right on her due date. So if you don't hear from me for a while...I'm in the kennel. :P
Love, Hannah
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Apr. 13, 2009
Comings and Goings...
Well, I guess you could say I have been a little lax on my bloggingness around here. :( But to bring everyone up to speed on what's been happening in my world, here's a quick update:
~ On March 28, Gordie and I went to our local homeschool fair. We were able to set up a Homeschool Alumni.org vendor table, and even better, my very sweet friend, Emilie C. was able to come up and lend her charm and expertise to us for the day! It was so wonderful getting to meet her and part of her family! I was so blessed getting to spend several hours talking with her and her mom. We gave out a lot of HSA cards and had a blast!
~ Our Lab, Shampy, is (I think) going to have puppies! If she is indeed pregnant, we should have puppies about the end of May.
~ Most importantly and exciting of all, Gordie and I are going the Homeschool Alumni National Reunion in August!!!!! It is in Colorado, and I am so entirely happy! I have wanted to go for a couple years now, and have finally gotten my chance. YIPPEEEEEE!!!!!
~ I am writing another novel, and have still yet to polish the one I wrote for NaNoWriMo. I think it scares me a little bit. Yeah...long explanation for that one. :P
~I am coordinating a homeschool dance day, in which we will be doinga bunch of English Country Dancing, Swing and Polka. Ever since the HSA get together up here, I have completely fallen in love with dancing. SoI am getting a group together to do some! I'm excited! It should be a whole lot of fun! Now I just have to practice calling ECD and memorize the steps toabout three or four dances. :)
~ My dear friend Michaela blessed my socks off by sending me a copy of the amazing "The High Kings" CD! I have listened to it nearly non stop, and have danced to Mairi's Wedding about twenty times! Thank you dearest friend!!!
~On a sad note, my kitty Ollie died last week. :( I'm still not quite used to looking at the back door and not seeing him sitting on the step.
Well, that is about all that I can think of that is interesting. Or perhaps it wasn't all that interesting? Okay...if it wasn't I shall try to find some other things more interesting to post.
God bless!
Love, Hannah
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Mar. 18, 2009
Giveaways at SuperAngel's blog!!!!
Hey, everyone! Check out Amanda's blog! It's her 3 year anniversary of blogging, and she's doing a super collassal totally amazing giveaway!!!
Update of my life shall follow soon.... :)
Love, Hannah
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Feb. 26, 2009
Homeschool Alumni get together!!!!
I woke up Monday morning with a smile on my face, and thought, “Was it all just a wonderful dream?”
No. It wasn’t.
It was so incredibly real.
I’m talking about the HomeschoolAlumni get together that I was privileged to attend on February 21-22, 2009.
Nearly 30 HSAers from Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas, Kansas, Virginia, and other states, and even Germany, all gathered at Kayla’s house in Pennsylvania for four days of good fellowship, singing, games, dancing, sledding, skating, eating, and laughing.
I debated over the best way to write this post, whether to take you into a fully detailed account and bore you with a million word novel that really only goers of the gathering would appreciate (and then again, they were there, so why tell them?), or simply to do a “highlights/lowlights” post and save you my rambling. I chose the latter, because I really do want to stay in everyone’s good graces!
So here you go:
HIGHLIGHT: Getting to Kayla’s house. Sitting in her living room, with no one really talking, and just enjoying being in the same room with all those HSAers.
HIGHLIGHT: Meeting my dears, Michaela and Anna F., when they finally arrived!!! It was so wonderful to finally get to meet them after a few months of trying to figure out a way to!
HIGHLIGHT: Riding to the archery club where we sledded and danced with Michaela, Anna, their mom, Samson, Marissa, Anna, and Annie. Getting to show them where my house is!
HIGHLIGHT: Sledding!
LOWLIGHT: Having to clear out some sticks and things in order to not get slapped or impaled on the way on the cliff…er, hill.
LOW-ISH HIGHLIGHT: Samson chucking Michaela and I down the hill backwards on our sled. We never did find something revengeful enough to do to him.
LOW-ISH HIGHLIGHT: Avoiding snowballs from Klaus. Watching Klaus and Mike (G.) wrestle in the snow and come up hugging, finding each other’s hats, and brushing the snow off each other.
HIGHLIGHT: Seeing how many girls we could fit on one sled! I think we got five on the biggest toboggan.
LOWLIGHT: Having to go home for a minute. We had to change from sledding clothes to dancing clothes.
HIGHLIGHT: Learning English Country Dancing, swing, a little rumba, and polka! Charlyn, Michael and Bekah were amazing teachers with unbelievable patience.
HIGHLIGHT: Learning Mairi’s Wedding!!! My favorite by far!
LOWLIGHT: Having to leave to take my mom back home. But thankfully we got to come back for a couple more hours!
HIGHLIGHT: Arriving back at the get together at the end of everyone doing the Virginia Reel. That was hilarious to watch and twice as fun to do!
HIGHLIGHT: Watching Michael teach the guys to do the “skip skip hop” motion of the polka. He had them get in a circle, and do the steps without their partners. It was even more humorous when Kim let out an Indian war whoop! So then Michael had us all war whoop at the same time. (I hope somebody got a video of that!)
HIGHLIGHT: Getting to do Mairi’s Wedding and the Virginia Reel before we all left.
HIGHLIGHT: After the last dance, while everyone was getting ready to leave and drinking gallons of water, we gave Michael and Bekah and Charlyn a couple rounds of applause. Someone yelled “speech!” so Michael said “We came. We saw. We danced.”
LOWLIGHT: Being so very sore!
HIGHLIGHT: Sunday morning home church! Mark lead us for about an hour and half of singing, worship, and sharing from God’s Word and our hearts. Kayla had suggested we all share about the believer’s walk. I thought it incredible how nearly thirty people, being given only a very loose theme to speak about, could all have had amazingly similar things on their hearts! There was a consistent idea in everyone’s words about finding our purpose and meaning in life, and focusing on God. It was so refreshing and I left feeling completely full in my heart.
HIGHLIGHT: Michaela, Anna and I begged to do Mairi’s Wedding one last time before we left to go ice skating, and we did! We nearly ran out of time, and everyone was sore and tired, but they did it anyways, smiling and skipping with gusto the whole time. A hearty applause followed and it felt like the perfect way to end the morning.
LOWLIGHT: Gordie and I had to go home to change clothes, and since the snow was picking up, and I was acting a little crazy, my Dad decided to drive us to the ice arena. When he dropped us off, none of our group was there! I panicked, thinking maybe they had decided to go to a different ice arena. To make matters worse, my Dad had left already, and I don’t have a cell phone. I didn’t even have anyone’s phone numbers to try to call them from the place! So Gordie and I paced outside until we finally saw them all pull in! I was so relieved! They had had to stop and get gas first, so that’s why they were a few minutes late.
HIGHLIGHT: Getting to ice skate for the first time in my life! Jason guided me for the first few times around the rink, Michaela gave me lots of pointers and she and Marissa held my hands and pulled me around for a little while. I only fell about four times, which was pretty good!
HIGHLIGHT: Marissa, Michaela, Anna and I did the steps to Mairi’s Wedding on the ice! (What do you think…perhaps we like that dance?)
LOWLIGHT: Some of our party had to leave right after skating; first Calvin and Heather, then Michaela, Anna, Samson, Marissa, and Annie. There were lots of hugs, handshakes and promises of future get togethers!
HIGHLIGHT: Gordie and I were able to hitch a ride back to Kayla’s house and stay for the rest of the afternoon. We rode with Klaus, Jason and Tim, which turned out to be one of the most interesting cars rides I have ever been on. Like I said afterwards, it was like the Roundtable LIVE, with discussions of politics and creation versus evolution flying through the air. I was speechless for most of it, pretty much just enjoying watching the guys talk back and forth. It’s one thing to watch a forum discussion, but its another thing to actually get to hear the voices behind the words, and see the facial expressions of the people in the discussion.
HIGHLIGHT: Back as Kayla’s house, her parents got dinner ready, while several people got online, checking emails and FB’s and whatnot. It was hilarious watching a few of them, still sitting the same room and often right next to each other, chatting on the internet! Susan played the piano, which was so very enjoyable to listen to! After dinner, I sat with sleepy Kayla for a while, watching her zoom around on her computer (DSL is so fast!), listening to Jake watch a movie and other people talk.
HIGHLIGHT: This gets its own highlight! I saw a game of Dutch Blitz get started, and since I hadn’t played the game in a really long time, I decided to go see if I could join in. There was already Mark, Anna, Susan, Mike and Carrie playing, but I asked if I could play because I had seen them get another set of cards. And I was literally pulled into the game! I barely had to ask to play, and Carrie was moving Mike over to make a spot for me, while Mark got me a set of cards. I know that may not seem like something very interesting, but it was for me, because with any other kind of group, I may not have been so welcomed. These people pulled me in and welcomed me, even though none of them knew me very well, and that was so encouraging! In truth, that was how it was that whole weekend. People I had never known before suddenly became my fastest friends.
HIGHLIGHT: We played several heated rounds of Dutch Blitz, entwined with discussions about numbers in the Bible (in which I learned that five is the number of grace), my screen name (in which Mark and I realized that we knew each other), Jimmy Stewart (after I called blitz rather quietly, and Mike told me I needed to yell it!), the size of fast food and how it has changed (in which Carrie “woke up” just when Mike was talking about the size of Cracker Barrel jelly containers, and was thoroughly confused!) and such other sophisticated HSAer topics! ;) We also got to listen to Jason play the piano, and, after they stole Susan from us, Klaus, Gordie, Jason and Susan singing. It was beautiful!
LOWLIGHT: My dad came to pick us up, so I had to say goodbye to everyone. I went around getting hugs and handshakes, and when I got to the last person, I wished I could have done it again without seeming totally weird! It all went far too fast, and I simply can’t wait to see everyone again!
There simply aren’t enough words in the English language to express how much I was blessed and how full my heart was after the time that I got to spend with these incredible people. Sure, I know they are all normal human beings, with all their glorious imperfections and beautiful scars. But they held something far better than flawless personalities; something I find hard to even begin to explain. It was like an invisible bond that tied us all together, almost before being introduced.
Like I told my family afterwards, I find it truly incredible how I can meet all these people that I have never met before, spend just two short days with them, and bond with them so fast and hard that I miss them dreadfully before I have even finished saying goodbye!
So once again, THANK YOU all for such a wonderful experience! You are all such dear people, and I pray we all get to meet again this side of Heaven.
It started out a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
Till it was a battle cry
I’ll come back when you call me
No need to say goodbye
Just because everything’s changing
Doesn’t mean that its never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You’ll come back when it’s over
No need to say goodbye
Now we’re back to the beginning
It’s just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can feel it too
Doesn’t mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
Till they’re before your eyes
You’ll come back when they call you
No need to say goodbye
(from “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (Disney/Walden Media))• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Feb. 13, 2009
A long awaited update...
Well, seeing that I have not blogged in almost a month, I think I am due.
So...let's see...
I am not quite sure where January went. I think we spent most of that month recooperating from Christmas. We did stay up on New Years Eve until midnight, watching "WALL-E" and "Prince Caspian". And we celebrated my Dad's birthday on the 28th...well we started to celebrate it anyways. That day, before we could do much celebrating, five out of seven of us got sick with the stomach flu. And Gracie had already gotten it two days before, so that made six of us down. Dad did end up getting it minorly a couple days later. So it was a full house for almost a week. During that time, because of the nature of our sickness, we let our stomachs heal by fasting for about two days. So us five kids all played "What's in your Fridge?", deleriously naming all the foods we wished we could eat. It was ridiculous.
This month, we had Gracie's birthday on the 6th, and we were, thankfully, over our sickness and I was able to satisfy my terrible pizza craving. I'm sure I was driving my HSA friends nuts with my moaning about pizza, and even "singing" Larry the Cucumber's "Pizza Angel" song to one of them. :P I made Gracie a really cute birthday crown this year. It's a family tradition that every person gets a paper crown on their birthday, and I was tired of the plain, boring ones we always make. So this is what I came up with:
It's made entirely out of paper. (She's taking to Dad on the phone...he called from work while she was opening her presents. :D )
Next week, I am going to attend an official Homeschool Alumni get together!! And I am thrilled to bits! I've never gone to an HSA event before, and I am going to get to meet at least three of my online friends, plus a whole bunch of other people! We're going to have lots of fellowship time, go sledding, ice skating, do some English Country Dancing (!!!yippee!!!), eat good food, and lots more!
In March, I am volunteering at a local homeschool curriculum fair and setting up an HSA booth. One of the girls from HSA, Emilie C., is going to come up and help me with it! I'm really excited about that! I love book fairs of any kind, and this is the first one that I have actually been able to help out with.
So it's been crazy around here, though fun as always! We lost our electric all day yesterday, not that that was fun...more like crazy. We still don't have hot water, because our basement flodded and our water heater got wet, but we probably will tomorrow.
Plus, I finished an article for a friend's magazine, am working on another novel, and got to watch "Fireproof" last week! Talk about a totally awesome movie! That is definitely going down as the best movie I have seen all year, even though the year pretty much just started, because I doubt I will see a better one. "Facing the Giants" was last years best movie.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm sure I will have more later!
Love, Hannah
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Jan. 27, 2009
With Hope
We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
Cause we know that goodbye is not the end
And we can breathe with hope
Cause we believe with hope
There’s a place where we’ll see your face
Again
("With Hope" by Steven Curtis Chapman)
*In Memory of Nate Zdarko, 10/9/89-1/25/07*
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Jan. 8, 2009
Drum roll please...
My dear friend "J" (yes, I know who you are!) gave me my 300th comment!!!!
Woot!!
Thank you bunches everyone!!!
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Jan. 4, 2009
Happy New Year!!
Hoping you all are enjoying 2009 so far! And hope that everyone had a good Christmas season as well!
Everything is going good for me. We are all keeping busy and enjoying life! I will probably have a bigger post here sometime soon.
I would love to know what you all thought os my 12 Days of Christmas posts. Good? Bad? Terrible? :)
Have a beautiful day!!!
Love, Hannah
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Dec. 24, 2008
The Twelfth Day of Christmas
“It’s Christmas night.
The midnight has chimed and I should be asleep, but I’m awake. I’m kept awake by one stunning thought. The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed.
The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We put away our ladders and ledgers, we hung up our stopwatches and weapons. We stepped off our racetracks and roller coasters and looked outward toward the star of Bethlehem.
It’s the season to be jolly because, more than at any other time, we think of him. More than in any other season, his name is on our lips.
And the result? For a few precious hours our heavenly yearnings intermesh and we become a chorus. A ragtag chorus of longshoremen, Boston lawyers, illegal immigrants, housewives and a thousand other peculiar persons who are banking that Bethlehem’s mystery is in reality, a reality. ‘Come and behold him’ we sing, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them to the Christ-child.
For a few precious hours, he is beheld. Christ the Lord. Those who pass the year without seeing him, suddenly see him. People who have been accustomed to using his name in vain, pause to use it in praise. Eyes, now free of the blinders of self, marvel at his majesty.
All of a sudden he’s everywhere.
In the grin of the policeman as he drives the paddy wagon full of presents to the orphanage.
In the twinkle in the eyes of the Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children.
In the emotion of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer.
He’s in the tears of a mother as she welcomes home her son from overseas.
He’s in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on skid row giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes.
And he’s in the solemn silence of the crowd of shopping mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings ‘Away in a Manger’.
Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near.
Its Christmas night. In a few hours, the cleanup will begin---lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half price. Soon life will be normal again, December’s generosity will become January’s payments and the magic will begin to fade.
But for the moment, the magic is still in the air. Maybe that’s why I’m still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld him today will look for him again next August. And I can’t help but linger on one fanciful thought: If he can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could he do if we thought of him every day?”
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Dec. 23, 2008
The Eleventh Day of Christmas
“Merry Christmas, Marilla! Merry Christmas, Matthew! Isn’t it a lovely Christmas? I’m so glad it’s white. Any other kind of Christmas doesn’t seem real, does it? I don’t like green Christmases. They’re not green ---they’re just nasty faded browns and greys. What makes people call them green?” (Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery)
“They moved to the sitting room and Clark took Missie on his knee and opened up the Bible. He first read of the angel appearing to the virgin girl, Mary, telling her that she had been chosen as the mother of the Christ-child. He went on to read of Joseph’s and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem where no room was found in the inn, so that night the infant Jesus was born in a stable. The shepherds heard the good news from the angels and rushed to see the new-born King. Then the wisemen came, following the star and bearing their gifts to the child, going home a different way for the protection of the baby.
“Marty thought that she had never heard anything so beautiful. She couldn’t remember ever hearing the complete story before as it was given in the Scriptures. A little baby born in a stable was God’s Son. She placed a handover her own little one.
“‘Wouldn’t be a carin’ fer my son to be born in a barn. Don’t suppose thet God was wanting it thet way either, but no one had room for a wee baby. Still --- God did watch over Him, sendin’ angels to tell the shepherds an’ all. An’ the wisemen too, with their rich gifts. Yes, God was a carin’ ‘bout his Son.’” (Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke)
“In the morning they all woke up almost at the same moment. They looked at their stockings, and something was in them. Santa Claus had been there. Alice and Ella and Laura in their red flannel nightgowns, and Peter in his red flannel nightshirt, all ran shouting to see what he had brought.
“In each stocking there was a pair of bright red mittens, there was a long, flat stick of red-and-white-striped peppermint candy, all beautifully notched along each side.
“They were all so happy they could hardly speak at first. They just looked with shining eyes at those lovely Christmas presents.” (Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder)
“The familiar Christmas carols had never meant as much to me as they did on that night, As I recited the words, I pictured the young Mary, her hour having come, with no one to care for her ---no warm bed, no private room, no skilled midwife---only straw, a stable, and an anxious husband nearby. She herself cared for the newborn Son of God, the baby Jesus.
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Dec. 22, 2008
The Tenth Day of Christmas
Okay. I am going to admit it. I ran out of thing to post. Who would think that with the vastness of Christmasy things out there that I could possibly run out of things to post during a twelve day blogging celebration? Anyways, I did. I had just this one day to fill up, and not only couldn’t find something I really liked, but also ran out of time to find something. I thought of something one day, but failed to write it down, and forgot it. But as I was trying frantically to think of it again, or come up with something else, I thought of this: I’m working too hard. I’m making this too difficult.
I seem to do that with a lot of things. I get into discussions about the Bible on the HomeschoolAlumni.org forums quite often, and always get rather caught up in them. And it always somewhere in the midst of it, or after the discussion as dies down, that I realize just how deep I had gotten in studying. In my vigorous studies and debates, I had left behind one very special thing. I had forgotten the simplicity. The beauty.
That seems to happen a lot around the Christmas season. We forget why we are celebrating in the first place. We get so caught up in the preparation of food, gifts and making everybody happy, that we loose sight of what is really important.
One of my most favorite things in the whole world is the way Christmas lights look in the dark. To me, there isn’t a whole lot that is more enchanting and satisfying than looking at them, all glowing and beautiful. But I don’t think that I would find as much charm in them if I didn’t have a foundation for the happiness they create in me.
That foundation is my relationship with the One who created me.
As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, and enter into a brand new year, may I challenge you all to take your gaze away from the things of this world that will not last, and set your eyes on the only thing that does…the love of our Lord God. The love that caused Him to sacrifice His only begotten Son for our sakes. The love that we need to strive to remember to spread to all those around us.
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Dec. 21, 2008
The Ninth Day of Christmas
Listen to the song. Read the book. Watch the movie. And expect your view of Christmas and family to never be the same.
I’m talking about “The Christmas Shoes”. It stared as a song by Newsong. Then a lady name Donna VanLiere wrote the song into a book. Then they made a movie about it. I choked back a few tears when I first heard the song, and sobbed when I read the book (I’ll have you know that it was the first book I ever really cried to!). The only reason I didn’t cry when I watched the movie was because I was at my cousin’s house and I don’t like to cry in front of people if I don’t have to. But I sure could have.
“The Christmas Shoes” is one of the most wonderfully inspiring stories I have ever heard. I could tell you all about it, but instead I am going to post the word to the song here, and encourage you to read the book and watch the movie. You won’t regret it!
The Christmas Shoes
|
It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line |
Writers: Eddie Carswell & Leonard Ahlstrom © 2000 Sony/ATV Lowery Songs/BMI; WB Music Corp./Jerry’ Haven Music/ASCAP.
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Dec. 20, 2008
The Eighth Day of Christmas
The poem I am about to share is one that brings back a lot of memories for me. I remember one time, I think I was about seven or eight years old, I read this poem for the Christmas program at church. Being that I was shorter than the rest of the people doing the program (don’t laugh), I had to pull the microphone down to my level, and in the process, switched it off! I read my poem and everyone clapped, but half the people couldn’t hear me. I was very careful the next time I had to do a reading with the microphone to not click that switch!
Ready for Christmas by Myrtle Haynes
“Ready for Christmas,” she
said with a sigh
As she gave a last touch
to the gifts piled high.
Then wearily sat for a
moment to read
Till soon, very soon she
was nodding her head.
Then quietly spoke a voice
in her dream
“Ready for Christmas,
what do you mean?
“Ready for Christmas
When only last week
you wouldn’t acknowledge
your friend on the street?
Then ready for Christmas
while holding a grudge?
Perhaps you’d better
let God be the Judge.”
She woke with a start
and a cry of despair.
“There’s so little time and
I’ve still to prepare.
O Father! Forgive me,
I see what you mean!
To be ready means more
than a house swept clean.”
Yes, more than the giving
of gifts and a tree.
It’s the heart swept
clean that He wanted to
see, a heart that is
free from bitterness and sin.
So be ready for
Christmas---and
ready for Him.
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Dec. 19, 2008
The Seventh Day of Christmas
“Peace”: The Song that changed the way I look at forgiveness
I was eleven years old when one of my friends teased me. I remember the day as clearly as if it had happened moments ago. He had teased me before, and I knew that it was just his character. But that particular time pushed me over the edge and I began telling myself not to like him. Soon this dislike grew into a very real, fiery hate. I didn't like hating him, but my pride told me not to forgive him. So I didn't. For three years. And I can tell you this...even three short years is an infinitely long time when you go around hating someone down to your very toes. All that time, in my young and immature way, I prayed to God to make him come and seek my forgiveness, because deep down in my heart, I was tired of making myself hate him. Little did I realize that our families were slowly drifting apart into our own worlds. Even less did I realize that he had most likely forgotten the incident, and had no idea that I possessed such a distasteful feeling for him. I struggled for some time between wanting to forgive him and wanting to hate him. My ever maturing heart knew that the right thing to do was forgive. But my stubborn girlish mind said the opposite. I didn't know at the time how close I really was to learning a series of valuable lessons in forgiveness.
It all began one evening, doing dishes with my mom in the kitchen. It was close to Christmas, and we were listening to our favorite CD, a collection of Christmas songs by Jim Brickman. As the magical, glorious music floated around me, my heart was consumed by the battle it had been fighting between hate and love. Then the song “Peace (Where the Heart is)” began playing. I had heard it before, but this time, I really listened to it and let it sink in. And right there, the words of the song hit me like a two-ton truck. I realized fully how much time I had wasted being angry at someone who had no idea that they had hurt me. In that moment, I forgave him. Yes, my heart still hurt, but now it was the hurt of seeing how many years I had missed out on by being mad. A tremendous peace flooded over me and I began to learn how to love in spite of hurt.
Several years later, I found myself in numerous other relationships with friends and various people. A few of those friendships caused me heart breaking pain. But I discovered something while dealing with the pain of ruined friendships, people letting me down, and people that I loved being taken away from me. I learned that I could not hate. I couldn’t hate anyone, even if I tried. When one of my friends was killed in a car accident, I found that I could not blame or hate the driver of the car who had survived, nor could I blame God. When a friend broke my heart, no matter how disappointed and hurt I was, I could not find true hate in my heart. This revelation was amazing! In spite of all crushing my heart would ever endure, my faith in God was so rooted that hate could not enter my heart. I’m sure if I truly let hate settle and fester, and then fed it daily, it would grow inside me. But with a faith that turns my shattered heart to God each and every time, and says “Not my will, but Thine”, I am healed by His touch and by letting Him take my hurt and feel it Himself.
Nothing is impossible with God. Even the most broken of hearts can be restored in His love. Take it from those who have experience such a miracle. And let me share with you the words of the song that taught me such a grand lesson about true forgiveness.
On a city street somewhere,
Someone shoots a gun
In the midnight air.
And I don't know why.
Somebody lives, somebody dies;
Somebody wrongs and a mother cries.
And I don't know why.
Some things we'll never understand;
Other things you change if you can.
Chorus:
Peace, you'll find it where the heart is,
And the heart is right where love lives,
And love can always find a way.
Hope is something that reminds us,
It's not too late to find us.
One day we may be in peace.
Haven't spoken in thirty years
After angry words and bitter tears.
And I don't know why.
Best of brothers and best of friends;
One mistake and their story ends.
And I don't know why.
Some things we'll never understand;
Other things you change if you can.
Chorus
It's all about forgiveness;
With God as my witness
I wanna live to see peace.
Chorus
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Dec. 18, 2008
The Sixth Day of Christmas
The Greatest Gift
God…the greatest lover
So loved…the greatest degree
The world…the greatest number
That He gave…the greatest act
His only begotten Son…the greatest Gift
That whosoever…the greatest invitation
Believeth…the greatest simplicity
In Him…the greatest Person
Should not perish…the greatest deliverance
But…the greatest difference
Have…the greatest certainty
Everlasting life…the greatest possession.
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