Me: "Happy birthday, Jenny!"
Jenny: "Happy birthday to you, too!"

Ah, I love Jenny.  



Jenny is the AIM Missions Director, my one-time mentor, and a role model and friend for all the girls on the Branson AIM team. Today was her birthday, so of course we had a celebration!

Tess and Kristi, two of the other AIM leaders, planned a surprise party for Jenny, and invited all of the girls on the team! Of course, we all jumped at the chance to do anything involving Jenny. :) We showed up at 4:00 today in the AIM office and waited for Jenny to arrive. When she showed up, we pounced on her. She was surprised. :)

We started with a scavenger hunt. Tess had written clues that Jenny would follow all over Branson to find each of her gifts, and each of the girls that were at the party got her a gift and had it held at the store.

Our first stop was Branson Landing. Jenny had figured out that the first stop was the candle shop down at the Landing. We walked in, and who should we see but Amber and Kristina, two AIM-ites who were not able to attend the party, but who, as it turned out, had been assigned to get Jenny a gift from the candle place and hadn't been able to pick one yet! We got Jenny's gift from the other shop in Branson Landing (some lavendar-scented stuff from Bath and Body Works) while Amber and Kristina hastily finished picking out a candle for Jenny.

When we returned to the candle shop, Amber and Kristina met us with slightly sheepish grins. ;) Jenny dutifully went up to the counter, gave her name, and requested her gift. The lady behind the counter had it, but she said Jenny had to sing something in order to get the present! At first we thought Amber and Kristina had arranged this, because singing for mail and gifts was an AIM mission trip tradition and Amber and Kristina had both been on mission trips with Jenny. But as it turned out, the lady had come up with it on her own. Jenny sang a song she had co-written with her sister about being a twin, we all clapped, and Jenny got her candle.

But the damage was done. Poor Jenny had to sing for her gift at every remaining stop, and there were quite a few stops remaining. At Starbucks, she had to sing ___ before she could receive a big bag of Christmas-flavored coffees. At Maggie Moo's ice cream place, she had to sing "King of Kings" in a Dutch accent [see previous entry]. At the Christian bookstore, we had her do "Jesus Loves the Little Children" Elvis-style [ditto]. And in Target, she made up a commercial for M&Ms pizza to get a cinnamon-scented candle.

That was the end of the treasure hunt. We retreated to Tess's house for homemade pizza, cake, and ice cream. We also watched a movie while we ate. Jenny got a Rice Krispie cake shaped like a turtle (she's nuts about turtles, and I can't understand why). Jess and I also gave Jenny presents - Jess gave her a cell phone holder she got from China (Jenny and her cell phones are not easily separated), and I gave her the new Chris Tomlin CD. Now THAT was a hit! I knew she loved Chris Tomlin, and I went to a Chris Tomlin concert while she was on the mission trip and then rubbed it in by telling her how great it was. :D So I figured I needed to make amends!

Yeah... that was basically it. It was really fun. Jenny should have a birthday more often! :)

I'm all partied out.

Jessica had her 15th birthday on November 14, the day she got home from her mission trip on the East Coast. We had a small family party that night, and one of her gifts from Mom and Dad was a sleepover party with a few friends. We scheduled the party for Sunday night-Monday morning (yesterday and today), and Jess invited three friends from AIM, including Jenny, AIM's Missions Director. We had a blast.

First we played Guesstures, which is like charades, only on a time limit. We found that although Jenny incorporates very good mime technique into her charades, Mom is the best of the best when it comes to Guesstures. And I'm the worst of the worst. But that's OK.

Then we had supper - creamy Italian chicken with salad and garlic bread. Then the treasure hunt, a uniquely Roberts tradition that deserves a bit of explanation.

Treasure hunts were a staple of every Roberts birthday from about age 5 up to age 11ish. A treasure hunt consists of a series of clues - riddles, usually written in rhyme, that direct you to the location in the house where you will find the next clue. The last clue leads the hunters to the treasure, usually cheap dollar-store toys for each party participant.

By the age of 12 or so, the treasure hunt is gradually outgrown. However, Jessica decided to revive this tradition for her 15th birthday, and asked Mom to make the clues really hard, because Jenny is very good at riddles. Mom, who jokes that she is anointed to write treasure hunt clues (and she's actually not far from the truth), created the most difficult treasure hunt she'd ever done. It took us a rip-roaring total of 62 minutes to find the treasure - candy and other junk food for everyone, hidden in the freezer because one of Jenny's treasures was a quart of coffee-flavored ice cream.

Jenny LOVES coffee, and Jenny LOVES ice cream, so it was the perfect gift. The other two girls were also big fans of both, and between the three of them they consumed the whole thing in one sitting.

Now, normally when you get a present (or treasure), you just rip it open, right? Not so. On the mission trip, when a team member got mail, he or she had to sing an embarassing song or do a silly dance in order to get their mail. We did the same thing for our treasures.

- Andrew danced to a Katinas song.
- Josiah did an interpretive dance to the Barney song ("I love you, you love me...")
- Jessica sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" like a cowboy/country singer/not-very-good Branson "entertainter."
- I had to sing "King of Kings" in an operatic voice, and do the motions. It was a hoot.
- Rachel sang "Jesus Loves Me" like Elvis.
- Amy... I don't remember what Amy did.
- Jenny did a single mime to "End of the Beginning."

After that, we played Dutch Blitz, a fast-paced card game intended for 2-4 players that is faster paced the more people you have, so just imagine it with seven people. It was fun. Jessica is a whiz at that game, but in the end I managed to beat her out by a small margin. Jenny really got into that Dutch thing, and I don't think she'll ever be able to live it down. It's already come back to haunt her (see next entry for details).

After we finished that, we retreated to my room and giggled and did silly girly stuff until 11:30, when we turned out the light. The next morning we had breakfast (French toast and bacon) and bounced on the trampoline. We were going to go bike riding, but we only had four bikes, and five girls.

We said goodbye at around 9:30, telling each other, "I'll see you on Thursday" (our normal AIM practice day). But unbeknownst to Jenny, we would all meet again later that day.

I heard a song today that made me cry. Now, come to think of it, a lot of songs have made me cry. The vast majority of them are Mark Schultz songs - he makes me cry every time a new CD comes out. Another song that makes me cry is Michael W. Smith's "Hello, Goodbye," which was played at the memorial service for a little boy that Mom miscarried. Another one is "Pledge to the Lamb by Ray Boltz " - ugh, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

But I think this is the first time that a Christmas song has made me cry. The song is "The Christmas Shoes" by Newsong. Believe it or not, I had never heard the song before, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. Here's the chorus:

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been sick for quite a while
And I know these shoes would make her smile
And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

  That song is so beautiful and so sad at the same time... wow. I heard it on the radio, but now I've gotta have it for myself. I'm about to download it. Right after I go blow my nose...

OK, well, it's not really mine, I guess. But it's pretty close.

Grandma and Grandpa have this thing about Toyota Camrys. They had a 1986 Camry, a 1996 Camry, and just recently bought a 2006 Camry. However, with only two of them, they don't really have much use for three cars, so they were trying to get rid of the '86 Camry. Although the car is 20 years old, it is in stellar shape, because Grandpa is very good about taking care of his stuff. Just about the only problem with it is that a tiny leak in the air conditioning system means that the A/C is not very effective.

So, when they were looking to sell this car, they automatically thought of... me. I'm their oldest grandchild (so I've got first dibs), I'm 16, I'll be moving out in a couple of years, and I'll be needing my own car.

When they told me, I was excited about the prospect of having my own car, but at the same time I was apprehensive about the costs of buying the car, insurance, MO licensing (they live in Arkansas), etc. So I talked it over with Mom and Dad, and we decided that they would go ahead and buy it now, and that they would sell it to me later, when I really need to have my own car.

So that's what we did. Mom and Dad bought the car while we were down at their house over Thanksgiving, and I drove it home (3.5 hours), with no problems. It all works out really nicely. Even though I don't own it, the car is basically mine, because I'm the only one who uses it. The car does have its downsides - it's not the most sporty car in the world, for instance - but it's everything I need right now. God is good... and so are grandparents! 

P.S. I'm going to post a picture later. Stay tuned!

Jessica got back from the East Coast Mission Trip Tuesday night! She's been telling us all about it, and it sounds like it was a great experience! Check out her blog for more info! We were concerned that she would be really down when she had to come back to "real life," but she seems to be doing really well. It's great to have a sister again. It helps to counterbalance all this testosterone. :)

Now that she's back, I have to deal with that wonderful question, "Are you glad your sister is home?" I bet I've answered that question at least a dozen times. However, I've come up with a standard reply. Whenever anybody asks me that, I say, "Yes, I'm definitely glad she's home! She does the ironing!" It never fails to produce laughs, and it's not as boring as just saying, yes, of course I'm glad she's home. I mean, really, that is awfully boring! So yeah.

As it happened, Tuesday was Jessica's birthday too! She's going to have a sleepover party with all of her friends... don't know when, though. With Thanksgiving coming up, it could be a while.

Thursday was the all-day AIM Branson Christmas training day. We practiced all day, learning nine new songs. I thought it went really well. The kids worked hard, and were still doing great at the end of the day. I thought people were going to be tired and either sluggish or hyper by then, but they did a great job of staying focused and working hard. Then we had a potluck at the end. We presented three songs for the parents, the ECMT team shared about their trip, and Andrew, Aaron and I shared about the Pennies for Heaven project.

Well, Jessica is on her way up to play a Nancy Drew computer game with me (my birthday present to her). So I guess I'll sign off on this entry.

Until next time...

Q: How do you spell "busy?"
A: "V-E-T-E-R-A-N-S-W-E-E-K"

Veterans Day (November 11) is a huge deal in Branson. Branson is a very patriotic town, and it's something of a Mecca for veterans, especially during Veterans Week (11/5-11/11). There are special events throughout the week to honor the vets, culminating in a parade beginning at 11:11 AM on 11/11/06.

AIM is heavily involved in Veterans Week, both through presentations and service opportunities. We have a total of nine outreaches this week. For the rest of this week, I will be doing AIM stuff during these times:
WED - 10:45 AM - 1:30 PM
THURS - 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
FRI - 10:45 AM - 1:30 PM
SAT - 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM

Now do you see why I spell "busy" the way I do?

Actually, I really enjoy to all the presentations, plus I especially enjoyed the opportunity we had to serve food to the veterans earlier today. It was a really neat experience. Despite that, it seems that every time I turn around there's another presentation coming up! Mom's given me the week off academics b/c of all the presentations, but I still have all my writing projects (Elijah, National History Day, and two essay contest entries due at the end of the month), plus the science module that I didn't finish last week.

Theoretically, I do have enough time to do all those things, but the problem is, I come home from presentations totally exhausted and want to crash. I was so tired, I think I inadvertantly fell asleep this afternoon. Thank God for Yahoo Messenger... the little "you've got mail" sound was what woke me up. :) But I really need to be diligent in my work. I guess I need to figure out how to be productive even when I can barely keep my eyes open. Sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, it looks like Claire McCaskill is not going to be a MO Senator, and our Constitution will not be amended to allow unlimited stem cell research. With over half of precincts reporting, Talent leads McCaskill by about 6 percentage points, and Amendment 2 is being defeated by about 5 points. It seems that the good people of Missouri retain some semblance of common sense (and basic moral values), unlike quite a few others across the country.

What did I do today, you ask? Well, hmm, um... well, I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more. When I finished writing, I wrote. I did take a few breaks for meals... but gee, it feels like I've been writing all day.

First, this morning, I was finishing up a SL paper on Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Deep book, by the way. Intense. Maybe the toughest assignment I've ever had. I got a 98 on it, though! I think I was supposed to be disturbed by the book... but I'm not easily disturbed. 

Then later this morning I was finishing up chapter 11 (of 13!!! Almost done!) of my biography of Elijah Lovejoy (hereafter referred to as "My Book" or "Elijah"). I generally suffer from major writer's block on that project, so when I get on a roll I have to capitalize. I was on a roll Friday night, but by today that momentum was long gone. Mom and I have set deadlines for finishing each chapter, though, so that makes me push myself to write even when I'd rather take out the trash or something. Anything, just so long as it's not Elijah!

But at least that chapter's done. And I started the next one, which isn't due for two weeks, so I might be able to get away with not writing tomorrow. Actually, maybe not. The rest of the week is not looking good for school. Neither is all of next week... more on that in an upcoming entry.

Then I did SL reading and ironing (2.5 hr... I hate ironing). After supper, I went back to the keyboard to write a paper about my "favorite song." Yeah, right! It would take me all day to pick a favorite. So I just picked one that I thought would be pretty easy to write about. It ended up being not so easy, but I guess that's best. I guess if I had actually picked an easier song I wouldn't have learned as much from the exercise... so it's all good.

OH! Big news! Part of the reason that I won't have much time for school this week is that on Saturday, Dad and I have to catch a plane for Chicago at 4 PM. I've qualified for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament tryouts!!! I'm soooo excited! The audition is on Sunday at noon, so we're flying in with Dad's frequent flyer miles and then staying at a hotel with his Marriot Rewards points... so the whole thing is basically free.  Can't argue with free!

OK, I'd better get back to work. I need to be in bed in 20 minutes and I have some things I want to accomplish before then... so ciao! New entry soon, I promise!

OK, I know I did a Sonlight journal before - and only made one entry in it. But this time it's for real. After all, the first time I was only supposed to do it for one or two weeks. This time, I'm required to keep a journal for the entire school year. Plus, I'm supposed to keep a journal for the SALTeam Bible study I'm doing for AIM, Jesus on Leadership. So I guess I'm going to have to keep a journal whether I like it or not.

I've really come to despise journaling. Mom made me keep one for several years, and I absolutely hated it. That hatred has worn off somewhat, but still, I'm just not a journaler. I'll start one, and then I'll get so far behind with things I want to write about that I just get discouraged and give up. I guess that can't happen anymore. So this journal might not be as thorough as I'd like, but it should be fairly regular. At least two entries per week.

My Jesus on Leadership journal is supposed to focus on things like my response to the Bible study and other things that God has been teaching me. Blech. I hate "spiritual" journals even more than just normal everyday journals. I guess I'll try to do that a little bit, but I'm not sure how much I can bring myself to do.

My journal for Sonlight is supposed to be focused on my response to the things I'm learning through my 20th Century World History course. As I work through this course, I'm supposedly going to come upon a lot of things that disturb me, and it's going to help me work through issues to be able to write my thoughts out on paper... yadda yadda yadda. Yeah, right. I'll try, but I don't know how much 20th Century is going to make it in here, either. I do live in the 21st Century, ya know.

I know this is sounding really bad and rebellious and not at all like me. Those of you who know me probably think I must have a ghostwriter, because this is a side of me that is rarely seen. You see, I'm a lot more stubborn than most people realize. I've stubbornly refused to keep a journal for lo these many years, and being suddenly required to keep two, plus being told what to write in them, really sets my teeth on edge. I'll do it, because I don't let my stubbornness carry over into disobedience unless I'm told to do something that goes against the Bible, but I'm not promising that I'll be happy about it. No way.