Yes, I'm still here!

Haha, I still have a blog, but I have unfortunately left it to die, basically. Sorry, yet again, for no blogging. I feel like I don't know how to do it anymore. But I've been taking tons and tons of pictures with my new camera, which I love! There's no possible way I could get all of them up, but I randomly picked four to be uploaded here, so...


This is my friend Morgan, who's a ballerina.

My cousin picking on the guitar...

This was so much fun when we went ice skating! I love the ice skating boots. :)

This is a collage I made from some pics I took around Anniston.

My New Year's Resolutions

I normally don't put a lot of thought into this kind of stuff, but, here goes...
My New Year's Resolutions

- Try my very hardest to find time to have a good work out or some form of excersize at least once a week. Not only does excersizing make me feel a whole lot better afterwards, perhaps I can actually get in shape!
- Be more dedicated to music. This year, you could say I have slacked in my practicing, due to circumstances I couldn't help, and me just being plain lazy. I am going to discipline myself and practice longer and harder on all three of my instruments. I want to be able to give each an hour a day, if possible.
- Search for more opportunities to share the gospel. Recently, I have been very convicted about "hiding my light under a bushel." I want to find the courage and will to BOLDLY proclaim and exalt the name of Christ.
- Spend more time in the Word, in rich, deep, Bible study. Whether I have an actual study or not, I want to engross myself in the Word of God every day. Quiet time with my Savior is VITAL to my every day living.
- Try to find more ways to be a servant, as well as having a servant's heart. The women who I look up to and love the most are all SERVANTS - they give and give and give, most of the time not getting anything back. That is how I want to be.
- Restrain from putting too much on myself and keep my life as balanced and stress-free as possible. Sometimes I WILL just have to turn down opportunities that are going to stress me out.
- I only have two more which, to me, are the most important...Pass all my burdens, pain, hurt, stress, etc., over to Jesus. I am always taking on stress that is not my own, always worrying about things that I have no reason to worry about, and analyzing things too closely, making a bigger deal about everything than I should. I can see now that I honestly CANNOT do this all on my own. 2008 has been a much harder year than I could have ever imagined. From my dad and close grandad getting cancer at the same time, seeing my dad go through treatments while my grandad is slowly slipping away, in August my grandad dies, my sister has a miscarriage, and more personal things that have happened since... I never knew I could endure such pain. BUT, in the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, "I have been made weak to know the strength of the One who's strong." Only by the grace and mercy of God did our family make it through this year. As I said, I CANNOT carry all of this weight on my own. However, I am thankful beyond words that I have a Savior who cares enough to comfort, encourage, and take my burdens for me. One of my dad's favorite verses through his cancer was Psalm 121:1-2, "I lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD the Maker of heaven and earth." The God who comforts me and gives me help is the SAME God who has created everything around me. The majestic mountains, the roaring sea, He created ALL of this. He is an awesome and majestic God, yet He is precious enough, sweet enough, and intimate enough to help me. This amazes me, puts me in awe. Also, I believe that He will not give me a burden too heavy to carry. My prayer is that I will continue to pass everything over to Christ. Also, I pray that my testimony and what my family has been through will be used to bring others to know the love of Christ. In 1 Corinthians, it tells us that the God has comforted us so that we may comfort others, with the SAME comfort that God gave us. I have never been so close to God or experienced the richness and fullness of His love, comfort, mercy, grace, etc. But I feel led to not only share how God has blessed me through all these trials, but love and comfort others with the same love and comfort He gave me! Most of all, whatever 2009 brings - joy or tribulation - I am trusting in the sovereign will of God, that He is purpose driven, and nothing will happen to me or my family, lest it have a purpose and reward. To God be the glory.

-Abigail

Sorry!!

So sorry about my lack of blogging yet again! I truly am appalled at myself! :( But I'm back now... and, just to let everyone know, Twilight WAS really good. They did a great job of going 'by the book.'
This whole month has been truly hectic, with Christmas and all the concerts and performances that go with it. A musician's life in December is GO, GO, GO! But, as of this past Sunday, I am finished with all my performances, so I can rest now, thank goodness! And all the concerts went extremely well, so... another thank goodness!
Sadly, my computer crashed, which means that I have been away from my music, photography, and so much more that I thought I couldn't live without. (But it's a comforting thought to know that I CAN.) I have gone to extreme lengths to still work on and download pictures, but some of it has been in vain, I am sad to say. Nonetheless, here are five pictures I found that I worked on right BEFORE the computer crashed. Enjoy!
~Abigail~

This was such a beautiful sunset.

And this was a breath-taking view of the mountains.

And yet... ANOTHER Obsession!

Well, technically, this isn't really an obsession. And, for that matter, I DON"T have obsessions. I just get... overly excited. :)
Nonetheless, I have, *sigh*, become one of the billions of Twilight fans. I wasn't going to let myself... actually, I refused to even read the books. Everyone has been going CRAZY over them, and I, (the one that strictly reads Christian Historical Fiction) thought, "This is absolutely absurd! People are going crazy over books about vampires?" Finally, after seeing the trailer to the movie that kind of looked interesting, I decided to see what all the craziness was about. Who'd-a-thought that I would be in love with these books?? I AM! Well, I can't really say "books" yet, because I'm only on the first one, but I cannot put it down! I truly am surprised how good they are. And now I am ECSTATIC over the movie coming out this week-end. I can't wait! Anyway... all you Twilight fans, you can count me as a part of the club now!
I hope the movie will be good. Of course, it's supposed to be scary, and I normally can't really handle scary (like the third Lord of the Rings is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen), but if it turns out to be, I can just look away, I suppose. I'm guessing - no, I'm HOPING - that the scary factor is the reason for it's being PG-13. ANYWAY... here's the trailer. :)

Our Country... and My Pictures :)

I have to apologize for my lack of blogging. I can only say the same things I always do... things have just been hectic.

I DO have some pictures to share towards the bottom of this post. A lot of them were taken in Tennessee (all the fall looking pictures) which I put Scriptures on two of those. I really am liking those. Enjoy. :)

Before you get to the pictures though, I just wanted to share this video. Obviously, we aren't all jumping up and down about our new president of our country. However, as we all know, we don't know what the future holds but we know who holds the future. God is sovereign and completely knows what He's doing. He is purpose-driven and wouldn't have chosen Obama as our president if there wasn't a reason behind it. No - if there wasn't a GOOD reason behind it. All things work together for GOOD. The best thing we can do is pray for our new leader's salvation.
Below is a video (taped before the actual election) of John Piper and his wonderful perspective.

Missing Pap-paw... but taking some great photos!

Fall break is, sadly, over. It's been over for almost a week! Sorry I haven't blogged... where does time go?
The only thing I can really say as far as my personal life, is that I've really had to beg for God's mercy today. More like this whole week. The past week to week 1/2 has been the hardest, as far as missing Pap-paw. Like the "I can't breathe... I'm going to be physically sick if I don't talk to him or see him or hear him or... ok, I'm going to throw up!". Yeah, that kind of hard. Especially today. I've missed him terribly all day long. I thought that the pain would go away after it'd been a month or so, but as it is almost three months since he died, I am learning that's not true, nor possible. How could we not miss and grieve over someone so dear, so close? I will never stop missing him, but I do think that you can't grieve for forever. It has to stop sometime. But perhaps his death really is still fresh. Three months probably isn't as long as it seems to me.
On another note... you guessed it, I have more pictures! I had the most amazing photoshoot with my cousin Katie the other day. We based pretty much the whole thing on haybales. I actually climbed on top of one (which was quite an ordeal) just to snap some photos! (And it was pretty scary, since it started rolling as I was climbing onto it!) So, I'm sharing some of the pics from that photoshoot, as well as some others I've taken here and there.

Katie took the ones of me and I took all the rest, FYI.

This is my Proverbs 31 necklace ("a virtuous woman, who can find? for her wealth is far above rubies) that I put over Proverbs 31 in my Bible. I like how this turned out.

This is the first of the "Haybale Photoshoot" pictures. Katie is a dancer, so we were so excited about this pic!

Katie again... :)

I really like this one...

How cool is that???

This is a Confederate General's grave which sits right next to our cabin in Tennessee. It's really interesting... there's a rusty gate that surrounds it, and then this simple tombstone. Y'all know I'm enthralled with it!

Nothin New :)

Still nothing new... I'm on Fall Break this week for the first time in four years! I've always been the only one to not be off school the past years when I've been homeschooled, but thankfully this year my mom and I needed a break BAD. It's going to be great to get to just... relax. *sigh* :)

Here are four pictures I've recently worked on. Sorry, it seems the only reasons to post lately are pictures.

Me and my cousin Katie.
I really like how this pic turned out. This is Grace Episcopal church on Quintard.
Haha. :) I simply could not resist doing these pics of my favorite drinks... Starbucks skinny caramel latte and ice cold SOUTHERN SWEET TEA! (they're not the greatest "artsy" pictures of course, but like I said... I couldn't resist.)

~SOLI DEO GLORIA~

New Look...New Pictures

Notice anything different? :) Yep, I think I might be staying with the blog layout for a little while this time. That's one of my new favorite pictures, too. I took it this past week-end when I stayed with some friends, the Haynes. I am SOOO loving Picnik! It's unbelievably better than Picasa... and still free! So, here are some pictures taken over the past week or two:


This was taken at the Haynes... I love this!
Also at the Haynes... love Love LOVE this pic!

I love hydgrangea's. :)
This is a picture I think I've showed all of y'all before, but I have worked on it since then by putting this verse on it. :)
And....... taken at the Haynes! I really like how this picture turned out.

My cousin Katie and I are seriously thinking about doing a photography class together. I really would love to do it, if time could allow me. So, if any of you Anniston/Oxford residents know of anybody that teaches a class or takes a class, let me know! :)

~SOLI DEO GLORIA~

Les Miserables

Ok, I cannot go another blog post without talking about this!

Saturday me and my parents, the Haynes family, and the "ABC group" as we call it, went to see the musical Les Miserables at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. Just to jump to how I feel about it....... words cannot describe how incredible it was. I'm serious; no matter what I say or how I describe it, my words won't do it justice. I'll put it this way, I thought I'd never hear a cast better than the recording I have of the Original London Cast.... but oh man, was I wrong! There wasn't ONE member of the cast that wasn't INCREDIBLE. When they opened their mouths to sing, our mouths hit the floor. I cried three times in the show. The first was when Eponine dies in Marius's arms as she sings "A Little Fall of Rain," one of my favorite songs in the show. I take that back, of ALL TIME! The second was when Jean Valjean sings "Bring Him Home," which is probably the most famous song from the musical. That was one of my Pap-paw's favorite songs, and he always asked me to play it for him so he could sing it, so that really made me miss him. And the third was at the end just because... well, it was the end of such an amazing show, the finale was AWESOME, what more can I say? We all loved it!

Below are some pictures from the fun day. All (but one) were taken on the way home that night.
(Oh, and yes, I'm wearing the same outfit from the Vogue photoshoot! :)




Elizabeth and me :)
Laura, Elizabeth, and Will...

Caitlin and me walking in to the Fox... so exciting!
Laura and me :)

Sarah, Ian, and Elizabeth

All of us youngsters :)

ME AND KATIE on Tuesday Afternoons :)

Ok, I suppose I have apologize to my cousin Katie, who I spend the Tuesday afternoons with. I didn't put any pictures of us together, and that deeply upset her. Haha, no I'm kidding. But she did want me to put a few pics of our fun times together, so........

I don't even know what we're laughing about!
I love this picture..... her with the mandolin and me with the violin.

Love, ya Kate. :)

Tuesday Afternoons

I have found photography to be such a wonderful outlet.
Let me share a little about Tuesday afternoons this semester. My cousin Katie and I are doing a Bible study on the Patriarchs by Beth Moore. (which is AMAZING by the way.) We meet on Tuesdays at lunchtime and eat, then watch the next video session in the study. Lately, after that, we have started having photoshoots. :) We don't plan them, they just happen. Like the pictures below evolved because I was trying on an outfit for an upcoming event, trying to get my cousin's opinion on it, when I looked in the mirror and said, "That's so vogue!" Thus, we had a "vogue" photoshoot.
Vogue picture 1
This picture was taken because I told her I wanted some good pictures of me playing music, so I just sat down and started playing the cello while she took the pics. This is one of the MANY great music pics she's taken and I've doctored up on Picnik.
Vogue picture 2: I love this pic, but I wish I had done something different with my hands.
I love, love, LOVE this picture!
And... Vogue picture 3. :) It's kinda dark, but I like it.

By the way, I know I've been putting a lot of pictures of myself up recently, but I want you to know that I'm not trying to showcase myself WHATSOEVER. I'm just posting them to showcase my cousin's wonderful work and my favorite editing tool Picnik!!!

Ok, the BAD News...

We found out today at Anna Lee's doctor's appointment that she has had a miscarriage and lost the baby.
Words cannot describe how devasted we all are.

I don't understand why God would give us such wonderful hope after grief by giving us a baby, only to take it away shortly. Why, Lord, WHY? Since my family have, since February, gone through my dad having cancer and getting over it, my Pap-paw getting three kinds of cancer, being very sick, and dying, and now my sister losing a baby who was supposed to be a gift from God.......... we're all saying "GOD, IF THERE'S SOMETHING WE'RE SUPPOSED TO LEARN, WE ARE LISTENING!!! JUST TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO DO AND WE'LL DO IT!!!"

But, just as in all things, the only thing we can do is continue to trust the Lord who is sovereign over everything. There will be another baby. I will still be an aunt, Anna Lee will still be a mother. And just like my mom said, we prayed for the baby to be healthy, and if it wasn't going to be born healthy and not be able to live, we prayed God would take him/her home to be with Him. And He has... He's been faithful in that.

Please pray for Anna Lee and Locke....... my heart breaks for them. Pray that their faith will be strengthened and not put down.

May God be glorified.

Ok, the BIG News!!!

So, in the previous post I DID say that I had some exciting news to come on Wednesday, didn't I? I have to apologize and say sorry that I didn't have time yesterday to sit down and write this, but I do now!

Are you ready???? For some of you that don't know me and my family, this won't shock you as much, but for the others... hold on to your hat!

Anna Lee Acker Freeman, aka MY SISTER, is going to have a baby!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't really believe it quite yet! And don't get me wrong, this was a complete shock to EVERYONE, including Anna Lee and her husband Locke. But we are so excited! Of course, my sis (and the rest of us, too) have some nerves and anxiousness about it, but God is in control and His timing is perfect! Like I've said before, although we question God's timing, WHAT PERFECT TIMING! I know that sounds weird, but seriously! This is even MORE proof of God's rich grace and mercy on us. He took a dear and precious life from us - my Pappaw- but He, in His steadfast love, is giving us a NEW life to enjoy! The life inside of my sister! Oh, hallelujah, what a wonderful God we serve!
I'm sorry to be going on about this, but truly, I am so thankful and in awe of God right now. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning.

Anyway, the due date is May 21 and I can't wait to be an aunt! I've been thinking about aunt "names" because Aunt Abigail DOES NOT flow well together! (just say it out loud to yourself! it's too old for a young aunt like me!) I have a friend who is an aunt and her nephews and neice call her Tia, which is Spanish for aunt. I've thought about Tia, Auntie, Aunt Ab (since most of my closest friends and family call me Ab for short), and Aunt Grace (my middle name). The last two might be my favorites. Which one do you like the best?? :)

Well, just wanted to share that wonderful news with y'all, but I will post again with some more pictures as soon as I can Picnik them. (My newest editing tool... it has more features and effects than Picasa, but still free.)

Reminders

Above are some pictures I took a couple of weeks ago at my cousin's house. The first one is just an above shot of a gate (and my feet! I didn't know I would get them in there, but I kind of like it!) The third one is my favorite... I love magnolia trees, and I love that they are the "southern flower."

I sat down to write this post saying, "Ok, I am NOT going to talk about my Pap-paw or how my family is doing. I am NOT!" But, I have found that every single person I talk to, whether it be on the phone, in person, or over email, I somehow mention Pappy. Yesterday, when I was talking to my cousin, I heard myself mention him countless times. He was such a big part of my life, I guess! Although I loved him and cherished our time together when he was on this earth, I don't think I knew what a special blessing I had until now, when he's gone. That kind of thing makes me want to slap my face. Anyway, the point is, I will always talk about my Pap-paw and the man he was. Especially now, while my family and I are grieving and coping. SO, bear with me!
Like I have said before, the times when I get the most sad are when I can't find anything to remind me of Pap-paw. So, I have done many things to help with that. I got one of those plastic picture keychains where you can put your own picture in a keychain, and I put a crazy picture of Nonnie and Pap-paw on one side and on the other I put a picture of him playing the guitar. I put the keychain on my purse. I also have put a picture of Pap-paw and I as my wallpaper on my computer, put a picture and verse that has to do with suffering on my bathroom mirror, and I use one of his old tuners (the ones that you blow into and it makes a pitch) to tune my instruments. Last but certainly not least, I got one of his cufflinks and had a jeweler saw off the stem and put it into a coin holder that goes on a necklace. I wear that necklace every day whether it matches or not! (and, if you know me, that means it is one SPECIAL necklace!) I am so thankful I have all these things to remind me of him. I know I won't and can't forget him, but it's still nice to have these things too. :)

That's it for now, but VERY EXCITING news to come on Wednesday. Patience, patience... :)

~SOLA DEO GLORIA~

MORE Pictures and an Update

I have more pictures! Actually, most of these my cousin Katie took, and I messed with them on Picasa. I only took two of them! Here I am holding one of my Pap-paw's guitars from Mexico. It doesn't have any strings on it, but we're going to put some on there and fix it up so we can play it.
This is one of the pics that I took. My sister in law and I arranged that flower arrangement for my mom when she came home from Mississippi on Saturday. The book is, obviously, a Bible.

Me and my harp. :)
This is the other pic that I took. This is also a Bible.



Things are pretty much the same since I last posted. I haven't felt that sense of "things are getting easier" yet, but I know it will come at some point. We ARE ok. We're not sitting in a corner and crying our eyes out because 1) it's not healthy and 2) we just CAN'T do that. We don't have enough time! I guess it IS good that we're trying to get back into a normal schedule, since homeschooling and all my lessons keeps us busy.
It has been extremely hard and my family and I have grieved a whole lot... but we can still laugh. We can talk about happy memories with Pap-paw. But when I get sad is when I can't find anything to remind me of him. I just want to watch home videos so that I can see and hear him. If I can't find a video, I have to look at pictures. Well, then I want to hear his voice. I'm so used to talking to him on the phone once every week or so. I've been calling his phone just to hear his voicemail over and over again. Today, unfortunately, his phone was disconnected, so I won't be able to hear that again. Then, I want to hear him play the guitar, so I put my ipod earphones in and listen to something like "Blackbird" by the Beatles or "If" by Bread. Get my drift yet? I just want SOMETHING to hear, see, or think about to remind me of Pap-paw. Things like that don't make me MORE upset... it actually comforts me a lot.

Besides school, music lessons, and coping, nothing else is really going on. It's very tiring and overwhelming... just with trying to fit in all my school work and practice time AND free time... but as I said before, it's keeping me and, more importantly, my MIND busy.

Pray on, friends, and thanks for reading.

~SOLA DEO GLORIA~

Pictures, the Funeral, and Videos

Above are artsy pictures I took in Brookhaven at my grandparent's beautiful house.

I am now home again. My dad and I left on Monday, but my mom stayed. She'll probably be coming back home at the end of this week.
God, in his rich grace and sweet mercy, was so precious to me and my family on Sunday, the funeral day. We woke up with that feeling: can we please skip this day, God? But the funeral, visitation, and graveside ceremony was... indescribably sweet. The funeral was a worship service, truly. Here is the detailed version of the funeral:
Twenty minutes before, my cousin John and I started our prelude with a song we wrote the day before the funeral on the piano. Then, Josiah, Joel, and I played our two songs that we wrote, and I finished with the harp. I play a celtic, folksy piece that Pap-paw has always loved, a modern hymn "Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul," and "My Jesus, I Love Thee," Pappy's favorite hymn. God and His strength was the only thing keeping me up there.
My dad, my cousin Joseph, and my second cousin Mike all spoke about Pap-paw, the man he was, and just told stories - funny and serious. The congregation sang two hymns and the gospel was shared. It was just a celebration of Pap-paw's life. I wish everyone in the world could have been there just so they could know the man he was. He was a truly incredible, amazing man.

On the other hand it is amazing how our family can, in the hardest of times, make them happy times. Below are some videos that kind of prove that. Nonnie has a LARGE collection of hats, some of which are her mother's. And let me tell you, they are some pretty crazy hats. So, John and I got into them and decided to make some videos. We made about ten, but for now I'll just broadcast these two. Enjoy! Will write soon...
(don't forget to pause the music!)





(by the way, John, Joel, Josiah, and I made a documentary as well, which I'll let y'all see later.) :)

Precious Pap-paw

I know I have fallen off the face of the world of blogging, but I have a good reason for that.

Wednesday, my mom and I drove to Mississippi because Pap-paw was going down fast. Thursday night my dad got here with my harp. On Thursday, August 28th at around 11:50 pm, Max Thornhill, my precious Pap-paw, went to be with the Almighty at last. Friends, I can say now that I have never experienced such intense grieving, such sweet fellowship, and such praise to God. The last hour he was alive was a worship service. Me, my mom and her two sisters, my cousins Lori and John, my sister Anna Lee, my dad, and one of my uncles, crowded around Pap-paw's bed for the last thirty minutes. I played the harp for Pap-paw, as he gave me my gift of music and also my harp. We sang hymns and read Scripture. Pap-paw was not responsive towards the end, but I know he heard us and understood us. Praise the Lord, he did not cough or hurt the whole hour before he passed.

It was sooooooo hard. Sweet, but terribly hard. Like the whole time, someone was trying to punch a hole in my heart. Well, the moment Pap-paw slipped away, that punch made a HUGE hole. It seems like as every day passes that hole gets bigger. It feels way to weird with him not here in his own house, with his whole family. We keep thinking he's just on vacation but he'll be here soon. But I will never see him again on this earth.

We find so much comfort in these things: Pap-paw is whole and complete with his Maker. He doesn't have that nasty cough he hated, and he doesn't have any pain. All that horrible cancer and pneumonia is out of his lungs. He has more energy now than he's ever had. He is playing the most MARVELOUS duet with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He is hearing indescribably beautiful music. Not only is HE doing all these things, but not too long from now, WE will too - with HIM!!! What a wonderful thought!

My mom is doing ok. She's not very emotional, but she's not stable either. She's just kind of... staring at a blank wall. Thinking, "What am I going to do without my daddy?" I hurt for her so much.
My Nonnie (aka grandmother) is very good. She told me that every morning she gets up, she raises her hands towards heaven and askes God for the grace and strength she needs. And He gives her that super-natural strength.

The funeral is Sunday at 3:00 pm, with a visitation following. We will have a private graveside service after that. I am playing the harp and cello during the service, so please pray for my strengh. The only way I will be able to do that is through Christ's strength. I HAVE to play at Pappy's funeral. I have to. It is my duty, and the best way to honor him.

Continue to pray for our family as we go through this hard trial. All the firsts will be hard. All the family trips will never be the same. But God has a purpose in everything, right? Yes He does! And He is faithful and true. He will not give me or my family something to heavy to carry. He loves us and will not put us in harms way.
Although I know I should have had this attitude my whole life, I now will analyze my every move and think about my decisions, actions, and words, because I know Pap-paw is looking down on me. I want him to be proud of his little granddaughter. And when I play at my senior recital, or have my first performance with a symphony, or even when I get married, he will be there. And I want him to think, There she is, my little Abigail. How proud I am of her! Won't be long till she's up here with me!

I love you, Pap-paw, more than words can say, and I promise to honor you and your life. What a special man you are! While I'm down here, you be making sure our mansions are built correctly, just like Aunt Diane said. See you soon! I can't wait to be with you and our Lord!

Picasa Pictures!

Here are some pictures I took a while ago, and I just now realized I hadn't posted them.

This was taken at our new church that we're "remodelling." This tree was struck by lightning, which is why there's a strip of bark missing! I think it looks so cool!

Here's just a simple bird-feeder.
This is a tree that was also struck by lightning, but you can't tell. I tinted the picture to make it look more like a drawing.
And this was taken in our house. :)
ENJOY!

~SOLA DEO GLORIA~
(in English that is For God's Glory Alone, which is one of the Five 'Solas.' That is my new 'signature.') :)

Mount Cheaha... and Other Things :)

Today me, Dad, my brother Andrew, brother-in-law Locke, and cousin Joseph who is in town, all went to Mount Cheaha. Basically, the only place we went to was this real big waterfall where you can jump off into a deep, REALLY COLD water pool. Not only did we have a great, fun time, but I was once again reminded of the amazing, so creative, and loving God we serve. He created such a beautiful world not only give us a small glimpse of how glorious He is, but also for us to enjoy. I take it for granted every day I wake up and I don't notice the beautiful trees and the birds chirping right outside my kitchen window. I should always be comforted when I look at God's creation, because I can remember that the God who has created all this magnificent and amazing stuff around me is also the God I love, serve, and cry out to in my time of need. Praise Him for loving us sinners enough to be intimately acquainted with our lives and needs! Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures that I took today. :) Enjoy.
The pictures above and below me are the same thing, but I couldn't
decide which "doctored up" one I liked better.
And, of course, I had to take the picture of
this butterfly. :)

My dad took this standing above me as I was climbing up
the rocks from jumping into the pool.

And...... ANOTHER butterfly! :)

Here are some extra pictures of me and my cousin Molly (the one in the videos) that we took a little while ago. Love you, MOLL! :)

Washington D.C!

Well, I am back from Washington D.C! It was a great trip. We went to D.C., of course, Arlington, Richmond, Lexington, Manassas, and Fredericksburg. We all had so much fun! Enjoy the pics... and keep in mind that some are tourist-y pictures and some are just plain artsy pics, which I had to take, you know, because I had such great photo ops. :)

The JEFFERSON MEMORIAL. This was my favorite memorial.

WASHINGTON MEMORIAL #1...
WASHINGTON MEMORIAL #2!
This is a carriage entrance which I thought was really pretty.

Sunset...
Me and Dad. :)

The LINCOLN MEMORIAL at sunset.
This is the beautiful World War II Memorial.

The Nation's House of Treasury (or whatever it's called...)
The back of the WHITE HOUSE! All the tours inside were closed or booked, so we just took the Garden Tour of the White House. It was beautiful!

This is the NATION'S CAPITOL!
The back of the capitol.

This is just a picture I took from the front of a really pretty, old looking church. I kinda like it. :)
This is FORD'S THEATER, where Abraham Lincoln was shot!
This is just a random pic I took. I really like this one, because I love butterflies. They fascinate me.

This is the NATIONAL CATHEDRAL! As my dad quotes from the movie Gladiator, "I did not know men could build such things." This building was INCREDIBLE. I couldn't belive me eyes.
This was taken inside the cathedral, from the back looking towards the front. The stained glass was absolutely beautiful inside.

This is Arlington Cemetery - Robert E. Lee's home and where thousands and thousands of men who gaves their lives for our country are buried.
ROBERT E. LEE'S HOME!!!!!!!!! Ok, anyone who knows me knows that I am a Civil War/Robert E. Lee addict. It might be a little unhealthy how obsessed I am with those two things. I consider Robert E. Lee one of the greatest American's who's ever lived. And that's not because he led the Confederates in the Civil War, it's because he was a southern gentleman, an amazing leader, and a true man of God. We bought a book of amazing quotes of his, some of which I will share on a later post. Anyway, I'll talk about all this later........ but his house was beautiful! You can imagine how I felt walking through this amazing man's HOME. :)

This is a cannon which was at the Civil War Bull Run battle at Manassas. Once again, an amazing experience for me, to be able to walk on the ground where, unfortunately, so much blood was spilt, so many men killed.
Haha. :)

This was a house that was on the battle field. An old lady lived there at the time of the battle, and some Union troops went inside to shoot towards the Confederates, while the lady was in bed sick. Sadly, when the Confederates fired back, their cannons killed the lady. She is buried behind the house.
This is the Iwo Jima Memorial.