Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife

This past Saturday, my mom, Jaidyn, and I went to visit my brother Jon in Carbondale.  It is, regrettably, the first trip I have made to see him, and he's been there for quite some time.  Mom didn't tell him we were coming, so it was a nice surprise!  I figured out on that trip how alike we are, something I never thought that I would ever say.  We are both constantly complaining about the way we look and about our weight....a not so great quality that we got for our Dad!  It's funny how when you grow up you start to see the qualities you share with your loved ones.  I always thought I was so much like my mom, but I think I am actually more like my dad!  Anyways, we ate DiMaggio's, a yummy pizza place that my brother used to work at.  I think Jon was enjoying all the attention he was getting from his past female co workers, since they thought that his little niece was just the cutest thing! ;) .  After lunch we went to Walmart to get Jon some groceries.  And there is was, just staring at me, beckoning me to come check it out.  A Kindle.  Something I recently decided I wanted to spend my birthday money on.  My mom decided to get it for me as an early Christmas present though, because she is awesome.  I love it!!  Books written before around the 1920's are free, and those are just the kinds of books I love to read, so I knew it would be a good investment!  I originally said that I would never own one (just like my ipod, or my pair(s) of skinny jeans...but I always end up owning them anyways!), mainly because I thought that they were backlit, and I didn't want to ruin my eyes, but also because I love books.  I love the way they feel, the way they smell, everything about them!  But, I have a trillion books sitting on my bookshelf that I have never read, some that I have hardly even touched.  Maybe, just maybe if I got the Kindle I would read more!  So far, that has been the case.  Sometimes, when I am lying in bed at night, I really want to read, but I am too lazy to go downstairs and grab a book, and I'm embarrassed to say, sometimes I am too lazy and tired to even flip the pages!  The Kindle makes it hard to come up with an excuse not to read!

The first day I got it, I read a manuscript from a conference called Going Green: A Day on an Organic Farm.  I know...I am a nerd.  But, it's my passion!  I am currently reading three books.  I picked up where I left off on Pride and Prejudice (hence, the title of this blog entry).  That book it so wonderful.  I love the language, the characters, and the conversations in her books.  She was brilliant.  I am also reading My Antonia.  A couple of summers ago, I took an online literature class to keep me reading throughout the summer.  We read a book called Oh Pioneers!  by Willa Cather.  I fell in love with it, so my professor suggested that I read another book by her, called My Antonia.  I am enjoying it as much as I enjoyed Oh Pioneers!  I just love her writing style, and her descriptions of the United States before we put in our highways and factories and shopping malls.  The third book is one that I am actually reading with Kyle.  We decided to start choosing a book together, and reading for a bit in bed every night, as a way to bond.  We chose Dracula, which I am super excited about!  I took a class this summer called The History of the European Witchhunts, and we discussed this book a bit.  Since then I have been itching to read it!  It's a very long book, but so far it's keeping our interest. 

On another note, my poor baby girl left TKD with a bloody lip tonight.  She got kicked in the face while sparring, which happens to her a lot, because she is so much shorter than the other kids.  She always gets hurt by the same girl too!  But tonight was by far the worst.  She walked off the floor crying, but left with her chin up, determined to keep trying.  It's been very difficult for her, because she is so scared of the bigger kids.  I would be to, they can be vicious!  An icecream from DQ made everything all better though :).  Early today, we went to the swimming pool for a bit (and a very little bit at that, as there were lots of wasps so we decided to leave).  Daddy Kyle bought Jaidyn some Tinkerbell goggles and a pool ring to float around in.  Well, she loves them both so much that she has been wearing them all day.  She took a bath....with her goggles and floaty on.  She wore her goggles while playing in her room, in the car on the way to TKD and the grocery store, and in DQ.  She is so silly, and I love her so much! 

Pictures to come! :D

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Vine and the Branches

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the fruit that I may or may not be bearing, and I stumbled across John 15 this evening.  I've read it before, probably more than once, but never really thought much about it until tonight.  Jesus really did make it so easy for us, if you think about it.  LOVE!!  Just LOVE!  We just can't seem to get this loving each other thing figured out though.  Anyways, here are the verses that I read.  It's exactly what I needed to read tonight, and you never know, someone out there may be reading this blog that needs to read it too :)

 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
   5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
   9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other."

Summer Fun and Water Bugs

This summer we have been trying very hard to eat better and be more active.  Kyle and I started playing tennis a couple of weeks ago, which has been quite the experience!  We are pretty terrible, but get a little better each time we play.  It's fun just to volley back and forth for awhile.  We usually play on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  This Tuesday was so hot!  We were dripping with sweat by the time we got home, and realized it was only going to get worse because we needed to get a ton of laundry done at our apartments laundry facilities.  Buut, we thought of a brilliant plan!  Honestly, I'm not sure why we didn't think of it sooner, but the swimming pool is right outside of the laundry room, so we put in our laundry and hopped into the pool for an hour!  It felt so nice!  This morning when we woke up, we decided to play volleyball at Sister City Park instead, so Jaidyn could have the opportunity to play on the playground on such a beautiful day!  She's usually pretty bored at tennis, except for this week, because she brought her bike and rode around the outskirts of the tennis courts....again, I don't know why we didn't think of that sooner!  We played for about an hour, then decided to go to the pool again!  Jaidyn absolutely adores the pool.  She has always been a little water bug!  She and Kyle have so much fun together.  She loves to jump in his arms, or ride on his back all around the pool. 
I don't know what I am going to do when school starts back up and we are too busy to do these kinds of things :(  This summer has been amazing, and I wish it didn't have to end!