And the Ice Gnomes are Marching From Their Norways...

A very merrily blessed Christmas to you all! I hope everyone had a marvelous celebration of our Lord's grace; any interesting stories to tell? Thoughts? Queries? Snide Remarks?

And what is this? The end of the year? Already?! WHERE DID IT GO?!! Does anyone really believe that it's December yet; cause I think there's some sort of conspiracy going on. Involving squirrels. And their acorn-powered time machines.

Closing Thoughts, Queries and (Possibly) Snide Remarks on the Year:

-God is good.

-I wish language were less weak to express God's [insert stronger medium here]. "How was your week? Good."; "Good job!"; "The Lord is good."; "Oh, that's good."

-My great apologies to any other string players out there, but cello is my favorite string instrument. Ohhh my word. (Hah, I just got a "Yo-Yo Ma and Friends" Christmas album...:D)

-Did you know that Yo-Yo Ma made a guest appearance as a cello-wielding bunny on the cartoon show Arthur? I didn't even know what he looked like outside of Bunnydom until this year.

-This year has brought me to ponder art a very lot. If we are a reflection of God's glory, and we are His own masterpieces/artworks, does that make our masterpieces/artworks reflections of our glory, which is really God's glory reflected through us?

-I have discovered that I am a very wordy person! Argh...:P

-Interactions between the two genders is awkward and complicated at secular schools. Like, really awkward.

-If the future wasn't scary, the present and past wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

-SNOW IS COLD. ACK.

-Consistent prayer is hard.

-People that I don't agree with can still be decent, amazing, lovable people. It's crazy. In my ignorance, I sincerely never expected to meet this many beautiful people who claim they will never believe in Christ as their savior. (Then again, we never have met a mere mortal, as Lewis says).

-And lastly, gummies.

I also discovered how much it hurts to miss people, even when you have met all sorts of interesting, gracious and lovely persons. You are all in my heart often, and you are sorely loved. (Ow! ^_^)

May Christmas be with you always; may we ever remember to weaken ourselves before God and other men.

Love,
Danielle

...

Some of you might remember the children's book, The Adventures of Columbus the Pigeon, that I was writing/illustrating a while back.

Well, the people at Landmark Editions (the company that was hosting the contest) didn't contact us by the last day they said they would if it won (aka Doomsday). We thusly assumed that it hadn't won and eagerly awaited the return of the darned thing. :)

However,

however,

HOWEVVVVERRRR....

They emailed TODAY and wrote the following message:

"We are pleased to advise you that [her] book has been chosen to be published in our PUBLISHER'S CHOICE GOLD AWARD LINE. Such books are ones which have not won outright, but one which we feel strongly about doing and ones we would hate to see the public miss out on and [her] book is certainly one of those. It was a tough decision on our part, because we would be pleased to send to print any and all of the top five in each category. After great deliberation, we have decided to bring it forward in print form."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Is all I have to say about that! :D I think this means that I get to visit Kansas for like, two weeks to finish it up. WOOHOO KANSAS!

Home away from Home away from Home

You must hear these things.
You must, please!
You must know before it is December
And thought becomes barren as the trees.

In the home of the hearts of these;
Golden saints gaze on the
Curls that carress the face
That rests on the wooden pew.

("Oh! The water's cold!"
But you were so bold as to
Jump!
Into the frigid, stormy, churning, nightmare
Pool.)

No, cat!
Grand huntress of these realms.
You must not devour our friend the bird
For then who will chirp our souls to peace?

And remember
The one o' clocks
At which we read poems much better than this
And wondered how words sound in E minor?

In the home of the hearts of these;
Apollo stands and sings to us
Through transparent fingers and monochrome keys.

I must tell you these things before they are Unreal.
Before time becomes the place that I cannot remember
Before a myopic mind dissevers the dream...

Before the rain floods my head
And I forget to number the days
(Number the days!)
In the home of the hearts of these
Days both seen and unseen.

Spare Oom

Where am I? What is the rain doing here? Why is everything so gray?

Where is California? What are palm trees? Whoever needed a warm beach, anyways?

How long has it been since California? I don't even remember half the time. We drive to the bus stop (the Bus Stop? What is this Bus Stop?) every day, by pastures and cows half invisible through the mist. Often it rains, and all one can see is the asphalt playing with the rain.

We return to our house--it's a pretty darn big house--and I can't remember if I live there, or we are intruding on another man's home.

And the trees...Oh, the trees! Everyone admires them in the summer, and then forget about their beauty when it's raining, even though it's the rain that keeps them green. So vast, so intricate...My English teacher would chastise me for using such lofty language for a mere tree; but when you are as small as I am, it really becomes a matter of perspective.

But really, trees? Aren't those the skinny tall things with leafy pom-poms at the top? The universal sign for In-n-Out? Since when have trees been something grand?

Sometimes, it feels as if Aslan has pulled us through the wardrobe. It feels as though we are traipsing about in another world, another story, another life. Mr. Tumnus shall bustle nervously out of the forest, the Dawn Treader will lazily drift across the pond in our backyard, and the Penvensies will be sitting down for tea in the kitchen.

But I know this isn't Narnia, even if I can't remember if this is my world at all.

We have a different sun, a different moon, a different sky. Most of my days are spent feeling lost; more in a physical, locational (is that a word? :S) sense than anything else.

What does one do when they are lost? Wander? Wait to be found? Do their homework? Pray?

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You return man to dust
and say, 'Return O children of man!'
For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.

For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring out years to an end like a sigh.
The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strenght eight;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Return, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!"

-Psalm 90

What Did the Movers Yell to the Miners When they Dropped a Steinway Down the Shaft?

"C sharp or B flat!"

Poor Steinway. He would have been mortified.

Humble Pie in 3-4 Time

Joining a Youth Symphony when one is very inexperienced and very bad at sight-reading is a sure recipe for Humble Pie. However, sometimes life switches on the oven at the most oppurtune, ripest moments; no extra ingredients necessary!

It happened tonight. Our chamber group was rehearsing, and Sharyn (our conductor) had to whisk away and help some violins or something. Which meant that the vocalists had no idea what to sing, while the bass, bassoon, violin and flute just bowed and blowed their way through the song. (No, "blowed" is not a word, but it rhymed...:)

Well, the bassoonist, being a rather sensitive soul, initiated the following conversation.

Bassoon: Well, this part is pretty easy for us, and you guys are singing; where would you like to practice?

Me: Erm...Uh...

[Silence]



[Crickets chirping in F Major]

Me: Erm...Uh...How about one before seven?

Bass: You mean six?

Me (probably rather red): Um, YES, six!

Okay okay. BEFORE you wonder, "How on earth could she not catch that?", I have an argument to make:

We often have letters in our music that mark a major change in the song, and they are often capital with circles or squares around them. To keep everyone on the same page, we say stuff "One before A" or "Three before B".

This particular Seven was big, it just before a major change in the music, and it had this lovely circle around it! OF COURSE a ditzy, tired, allergenic soprano is going to say something as ditzy, tired and allergenic-sounding as that. GAH!!!

...

Oy. It's late. Good night. Thanks for reading! (I think...)


P.S. Mr. Bass, if you're reading this, I choose cello.

:)

The Mr. Darcy Dress Up Game

Best. Game. Evar.

It could also be termed the Let's-See-What-Adrien-Brody-Looks-Like-In-18th-Century-Garb Game. (You really can get a decent likeness; there's even a crooked nose option).

It's really called the Regency dress up game or something, but that's kind of boring.

Whatever you call It, here It is.
http://savivi.deviantart.com/art/Regency-Hero-Dress-Up-Doll-101669291

Autumn is here!

Drink a cup of tea by the
Early morning's light.
The smell of toast meets chilly air
As morning quells the night.

Running to the bus stop as
Raindrops light and small
Bedew bright red and orange and gold
The spectrum of the fall.

*sniffs air* Ah, fall is here! Who wants to come Hurrah in Harvest with me? The trees are shedding their coats of color, the goats are growing round, and hot chocolate is the order of the day!

Thank the Lord for his abundance in mercy and grace.

Here's a random in-class writing assignment I had the privilege of massacring last Wednesday. :)

The crimson of the leaf hails to the red of the curb. Together they battle Washington’s gray, a merry attack on monochrome.

Joining the war are the clouds. They spatter the battlefield—and passers-by—with the artillery of the sky.

As the scarlet partners stand their ground, students run for cover from the determined wet; disregarding the colorful allies. The leaf is trampled and torn, the curb losing hope. Neither can see the end of the battle. The clouds rumble forward like a herd of elephants, blasting at their earthbound foes.

Suddenly the tables turn as a new ally comes forth. It is the grass, and the trees and the green bursting forward to assist. They are unperturbed by the weariness of the leaf, by the despair of the curb. Rather than lose hope at the clouds, they simply burst forth in a blaze of verdure as the rain pours forth.

Now it is the clouds’ turn to surrender. The rain stops, and the blue sky peers out.

*sigh* English teacher liked it, I'm not sure what I think of it. :P Too eloquent, perhaps?

Oh, and I find out if my children's book wins this Wednesday, if any of you are wondering. Here's to God's providence! *raises apple juice*

My teachers are the nicest Un-Christians I've ever met. There's an amazing book called The Violin Maker (John Marchese), which anyone who ever thought about music, even once, should read. Our pastor is teaching a wonderful series called "Scared Spitless", and it's been so refreshing and...freeing? to explore God's grand compassion and provision for us.

I am absolutely freaked out about my book, and God still continues to be good.

God is good.

Life is good.

Dearest Friends, Romans, and Countrymen...

I am entering my first quarter as a student of Whatcom Community College, and am sadly not really looking forward to it...

If it enters your mind anytime this week, your prayers would be so muchly appreciated! (For my sanity and discretion amongst the varied and twisted worldviews, and for the professors and students who may be portraying them. Goodness, Truth and Beauty for the win! :D)

I love and miss you all dearly; please don't die from schoolwork overload! :) I hope all ye Torrey-ers are enjoying Foof!

Love,
Danielle

Sorry, I'm posting twice today...

But...

You Belong in the Silent Generation

You'd fit in best as a person born between 1925 and 1942. You are a person of high values and character. Family, your country, loyalty, and hard work all important to you. You are willing to do what's right, even when it's difficult.

What Generation Do You Belong In?

YES!! I've always wanted to live during that time period...:)

Oh, the violins!

Or the violence...or whatever. :)

My sister is soon to be taking violin lessons, so we have rented out a lovely little violin named Monique.

So...beautiful...

My ultimate goal is to play the cello, so I have been fiddling around (har har) with Monique to see how she feels. Since she's a rather nice violin, it's fairly easy to get a good tone (on open strings, anyways), and it's glorious to hear the potential for beautiful music. Stringed instruments seem to be among the most human-sounding of the musical world, when played well.

And I just taught myself the D Major scale, which makes me way prouder than necessary. :D Now I need to learn Country Road, for those of you who have seen Whisper of the Heart and know how awesome Seiji is. :)

College starts September 22nd! Now we get to learn the principles of evolution...hurrah...If you could remember to lift up a prayer for both boldness and love; I am afraid of strengthening the bad name people have given Christianity.

May Christ be with you always, dear friends.

*Drowns in Talent*

So, the realization just hit (feeling somewhat like being shoved in a freezer after basking in the sunlight; in honor of Gabriel and his lovely simile...:), that I have no talent of great import in the world and that, wherever I go, there will always be more talent and more grace and more amazingness in other people.

:D

Isn't that wonderful?! Think about how exciting the world is, now that I do not need to be the best person in it. There are so many wonderful things to do; so many masterful artists to learn from and so many ridiculously talented people to appreciate.

*smacks self into agreement*

Ah, Perfectionism!

It's like trying to write a good stories while reading the Bible or Jane Eyre or T.S. Eliot or Harry Potter or Chicken Jane, and wondering, "Why on earth write a good story when there are such GREAT stories?" and it feels so utterly hopeless that you edit your pages into oblivion. Or like learning a piece by some nondescript composer that nobody knows about, when your brilliant friends are struggling through divine classics that are close-if-not-actually-at the virtuosic level...

Or trying to draw. At all. Without even looking at Rembrandt, or Degas, or Monet...(aw, I love Monet!). Cause if you look at Monet, when you're trying to draw, it's basically the equivalent of being shoved into an iceberg after living in California.

*sigh*

What is the point of this post? That's a very, very good question. Maybe it's...

The more you learn, the more you grow, and (oddly enough) the more humble you become. At least, that's how it should be, I think. I fail more often than not in remembering and applying this.

Plus, if we were all the best, we wouldn't have any motivation to learn, would we? (Well, none of us could ever be the best, since God has handily taken that position. Heck, he made that position! He IS that position!)

Anyways. I've been learning about the woes of pride and perfectionism, and about the grace of God and the necessity of humility.

In other news, I ate Milton's wheat toast with cream cheese and marionberry jam for breakfast, and I miss you guys. :D

Layout in the sun...

And you'll probably get burned! Har. Har.

Voila! Eet ees a new layout! What dost thou thinketh?

Funny Peoples...

The only way to describe us (my family and I) + new friends the Joneses is H-A-M...

Observe...except that, you don't have to, since these aren't exactly the most beautiful pictures of us, but by the time we're twenty we'll be ridiculously gorgeous, I'm sure...






(Yeah, that one was a little creepy...:S)

This is Headless Ben with oversized Chinchilla ball...:)


Mika looks oh-so-stylish in a beret, don't you think?

Anyways. There's a random bunch of tidbits for you! Now that you are seriously disturbed, go read Gabriel or Mary Kate's blog and be soothed by the sensibility of their wise words. :D

I am afraid.

So, recently I've been thinking about the five main things I'd like to do before I die.

(Item 0. Use the words "I", "me", and "myself" much, much less!)

Hah, yeah...Anyways, it's not as morbid of a subject as it might sound. In fact, it greatly assists in the arranging of priorities, the discovering of fears, the learning of things about oneself and such.

1. Get married and have...4-10 kids. :)
I'm afraid of never being loved in such a way.
2. Write something good and get it published.
I'm afraid of rejection by Editors and the General Populace.
3. Work as a missionary somewhere for 6 mo.-2 yrs. or so.
I'm afraid of failure.
4. Learn how to love life and how to love people for who they are; not for what I wish it was, or who I wish they were.
I am afraid of the emotional risk that accompanies loving anything truly and deeply.
5. Learn how to love God.
I am really, truly afraid of what He will ask me to do!

And no matter how much I "steel" myself against these fears (which basically means the more I ignore them), they will always find a way past the barrier unless I give them wholly to God.

Heh, if you can't beat them, join God!

Perhaps it is a lifelong journey, to realize more fears and give them up to God again and again and again. Perhaps it is a lifelong journey, to realize the holy ambitions placed in our hearts by God's own hand, and to pray for His Head, Heart, and Hand again and again and again.

Life is such an sad and joyful, complex and simple, devastating and renewing process! Life through death and death for new life; dead to the world's ways and alive in Christ.

Isn't it amazing how many paradoxes pop up? We learn to be content in God's plans and His providence, and then He stirs in us a restless desire for heavenly things. He urges us to lose everything and find everything in Him. We are unique individuals living as one Body in Christ. We are crucified with Him in order to live again.

We crucify our fears in order to live in His peace.

It's all so confusing until you find out that it makes perfect sense!! AAAHHH!!!

So, I don't know what college I'm going to, I don't know who I will marry if I ever do, I don't know how to perfectly live out what I believe and I don't understand why God can't just make me perfect now...

But I do know that God's one heck of a lot smarter than me and knows where all this is going. :)

What are five things you want to do before you die? (They can be silly too, by the way! I want to eat all the most expensive things at the most expensive restaurant the day I'm given a week or whatever to live...:) What are your fears, hopes, holy ambitions? What do you love about life?

(Wow, that was long! If you made it through, thank you and hopefully the next post will be more concise!)

Love,
Danielle

Crystal Hearts in Narrow Kages vs. Chopin

So my sisters, my sisters' friend and I decided one rather random afternoon to make one rather random band. After going through a bunch of both boring and cliched names, Kristina presents the idea of Crystal Hearts in Narrow Kages. ("Kages" because it makes the whole thing spell CHINK).

What does it mean?! I don't have a clue. Aside from having an amazingly nonsensical name, CHINK'S instruments consist of the recorder, my paltry piano of 3.5 years, four singers, the bottle (as in blowing over the top of a bottle), and a hot-cocoa-canister-turned-makeshift-drum.

Chopin might have performed in the presence of tsars by the time he was 11, but I'll bet he never made such a cool band with his siblings.

Ehem.

(Also, while I've been doing this extremely important business, my ultimately more amazing friends have been furthering the capabilities and capacities of their head, heart and hand. For summer fun.

I feel so behind in life.)

Edduficayshun...

Interesting Lessons I am learning whilst in Washingon, of both the Profound and Less Profound sort:

1. Mature sentiment and by-the-seat-of-your-pants passion/emotion are such funny creatures, in the sense that we seem mix them up a very lot. (Maybe we even long for mature sentiment and think we feel it so many times that when we truly achieve it we don't notice it for a while...)
2. It actually does get hot in Washington. Right now, it's 83 degrees INSIDE the house...:P
3. Choosing a college is a harder decision than I thought. Darn.
4. I am slowly learning where everything goes in the kitchen. Pots on the lazy susan, potatoes in the pantry...(We never even had a pantry in California! O, woe for lack of culinary education...)
5. God is quite in control of things, and I believe He finds well-warranted amusement and joy in showing us exactly how true that is.
6. Switchfoot is beyond cool. (In the good way, of course. :)
7. Perhaps the most difficult thing about moving to Washington is, as one gets to know new and very nice people, remembering to keep in touch with the equally wonderful comrades back home. (Please forgive me if you are in the oft-uncontacted; I would love to hear from you and it would help me greatly if you reminded me that I should email/call!)

Last, but definitely not least:
8. Never attempt the Bottle Dance from Fiddler on the Roof in barefeet, and especially not on carpet in barefeet. Unless you are particularly fond of rugburns.

Much love,
Danielle

Adventures in the Sunshine State

Here is a summary of my trip thus far!

Favorite Food Eaten:
Definitely strawberries, which are much less expensive here than in Washington.

Most Interesting Experiences:
Getting Sun Rash. (It's like an itchy sunburn. *scratch scratch*. Curse you, extremely white origins!). Oh yeah, and having a middle-aged surfer dude ask me where Mayport Beach was, and being later surprised to find that I was not, in fact, 20 years old.

Favorite Place Visited:
St. Augustine! :D :D :D It is a beautiful little town by the beach that has tons of interesting and varied shops. How can you go wrong with a city named after such a cool person?

Least Favorite Place Visited:
Texas. On our layover. (To be fair, it WAS only the airport, so I didn't actually see any of non-overpopulated-disgusting-building-with-loud-planes Texas.)

Favorite Quote:
"It's like ballroom dancing for your mouth!"
-Mr. Pizza Advertiser Man on the glories of his wares.

Favorite Souvenir:
A book of Aesop's Fables, Grimm's and Andersen's fairy tales.

Words of Wisdom:
-The evolution of women's swimwear is unfallible evidence of global warming.
-Wear sunscreen. Especially if the closest thing you can get to a tan is a faded sunburn.
-If you don't like airplane lavatories, politely decline their "complimentary beverage".
-Pools are for swimming in, not tanning by. (I HATE when people just sit by the pool and tan without swimming!!! IT'S SO ANNOYING!!! But then, maybe it's because I just can't tan...)
-Go to Washington, then go to Florida and feel how different 47 degrees is from 92! :D

I miss you all and hope you are well! Don't forget to lather on that sunscreen, my lovely friends of Dutch, Norwegian, English and generally White origin! :)

Summer Reading List 2008!

Yay for lots of books! Here we go...

"Grant me, O Lord, to know and understand which should come first, prayer or praise; or, indeed, whether knowledge should precede prayer. For how can one pray to you unless one knows you? If one does not know you, one may pray not to you you, but to something else. Or is it rather the case that we should pray to you in order that we may come to know you?" -The Confessions of St. Augustine,by Augustine, in a vivid contemporary translation by Rex Warner!

(Curiousity may have killed the cat, but it seems to have taken Augustine on quite the adventure! Everybody should listen to the Switchfoot song about Augustine, by the way...can't remember what it's called right now...)

"The day was now departing; the dark air released the living beings of the earth from work and weariness; and I myself alone prepared to undergo the battle both of the journeying and of the pity, which memory, mistaking not, shall show."
-Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, in a verse translation by Allen Mandelbaum!

(In intense agreement with Mr. Choo, who inspired the reading of this particular book, all I can say is: Dante Rocks!. You can tell how eloquent I've become since moving away from Torrey, eh?)

"Had there been a Papist among the crowd of Puritans, he might have seen in this beautiful woman...with the infant at her bosom...an object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity [and] only by contrast, of that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world. Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant she had borne."-The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

(Oh, sad, sad book...Hawthorne has a way of describing things so vividly that it sends veritable pangs through one's heart.)

"[Raoul] was now twenty-one and looked eighteen. He had a little blond mustache, attractive blue eyes, and a girlish [personality, I mean] complexion." -The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux.

(Yup, that about sums it up.)

I'll probably be able to finish all of these on our two-week trip to Florida. Which starts tomorrow morning. At three. In the morning. Which is the problem with living in a small town, because the nearest commercial airport is 100 miles away in Seattle. Oh well. Anyways, yay for good and interesting books! What are your summer plans/books, friends?

*gaspeth* A (filler) Poste!

(Blarney walks in the room. The computer is ironically turned on to Blogger. It speaks.)

Blog (very, very irritatedly): WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?

Blarney (stares in awe at shiny computer screen): Um. You speak. -Eth.

Blog: KNOWETH THAT THY DOOM SHALT COME, O INSOLENT AIRHEAD, LEST YE MENDETH THY WAYS AND RETURNETH TO THE LAND OF PERSEVERANT BLOGGERS. BLOG, AND YE SHALT BE SAVED. (pronounced "save-ed", by the way).

Blarney: Er, okay.

Blog: I MEANETH IT.

Blarney: I believeth it.

Blog: BE QUIET.

Blarney: Then how am I supposed to blog? Should I mend my ways or zip the lips?

Blog: JUST DO IT.

Blarney: Which one?

Blog: ...

**************

Hi everybody! Apparently incarnate blogs speak in improper Olde English, but maybe that's just mine. Sorry I haven't done anything for a long time.

...

Ahem. COMING UP SOON in the land of Miscellany and Etcetera!

Not by the Fur of My Chinny-Chin-Chilla:

"Allow me to introduce myself. I, Eliot, am a gentle-chinchilla, and a rather smashingly good one at that. Never shall you see me at a loss for masterful small-talk, in need of an extra or unrumpled handkerchief, or dressed in anything but what is befitting a rodent of my rank.

I am also a poet. Or rather, I take on the appearance of one. In actuality, I am a spy.

But you would never betray a poetic gentle-chinchilla-spy (not to mention one on the good side) for what he truly is, now, would you?"

OOH! A story! Yay! And yes, I did spoof T.S. Eliot into a chinchilla. (Poetic license, if you'll pardon the pun.) It's an epic tale full of romance, adventure, and rodents who enjoy quoting The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.

Aha. Um. Goodnight. :) I miss you all!

Caput, Cor, Manus.

The head which laughed in infant glee,
The head which held the mind of God,
The head betrayed by traitor's kiss,
The head which bore both thorn and rod...
It lives in truth, now hangs in pain
And bears the weight of God's disdain.

The heart which hurt for king and slave,
The heart which felt each hope and fear,
The heart which wept at silent grave,
The heart which freely took the spear...
It aches for truth and lives in grace,
Worthy alone to see God's face.

The hand which grasped both cloth and hay.
the hand which touched the blind to see,
The hands which, broken, broke the bread
The hands, pierced, to set men free...
They, firm and soft, forever prove
The paradox of truth and love.

He who was Great became the least
Became for us the highest Priest
He who, alike, was Lord and man
Showed to us His head, heart and hand.

-Danielle

Pictahs!

I think I said I'd post pictures a long time ago, but now I'm actually going to. :) (I probably accidentally convicted myself with the previous blog post; I am acting on my word! ;D)

This is the epically disturbing Danielle attempting to catch snowflakes. It didn't work.


Oui! It is Columbus! Random fact: Did you know that, in Latin, the word "pigeon" is "Columba"? Thus the name Columbus...:)


This is the Sugar Bomb of Death cake. Made especially for my mom's birthday by my artistic siblings and I.


You know, we saw a hobbit scurry out of here, but he came and went so fast that the camera could quite catch it...;)


We have confirmed that there ARE meese in Washington!


Apparently there are also assassins in WA?! (Actually, my brother just conveniently has a black machete with which to be emo...*pats murderous little fellow*)


This is in the treehouse which is on our property! It is a brilliant treehouse. I claim no relation to the kid in the picture, by the way...:)

Thanks, as always, for reading/looking! And with that, I bid you adieu.

Fin.

Talks-a-lot...

Talkative.

Verbose.

Eloquent.

Articulate.

Looooooooooooooooooong-winded.

What do all of these words have in common? Two things: 1) They basically mean "motor-mouthy", and 2) I had to look at the thesaurus to get most of them. :)

Effusive.

Garrulous.

Wordy.

You know, as Americans, I think we talk a lot. Perhaps it has a lot to do with our democratic tendencies, both in and out of government. "All men are created" (or evolved, as the case may be) equal, thus everybody's opinion is worth something, right? Or at least, every man's opinion is equally worthy.

Expansive.

Unreserved.

Gushing.

But I wonder if, as Americans, we take advantage of that. Maybe we just keep talking, and talking, and talking...

Because society has determined that whatever pops into your head is okay to voice.

Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad, if all our actions followed through with our many words. But if we talk a lot...

...That's a LOT of actions to keep track of.

Open.

Forthcoming.

Ear-banging.

And I also wonder if we, as American Christians, have forgotten the art of thinking before saying. That phrase is often said as "think before you act"...

But shouldn't we strive to be, and to act, as good as our word?

This whole incoherent pile of thoughts came to me in church this morning. Our pastor went over the passage in John where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.

He raises Lazarus from the dead. How? He speaks. Not only does he accomplish the feat which scientists and spiritualists alike have attempted since death was invented...

He does it by talking. Jesus' actions are as good as his words. Jesus' words are as good as his actions.

Jesus' actions are his words, and his words are his actions. He is the Word.

Thoughtful.

Meditative.

Discerning.

In a world of virtual reality, where email and chatspeak abound, and TV is often considered "family time" (though getting 6 people to agree on what to watch simultaneously is a victory in itself)...

In a world of virtual reality, where our standard of beauty often amounts to pretty people being digitally airbrushed into impossible glamour...

In a world of virtual reality, where truth is relative and love is sending the letters "ILU!" over the phone or computer...

I am so glad we have Jesus. I am so glad Jesus has us, actually.

I am so glad that Jesus is so eloquent that no one could ever speak as well as he does, and is yet so simple that everyone can understand him. He is the Word, after all. His standard of excellence is not belied by the depth of his love, nor is his grace forsaken for his truth.

I am so glad that Jesus cares about what he says to me. I am so glad that Jesus cares about what he does to me.

I want to be like Jesus.

(This was a really long post! Thanks for reading it all the way through, everyone! :S)

The Top Best 10 Things in the World

You've heard of the Eight Wonders of the World, correct? Well, here is a list compiled with the utmost accuracy and care; composed only after the author had thought for at the very least 2.5 seconds about each and every number...

With that stirring and awe-inspiring introdcution, I present to you

THE TOP BEST 10 THINGS IN THE WORLD (at least, according to D. E. Peterson)

Let's save the best for last and start with 10!

10. Coffee! Especially when it's really cheap, and even when it's really expensive. :D
9. Goodness!
8. Truth!
7. Beauty! :D (Oh my!)
6. Chinchillas! Especially because they are fluffy!
5. Homeschooling! Especially because it means that we can take Torrey! (And be super-nerds...)
4. Siblings! Especially when they are your fellow sufferers and adventurers in movingness. *pats indignant children on the head*
3. Parents! Especially because they are patient, kind and loving beings who care for you no matter what state/country you're in.
2. Books! Especially such tomes as Lord of the Rings, Anna Karenina, Democracy in America (there, I have officially expressed my nerdiness), and (though I hope it's already obvious) the Bible. I really, really like the Bible. Especially when I read it. :P :)

And the final, the marvelous, the shocking, the glorious, the last but not least...

1.

#1 is...

Friends. Especially when they are nothing else but friends, because that is what they are. (Okay, that was either really cheesy or really badly structured, grammatically. Or both. Thank goodness friends look past my faults!)

So, to all those who are my friends, or who are anyone's friends...

Thanks for being the #1 thing in my world!

(Now copy and paste this into an e-mail and forward it to all your friends or all your coffee will be lukewarm from the moment you decide to disobey. :)

Hah. Just kidding. Maybe I should make a "Top WORST Things in the World" list, with those kinds of forwards as Ultra #1? ;)

The Emo Poem of a Coffee-Deprived College Poet

Drip, drip, drip.

The lazy drops descend on the metal roof of the Cafe. A fluorescent sign flickers, reminding the uncaring world of the hole-in-the-wall's quiet existence. Quiet, at least, until it happened. IT, happened...

Poets, small, tall, great and lesser, gather at the Cafe each Saturday evening; the remnant of what once was a thriving, bustling restaurant. Some say it was the introduction of anything other than bland American food; others, that one waiter who kept mixing up orders and pouring mustard in people's cappucinos. The true doubters argue that it was the introduction of "Saturday Night Poetry Readings", but nobody really believes them. Whatever the cause, almost all faithful customers vanished...

Except for the poets. And that's not IT, either.

As on every Saturday night, the Faithful (as they deemed themselves) were there; contemplating. Thinking. Pondering. Dreaming. Occasionally, strokes of genius or epiphanies will hit, and poets will shout triumphantly their masterpieces.

"O, that I might be
Free from all that inhibits,
A rose unhindered"

"Where is the happiness?
I once
Had much. Now it's
Gone.
The whirlpool of
Desire is
Now the cause
Of my mire, now
A trickle. A Living Needle
In the haystack of
Darkness and Death. Can
I find it
Again?"

"I've found a rhyme for orange!"

"THE COFFEE'S GONE!!!!"

Wait. The poets turned slowly to the source of the voice; a frightened, hysterical waiter with braces and disheveled hair.

"It's gone! All of it! The Cappuccinos, the Frappucinos, the Lattes, the Java...THE COFFEE! All we have left is tea! Decaf tea!"

"It can't be gone!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"
"What'll we do? How will we get our papers turned in? How will we ever compose poetry again?"

Silence. The full, black, terrible depth of their predicament strikes.

Silence. A pen drops and crashes on the unswept concrete floor.

Silence.

Slowly, he rises. One of the Faithful rises, a student ready to face the future. His deep, mournful voice resounds sorrowfully across the room.

"Coffee would be stronger than
The weak Tea that
Surrounds
My heart.
A Cappuccino warmer and
More empowering to my
Wretched soul.
O, alas;
The icy Earl Grey has
Swallowed whole
The sweet Caramel Latte
Of my Former self.
O, alas, the despair of
Decaf has emptied me
Strangled me
Drowned me.
Until I am nothing,
Nothing but a shell.
Shell of a coffee bean.
Husk of a coffee bean.
The cold, black bleak broken barren
Husk

Of

A

Bean."

Minimalism

I have really long posts.

Rock-On-inov!

Do you know that means? (Besides the fact that Danielle is capable of creating bad puns from the names of Russian composers...) I have officially jumped on the Rachmaninov/Rachmaninoff bandwagon! It all started with a four-CD set of various composers, including Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninov and a few others. *is in awe*

Okay okay! I know ya'll are hanging on the edge of your seats for the next part of the Columbus the Pigeon saga, so here it is:

...He realizes that THE PERFECT THING TO PAINT is his family! So he goes home and does just that; finishing with only a few days before the contest to spare. However, life isn't carefree for Columbus yet. Just when he thought he was safe, the evil alley cat, Dominic Dupont (yes I am proud of my alliterative names), slashes the painting to pieces.

The End

...

Okay, that's not REALLY the end, that's coming in the next post, along with the pictures of Columbus I have been doodling on every spare scrap of paper I have. >:-) I feel so maniacal. :D

Soooo...We went to this really big, really lovely church called "Christ the King (CTK) Community Church". It was really "AAAAHHH!!! THIS IS A BIG CHURCH!" *dazzle* at first (which induced me to, upon seeing the auditorium seating in the sanctuary, dubiously remark that "Maybe we should've bought tickets..."). Thankfully, the entire attitude of the church seems very much to be that they would rather encourage and enlighten, and never entertain. So, it was much good; we shall probably be attending that church.

Raaaandom updates are...well, random! Here are some more random updates to finish it off:

-Valentine's Day confuses me.
-Facebook occassionally annoys me.
-I really enjoy drawing pigeons. I mean, REALLY enjoy...
-My family and I are participating in Lent.
-One of the horsies is gone for a competition, which means that the other is looking wistfully towards the road, wondering sadly..."Rosie, light of my life, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE???!!!"
-Algebra doesn't like me, and the feeling is quite mutually returned.
-American Idol is a worthless show. And yet, we continue to watch it and laugh/occasionally empathize with the poor people who put themselves out on a limb, and get sawn off by the ruthlessly sharp tongues of the...er, not very nice judges. :)
-I want to watch the Illusionist.

I miss everyone. :(

But I'd rather end on a happy note!

:)

"It was a blustery day in the 100 acre woods..."

Maybe Washington is acting as a parallel universe for the 100 AW, because it sure is windy right now!

So we now have Internet at our house and are abusing it dutifully (Facebook and Gmail are awfully addicting, after all...). I am teaching my siblings art, piano, and Latin; though we've only completed the first art class so far (We studied Van Gogh and his present of his own personally-amputated ear to his ex-girlfriend...Why are the best artists so weird?!).

We still have not found a decent homeschool group, which pains me greatly, as we have no friends in Washington and no real means to find them. Throughout our various bouts of depression/depressing thoughts, my siblings and I are desperately trying to not kill each other, which occasionally proves difficult. :)

I am composing a childrens' book, entitled Columbus the Pigeon (working title, of course). It is about a French fowl searching for the perfect thing to paint for an art contest in France. He travels around the world looking for such an object, and fails miserably until...

He realizes. What does he realize? You'll just have to wait till the next post! Muahahaha! The suspense is killing you, I know... :) I am also in the process of pre-writing a (fantasy-ish) novel about a young artist who works as an apprentice in the Great Library of Something-or-other-Cool-Town-Name. It is fun. It is painful to realize how much work it will require to ever become a good writer, let alone a great writer. (If any of you are following the controversy over Christopher Paolini's Eragon on Bubbs, please ignore it in this particular paragraph. :) It makes me sad that the writing and enjoyment of books has been over-commercialized; whether or not I ever get published in any way, shape or form, I only pray that I may do my best to the glory and honor of God. O, for Tolstoy and Tolkien and Tocqueville! Lewis and Locke! Hobbes and...wait a second...

You know, I'm pretty sure that, if I believed in reincarnation, I was probably one of the architects for the Tower of Babble, because I am rambling a lot on this post...:)

I miss my friends! Hope you are all well!

-Danielle

100% Humidity GUARANTEED!!!

...or not. So there we were; steeling ourselves for potential flooding and/or lots and lots of water falling from the sky, and what do we get? SNOW!!! Tons and tons of freezing, falling, flaky white snow!! I WANT A REFUND!!!

Just kidding. I love the snow and its chilliness. It was simply ironic to be expecting the legendary rains of Washington, and getting snowed into a house that has no Internet =o (though I have Internet now). Or washer/dryer. (BIG =0)

In other news:
-It is nice to have horses in your front yard, especially when your landlord pays you 50 dollars a month to feed them twice a day. :D
-It is not nice, however, to be in a bonafide country-fried town where your closest neighbor is half an acre away, and all the rest are at least four acres away. Much more difficult to make friends that way.
-It is also difficult to go anywhere to meet people when you are snowed in.
-Torrey is good. I miss it a lot.
-Friends are good. I miss them SO MUCH that I neglected most of my school today due to staring at the ceiling from my bed in a desperate attempt to fight off maniacal depression. It was quite a dramatic battle. Polyatomic ions (Chemistry!) are never as interesting as when you have so many other melancholy things to dwell on!
-Laundry is good. Too bad we can't do any, because our town doesn't even really have a laundromat, and it would take 10 minutes to get to it anyways.
-
-
-
-
More depressed and angstily composed thoughts...
-
-
-
-
-OKAY! Here's the good part about Washington, since I can't seem to think of any others. It is by God's grace that I am here, safe and sound, in a beautiful state. It is by God's grace that I can see his beauty in so many ways that smoggy L.A. would never allow. It is by God's grace that I am here to do as He pleases, and by God's grace I will certainly complete His pleasure!

It is by God's grace that I have friends I can turn to, a family who loves me and whom I love, and a future which he has planned for me.

Thank you all for your wonderful support. I love and miss you all, and hope you are well.

The Adventures of Kakie, Bunny and Squishy: An Epic Tale of Caffeinated Proportions

Once upon a time, there were three friends: Kakie, Bunny, and Squishy. Kakie was beautiful, Bunny was fluffy, and Squishy was...well, Squishy. They all lived in the sunshiny state of So. Cal., and decided to have an Adventure. This is how it happened:

In the morning, they set off to church, and ate donuts. But first, Bunny and Kakie decided it would be good to pray before eating:

Bunny is reverent of her donuts.

Next, they go to In-n-Out for lunch. Bunny is hungry, so she drinks soda:



Eats a French fry...


And part of Squishy's ear...0.o


Next, Bunny ponders the meaning of life.


After In-n-Out, Bunny is STILL hungry, so she munches on some Starbucks.


Luckily, Starbucks survives long enough for Bunny to try on some fashionable headgear...



...And peruse the artistry of Starbucks.


Squishy, meanwhile, rejects the camera. Buahahaha!!! :D


Bunny agrees that it is hard to be emo in pink.


Kakie knows what it takes.


Kakie, Bunny and Squishy agree that, after a fine day of eating and enjoying the world, it is good to have friends.



Finis.

Happy Birthday, and other Statements of Fact.

*Ahem*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!!!!

For those of you who are not aware as to who Scott is, he is Awesome. Along with that, he happens to be an excellent actor/speech-and-debater, an author, and an unusually efficient organizer of parties in which his parents are "murdered" with rubber swords and extract of grapefruit-seed juice. Unfortunately, my family and I are moving. On his birthday. Which is today. So I decided to try and make it up by posting on my blog how happy I hope his birthday is! :D Happy Birthday Scotty!

As far as other statements of fact are concerned, here we go:

-Staying up till 1:00 in the morning to pack for a trip (for which you must wake up by 5:00 in the morning) is not very happy for one's temper.
-Eating cinnamon rolls and bacon, however, is excellent for improving spirits.
-McDonalds gets really old. Really fast.
-The Peterson's van is stuffed more tightly than Betty Crocker's turkey on Thanksgiving.
-Going to Washington currently just feels like another vacation. It is, right?
-The Petersons are currently in Sacramento (more specifically Roseville). Next Stop: Oregon (I think).

That is pretty much the summupage of my trip thus far. I miss ya'll A VERY LOT!!! :(:(:(:(:( I will be sending many of you letters once we reach our FINAL DESTINATION. *dun dun DUN*

Coming Up Soon:
-The Adventures of Kakie, Squishy and Bunny: An Epic Tale of Caffeinated Proportions. (Complete with Pictures!)
-The Next Leg of the Journey

I feel special...

81 words

Touch Typing online

Isn't it wonderful that Saturdays yield nothing but pure lazi-/uselessness? :)

Alexis de Tocqueville is an interesting author. I'm not sure how much of his argument I agree with, but I do think that excellence in the arts, sciences (etcetera) in America is very much sub-par in comparison to that of Europe. Is there anything we can do to revive (or introduce, according to was Tocqueville thinks) a new level of excellence?

I wonder if it IS good for us to prize freedom and equality above all others...Do we?

One more week till lift-off...Washington, here we come! :) :P :( :D :'( :'(

:S