Blessings

Far too often, it is far too easy to get so involved in daily life, to-do lists, schedules and activity that we forget to slow down, look at life and thank God for all the incredible blessings and opportunities He's given us. It amazes me the amazing, incredible love that God has for us, and the creative ways He reveals it. 

Basketball season came to a close a few weeks ago, and as I was reflecting back on it, I just could not get over the fact that God would bless me with such an awesome opportunity to play this year. I love my teammates, I love my coaches, and I love basketball... it is such an amazing privilege to get to love all three. :-) This past season was my favorite season that I've played (so far :D) and I would not trade it for anything. It was such a privilege especially playing Mercy's Senior year with her, and getting to be her teammate during her final year of basketball. Our team brought home the league Sportsmanship trophy which I thought was a huge accomplishment. I really do not think there is a better group of girls out there to play with, though I may be a little biased.  :-) I got the opportunity to play in the all-league game this year, along with Mariko and Mercy, which I had never gotten to do before. I am so sad the season came to a close, but I am really excited  to work hard during this off season! 

I am thankful for the little things God puts in my life to make me smile. Stars, baby giggles, brownies -- just little things that just make the day better. :-) I love the way God reveals things to me in little ways, just whispering in my ear the things He is teaching me in His still, small voice. He is faithful, even when I get frustrated. 

I have had the joy of helping a family with their three young children, ages 3, 22 months, and newborn, while their Mom recovers from some health issues related to the recent birth of the third baby. These little ones make me smile so much, even on their rough days, and say and do some of the cutest things. Between caring for the children and working on tasks around their home like laundry, cleaning, meals, etc., there is never a dull moment! I have SO enjoyed the last few weeks helping them, and though I want to see their Mom recover fully and quickly, I will be sad when I don't get to help as often! 

I am sitting here and Pandora just started playing the hymn "I Surrender All". God is teaching me that my life is His, and for Him, and that even the little things I clutch are His. He has been asking me lately if I am willing to surrender all to Him. My prayer is that I daily surrender to Christ and His incredible love, and that everything I do is for His glory. I love I Peter 4:11: 

"Of anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it all in the strength God provides so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ."

Why I am Pro-Life

There is a huge debate in this country about the issue of abortion, and many arguments, opinions, and controversies rage. Since the 1973 Roe v Wade court decision, over 50 million abortions have been performed. I believe that this issue is hugely important, and is a turning point for the way we look at life. It is close my heart which is why I am writing this piece - to investigate, discover, and reveal the truth.

First we must address the myth that abortion is not murder. Many believe that abortion does not kill a baby, but rather "removes a clump of cells". Children in the womb, however, are just that... living CHILDREN. Life begins at conception. When a child is conceived, cells start dividing that will develop into a full-grown person, and all the unique genetic code and DNA are set and will never be created again. No other little one will ever receive the same genes -- this information will dictate the baby's eye color, hair color, and other individual characteristics. Upon conception, this child will never be the same again. Babies hearts start beating in the womb at 4-6 weeks gestation, but most even early-term abortions are not performed until much later than this.
8-week old baby in womb, about the size of a kidney bean.

"Pro-choice" is the official label for those that believe abortion should be an option for pregnant women, and that women should be able to choose what they do with their body. But when an abortion is performed, it is not just on a woman's body, it is on a baby's body. A baby who is a separate human being from its mother. In the United States you can go to jail for killing your [born] child, but if you kill your child in utero, it is legal and it is a "choice" that women have a right to. Does this make sense? And, really, if it's all about a woman's right to choose, then why don't we care about ALL women's rights... who is standing up for the rights of  the female babies in the womb? Don't the rights of those women count - or are they not as important since they are unborn women?

Another argument for abortion is that abortion is acceptable until the baby is able to be "viable on it's own" outside of the womb. But honestly, what babies are viable outside the womb without care anyways? How many babies can survive on their own without its mother, adequate clothing, nourishment, and shelter? When children are born pre-maturely into families desperately trying to save their little one, medical staff do all they can to save the preemie - usually attempting to simulate womb-like care with incubators, feeding tubes, etc. These children would not be viable on their own without intervention, so should they be left to die?

Not only are babies lives being taken lawfully in our country, our tax dollars are going to support it. Publicly funded Medicaid, which is the US's largest health-care program insuring over 50 million people, pays for costly late-term abortions in numerous states which can cost thousands of dollars. In the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the US, received $487.4 million tax-payer dollars. (According to PP's own Annual Report...http://cnsnews.com/news/article/planned-parenthood-s-annual-report-got-4874m-tax-money-did-329445-abortions) How about your insurance company... are your monthly premium funds going to fund others' abortions?

Planned Parenthood performs over 300,000 abortions per year. 300,000+ children that will never see the sunshine, never be held by a parent, never color pictures or play on the swings, never grow up to have families of their own. Life is a blessing and is given be God. We must defend and protect it.

~Hannah~

New Semester

Well, a new semester of school is upon us! This happens to be my final academic semester of high school, as I will complete my high school class requirements by the end of this school year! I am kind of excited to be done, but it also brings lots of new choices and decisions to make. I am excited about all that God is doing... all that He is showing and teaching me! I am thankful to be a young senior, since I get to play another year of sports next year as a Senior. :-)

This semester, so far, has been a buzz with activity and I have been busy with schoolwork, a new internship I started one day a week, babysitting, playing basketball, doing meals and cleaning around the house, schooling my sisters, supporting my Mom as she is in college, coaching (and reffing...) basketball, researching future endeavors (i.e. college), church, hanging around soon-to-be-famous people ;-) and working on various projects. My Google Calendar seems totally full sometimes. I am thankful for down time and time spent with friends. :-)

Earlier this month, for the "final" for the Oratory class I took last semester, Mercy and I delivered orations on the Constitution at the American Legion. I know that both of us invested quite a bit of time in preparation, and I am pleased to report that neither of us died, passed out, went blank, or experienced any other calamities which was a definite plus. :-)  I am [supposed to be :D] preparing for the next time I have to give my speech, and also doing preliminary research for the impromptu portion of the competition.

Basketball season is in full swing and I love it! We have a fantastic group of girls who have come out to play, and it has been a great blessing getting to know each one. It is cool to see everyone (and myself) improving, and learning so much! I am super excited for the rest of the season.

I am also assistant coaching a group of 5th-6th grade girls for Upward basketball, and one of the girls on the team is my sister. We have had one practice so far but I am excited for the season. It is kind of overwhelming teaching nine 10 and 11 year olds basketball basics with only an hour a week to do it, but I am excited for the challenge! Today we had a referee training clinic, so it looks like I will be attempting reffing this season too.

God is teaching me so much in so many ways, and I am so thankful for the way He orchestrates everything and leads me. (And for the people He puts in my life!)

Tonight the BSU Women have a basketball game, so I am excited to head down town for that! In the meantime, I am off to make progress on my to-do list (and maybe read my book too!). :-)

~hannah~

Stop what you're doing...

And go make this soup so you can eat it.

Seriously. It's that good.

~
1. Peel, de-seed, and cut butternut squash into chunks.
2. Cut up an onion, 2-3 stalks of celery, and a carrot or two pretty small. Also, add a chopped Granny Smith apple. Saute in some olive oil until tender but not limp.
3. Boil squash in chicken broth until ALMOST tender (like 10 mins until it will be tender)... add in veggies and boil until squash is ALL THE WAY tender. :-)
4. Pour veggies, broth, and cooked white beans (about 1-2 cups ish) into a blender. (It might take 3 or 4 different batches in the blender... it will probably not all fit)
5. Pour a splash of orange juice, or throw in a whole orange into the blender and puree. I like to leave it a little bit chunky so there is some texture, but you could also puree it until it is smooth.
6. Add a little seasalt.
7. ENJOY with a smile on your face!

Literature Happenings of 2011!

During the year of 2011, I managed to read 82 books (not including the parts of the Bible I read... if I counted each book of the Bible I read, I might push 100! That would be impressive, yes? ;-) I taught myself to read at 3 and have not looked back... Here is a summary of some of the highlights (and lowlights...).

Favorite Fictions-
Deadline, Dominion, and Deadline, Alcorn
The O'Malley Family Series, Henderson
The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle
The Wives of King David Series, Smith
Redeeming Love, Rivers
The Atonement Child, Rivers
The Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith

Favorite Historical Fictions-
With Lee in Virginia, Henty
Hadassah, Tenney
Where the Broken Heart Still Beats, Meyer

Least Favorite Fictions-
Crystal Lies, Carlson
Where Yesterday Lives, Kingsbury
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson
Riven, Jenkins

Favorite Non-Fictions-
A Severe Mercy, Vanauken
Unplanned, Johnson
Adopted for Life, Moore
They Call Me Coach, Wooden
Already Gone, Ham
Nourishing Traditions, Falon

A few books on my list to read in 2012-
Loved by Choice, Homer
The Last Days According to Jesus, Sproul
The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde
Institutes of Christian Religion, Calvin
Desiring God, Piper
Father Brown Mysteries, G.K. Chesterton
Erasing Hell, Chan
Systematic Theology, Berkhof

Topics to read more on in 2012-
Nutrition
Adoption
Personal Spiritual Growth
Theology
Sports medicine/nutrition

I am always looking for book recommendations, so send on your lists! :-)

As 2011 Draws to a Close...

I am in disbelief that another year has flown by so quickly. It amazes me how time flies sometimes, and trudges along slow as a slug other times! I am going to attempt to summarize the highlights, but will probably forget some of the main ones. :-)

The year of 2011 has been brimming with activity for my family, and for myself individually. The year started out in January and February with another season of basketball games which is always a ton of fun! I feel like my basketball experience was totally and completely different than any previous year, and was definitely even more enjoyable! Spring time brings birthdays around our house, and this year for my 16th birthday, my Grandparents came up for a visit. It was a ton of fun getting to spend time with them, and all of us always enjoy their company! My Summer was crazy busy, but really fun! I attended FCA basketball camp again, and really enjoyed that for the second year. I also went and stayed with my Aunt and younger cousins for a little over a week to help with the driving and caring for the little girls during our family reunion at the beach. I really enjoyed this time with the family, and also attending the family reunion was a plus. :-) I also got to go to both the JEM sports camps for basketball and volleyball which I really enjoyed as well! We went to visit our Grandparents all the way in England, which was a great time. It was so fun to do some activities in England such as touring a castle, seeing Sherwood Forest, and just having a generally fun time. :-) During the Summer I also got my driver's license which has proved a helpful tool. I have discovered that I don't particularly enjoy driving, and actually find it kind of stressful. But, I am definitely thankful for having it! Our family also went on a week long camping trip. My Mom had more surgeries this year as well, and is currently recovering from another one. We are thankful for my Grandmary's visits and coming to help out. It has been a huge blessing to see all the amazing people in our lives who offer to help! The late Summer/Fall brought the start of volleyball. Volleyball was so amazing this year and I increased my enjoyment of the game exponentially. I learned a TON and was so blessed to be apart of such a cool team. Basketball season has started up again which is super exciting! Even though out of season I play quite a bit of basketball, team practices are particularly fun to look forward to. :D My Grandmary is coming again shortly after Christmas so we are all very excited about that!

Overall 2011 has been a really great year of growth and learning! I pray for myself and each one that we may all grow closer to God in the coming year of 2012...

And, Merry Christmas! :-)

A Day in the Life...

"What do you DO with all your time?" 

"You are homeschooled, right... so what is it that you do all day?" 

These questions, and many others, have been asked of me more times than I can count. So, to answer them, this particular post has been created to enlighten all my blog-readers, as well as the questioners who wonder what we homeschoolers do all day! So! ALL you ever wanted to know about my life... and probably much, much more. ;-)

5:45 a.m. - I am either totally startled by my alarm clock and violently roll out of bed to turn it off, OR I blissfully slumber through the first (Sometimes the second and third...) of the four alarms I set to wake me up in the morning. 

5:50 a.m. - My eyes are now open enough to decode the letters etched in my Bible and I proceed to have my devotions. Note: do NOT try praying laying down early in the morning... you will fall back asleep. 

6:10 a.m. - I flee the warm, cozy covers of my bed and hobble over to my school shelf to pull off my literature  book(s) of the week... And then proceed to scamper back into the warm bed to read the assigned chapters. :D

6:50 a.m. -  I bundle myself up and head downstairs to make breakfast. My brother accuses me of trying to put spinach into all of our morning meals but I am here to set the record straight: NO, I do not put spinach into pancakes! 

7:30 a.m. - Back to work. School, school, school. 

9:00 a.m. - Each morning I use this time to do all our dishes and make the kitchen pretty. A clean bedroom and a clean kitchen make me feel better. :-) Then I either vacuum, sweep, clean a bathroom, fold laundry, or do a random cleaning task. Usually these tasks are accompanied by either Andrew Peterson music OR Adventures in Odyssey... I am telling you, it gets the work done way faster!

10:00 a.m. - I usually work on my "computer school" like typing papers, doing research, working on an online class if I am taking one, etc. (And, yes, I admit to it... Gmail chatting and sometimes blogging too. :P) 

11:15 a.m. - Lunch making time... And do more dishes. :P And! On Mondays and Wednesdays, I go to school for Ethics, lunch, and Oratory which is really fun too. :-) 

12:00 p.m. - On home days, I work with my sisters and help them with their school while my Mom is at her BSU class. Sometimes this lasts 20 minutes and sometimes it lasts 3 hours. :P I also finish up any school I have left. 

2:00 p.m. - I sell books and homeschool curriculum that our family no longer uses through Amazon. So each day I check amazon.com for the books we have sold, go find them on our garage book shelf, pack them up, label them, and put them in my bag for a stop at the post office later! I also work on any pre-meal prep work that I can get done to have dinner on the table faster. :-)

3:00 p.m. - SPORTS. One of the highlights of my day. :-) 

6:00 p.m. - I walk in the door from practice, and then hustle to get dinner on the table. My Mom and I are on a meal making rotation schedule so it's nice on Mondays when I get home, she has dinner all done and when she walks in from school on other days, I have dinner all done. :-) I am a huge fan of our crockpot and "delay start" button on the oven so I can make the food and it is all cooked when I get home from practice on certain days!

The rest of the evening is pretty mellow. We usually try to have devotions during dinner and then sometimes play a game or watch a movie together, or hang out separately. 

So there you have it... a day in my life. And probably more information than you EVER wanted to know about me.