A Bird-Brained Guide to Thanksgiving

In four days, it will be Thanksgiving, a holiday where hundreds of helpless turkeys are slaughtered and cruelly eaten. That's why we have compiled this handy list. It tells all of you turkeys what to do during this horrible holiday.

~A Turkey's Guide to Thanksgiving~
a list of helpful options for scared turkeys

1. Temporarily move to Brazil- it has a nice warm climate and thankfully only Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.
2. Come to my house- we are having a nice thanksgiving party--I mean, uh, turkey refuge party and we would just love to have you over.
3. Dress up- some disguises you could use are: chicken, a funny looking man with a pointy nose, a mascot for a sports team, a piece of furniture. These are all simple easy disguises you can use in a pinch.
4. Join the TRP- the Turkey Refuge Program (TRF) is a program just for all you confused turkeys out there who just want a home during the holidays. It sends you the address of different vegetarian families around the States who take no part in this barbaric holiday and will take you in as part of their family.
5. Write a petition- standing out on a busy sidewalk, taking signatures and addresses, and finally sending it to the White House to ban Thanksgiving-- what could be more patriotic to your cause? Beware that this method could lead to you becoming a dinner somewhere. After all, as we have shown in the above picture, there are millions of Americans who will attack and capture a helpless turkey.
6. Lose some weight- getting thin might stop the thought of a plump juicy turkey from running through people's heads.
7. Stay inside- this one explains itself.


Well, as you can see, there are lots of options for frightened turkeys such as yourselves. Following this list, there is no need for panic as Thanksgiving draws closer. Have a happy Thanksgiving! *evil chuckle*

Oh Look. Abby's Written A Post After Two Weeks...

Well, hello! It's been about two weeks since I've posted, so I've decided to favor y'all with my presence.

*immense applause and cheering*

*holds up hands* Now, now. That's enough. So I had a good idea. It seems that there was a certain blog which had a giveaway a couple months ago (over now). In the comments, a very smart person suggested we write a story in the comments. This was the best idea ever. :) Joint stories are real fun. So I thought we could start one on this post. *edit: This means that one person writes the next paragraph, then another person writes the next one, and so on and so forth. You build on the previous person's paragraph. Make sense?*
Whatcha think? Well, if you want to start it, here is the starting sentence:

 “Are you sure you want to do this?” Lily hesitantly shouted at me. “Perfectly sure,” I shouted back. I was standing on the hill’s edge, paper feathers glued onto my arms, ready to jump. “Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

Just imagine the possibilities of that sentence. :) Anyway, what has everyone been doing lately? Today we made some applesauce. Yum! We have at least two giant pots of it just waiting to be canned. We used a mixture of different apples, including Roma apples, which turned the sauce a strange pink color. :O I'm pretty sure it's safe to eat though.

School has been interesting. We've started a new curriculum, and are currently reading a book called The Flames of Rome. It's about Rome in the time of Paul, Aquila, Priscilla, and others. It's a good book, although there is a lot of killing and sensuality. Math is doing as well as can be expected too. :P We're having a piano recital in December. I'm working on four songs: O Christmas Tree, The Little Drummer Boy, Noel, and Jingle Bell Rock (a duet). How is your school year going?

This concludes this exceedingly interesting and engrossing post (just kidding). I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

Of November and Little Dorrit (and other things besides)

November is here. This is the month of fall changing to winter. It's sort of a dreary cold month. I love how Lucy Maud Montgomery described it in Anne of Avonlea, "November is usually such a disagreeable month... as if the year had suddenly found out that she was growing old and could do nothing but weep and fret over it." But there is a certain charm to it. The way leaves change and fall. The way that you can see the spindly, graceful black frames of trees. The way that the mosquitoes die... :)

Lately we've been watching the 2008 version of Little Dorrit. I love it! The actors did a wonderful job, especially Andy Serkis, who is the villain. He is so creepy! I can almost believe that he is really evil. I won't give away the plot. All I can say is, watch it!
In my Bible reading time, I've been reading  some of the prophets. They're sometimes extremely weird, and I usually have no idea what they are talking about, but they're still really interesting. What have you been reading/watching?

School is going OK. I'm in 10th grade, I think, which seems a bit impossible. I used to be scared of people who were in 10th grade! I'm a little behind in math (still on Algebra 1), but when you're home schooled, it doesn't matter too much. Still doing Latin, but right now, we're mostly learning about the rules of Latin, like 1st person, and singular and plural. Today our new reading curriculum came. It has books like Romeo and Juliet; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; other classics like that. I'm having to really restrain myself from peeking ahead. :) Piano and bell Christmas recitals abound as well.

As Thanksgiving is coming up soon, here's a list of what I'm thankful for. Yes, rather early and cliche, but it's fun to think of specifics sometimes instead of 'food' and 'health'.

-sleep
-a 'B' on my math lesson
- pigtails (I'm wearing these today, first time in a while)
-the color green
-cute little brothers
-colorful pens
-compliments (always glad for these)
-that God listens to me
-cheerfulness
-November
-new curriculum matieral
-cool breezes
-comments (hint, hint)
-the Bible
-chicken casserole for lunch
-music
-church fellowship
-the great outdoors
-Jesus

Hope everyone's having a wonderful life! What have you been doing lately? I'd be interested to know.

Grace be with you,
Abby :D

ps. I wanted to say thank you to Shelley, who almost never fails to comment on my posts. It's really appreciated!

Have you heard...

...what my God did for me? He sent His son down to me, to be my Savior.
For me, He came down to this earth and became a little baby.
For me, He grew up to be a man.
For me, He somehow resisted the temptation of sin.
For me, He was silent during his trial.
For me, He carried His cross.
For me, He died on that horrible day.
For me, He bore the wrath of a righteous God, so that I could go to heaven.
He did something that I didn't deserve, that I didn't earn.
He loves me. He conquered death and hell for me.
He did it for you, too.
He loves you and me, more than a fear of death and hell can shake.
I love Him, enough to live and die for Him.
Have you heard about Jesus? He paid the ultimate price and faced a just God's wrath. For you and me. For everyone.


♫♪ Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.♫♪

Update

Were you expecting a boring "I'm-still-alive" post when you clicked on this link? Well, too bad. I'm sure you're disappointed to know that it won't be that sort of post. :)
I spent my (mostly) week-long blogging break at the beach. Hilton Head Island has a great one. It was real, real fun. We rented bikes and rode them to and fro, up and down, in and out. You don't know how powerful you feel zooming down the beach on a bike until you try it. 

Just a glimpse of how truly lovely it was there. I don't see how you could doubt God's majesty while looking at the ocean.

A cute bird, one of the many seagulls we saw there. They're much cuter in person. :)
It was a good vacation, with lots of Oreos and peanut butter Cap'n Crunch cereal, which is the epitome of vacation for us.
And now for a list, because lists make any post better, right?

~Unusual Things to be Thankful For~ a list

• for washing the dishes, because that means you have food to put on them.
• for vacuuming, because you have a house to vacuum. 
• for schoolwork, because that means you are able to get an education.
• for annoying little siblings, because that means you can build patience.
• for laundry, because it means you have clothes to wear. 
• for a bed to make, because that means you have somewhere to sleep. 
• for gloomy days, because you have something to compare the sunny ones to. 

  With that, I will leave you, to the sadness of all who read this blog. :( 

*weeping and mourning* 
*sighing and sadness*


Don't cry! I'll be back soon! 
Bye bye...





*photo credits to my sister Leah*

Word of the Week: school...

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've  posted. No, I'm not going to say I'm sorry. Because I'm not. I guess blogging has become sort of a chore. I have other, better things to do. I will probably be posting less and less as I get older, or perhaps I'll fade out of blogging forever, or maybe I'll post more as I finish school, or maybe it's just a time in my life when there's not much to say. I don't know. I will still read your blogs with the same frequency, and probably comment too. I'm going to be taking a week-long blogging break, starting Saturday. I might post before then, or not. It depends if I have something to say. Well anyways, on to the interesting part!

The word of the week is: School! What a wonderfully inspiring word, don't you agree? (that was sarcasm, big-time) Math is not going too well, I'm still stuck on Algebra 1, wondering if I'll ever finish. I think after Algebra I'll move on to Business Math. I want to have my own business someday, co-run with my husband, of course. Maybe if I'm nice, I'll even let him take over the math part! :) Just kidding.
I'm finally done with last year's reading curriculum. It took a long, long, long time... It included books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Maniac Magee(that one was weird), and The Green Book. Looking back, none of those books really seem like history. Maybe they were just put in for fun.
Latin's going well too. Here's a sentence: Non es agricola. Cookie points to the blogger who can tell me what that means without looking it up! (oh, and I wrote that from memory. You can tell I'm learning something!)
What's going on in your life?

Have a great week!!!

Grace be with you,

Abby :D

Love that!   ↓

via

The Randomful, Pictureless Post (not as boring as it sounds, truly!)

Autumn. The time of leaves, acorns, sweaters, and deliciously cool breezes. Oh yeah! And deliciously yummy baking. Seriously, why does Autumn trigger baking instincts in people? Not that I'm complaining, of course... anyone have some extra cookies lying around that they could send me? :) If I make anything, I will take pictures. Have you made anything lately?

Just kidding. Anyway, today we made some yummy ham-and-cheese sandwiches for dinner. They're baking in the oven and I can't wait to eat them! Also, our neighbor dropped by and gave us a chocolate torte... one bite=heaven. Maybe I can get the recipe to share. :)

Yesterday we did hand bell choir, which was SO FUN! I love it. Something about ringing bells is very magnetic. We're working on Do You Hear What I Hear and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I have two notes, E and F.

Here is a list of things that I see right now:

1. A lamp
2. My brothers playing the piano
3. A science CD case :P
4. A music stand
5. A baby (my sister!)

And things I hear:
1. The piano
2. My brothers exclaiming
3. The TV going in the background
4. The baby pacifier being sucked on

I'm in the office right now, finishing this post. Today's been a busy day, with trips to the grocery store, dropping off my sis to babysit, that same sister's violin teacher coming over, and trying to get some school done. Lately I've been listening to bluegrass on Pandora while doing math. :) It's fun. Ooh, and Latin is fun too! Anyone learning that this year? Sum! (that means 'I am')
Oh yeah! Nearly forgot! I'm getting baptized on Sunday the 9th. :D I can't wait! I've been baptized as a baby, but I believe baptism is a public sign of faith, so I'm doing it again. I'm SO excited. :) :)
Well, that's all on the update of my exciting life. :)
Have a great week!!!

"Happiness is a full soap dispenser..."

Grace be with you,
Abby :D

ps. the sandwiches were scrumptious...