Puzzles, Puzzles, All His Puzzles

I don't know if anyone else believes this, but I believe we are all like puzzles. We have many different pieces to our lives and eventually they will fall into place and create a beautiful masterpiece. No one's life (puzzle) is completed until death, but throughout life little pieces slowly fall into place. We aren't able to see the whole picture but we get glimpses that allow us to see how amazing the finished product will be. The amazing thing is that every persons puzzle is different and yet they are all beautiful, each and every one.

Good News

Hello to all! Sorry I haven't been posting in a while. I plan to post more often once my schedule calms down. In one of my previous posts I said how I've been running around like a mad woman trying to do my school work and homework and college apps as well as still try and fit in family time and time with friends. Luckily things have been going very well. I almost all done with my college applications, wahoo! In fact I feel a lot better about the whole process because I just heard back from one of my schools and I was accepted! Now I at least know I am going somewhere for college. Through all of this hecticness God seems to show me that He is there. My acceptance letter came on a day where I needed some cheer and the pink sunsets always seem to appear when I think I can't pull myself out of bed to face another day. He sure is good to me.

He Will Be Strong

Hello to all! I apologize for not posting in a while. I have been crazy busy between school and practice and homework and college applications and the like. Needless to say my life has been pretty hectic. Through this craziness I have come to realize that there is only one thing that stays constant in my life. Expectations change, friends fleet, people get angry, life gets stressful but through it all Jesus is there. He never changes. What a relief this is! If it wasn't for this, I'm pretty sure I'd have gone totally and completely crazy by now. When things change and seem to go haywire on me the words of Relient K pop into my head. I start humming along to "never underestimate my Jesus, when the world around you crumbles, He will be strong, He will be strong". I am so glad that He is there for me and you too, 24 hours 7 days a week. I know that when I can't be strong, He will do it for me. Jesus, the only constant in life, will be by our side through it all. Thank goodness for that! :-)

I Love You More

Interesting Internship

Now that I am a senior in high school, my school has offered me an internship. It lasts for one whole period of the school day and during that period I help out the freshman guidance counselor. Sometimes she doesn't need my help so she let's me go off into other areas of the school and help out. So far I have helped out students in math and even helped out the foreign exchange students who barely speak English. Most recently I have helped out the special needs children. I help out with their social skills by playing games such as toss, Monopoly, and Uno. I am always surprised by their way of thinking, it is so refreshing. They live life one day at a time and are not worried about what tomorrow has to offer. In this program there is one kid who I will call Mat. He has developed a crush on me and felt the need to tell me. The way the conversation went was cute because of his simplistic way of thinking. I had to post it here.

Mat: I love you. Do you know what I love you means

Me: :) Yes I do

Mat: What

Me: I do know what it means

Mat: I'm serious

Me: Thank you :)

Mat: That's all

Me: Okey dokey

Mat: Dokey

Me: :)

Mat: Well if that how you want to say it well I down know what to say
but I have a crush on you
Just don't tall no one

Me: Thank you Mat that is very flattering :)
Don't worry your secret is safe with me :)

Mat: Is it

Me:I have to tell you tho that I take to many hard classes and do not have time for a boyfriend but we can be friends :)
and yes your secret is safe


Mat: You are best girl in the world

Me: Thank you Mat

That was the end of the conversation. After saying that he left.

Me and Jesus

"Someone loves you
Even when you don't think so
Don't you know
You got me and Jesus
By your side
Through the fight
You will never be alone
On your own
You got me and Jesus"

Thank you to Stellar Kart for the lyrics from their song "Me and Jesus" and to www.lostseed.com for the picture.

The Effects Of Jesus Camp

While I was a Jesus Camp, so many good things happened. It was so powerful that I am still being effected by it almost two months later. I always seem to be reminded of a little piece of it just when I need it most. God is good like that. Just recently I was reminded of a little bit of wisdom that was shown to me while at Jesus Camp. This little bit of wisdom was; “the only limits on God are the ones we self impose”. God reminded me of this when I was praying about school. First off let me say I have a terrible tendency to want to plan out my life by myself. My mind gives itself a workout by trying to make sure everything is in line and will happen according to my plan. The worst thing about it is that I try to make the plan of my life seem like a movie. The more I think about it, the more I realize how absurd it is for me to try to model my life after various movies I've seen. Anyhow that is beside the point. When God reminded me of that the only limits on Him are the ones that I self imposed, I was praying about the upcoming school year. As I was doing so my mind wandered a little bit to what will happen over the upcoming year, including what troubles and joys I will experience and what college I will end up at. Then that little bit of wisdom popped into my head. I realized that all my planning is not fulfilling. In the end I become disappointed because my plans never work. This is when I realized that my planning was limiting God’s power in my life. How can God show me His power if I am wanting my plan and not His? At this point I knelt to the ground and turned the plans I had made over to Him. I know that he will take good care of me and with the God of all writing the story of my life, I can’t go wrong. I look forward to what wonderful plans God will unfurl before me. After all I would rather have God, who is always there for me and you, planning my life. In the end, what it comes down to is that we have the power over God. Let Him into your life and break Him free of those limitations and He will blow your mind. God bless! :-)

Wow, It's Just About All I Can Say

I don't know how my Mom found this specific video online but I am sure glad she did. I love this song and I think this video wonderfully portrays the power of God. I get goosebumps and teary eyed watching it. All I can say is wow. I highly recommend taking a gander at it. God bless you and all who you hold dear to your heart.

He Reveals His Love

School has started and the summer pace of life has quickly increased. Amidst all the stress, hectic schedules, and lack of sleep I have come to realize that God is closer to me than I think. I used to have the idea that God was some nice guy who sat up in Heaven waiting for people to talk to Him and if you wanted something then "POOF", He could make it appear. I thought He was there but did not play a role in the daily events of life. Over the past year my belief in this has changed. I now realize that God cares for each and every one of us, and not from a distance, but right from our hearts. For me, God has shown His love through the simplest things. He always seems to know how to put a smile on my face. Sometimes when I am having a difficult morning I will wake up to the sky painted pink. Pink is my favorite color, and just being able to see that God took the time to think of me makes me bubble over with joy. God truly isn't far away, rather He is right here with us. If He can paint the sky pink for me, imagine what He can do for you. Keep your eyes open and you will begin to see the many ways He reveals His love to you. God Bless! :-)

My New Favorite Quote

"If you are who you should be, you will set the world ablaze." -Pope John Paul II

Jesus and Rocks

Jesus and rocks, even though these two things sound completely unrelated, they are both relevant to me. First let me start off by saying that I believe Jesus can use the most commonplace items to speak to the hearts of all his beloved sons and daughters. For me, nature is one of the ways that He and I keep in touch. Whenever I see a sunrise or sunset or feel the cool breeze on my skin I can't help but lift my heart and soul up to Him and rejoice. He really makes my heart melt with His love when He sends me a special gift. This gift is a rock. Jesus sends me heart shaped rocks along my path. They are very precious to me. I pick them up and collect as many of them as I can (sometimes they are too big for me to pick up). Every time I see one my soul rejoices and a smile overcomes my face because I know that He is right there with me. He is making sure everything is okay and is walking right with me placing heart shaped rocks to express His love for me. I collect them and each new one that I add to my collection reminds me of how much He loves me. The picture above is a picture of a few of the rocks that He has left for me. They are a reminder to me that He is right here with me and with you watching out for us every step of the way. God is good! :-)

Finding God At Running Camp

This past week I went to running camp. It was an awesome time! However when I first arrived I was homesick and lonely. I did not fit in with the other girls and they did not like me. Most of what I heard that day were harsh words directed at others and sometimes towards me. When I went to bed that night I prayed to God to send me someone to be an Angel to me and to touch me with kind words. I also prayed for me to enjoy the rest of my stay at camp. The next day I woke up and things were already better. God had blessed me with a new attitude towards camp and I was ready and willing to enjoy it to the fullest. Starting that day I made new friends and found out that God had blessed me with a cabin leader and cabin mate who were fellow Catholics. They were quick to be my friend. This was a wonderful experience,the whole time I felt God smiling down at me. When I checked my phone that morning I saw that I had received a text the night before. It came in at about the time I was praying to God to send me an Angel. Once I read the text message I knew in my heart that God had sent me this person to be an Angel to me that day. This person, who I will refer to as Ava Grace, sent me a text message. She is a good friend of mine and we have recently become close. She has a cheerful disposition and has a wonderful way of helping me see God. This text she sent me, for lack of more accurate words, made my day. It said "this is wicked random but I just wanna say that you are a great girl, you are built on such great beliefs and morals, and you are always so happy and nice, you're so kind and just awesome and I hope we stay friends for a long time". I was a little teary eyed after reading this, I looked up and thanked God for blessing me in so many ways and for blessing me with such a wonderful friend. When you let God take the reigns, He will blow your mind, just like He did and continues to do to me. God Bless! :-)

iPink

Here's a wicked awesome, brand new web show called iPink. This is the first episode and you should definitely check it out! :-)

Steubenville East

Since I have been blogging about Steubenville East lately I tried to find a way to show more of the whole experience. I found this video online and it has a great recap of the weekend. I hope you enjoy it!

Steubenville's Awesome Adoration

This is the AWESOME Adoration that went on while at Steubenville East. Thank you to Hannah Furlong for this amazing photo.

If Grace Is An Ocean, Then We're All Sinking

I just had the BEST weekend of my life! I know what you're thinking a young adult saying they had the best weekend of their life, this can't be good. However, this is just the opposite. Over the weekend I headed to Steubenville East which is a Catholic youth conference, also refereed to by many as Jesus Camp. The weekend focuses on bringing teens (as well as their chaperone's) closer to Christ. By the Grace of God the group from my Church was able to attend this wonderful event (we were wait listed at first but then were taken off because there was room for us which made us group 112 out of 113 groups). Every single second of this retreat was worth it. Aside from being with my new found friends I was able to spend some much needed time with my Lord. I was and still am so very blessed to see Him working in my life as well as other's. His power is truly amazing. There were at least 2,700 high school students at this retreat. That's right 2,700 teenagers just from the New England area alone were inspired and moved by God to attend this wonderful weekend. It was an amazing sight to see 2,700 young adults all worshiping and praising the Lord, laying themselves down at his feet and willfully giving up their life for Him. His grace is forever working in each and every one of us and His love is so incredible no words could ever describe it. If His grace was an ocean, we all would be sinking. God Bless!

It's A Dog Walk Dog World

Mystery Food

Here is a mystery food that was made for dessert by my grandmother. As you can see it was very interesting and the flavor was anything less than that. Let's just say one spoonful was enough for me. my grandmother apparently thought the same cause she didn't dare eat more than a spoonful. I think it's safe to say this is one recipe that we won't try again.

Waterskiing

It was my brother's first time waterskiing and he was successful! He made it up on his first try and he's only seven!

Dog Days Of Summer

My First Sunrise

Today I decided to watch the sunrise. Never before had I seen a sunrise but I always wanted to and figured today would be the perfect day to do so. I woke up at early, 4:22 in fact, and made my way down to the lake to see the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful!

Happy Birthday!

Today, seventeen years ago, I was welcomed into this world. A little bundle of joy that cost my parents a lot of hours of sleep. Thankfully they love me despite the lack of sleep. Here I am a cute little baby swaddled in her mother's arms.

Awkward Moments With The Hearing Impaired

People in my family sometimes have trouble hearing things. When they tend to mishear things I've said the results tend to be funny. One time I was singing a bit of a song that went "girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money". I looked up and saw my Mom looking at me with a rather quizzical expression. She than proceeded to ask me what I had just said. Turns out she thought I was saying "girls don't like boys, girls like cows and lemonade". We both still have no idea how she got "cows and lemonade" from "cars and money" but it gave us a good belly laugh and now offers us some funny memories to look back on.

Six Word Memoirs

This year I was presented with the challenge to write a six word memoir. This is a string of six words that are supposed to sum up your life. Hopefully they would want to be something that you'd be remembered by. It was a challenge to write one but as the more I worked at it the more I liked it. I challenge you to try writing one. I know I enjoyed it. After many versions and revisions I came up with mine: Faith gets me through, chocolate helps.

Dog Days Of Summer

Don't you just love those hot days where you can lay around just like my cousin's dog is in this picture?

AP Biology

Sadly now that my junior year is over so is my AP Bio class. It was one of my favorite classes so far. In order to help the memory live on I am going to post some links that were helpful to me throughout the year. Hopefully they will be able to help someone else and save them the hours of searching for help online.

http://www.biologyjunction.com/welcome_to_ap_biology.htm ~~This website is immensly helpful. It has notes and labs as well as links to lab bench (the online interactive tools that walks you through an animated demonstration of the lab)and the books website. The most helpful thing I found on this website is the review for the AP units. It was helpful when it came to AP test time because it gave me an overview of the whole year with the key points from each chapter.

http://www.kabt.org/ap-biology-curriculum-page/ap-biology-chapter-essentials-campbell-7th-ed/ ~~This website helps show you the key points from each chapter.

http://web.stillwater.k12.mn.us/~weavera/download/APBio/Campbell%20AP%20Biology%20Lectures.htm ~~This website has power points for each chapter. They are helpful for reviewing the material and as a supplement to class materials.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:QalAh5KcRI4J:www.plantgenomeoutreach.eeob.iastate.edu/teachmod/Bacterial_Transformation.ppt+DNa+transformation+applications&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us ~~This is a power point about ligation and transformation. It gives in depth notes on plasmids and the like.

http://www.jdenuno.com/APBiology/CellRespiration.htm ~~This website has links to many websites that can help with the learning of Cellular Respiration.

http://faculty.clintoncc.suny.edu/faculty/michael.gregory/files/bio%20101/bio%20101%20lectures/Energy/energy.htm#Substrate-Level Phosphorylation ~~This website has helpful notes on enzymes and substrate-level phosphorylation.

I Made it!

Despite the fact that it was a difficult year, I made it through alive. I made it through my junior year! Finally it is summer and I am officially a senior. I'm hoping this summer will be wonderful and look forward to many sleep overs, camping trips, long nights, early mornings, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Here is a picture from my camping trip last year. I had the best time camping and cannot wait to go back.

So Excited!

I am so excited for prom! As you probably already know I attended another high school's prom in early April but this tomorrow is my prom. I have been so fortunate to be able to attend two proms this year. Now that mine is quickly approaching, it is bittersweet. I am terribly excited to attend my prom but am sad that the festivities will be coming to a close. While running through the list of things that need to be in order for tomorrow I looked back at the pictures from April's prom. I quickly flipped through them. At the end I noticed this picture and realized I had a funny expression on my face. My Mom came by and saw the picture and said in a disapproving tone "His eyes should not be there". So I looked at the picture again and realized what she meant (look below to see for yourself). Overall it is a moment that would have been best not to capture on camera, too bad it already has been.

Happy Birthday

Even though her birthday was last week, we had a late birthday party for my grandmother. We were celebrating her 21st birthday. Here she is looking beautiful as always. Happy birthday Grammy!

Lily's First Bath

Rainy Days

I don't know about you but I love it when you get a rainy day where you can just sit around and do nothing. I love to just sit and listen to the split splat of the rain against my window as it scurries it's way down from the skies. It makes me want to curl up with a blanket and write poems. Even though it's cliche I love it. However it wasn't one of those days today. Sadly I am still in school so I was not able to sit down, curl up, and write poems. However I am still enjoying the rain. It was an amazing experience to run in it today plus it is wonderful to be able to sit hear and listen to it. The drops sound like a soothing lullaby that is encouraging me and soothing me. It is amazing that God uses nature to draw us closer to Him. Even though this may sound crazy, I hear him in the rain and see Him in the sun. He really is an amazing God!

My New Puppy!

I somehow thought that I had already posted these pictures but then realized I hadn't. After my last dog died my family and I were heartbroken. It was like there was an unmeasurable gap in our lives that could not be filled. As a way to try and mend our hearts back together and bring us some joy we decided to get a puppy. Her name is Lily Tatiana and she is now nine weeks old. She is silly and mischeivious and has been getting herself into a lot of trouble lately. It is so fun to have her around, she has brought us such joy.

Might Wanna See

Hey everyone! I just came across this on the internet and figured I'd share it with you. It is about Facebook security. This article was an eyeopener for me because I had no clue about their security settings. The article is at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/08/earlyshow/saturday/main6469373.shtml if you would like to check it out.

Made Me Laugh

I had to share this with you. It made me laugh out loud!

Very True

I found this quote on Lifeteen.com and I wanted to post it here so that I can remember it and hopefully it will reach you. The quote was "A problem is a chance for you to do your best". How true! Another quote I like is from Abrose of Milan and it says, "the devil tempts so that he may ruin; God tempts so that he may crown".

In Memory Of

Today I lost a dear friend. I knew her ever since she was a puppy and sadly she passed away today. It was and still is very tough to live with her absence. She was always there to play around outside, always there to nudge my arm when she knew something was wrong, and there keeping me company when homeowork kept me awake into the wee hours of the morning. She was always a close companion of mine as I grew up over the years. She was my friend, buddy, and pal. I miss her so very much but I know that she is in a better place now. As a friend of mine said, "We will all miss that big ball of fur", true words couldn't have been spoken. To all those who knew Bridget you know what a wonderful dog she was. She is greatly missed by all.

Awesome Song

Hey guys! I just wanted to post a new song that I stumbled upon and ended up loving. I hope you will agree that it is a wonderful song.

Funny Quote

I totally meant to post this last night but got home late and was bogged down with homework. Well yesterday I had a track meet. This one combined the girls and boys teams. During this meet I was hanging out with my friend, who I like to call Shortcake, watching the 800m race. As we were watching the guys run past us Shortcake commented on our teammate, saying "aww I feel bad for him, he runs like a goldfish". I was like "did you really just say a goldfish?". He said yes because his head moves side to side as he runs and his expression looks like a goldfish. I was like okay Shortcake. It was the funniest comment of the day! I was still laughing today because of it. Thank you Shortcake for making life more interesting!

A Realization

Have you ever listened to a song many times over but never really understood its full meaning, suddenly it hits you and you realize the deeper meaning of the lyrics? Well that happened to me tonight. I was listening to this song by Tenth Avenue North called By Your Side. I have listened to this song probably at least 100 times and never realized how much a certain line means. It goes "look at these hands at my side, they swallowed the grave on that night". They are talking about Jesus dying on the cross for you and I. His outstretched arms took away all the fears and troubles that the world could ever throw at us. As I stand and take in the amazement and beauty of His world, He is standing beside me embracing me in His arms pulling me tight because He loves me. He is doing the same for you. I pray that you may feel His warm embrace in your life.

Prom!

Hi guys! If you are family you probably know that I had prom today (well actually yesterday since it is after midnight now). Everything was beautiful. The location was pretty and the food was tasty, plus there was a good mix of music to dance to. Overall I had a wonderful time! The picture above are the flowers I wore. Even though they didn't match my dress perfectly, it worked out nicely because pink is my favorite color. =)

A Beautiful Day

What a wonderfully warm day Massachusetts had! It was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had pictures to show you. Today, April 7, 2010, I went swimming. The fist swim of the year. How did this happen you might ask well, my track team members and I decided to run to the beach on our twenty minute run. Once we got there we couldn't resist wading in. Well that lead to us running around which eventually lead us to take a dip. The water was cold but it was amazing to come out and be instantly warmed. It was quite a sight to see. About twenty girls fully clothed in running gear dunking themselves into the ocean on an April afternoon. The funniest part was heading back to school after we had hit the beach. People looked at us like we had two heads. There we were a bunch of girls fully clothed but dripping with water walking down the street barefoot. We were surely a sight to see!

Wonderful Article

I hope your Easter was wonderful! I know that mine was. I wanted to share with you this wonderful article I found. It addresses the secular view on Easter from a religious stand point. I had never thought about how fake grass and colored eggs can related to my faith. It is a wonderful article that I highly recommend. If you would like to read it, the article is available on LifeTeen.com at http://www.lifeteen.com/default.aspx?PageID=FEATUREDETAIL&__DocumentId=167916

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you all! I hope you are having a joyous day! Take a little time to enjoy the little pleasures of life. Alleluia, He has risen!

Back Again!

Hi Guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life suddenly became busy and then when I went to blog again my camera died. Therefore I couldn't put up any pictures. I wanted to let you guys know that I will try to blog as often as I can. Tonight as my first post back I would like to share a song with you (sorry my camera is still dead so no picture). The song is "Stand In The Rain" by Superchic[k]. They are a wonderful Christian band that is composed of sisters. This song is one of my favorite. It gives me a message of hope when times get tough. I absolutely love it and the message it brings me. I hope you will agree!

How I Wish

Oh how I wish it was summer! When looking through pictures that I took last summer I came across this one. It makes me miss the warm weather. I am sick of having to wear so many layers of clothing! I'm hoping it will come quickly but for now we New Englanders will just have to wait.

Pappy I bet you know where this picture was taken.

I'm a Googlemier

My dad is the funniest guy I know. He is a comedic genius. He called me a googlemeir. It is a German word for someone who depends on googling to get through life; commonly known as a googler. This is not to be confused with a goober or an ogler. Someone who thinks they know everything about google is a Google mister.

Oh man he cracks me up. The part written above was dictated to me by him, too funny! From now on I'm calling myself a googlemier. You can too, just credit my Dad with the origins of the word.

Thank You

Thank you for praying for Nicole. She is okay and back in school. Turns out she was misdiagnosed and only has deep bruising. That is much better than a fractured pelvis. Thank you again, Prayer is powerful!

Favor To Ask

Hi everyone! I would like to request your prayers for my friend Nicole. She was in a snowmobiling accident over vacation and fractured her hip. She is okay but is in a lot of pain and her leg and abs are badly bruised. Please keep her in your prayers!

Never Thought

After my wisdom teeth were removed I didn't think I would be eating mashed potatoes for a while because I was sick of them. They were one of the few foods I could eat. Guess I was wrong because I couldn't resist this big bowl of them. It was so good I couldn't resist. Yummm!

Table For Six

It is the perfect place to eat dinner with my family. Now just where is the food?

Wonderful World

When I look around I am amazed at the wonderful world Our Lord has created for us. The littlest things (like in this picture) are amazing. Thank You Lord!

Home Again Home Again

We're back from our nice vacation. That means back to eating healthy food, no more take out. :(

Update

Hi everyone! I just got around to updating my blog. The pictures posted were posted today but I assure you they were taken on the day it says they were posted. I'm on vacation and have minimal access to the internet. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves. Today's picture is of crayons. It isn'y very interesting but I took it because my sibilings have been coloring to enter their pictures into a contest.

Good Reads

I've just been catching up on some good reads while sitting at the pool.

Random

I'm not quite sure why I took this picture but here it is.

Vacation!

Spending some needed R&R at my families favorite hotel. Her's a picture of the pool area.

Still Up

I figure while I'm still up I might as well post a picture to show you that I am still up. Here is a picture of part of my schoolwork that is keeping me up soooooo late. Sorry if this post doesn't make sense. I've been up since 5:30 AM on 2/11 and now it's 3:14 AM on 2/12.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mike! We miss you and hope you are having an awesome day with the Big Guy Upstairs! We love you!