Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Mooooo

On mornings when I sleep in more than usual, I am often awakened by the earnest, persistent mooing of our cows.  One thing is certain: they love to eat.  
Through the winter, when the grass is all dead and eaten clean to the roots, we have to feed these beasts every morning. (Actually, that's Tirzah's job!  She is dreadfully good about it, too.)  When their daily feeding is delayed beyond their tolerance, they let us know.  And they're a frightful chorus when they all get in it together.  
But despite their demanding dispositions, I am so glad that we added them to the family 3 years ago.  They have made life just a bit more adventurous.








Saturday, March 25, 2017

March challenge (3)

19. A pair: Polly and Grasshopper make such a cute little pair.  Grasshopper is becoming less of her baby, though, as his horns grow longer and his body grows larger!  He's still a pretty cute thing.
20. Something new: some special friends of mine gave me this amazing water bottle a couple weeks ago!  I love the color and design; but, most of all, I love that it makes me think of the givers.  I have also not made a very good practice of drinking water regularly in the past few years, and this bottle has totally reconstructed my ability to consume liquids.  I drink so much more water now that I have something fun to drink from.
21. Black and white
22. Stripes: this kid was wearing the perfect outfit for me!!  He was complete stripes and cuteness.
 23. Rings: key rings!  I love my keys...mostly because they drive the car of my dreams.
 24. Water
 25. Telephone: is she not so much more adorable than the old-fashioned telephone?!  I do enjoy taking advantage of my little photography helpers.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Final snow?

I'm the kind of person that would be more than delighted to see snow falling in the middle of July.  I never tire to watch this fluff fall from the sky--no matter what month or season it is. 

So a couple weeks ago it snowed again. I've lost count on how many snowfalls we've had this winter.  Usually I don't have to count higher than 1, and getting a few inches in March is even more unexpected.   I was totally surprised to see snow yet again, and I'm thinking it will be our final snow this winter.  (Though now I can never be too sure!)  No promises, but these might be my last snow pictures in a while.




This is a lot for Washington, and in March no less!

Enjoying every crunch!
Then is slowly melted off through the week and turned everything into puddles again.  It's ok; I welcome the rain, too.

Saturday, March 18, 2017

March photo challenge (2)

Last week I posted part one of this month's photo challenge.  Now it's time for part 2!  Happy [late] Saint Patrick's Day, and to all a good night!

12. Your name: Last name pride!  I've always been proud to be a Small.
13. Prized possession: I bought this necklace in Iraq when I visited my brother there almost 7 years ago.  Ever since then, it has been one of my most prized possessions.  Remember that famous question: "If your house was on fire, what would you save?"  This Kurdistan necklace is one of the first things I would save, as it holds a lot of meaning to me personally.  And ever since I proudly brought it back from the land of my brother, it has been my most worn article.
14. Breakfast: Never fear when Cinnamon Toast Crunch is near.
15. Someone you love: Don't worry; these flowers were just for a special performance she did!
16. Your street: I love living on a quiet street where I can walk the yellow line.
17. Green: For the past 5 or so years we have gotten a Shamrock Shake around Saint Patrick's Day.  This was a tradition that a special friend initiated sister taught us, and one that my dad helped carry on.  We are rarely actually anywhere near a McDonald's ON Saint Patrick's Day, so we just get as close as we can.  But this time we happened to be in the city on the right day, which made the drink that much more of the real thing.
18. Something old: We are often joking about how old Billy is.  In goat years, he really is old.  He tries hard to mask his age, but it is beginning to show a little.  Billy has been a faithful, well-loved part of the family for many years, and I dare say he's looking wiser all the time.

Saturday, March 11, 2017

March photo challenge (1)

You probably think I'm obsessed with photo challenges.  I guess you're right.  My goal is to do one every month this spring.  Why?  Because I want more practice using the camera and adjusting settings according to lighting...and if I don't have purposeful motivation to take pictures regularly, I just won't do it.
By the way...hey, March!  Kinda can't believe the 3rd month is here.  Next thing I'll know, I'll open my door and find summer waiting there!

1. My view: I happened to be at work on the first day of the challenge, so I took the camera along.  I am super unimpressed with how this picture turned out.  It looked good at the time, but now I'm not sure where the point of focus actually is.

2. Corner: On the day that we've caught 3 mice, I'm bound to be thinking about mouse traps.
3. In my hands: there is a rumor that I really like cutting raw chicken.  Ok, fine.  I'll admit that I could probably spend my life blissfully cutting chicken (raw, to be exact), if I was at a loss for a life calling.
4. Clock: my sister made this!
5. Feet
6. My view: It snowed yet again!!
7. Luck
8. The sky
 9. Two things: we've had these "two things" for as long as I can remember.
 10. The ground
 11. Contentment: Contentment is basically the same as having a quiet afternoon to sit down and write some letters.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Finally a graduate

"So when are you going to graduate?"
"I have no idea.  Maybe by the time I'm 30."

This was the conversation I had with countless people in my high-school years.  Graduating felt far in the future...like a hopeless fantasy.  I half expected to really be stuck in school for most of my life.  In my final high school years, we met speed bumps.  These "speed bumps" turned out to be a big part of the learning process, which is one reason I am so thankful for homeschooling.  Moving 3 times and "walking the valley of the shadow of death" with both my brother and my dad during those years taught me more than any school book could.  To those events--not so much the school--do I credit much of who I am today.

Then on January 14, 2017,  it happened.  I closed my high-school books for the final time and realized that I had actually done it...and before I turned 30!
I'm that person who's OK with celebrating with a solitary bowl of ice cream after putting my books back on their old shelves, though.  Then the celebration is over, and I start planning what to do with the months ahead.  Very practical, I think.  However, my family doesn't always share my feelings in how to celebrate completed goals...even ones that are very late in coming.  Before I knew it (literally), they were planning my graduation open-house and forcing me to get more attention than I was getting from the quiet ice cream.  I was less than thrilled, to put it simply.  But there was no way out.  My family was too stubborn to deal with...but maybe because they also had some tricks up their sleeves.

You see, the Smalls are really into surprises.  We've surprised people at their weddings, graduations, and probably a lot of other places, too.  I should've known far in advance that this was coming at me this time.  But this time I failed to reason logically until just a few hours before I was presented with one of my best friends (an extra sister, really), Ema, from out of state.  I can safely say that I was delighted to see her face again at that dark gas station the night preceding my graduation celebration.
Later that night I was surprised yet again with more friends from out of state: Hannah and Christian from Alaska (see, we're keeping up our 3-4 month visit!) and Kea, also from Alaska.  Each of them were a sweet reminder of how many loving friends I have who are eager to support me, even by flying in for just a weekend!  And that's the story of how the real partying happened.  So maybe acknowledging my graduation wasn't so dreadful after all.
Sarah did a great job making the house feel like a place for partying!
This game, put together by Ema and Hannah, was a great idea from Sarah!  Lots of group effort happened that weekend with all the extra company.
Enjoying our last night together after all the partying!
MY Ema.
Some of my favorite sisters right here.
A traditional picture of the Fantastic Four once again reunited.

The advice tree...it got a little weighed down.
The party really ended a couple days following the open-house when our house emptied out again.  Everyone left almost as quickly as they'd come.  As always, it was hard to say goodbye to each one who'd come to make the weekend so special for me.  But at least I got some bits of fun advice to read over and make me laugh when the house was quiet again.  As you can see, some of the advice is really necessary for a graduate.



You all are probably just as surprised as I am that I've completed school...and you are probably wondering almost as much as I am, "now what?"  Because I'm a mugwump (terrible at decisions), I haven't made up my mind yet.  But I was accepted to Bob Jones University and Corban University, which makes me think that I may be finishing out the year in a different state...but I'm not releasing any official information until God releases it to me!
Thanks to everyone who made my graduation a real celebration and a very fun time.  I'm so thankful for everyone who was able to be here!!
And I am grateful for those who have proved their loyalty and friendship over and over again through both the dark and beautiful times. But, even more than that, I am thankful for a faithful God Who promises to always be enough.