What have you been doing lately?

It's been a little while, so I thought I'd write a little bit about what's been happening. Really not too much, but some things.
I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but Dad got a guitar! =) I've been teaching him some stuff but he is taking a few lessons before he goes to Korea. Since he's gotten his, he, Joe and I have been playing a lot together. I got really interested in some new songs. I can play a lot more now. I've got some sweet Christmas music!
Wednesday night we went to see the Heartland Gospel Singers and the Blackwood Brothers. Krista hitched a ride with us. =) On the way there and back all we did was listen to my iPod, it about killed Mom(lol) but we enjoyed it oh so much!

The singing was amazing! I was so proud of all the guys. =) The Blackwood Brothers were pretty cool too. Poor Joe and Marcus were getting really bored and tired. But not till the very end. On the way home we stopped at Subway and ran into literally, everyone! It was cool though.

Thursday night my Grandmother(Mom's mom) came to visit. We were up till one talking so we were all pretty tired on Friday. That day we did some school and chores and stuff while Mom was at school. Later Dad took us girls to Penny's to see the pictures. (I'll post them later hopefully) He left after a bit so Morg, Shar and I went shopping for a while. While we were out we bought a BUNCH of pig out food that was absolutely delicious! Then we came home and watch Princess Diaries. Fun night!

Today we went grocery shopping and I got Mom a digital camera. I'd been wanting to get her one for a while and this one was excellent quality and was mega on sale. Then we all went to her LPN pinning. I was SO proud of her! She's just an amazing student(top in her class by the way, GO MOM!), mom, friend, Christian, and person. I appreciate her so much, even if we don't always say it, come on guys... aren't Mom's just the best thing God ever gave you?!
She got a rose, a chocolate bar,lol, and a light up candle at the ceremony.



After we had cake and punch. =P Then Dad wanted to take all of us out to dinner. It was very nice of him to do so and we had a completely great time! I really miss all of us going out to dinner together. But now, when we do do it, it's more special and I think we have even more fun than we ever did! All of us. Unfortunately Joe went to a birthday party and wasn't there this time.

Georgia part II

I'm sorry it's taken me a few days to get this on here, I know I've said this a lot, but I have been really busy! And when I get a spare minute to write about it, it's past 10 so I can't get on the pc. But here it is! =D
Getting up early didn't bother me all that much. I was too excited to sleep on the plane! Dad slept some of the time and I listened to music, watched tv with him, and just looked out the window and thought. I know... something is definitely wrong with me. When we flew into Milwaukee the sun was just rising... I didn't get a very good picture of it, but it was so beautiful!

When we got to the airport in Atlanta we rented a car and I must say it was the most out of date modern car I've ever seen. It was a Jeep Compass either an 06 or 07, it looked nice, but looks are deceiving. It didn't have power locks, so every time we got in Dad had to open his door then stretch across the seat to unlock my door. And the windows were manual too. He and my cousin James asked if they even made cars like this anymore. But it was a form of transportation so we took it. =)
I pleaded with Dad to take me to Chik Fila since we don't have one here. We finally found one that we could get to and ate there. It was SO good! =D After that my lack of sleep was catching up to me, so while Dad watched I Love Lucy and drove I slept for an hour and a half.
Okay, before I continue with the rest of the story I'm gonna write what cousins are in which family. This might help you keep them straight and look back for reference.

Uncle Mel, Aunt Cheryl, James(16), Kyle(14) and Kayla(8) Adamson. Aunt Cheryl is my Dad's sister and they live in Florida.

Aunt Jo Woida... that's it about her. She's Dad's oldest sister. She lives in Florida too.... she's one of my best friends, even though there's 40 years difference in our ages.lol

Grandmom and Granddad Woida, my Dad's parents who also live in Florida.

Uncle Jay, Aunt Julia, Jordan(13), Jessica(7) Woida, Uncle Jay married Aunt Julia like three years ago and she already had three children from a previous marriage. Justin is 15 but he wasn't able to come to the wedding. Uncle Jay is Dad's brother

Uncle Lee and Aunt Lorriane, my Dad's brother and his wife, they live in Pennsylvania.

Now for the big one. Aunt Mary is Dad's sister. She has seven kids. (Uncle Pete died 4 years ago in a motorcycle accident)
Elaine(26?) married Tye in 2003 they have a 18 month old son Will, Elaine is pregnant with their second child. Funny thing.... it's due on April 12th, which happens to be Peter and Mary Kate's birthday too!
Elizabeth(24) She is also one of my best friends. I can talk to her about anything and we laugh at everything together. I call her Bessy, Lizzy and Elizabeth.
Timothy(23) if you didn't already know he's the one who got married. He and I get along so well. Seriously. He and his brothers are the big brothers I never had. We joke around with each other a lot!
Daniel(19) I call him Danny boy. He is the most amazing guitar player I've ever met. And he's so stinking funny! We have almost the exact same taste in music too.
Sarah(17 next month) Sarah is just a great person. She's really pretty and she sings, plays the piano and violin. She sang Mighty is the Power of the Cross at Tim's wedding.
Pete(15) ..... Pete is just amazing. I talk to him a lot on myspace. He's really funny, and plays football. I think he's the first person who got me interested in football actually. He made me feel really ignorant when we played before, so I figured I'd find something out about the sport.
Mary Kate(12) Mary and I have our on and off times. Sometimes when we visit we're the best of friends, and other times we can't stand each other.lol But this time we got along. =) She's really sweet and fun to be around.

Okay, now that you pretty much know who everyone is, I'll continue.

When we drove up to Aunt Mary's I was so excited I wanted to jump out of the car when it was still moving. There was no cars in the parking lot though. (we call the Martin driveway a parking lot because they have so many drivers in the family, it is a parking lot ;) I saw Kyle on the porch. I got out of the car and he saw Dad and I and looked surprised. He was one of the few that didn't know we were coming. I gave him a big hug. His voice had gotten so deep and he got taller too. Shocking... everyone gets taller except for me.
The only people in the house were Uncle Mel, James, Kyle and Grandmom. (Granddad was still in the hospital[Aunt Jo drove up Grandmom] we didn't know if he'd be able to come up for the wedding) Dad and I took Grandmom to the hotel. We checked in and got changed for the rehearsal dinner. We left at 5:20 to get there at 6. We didn't know where it was.
When we did find it Lizzy was out to greet us. I was SO happy to see her!!! She said Tim would be really excited because he didn't know I was coming. It took a lot to keep this a secret from him. We walked into the sanctuary and I spotted him talking to people. I just walked up to him and hugged him. To my dismay he wasn't surprised at all. He was happy to see me, but didn't give me the shocking look I had hoped for. But all the people that knew we were coming did! Aunt Mary, Sarah, Mary Kate, Elaine, Tye, Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Jo... all of them! When I gave Sarah a hug, Pete saw me and looks kind of surprised. I was happy about that.
Everyone had gotten taller and their voices deeper... it was just wonderfully strange.


This is Bessy and me at the rehearsal.

The rehearsal was about an hour and then we all went in for dinner. James asked me to sit with him and the guys, which is where I spent most of my time for the rest of the trip. There was one family we had been friends with forever, but I didn't remember any of their kids accept Abby the oldest, and she didn't come. So I met Paul(16), John(13) and Sam(8). James, Pete and Kyle kept making fun of my outdated phone. I told them I'd work on getting a new one. ;) The meal was good and we got to just hang out and talk. Towards the end they had a time for everyone who wanted to, to say something about Tim and Madie. (MAY-DEE) It was really sweet. But I loved the fact that they were all talking about how God worked it out. James was tickling me through the whole thing though. I really don't think we've ever gotten along so well! Paul didn't believe we were cousins....lol I guess James was acting a little lovely dovey, usually we act rather nasty to each other, in a fun way.
After the rehearsal there was a slide show of pics of Tim and Madie. It took about an hour and I'm not even kidding! Their engagement pictures were so cute!
Dad had already taken Grandmom back to the hotel and I stayed with Aunt Jo to help clean up. When that was done we went to Aunt Mary's to help her there. At 11:30 we finally went home. It'd been a whole week since Aunt Jo and I had had a long conversation! So we had a lot to catch up on.lol I got a wonderful sleep that night... a full 7 and a half hours!
The next morning Dad got me up to go downstairs in the hotel and have breakfast with everyone.
To our dismay we had to be at the church by 11 for family pictures. Lol... James and I were bored so we messed around. We were going into the church with Paul to get something to drink, James asked if he could get on my back. He really wasn't that heavy, but in high heels and a skirt, it was a little uncomfortable. Here's some pics we took on our own while we were sitting there. It was really fun to be able to catch up with one another.

They were trying to get the immediate family all set up for a picture.


James took this pic of me.


This was a cute one of Aunt Mary and Tim.


This one cracks me up! That's Aunt Mary, Aunt Jo and Dad. Bunch of characters.


James

Pictures for Tim's side ended at 12 so most of us headed over to Elaine's for lunch. Thank God Granddad did make it to the wedding!! Dad was scared he'd never see him again... because he's going to Korea and Granddad's health is going down fast.
Here's some pics we took of Kyle and me and the girls.

This is Kayla, Kyle and Jessica. Aren't they cute?!

Me with the girlies.

The wedding was beautiful! Everything about it was centered around Christ. They also mentioned Uncle Pete, which got a lot of people crying. I was able to talk to Tim some. I really miss him. He's not gonna be able to come visit us a lot anymore... unless he brings Madie. I'm happy for him and all, but it's just not gonna be the same ya know what I mean? Madie seems really nice though. I can't wait to get to know her better! =)


This is a blurry pic of them, but aren't they cute?!


Me and Jessie again. I loved her dress!

After the wedding we went to Aunt Mary's house to chill for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Daniel played some guitar for me. I love his voice and his playing. Then we watched some football. And the guys went outside to play football. =D I didn't want to butt in, cause I've been known to do that, so I stayed inside. But a few minutes later James came in a asked me to go out there with them. My catching was way off that night. I mean, more than usual. I watched mostly. But James was distracting me when Pete threw me a pass and it hit me smack dab in the stomach. It hurt. But I was okay. Once again, James wanted me to give him a piggy back ride. Aren't I nice to him?! After the Orsers(some other old friends who came) left it was just Paul, John, Sam, Jordan, Pete, James and I. I was talking to James, Pete and Paul while Jordan was playing football with John. I had my back to them when John threw a pass and hit me in the back of the head/neck. I could swear they were all trying to get rid of me! lol It hurt about the same as the stomach blow, but I was alright. Paul said we should put our hoods on. He, James and I had hoodies on so we did. Pete was wearing a polo so I said, "Pete, man you don't fit in." He said, "Well... I've always been a leader, never a follower." lol... The way he said it was completely like him. Ya gotta know him to get it.
I spent the night there that night. Sunday morning I went to church with Lizzy. She had a baby shower to go to after, so Sarah picked me up and drove me home. That afternoon I hung out with Daniel and Pete. We talked, listened to music and watched Pete play football X-box or something. Pete let me talk to his girlfriend Courtney. I tease him about her all the time. Here's a pic of him talking to her.



People think Sarah and I look alike. We do usually, but I didn't think we did here. What do you think?

Then Danny boy took us over to Elaine's for dinner. Dad and I spent the night there because it was closer to the airport. On the ride there we rocked out to Skillet! We were in Tim's truck, it was Daniel, Pete, Marykate and me. Way fun! The only person who wasn't enjoying it was Pete, but he has a poor taste in music.
Later that night, when everyone when home, we had said our goodbyes, given hugs, Elaine, Dad, Lizzy and I talked for a few hours. Tye was watching tv and Will was sleeping. We talked about everything from relationships, to cars breaking down, to work, to... just everything! It was so much fun! It was really hard to say by to Lizzy and Pete, but I hope I can go back down next summer! =D

Georgia

Today was way busy and I'm so tired! Last night I was up till two hanging out with Sharon and doing school. Today I caught up on all of my school(I was very proud of myself) and left to go babysit. Shockingly the guy was late coming home so I had to stay later. Then Sharon and I went over to the Long's house to have a party with the Single's girls and the little girls. That was a whole bundle of fun! lol I was exhausted so I only played with the little girls for a while, but I have a good time with them. =)
Now I need take a shower and PACK!! I'll have to get up really early because Dad is going to be at the house at 4:30 at which time I must be ready to go.
I'm not sure exactly what time we get to Atlanta, but it should be around 2 or something. We'll probably head over to Aunt Mary's and see everyone. I'm tickled to death! But I probably won't be seeing my grandparents. =( Please pray for my grandfather(the one that was here in August), he will probably have to have his kidney out. His health is, for lack of a better word, awful, and he's not a Christian. We don't know how much time he has left. Please pray for him.
Aside from that I can't wait to see all my cousins! I never really have fit in at the Martins though.... they're all giants.lol I'm so not kidding. My cousin Pete is like 6'3 and he's just a year older than me. But I want to see the look on his face when we walk in the door.... and Timothy too. Wow, this is going to be so much fun!!
I'm also looking forward to the one-on-one time with Dad. It's been a while since we've been able to talk the way we used to. I have a feeling it's going to be rather hard for both of us now... if you know what I mean by that. Please pray for me not to do anything I'll regret and that by God's grace Dad might get saved on this trip.
Well I really need to go now. Time is running out, and I don't want to be too much of a bear tomorrow. ;)

Becca's surprise party

Last night was Becca's surprise 16th birthday party. Krista and Kelly and Kellie came over early to help me decorate, get the food ready and hang out, thought we didn't have time to hang out due to my lack of planning. Kellie had to leave around 8, so then it was just Krista, Kelly and I. We brought the coffee table down with Joe's help and set everything up. They were hiding downstairs in the dark when Becca came in. I practically ran down the stairs, flipped on the and we all yelled "SURPRISE!!!" Becc said we hurt her ear pretty badly, other than that it was a success as a surprise. =)
We watched The Secret Garden then Hannah and Morgan came downstairs. It wasn't quiet at all then, so we pretty much ignored the movie-Morgan and Kelly tried to watch it but didn't have much luck. The cake Mrs. Emory bought was lovely and tasted really good. My home-made piniada went very well too. But we couldn't figure out how to hang it so Morgan suggested rolling down the stairs, which we did.



Hannah didn't come till later. =( But this is a really good picture of the three of them. =)



There she is!
It was a really fun night! I'm so happy we were able to have it. =D Happy Birthday Becca! Those balloons were priceless! ;P Ya had to be there...

Awana

Tonight was... how do you say it... BUSY!
Luckily I got off babysitting about two hours early! =D so I was able to eat something before I left for awana. I knew tonight would be really busy, but I didn't think it'd be that bad.
When we got to church I did the normal stuff I do in the office. Of course, when Mrs. Sneed is actually there no one needs anything, but as soon as she leaves there's a stampede.lol Okay, well maybe it's not that bad. Mom had to buy a shirt for Joe, someone came in because they just bought their daughter a new Spark vest and the seam was ripped already(faulty job by the maker), and someone came in and had to pay dues for only 8 weeks for three kids, and buy books for all of them. Oh yes and thank you so much Mrs. Kersey for your help with that! I was a little confused but she helped me through all of it. =D In addition to all this, I forgot where the checks went! Not good. But I figured out a solution. =)
After that I handed out the envelopes to the leaders. I really had nothing to do until around 7:30 when I had to get the cookies out and poor water before I had to run into game time and keep score, afterwhich I would have to go back into the kitchen to serve said items, and then go to the office to keep the tally of games and sections, and get discovery stickers and badges and such. Busy, busy, busy.
I killed the half hour by listening to my ipod and double checking things. Around 7 I went to the kitchen to get all the ice in the ice thing to put into cups and pitcher later. Rachel Winter was my helper and she did a WONDERFUL job!! Thank you so much Rachel! She helped me with the ice, refilled some of the trays and rotated when I was filling the water(she filled the pitchers). She also cut the cookie bags so they'd be ready to serve when I got back from game time. I was a tad late as scorekeeper from my mess in the kitchen. But I did get there and was even able to play a game withe the kids. When that was over I raced to the kitchen where Mom and Rachel already held down the fort. Thanks Mom!! Love you! =D It really wasn't complicated and with the three of us, it went quickly and smoothly. Much thanks to both my helpers and for cleaning up the kitchen.
Back at the office I had to write down the number of clubbers and leaders. Also keeping track of the points scored by sections and game time. There were 5 or 6 badges that had to be dealt with and a mix up with two of them. Mr. Phillips was great and stayed behind with to lock up the church. Thanks Mr. Phillips! I still have some work to do tomorrow night... but the majority of it is done. I feel much better now that I have explained it to someone/no one maybe. Thanks for reading it!

shopping..... story of my life! Well... at least one of the chapters

Well first of all yes I did have an amazing time at the pizza bash! I was a very funny time. =)
Today Joe went with Dad to a skate park and then over to his place for the afternoon. Morgan was off work by this time and Mom had done most of her homework sooo..... we went shopping! =D Fun right? Yeah, well. Alyssa, Shar's friend(I love her too! =) came with us also.
First stop was Goodwill... naturally.lol It was the most crowded I have ever seen it! We stayed there for almost an hour and didn't find anything... sigh... but Mom said we could head over to TJ Max. But before we got there she had to run to Hy-Vee (Bakers' enemy) to get a few things. Now comes the awkward part....
We pulled up in our parking place and I saw an old friend from school. Ian now worked here. He was an absolute nut in school, but incredibly funny! He also asked me out of Valentines Day in eighth grade... I'm pretty sure it was a joke, but nonetheless, a little awkward, but of course I said "UH NO!" lol... it wasn't as mean as it sounds.
To our left I saw a guy working with the carts and he looked extremely familiar. After a few glances I finally figured out who he was. His name was Joe. He was a nice guy a grade ahead of me. We were had Pottery-I together when I was in high school. He asked me if I would be his date for homecoming! Let's just say I was caught a little off guard. I didn't like him in that way at all! but rumor had it he liked me. We were friends but because it was a dance and a date and he was almost sixteen when I was 13, Mom said absolutely not. It really hurt him, but there was nothing I could do. I didn't go to homecoming myself and he said he wasn't going to go if I didn't go with him. I'm still not sure if he ever went, I hope he did go and had a good time though. =)
I don't think he ever saw me while we were in the store, but it was completely weird seeing him. I think Ian did see me but because him asking me out was most likely a joke, and we were good friends after that, it wasn't nearly as weird. =)
After that experience we went to TJ Max. Unfortunately I didn't find anything there either, but Shar found a cute pair of jeans. We also tried on hats. Amanda and Michael I've got a question for you. Was that were ya'll went shopping when Amanda and Michael took those pics of the hats and sunglasses? Because I saw the same black hat with the feathery thing around the side/top of it. And the golfing hat Michael wore. Shar looked really good in the black one but I looked awful in it. lol.... I'm just not very much a hat person.... sigh... But I did try on some really nice leather(or fake leather, not sure) gloves... great for motorcycle riding. =)
Then we picked up Joe from Dad's and came home. They had made some pizza that was absolutely delicious! =D

Today's plans

Getting up this morning was a real pain.... well as every morning is. I was exhausted last night but luckily I was able to get some sleep and I feel much better!
Today was a bunch of fun!
I did some school: Chemistry, correcting math, finish the Magician's Nephew, and the God's World history thing. After that Morgan took Shar and me to Wal-Mart because she had to get some wooden hangers that were on sale. We played her phone because she downloaded music onto it and we were walking down the aisles of the store rocking to Jesus Freak, Must Have Done Something Right, I'm Taking You With Me and a lot more! Walking side by side it was seriously like a scene from a movie... we only get to act like sisters in that way every so often, so it was special. =D
When we got home we ate lunch and then Mom left to go to the hospital to get info for work tomorrow. While she was gone(Morgan was at work) Shar, Joe and I took pics for Mom for Christmas. She wanted some nice black and white pictures of us that Morgan matted, for Christmas. So PLEASE don't tell her! Shar had a lot of fun dressing up and we got some great photos! But we're still not done yet.
Tonight we have the pizza party, so that should be fun. Marc is coming over to play with Joe while Shar and I are gone.... I hope Mom will let us stay up late when we get back. A few weeks ago she made us go to bed at 11. I hit the sack later than that on weekdays! But I hope that was just a one time thing. =D
bye. =)

Church

Sunday was simply amazing. The Sunday school lesson was really good. The time went by so fast! We basically took a 'test' to see how well we knew the Bible and where to find things. It was all in the old testament though... it was very interesting I thought. I was happy to find out the most of the people in Sunday school got the right answers! lol .... Needless to say I would have been a little disappointed if they didn't know them.
The actually service was amazing. We switched it up, which completely confused me, but it was fun. The singing was like it's never been before. It was loud and joyful, full of praise! And the songs were were singing were very worshipful. And then Mrs. Knipp sang I Am by Nicole Nordeman. That's one of my many favorite songs! I loved the way she made it personal too. She said '3 kids and a dream' instead of 2 kids and a dream.
The sermon was great. Pastor talked about how a true, born again believer will sin, but cannot do it habitually and continually. He also talked about how believers are born of God and we're new creatures in Him! That was special to hear and just a good reminder that we are God's children and He loves us so much!
Sunday night's lesson was a rerun but was as powerful as ever. It was about how important it is not to water down the gospel when witnessing. And it's so true! It takes away the power of the Word when we leave out the part about Hell and sin. And if you think about it... it makes it that much more special for us. If Jesus just 'loved' us, that'd be great and all... but to know that He took our sin, when He knew no sin and died for us, that we might not go to Hell and live eternally with Him!!! ... it's just.... indescribable! Praise God for all He's done for us!

Valas Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to Valas Pumpkin Patch. It was way fun!
For the first part of the trip we learned about the growth of apples and I was with Alyssa and Katie Long. The 'lesson' was very thorough and all who heard are that much smarter and know more about apples. =D lol After that Alyssa ditched me for Sharon so Katie, her friend Emily, and I rode the hay ride and went pumpkin picking! It was SO muddy! But we got some pretty sweet pumpkins. =)
Then the whole group split up mostly by families so the rest of the time it was just Mom, Sharon, Joe Man and I.
We went into some haunted houses, ate lunch at a picnic area, visited a petting zoo thingy and Joe got to feed some goats. I think he really enjoyed that. =)
We also go to see the pig races! It was so funny, and very, very corny. But the cutest part was some kids not too far away. They were about 5 or 6 years old and there was a kissing booth right next to the stands. Before the race started, they took turns in the booth.lol And then they all started dancing. It was adorable because they were so little! =D

We got this amazing kettle corn! A huge bag so we have almost all of it left over.... Even Mom liked it.
Lol... at the beginning of the trip we passed a thing that said something about Bones...it was dead pirates but it reminded me of a story.
I looked everywhere for postcards but they didn't have any. The first shop we went into had only two different ones at that was at the beginning, so I figured I'd shop around a little... never found any. So my apologies, but if you ever get the opportunity to go, take it! It's a lot of fun! =D
Well I gotta scoot.

Babysitting

Today I got to babysit the Allen kids down the street. I started sitting for them when there were just two kids. Then Mrs. Allen got pregnant and Isaiah is now 8 months! I only sat for them one time since he was born and I must say, he's much bigger than he was then.lol It was fun though.... I got to play with him a lot.
I think his favorite part was swinging out back. He smiles all the time. =D It's so cute! But, like all babies he's a drooler. I also had to change him because he peed all over his clothes... fun fun.
I jumped on the trampoline with Frankie and Madelyn. I think they got a kick out of it. They're not as little as they used to be though... =( Frankie talked a lot before but he didn't talk nearly as well as he does now. And Madelyn... she's a regular little mother to Isaiah and a great helper. Unfortunately she and Frankie remind me of Sharon and Joe in the fact that they pick on each other as much as possible.
Of course I got a kick out of watching a bunch of Hannah Montana!lol
It was long, but it was fun and I had a good time. Those kids are getting so old and I haven't even know them for very long!
I get to spend a lot of time with them. I sit with them Sat. from 7 to 10 or 11 a.m. and then for the next six weeks I'm there from 2:30 to 6:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. But I'll still be at AWANA. =)