I've Moved!

This little blog has moved over to the official AHeartSurrendered.com! Check it out; can't wait to see you there.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Meet Violet

Just in case you haven't met her before, meet Violet.

Baby V (as we call her) is 2 years old (going on 12!) and just one of the sweetest things you can imagine...  (Most of the time :) )

Everybody loves her....

What's not to love?

(Pippin, Hannah's lovebird, and Violet)

 

The other day she was sitting in the high chair after lunch with the remains still on her face and hands.

"You tlean <clean> me up, Amy?"

I looked at her, her wide eyes looking up at me.  That was a common line with her- she usually says that to whoever is around ("You tlean me up, Hannah? Melody?").  I grinned and said,

"Yes, sweetie, I'll clean you up."

She smiled and looked rather satisfied as she patiently waited for me to wet a clean wash rag.

During that short walk to and from the sink I was considering what a blessing she was, how much I loved her, my youngest sister, how she was one of my best friends... this was all going on in my MIND- mind you- I didn't say a WORD!

I walked over to her in the highchair with a wet washcloth in my hand.  She looked up at me with her brilliantly blue, unblinking eyes and grinned widely.  I began to wipe her face.

"You my best buddy?" she said.

I almost burst into tears.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Have You Thanked a Veteran Today?

Today is Memorial Day.

The day that most Americans celebrate as the last day of their three day weekend with cookouts, pool parties, walks on the beach, and other summer ventures.  All of us know what Memorial Day is about.  Because it is such a solemn subject it is generally pushed from our minds after a few minutes of remembrance out of duty.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

~John 15:13~

 

So we honor those men that gave their lives for us so that in this country we might have freedom.  I love history- reading about the heroes of the Revolutionary war especially...  But in all of this celebration of men that have died to give us our rights, have we thought about one perfect man that died so that we all might have life?  Freedom?  The pursuit of happiness?

Jesus Christ is the greatest veteran of all.  Perfect He came into the world from the Father.  Perfect He died on a cross to rescue us from death, to give us freedom to choose life- and to have life more abundantly.  The curtain of the Holy of Holies ripped in two at the death of Jesus Christ- representing the separation between God and man that had now been bridged.  Perfect He rose from the dead to give us hope.

Jesus fought the ultimate battle for you to give you life and freedom.

Have you thanked Him today?

 

Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday Funnies: Will the Glass Slipper Fit?

I'm not sure that I even need to write much about the photos that I am about to show you...

My six-year-old brother, James, got a hamster for his birthday last year... he loves her with all of his heart and treats her as if she is his daughter (or something like that).

So when the duke got here with the glass slipper for all the ladies in our household to try on, the hamster was no exception.  (BTW- she has had multiple names over the past year but nothing but "the hamster" has stuck)

It FITS!

Who would have known that the first one of the girls to go would be James'...

Won't the prince be pleased with his new bride?

Hope I gave you a little laugh :)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

How Come I Didn't Know About These Before?

Yesterday Mommy and Daddy brought home a few treats on their way home from an eye doctor appointment.  Usually, that's all fine and dandy... but little did I know that I was about to experience something that would change the way I ever eat that well know favorite of candy coated chocolate- yes... M&M's.

I never knew that M&M's came in- no, not peanut, not almond, not mint(I knew about all those already)...

 

But


Dark Chocolate

Don't believe me?

 


Let's just say that the bag is no more today.

There's no turning back now.

~Amy

 

(P.S.  Ya'll really won't like them- but if you ever happen to buy them for some reason just give them to me and I will dispose of them properly for you)

:-)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Go Ahead- Crush My Dreams!

A year or so my friend told me about a new sensation at McDonald's. (she had to tell me about it because we NEVER go there!)  I'm not going to mention any names but let's just say *she* got me hooked on a blessed mixture of chocolate, coffee, cream, and sugar topped with whipped cream and drizzled with a fudgy, oozy, chocolate sauce.... <drooling>mmmmmmm.....

Now I knew that they weren't good for me.  They were definitely a special occasion thing...  I told my mom that I didn't want to know the calorie content- I was going to get one today and was going to sip and enjoy it in ignorant bliss.  I though that was that...  Yeah, right.

Next thing I know I see her on her netbook with a horrified look on her face and she said, "You're right- you don't want to know!"

 

Turns out a small Mocha Frappe contains 450 calories and 20 grams of fat.

Medium: 560 Calories and 24 grams of fat.

Large: 680 Calories and 28 grams of fat.

I could spend 1/3 of my daily calorie intake on one drink?!?!?!?

Thanks, Momma.... you crushed me... now I have to go look at the nonfat selections...

(Actually seriously, thank you- helping me make wise decisions! ;) )

For more nutritional information on other McDonald's food (make sure you look at the triple thick milkshakes!) click here.

Movie Review: Prince Caspian

I know this movie is kind of old but what can I say?

 

When The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe came out December of 2005 I was ecstatic.  Daddy had been reading us the books and I was a total Narnia fan.  (Ok, make that junkie, or fanatic) I absolutely LOVED The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (saw it twice in theaters :) )- it seemed very true to the book and true to the redeeming Christian values that C. S. Lewis was known for weaving throughout his popular stories.  I nearly jumped out of my skin in excitement when I heard that work had started on Prince Caspian in 2006.
We didn't go see the movie when it came out in 2008...  We were kind of on a Narnia break  :)  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that we finally saw Prince Caspian. (We wanted to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader more after hearing rave reviews but we couldn't go out of order :-)
Now after hearing bad reviews about the movie I was pleasantly surprised to find the movie not as bad as I thought it would be at all.

 

Story
It had been hundreds of years in Narnia since Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were kings and queens before they accidentally fell back into the wardrobe landing them back in England.  But it had only been about a year later in England when the Pevensie children are pulled back into Narnia, and they are thrust right back into adventure.
Prince Caspian, the son of the late Caspian the Ninth, had been living with his uncle (who had actually murdered Caspian the Ninth in order to seize the throne) in Caspian's father's castle.  Narnia was ruled over by the nation of Telmar, the country over which Caspian's father had been king.  Since the years that the Pevensie children had reigned at Cair Paravel, Telmar had taken over Narnia, driving out the talking animals and "savage" creatures such as dwarves, fauns, and centaurs.  The children of the Telmarines were never told any of the history of old that had anything to do with the old Narnia- much less Aslan.  It was all a myth in the eyes of the people, just as Caspian's uncle Miraz desired it to be.  Little does Miraz know that the teachings of the "old Narnia" were being taught to his young nephew under his own roof!
Caspian's tutor taught him the stories of King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, Queen Lucy, and most of all Aslan.  He knew them well, though the tutor had been explicitly warned not to teach such things, he could not deny the truth.
One night, Miraz's wife gives birth to a son, and  Caspian's whole world is turned upside down.  Miraz sends orders for Caspian to be murdered in his sleep, now that he has son that can be king, Caspian is no longer needed.  But Caspian's tutor is too quick for them, he races to Caspian in the night and hides him minutes before Caspian's mattress is littered with sharp arrows.
Caspian flees to the forest, and upon falling off his horse, is knocked out after blowing the horn of Queen Susan for help and wakes up in the home of a talking badger (the likes of which he has never seen, remember?  Narnia is extinct... or so he thought.).  By now Miraz knows that Caspian is still alive and sends his horsemen into the Narnian wood  (of which they are afraid because of the mysterious stories of the Nymphs and Driads- walking trees).  When they are unable to find him they return to Telmar.
While Caspian tries to prove himself to Nikabrick, an angry dwarf who wants him dead on the basis of his being a Telmarine, the Narnians begin to assemble.  At first they all want rid of him, but he pleads with them, promising that once he is king that he will restore peace between Narnia and Telmar.  They are convinced of his worth and nobility and follow him as his army.
Meanwhile, the Pevensies have been "called" by Susan's horn.  They encounter the ruins of Cair Paravel, once their home, 1,300 years in Narnia prior, and begin to understand.  Nevertheless they find their old hidden treasure room untouched and gather their weapons and suitable clothes from there.  When they go back up to the beach, they see a dwarf struggling with two Telmarine men who are trying to drown him.  Upon his rescue by the four Pevensies, seeing Peter's sword (trademark), he says with a bit of a groan, "You're it?"  The children obviously don't know exactly what he means but upon a little duel with Edmund, he spills the whole story and they immediately get on their way toward their rendezvous, Aslan's How.
Just to whet your appetite- don't want to give the whole thing away :-)
What I thought of it
I liked it.
The epic battle scenes were, yes, intense (probably a little too intense for little ones) but they were rather enjoyable in that the choreography was good, the special effects great, and it seemed that they had definitely gotten better than the first movie in that area (not that the first one had bad battle scenes, just these were better :-)).  The attack on Miraz's castle was reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings battle at Helm's Deep.  The duel between Peter and Miraz was fantastic.
Granted, from a reviewer's standpoint those were some great scenes, but from a girl's standpoint I wish there was less battle and more dialog.  Our family had read the book though it was so long ago most of us didn't remember it- I found myself updating my mom on what was happening because the movie was moving so fast and there was not enough explaining.  The storyline and characters needed development so as to explain to the Narnia novice what was going on.
OK, the music is a whole new story.  It drove me insane to hear the exact same music from the first movie.  It didn't even seem that they rearranged it or anything.  I know there was some new music but to have some of the exact same songs from the first movie in the exact same arrangement was a little crazy.
The casting was excellent. Most of the new characters were played by the perfect faces.  Exceptions include Caspian's tutor and Trumpkin- something about Trumpkin didn't seem right...
The "romance" between Caspian and Susan was not in the book but it was so low key and the kiss at the end so quick that it is hardly worth mentioning.  When I had heard about it before I was expecting something a lot worse and was pleasantly surprised to say, "That was it?!?!?"
I had heard a lot about how creepy the scene was when they "call back" the White Witch.  How pagan it seemed.  Yes, it was creepy.  Yes, it was evil.  But was it portrayed as such?  Yes.  Did good triumph over that evil?  Yes.  Thus it was redeemed.
Now, one thing that was sad was that they seemed to tone down the spiritual elements in the book.  Yes, they still included the parts with Lucy and Aslan, when she sees him and no one believes her or when she  meets him (in a dream- as portrayed in the film) and comments, "You're bigger."  But all in all Aslan makes very little appearance in the film.
The underlying Christian theme of the movie which I thought was executed quite nicely, was that you cannot depend on your own strength.  ("Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding..."  Proverbs 3)  When Peter returned to Narnia, he felt like a king again.  Pride swelled inside of him and ended up causing other people's deaths and endangering Caspian's army.  The underlying theme of waiting for Aslan and trusting him was definitely evident.
Would I own it?
Yes.
Based on the art that went into it, the epic battle scenes, and the theme of humility, I would indeed own this movie.
I would recommend this movie for children 10 and up.  Though our whole family watched it there was some difficulty in getting anyone younger than 10 (with the exception of the tired 2-year-old- and maybe James ;-) ) to fall asleep after the movie.  :-)


All in all our family agrees to give this movie 3.5-4 out of 5 stars
Check out these links for more info or to order online:
 

 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Perspective...

Sometimes life can be frustrating.

Stuff to do here, there, EVERYWHERE!  Every time I turn around there is something new to do- something to clean, or fix, or organize, or repaint, rewash, or, or, or....  I can get so lost in the business and the craziness of life.  It's so easy to forget what really matters what the end goal is really. My body and brain feel so drained and tired that I feel like I can't see the light of day.   When I see my brothers and sisters playing all I can think of is the mess.

Know what I needed?

I needed my little 2-year-old sister, Violet, upon her first waking up in the morning and calling out for me, "Amy!  I MEED <need>you, Amy!"  When I go and pick her up, her chubby little dimply arms wrapped around my neck I get- perspective.  When standing before the judgement seat of God at the end of my life, is He going to ask how clean the floor was or is He going to look at the lives of my brothers and sisters under me which I had influence and leadership over and ask something more like, "Did you encourage you brothers and sisters in Me?  What did you do to bless them and lead them down My path?"

All of a sudden the fingerprints on the wall aren't as black as they were before.  The smudges on the sliding glass doors aren't quite as noticeable.  The board game that hasn't yet been cleaned up makes me smile when I see Violet in an intense play between the figures that make up the game pieces.

I'm not saying that we do not need to take care of our homes!

On the contrary, I believe that we must be good stewards of what God has given us.   But I simply believe instead of worrying about housework, care for little hearts.  Remember that they are eternal.  When you pass by someone who just so happens to be putting their hands all over the window that you just washed instead of getting angry with them, get a few rags and some cleaner and teach them how to clean the windows with you and teach them that it is not nice to ruin what someone else has done.  Chances are they weren't even thinking about what they were doing!


"for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:21

The house will someday burn.  This earth is not our home.  But my brothers and sisters are mine for eternity...  how am I going to treat them and be a good steward of their souls?


Image: vegadsl / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tag... Get to Know Me :-)

Some friends of mine did this tag a few weeks ago and I thought it might be kind of fun to join in...

Maybe it will give you more insight about me :)


Age: 17
Bed size: twin
Chore you hate:   Hmmm.... to be honest I can't really decide on only one chore that I hate but I guess dishes would definitely be on the list!  (makes my hands all dry :P )
Dogs:  Our family has one: a toy poodle named George :)
Essential start of your day: The sound of song number nine on the CD in the alarm clock ("Turkish Delight" by David Crowder Band* right now :) ), reading my Bible, prayer, coffee, working on a writing project, blog...  (this is when my day starts ideally...  sometimes I do sleep in and most of this doesn't matter- except Quiet time and coffee of course :) )

Favorite color: Pink!


Gold or silver: Ouch- I don't think I could really choose... maybe silver?  Maybe?

Height: 5'4"- yep I'm a shorty :)
Instruments I play (or have played): Guitar, Piano, Trombone, teensy bit of: Tenor Saxophone, Mandolin, and whatever else we have laying around the house...
Job title:  Big Sister, Eldest Daughter, Helpmeet and Homemaker in Training :)
Kids: I hope to have many some day!


Pet peeve: When I hear my mom tell one of my siblings to do something but yet somehow they don't hear.

Quote from a movie: Our family loves this-
Reepicheep holding a sword to Caspian's throat: "Any last words, Telmarine?"
Caspian: "You are a mouse"
Reepicheep: "I was hoping for something a little more original..."
from Prince Caspian
Watch the clip :)

Prince Caspian Meets Reepicheep


I can't believe this but I seriously can't think of any more right now :)
Right or left handed: Right

 

Siblings:  8; 3 brothers and 5 sisters.


Time you wake up: On most weekdays, 5 am, on weekends or crazy days, 8 am  :)
Vegetables you dislike: Squash, zucchini, onions, cabbage, any kind of pepper except banana  :)

What makes you run late:  technical difficulties :)


X-rays you've had done: once on my pinkie finger (we thought it might be broken), and once on my back for chiropractic purposes :)

Yummy food you make: Our family favorite we call "Chicken Delicious" chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce on top of homemade whole wheat noodles.  I also make freshly ground whole wheat bread, and I used to always get requests for an orange jell-o salad I used to make that a good friend of ours dubbed "Fluffy Salad".  Gotta make that soon....

Zoo animal:  Uh, I'm not a big animal person... but I love birds... I think they are so cute :)
Well, that's all for now...  hope you enjoyed- feel free to do it yourself!
Don't forget to check out Alyssa Rose's blog and Flipflop Farmgirl's blog for their tags!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Baby Peter...

Meet my little brother, Peter.
Born two months ago tomorrow my third little brother and eighth sibling continues to serve as a reminder to me of the joy of human love.
So sorry to friends that have been checking my family's blog for photos over the past few weeks (er... month.... or two :) ).
We have been experiencing technical difficulties with Blogger. :)
Anyway, I though that you all might enjoy a few cute (albeit blurry) shots of baby Peter smiling (a rare occasion :-) )

You can imagine the scene, "Hi, Baby.... Hello, Baby!"  <cheeks killing me from smiling so hard> "He's smiling!!!!  Quick take the picture!!!"
Thus the blurry photos :)
Aaaaaah!  He's attacking me!!!  :D

Such a sweet baby... when he's not cranky... :)
Ok, ok, back away paparazzi!   The boy needs his beauty sleep....

(BTW, swing- lifesaver!)