I <333333333 My New Camera!!!!

As the title says, I LOVE my new camera that I got for Christmas yesterday!!!!!! It's a Canon PowerShot. Here are a few of the photos I took with it yesterday:

Have you ever wondered what I look like in the middle of a cart-wheel? Talk about a one-in-a-million shot!

This is my cousin and I running round our grandparents basement. Self timer is a beautiful thing!This is the same cousin and Aidan right after opening their gifts.

Same cousin. She was twirling around the support pole in our grandparent's basement and I snapped it at just the right moment.

Me twirling around the same pole, except, I took this picture of myself. If you haven't noticed already, this is also my profile picture. This is my favorite out of all the photos that I took.

So, that's my camera...I'm waiting for a better memory card...one that holds more than 7 photos...(my memory card literally holds only 7 photos at a time!) Here are some of the other things that I got:

From Mom and Dad:

• A clip-art computer program
• Some wooden letters (my initials) and some paint to decorate them with. (this was really picked out and 'from' Aidan but I opened it with the rest of my gifts from my parents)
• A really cute heart, cubic zirconium, pendant
• A Tri-ominoes game (for those who don't know, it's a dominoes game but it has 3 sides on each piece instead of 2)
• The Divine Dance. Let me just say that this book is amazing. Period. I've only read one chapter but, by the end of the first page, I was in tears. It wasn't because the book was written because somebody who spent their life looking at studies and finding out what trends there were in teenage girls. It's because a 20 year old girl, who, might I add, had no experience writing books, felt like God was telling her something profound, so she wrote it down. God is totally working in and through this book. Isn't it funny how He knows exactly what we need and how we should get it? I totally recommend this book to any girl, but especially those who are ages 14-early 20's+. I give this book *****+ (If that's possible!) READ IT!

From my Uncle and cousins:

• Complete works of William Shakespeare. He figured that since I like acting...
• 3 books of monologues (YES!!!!!)
• A $50 American Girl gift certificate

From my grandparents:

• My camera, as I said above
• Some money (Thank You Grandma and Papa!)

Well, that the gifts I got, but it can't begin to describe the fun that I had. Praying that you all had as enjoyable a Christmas as I did! Please pray that I remain grateful to Jesus for all the blessings that I've been given this year! (it's soooooo hard to remember the real reason we celebrated the day after Christmas!!) That all for now. Bye

~Livie

Choir Concert Hair

I did my hair for my choir concert earlier today. Sorry about the bad lighting, until Christmas we're still only operating on a web-cam. Tell me what you think!

~Livie

Black Friday Shopping

Update: My mom and I are back now. We had a lot of fun! My mom bought me enough supplies at Joann's so that I can make a pioneer dress. I'm really excited for that but one glance at the pattern (which was on sale for 99 cents-originally $15.95!!!!!!) told me that it'll be harder than I thought... I think It'll get easier after I work on it for a bit. Other than that, we went to Target to get mattress covers, Rite-Aid to get strings of Christmas lights (10 to be exact! They were on sale for $1.99.), a Coney Island for breakfast, and Meijer for random stuff we needed. We had a lot more fun today than we had in the past and I'd totally recommend it to anybody who doesn't mind a crowd to have a good time!

Well, this can't be long because I have to go. My mom and I are about to leave to get all those great deals that the day-after-Thanksgiving sales. Yes, it is 7-o-clock....we know, we're a tad bit later than everyone else this year, but, oh well. We aren't really going anywhere except to Joann Fabric and out to breakfast. I got to run! Updates later!!!


~Livie

New template...again

UPDATE: I changed the template again because the other one, wasn't very Christmas-y. Let me know if you like this one!

So, I changed my blog template again. The last one was a lot of pink...the first one was too. Yes, I know that this one is still pink, but it's not like an all out pink explosion. Tell me what you think. I wanted something Christmas-y (thus the Love, Joy, Peace, Faith thing) that I wouldn't have to change immediately after the Holidays (thus the pink). Do you think I succeeded in accomplishing my goal or should I still go for more Christmas-y? You can comment and/or vote on the poll that's to your left if you scroll down.

~Livie

Song

So yeah, I'm listening to this song right now so that's probably why I'm thinking about it...but, anyway, I love this song because, well, it's amazing (of course, it's only amazing because my God rocks!!!). Here are the Lyrics:

Your Love Is Extravagant
By: Casting Crowns

Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate
I feel like moving to the rhythm of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place
Your love is extravagant

Chorus:
Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known You considered me a friend
Capture my heart again

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known; You considered me a friend

Capture my heart again
Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate

Tell me what you think. I first heard it at Youth Group but didn't know that it was a Casting Crowns song until a few weeks ago.

~Livie

New Template (For the first time since I made this blog!!!)

As the title said, I did, in fact change my template. It's still pink (obviously) but I like this color of pink better than the other template that I had. It also seems softer and, well, lighter looking. At least, I think so!

Let me know what you think by commenting on this post and/or voting on the poll to your right. Thanks in advance for your input!!!

~Livie

Choir, Cookies, and a Crazy Election!

I won't be able to write for very long because one of my brothers needs to use the computer to do his school (yes, unlike most, we have school today even though my dad is off work). I also have to leave for choir in about an hour and a half. This is basically what choir is: we have several pieces of music that we work on for an hour, then there's advanced ensemble which is another 45 minutes on 1 of 3 more advanced pieces. I personally enjoy A E (advanced ensemble) better, but by that point I've been there for an hour and I'm starting to get a bit bored so it really depends on my mood for how much I enjoy it.

Later, I'm going up to my church (it's a voting precinct) to sell cookies to benefit our drama program. We're hoping to end up using the proceeds to fund an overnight trip somewhere as a bonding experience (we were thinking Frankenmuth but if you have another suggestion, please comment!). Basically, since our church is a precinct, there will be a lot of people there today. My mom and I have the 5 pm-8 pm shift so ours is probably going to be the busiest since that's when the people who had to work today will come and vote. So, not only are we selling the cookies, but we have to make them simultaneously, although, we have pre-made cookie dough so it'll be a lot easier than if we had to mix up the dough too!!!

Then, of course, it's election day so it'll be nice and loud in our house tonight as we're all trying to do the assignment that my dad gave us. We each have a map of the U.S. with the states and the amount of electoral votes per state filled into them. Our job: when a state's votes have been counted, we have to shade that state either red or blue (depending on republican or demicrat) on our maps. Then we have to keep track of how many electoral votes the candidates have. It probably won't be too hard...it wasn't very difficult when I was 10 either. Well, I'll probably update later tonight after the votes begin to be counted to let everyone know what's going on (of course, you'll probably know what's going on because you'll be watching the TV and not reading my blog, but, oh well...)

Have a blessed election day and know that, whatever happens, God is in control!
~Livie

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after killing the body,has the power to throw you in hell. Yes, I tell you to fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are numbered. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." ~Luke 12:4-7

My Busy Life....

Hey! Sorry that I haven't been able to get on and post in a while!!! I've been really busy! Well, I'll start where I left off I guess. The American Girl Fashion Show went great! I had so much fun and I didn't want that day to be over! My favorite costume was the Mia figure skating outfit that I wore. It was really pretty! It was a pink-ish top with a miniskirt (I wouldn't normally wear a miniskirt but this was a figure skating outfit...) I was tired and a bit disappointed that it was over but almost relieved as we were walking away from the hotel where we performed it. It was a great experience but it was time to relax for a bit.

School's been the main consumer of my time so far this year. I thought that I'd like it this year but, no... I can't even say that I have a favorite subject this year because they all stink! Science, my fave from last year, is awful this year because it's Chemistry, not Biology (which I loved!!!). Math isn't any easier now and my reading's only gotten harder. Blagh. The only good thing so far is that if I wasn't in the higher level, I wouldn't have read Pride and Prejudice which is amazingly wonderful (If you haven't read it, READ IT!!!!!!!). I thought it would be lame but, boy, was I wrong! We got the movie out of the library I've watched it 3 times already. If you gather nothing else from this post, know that Pride and Prejudice ROCKS!!!!!

Other than the normal weekly routine, that's been about it for my life. I'm looking forward to some things though. Such as I'm going to my B.F.F.N.M.W.'s house sometime soon and I can finally celebrate her birthday, kind of (Her birthday was last month). Also, my church is hosting a road rally! For those of you who don't know, a road rally is like a great big scavenger hunt that you do in your car all over the city and you have to go to certain places to get your clues. That's sure to be fun!

Well, that's enough for now!
~Livie

P.S. Have you ever done a road rally? Comment and tell me what you thought of it!

Check out the Theater Girls!!!

So, today, I realized, I could write about my American Girl Fashion Show and what outfits I'll be modeling on both my blogs...but I won't. This is your official incentive to visit my and Nicki's joint blog, Theater Girls which is currently only followed by one person. (You know who you are...THANK YOU!!!) So, if you would like any more info about my show other than the fact that I was cast, click HERE.

Yeah, um, that's pretty much it....

TTYL,
Livie

Photos of Aidan

Hey girls! We got a scanner so now I can give you a preview of some of the photos of Aidan as a ring bearer. Up above is him the morning of the wedding. My mom took that photo right before she woke him up. I thought it was cute enough to share.

Down below is him in his tuxedo. We all think he's really cute! Let me know what you think!!!




~Livie

Please pray hard!!!!

You may look at the post time and say, '1:00 am! That can't be right!' but it is right. Yes, I'm sitting here at my computer at 1-o-clock in the morning to ask for your prayers. My mom woke up this morning feeling like she had the flu. As the day went on, though, the symptoms got worse and she get a bad pain in her side. My dad had to come home from work to take my brother to his college (yes, I said, college) class. Eventually my mom asked my dad to take her to the ER so they left at about 7:30 pm. We didn't hear form them for the whole evening but then at about midnight my dad called to tell us to go to bed. They had done a bunch of tests but they hadn't told my parents anything yet. About 15 minutes ago, Isaac called again, asking if we had any soda in the house. My dad told him that the doctors were almost positive that it was appendicitis. My dad's on his way home right now and my mom's going into surgery within the next 6 hours. And, so, here I am almost in tears, waiting for the news that won't come until morning. I beg that you pray that God will help my mom be okay, but mostly for peace. Peace for everyone-us, my mom, the doctors. Thank you all so much!

~L

Audition Update

Hey, everybody! I posted the info that I currently have about the AG Fashion show on my Theater Girls blog. Click HERE to read it!

~Livie

Prayers Plz!

REQUESTED:

PRAYERS

Preferably before 8:00 tonight,
but any time would do!

For: Livie's American Girl fashion Show audition

Please pray for God's peace and that
His will will be done in my life.

As the notice reads, I have an audition tonight for an AG fashion show and I would really just like to get a part in it so all prayers are welcome!

Thanks!
~Livie

Vacation...and then some

Hey! I just got back on Thursday from our family's annual 'long' vacation. Usually it's two weeks long and at the beginning of September but Isaac starts his dual-enrollment college classes then (grrr....JK). So, for those of you who might have been worried that I didn't answer e-mails for the past week....I didn't fall off the edge of the world! (lol) It was a fun trip but, even though I really wanted to want to be there, I was missing home. I wasn't homesick per say, I just have some stuff going on that I wanted to monitor (Kmart commercial for one). My brother and dad had their small devices but the only problem was that they needed WiFi to get the internet. Since we only ended up going to one place that had WiFi, well, let's just say that some people had all their things to do and one person left the building only having done one very limited activity on a certain electronic device.... I didn't mind that much....My dad also had his laptop from work but, for some reason, the phones weren't working at our vacation house. No dial tone=No internet. But the most crazy thing was that I survived! 5 1/2 whole days without a computer and I actually made it out alive! (lol)

Anyway.....here are some of the things that I did: Went to church (we got there on a Saturday), went shopping with my mom while the boys went swimming (she needed a dress for that wedding where Aidan's the ring bearer. That was actually today...), went mini golfing, went to Mackinac Island (Oh yeah! The first time in three years!), Ate fudge (!!!!!), and played Trivial Pursiut (2:00 am and I are best friends. It's a good thing that I'm a night owl!). Then we spent a day cleaning the house before we left. On our way home, we stopped at Frankenmuth for a chicken dinner (As we found, this is not to be advised with a large family unless you're ready to take out a mortgage on everything that you own...At least the food was good! lol) And now we're home!

As I mentioned above, Aidan's wedding debut was today. Last night he and my mom went out to Marine city for the rehearsal dinner, they stayed there for the night and Aidan was in the wedding party today. My mom said that he was really cute and that he did a really good job. Pictures available on request. (Unfortunately, they didn't have a digital camera so you'd have to see the photos in person, I can't post them here)

Finally, a request. Most of you have probably seen the video that Nicki and I made (The Kmart commercial). This Tuesday, they're announcing the finalists, so if you want to see if we made it/vote, go to www.youtube.com/user/Kmart. Thank you all!

~Livie

Kmart Commercial!!!!!!!

Okay, so, my friend sent me this thing about a Kmart contest a while ago and we both thought that it looked cool so we decided to try it. It was a contest to make the next Kmart back-to-school commercial. We met a few weeks ago to film it and everything went great! We got all the stuff we needed with time to spare! Then came editing, that took a while longer because of unforeseen issues, but we overcame and now our video is posted and submitted! Copy and paste this web address to see it: www.youtube.com/fayleke then tell me/us what you think! If we make it into the final 20, we'll need your votes, so, keep checking back for more info!

~Livie

P.S. Read more at our Theater Girls blog!

My Little Bro....

Not much going on, the only thing of real importance that has happened to me in the past week or so is that my cousin who is getting married in October, (her sister is also getting married sometime this year-I'm not invited to either wedding) called earlier today to ask my mom for some help. One of the men in the wedding party and the ring bearer just moved to Colorado so they won't be able to make the wedding and she wants my brother, Aidan, to fill in! They already ordered him a tux and everything! I wasn't too upset that I wouldn't be allowed to go to the wedding, but now I am! I sooooooooo wish that I could be there to see how cute he's going to be! He'll be so adorable once he gets his tux on, but I won't be able to see that, either, because the first time he gets it is at the rehearsal dinner. I'm begging my dad to take a lot of pictures. Aidan is going to be the only one of the kids in our family who has been in a wedding so far. There are going to be so many 'kodak' moments that day (for instance, when he has to dance with the flower girl!). When we were at dinner today and I said, 'He'll have to dance, won't he?' Aidan quickly piped up with, 'I'm not gonna dance!!!!' Ah, I fear the day when his cuteness fades completely, it's coming soon. Well, that's the only major thing that has happend in my life in a while. Stay strong girls!

~Livie

Photos

Hey y'all! My brother and were up late last night watching the all-star baseball game (Go American League *whoop*!) and as most of you may know, I can get a little crazy when I'm tired.... Let's just say I had some fun with our web-cam.....You can see for yourselves.

[Let's call this one up above the 'control' shot]

[Ah, lovely New York!]

[Yes, yes, hold it! Just 15 more seconds and you beat the silliest record in the world!]

[Sparkle, sparkle, fairy sparkle]

[How many times do I have to tell you? Socks never go with sandals!]

Sorry if they're hard to see, the only light they had from the computer. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

~Livie

I Got Posted!

For those of you who don't know, American girl.com has this thing every week where they ask everyone a random question, and a serious question, each submitted by real girls. Then girls can write in with their answers and a handful get posted at the end of the week. Well, I got posted this week! I'm really excited because, though I have been posted before, I haven't been posted in a while. Here's the URL if you want to check it out:

http://www.americangirl.com/agmg/help/

You'll have to go to the bottom. Sorry if this seems rushed, I have to go and eat. Bye!

~Livie

Two Tiring Trips

Hey everybody, I just got back from a really crazy week. Last Tuesday, I went to my friend, Nicki's, house. I slept over, then went to Cedar Point on Wednesday. I got home early in the afternoon on Thursday. (You can read about it more if you click HERE to go to Nicki's blog) That same night, I left on a 4 hour trip to my grandparent's cottage on Higgin's Lake. We (me, my older brother, my mom and our next door neighbor) were going to The Big Ticket Festival, a huge Christian music fest and arrived at about 10:30. My grandparents happened to be there but they didn't mind. That night we went to bed at about 1 am. (We know that we should have gone to bed sooner but Food Network is sooooo hard to turn off.....) The next morning we got, got ready and left on another hour long journey to the place where the music festival was going on. Even though there weren't really any bands that my mom and I wanted to see, we had more fun than we thought that we would. We stayed late to see the last band of the day so we didn't get home until 12:30 am. The next day we had to get up early to catch something called 'Heart Of The Artist.' Let's just say that I didn't handle the early hour very well...... The Heart Of The Artist was boring anyway-my mom, the one who had been wanting to see it, even agrees with me. After that I went through an exhibit called 'The Africa Experience' where they show you what it's like with all the AIDs in Africa. It was really sad.... After that, there wasn't much to do until my next band came on (my favorite!!) BarlowGirl at 6:15 pm, yeah it was boring and hot that day, oh well, seeing BG in concert was worth it. Then I stood in line and got their second CD, which I bought with some money that my grandma gave me, autographed by them. I was only about 10 people back in line so it didn't take me long to get through. One thing that was really cool though, was that I was wearing my Little Women t-shirt and all three of them noticed and asked me where I got it!!!! I was really excited and they were surprised that I had designed it online! After that we stayed for one more band and a speaker. Then my mom and I left to go to Wal-Mart while my brother and our neighbor stayed for the last singer (neither my mom or I particularly enjoy his music). We stayed until 11:00 pm, most of the time we spent trying on the ugliest shoes we could find and then laughing-alot! After we got back to the 'Lake House' at 12:30, I got a snack, then we all went to bed. The next day after church, my brother and I took our neighbor down by the lake and to the corner store near us before we left. We got home at about 7:00 and we were all happy to be home!

~Livie

New Blog

Hey! Just wanted to let you all know that my friend Nicki and I have started a joint blog. We'll still do stuff on our normal blogs, but I just wanted to give you the URL for the new one. Just click HERE. (If that doesn't work, go to: www.theatergirls.blogspot.com) Sorry that it's not that great, we just started out.

Livie

P.S. On the new blog, after the posts I write, I'll sign it like this: ~Livie or ~L

Haircut

Just really quick, for those of you who haven't seen me in a few days, I got my hair cut. Here's a before and after photos:


BEFORE:
AFTER:

Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge

That was a mouthfull! But, that is what I found myself doing yesterday. My mom got an e-mail a few weeks ago telling us that we were invited to join some other home-schooled kids for the testing. It was hard, I knew it was going to be, though. I'm pretty sore right now, especially in my abs! Ugh! We did 5 events: 1 mile run/walk, 'V' sit and reach, push-ups, shuttle run, and sit-ups. It was fun so niether me or my friend (Social Butterfly) cared that we didn't get any awards. Though we were both very close! We both came in a few minutes slow on the run/walk (3-4 to be exact :p ) and niether of us hit the mark on sit-ups either. Oh well, at least we had fun! That's all that really matters! Officially, each of us got the 'participant' award (along with everyone else that I knew there). 'Participant' being less than 50%. Gag. Well, at least we can say now that the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge is 'unfair' because obviously we don't have a problem. *wink* JK Thanks for reading!

Tech Week

Ugh! What more can I say? My week has been totally packed! Not only do I have a larger amount of school to do than usual this week, but spending 4-5 hours (sometimes more) at the theater every night can be really draining! The past two nights, I've been at rehearsal until 11:30 at night! I've been trying to post for some time but I simply haven't had a chance. This has been the order of my days this week: Get up-late! (My mom lets me sleep in because it's tech week! :] ) Eat, do school, possibly have a few minutes to do something, curl my hair (with my thick hair it takes approx. 45 min. I'm getting better though), try to scarf something down, get into micing clothes (The clothes you wear underneath your costume that they put your microphone on in), do make-up, then rush out. When I get home I have about 2 minutes to check my e-mail and get a snack before I have to go to bed. Talk about tiring! Well, tonight is opening night so we're about to unveil our show to 400 people. Though some might cringe at that thought, I find it rather exhilarating. My only problem is that I've confirmed that I'm definitely allergic to the mic tape that they use, so I have to change the side that my mic is on every night to try to avoid breaking out (it doesn't really help that much...) Oh, well, I guess I'd rather break out for a few days than not be a lead. I'm just scared that the kids won't want to talk to me after the show. That's what happened to the Beast in Beauty and the Beast! Whatever....I just don't want to force the kids to talk to me if they don't want to. Your prayers would be much appreciated!!!!!

Lead's Joke

So, at my theater company, they have a tradition where, every show, the staff pulls a practical joke on the leads. (For Beauty and the Beast they told them that they really weren't doing B&B after all, and for Les Mis they gave them a sheet of paper telling them that they absolutely had to read the entire book of Les Miserables-unabridged-within 10 days or they would forfeit their part!!) Normally, they do it at the leads orientation but, this show, they said that they didn't have time to come up with one....hmmmm...... So, we went through rehearsals without a leads joke. Until, that is, last night. We were sitting around before rehearsing last night and our director tells us that the co-writer and producer of the show is coming to see it, and at first we were excited, but then we realized that if he came, we would have to do the show exactly as the script told us to! (If you have ever seen or read a script, I'm sure you know how silly some of the directions could be. In our show, instead of flying, Charlie and Grandpa Joe are supposed to run around the ground singing about how great it is to be in 'mid-air'. Ugh!) So, they were talking about how many things we'd have to do differently for quite a while until one boy finally figured out that it was the leads joke and we all laughed, very relieved!

Your friendly neighborhood blogger, ; )
Livie

Last Night

So, I went to see the musical that my B.F.F.N.M.W.'s in last night. The musical was good but my favorite parts were the parts that she was in. ; ) She was in the teen chorus, and I'm glad she was because the little kids didn't get to do much. After the show we took her and her mom out for dessert at Big Boy. It was the same Big Boy that the cast likes to meet at after the show, so, not only was it crowded and loud, but it took us over an hour to get our two scoops of ice cream. Nice. By the time we left, it was 12:45 and my mom and I still had an hour drive ahead of us. We dropped off my friend at her house and then started our drive. We hadn't been going for more than 15 minutes and the car began shaking. All I could think was, 'Oh, don't break down! Please, don't break down!' It turned out that we had a flat tire. Great! 1:00 am and neither my mom or I have jackets. Thankfully, approx. 5 minutes later, a cop car pulled up and they were able to change the tire quickly. We were back on our way and we arrived home at 2:00 am and went straight to bed. This morning I slept until 11:30! So, that's an over-view of our night last night. We were just happy to off the road before the bars closed at 2:30! That was God's providence! Well, bye, and thanks for reading!

Computer

I'm really excited right now because we just got a new computer. My grandparents decided that they would bless our family with a new computer with the money that they got from their tax refund. My older brother (the computer whiz of the family) went online and chose all sorts of custom features for it to have. Then he ordered it and it arrived today. I'll probably post from it later. It's really cool because the computer we have now is kind of out of date (Windows 98) and the new one will be able to run new and better programs. My brother is about to set it up so I can't make this post very long, but I'll try to get on later!

My Busy Weekend

It's Sunday and I'm really tired right now because I had some late nights the past few days. On Friday, my parents went to a viewing for my dad's aunt (my great aunt) who died last week. It wasn't that hard on me because I'd only met her like 3 times in my entire life but it's hard knowing that she was my 2nd cousin's grandma and my grandpa's younger sister! Well, my parents came home and my mom and I stayed up watching a style make-over show that we love until the wee hours of the morning (I have no clue what possessed us to that insanity!). On Saturday, my parents went to the real funeral and I stayed home with the kids because my older brother and one of the younger ones went to a friend's house for a sleep-over. Then another brother had to go to soccer practice, and a friend of mine came over. She and her brother stayed the night and we rented Charlotte's Web to watch. I bought a great big box of Nerds (good to eat, but not before bed, as we found). Yum! Then we got to sleep at about 1 am and woke up at 9 am for church. We tried to make fry bread (an Indian dish I made for school) for breakfast but they came out burned and we didn't have time to make more, so we just slapped some cinnamon sugar on top and ate them as they were. Then we went to church and I played some basketball on our hoop (My older brother put it up again, yay!). Following which, I went to rehearsal. Wow, that's a longer post than I've written in a while! That'll give you something to do while I'm formulating my next entry!

Bye,
Livie

Photo

Hey, my dad finally gave me that picture (lol), so here it is! Sorry that it's sideways.....I tried to fix it but that made it too big of a file. Tell me what you think!

B.F.F.N.M.W. Sleepover

Well, my busy weekend is over, and I am super tired! My BFFNMW and I stayed up until a little after 2:00 am and then got up at 7:00 (My alarm was set for 6:30, but we hit the snooze button a couple of times.....). We played a few games of Triominoes-A very fun game! She won once and I won once. We decorated her house before the club meeting (Streamers and balloons) and then got ourselves ready. We did a mystery game that was kind of simple to figure out (your classic getting the two boxes mixed up-) then did karaoke and DDR. We finished by playing a card game. We left at 2:00 pm but that wasn't a nice time........*sniffle* Well, I'll get to see my friend again next month for her shows of Bye, Bye Birdie. If you want to read more about my amazingly awesome friend, click here!

TTFN,
Livie

My Next 2 Days

I've got a huge agenda for my weekend! Today at approx. 2:30 pm I'm going to my B.F.F.N.M.W.'s house for a sleepover. There I'm going to do various things, including watch the newly released Nancy Drew movie and practice a dance we choreographed together last year. We'll probably stay up extra late talking, playing cards, or looking at books together. Then we'll try to get up as early as possible to eat and begin decorating for our club meeting that's meeting at her house tomorrow. The other girls will be brought by my mom and will arrive at approx. 11:00 am. The club meeting ends at 2:00, but we'll probably stay a little late. Then I have to come home and bake things for my grandma to sell at a bake sale. On Sunday, I have church and choreography rehearsal. I personally like weekends like this when I have a lot planned because then I don't have time to sit around and be bored-I'm too busy! I have to go eat now 'cause my B.F.F.N.M.W.'s dad is gonna be here in about a half hour. Ta ta!

Spring Break

Oh, I'm soooooooooooooo happy that Spring Break is here! That means 10 whole days that are 100% school free! I can sleep in! And it's spring break! Notice spring. So much hope comes with that word. I still have rehearsal next week, but that's okay with me because I haven't been to rehearsal in about 2 weeks, and I like rehearsal so that makes me sad! I trying to convince my dad to get me a picture of me from a few months ago. It's of me wearing my medieval princess costume and I really like it. I'll post it here if he ever gets around to. So, yeah, I'm about to head out to Youth Group. I have to go eat now because there's only 20 minutes before I have to leave, so TTYL!


Livie

School Writing

So, yeah, a lot of my friends have been posting stories that they wrote on their blogs, and we just learned about story writing in school, so I decided I'd publish my story here. I know it's not really that great, but, I felt like writing it. Well, here you go:

Better Off

By: Me!

Twoot! The final note of band practice cane out of Jordan's flute perfectly. Jordan, who was in first out of six chairs, took her time as she cleaned out and took apart her precious instrument. She glanced up just in time to see Emilee, the shyest of the flutists, approach their director, Mr. Jones. Jordan watched curiously as they exchanged a few words. Then Mr. Jones surprised everyone by announcing that Emilee had decided to leave the group, and that this would be her last rehearsal. Emilee stared at the floor. Jordan stared at Emilee. The whole room went silent. They all knew that she wanted to leave because 3 months back, her family had found out that her younger brother had cancer, and, since then, she had fallen from third to sixth chair. Jordan only knew that she had to talk to Emilee before she got on the bus and it was too late. She shoved the last of her sheet music into her backpack and hurried after the distraught flutist.

"Emilee? Emilee!" Jordan followed her until she turned around, "You can't quit! You know you can't! You're really good."

Emilee sighed, "I-I'm just not as good as I used to be...."

"I'll help you! Come to my house tonight! We can play together," There was no stopping Jordan now.

"Will you? Really?" Emilee's face lit up, "I still do really love to play. Oh, I'm so excited!"

So, later that night, Emilee arrived at Jordan's house with a great big smile on her face. When she left an hour later, she could play each of the band pieces perfectly.

The next day, Emilee cane over yet again to practice, but really the girls spent most of their time talking and giggling.

Just as Emilee began packing up her stuff and getting ready to go, the door bell rang. Jordan answered it and was surprised to find Becca, who happened second chair flutist and Jordan's next door neighbor.

Even before the door was completely opened, Becca started talking into Jordan's confused face, "There you are! Now don't pretend to be innocent! I know you're the one who broke my bedroom window last night!"

"What?" Jordan was shocked, "I can't have been breaking your window last night because I was here, practicing flute fingerings with Emilee! Besides, I'm your best friend!" She glanced at Emilee as she mentioned her.

She could tell it was too late-Emilee's shell of shyness had already enveloped her. Jordan was alone defending herself against her maniac of a neighbor.

Becca rambled throughout Jordan's thoughts, "What a dumb excuse! We both know she quit band yesterday! Well, at least now I know your guilt. I can turn you in to my parents!"

Just as Becca was turning to leave, all my hopes came true and Emilee spoke up.

"Jordan was helping me with my music. I can prove it!" It was then that Jordan noticed that Emilee hadn't really been putting her things away-she setting her stuff back up.

Becca, who was just as shocked as Jordan to hear Emilee speak out so boldly, could only stutter until she found the words, "Okay, Emilee. You play the flute trio perfectly-then, and only then, will I believe you two."

Emilee fished the music out of her folder as Jordan took a sharp breath in. How could Becca expect Emilee to be able to play that? That was the hardest piece in the entire program. It wasn't fair! Becca was desperate! Jordan gave Emilee a few final pointers concerning the song's hardest sections, then she sat back the notes as they emerged from Emilee's flute.

The first line came out precisely, so did the second. Jordan glanced at Becca warily. Becca's face was all lit up.

"What is that face for?" Jordan wondered to herself.

It was then that she realized that Becca was entranced because Emilee wasn't only playing notes-she was making music.

Every measure came out without a flaw and Emilee finished as strong as she started. Becca admitted that she had been wrong to assume Jordan's guilt. She apologized and left quickly.

Emilee put her things away for real this time. As she took apart her flute and cleaned it, she thanked Jordan for all her help, "You've helped me realize that I still got it!"

"No, thank you!" Jordan smiled, Had you not played for Becca, I'd have been grounded for a year!"

Emilee winked, "Hey, what are friends for?"

That night, Jordan thought about her day. She had made a new friend, but lost one too. That was okay, though-Becca had never been a true friend, she saw that now plainly. A true friend, she found, was one who would make a true sacrifice to help you. Jordan helped Emilee, Emilee helped Jordan. Jordan's kindness had truly gone full circle, and everyone was better off.

THE END!

Hope you like it,

Livie

P.S. You can comment on it if you like!

Homeschool All-State Choir

So, a few months back, my choir director chose 6-7 people from the entire choir to nominate them for a spot in the Home school All-State Choir (HSASC) performing this May. I knew before auditions for Willy Wonka that I had been nominated, but I didn't find out if I made it until yesterday. And, .......(drum roll).........I'm in! I made it into the All-State Choir! I'm really excited because they only chose approx. 60-70 kids from the entire state, and I'm one of them! I haven't gotten my music yet, but I will when I send in my participation form. I'm so happy to be able to do this because I've heard that stuff like this looks good on college applications and since, with six kids in the family, I'll probably have to pay my own way through college, I'll take any chance I have to get closer to a scholarship. I'm sure most of you understand!

Rehearsals

I had my first music rehearsal (for Willy Wonka) on Thursday, my first blocking (where you stand and when you stand there) rehearsal on Friday, and my first choreography rehearsal on Sunday. A lot of firsts....... I'm so excited for the show and it seems soooooo far away I want it to come sooner! I'm encouraged by the fact that it's selling out, though. My mom is setting up a field trip to the school shows and there are almost no tickets left! We worked on some really cool full company stuff so far but I'm really wanting to get to 'I Want It Now.' Working with the group is fun, but it's so exciting to me to have a solo number that it's hard to believe I have to wait until next month before we work on it ('We' being me and my 'Understudy Buddy' A.K.A. The Veruca Salt understudy and my good friend). Well, I know that the show will come before I know it and then I'll be wishing we had more rehearsal time! It always seems to happen that way...... So, yeah. I guess I'll try to post as often as I can. (I know it's boring not to have new stuff to read)

Livie

24 Hours With My B.F.F.N.M.W.!

Well, really, it was more like 30 hours, but who's counting? So, I was gonna write all about it here but my B.F.F.N.M.W. beat me to it so I guess I'll just let you visit her blog. She has a great summary of the things we did. Here's Fayleke!

Sianara, (I know I probably didn't spell that right but I had to prove that learned some foreign language during my adventure! ;] )
Livie

Bored

Right now I'm really kind of bored. I used to think I was an afternoon person, so not true! I'm really a night person. I found that out when I started being able to stay up late at night, the only time I ever seem to be tired (unless I'm sleep deprived) is in the afternoon. I never really thought about it before. So, this shows you how bored I am........I'm sitting here writing on my blog about how in my distant thoughts, I realized I was a night person. Gah! I think I lost my brain sometime earlier this week. Everybody is off of school for mid-winter break but we're not. One of the down falls of the homeschool curriculum we use-we can only take a certain amount of weeks off every year unless we don't want summer break. Oh, well, at least we get a spring break. (We used to only get a break at Thanksgiving and Christmas, no break even for summer!) Okay, I think I've rambled for long enough. I'll stop talking, I mean typing, now. Bye!

Willy Wonka

Okay, so I wasn't planning on being on this early and telling you about this but I found out earlier than expected........Well, here goes. I was at a birthday party this afternoon and the director for my play company called. I wasn't able to pick up the phone quickly enough so she left me a message asking me to call her back. Of course I did right away because when the director calls you the day that the cast list is supposed to come out it usually means something. I talked to her for a few minutes about where I was (she called home first and my parents told her about the party) then she said, "Hey, I was wondering if you'd mind playing Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." I almost screamed! (I didn't because that wouldn't be nice to her) Right now I'm sitting here in shock still because I can't believe out of approx. 150 kids I'm the one they chose to portray Veruca Salt. I'm totally convinced that all your prayers helped. Thank you soooooooooooo much. I love you all, but most of all, I love God.

Les Miserbles

Yesterday I went to see Les Miserables (pronounced, Lay Miz erob, Les Miz for short) performed by the theater company that I usually audition for. I'd heard from my parents and others that it was long, hard to follow, and depressing. So not true! It was INCREDIBLE! By far the best show I've ever seen in my entire life. I went mainly because it was done by that particular theater company and I knew a lot of the kids in it. It was so amazing! One lady watching it said she had been to New York and seen it on Broadway and that Broadway couldn't stand up to the show yesterday! Wow! The only bad thing that happened was halfway through a scene in the second act, all the fire alarms went off because of all the haze they were using in the show. According to 'standard procedure,' we all had to evacuate the building until the fire department said the building was safe. They resumed the show and it went off without a hitch. I'm so happy that I decided to go see it. It's funny how God chooses the most unlikely was to refresh us!

Blessed!

I'm a very happy girl right now! I'm blessed with some of the best friends EVER! Last night was a meeting of my girl's club, 'Little Women'. I thought I was going to a regular meeting but it turned out that they had been planning a surprise birthday party for me! I was so shocked! My friend said that she wanted to give me a surprise party in return for the surprise going-away party that I gave her when she moved. I couldn't believe that they had really planned the whole thing! We did our craft then ate cake (I was pleased not to have a little brother over my shoulder blowing half of the candles out before I could!). With the extra time we played a game and then I opened my presents. I got: A mug, a necklace, a CD, chocolate (Yay!), and a friendship plaque. I'm still so happy! If any of you girls involved are reading this, I just want to say thanks. From the bottom of my heart.

'A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.'

Proverbs 17:17

My B-day

So, today was your normal Sunday, except, of course for the fact that I turned 14 today. Yes, today is my birthday. We didn't do much, we went to church, then went out to eat and the hung at home. My older brother is gone at a youth rally. Tomorrow we're going to be celebrating as a family. I get to go out to breakfast with my dad, then we all go to a place of my choosing. I'm thinking of going out bowling right now.....Well anyhow, if you're wondering, (Which you must be wondering because every one's wondering) it doesn't feel any different to be 14 than it does to be 13. Big surprise there. Well, TTFN!

My Brother, Growing Up?

Isaac is very happy right now. He just got back from his second day of Driver's Ed. I can't believe it! I mean, he's going to have his permit in less than three weeks! By Febuary my brother will be legally allowed to drive. I don't think he'll ever let me get out of riding in the same car as him so I'm stuck. I don't want to stay home, but I don't want my life endangered either! I'm joking of course. I'm actually kind of happy, another person to take me to my various activities. I don't know how my mom's doing. She just realized that her kids are growing up. Scary!

Average every day.....

So, basically, besides the drama with the audition\call-backs, this week has been pretty basic. School, shopping, youth group........That's the reason I haven't been posting very much. I tried to put a picture that I made on my computer on here but Blogger wasn't working the right way so it wouldn't load. We went to church today (obviously). My family had nursery but I decided to help out with the kid's class. I'll probably go to youth group tonight because I have nothing better to do (not that I don't like going but, oh, it's so hard to explain!). So, check for more posts later. Bye!

Call-Back........Again!

Last night after call-backs I was my normal nervous self while waiting for the 2nd call-back list to be posted. This morning I didn't have as much school as yesterday so I got done with it even more quickly. I got onto my computer and what do you know, the Internet isn't working! I had to wait a few minutes but it did finally start functioning again. I logged onto my e-mail. All this time it's taking forever to load. Grrrrrrrrr! There are only two unread messages in my box so I started to prepare myself for not getting called back again but, the two e-mails both were about the 2nd call-back. I'm in!!!!!!! Yeah! I was so happy that even before I read the e-mail, I ran downstairs to tell her the news. I got a call-back for the part of Veruca, which I'm very happy about. There are only 4 girls called back for Veruca compared to the 10 or 11 (At least) last night. This auditioning thing is getting kind of old but I've never been so close to getting the part that I really wanted before and that makes it very exciting! Your continual prayers are much appreciated!

Call-Back

I arrived at the call-back right on time (5:30) and joined in on the exercises they were doing. After we got into a line by the order of our birth dates and then our last names, it was time to receive the parts that we were reading for. Now was the moment of truth........*Suspense Music*.............. 'Veruca Salt!' Hooray! The only part that I got called back for happened to be the one that I really wanted! The rest was easy, we just looked over our parts and performed them. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to see if I made the cut!

Audition Update

So, last night and this morning, I was getting nervous like I always do when I'm waiting to see if I got a call-back. I rushed through my school work as quickly as I could because I couldn't stand not knowing. The first thing I did after I set my last book down was log onto my e-mail. Sitting in my in-box were two separate e-mails about the call-back. (One from the director and one from my dad who forwarded me the same e-mail) Yes! I made the call back list! I was sooooooo relieved! This much stress can't be good for me! JK Well, now I have to go back tonight and read for the parts that they're considering me for. Thank you all for your prayers last night. Please pray that God's will may be done in my life as I go through the second round of auditions tonight.

Audition! ; )

You're probably wondering how my audition went........well, I think it went very well. The only hard part was singing some of the high notes in the song I chose to sing. There were not many people there so that made it easier, too. Overall, I think it was nice, I had fun, and my dad said that I nailed the speaking part, and I got to see some friends. Thanks for your prayers everyone! I'll let you know which part I get!

Plz Pray 4 Me 2night!

Hey everybody! Just really quickly, I'm going to an audition tonight for the next show I plan to be in. I'm kinda nervous because I haven't been preparing very much. We're doing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and there's a part that I would really like. My auditions in the past have been known to not go so hot : / and I'd really at least like a call back so if you could pray that everything will go well, No! Wait! That everything will go according to God's plan for me tonight. I never know what's going to happen in the future and what goes on tonight will affect me in the long run. (I hope you get what I'm saying) So, if you happen to read this and say a quick prayer, I'd be so thankful!

Vocal Arts Day

So, first of all, hi! I'm new to this whole blogging thing so you'll have to bear with me.... Okay, so, on with it. On Saturday I went to the Women's Vocal Arts day at the University of Michigan. I wasn't sure how it was going to be at first but it turned out to be extremely fun. At the registration table, all we had to do was tell them what school group we were with and they gave us our name tags. Then we went to the auditorium where they had us separated into animal groups. (Don't worry, we didn't understand it either) We found the Jaguar group leader to claim our music and our Women's Vocal Arts Day t-shirts. We had about 10 minutes to look over our music and marvel at how many girls attended. (approx. 750! Wow!) At first we were a bit timid because 2 of the 4 songs that they had given us were in other languages. We figured that it didn't matter because if we (me and two other girls who attend the same choir as I do) messed up, there were 700 other girls to cover for us. All three of us sang in the Soprano 1 section. There where 4 different vocal ranges represented. Going from highest to lowest, it was Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, and Alto 2. We warmed up for about 10 minutes and then began to work on our first song, 'Eiliyahu Hanavi.' It was easier than we thought. Our director when through each word with us to make sure that we were pronouncing it right. I have to say that 750 girls singing 3 part harmony is incredible to hear. I don't think I'll ever get over that! We practiced for an hour and 15 minutes, working on three different songs. Then it was 'fun' time. (notice the quotation marks) We had to collectively, in our animal group come up with a sound or an action for that animal. My group just held up our hands like claws and growled. After 'fun' time we were dismissed for lunch. We ended up eating at a small place called Pizza Bob's. It was inexpensive and the pizza was good so we were happy. (It wasn't mobbed by a large group of high schoolers either! Big plus!!) We got back to the auditorium just in time to get into the bathroom line so it wasn't incredibly long. Just as soon as we got settled in our seats it was time to start again. We practiced for 45 minutes and then it was 'fun time' again. *Large groan* We held our breath to hear what they had planned for us this time. Telephone? Telephone!?!?!? That's a game that you play when you're 4! Not when you're in high school! We were getting pretty annoyed at whoever planned these activities. But, it had to be done, so, we gathered. It was kind of funny how the message morphed from 'Mrs. Stockard has a sparkly shirt on.' to 'Doctor Sherlock is a bunny.' but I couldn't help but wonder how they got that many high school age girls to play a preschoolers game. When I expressed my concerns to one of the other girls, she responded with, 'Yeah, 750, minus the 500 that ran to hide in the bathroom!' We had a final 45 minute rehearsal to perfect the pieces then we broke to prepare for the concert. Our day of singing was drawing to a close. I rushed to the bathroom so to get there before the line formed. (I had to change into my formal skirt for the concert) Then, our choir director picked us up and drove us the the concert auditorium. We sat with our vocal ranges, (completely forgetting the animal groups) waiting for the concert to start. The boys from the male vocal arts program and the men's Glee Club went first. It was kind of distracting because the girls all around me, being typical high school girls, picked out the 'cutest' guys from the Glee Club. They even went to the extreme of taking their cell phones, zooming in on their favorite's face, and snapping a picture. Finally it was our turn to sing. As always, it seemed to go by incredibly quickly. There were a few sore spots, but I think we did well for only one day of practice. We nailed the harmony! The final thing on the agenda was the women's Glee Club. The finale was a huge medley of a ton of songs praising the university. It ended with almost everyone in the auditorium singing 'Hail to the Victors.' Thus, my day long vocal strain was over. I celebrated by eating out at a Coney Island with my parents (who thought that we did very well). Then, I went home and started this blog. That's all I can think of to say, so, I guess this post is done.