Nov 1, 2008

New Blog

I have decided to retire All for Him and begin a new blog. I will keep this site up as an archive, but new posts will be over at College Daze 101!

Aug 6, 2008

Nashville!

Well, we are in music city!

Yesterday we arrived and unpacked at the hotel. We didn't really have that much trouble finding it because a friend of ours loaned us their GPS...all I can say is...WOW! It really works! We also were able to find an Apple Bee's and Wal-Mart. Here comes the exciting part...All without having to stop and ask directions! In downtown Nashville, TN!! Needless to say I am in love with the GPS.

Right now I'm down in the lobby of our hotel waiting for the rest of my family to get ready to go. Our plans for today are as follows: Eat lunch, visit Belmont University where I'm interested in going to Pharmacy school in a couple of years, drive around and see some of Nashville (yay GPS!), go shopping at the HUGE mall, eat supper, and whatever else we want and have time to do.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting the Hermitage, the former home of President Andrew Jackson. Maybe we will do some more shopping...well the probability of that is more than maybe. And I'm not sure what else we will do. It will depend on how much time we have.

Jul 30, 2008

Business: Yeah, you could say I was there

What a busy week!

Monday: A Beka was in town so we went over to order some books for my brother's freshman year in high school. (He's in high school?! Boy am I getting old...lol.) And even though I'm finished with homeschool we ordered a grammar handbook to help me in college.

After that we went to the college I will be attending and bought my books. They sure are expensive! But thankfully I was able to buy all of them used except for one that had to be bought new. When we arrived, there was a huge pile of boxes outside of the bookstore and inside they were still stocking the shelves. So I got there at just the right time and was able to get the used books that were still in great shape. I didn't exactly like the idea of getting a book that was going to just fall apart on me later.

Then we went to Target and bought some other supplies I needed for school.

Tuesday: I have been having trouble reading road signs and other things that are farther away so Tuesday we went to the eye doctor. We went to the one at our local Wal-Mart. We received great service. We arrived early and they took us back almost immediately. (Plus it was at a reasonable price.) Well the doctor said I have a little astigmatism and nearsightedness. So I have to get glasses. Thankfully I don't have to wear them all the time though.

After the appointment we looked around at Wal-Mart's eyeglass frames then went to a few other places in town to see what kind they had. So many choices...head spinning...lol!

Wednesday: We had an appointment with our new dentist. And it was truly an enjoyable visit. And no, I'm not crazy. They really went out of their way to make it enjoyable. They were so friendly. Plus they had a small refrigerator out in the waiting room with soft drinks, Capri Sun, etc. that you could have. Also while you were laid back in the chair there was a TV hanging above you so you could watch it while they were working on your teeth. When I was waiting for the dentist, the dental hygienist gave me headphones and the remote so I could turn to whatever channel I wanted to. Very cool if you ask me...lol!

Thursday: Nothing!!! Yay! Well at least nothing scheduled.

Jul 27, 2008

Introducing....

Darcy!

(He holds his food with his foot! It's very neat.)

He/she is a green cheeked conure. Unless you do DNA testing, you can't tell for sure whether it is a boy or girl. But I'm guessing it is a boy so I'll call Darcy a him.

I got him a few months ago. He was hand raised but hadn't been worked with that much so he was not quite as tame as I would have liked. He was cage aggressive and would bite a lot but I have work with him and now he is a lot better.

He loves to sit on your shoulder and cuddle up to you. He will sit and chatter and nibble on your ear. Sometimes he nibbles a bit too hard though.

He hates it when I wrap a towel around my head after I wash my hair. If I try and pick him up he fluffs up and bites at me...oh well...maybe I'll be able to break him of that sometime.

Oh and the name Darcy came from Jane Austen's character Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

Jul 25, 2008

Review: The Dark Knight


We went to see The Dark Knight today. If you are worried about it having fewer action scenes than Batman Begins, it will not disappoint. It has a lot of action. Some people would argue that it has too much.

It was violent. Also it had some bad language. (Can't they ever make a movie without bad language!?) I would definitely recommend not taking younger children to see it. In some of the scenes I turned my head because they were so intense. The special effects were very well done.

One thing I found disappointing was that they didn't get the same person to play the part of Rachel Dawes. It always ruins it a bit for me when that happens. The actors all did an excellent job though. They made their parts believable.

The movie has some interesting twists to it. They didn't follow the typical "that was so predictable" route.

So overall it was a very well done movie.

Jun 6, 2008

2008: Firsts


As I was thinking about 2008, I began to realize how many "firsts" I would be accomplishing this year: graduating high school, turning 18 and be able to buy all those TV offers...(LOL I'm kidding about the last part), beginning college, getting to vote in the up coming elections, etc.

But wait a minute! It seems just a short while ago my "firsts" were riding a bike without training wheels, loosing my first baby teeth or five and starting kindergarten.

I know that in the years ahead there will be many more "firsts" and I'll be wondering what happened to the "firsts" I am facing this year. Today is here and gone before you know it.

There is no way to stop time. That's why it is so important to live in today...not yesterday or tomorrow. I am guilty of that. Wishing I could go back or go forward in time. But that's not how we should live. We should live in today. We can't go back to yesterday so no point in wasting time wishing we could. Also there is no way to go forward to tomorrow, we aren't even promised that we will have a tomorrow.

What can we accomplish today?

Feb 20, 2008

Wherever He Leads. Will you go?


I've played the piano for years...and year...I was 5 years old when I began learning and have fallen in love with it. I have fun with piano and get a lot of personal enjoyment from it. Also if I am stressed or upset, I can just sit down and start playing and I start to relax.

But God had more in mind for the piano and me than that. I have to admit I have not always like the thought of what He now has me doing. Even still the only reason I'm doing it is because of Him. What am I talking about? Playing the piano in the worship team at our church. Sure I've played in church before, for offering and prayer...but never in the worship team. I dislike being on stage in front of everybody. I like blending in with the crowd.

When I was asked to do this I agreed to pray about it. And I began to seriously consider it. I told God that I would not get up on stage and play the piano unless He went with me. I wanted to make sure this was His will. And I came to realize that it was.

When I played for the first time, I was surprised to find that I wasn't as nervous as I figured I would be. He went with me.

And I know that He will continue to go with me...as long as I go with Him.

Is God asking you to do something that pushes you outside of your comfort zone? Trust Him, obey Him and go because you will not go alone. He will be there every step of the way. I'm finding that out...!

(I would appreciate it if you would pray for me as I begin this new adventure with my Lord. It is not easy for me and I need His help and I need your prayers! Thank you!)

Feb 5, 2008

Pictures...

Here is a slide show that I put together (music courtesy of Avalon) of our church back in Belgium. We miss them so much!

I hope you enjoy it...

Feb 3, 2008

hmmmm....


I guess getting high speed internet didn't help me blog more...oh well!

Just a quick update on what's going on with us. The walls in the house are de-wallpapered and are now painted. We are all sleeping in our own beds instead of on mattresses on the floor. We actually have pictures hanging on the walls now. We are making friends. We are getting used to the church and loving it. That's just a little bit of what has been going on in our lives.

There has been a whirlwind of stuff happening in the last few months....in fact the last year! (February 8th will make it officially 1 year of living in the US.) But God has been gracious and patient. He has put up with our "little faith" and complaining. And has come through for us once again. So if you are in the midst of uncertainty about your future or even your present, trust God with it. If you will just let him take control of the situation you are facing now, He will come through for you...just as He did for us!