Bird Killers

Did you know my family has a knack for killing wild birds? This past summer we found two baby birds... Both of them died. One because he was seriously sick, and the other, I think we just killed him.

Today of all days, Jefferson runs into the kitchen with the huge bird in his hands... "Mom look, I saved this bird from Zach's cat!"

Of course I couldn't just sit there and let it die so I had taken care of it all morning and early afternoon. He went from looking mostly dead to very alive. I think the thing had gone into shock due to the cat, but a little Gatorade (Gatorade has electrolytes) fixed that. =) We had a teeny tiny cage we had put him in, which was fine since he hadn't been moving to much. Melanee Kate and her friend Katie had apparently gotten him out later this afternoon and he had tried to fly away but didn't have quite enough strength. From the looks of it, he killed himself trying to escape his cage.

What a nice way to end my Thanksgiving! You have to understand that I really do love birds... Probably even more then dogs. (I mean I do love MY dog more then birds... but in general) And all our birds seem to have sad endings. Matthew flew away, Mark we gave away upon moving to Hawaii, (So Mark didn't die, but we still didn't get to keep him) Trooper died... John died... And now this one died (I refused to name it for fear it would die).

And honestly, I can't really think of any spiritual application to this right now, so if you can, please comment and let me know!

How about a little comic relief to end my sad tale? I was near the end of writing this, and Wyatt comes in my room and says, "Caroline, look! Watch! I've been working on this all day!" And proceeds to walk on his hands and feet like a chimpanzee making monkey noises... With great enthusiasm might I add.

Oh, and as far as the rest of my day... It was awesome. Dinner was amazing!! (Yes, Mexican food CAN be a successful Thanksgiving meal.) And Aunt Melly, we didn't have strawberry surprise for dessert. ;)

Caroline Ann

Thanksgiving Tease

Sorry, I know I haven't updated in a while... But there is a reason for this. I have been doing nothing but school and unplanned things all week!

This week is actually supposed to be Thanksgiving break, but I am affectionately calling it, Thanksgiving Tease. Since I am going to Thailand I have a whole bunch of school I am trying to get ahead on, therefore I have a lot on my plate... And since this Thailand thing was sort of last minute... you could say not having a Thanksgiving break was sort of unplanned. And therefore, I feel teased. Because I THOUGHT that I would have a whole, lovely week off after this long fall of school. But no, no reason for that. So yeah, I haven't a really completely school free day since August, but does it matter? No!

Ok so it does... a little bit. And I have been slightly frustrated about it this week. (Not horribly, but I really needed the break I'm not getting.) So please pray for me. On top of it all, I have had a nasty headache today. Today being the one day I didn't have anywhere to go. =(

I am grateful though, because despite the stressful amount of schoolwork that my tired brain is expected to accomplish, I will be sitting down with my family and friends tomorrow to enjoy a huge Mexican meal (for those of you who didn't know we don't have turkey on Thanksgiving... surprise!). And I won't have to worry about where the next meal will come from either. (Haha, leftovers, yeah?) And I have clean water which to drink. And as far as school =\ I can be grateful that I live in a country where getting a good education is entirely possible.

It can be so easy to thank God for the big things and take for granted the basic things in our lives (such as school and running water) that so many people don't even have access to.

So tomorrow, as you're are waiting for the blessing to be said so you can dig into your steaming plate of turkey... Thank Him for the clothes your wearing, and the chair you have to sit on.

Caroline Ann

Posting Comments

There have been several people asking how to post comments, so I thought I would post a little tutorial for future reference. =)

Alrighty, so most people probably already know this, but I'll include it anyway.

1) In order to comment, first you have to click on the "comments" link such as I have circled below.

This will result in a small page like the one below popping up.

2) Unless you have a google account, make sure you have "Anonymous" selected (or name/url).
Then you should be able to post your comment with no problem. =)

Hope this helps! And thanks to all of you who have tried to comment. =)

Caroline Ann

A Peanut Butter Day

So I'm sure you are thinking, "A what day?" But let me explain.

You know, today just wasn't much fun... I got a terrible night's sleep, I have a little bit of this sickness that's been going on around our house (it's actually the neighbor's sickness, but Kate caught it from them) and I just have not felt good.

Of course no matter how I feel, school must go on. But it really hasn't. I have a bunch of reading that I had to do (which I LOVE) but with the nasty headache I've toted around today (plus my eyes tend to hurt when my head does) that has been a very slow and laborious process. Fun, right? Plus I have a lot of Math which I am now slightly behind on. (That's the tip of the iceberg) and it all adds up really quickly.

So yeah, today has been stressful, frustrating, and painful. So I resorted to peanut butter.

Now in order to understand the significance of that, you must understand that I really don't like peanut butter. I hate the way it smells, I hate the way it sticks to the roof of your mouth... I don't really like the taste. Overall, it's just gross! (Although I do loves Reese's peanut butter cups... hehe.) So RARELY do I ever have it.

But of course today, I did... A whole huge spoonful! Today was a peanut butter day. In other words, my day was (like peanut butter) really bad, so bad in fact that I was tired enough for peanut butter to sound good.

I am very grateful though, that despite my day, God was with me the whole time, He didn't just leave me admist my stress. =) You know that verse, "And surely I am with you always even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) I was thinking about that today, and it really did bring comfort to my heart. And somehow, through the mess of the day, I started thinking of it this way, "And surely I am with you always, even on your peanut butter days." (I know I'm weird).

So, if you are having a bad day... Just remember, there is someone who loves you immensely and who will always be with you, no matter what. =)

Caroline Ann

P.S.
For those of you who are with me on not liking peanut butter... Don't worry, I brushed my teeth right after. I think peanut butter breath is just about as bad as the real stuff!

The stupid things we do

If you needed a little bit of humour to brighten your day... Well, I suppose you'll enjoy this.

We ALL do stupid things sometimes. I'm sure you've had those instances where you look back and think, "WHY in the world did I do that?? What was I thinking?" It's so easy to make a spur of the moment decision and find yourself stuck soon after that.

So anyway, a week or so ago, my sister and I were talking about our dog. And her kennel.... And before I knew it Kate was announcing that there was no way I could fit in that silly cage, no matter what I did. Well... I'm sure you can probably guess the rest.

Let's just say, that my sister, being the good sister that she is, decided that it would be a good idea to lock me in there for a while. (Of course Wyatt wanted to ship me off to the National Zoo in hopes of some extra spending money, so it's all relative, right?) And then, to entertain herself further, took pictures so she'd have proof. (And who would have guessed, so that I'd have a blog post!)

And as I sat there, feeling slightly cramped (only SLIGHTLY mind you) I started thinking about spiritual applications to this. I mean, might as well, I didn't have anything else to do except pose for the camera (which obviously wasn't exactly possible considering my, em, unique circumstances.)

There are SO many things in life, that we know we probably really shouldn't do. But it doesn't seem like it's going to really make a difference whether we do them or not, so of course, against our better judgement (or lack thereof) we do them. And before we know it... we find ourselves, em, stuck, or perhaps locked in the situation. And not only are we stuck, but we aren't very comfortable either. Then of course we start regretting our bad decision but time cannot be erased now can it? And even when we do get ourselves out of the situation, there will forever be some sort of mark made on our memory.


So, the next time you are debating on doing something slightly stupid... Remember me in the dog cage. ;) (Actually, I will say this little analogy has helped me from doing things much stupider than climbing in a dog kennel)

I suppose it's only fair to show you a picture since you already know the story. =P

Thanks for loving me despite my stupidity!

Caroline Ann

Thailand Bound

So, I just noticed tonight that my posts from Sunday and yesterday never got published, sorry about that!

Anyway, I have needed to write this for almost two weeks but it had to wait. My mother and I are going to Thailand! My school, The Potters School, takes two annual mission trips each year. One to Thailand, and one to Honduras. This is my third year with TPS, and I finally get to go! I am terribly excited I must admit. =D We will leave January 9th and get back on the 20th.

(Below is a description of the trip, though I didn't actually write it, I just copied it from our information.)

During that week, missionary families from about 15 countries in Asia will gather for an annual conference to help them strengthen their families and disciple their children even as they serve in remote locations. Last year, over 350 missionaries (adults and kids) participated in the conference, and this year it will be larger. Our team will provide family discipleship seminars for adults and youth; plan, execute, and oversee the teen and children's program, including teaching Bible classes and related activities that teach the Gospel to the younger kids; and lead worship for the entire conference.

For many missionary families, this is their only chance during the year to receive strength directly from the greater body of Christ, or even to worship in a larger group of believers. Participating families often say that these annual family discipleship conferences are vital to helping them remain in remote assignments where they must raise their kids in challenging conditions without the support many of us take for granted. Our service will literally help keep God’s workers in the field.

Our service and ministry will continue after the conference ends, when our team travels to the mountains for a few days to experience the local Thai culture and minister to the native people. Our entire stay in the mountains is an opportunity to build relationships with Thai people, with highlights that include teaching English at a Thai elementary school and hiking to a remote tribal village of the “Karen” people (refugees of Burma) to spend the day with the families and teach the children.

So, as you may be able to see... I am stoked! And can hardly wait to see how God will use all this in my life (because I know he most definitely will!) Several things that I would love you to be praying for...

1) For all the schoolwork that I have to get done ahead of time... Especially since I will be doing a lot of it during Christmas break and that I would be able to stay focused on Jesus during this special season!

2) Please pray that God will draw our team close together, quickly! The majority of us will have never met each other.

3) For my sweet siblings as they will be by themselves doing school (so we hope). Yeah, actually that is HUGE... PLEASE, PLEASE, (can I stress this enough?) keep them in your prayers!

Thank you so much, I am really grateful that I have such a neat group of people who can and will pray for me! God bless!

Caroline Ann

Oh say can you Sing?

God is so amazing... If I do say so myself. And He has blessed our family so abundantly! This past Friday my dad was promoted to Colonel. =) It was a fairly small ceremony but there were a couple things that did really make it special.

One, that God has brought my father this far in his career. And my daddy will be the first one to tell you, (well, technically, my mom would... Because she talks more, but the point still stands.)that God doesn't need Him. God is completely sovereign and in control, and it's His life, not my dads. And I, being his daughter, am so grateful to have a father who knows this.

Two, I do have to say, we had a spectacular cake! I wish I could have saved a piece for you all, but I don't think it would have kept well being mailed across the ocean and all. But it was SO beautiful, and even more yummy!!! (Although I don't really want to contemplate even for a second how many calories it contained.)

And three, my siblings and I had the honor so sing the National Anthem at my fathers ceremony. It brought great joy to my heart!

And this brings me to the title of the post... Oh say can you sing? Well, if you know my mother very well, you know she loves to sing, and you know she sets a high standard. So, we sang the song in three parts. =P It was A LOT of work! We practiced for weeks, and weeks... and a couple more weeks. It wasn't until the last couple days that it really came together! Also, if you know our family that well, you will know that when my mom is trying to do anything with us, the four of us have this pact you see, and that someone ALWAYS has to be disobeying. Ok, well, the first part... we don't really have a pact... But the second part... Yeah, I'm thinking it's good that you weren't sitting in our living room during those practices. But the reason I say this is that I am so grateful for the persistence and perseverance of my mother... Because she by far, worked harder than any of us!

So, to wrap this up, I just want to thank BOTH of my parents, for all they do for this family, and for our great country.

Caroline Ann

Mrs. Ness

So I really do have to apologize to all of y'all who keep checking my blog only to find nothing new. I have been EXTREMELY (should I make that bigger?) busy! So, I will "try" to give you a short update and then over the next week or so give you more detailed blog posts on the past two weeks... Actually I have a whole blog archive in my head, I just never transferred it to here! Sorry 'bout that.

First of all, I want to say thank you for all of those who have been reading this... I feel so blessed! And I am extremely proud of my grandfather for reading the whole thing! =D (Oh course you've finally gotten caught up and I'm about to write a whole bunch more for you to read.) Ooh, and thanks to everyone who has posted comments as well! =)

So, what have I been doing the past two weeks or so? Well, as you know, we have a dog. But of course we didn't get a stupid dog... We got us a smart dog! Yeah! And not only is she smart but she thinks she is smart, or should I say smart"er" then us! Sooo, we have a women (Mrs. Ness) who has been helping us with our little terror. (Haha, maybe that's why they call them terriers... back then they just didn't have consistent spelling and it stuck.)

So, we have really gotten to know this amazing woman. She loves the Lord very much, and we love her! And this past week (well it's been a little more than that now) she and her husband had to move from the old housing on base, to the new housing on base. Along with the rest of their street. And so since she has a two year old, Brendon (and he's quite a cutie may I add) I have been helping her move. =) I have also watched her friends two year old and have a story or two about him that I will probably share later...

And I have to say, I think helping her move last week was probably the best and most enjoyable thing I've done since we have lived here! (And we live in Hawaii... lol.) It was such a blessing to me to get to be around her all week. Mrs. Ness is one of the most amazing women I will ever meet and she really ministered to my heart!

And I think it just proves how much the Lord meant when he said that when we bless others, he will bless us as well! (Luke 6:38) There is nothing else I can think of that I would have rather done last week. =)

And now I'm back to posting at regular intervals, for now anyway. ;)

And though there is a bunch of other stuff I could say in this, I think I will leave it at that and let you know more in other posts...

Go be a blessing to someone today!


Caroline Ann

God Bless America

Today we have a new president elect. I have to say, in many ways I am devastated and am at a loss for words.

However, though Obama was not who I was praying would be elected by any means, I know that God is in control. He knew this would be the outcome, He isn't surprised by this. And in that I can rejoice.

I pray though for all the future unborn babies who's lives are now at stake. For out of all the issues that Obama stands for, that I do not agree with, that is the biggest by far.

I also pray for Mrs. Obama and the girls as they will have to get very creative in order to spend time with the the nations new president. May God bless their family in mighty ways.

And I pray for Barrack Obama himself, may God use him to lead our nation in the direction HE sees fit. Obama is just a man, but I serve a God who is the creator of men. May God bless America!

Caroline Ann