We Don't Stop

We don't stop. We really don't. For some reason, I thought we would once we moved here. I mean, we had one of the craziest years possible last year with all the different countries we visited, (Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, England, Italy, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, Morocco) and all the people we had in our home and all the things we went out and did. It was amazing, but we really didn't stop.

So when moving to Alaska, I imagined we'd stop. Take a break. You could say we took a break, if you want to count unpacking three shipments of our stuff while my dad was working. But all done. :) We're busy again. =P

A couple pictures from yesterday:
The weather was beautiful, so I spent a bit taking pictures in our yard. This is one of my favorites. :)


Then I headed over to a ropes course to take pictures of our friends the Smiths.

Doesn't Rachael look like superwoman or something in this one? :D

Lily didn't do the ropes course, but she still got her picture taken. :)
Then we had icecream--no pictures, I was occupied. =P

And then off we went to support Governor Parnell. :)


We never stop, but I think I like it that way. Especially when I bring the camera along. (Thanks mom for all the fun things you let us do!)

Caroline Ann

Ripples in the Water

Isn't that a neat picture? I thought it was when I took it of Lily the other day... And the more I looked at it, I thought, there has to be a spiritual application for this!

I thought about it for two days, and then it came to me:

So if you have completely still water, and you touch it, it makes ripples. And ripples have a tendency to expand and grow bigger. And reach a much bigger amount of water than you ever could have touched with your finger.

And I think sometimes things aren't the greatest in life, and they're just sitting there, doing nothing. But when you try, make an effort, do something about it, what you did can have a bigger impact than ever imagined. Especially when you're doing something God has called you too.

I'm still praying about what God wants for me here, I don't completely know yet. But I do know, whatever it is, He wants me to make a difference--be the ripples in the water.

They start out small, but they sure can get big. (Especially when God is using you as His finger)

:)

Caroline Ann

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Little Girls

It's fun to be a little girl. :) And to dress up. And it's fun to be a big girl, and watch the little girls grow up. :)

In the past couple months I've seen my sweet sister go from a little girl to more of a big girl. And in those couple of months Kate and I have gone from sisters, to sister-friends. :) We're sisters (besides the genetic thing) 'cause we don't always get a long, and it's not ALWAYS fun to live together, but we're also friends. And we have a lot of fun together! It's also fun because we've started to share friends.

Yesterday I took pictures of Kate and her friends (which are also my friends) Lily and Carly.

And taking them made me think of being a little girl, and growing up. :) Little girls (at least the ones that really are little girls, not little girls trying to grow up too fast) embrace and enjoy the little things in life a lot more than a lot of the world Things like twirling around in a dress. :) (I know I've passed hours of my life this way). And using the creative minds God gave them to play, and practice for life.
(Two of my personal favorite games were children in the wilderness and baby dolls.)

And yet as little girls grow up, they don't just enjoy playing together, but being together. And talking together, and hopefully learning to fellowship and encourage each other spiritually.

And I enjoy watching them, and being a part of it. :)


And since I've mentioned my amazing not-so-little sister... Isn't she beautiful?

Caroline Ann

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

I got Nothin'

I sheepishly write this. I know it's been months. We were busy in London. (Haha, my boring routine, QUICKLY changed and became a fast paced, amazing race, all the way up to getting to Alaska).
I'm done making promises to blog. Because I know, and I'm sure you know, I'm not always capable of keeping them. But I am going to try to blog here. Really. I really mean it this time. But yet, I don't make promises. ;)

Another thing I have been inconsistent at unfortunately, is reading my bible. Amidst the craziness of life in London, it often was forgotten and pushed aside. :\ Which was obviously a very bad idea on my part, as the days I DID have my bible times, were often the best days I had while I was there. It makes me wonder what blessings I may have missed. =\

So, I resolved to read through the old testament in the next couple of months. Just a chapter a day, so that I could really study it. Journaling on what I learned throughout. So this is part of my entry for yesterday: (Heh, I share it with no pride, but only to share an honest picture of my heart.)

August 10, 2010
I'm ashamed at already being so inconsistent in studying God's word. The past three days have been hard ones for me, and instead of going to Jesus for help, I avoided Him. Until I'd done and said things that needed forgiveness.
Today I prayed with Him for a long time though, and probably will more as I go to sleep. And I so want to honor Him. I so want to let nothing separate us. I so want to do His will.
Lord. HELP me! I fall so short. And I need your strength. 'Cause I got nothin'.
I don't think I begin to understand what you've done for me, and the extent of how you love me. Please SHOW me, let my eyes see and my heart understand who you are, and how to fear you.
I think that is the key to so many things in my life. If I really feared you, I would obey, honor, trust and love you implicitly. And yet I don't, because on my own, my sinful heart I don't think has that capacity.
Help my heart God. Please make it like yours. There are so many things to want to do in life, things I know you want me to do. But I got nothin'. Give me something Lord. To offer the world, and most importantly to offer you.
--------------------------------------------
THEN, after writing that, I read my bible. Matthew 5. And there are so many wonderful things in that chapter. But just a couple lines blew my mind away. I'd read them before, and at times they'd had a similar effect, but the timing was so perfect. So God.

So: Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." I wrote in my journal, "sort of an answer to prayer. Despite my unrighteousness, God can make me righteous and He wants to! He can fill me."
I have that desire, that thirst (though at times spiritually I'm probably more like a starving, dehydrated delusional person in the dessert. But I'm by an oasis. And yet I'm too proud to refresh myself. (I'm not always very bright... I look back on different times and think... "I was DUMB") )but anyway, I have that thirst, and I am so unrighteous, but God wants and can change me. That's encouraging.

Two verses later:
Matthew 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." after reading that I wrote, "That's pretty powerful. They will SEE God. Have a deep relationship with Him, communicate with Him. I don't really know what it is to be pure in heart, but that can be a life long goal, which I know God has the power to help me achieve." So, I am now striving to be pure in heart. I can really only imagine what that truly looks like, but I know I want it.

And lastly:
Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect." And Wow. Just to end the chapter like that. In my mind I put them all together last night (for me, maybe not for anyone else) like this:

1.He will fill me if I seek Him. 2. Through seeking, running after Him, He can make me pure in heart and I can SEE Him. 3. Be perfect. He's given us His Son, His spirit, His word. He can give us His strength to run after Him. There are no excuses. Be perfect.

And on my own, I got nothin', I'm just a broken vessel. But it's the treasure in me that is something.

Caroline Ann

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." --2 Corinthians 4:7

Lack of Internet, Lack of Interest

I haven't blogged in a while, despite my resolution to be faithful at it. But there is a reason for this... For one, we did not have Internet for a while. And though we have it now (via our neighbors wifi) we still only have one computer, so the Internet is often not available...
Also, also we have done some neat things, and made some neat friends, we haven't generally done a lot.
Let me give you an example of what our typical day has been in the past few weeks:

Get up.
Sit around.
Do school.
Sit around some more.
Eat dinner.
Stare at each other.
Go to bed.

HOWEVER, this is all coming to an end, and we are starting to get involved in my dads school and venture out on field trips. :) This past week we went and had tea with the other families from the school, and were given a welcome presentation and overview of the year by a British Admiral. The next day we went on a field trip to the British National Museum with an Australian family we had met the previous day...
So, our typical days are getting less and less typical again. Which, is typical for our family. =P

Anyway, things have started happening, so I am going to start blogging again... I actually have some really neat pictures from our walk to church last Sunday that I will post relatively soon.
Living in London is going to be good though. :)

Caroline Ann

Camden Market

Today, after staying mostly inside all week, our family spent a lovely day at Camden Market.

I had planned on taking lots of pictures--there were many fascinating subjects to be photographed. However, I ended up carrying my coat the majority of the day, as the weather was beautiful, but warmer than I had dressed for. I have all the pictures I wanted to take clearly stamped in my memory though, so hopefully next time I'll be able to go back and capture a few of them. :)

I think you can find just about any type of person at the Camden Market. From men with purple Mohawks and pants dripping in chains, to sweet Chinese women serving up large servings of rice noodles and chicken. (Which I must say, was quite excellent.) I was laughing at the Tex-Mex stand (it did literally say that) right by the Chinese food. And then you had Italian food, and Japanese food, and German food, and--well, you get the point.


For any of those who will be visiting us, or visiting London in general, the Camden Market is a must! I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. There is so much to look at, and so much to browse through (and possibly purchase). There are more clothing shops than one can possibly even glance at in one day (including one called the Punky Fish... haha, I got a kick out of that), and then bunches of old antiques waiting to be rediscovered. :) Haha, I sound like I'm advertising, but it really was wonderful.

And as far as purchases go, I bought a beautiful leather journal... It has 240 pages, which I think will be quite perfect for journaling whilst in London. I've titled it, "Living in London", and I can hardly wait to start filling it's pages. (And Nana, if you happen to read it, all of the journals didn't have lines!)

I could go on, but I think you'll just have to come see it for yourself!
Happy second day of the year! :)

Caroline Ann

By the way, part of Camden Market, is Camden Horse Market. Not that there are really horses--besides the one that Jefferson stuck his head into anyway. ;)

2009 Numbers

The end of the year is always a good time to "count" your blessings, and as I started contemplating this concept, I decided to come up with some numbers for 2009.

To begin, one of my biggest "numbers" is nine. Including America (which would be Texas, California, Hawaii and Alaska) this year I went to a total of nine countries. America, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, England, Italy, Tunisia, Malta and Greece. I still can't quite believe it. Plus Samoa and Guam, which aren't countries or states.
Amid those nine countries, I also slept in a total of 30 different beds! I think that may be a record for me, considering my family doesn't allow sleepovers. And those 30 different wonderful places and homes I was able to visit were all an incredible blessing, each in their own way.

Even more of a blessing than the countries I have been able to visit, have been the friends I have made. And for me, when it comes to friendship, I like the real thing. A shallow aquaintence based on the amount of fun people have with each other doesn't cut it. If I had to pick my top five I have made this year, it would be my sister, Ashlee, Rachael, Rosie and Hannah. :)
More this year than ever before I've been able to become friends with my sister, not just sisters who have to love each other no matter what. My prayer is that this upcoming year will really help solidify the relationship that we are building day by day.
Ashlee... You were an answer to prayer. It's that simple. I have learned so much from watching you, and have been so spiritually encouraged spending time with you. We didn't get to spend near as much time together as we would have wished, BUT, the sweet times we did have will forever be imprinted in my memory. :)
Rachael--I LOVE YOU! Though we've known each other before, living life with you in Hawaii was so amazing. I miss you so much, and look forward to spending time with you again, whenever God may grant me that much wanted wish. Thank you so much for loving me through the good bad and the ugly. I know you've seen it all.
Rosie!! Haha, how can I even begin to describe my friendship with you??? You are so much fun to be around, and so incredibly talented and optimistic. I know that if I acted more like you at times, our house would be more pleasent. =P I am so glad you are having such a marvelous time in D.C., I sure do miss you though! Feel free to hop across the pond. ;)
Last, but most certainly not least, Hannah! I am so glad that I got to see you again. And I really value the conversations we've been able to have, both on facebook and over the phone. I hope that we're able to spend more time talking once I get more settled into London. I'm sorry I'm always so busy! But I am so blessed to have you as a friend! Happy New Year, dear! :D

In 2009, I was also given a lot of wonderful experiences. And for these I can generally thank my mother! :) I learned how to sail, play tennis, french braid (Hey, I've failed at this for YEARS... though I still have a long way to go.) and... run... Running was more my father and best friend than my mother. She wouldn't do such a thing to me. lol. I dislike running to a great extent, but slowly and surely I'm getting better at it. Though I must say, I started running in Hawaii, where the weather was almost always perfect. Now I'm in London. I'll let you know how it goes...

Most importantly though this year, I've obtained four things: grace, peace, forgiveness and joy. All from my Savior of course. I will try my best to explain this, it's been something I've been contemplating this whole Christmas season, but it still isn't completely clear in my own mind... So bear with me.
I wish I could say that in 2009, I messed up the least I ever have. But naturally that would be lying, and would add yet another offence to my 2009 offense list. Thankfully, I don't actually have a list, since I'm forgiven for everything I've done. God's grace has continued to be so abundant and prevelant and visible in my life. And though I sin, and I do fall, I have a peace that I haven't had before. The reason for this I believe is because I'm not afraid of myself any longer. Because I know I can rely on my Savior and trust Him, no matter what. And that where I am weak, He is strong. And when I can't walk, He will carry me. Before I tried to resist temptation on my own, and I've found this year, often, I don't even have the strength to ask for help in my moments of weakness. So how could I expect to suceed? And yet somehow I did expect to, and thus became afraid when I found I couldn't. (An easy way to sum this up would be stupidity.) It seemed hopeless. And God has shown me this year, through a slow and continual process, that I am not alone, I do not need to be afraid, and that I can suceed in resisting temptation, because of Christ's strength, not my own.
And this knowledge and assurence has brought great joy into my heart and life.
God is good.

To conclude, I will say that I have made a New Years Resolution this year. I haven't really ever made one before... And this year, I am going to read through the bible completely.
I have read the whole bible, but not in one year, on a consistent, daily basis of being in the word.
Like everything in my life, I know I am going to need the Lord's help. But I am so thankful that He is more than happy to extend it. :) I just need to ask.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year! May God do wonderful things in your life in 2010, just as I know He is waiting to do in mine!

Caroline Ann