June 12 Can't Come Soon Enough

...and that is the truth!

I am so ready to be done with high school!  It's taking wayyy to long to end.  I didn't think i'd ever have trouble with senioritis, but oh man...it's hit me hard since the beginning of February.

School has been overbearing. I hav

e never had so much work to do in such a short amount of time in my life.  I'm very behind in calculus, struggling through physics, and pushing my way through 2 english's...oh nope! make that 3 english's (still have to finish 1st semester of this other American Literature course. 2nd Semester I've been taking at school...PTL!) not to mention bible, worldview, and all those other classes.  Worldview I can pretty much relax for a while now, because I've gotten my HUGE project out of the way. Once again...PTL!

The past couple weekends have been crazy.  This is my 

first weekend I've actually been able to relax/sleep in .  Although, most of this weekend will be spent trying to write the rough drafts of two major research papers. Ugh.  Next weekend is our Dominican Republic Send-off dessert.  I'm looking forward to it, I think my whole family is going to come! It's going to be great.  Then I leave for the D.R. in 2 weeks. It's coming fast.  

2 weekends ago I went to Harvard w/ the debate team.  It was fun.  I  didn't debate, just kind of observed and encouraged my fellow school mates.  But it was tons of fun and I really enjoyed it. It's nice to spend time with friends from school.

Our debate team (I'm all the way on the end on the right side)

Last weekend was our church's annual winter retreat or "Snow Camp" as we call it.  This was my last year as a student, but maybe I can go as a chaperone in coming years. I really love this retreat, it's always really great.  Our speaker was a guy named Jeff Scholl this time, and he was awesome.  The praise band was great too.  But the best part was being with my youth group.  I love them, they are fantastic.  And my youth leader is awesome too... he greatly enjoyed teasing me this year, saying "I remember when Erin was just a little freshman, and she was so small she'd get lost in the snow tubes."  Mike has been my sunday school teacher since we started going to our church when I was just a wee little 7th grader.  So he's seen me grow and mature over the years.  Now I'm all grown up!

Here are some pictures of our retreat: (sorry the pics are backwards in order)

Our Final Group Shot

Snow shoeing on a lake. It was gorgeous. This was our 3rd year doing it!

More snowshoeing!

Snowshoeing group shot.  I LOVE THIS ONE! :) (Taken by my friend Michelle)

Well, I must be off to homework land. Ugh...so much work. 

-EDEE

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..."  

- James 1:17

Busy as a Bee

Oh boy have I been busy and swamped with homework, and it's only going to get worse.

First off, this was my last weekend of "rest" for the next few weekends.  Here is the schedule for about the next month:

• 2/11 Dominican Republic Training Meeting!

• 2/13-2/17 Harvard for a Debate Tournament. I'm not debating, just going to help our debate coach keep the kids in line! Also it'll be a great experience to see all the debating!

• 2/20-2/22 Winter Retreat o9!!! I am SOOO excited! It's my last year and it will be great!

• 2/27 Going to see David Tyree of the NY Giants (He's the one who caught the football on his helmet in last year's superbowl) at my school. He's doing a book signing for his new book More Then Just a Catch

• 2/28 MU Basketball Game?

• 3/7 D.R. Send-off Desert

• 3/14-3/21 Dominican Trip!

So as you can see, I'm pretty booked.

Not to mention in school right now I am...

-Writing 2 research papers (one of which I have to read Tolkien's The Hobbit for)

-Have to have Pride and Prejudice (my least favorite book on this planet) read by March 3

- Getting ready to give a 45 minute presentation in Worldview

- Working on Calculus

- Lots of Physics HW

- Vocab and things

- Writing an essay on Macbeth

- Getting ready to preform a scene of macbeth with 4 of my friends

- etc.

So, I'm dying of business right now. And between all that I'm trying to learn a bit of spanish before I go the D.R., working on my Chinese, and trying to practice as much trumpet as humanly possible.  THANK GOODNESS I HAVE THE LORD TO GIVE ME STRENGTH!!!

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." -Isaiah 12:2

*ERIN*

IT ACTUALLY SNOWED! AND ACCUMULATED!

So recently my friend and I were discussing the major lack-of-snow our area has been having the past few years.  We were reminiscing of times when we were little, when we would get like, 2-3 feet of snow at a time!!! But lately, the past 3 or 4 years, we've only been getting around 1 inch at a time.  A measly amount of snow that melts within hours of it stopping.

This is very disappointing for a bunch of 5-year-old minded 17/18 year olds.  We have been DYING to go sledding, make snowmen, make snow angels, and sled some more!!! 

Yesterday, our dream came true. 

It started snowing about halfway on my way to school, and my the time we got to school an inch had already accumulated (this was northern NJ, which usually gets more.  But in this one special case we actually got more snow than they did!) By the time my mom picked me up (she doesn't let me drive on days its snowing/raining) we had gotten like, 2-3 inches by my house.  Yes, this is a very small number next to 2-3 feet, but still, 2-3 inches is a lot compared to the measly centimeter we were getting before. 

So I canceled my chinese lesson (due to some fairly snowy/icy roads that I wasn't about to risk my life upon) and instead sent Brian out to risk his life driving the 4 blocks to my house.  He arrived around 5:00 PM, and we got our snow gear on and delved on our adventure.  

The second we got outside Brian flopped down and begun making a snow angel, I joined him seconds later.  For the next hour we went sledding down the smallest hill you'd ever see (but the hill we've sledded down our whole lives) made snowmen, and went sledding some more.  So here are a few pictures from the festivities:

The Back of my House...yea, the snow was coming down pretty hard. Probably not good for my camera lol.

Its Hard to see but this was our "hill".  You can see the sled trail but somewhere in the darkness there is a little dip that we manage to gain some speed down.

Our 4 tiny snowmen.  The big snowman ordeal wasn't working for us. 

Well, I've procrastinated this Macbeth essay long enough.  Off to work!

"For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse."   - Romans 1:20

*ERIN*

P.S. Oh! Here is a funny joke I heard from our speaker in chapel at school today, Charlie Campbell. Christian's will appreciate this, atheists, not so much. 

In a 3rd Grade Classroom:

Teacher: I am an atheist.  Class, how many of you are atheists?

Most of the class, wanting to be like their teacher, raise their hands.  All except one girl, Lucy. 

Teacher: Lucy, why aren't you raising your hand?

Lucy: Because I'm not an atheist.

Teacher: Then what are you?

Lucy: I am a christian.

Teacher: Well, what makes you a christian?

Lucy: Well, I've learned about Jesus my whole life, and my mom is a christian and my dad is a christian.

Teacher: Ok. But what if you didn't grow up knowing Jesus? What if your mom was a moron and your dad was a moron? Then what would you be?

Lucy: I'd be an atheist. 

haha...i thought it was pretty funny. Ok, I gtg. Night!

Midterms

I know I haven't posted in a while, but this one must be short, I've got studying to do!

It's midterm week at good ol' TCS.  Unfortunately, I'm not exempt from any this time (Not even bible!!!).  I came really close to a few, but I just didn't make the cut.  Oh well.

Today I took the worldview midterm.  It was quite difficult.  It was all essays, ranging anywhere from one simple sentence to 5-7 paragraphs.  I used 9 sheets of paper and my hand is still cramped up.  I'm pretty sure I've contracted carpel tunnel syndrome.  Oh well.  I think I did OK, not sure though.

Tomorrow I have British Literature then Bible.  Bible should be easy, Brit Lit...we'll see how it goes.  Apparently it's all supposed to be multiple choice, so should be pretty easy.  I have to thank my buddy Eric again though.  Right as I was getting off my exit on the GSP to my house today I realized that I had left my British Lit notebook AND book back at school in my locker.  Not about to drive another hour back (not to mention the school would probably be closed by then), I called Eric and told him what happened.  Bless his soul, he scanned all his quizzes and tests and sent them to me via email! So I had everything I needed to study.  W/out that boy I'd probably fail tomorrows mid-term. 

Friday is physics.  I'm not looking forward to that one. In fact, lets just leave that one as it is.

Oh, as I'm sure everyone in the country, and probably the world knows, yesterday was a very historic event!  The first African American president was sworn into office.  Now, most know that I was very against this president getting into office, and a big advocate of McCain...but now that the election is over I'm not going to say anything, I'm just going to sit back and see how it all plays out.  Who knows, maybe Obama will be better then we thought! (or worse *cough cough*)  But all I'm going to do from this day forth is pray that Obama will seek God when making his decisions. 

And since yesterday was the inauguration, we got to watch it during lunch and 5th period!!!  A bunch of my friends and I got together and watched it, it was so much fun.  We had a blast! The audio worked ok, but the video kept skipping.  So whenever Obama's face was frozen on the screen everyone would jump out of their seats in front  of the screen to get their picture "with the president".  Here are some results of that:

Some of my friends w/ Obama

Me and the Prez!

Ok, I need to get back to studying now!  I'll try & update again tomorrow. 

"We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

***EDEE***

P.S. Oh yea, please pray for my dad. He's really sick with the flu! My mom already had it, so pray that I don't catch it! I'm staying farrrr away from them!

The Year 2008 In Review

I was going to type my own review of 2008 thing, but I thought it would get to wordy and ramble off to nowhere land as usual with my writing.  So I decided to do one of these very myspace-ish surveys.  So here we go: 

A REVIEW OF 2008 IN SURVEY FORM

1. What Did you do in 2008 that you've never done before?

Hmm... I was going to say started a blog but that isn't true.  But I have never kept up with a blog like I have this one.  Also, I've never given a presentation in school without being nervous, and I did this year!  There are probably a lot of things I've never done that I have done this year.  Like, I've raised money for a mission trip! Never done that before!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I honestly don't remember if I made any last year, and I probably won't make any for this year. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not that I know of...

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes actually.  A really good friend of mine, Hannah died on February 10, 2008.  But she left me with something I'll never forget:  F.R.O.G - Fully Rely on God.  

5. What countries did you visit?

None. Never left the ol' states. 

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Good health lol.  And after I graduate high school in June I'd like to have a little R&R time. I haven't had any relaxing time that I wasn't worrying about HW in to long.  I'd also like to get a job when I go to college.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched in your memory and why?

Well, two dates really.  First would be February 10, as I said before, the day Hannah died.  And second would be April 30, my 17th birthday and they day I got my license!!! Oh! Three actually!!!! June....June 12th I think maybe.  Oh dear I forget the exact date but the day I got my puppy Louis!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Only a few people may understand this, but getting over my fear of being out and in public after being sick for a year.  It took me a while to get over the fear of being sick in public, but I've gotten over and now I'm back at school and getting back on stage with my trumpet! PRAISE THE LORD!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Slacking off on work.  I probably could've put more effort forward.  And denting the front of my dad's BMW.  Oops.  Sorry Dad. 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Ha! Where do I begin?!  Well, my illness finally subsided after the diagnosis of Celiac disease. And my shoulder of course and knees are always in pain, though not really an "injury" per say, because I didn't really hurt anything.  And then my wrist had surgery, which wasn't an injury either really just a tiny cyst that was sitting on a nerve.  But i've had my fair share of colds and coughs and flu as well.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Well...material objects?  My rock band and my mario kart for Wii.  But non-material wise, paying $600 of my way to the Dominican Republic.  That was a great thing to buy. =)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My friends.  Especially my friend Heather, who called me promptly everyday at 3:05 PM after school was over last year to see how I was doing.  And who now that I'm back in school continues to be my best friend.  I love ya heather!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Well, for one a few friends I'm not going to name.  But also just some of the younger kids in my school, especially middle schoolers.  I can only hope they will grow out of it.  And also some adults of our nation.  To many moms and dads are trying to be "teenagers" and their kids friends instead of parents.  Kids may say they like that, but in the long run I would appreciate having parents being parents rather then parents being friends.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Towards my Dominican trip.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

RIOT NIGHT AND SPIRIT WEEK!!! Oh man, I missed that last year.  Also, getting my license and my puppy.  Great things to look forward to. 

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

This may sound strange, but Bohemian Rhapsody.  LOL! Not because it has anything to do with 2008, but because its the song that my friends and I have had stuck in our heads for like, the ENTIRE YEAR!!!! Because seriously, it has NOTHING to do with 2008.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or Sadder:  Happier!!!

ii. Thinner or Fatter:  Fatter. Hurray!

iii. Richer or Poorer:  Richer.  Yay allowance!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

My american literature course.  So I could've been done by now.  And I also wish I would've read my bible more often, that's something I'd like to work on this year. 

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Goofing off...procrastinating. (oops...thats what I'm doing right now!!! DARN IT!)

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Same way we always do.  At home, in our PJs.  Relaxing. =)

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

nope. well, yes actually.  I fell in love with my little doggie. Can't get enough of him!!!

22.  How many one night stands?

NONE!!!

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Hmm...I have quite a few.  This year I've fallen in love with Grey's Anatomy and M*A*S*H.  They have to be 2 of my favorites.  And then of course my usual: HOUSE, ER, The Office, 30 Rock, 24, All Creatures Great and Small, and Northern Exposure.  (Those last two, like M*A*S*H, are older shows we have the complete seasons of)

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

Hate is a really strong word.  There are a lot of people I have lost respect for, but don't hate. 

25. What was the best book you read?

Ah, this is a hard one for me.  I'm trying to remember which books I read this year!!!

Well, one book I currently AM reading and started reading in 2008, which is now one of my favorites, is How Now Shall We Live by Charles Colson.  Then of course, the best book I read every year is the bible.  Hmm...I'll have to get back to you on this one. I can't remember which books I read this year.  OH! Now I remember!!! I read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy for the second or third time.  Those continue to be some of my favorite books and I highly recommend them to everyone I meet, as well as The Hobbit also by J.R.R Tolkien. My mom and I read The Hobbit together when I was in 6th grade and we both loved it!!!

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

This may sound sad coming from such a Beatles/60s classic rock music lover as me, but for the first time this year I started listening to The Rolling Stones and Queen (yea, I know thats not 60s, its 80s...).  But I am completely in love with both of them now and have added them to my car playlist as WELL as The Dropkick Murphys, which was another musical discovery of mine.

27. What did you want and get? 

A macbook!!! =)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Hmm... It's a tie.  Dark Knight and Iron Man.

29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

On my birthday I went and got my license, dropped my mom off at home, and then went and picked up my buddy Brian.  We then proceeded to visit every park in our town, and then we went back to my house for dinner. (I forget what we had, I'm thinking hotdogs...thats what we always have on my birthday).  Then I dropped Brian off and went to youth group.  It was an all around good birthday.  It was the first day I got to drive by myself! I turned 17. 

30. What one thing would've made our year immeasurably more satisfying? 

Not being sick. 

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Haha! Fashion?! What is fashion anyway?  Most of 2008 for me was spent in either jeans and hoodies or sweat pants and t-shirts.  Well, mostly because I was sick.  But towards the end of the year I've smarted up my look a bit.

32. What kept you sane?

GOD!!!! With a little help from the discovery channel and crosswords. =) And of course music always pays its contribution.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

CHRISTIAN BALE!!!! and Gerard Butler. 

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Hmm... thats hard to say.  All the political issues were very important this year, but probably the economy and the war.  As well as the right to life and marriage laws. 

35. Who did you miss?

All my csehy friends.  All my timothy friends.  Heather especially.  But now I get to see her every morning Mon-Fri!!! (unless of course one of us skips school) ;) 

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Mr. Fennelly. ^_^ Greatest teacher who doesn't really teach me anything I've ever had. =P

37. Tell us the valuable life lesson you've learned in 2008.

I'm going to change this question a little bit, to what GOD has taught me in 2008.  In 2008, God taught me that I need to take myself down a notch.   That I need to stop trying to do everything myself and fix everything on my own, and let him do it.  I've probably posted this verse before, but this pretty much sums up what he taught me this year:

"Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." - James 4: 9-10

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Laugh when your eyes are burning
Smile when your heart is filled with pain
Sigh as you brush away your sorrow
Make a vow that it's not gonna happen again

It's not right in one life too much rain

You know the wheels keep turning
Why do the tears run down your face?
We used to hide away our feelings
But for now tell yourself it won't happen again

It's not right in one life too much rain

It's too much for anyone
Too hard for anyone
Who wants a happy and peaceful life
You've gotta learn to laugh

Smile when you're spinning round and round
Sigh as you think about tomorrow
Make a vow that your gonna be happy again

It's all right in your life no more rain

It's too much for anyone
Too hard for anyone
Who wants a happy and peaceful life
You've gotta learn to laugh

Too Much Rain by Paul McCartney

Happy New Year to everyone and God Bless!!!

Erin <><

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Merry Christmas! What a blessed day! The day we get to celebrate the birth of our one and only savior, Jesus Christ!!!  But unfortunately... most people don't celebrate the true meaning of christmas.  They pretty much do it just for the giving and receiving part. 

Sure, we have all these great movies (i.e. A Christmas Carol) with all these great stories on the "true meaning of christmas", that being of course the birth of Christ.  But what I have observed is that people watch these movies, say "Yea, that was a great movie," and then shrug it off and go back to celebrating christmas the way they always have.  This greatly saddens me. 

This is the first year I bought all my family's christmas presents with my own money.   In previous years, I had kinda mooched off mom and dad to buy my sister's gifts, but I found when paying for things myself, I got more satisfaction out of it and I didn't just pick "anything" for them. (I wouldn't want to waste my money on something they wouldn't really appreciate) 

This was also my first Christmas in which I had my license, and could therefore go shopping ALL BY MYSELF!!!  (Most of my friends live up north so they couldn't really drive down to shop with me, and my one friend who does live by me is not exactly the shopping type.) Anyway, as I was walking through the mall and picking out gifts for various family members, I couldn't help but hear what people around me were saying, or observe the way people acted.

So here are a few observations I made on my shopping trip to the mall:

1. Children. Children are so spoiled rotten today.  Now I'm not saying I'm perfect; I admit I've thrown a few tantrums when I didn't get what I wanted in the past.  But walking through the mall, I saw kids throwing tantrums and parents just GIVING IN!!! Like, they'd rather shut their kid up from making a scene then raise their kid properly.  I saw tons of mom's talking on their blue-tooth, not paying a bit of attention, just letting their children pick any thing off the shelves and buying it for them.  How is that even fun for the kids? To know what they are getting for Christmas? I'm 17 years old, and I still enjoy being surprised on Christmas morning.
2. Teenagers. Ugh, so many teenagers!!! Walking around, trying to act cool, making stupid jokes and comments.  And their mouths!!! UGH!!! If there is anything I absolutely hate it is cursing.  Not only is cursing a completely UNcool thing to do (contrary to popular belief, of course), but it makes those doing it look completely unintelligible. I mean seriously, how does the F work increase your vocabulary???  These teens just walked around the whole place complaining about what gifts they had to buy for friends/family, talking about how "smashed" they had gotten the night before, and gossiping about others.  It really makes me ill. 
3. Adults/Parents.  What has happened to parents?  My father and I were shopping together last week for my teachers, and as we were walking I saw this couple walking by, and the mom was telling her little son (he could not have been more then 5 years old) to hold her hand.  The little boy proceeded to throw a tantrum and refused to hold his mothers hand.  As we continued walking, another couple walked by.  The husband/boyfriend/whatever was in full "rapper attire" (i.e. Big huge cross chain, baggy pants with boxers hanging out, overly large t-shirt, yankees *UGH!!!* hat tilted on the head) and the mom was all primped up and striding like she was the ruler of the world.  By her side was a little boy about the same age as the other one...only one thing was different.  This little boy was reaching for his mothers hand, TRYING to hold her hand, yet this mother just kept slapping it away.   After seeing these two stark contrasts, I quickly grabbed my dad's hand and said "Daddy, I'll always hold your hand." 

These are a few of MANY observations I made while on my shopping excursions.  The whole ordeal just greatly saddened me, but I'm not going to let it ruin my day of celebration in my Savior.  So, Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy Birthday Jesus!!!! YOU ARE MY ALL IN ALL!!!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

                 -Isaiah 9:6

(isn't it amazing how such a great Christmas verse about Christ's birth is found in Isaiah? In the Old Testament!?!)

*EDEE*

AWESOME MOON AND CLOUDS!!!

My friend Brian came over tonight and we were taking the dogs out when we noticed how awesome the moon and the clouds looked. So I ran inside to grab the camera and we managed to get some great pictures!!!! Check them out!!!

Trying to figure out what setting to use...

Found the right one! What an awesome moon!

Just a little closer...

Amazing clouds surrounding a bright moon!

What an awesome sight! God's creation is beautiful!!!

"I see the moon and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, And God bless me."