We're well underway in our move from the Black Forest part of Colorado Springs to a more normal suburb-type neighborhood. So many friends have been over to help, whether for an hour or two, or for an entire day! Just today we took four full carloads from one house to the other and got all the boxes and everything into the rooms where they belong.
Tomorrow morning friends will be here once more to help us with last-minute preparations for the pro movers we've hired to get the tricky things that are too heavy or bulky or whatever to move on our own. Speaking of which, I ought to finish up clearing the we're-moving-clutter in my room....
Friday, November 29, 2013
My Sister or My Friend?
[I rediscovered this little journal-like writing in a Gmail Document titled "Short Stories" that I wrote sometime in 2009, and figured I'd post it now. The girl I talk about here, Sarah, just so happens to be on my mind right now, as I found out earlier that she just got engaged today! Also, you can tell this is from a while ago primarily because I refer to Chaela as Kayla .]
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Two summers ago, I met a girl named Sarah. Sarah is about a year and a half younger than me, loves the LORD, and is overall the kind of person everyone loves being around. She and I became friends practically overnight, which is such a blessing! Anyway, that summer I met her, people who saw us together at the summer camp we both went to kept asking if we were sisters (or at least related in some close way). This happened so often that we finally agreed to just say we really were sisters, just for fun. I personally don't think she and I look anything alike (except for our eyes, maybe), as she has blond hair and is tall and thin, and I have light brown hair, and though I'm tall, I'm bigger boned. Well, we both came to the conclusion that people probably assumed we were sisters because we were nearly always with each other, and we were obviously pretty close.
Thirteen summers ago, I met a girl named Michaela Joy. Michaela is three years younger than me, loves the LORD, and loves to make people laugh. Everyone loves being around her. I can't remember a time when Michaela and I weren't friends, really. Of course, in all the time I've known her, we've had our arguments and squabbles, as well as an occasional outburst. But overall, we're pretty close. People tend to have one of two totally opposite reactions when they see us together: on the one hand, you have those who say that we look nothing alike (though upon closer inspection, say we do have the same nose =P ), then on the other hand there are those who insist we look like twins. Now, Michaela and I both emphatically agree that we look nothing like twins. We just look like sisters... because we are. =)
Now, I have to tell you, Kayla (Michaela) and I have grown even closer since the time that we met Sarah. We've always been closer than the average siblings, which I think is mainly due to the fact that we move on average every one and a half to two years, as well as the fact that we have two excellent parents who have worked with us and taught us to get along together. Unfortunately, though, at the time that I met Sarah, Kayla and I had grown apart quite a bit. I blame myself; a couple of friends that I had were extremely unloving in their words and actions toward their younger siblings, and that attitude had rubbed off on me to the point that I would allow myself to get easily aggravated and annoyed at Michaela. I would speak sarcastically and often rudely to her, and boss her around (often even more than is normal coming from an older sister). Looking back, I'm ashamed at my behavior, and I can't believe the bad example I was setting for my sister.
Back to Sarah. While up at the summer camp, after we'd decided on being "adopted" sisters, I began to think about the total difference in my behavior to Sarah and Kayla. Yes, it was good that I was treating Sarah like my best friend, and - as I put it even then - like my sister. But how did I treat my REAL sister? I treated her like a little girl who might get in my way, like someone I didn't want to be around, and definitely not the way I should be treating a sister. How sad is that? Fortunately, God used Sarah to show me how I needed to be toward Michaela, and through patience, hard work, lots of mistakes, and a TON of prayer, Kayla and I are back to being best friends; we're even closer than before!
This summer, I got to go to the summer camp ahead of my family, and Sarah and one of her brothers got to do the same. I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my "sister," but I was overjoyed when, two weeks later, the rest of my family joined me, and I could renew my long chats with my sister. Now, Kayla and I still argue occasionally, but we're usually able to get over those silly little things that we're usually getting upset about.
I pray that God will continue working in and through me, so that I may become the best big sister I can possibly be to Michaela....
[ The photos used in this blog were taken just before Dad deployed by a sweet lady from a company that does photoshoots for military families - for free, as a thank-you to those who serve our country. What a blessing! ]
______________________________________________
Two summers ago, I met a girl named Sarah. Sarah is about a year and a half younger than me, loves the LORD, and is overall the kind of person everyone loves being around. She and I became friends practically overnight, which is such a blessing! Anyway, that summer I met her, people who saw us together at the summer camp we both went to kept asking if we were sisters (or at least related in some close way). This happened so often that we finally agreed to just say we really were sisters, just for fun. I personally don't think she and I look anything alike (except for our eyes, maybe), as she has blond hair and is tall and thin, and I have light brown hair, and though I'm tall, I'm bigger boned. Well, we both came to the conclusion that people probably assumed we were sisters because we were nearly always with each other, and we were obviously pretty close.Thirteen summers ago, I met a girl named Michaela Joy. Michaela is three years younger than me, loves the LORD, and loves to make people laugh. Everyone loves being around her. I can't remember a time when Michaela and I weren't friends, really. Of course, in all the time I've known her, we've had our arguments and squabbles, as well as an occasional outburst. But overall, we're pretty close. People tend to have one of two totally opposite reactions when they see us together: on the one hand, you have those who say that we look nothing alike (though upon closer inspection, say we do have the same nose =P ), then on the other hand there are those who insist we look like twins. Now, Michaela and I both emphatically agree that we look nothing like twins. We just look like sisters... because we are. =)
Now, I have to tell you, Kayla (Michaela) and I have grown even closer since the time that we met Sarah. We've always been closer than the average siblings, which I think is mainly due to the fact that we move on average every one and a half to two years, as well as the fact that we have two excellent parents who have worked with us and taught us to get along together. Unfortunately, though, at the time that I met Sarah, Kayla and I had grown apart quite a bit. I blame myself; a couple of friends that I had were extremely unloving in their words and actions toward their younger siblings, and that attitude had rubbed off on me to the point that I would allow myself to get easily aggravated and annoyed at Michaela. I would speak sarcastically and often rudely to her, and boss her around (often even more than is normal coming from an older sister). Looking back, I'm ashamed at my behavior, and I can't believe the bad example I was setting for my sister.
Back to Sarah. While up at the summer camp, after we'd decided on being "adopted" sisters, I began to think about the total difference in my behavior to Sarah and Kayla. Yes, it was good that I was treating Sarah like my best friend, and - as I put it even then - like my sister. But how did I treat my REAL sister? I treated her like a little girl who might get in my way, like someone I didn't want to be around, and definitely not the way I should be treating a sister. How sad is that? Fortunately, God used Sarah to show me how I needed to be toward Michaela, and through patience, hard work, lots of mistakes, and a TON of prayer, Kayla and I are back to being best friends; we're even closer than before!
This summer, I got to go to the summer camp ahead of my family, and Sarah and one of her brothers got to do the same. I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my "sister," but I was overjoyed when, two weeks later, the rest of my family joined me, and I could renew my long chats with my sister. Now, Kayla and I still argue occasionally, but we're usually able to get over those silly little things that we're usually getting upset about.
I pray that God will continue working in and through me, so that I may become the best big sister I can possibly be to Michaela....
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Here we go again! (Pt. 2)
Well, looks like the time we've been given in our current house is coming to an end.
We've been renting, and our landlords alerted us this summer of their intent to sell the house (as they were struggling to afford it, even with our rent). Since then, we have prepared the house for showings numerous times - often with less than 24 hours' notice and a few time while we were out of state!
As of today, though, a buyer was finally found.
While we have not yet found the next house to move into, I'm pretty excited knowing that God knows perfectly well where He'll this mini-transplant will land us.
When Mom told me all this over the phone earlier (I'm halfway through my volunteering visit in southern Utah right now), I admit my first thought was along the lines of, "well...there's my prayer request for church tonight. Great." Mom, on the other hand, exuded an attitude of "what a praise! We don't have the burden of having the house ready to show at a moments notice... We don't have to live in suspense of when a buyer will be found any longer... God has a new setting for us coming up!"
On that note, I am so thankful for everything Mom has been doing and is continuing to do with all this craziness that has been our life for the past 12+ months. I pray my attitude will more rightly mirror hers, and that it thereby will be more honoring to the God who hasn't stopped being in control of it all yet, and will never do so. :)
We've been renting, and our landlords alerted us this summer of their intent to sell the house (as they were struggling to afford it, even with our rent). Since then, we have prepared the house for showings numerous times - often with less than 24 hours' notice and a few time while we were out of state!
As of today, though, a buyer was finally found.
While we have not yet found the next house to move into, I'm pretty excited knowing that God knows perfectly well where He'll this mini-transplant will land us.
When Mom told me all this over the phone earlier (I'm halfway through my volunteering visit in southern Utah right now), I admit my first thought was along the lines of, "well...there's my prayer request for church tonight. Great." Mom, on the other hand, exuded an attitude of "what a praise! We don't have the burden of having the house ready to show at a moments notice... We don't have to live in suspense of when a buyer will be found any longer... God has a new setting for us coming up!"
On that note, I am so thankful for everything Mom has been doing and is continuing to do with all this craziness that has been our life for the past 12+ months. I pray my attitude will more rightly mirror hers, and that it thereby will be more honoring to the God who hasn't stopped being in control of it all yet, and will never do so. :)
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Recipe: Frozen Fruit Smoothie
HOW WE DISCOVERED THIS SWEET TREAT:
While on Kauai, Mom, Chaela, and I visited a fruit stand sort of place (Maloa'a Sunrise, on the north end of the island). We liked what we had so much that we ended up taking Dad once he got to Kauai, and went three times in all! What drew me? Their delicious fruit smoothies. The ingredients? Fruit, plain and simple. I can't recall precisely what fruit was used in the two different smoothies I tried there, but after our first visit we made a beeline to a nearby grocery store for fruit to make our own smoothies.
SHOPPING LIST:
- bag of frozen blueberries
- two-three bananas, ripe to preference
- one fresh pineapple
WHAT I DID:
- As soon as we got to our condo, I peeled and sliced up the bananas, cut the pineapple into smallish chunks, put the banana and pineapple into Freezer Ziplock baggies, and put all the fruit in the freezer.
- The next morning I let the banana and pineapple slices sit out to thaw a bit. I didn't want them to soften all the way; I just wanted them to be soft enough to mix in the blender.
- I blended the blueberries first - not down to a pulp, but just enough to act as a juice for the other fruit - then added the rest to make this delicious concoction.
- Okay, I've tried the smoothie both ways; you pick which you like better... You either can mix everything into a SMOOTH smoothie, or stop just short of that, leaving sweet little chunks of pineapple throughout the smoothie. :)
- I don't know if this particular recipe keeps very well at all in the fridge or freezer, as every time I've made it over here, it all gets devoured before it can melt!
Now, go try the smoothie. Don't add sugar or nastiness or even milk or yogurt or ice or ANYTHING but naturally sweet, perfectly delectable fruit! :D
While on Kauai, Mom, Chaela, and I visited a fruit stand sort of place (Maloa'a Sunrise, on the north end of the island). We liked what we had so much that we ended up taking Dad once he got to Kauai, and went three times in all! What drew me? Their delicious fruit smoothies. The ingredients? Fruit, plain and simple. I can't recall precisely what fruit was used in the two different smoothies I tried there, but after our first visit we made a beeline to a nearby grocery store for fruit to make our own smoothies.
SHOPPING LIST:
- bag of frozen blueberries
- two-three bananas, ripe to preference
- one fresh pineapple
WHAT I DID:
- As soon as we got to our condo, I peeled and sliced up the bananas, cut the pineapple into smallish chunks, put the banana and pineapple into Freezer Ziplock baggies, and put all the fruit in the freezer.
- The next morning I let the banana and pineapple slices sit out to thaw a bit. I didn't want them to soften all the way; I just wanted them to be soft enough to mix in the blender.
- I blended the blueberries first - not down to a pulp, but just enough to act as a juice for the other fruit - then added the rest to make this delicious concoction.
- Okay, I've tried the smoothie both ways; you pick which you like better... You either can mix everything into a SMOOTH smoothie, or stop just short of that, leaving sweet little chunks of pineapple throughout the smoothie. :)
- I don't know if this particular recipe keeps very well at all in the fridge or freezer, as every time I've made it over here, it all gets devoured before it can melt!
Now, go try the smoothie. Don't add sugar or nastiness or even milk or yogurt or ice or ANYTHING but naturally sweet, perfectly delectable fruit! :D
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Kawai, Hawaii
Aloha! Mom, Chaela, and I are on the Garden Island right now! Hopefully Dad will be able to make it out here by Tuesday (he was supposed to arrive in Kawai tomorrow evening, but the plane to take him to Kuwait broke down and things didn't get smoothed out in time to make his other connections).
Anyway, I'll update more when I can, but right now we're about to head out the door to go exploring and find a beach or two to relax on!
Hope you're having a beautiful fall day!
-Danielle [Kaniel]
Anyway, I'll update more when I can, but right now we're about to head out the door to go exploring and find a beach or two to relax on!
Hope you're having a beautiful fall day!
-Danielle [Kaniel]
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Trivia time!
So Alison (one of the crazy-fabulous people I get to work with) and I have been testing each other to see how much Adventures in Odyssey trivia we know. ...We both know quite a bit, in fact. Well, I'm curious to see how many others have some trivia questions of their own! Go ahead and post any you think of in the comment area. :D
While you're racking your brain for creative questions, here are a few for you to try:
- While Whit's invention, the Strataflyer, is ONLY in the video series of Adventures in Odyssey, it happens to be alluded to in at least one radio episode (that I'm aware of). Which episode is that?
- Who is Boswell, and what other characters is he connected with?
- In the episode where Jimmy Barclay is in a coma, what is the common theme in names of the different vehicles/vessels he finds himself in?
(I'll post the answers in a day or two.)
I hope you're having a great day! :)
While you're racking your brain for creative questions, here are a few for you to try:
- While Whit's invention, the Strataflyer, is ONLY in the video series of Adventures in Odyssey, it happens to be alluded to in at least one radio episode (that I'm aware of). Which episode is that?
- Who is Boswell, and what other characters is he connected with?
- In the episode where Jimmy Barclay is in a coma, what is the common theme in names of the different vehicles/vessels he finds himself in?
(I'll post the answers in a day or two.)
I hope you're having a great day! :)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Thoughts
A lot has been on my mind lately:
Dad and his deployment - how hard it is, but how wonderful it is for the four of us to get to FaceTime so often...
Mom and her illnesses and having to deal with the complications and effects of celiac, and how well she's handling managing these things on top of house-hunting (although that isn't too urgent, I think) and Chaela's schoolwork and everything else she does...
Chaela and -- well, she has a lot going on in her life and in her heart, but we haven't really talked much about it at all lately, which fact is another thing on my mind...
Jon. Goodness. I don't know what I'm thinking there, really, except that I hope and pray he is doing alright after our breakup three weeks ago; praying that we'll one day maybe be able to honestly be friends like we were on the early end of last summer; thankful for the time God gave us to be together and learn from one another...
School and how embarrassingly slow I have been in completing everything thus far, and how overwhelmed I feel by the bulk of what's left...
My future (both immediate and far-off) in all its looming uncertainty and possibilities; I have never wanted and still do not want to have to pursue a career of any sort, even if it's something as appealing to me as working with and teaching children, but it looks like that's just what I need to begin considering seriously.
How wonderful that I have a Best Friend who knows how all this mess will turn out and has my best interest at heart! I sincerely want to be in the perfect center of God's will, but right at this moment I'm struggling to see even a glimmer of hope of knowing what that is....
Needless to say, I sure would appreciate prayer that I would seek God's will with my whole heart without reserve in any area, and that I would have a joyful spirit through it all! Thank you. :)
*NOTE (8/29/13)
Last night Chaela listened to me as I related most of what I said here and more. She is definitely among the best sisters in the history of ever! She helped me by letting me sort through things by saying them aloud as well as by offering advice.
Anyway, I'm feeling significantly better and feel like I've been given a glimpse of where my next first step should be....
Dad and his deployment - how hard it is, but how wonderful it is for the four of us to get to FaceTime so often...
Mom and her illnesses and having to deal with the complications and effects of celiac, and how well she's handling managing these things on top of house-hunting (although that isn't too urgent, I think) and Chaela's schoolwork and everything else she does...
Chaela and -- well, she has a lot going on in her life and in her heart, but we haven't really talked much about it at all lately, which fact is another thing on my mind...
Jon. Goodness. I don't know what I'm thinking there, really, except that I hope and pray he is doing alright after our breakup three weeks ago; praying that we'll one day maybe be able to honestly be friends like we were on the early end of last summer; thankful for the time God gave us to be together and learn from one another...
School and how embarrassingly slow I have been in completing everything thus far, and how overwhelmed I feel by the bulk of what's left...
My future (both immediate and far-off) in all its looming uncertainty and possibilities; I have never wanted and still do not want to have to pursue a career of any sort, even if it's something as appealing to me as working with and teaching children, but it looks like that's just what I need to begin considering seriously.
How wonderful that I have a Best Friend who knows how all this mess will turn out and has my best interest at heart! I sincerely want to be in the perfect center of God's will, but right at this moment I'm struggling to see even a glimmer of hope of knowing what that is....
Needless to say, I sure would appreciate prayer that I would seek God's will with my whole heart without reserve in any area, and that I would have a joyful spirit through it all! Thank you. :)
*NOTE (8/29/13)
Last night Chaela listened to me as I related most of what I said here and more. She is definitely among the best sisters in the history of ever! She helped me by letting me sort through things by saying them aloud as well as by offering advice.
Anyway, I'm feeling significantly better and feel like I've been given a glimpse of where my next first step should be....
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