Awarded and tagged!

I've been tagged twice in the past week, and I was just thinking how grateful I am to all of my readers/online friends for thinking of me while doing these!

From Isabel, of Izzy's Island, I was awarded this:

Thank you, Isabel!!
The rules are:

Thank the person who gave you the award

Copy the award
Post it on your blog
Tell 10 things your readers don't know on your blog
Link 7 new bloggers as recipients
Notify the winners of their award with a comment on their blog

Thanks again, Izzy:). My ten things are:

1. I am in the Nutcracker with my dance studio this year--party child and an angel.
   
2. I'll be getting my braces off right before Christmas!!! Something I'm VERY excited about...
   
3. I use 8th grade curriculum for Math and History.


4. I am enjoying Math this year more than I have in the past, probably because it is more of a challenge for me:)


5. My siblings and I got our pictures taken at JCPenny's yesterday.


6. I love wearing sweaters(in the winter, that is)!!


7. I can't stand it when people read ahead in books!!!!! I mean, that's cheating, right?!

8. I only have 3 cousins, and the youngest is now 20. (So there, Isabel!!)

9. My favorite animal is a cat...love, love, love them!

10. I really like the song, "Within" by William Joseph. The piano is amazing!

Since a lot of people have already been tagged, I may have to re-award some of you, and then you can just say that it was from me, too:)

Caroline

Maggie

Sara

skittle dance

Kait

Katie

Have fun!

Secondly, I've been tagged by Iona, of The Wonderful I.N.N. Thanks, Iona! Rules:

The rules are you have to do this tag on your blog when I tag you..AND you have to tag 5 other people!

1. How old are you? 12
2. What is your favorite color? Blue, Green, and pale Pink
3. Who was your first crush and when was it? I'm not sure...
4. How many blogs do you have? only this one!
5. Do you have a facebook? No, I don't. And I don't that I will, at least in the near future--it seems a bit...exposed to me, and sometimes not very Godly. (I know some of you may disagree, but that's just me humble opinion.)
6. Do you have a Twitter? Nope!
7. What's your BFF's name? I'm blessed to have several wonderful friends, but I'd have to say that my closest are Mary and Kathleen.
8. What are your favorite Clothes brands? Old Navy, Macy's, sometimes Justice (once you get through everything immodest, Hannah Montana, etc., they've got some pretty nice clothes.) and probably some other stores, too.
9. Do you put Mascara on in the mornings or whenever? I don't wear mascara usually!!

10. What size shoe do you wear? 6 or 7 in woman's, and when I occasionally shop in kid's I'm a 6, but usually the shoes won't work because they're too wide so my extremely narrow feet=)
11. If you had to pick 1 singer or band to meet who would it be? I don't know....
12. Who is your crush currently? I don't have one!!!
13. When do you post on your blog? Whenever I get a chance, I guess!

If any of you would like to give this tag a try, then feel free! Just be sure to comment and tell me that you did!

Blessings, Hannah

Thanksgiving weekend...

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! The reason I've been absent from the blogger-world for a while is because, as usual, my family and I went to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom's family there. I had wanted to post more before we left (and honestly, I had a "Thankfulness Post" all planned out in my mind....) but things like school work, dance, packing, the arrival of our new kitchen table and chairs, and last minute haircuts and shopping kept me away from the computer so, you get the idea:)



I was so excited because this was the first time bringing my new camera out of town. And praise the Lord, I didn't break or lose it! (Because you all know me...:) Overall, I think the computer said I took around 350 pictures--which is a real pain in the neck to look through and find about 10 or so to use in your post!



However, thanks to a little help from Picnik.com I was able to create some collages of my pictures so that I could display more here (after all, I did take some pretty good ones...). Of course since I don't have "Picnik Premium" I can't do the real cool ones, but it got the job done!

Anyway, back to our trip--we left Wednesday morning. Our trip to Chicago went okay, except for some traffic delays towards the end and the fact the Stephen wasn't feeling well threw up in the car--and my mom. Poor guy! Certainly not fun for him (or my mom, either!). However, we eventually arrived at grandpa's safe and sound.

One of the things I like most about Thanksgiving is the cooking. Ever since was quite little I remember helping out in any way I could. And I enjoy that I'm able to do more and more each year. We had Thanksgiving at my Grandma's house this year and Megan and I headed over early to help her and our Aunt Cath get started.

Here's just a little peek at the day....

Oh, and do you want to see my favorite picture of all? Of course you do=)

You can tell that my family is very particular about our turkeys!! Basically what this is is Grandma's carrying turkey over to be stuffed, and Aunt Cath is taking it from her assuring Grandma that she can handle it alone....And I just *happened* to have my camera out. Have you ever taken a really funny picture that you like?

Over all, I had a lovely Thanksgiving! It was so fun to be with the family that I am SO very thankful for! Stephen still wasn't feeling that great though--sadly he wasn't able to eat anything:(

On Friday, Stephen still wasn't feeling that great so during the day we basically just hung out at Grandpa's (no Black Friday shopping for us!). In the evening, however, we celebrated CJ's birthday by going out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Really, CJ's birthday isn't until December 19, but we usually celebrate it with family around Thanksgiving because, let's just say it's a much less busy time of year!

Back at Grandpa's, the birthday-boy-to-be opened his presents.

Instead of birthday cake, we had Dunkin' Donuts....and although I love cake, I'm not complaining! Next day (Stephen very thankfully feeling better!) we headed to the North Side of Chicago, where we met up with my Aunt at Victory's Banner --an extremely good vegetarian breakfast/lunch place that she recommended-- and afterwards continued to explore Roscoe Village, where we found several super-fun shops. My favorite was the bead shop, where my aunt and I got to take an earring-making class that was going on and made a cute pair of Snow-Man earrings. Oh, and the weather was behaving very nicely for us, too--50 degrees and sunny (unlike some cold, rainy days that we had had earlier...).

Yep, Saturday was definitely a fun day....

(Above: Stephen at restaurant, the street, shop window, and family browsing:)

On Sunday, before heading home, we went to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa. And I'm totally serious when I say that this place probably has the BEST (and the biggest!) omelette's ever!!! Yum:)

As a side note, I just kind of noticed that a lot of this post had to do with food and eating! But, as it's Thanksgiving, what do you expect?:)

How was your Thanksgiving?

PS-Isabel, I'll get to your tag ASAP!=)

~Rejoice~

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are His;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

~Hannah

Happy [late, of course] Birthday, Grandma!

I would like to wish my dear Grandma Nancy a happy birthday today! She turned--well, I'll be nice and not say...


Of course her actual birthday was Thursday, but keeping with the "late news" theme that I've had on my blog as of recent (my excuse being this overly busy fall that I'm having!!) I'm posting about it today. =D

Better late than never, I suppose....:) Anyway:

I'm sitting here thinking of what to write, and well, the thing is, I don't know my grandma extremely well. Until a few years ago, she lived in Ohio, alone, and we visited her maybe about every two years.

I can remember going there, sleeping in her smelly, smelly house--grandma was (and still would be) the biggest pack rat ever and her refrigerator....well, you get the idea--playing with the toys in her house, going to the park, seeing the rest of Port Clinton....I actually don't remember too much, just the general idea.

But it was hard, even at such an early age, seeing my grandma's short-term memory slip away. It was difficult to have conversations, etc. because she usually forgot what you had said a few minutes ago. At our very last visit to Grandma Nancy's house, her all-timers had gotten bad enough that she had totally forgot we were coming and gone out for the day. If I remember correctly, that was the time that CJ and I were let through my grandma's window to let the rest of the family in.






Even though we laugh about this and other incidents that happened, it really wasn't funny--it was sad, to see this happening to grandma; for me because I never got to know the "grandma that remembered things", and for my dad and my uncle (and my mom, too) because they knew what it was like before this.


A couple of years ago, my grandmother was moved to the all-timers ward in a nursing home in North Carolina, where my uncle and his family live. There was no more going to Ohio for a few weeks in the summer, and actually I didn't get to see my grandma again until last May, when we went down to my uncle's house for my cousin's graduation. We finally had the wonderful opportunity to see Grandma again!




It was sooo fun to get to see her away from her smelly, cramped house and in her nice, pleasant (although pretty small) room in her nursing home! She naturally didn't know who Stephen was, but after we told her and got acquainted she remembered who he was when we came to see her a few days later. We were all pretty impressed, as we weren't expecting her to do that (It's a sad thought, but we don't think she'll ever remember Stephen.)


Last Thursday, Grandma Nancy's birthday, Dad called (he was out of town) and said that he had gotten a call from my uncle, who had gone to see Grandma that day. He said that she's doing well (yay!) but is "progressing" in her all-timers as well. For instance, she's starting to forget when she has to go to the bathroom, and now has to wear "diapers" just about all the time. This and many other things that my grandma now cannot do pains me to think about.

I'll confess something, which I'm ashamed of and I want to try to work on: I don't think of my grandma very much. The thing is, with Grandma Nancy living so far away, and me not being able to see her, she sadly slips my mind some of the time. I forget to pray for her, for those who are taking care of her....

But I'm trying to do better, though. And I'd love it if you could pray for her, too! Pray that the rest of her life may be as wonderful as possible, even if she won't remember most of it, and pray for every one watching her go through this. For God's will, and not necessarily ours, to be done. Thank you!

So, Grandma, I don't know if you're reading this or not, but I'd like to wish you HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

From all of us!

(I know this isn't exactly a typical "Hannah's Hangout" post, but that's what ya get when Miss blog author is tired and "doesn't know what to say"....a big long, 'ole post like this one:) Thanks for baring with me for today!)

Pray for CJ!

UPDATE: Mom and CJ just got home from the doctor, and yes, he has an ear infection and will be put on medication. Right now he's feeling really horrible and is watching football on the sofa in the family room. Please pray!

I've got another prayer intention for you today....

First of all, to let you know, I am recovering! I'm still coughing like crazy, but the runny nose has lessened and I'm up and about today:) Thanks for your prayers!

Answering Caroline's question, we really don't think that it is/was Swine Flu. The symptoms were different than what we had heard, and usually H1N1 is over with in three or four days...mine has last a whole week (ahhh!). So we don't think so, but I haven't been tested or anything, so we could have been wrong...

Early this morning CJ woke up saying his ear was hurting. Mom is planning to take him to the doctor in a little bit to see if he has an ear infection. CJ's been feeling "iffy" on and off this week thus far and finally when we thought he was getting better he starts to get worse! He had actually started going downhill yesterday when he went to co-op (I had stayed at home) and after PE he said he felt really sick, so he didn't go to drama class. I think that he's currently upstairs resting/sleeping in bed.

So please, please pray that he gets better! Hopefully we can get an antibiotic for him. And in the mean time, I hope that my cough, cough, coughing will go away too!

Thank you again!

~Hannah

Quiz...

Jenna, of Feminine Farmgirl, did this quiz last weekend and I thought it looked fun:) Hopefully you'll learn some new things about me....

1. Do you like to write?
Most of the time yes, especially for my blog!


2.Favorite books?
Too many.... Goose Girl, Princess Academy, Harry Potter, A Year Down Yonder, Fingal's Quest, Narnia, Chasing Vermeer, the Bible, and many more...



3. Do you compose music/write songs?
Not really; I'm not good at that sort of thing!



4. Do you like poetry?
Not a lot. More than I used to, though, and I occasionally like writing it.



5. Love someone so much who made you cry?
Yes=)



6. Broken a bone?
No, which I'm super happy about!!!



7.Been in a police car?
I may have. I know when I was younger we went to a vehicle fair so I may have gone in one then.


8.Been on a boat?
Yes; once when I was about four or five we went on our friend's tubing boat and once when I was eight our cousins and we rented one to spread my grandpa's ashes. I've also been on a river boat with a homeschooling group last year. I got "sea sick" sadly, though...yep on a river boat. Pretty pathetic, huh?;)

9.Fallen asleep in school?
Probably....



10. Did you sing today?
I tried to, but my throat would not allow....probably something I miss most about not being well. BTW, in case you're wondering, I'm feeling much better today, although I'm still coughing and stuff.



11.KFC, Popeyes, or Church's?
Since I've only been to KFC, I can't really say!


12.Chick-fil-a or What-a-burger?
What's what-a-burger? I'm confused....


13.Starbucks of McCafe?
Oh my goodness Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks!!!!!



14.What's your favorite time of year?
Spring and Fall...actually I love early spring when the trees are just beginning to bud and the bees aren't out yet!



15.Do you ever talk to yourself?
Oh my word yes! When no one else is around...



16.Do you have a favorite treat you like to buy on occasion?
Not that I can think of.



17. Do you believe the Bible is the literal Word of God and is infallible?
Yes, very much so. However, as I Catholic, I also believe in the authority of the Pope and in Tradition. After all, the complete Bible was not even printed until the third century AD. Before that, all that the Early Christians knew had been taught to them orally. Many of them didn't know how to read anyway!

18. What's your favorite sport?
I do not play any sports, but my favorite to watch would have to be ice skating! If only their costumes were a little more modest...



19. What color is your ipod?
It's light blue.



20. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would go to Italy, and France, and England, and Greece...yes all over Europe, probably!

21.If you could go to any fictional place, where would you go?
Hmm, that's a hard one... I would love to see the Quarries of Danland in the Princess Academy, or Hogwarts from Harry Potter...



22.Do you love to write or do you just like writing? Or do you write at all?
Didn't you already ask about writing? I like it, but it usually takes me a while.



23.What do you want to be when you’re a grown up?
I'm still not positive about what God wants me to do with my calling, although I think it would be lovely to be a stay-at-home Mom and home-school me children. And be a photographer on the side...=)



24.Favorite animal?
Probably cats and horses most! In general, though, I'm not a huge animal person.


25. Favorite song?
Many!

26.Do you like school?
Yes! Homeschooling is the best!

27.Are you a people person?
Yes; I'm really blessed to be able to see my friends from dance class and co-op a lot!


28. Do you like to talk?
Yes! Sometimes I think I go a bit too far, though. I need to watch what I say!

29.Favorite food?
I like basically anything! Unlike some certain siblings of mine...



30.Hobbies?
Dancing, singing, acting, playing piano and violin, photography, blogging...


31.'Favorite author?
The authors of my favorite books above!


32. Favorite weapon?
I've never really thought about that before. Can you imagine??=) I'm just gonna have to go with what Jenna said a say The Sword of the Spirit! Definitely!

33.Is this a fun tag or are you getting bored?
It's pretty fun, but I might have to break for lunch soon....


34.Do you like Hannah Montana and all those girly people and movies like Highschool Musical?
Oh my goodness NO! They're basically just plain stupid (no offence) and although some of the songs are Okay, I guess, I really don't waste my time with them!



35.What are you scared of?
Deep water, high bridges, and big bugs! Not fun!



36.Favorite flower?
All of them!

37.What is the expression on your face? It's thinking of the best way to answer this question lol!




38. Color of your eyes?
They're brown.

Well, hope you learned some new things about me! Be sure to tell me if you do this quiz, too!

Not feeling well - Please Pray!

Dear readers,

I've been with the flu all this week and need your prayers for a continued recovery!! Although I no longer have a fever and don't feel sick to my stomach when I stand up, I'm still coughing, sneezing, and exhausting our supply of tissues:). Starting Sunday after church I wasn't feeling well and had to lie down, and since then it just got worse. Today I'm feeling a bit better - well enough to get on the [a-choo!] computer and eat normal solid foods without throwing them up...blah!

Megan and CJ were also not feeling that great, but never as bad as I was and they've just about [cough-cough!] recovered now, thankfully. I'm hoping that Mom and Dad and Stephen won't come down with what I have/had, though!

Thank you for praying! Stay healthy =)!
~Hannah

Where has October gone??

I can't believe it is November already! October simply flew by! I've been so busy that I haven't gotten to post about many of the things that I had wanted to, so I've decided to mush it all together in one big post=).



We went to the Botanical Gardens for a fall festival of their's...

I had fun taking lots of pictures at Mastodon State Park, as you already know:).

We raked leaves...lots of them!!

I know I don't seem very helpful here...just taking pictures of everybody, but I did rake too, you know!

We participated in a craft fair for home-schoolers a few weeks ago. I made the purses (simply made by sewing two woven potholders together and making a strap) and also helped with some of the other things (crayons, cookies, pins, Christmas ornaments).

And then there was carving pumpkins...

On Halloween my family and I went to Thie's Farm. It's basically a "Fall family fun" place (on a farm) with hay tunnels, a tractor ride, corn mazes, etc.

Love the sign! It was kind of muddy, actually=)

There was also a zip line, which was super-fun as well as everything else!!!

I went trick-or-treating at my friend Kathleen's house and also slept over. I had a great time there!

The Lord has definately blessed me with a wonderful (though busy!) school year thus far!

PS-Just to let you know I am having another Speech Meet tomorrow--the first one of this school year! I'm doing a duet speech with my friend Mary Frances. Pray that I do well!!

Blessings,

Hannah