A new favorite verse...

This morning in my daily Bible devotions, I stumbled across this verse.  Isn't it amazing how, no matter how many times you've read a passage, you always find something new in it? :)

I just felt led to share this with you all...

From one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Psalm 37...verse 23-24:

'The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.'

Hope your day is blessed!

2nd period - Portrait 101

2nd period -

Portrait 101

taught by: Kaitlin R.

fellow students: Madison, Fiona, Susannah, Talitha, Susan, Claire, Sarah and Savannah

This is one of my favorite classes. :)  At first it wasn't...because I wasn't making much progress in it. 
But after a couple weeks, I really started to get the hang of it...and see for myself, that I *was* making progress. :)  So yes, NOW I enjoy it :D

My first portrait...

Mrs. Sono Harris

I didn't like how this one turned out, so I plan to do another one of it.

My second portrait -

mmm...I don't really like how this one turned out either...what do you think? :P

Georgie Henley/Lucy Pevensie

My third portrait...

and, I think, by far, my favorite :)

Ben Barnes/Prince Caspian

My fourth portrait...

argh!  This one was SO hard :P  But everyone says that it's really good...AND this looks FAR better in person too!! :P

Anna Popplewell/Susan Pevensie

(and yes, the original of this pic, her hair is just gorgeous, all long and curly...so if you've never done portrait (let alone hair!) I'm just telling you that Anna said I could straighten her hair for this pic ;)

I'm ALMOST finished with William Moseley/Peter Pevensie, and I still have to find a good portrait of Skandar Keynes/Edmund...help me out if you want ;)

But yeah...do you want to see those when I finish?  Oh, and should I do one of James McAvoy/Mr. Tumnus??  Just to finish off the series...

Up next...

Drawing 101/102

Flicka

Okay, another movie off my to-watch-list. ;)

Okay, before I say if this movie was 'good' or 'bad', let me just say that I can see a family being...the way this family is.

This movie is about a girl wanting to keep a wild horse that she found.

She does not have a good relationship with her father (warning: she does say that she hates him and that he's not her father anymore - both in outbursts of anger).

She has an okay relationship with her mom.

Her brother is pretty much her best friend.

She's independant...and in some parts, you get the feminist message.

So...I can see this being a family today.  A non-Christian family, struggling because they don't know which way to go.  They don't know God, so they don't have a goal and road set before them.

So...the story-line was okay, the movie was filmed very well, and there are only a few...questionable things in it. (a man says and does a few husband/wife things with his wife (nothing revealing, but sensual), a girl is shown swimming in a bikini, and there are a few bad words).

Alison Lohman played the main character, Katy...

This is something else I forgot to mention about...

Four words:

She [Katy] is a brat.

Throughout the movie, there were times when I wish I could've just smacked her!  She acted like a spoiled little baby!!

She has super cool hair though :P

Tim McGraw as Katy's dad, Rob.

I think he did a pretty good job, actually...this being his first movie and all. 

And he did all his own riding and roping!!  SO cool!

Maria Bello as Katy's mom, Nell.

Very well done job!  Maria portrayed Nell's character VERY well.  I really liked her!

Okay, Ryan Kwanten as Katy's big brother, Howard...

LOVED this guy!  His personality and character traits...he had this SWEET and fantastic relationship with his mother, is was adorable...AND, he has a neat hair style :)  Not really in this picture, but...yeah, anyway.

If what I said at the beginning of this post makes you wonder if you should see this or not, let me reassure you by saying that yes, everything gets resolved in the end. 

The father and daughter make up.

They tell each other that they love each other.

There's one part that the son (Howard) gets really upset and yells at the dad (Rob), and then towards the end of the movie, he apologizes (and gets emotional...makes you want to hug him! :( ) and they make up.

So...it's not like a MUST SEE MOVIE!!!  And I don't REALLY recommend it, but it's not like it's really BAD either...

For those of you who have seen it, what do you think??

To read a complete review on Flicka, go to the imdb.com link below:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434215/

Introducing...

Ruby in the Rough

http://www.rubyintherough7.blogspot.com/

The blog of my dear Mama :)

My dear Mother has been wanting to start a blog for quite a while now, and thanks to Emily N. (from Practically Pink), her blog is up and running AND beautifully designed!!

She doesn't have many posts up yet, but she'd appreciate your visit, comments, and yes...feel free to follow :)

Love you, Mama!  Welcome to the blogger world!

1st period - Violin 101

So...I've been wanting to do a series of posts on all my MSOA classes that I've been taking...
I know this is...super overdue, but I'm making them up to you and making them super fun and interesting to read. ;)  Deal?

1st Period:

Violin 101

I took violin about three years ago, but only for about 6 months.  I had to put it aside when suddenly, our family started growing larger and larger. :) 

But I was excited at the prospect of picking it back up (taking lessons through MSOA), and so now, I've been playing for about 10 or so months (in all).

Needless to say, I am *really* enjoying it!! :)

We are currently working on:

The Swallow Tail Jig

and

Old Joe Clark

Now, for any violin experts out there, you're probably like, 'okay, you're not really far in violin!', but...if you don't have an encouraging word, don't comment. :)

So, anyway, I'm really enjoying this class and really think that I'm expounding and stretching my talent in violin/music (not bragging here), and am excited to see what God holds for me in the future of violin music.

Taught by: Sue M.

Other students: Raquel (yeah, can you believe it? :)  She and I are the most advanced and sometimes Sue says, 'okay, let's hear The Raquels play! :), Bethany, Mariko, and Lexi

Keep an eye out for my next post about MSOA classes...

Portrait 101!

My Thanksgiving...

went very well!! :)

We had been planning to go to our dear friends' house, the M. family, for a few weeks now and were FINALLY able to go and have all the fun we had planned!! ;)  Another family came too, the B. family...and in all, there was something crazy like...well, here I'll just name everyone in the families:

Mr. and Mrs. M. and their children - James, Jon, Jeffery and Julie
Mrs. and Mrs. B. and their children - Cody, Tyler, Andrew and Kieran
and our family: Dad and Mother - Noah, me, Lydia, Eunice, Priscilla, Grace and Josiah...

So yeah. 21 people, in all.  Very fun! ;)

It was funny too, actually, because there were 7 teen guys in all (counting my brother Noah) and I was like, the only teen girl there. :)  And usually it is the other way around...Noah's the only guy among all my girlfriends.  So it was a nice change, especially for him. :)  But I had a fun time!  The guys did a very good job of including me (I told them that they were very gentlemanly and I gave them an A+ ;).  We played games...Robo Rally and then I decided to draw while they played...I think it was a game called Antike, or something like that.  Have any of you ever played Robo Rally?  Okay, so it LOOKS really complicated to learn, but after the first couple rounds, you get it. ;)  Or at least, I did.  I didn't even pay attention to Antike, because it just looked way too complicated!! :P  Oh, yes and I was drawing...well, I'm gonna be doing a post on a series of portraits that I'm drawing, so...keep an eye out for it! ;)

Oh yes, and we had tons of food!! ;)  Mother and I made two dishes that we took...actually, three.  A sweet potato recipe dish (VERY yummy!  First time making it too!), a Spanish dish called Sopa Paraguaya, and Mother made her famous, cannot-only-have-one-piece Oreo Cookie Cheesecake!!  Any mouths watering yet? ;)  Besides our dishes, the M. and B. families made prime rib, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate silk pie...yeah, you get the idea. ;)  Everything was delicious!!

Anyway, we stayed fairly late.  Well, we wanted to get back before 9PM, just because of the temperature drop and not wanting to have trouble getting back up our driveway.  A lot of the snow melted today (because it rained a lot), but yesterday and last night, there was still a bit left on the ground, and there was a lot of ice too. :P  Oh, and on the way back home, we stopped by our aunt and uncle's house (my Dad's oldest sister and her husband) and my Dad's brother, his wife and their son were there too, so we visited for a while. :)  Ooh!  And my aunt had this really fun idea too!  She had laid these cotton tablecloths out on their large table(s) and had us write (with permanent markers) what we were thankful for.  It was SO much fun and SUCH a good idea!!  I want to do it next year!! :)

AND

tomorrow (Saturday) we are having our cousin and her family (except her husband...he's going to be out of state) for a 'second' Thanksgiving feast! :)  We are SO excited!!  I'll blog about that too...and hopefully have pictures.  I didn't take any yesterday, but Mrs. M. did.  Maybe I could get some from her...? ;)

So tell how your Thanksgiving was!  Do you and your family have any special traditions?  What was the best part of your day?

Hope this year's Thanksgiving was a joy and blessing to y'all!  Love and hugs!

Thanksgiving...should be every day

One post couldn't hold everything that I am thankful for in this life.  But I think I can think of just one word to sum it all up...

God.

He is the reason for everything.

For my life,

for this blog,

for everything that I am thankful for. 

Because without Him, #1 - I wouldn't be here to enjoy them and

#2 - they wouldn't here in the first place.

We need to remember to be thankful even for the bad things...because we know that they all work out for good to those who love Him.

Do I hear an 'amen'??

For this Thanksgiving, we are going over to our dear friends' home, the M. family.  Should be fun...though I don't remember a time going over there that I didn't. :D

Then on Saturday, we are having another Thanksgiving celebration with our cousins, the S. family.  Can't wait!! ♥

What is your family doing to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Whatever it is, I hope it's a joyful celebration!!  Remember things you are thankful for...

To all my followers...

Dear followers :)

I was just thinking today how FANTASTIC and fun it would be to know where y'all are from :)  You don't have to be specific...like, give me your address, right down to your house number and street name! :)  But just something as general as the state in which you reside. :) 
And the super fun thing about knowing this would be, IF you live anywhere near me, it would be SO much fun if we could somehow, LORD-willing, be able to meet! :)  Don't you think?

Oh, and for those of you who I HAVE met...go ahead and comment too. ;)  I would like to try to get a percentage of whereabouts my readers are from. :)

Thank you so much!  This should be fun!

'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' read-through

Okay, no one - and I mean NOBODY - is as excited about 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' coming out, as I am!!!  Let's just get that clear right off the bat. ;)

My brother and I are planning on going to see it IN THEATERS on December 10th (the official release date) with some friends!!! (Hopefully the 'with friends' part will work out...if not, that's fine too :)

BUT, I was thinking it would be SO MUCH FUN, like 'in honor of' this fantastic movie coming out, to read the original, unabridged version of 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', and then, when we see the movie, the whole original book will be fresh in my mind and I'll be able to compare the movie to it.  I DO have a feeling that the two stories will be very different from each other...but I know that I'll still like the movie! ;) (C'mon, people, Prince Caspian is in it!! *sigh* Okay, okay...moving on!)  So, anyway, I just thought I'd let everybody know about those plans...and if you would like to join me, I could put up a Linky and you can add your name to it. ;)  If I get lots more people to join me, I *may* add some 'rules' to the read-through...nothing hard or anything, but just to add to the fun. ;)

PS:  Oh, and in Portland, there's this HUGE VofDT poster that you can see from the freeway...*gasp* Any time I see it, I just squeal with excitment!! :)

Edmund's like 'yeah, it's nice to see you again too.' :D

No comment.

Georgie Henley is so pretty :)  Yay!!  And we're the same age ;)

I love Caspian's expression here...just *in awe*!! :D

ECSTATICALLY EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, seriously...how many of you have seen such an exciting post title?!  And have you ANY idea why I should be THAT excited?!?!

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Sorry, you're gonna have to wait for that post that I was working on about my MSOA classes, because I wanted to announce - BECAUSE OF YOUR VOTES - God's Daughter won the

2010 Best Teen Blog Award

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love and hugs to all of my fans, sweet friends, and followers!!!  I owe it all to you!!

*HUGS*

To view winners of the other categories, go to the following link:

http://hsbapost.com/2010/11/22/winners-of-the-6th-annual-homeschool-blog-awards/

Congratulations to all!!!!!!!!

I am so excited...

about the November/December issue of Visions of Virtue Magazine!!  There is an interview section in it (called Visionary Daughters) where I interview certain lady/ladies.  Well, guess who I'm interviewing for this next issue??

The lovely Miss...

Victoria Emmons

Best known for her role as Rachel Morton in the Advent Film Group film: Come What May.

I have been honored to get to know Victoria over the last few months, and she has agreed to be featured in the next VOV issue!!  I am just SO excited! :) (can't you tell? ;)

So...I guess this could be used as a bribe to subscribe to VOV. ;)  Or, at least, to buy a sample copy of it...the November/December issue, that is. :)

Anyway...I was just so excited about this, I decided to blog about it! :) *smile*

It is...

snowing...

Question from Mrs. C.

What made you decide to have a blog in the first place?

I had always wanted somewhere public to write about my thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and be able to encourage fellow sisters in the LORD…so I felt led to start a blog.  I really did not know what to call it at first!  I had come up with so many different fun names, but finally decided on something simple/practical.  Something easy to remember.  So, I settled on ‘God’s Daughter’.  I’ve had this sweet blog for over two years now.  I had actually begun it with the late Sampa.com site (but they closed about a year ago).  So I moved to Blogger.  On Sampa, I had my blog private…but since moving to Blogger, I felt that I should make it public, in order for it to reach more people and be the blessing and encouragement that I had begun it for in the first place.

To all knitters and crocheters :)

Hello to all my knit and crochet fanatic blogger friends!! :)  (wow, long introduction line there! ;)

So, this evening, when Dad got home from work, he told me that he had gotten the link to this website from his sister (my aunt...who knows I love knitting and crocheting ;) and he told me that I should look it up.  So...I did!  And I love it!!  SO fun!!  You must check http://www.knitandcrochettoday.com/!
They have some adorable FREE patterns, fun tips on knitting and crocheting, newsletters, and you can even buy episodes of their TV show on DVDs!!

Also...a dear motherly-type friend of mine, Mrs. H., told me about this other really super fun website called: Interweave, that actually publishes a FEW different magazines.  A MUST check out!! :)  http://www.interweave.com/ and then click on 'Magazines' at the top of the page, and you can view the different ones that they publish.

Let me know if you check them out...and if you do, fun stuff that you've found on them ;)

Blessings!

Question from Emily

Where would you travel to if you could pack up today and stay there for a week?

Ooh! Just for a week?! :) I’ve always told myself that if I ever went out of the country, that I’d need to have more than a week’s time to see everything that I’ve wanted to see (places such as Paris, London, Rome…*SIGH*). But if you’re only giving me a week… :) I’d have to say…

NEW YORK CITY

Alice in Wonderland

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest with you here... (wow, that makes it sound like I usually am not...but, you know what I mean ;)...I was not thrilled about 'Alice in Wonderland' coming out...I am not a big fan of this story...and I certainly was not planning watching this movie any time soon.

BUT...there's a first time for everything (do I hear a 'yes!'?)...and my first time watching 'Alice in Wonderland', came about when I spent last Thursday night with my cousin, Hannah. (♥)

And...

I liked it.

SUPERB casting...the actors and actresses that they picked for each of the characters was outstanding!!

Mia Wasikowska as Alice

(BTW, I loved her outfits in the movie...oh!  Except the first one when she shrinks and the one made out of curtains :P)

Yeah, this one...drove me NUTS!

But yeah, I liked this one...the buttons along the bodice and the edging alone the trim were so pretty and dainty!  The color looked great on her.

Oh, and was it just me or do you feel too that she looked more pale in real-life than when she was in Wonderland??

Oh yeah, here's the other one I didn't like... :P Ew!

Her armor was pretty cool, though!!

Oh, and the ONLY thing I didn't really like about this whole part was that it was...in a way...feministic.  Just because SHE was the one who slew the Jabbawocky and not like...The Hatter or a guy or something.  I don't know.  That kinda bothered me...

And of course...

the famous Mr. Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter

(I absolutely LOVED his character in this movie!! and Johnny did a...how can I say this...FANTASTIC job!!)

Anne Hathaway as the good and lovely White Queen

(okay, I do not like Anne Hathaway...but she did a FABULOUS job in this movie!!)

The White Queen's kingdom...

Could I just go live there??

Ah yes!

Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen (the White Queen's evil sister...the one with the big head :D)

'Off with his head!!' seemed to be her favorite saying, don't you think? :)

(Oh and here's a little fact about this actress...she is the cousin of the sweet, gentleman Mr. Bingley in the 1995 'Pride and Prejudice'...any family resemblance there?)

The Red Queen's kingdom...

Okay, I didn't really like these weird twins but

Matt Lucas did a good job as Tweedledee/Tweedledum.

Michael Sheen as...

the White Rabbit.

Didn't really care too much for this character either...

Stephen Fry as...

Cheshire Cat

Kind of a freaky-looking character, but I thought he was pretty funny!

I thought the part where he is trying to take the Hatter's hat from him, and the Hatter kept keeping it closely guarded...I thought that part was funny!  Kept laughing :)

Mr. Alan Rickman as...

the Blue Caterpillar

Imagine...going from Colonel Brandon (in 'Sense and Sensibility'), to the evil guy in 'Robin Hood' (can't remember the character's name at the moment...but it's the Robin Hood with Kevin Costner - total fail, by the way!!), to the Blue Caterpillar...all I can say is, 'good actor'.

Barbara Windsor as...

Dormouse

*haha* This cute little thing cracked me up!  With her stupid little eyeball in that net around her waist! :D *haha*  But I loved her voice...matched her perfectly!

Paul Whitehouse as...

The March Hare

Another character that cracked me up!! :D

Timothy Spall as...

Bayard

Aw!!  This bloodhound was so cute!  I loved him!  Just felt like taking him in my arms and hugging him.

And I loved this part!!  That good ol' bloodhound and the good White Queen.

So...this movie is still not a FAVORITE or anything, but I did enjoy it.  I thought it was well-made, well-directed, well-cast, had a fabulous soundtrack, and the costumes were pretty cool too!

Have you seen it?  What do you think of it?

Please be aware that I, in no way, support any of the actors/actresses displayed in this post.