Photo(s) of the Day #8- [my brother is BA.]

I just found out moments ago that my brother is the lead in the musical this year!  He's playing Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.  Yes, he is a senior in high school, and no, I have no idea how they are going to pull it off but if nothing else, Kienan will be amazing.  Here are some pictures from previous musicals with Kie.

My amazing brother and I after last year's musical, Anything Goes.

Kienan as Moonface Martin.  Best role ever.  Until this year.

Lt. Joe Cable in South Pacific.  And Kie kind of looks like he's on crack.  It's fine.

And I put this one in for poops and giggles because Kienan REFUSED to audition for the musical his freshman year.  AKA my senior year/the ONLY year we could of been in a musical together.  I'm still bitter.

You're awesome bud!  I can't wait to see how amazing you are!

Photo of the Day #7- [random.]

Here's the picture for today.  I just really looked at it and it is quite humorous.  And yes, we are at a tea party.  BE JEALOUS.  IT WAS AWESOME.

I know it's extra large but it's fine.  Don't worry about it.

This is a classy photo.  And probably sums up the relationship of the three of us.

Rachel: happy.  Loves to laugh, giggle and be in a good mood at all times.  Probably telling a good story or hearing one.  Or just being enthusiastic.

Ellie:  silly.  She is almost picking her nose.  A little shameless at times, maybe even contemplative.  I love it.  Awesomesauce.

Me: weird.  Obviously most attractive of the group.  And a little isolated at the end of the table.  But focused seeing as I'm the only one looking at the camera.

Good picture pick for the day.  Joy Weaver with the photo cred.

PS- School starts back up tomorrow.  BAD NEWS BEARS.

Photo of the Day #6- [cul de sac.]

This was random picture I selected from when I was about 4 years old.  Enjoy this wonderment of a picture.

I made it a little larger so you can really see it.  This picture is of all the youngest kids in my cul de sac growing up.  From left to right we have, Jacob, Kevin, Lee, Stephanie, Josiah in the back (obviously not wanting to take a picture), Melanie, me and Kienan.

Let's evaluate the classy moments going on in this picture:

First off, Jacob is holding an Indian drum and wearing war paint.  Kevin is wearing a Barney shirt.  Always a good choice.  Lee is wearing his helmet.  Safety first.  Stephanie has a bowl cut.  Josiah is playing with a bow and has war paint but is also wearing a baseball cap.  Melanie is the baby of the group and just not paying attention.  Kienan and I are the only ones who seem to be happy in this picture and Kienan is holding a hatchet.

Classy Waterman Drive.  Very classy.

Photo of the Day #5- [high school small group.]

Today there is only one picture.  I took it last spring I believe and I love it.  This is most of my small group from high school.

Let me tell you a little about these girls.

Let's start on the left with Ellie.  I've known Ellie since elementary school.  We're the same age but didn't go to the same elementary school, but my mom taught her and I spent a lot of after school time there.  I don't really have too many memories until sixth grade though when we were in the same middle school and same class.  From there our friendship blossomed.  That year, Ellie's family switched churches and started attending mine.  Ellie has been a huge source of support in my life.  Two summers ago, I don't think I would of survived without her.  She is absolutely goofy and funny, and peppy.  I love it.

In the middle is Molly.  I met Molly through some mutual friends and through our high school small group.  She's a little calmer and subdued than the other two in the picture which really makes the dynamic of the group different.  She's very sarcastic and has a very dry sense of humor.  I would say she is more realistic and practical than the rest of us in the group.  She's an amazing bassoonist, and is getting married this next summer.  Which is weird.  But awesome.

On the right is Rachel.  Rachel and I have known each other for most of our lives.  We grew up in the same church which kept us around we other often.  It wasn't until very recently though, that my relationship with Rachel really took off.  This year, Rachel transferred to JMU and so we've had much more time to spend with each other.  Rachel kind of blows my mind.  She has an absolutely amazing faith, and is amazingly compassionate.  She is so funny because she can be crazy and goofy but can also be amazingly down to earth, with insight well beyond her years.  She has really helped me grow in my faith and walk in Christ.

Basically, you should know these girls because they are phenomenal.

Photo(s) of the Day #4- [what i'm thankful for.]

Here's a VERY SMALL selection of the things I'm thankful for in pictures.

thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm writing this, sitting on my couch, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade by myself.  This is the first time in my life that I have woken up on such a big holiday and not had my family around me.  I will be joining my family at 2 PM for Thanksgiving lunch but I think it's moments like this where I realize more than ever how much I'm growing up and how much my life is changing.

It's funny because I've never been a fan of change.  Normally I cringe at the idea of new things because I thrive in consistency.  But then again, who doesn't in some way?  Being consistent and things staying the same is a comfortable place to be.  It means that where you are is just fine; there's no need to adapt or adjust our lifestyle.

As some of you know, the past four years or so of my life have been the hardest of my life.  Because of that, I've been looking for consistent things in my life.  There was so much change for so long, and most of it was negative.  I think that's really made my mentality of "change is bad" even stronger.

Surprisingly enough, more recently I've decided that I'm don't want to be comfortable anymore.  Being comfortable for me has meant being comfortable with being mediocre.  I've never really pushed myself or wanted to be more.  And the fact is, is that I was created to be more.  I was created to give more of myself, to give ALL of myself, and I've been slighting God for a long time.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  -2 Corinthians 5:17


This verse pretty much sums it up.  I want to be in Christ; I want my life to be dedicated to Christ.  I want what He wants for me.  And so if I truly want that, He will make me a true creation.  That in a nutshell means I'm not going to be the same.  Change will happen; the old Sara will be replaced by something better.

And while I'm kind of scared out of my mind, I'm excited to see what Christ will do.  I'm excited to see how God uses me to fulfill His will.

I think this is what I'm truly thankful for today.  For God finally getting my heart to place where I'm really ready to accept His call on my life.  To want to change in order to do what He wants.  This is no longer about me.  And it never has been but I've made it about me.  My change comes because I'm in love with an amazing God.  And I couldn't be more thankful to have relationship with that amazing God.

[Food for thought]-
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  -Hebrews 13:8
(Shouldn't I be finding my consistency in Christ?)

Photo(s) of the Day #3- [wales. on top of the world.]

So recently, I've been thinking about traveling.  And this makes me think of this summer when I was in Wales.  I traveled with my choir from school and did a tour of England and Wales and the first full day in Wales was probably the best of the whole trip.  Mostly because we climbed a mountain to see ruin of a castle that is one of two sites they believe could possibly be the real Camelot.  Here are some pictures.

This is the sign before the climb.

Definitely got the best pictures of the whole trip on this mountain.

I would probably climb that mountain everyday if I lived in Llangollen.  It was amazing.

[Photo credit: Sara Willard and Kelsey Failes]