Nina and Pinta

Me on board one of the ships...I think the Nina.
Noah looking at the Nina, ( while waiting to get on).

VJ looking at the Pinta, while waiting to get on the Pinta

A cannon
click on the picture of read what it says...

The Nina

The Pinta





I'm sorry that I didn't post these pictures before. I was too busy,I guess. Sorry about that.

The Nina and Pinta, replicas of two of Christopher Columbus's ships where in Guntersville, back on October 10th. They were in Huntsville, but we weren't able to see them. I labeled them, but I don't have the pamphlet that we got there...at least not at the moment. Go ahead and look on Google to find information about them. We were able to get on them, too! I felt seasick by the time we got off...wasn't I glad when we got off! Can you imagine getting on board for the first time,and you sail off for months?! Sea life is not for me, I can tell you that much!I took a lot of the pictures, and I got some crazy ones, that I wouldn't be able to label anyway..of the mast, sails, and such.

Katy

More on guitar

I just wanted to put a quick post on guitar:

Mimi and Papa laughed when I said this: for some songs I start out by getting the notes...trying to get all of them, and doing it slowly. Then I try to memorize it, just by playing it over and over again.Song like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ( that I'm going to play for my Christmas guitar recital) is one I really know, for when I do PowerPoint and the music team sings that, I have to switch the slides quickly to keep up with them. Because I know some so well, I can play half by ear and half by looking at the notes. If that's too confusing, I'll word it this way: I play by ear as well as skim over the notes. If one notes doesn't sound right, I find where I am in the music( really quick) and play by looking at the notes. I still have to look at the notes, in case I get mixed up, but I'm able to glance up for a moment. I have to sing to myself in my head, while I play.
Katy

Afternoon Action

Thank the Lord that the danger has passed. We heard all the sirens, pounding of the rain, and the gusts of wind that came across Madison this afternoon. The Lord protected us from damage from our house. I'll admit it was a bad one...
You might have seen of the WHNT Chat that someone said that a Wendys got destroyed. That's not true. T-Bone and Stephanie just left a few minutes ago, and said that the Wendys is still up. Supposedly a church was set on fire....or damaged.....I'll have to look it up on Google later on...I'm not sure if it's true. I guess a lot of people wanted to make a bug show. Stephanie said that when the forecasters said that it was rainy and windy in Huntsville, it was bright and sunny! I still don't understand how that happened, but the Lord's in control!!

School has been great. In Anatomy and Physiology we've started on the Respiratory System. I've already done the skeletal, muscular, and digestive systems. I'll say that the one I most enjoyed was the skeletal and probably muscular systems. The ending of the digestive system wasn't that great...but it's facts of life ( I'm not going to tell you about it...if you are reading this you are human and you know what happens in the end of digestion).. and if you don't Google will probably tell you. Math is getting harder, but I'm still able to do it. And I might as well, for if I take a break ( which will never happen considering Dad's a big math fan) Dad will certainly make me catch up, which will make me do math in summer ( unenjoyable). I really am in 6th grade, but I do 7th grade math. Vocabulary....learning new words( aka: voc means voice; man means hand; and ped means foot( as in vocal, manicure, and pedicure).
Guitar is my favorite subject! I love playing, and figureing out different songs. I did figure out the melody to Be Thou My Vision and ( a higher melody without staring at the notes on paper...I got the first two notes and played by ear the rest of the way) like I just explained... Joy to the World. Dad's been really impressed. Also, for Christmas, two of my friends ( Bradley and Casey) are going to do a little Christmas program. I, of course, am playing guitar, Casey will use the keyboard ( we have a keyboard player at church so Casey will use that), and Bradley will sing with us. For our first song, The First Noel we're having some of the other kids in the Sunday School sing with us. It's just the first three verses, but I'm praying for patience, and willingness to do that..for kids VJ's age will sing with us. I already said yes, to the offer by our children's coordinator, but I know I can be impatient and known to bark out orders to kids younger than me (usually not one older kids, because they're probably able to sit on me....no thanks). Mr Mike, my teacher, said I really need 30 minute lessons, but the reason he put the classes back to 20 minute lessons was because the children didn't need 30 minute lessons...20 minutes was good enough.
Mrs. Melody came back to dance, the other week, after having her baby in August. I missed her a lot, but Ashley ( filling in for pointe class) and Elizabeth ( filling in for ballet, tap and modern ( I don't take modern) ) did really well. They taught us well. I'm almost down in the splits...with my right leg. My left leg and down the middle aren't my best, but the right certainly is!! Just a little more practice, then I'll get Mom to take a picture and put it on here.
Bike riding has really strenghend me. I ride down ( on Mom's bike) to my friend Alisa's and back, and riding around the neighborhood in sight of her house or mine. I love to bike...this time , when Dad and I go riding...I'll be much faster!

Sorry I haden't posted more...school, dance, guitar, LCA, church and a lot of otehr stuff has taken up my time...not to say that I don't like that...I do !

Time Enough for Drums

I promised that I'd try to write a little "report" on this book later on..and now is later on. Here it is:

Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi is a book set back against the Revolutionary War, like Johnny Tremain( if you've read it). It really is a good book, but it shows how Patriots felt about Loyalists and Tories back in those days. I'm going to use the back of the book as a guide-line as I tell about it:
Jemima Emerson, a fifteen year old girl, is shocked that her father,( a Rebel) is actually allowing her to be tutored by John Reid! John rules her studies with a very strong hand, and steps in the rules her life the same way. John is a noted Tory and a bully. Jemima fights back until she finds a dangerous and private secret about him, and makes her drastically change her mind about him.

This book is an excellent story about a family's hardship and romance during the Revolutionary War.
Read the book to find out the secret, and find out what happens in the end to both John and Jemima!!

I will do more, like about the book Gentle Annie and more!
Katy

New Happenings....

I'm really running out of titles for blog posts.....I'll have to really think!



Yesterday, at Valley Presbyterian Church in Madison, Alabama, something special went on today. ( For more info, go to " Our Church" thing) Our church has been made a particular church. Throughout last year, it was just a mission church. We didn't have elders, deacons, and Mr. Plott wasn't really the pastor..just the church planter( although we thought of him as "pastor". The Presbytery ( search on Google or somewhere for that meaning) helped us a lot through finances, and there was the Session ( a group of elders from other Presbyterian churches that helped us out).......please DO NOT ask me what all these words mean..because I'll have absolutely no idea...
Yesterday was special, because we became our own church. We may not have a real building, but you can still worship God even if your aren't in the White House or the Queen's palace. After Peter and John were put into prison by some king, they still prayed and sang to God in the midst of their troubles....( just some advice to all...). Anyway, yesterday, the Session, made up of 4-5 men backed-off, and they are currently letting us be on our own. Dad was elected,ordained, and installed as a deacon, along with one of my best friend's dad. I told Dad afterwards that now that he's a deacon, that he can't say "umm.....well..uh..." trying to find an answer while I'm asking a question( Bible related).OK..well I was joking ,but he might have some better answers now!


Yesterday night, was A*W*E*S*O*M*E*!! Totally! I love K-Group, but last night was better than all the others! There was only one other girl, Olivia, so she and I were a team, while Alan, Ryan, and Noah were another team. No, it wasn't hide- and -seek, but a Nerf-gun fight in Alan's basement. Alan's parents host the K-Group, so all of us kids were in the basement. It was awesome. We all used Alan's guns, and Olivia and Ryan used slingshots ( made out a some wood, a clothespins, and a ping-pong ball. I got hit somebody it never hurt a lot. To avoid getting hit by the other team, you have to be a real hasty shot. It's like, you hop up, shoot, real quick,and duck! At least 3 times, I hit a forehead, or, as in a hit to Noah, and hit close to the eye( which I didn't mean to). Still, besides that...it was awesome!
Next time we meet, Mrs. Bowden ( Alan's mom) said, to bring Nerf guns if we have them, and Ryan's mom said that Ryan'll bring some of his...and we're going to do it again! Plus, next week, we'll have Katy and Sarah ( Katy's one of my best friends) and Trey and Julia!( Sarah and Julia are close to Noah's age, and Trey is two months younger than me..Alan and Ryan are either 12 or 13). And VJ..of course...
We only meet every other week, but that'll be OK...it'll still a LOT of fun!!

I'll put some pictures later on...
Katy

My few favorite things....

After seeing a friend's blog, I thought I'd do this too:

1~ What is your favorite music?

I love listening to 88.1 Way- FM. ( link is http://wayfm.com/)!! It's an amazing ( Christian) radio station..and I try to listen to it all the time..although Mom says no radio during school. Some of my favorites are: ( some are and some aren't from 88.1))
"Keep Changing the World" Mikes Chair
" Your Love" Brandon Heath
" One Step At A Time" Jordin Sparks
" More" Matthew West
" You Alone Can Rescue" Matt Redman
" Healing Begins" Tenth Avenue North
" Be Thou My Vision" Michael Card..can play this song on guitar
" Fight Another Day" Addison Road
" You Belong with Me", " Mine", " Love Story" Taylor Swift

2~ Favorite Books?
The Boxcar Children ( series)
The Royal Diaries ( series)
Childhood of Famous Americans ( series)
Johnny Tremain
* Top Fave!* Time Enough For Drums( during Rev. War and quite a bit of romance. I'll write a little report on it later)

3~ What is your most favorite thing to do?
Listen to 88.1
play on Dad's ITouch
play guitar
bike and roller blade
play with friends

4~ Least favorite thing?
watch Indianna Jones& Spiderman 2( worst movies I've seen..including more..I'm sure, but I just can't think of them)

5~ Favorite movies?
The A-Team!! Those who know me well know that I love it! plus Knight Rider,AirWolf,and the always funny/ interesting Emergancy( which I haven't seen in a while..they are old movies.)
Kung Fu Panda
Star Wars( 1,4,5,&6 esp.)

That's all for now. but this past couple of weeks, I've been thinking about what this boy in our K-Group told me: " I feel sorry for you because you have to watch all thses kid movies." I told him that if VJ weren't here,and some of girls that are with us ( they are 9 or 10) could stand some more grown-up movies, I'd bring Star Wars or something more our age to K-Group!!

Katy