And With the Rain Comes the....Wildlife

I named him Stanley....
~RM

September Spotlight

September .... if you look it up in the dictionary it's definition is: 'full to overflowing'.  Just kidding.  This month Mimi visited.  Everyone went to the dentist, even Bear, that didn't go well ...  Our family hosted small group, which, despite it's name, is not in any way small. I think the grand total present was 39 people.  Things got kinda wacky at work for my dad.  We received our orders (read about that here).  Acceptable winter-in-Missouri clothes have been packed and unpacked multiple times once I realized that I still wanted to wear those jeans that I packed at the very bottom.  Passport pictures were taken (tooken? tooked? taked?).  Isaac and my dad rode one-hundred miles in the Century Ride.  Our small group celebrated a full year of being the Leeward small group.  Riley went to the vet. 
All that and normal life had to continue (normal? what's normal?).  I have read the Pilgrims Progress, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the Autobiography of Charles G. Finny, the Pit and the Pendulum, and I am currently reading Of Plymouth Plantation for school.  Algebra 2 is driving me to the utter brink of mental stability.  I'm serious.  Waking up in the middle of the night shouting,  "No! X equals 27, not 13.9827!  You forgot the negative sign!"  Such outbursts do not reflect well on my sanity...  I have learned how to say,  "Qui vous aimez mieux? Lait ou de jus d'orange?" Translation:  "Which do you like better? Milk or orange-juice?"  I feel accomplished.  In science I have learned about Kingdoms Protista, Monera and Fungi (which I like to pronounce fun-jai).  So, life is continuing and getting more exciting as the days pass.  This Friday my parents will be celebrating their seventeenth anniversary.  Next Friday we are hosting the biggest slumber party EVER (in the Lopez household anyway) as my brother, sister and I celebrate our birthdays with friends.  My parents' reasoning behind this insanity is they think it will be best to get it over with all at once.  They have no idea what they're in for ...  So!  That is what the month of September looks like for right now!  I have to go finish some high-order determinants in math ... Pray for me.
~RM

Oh Yes, Life Most Certainly Can

There have been quite a few times that I've said to myself,  "Life just can't be more hectic."  Oh, how I regret those words now!  This past week we have 1) received our orders - almost, anyway, we have not actually held a copy of them. They are currently being revised since a few minor details (like my dad's social security number) had to be corrected. 2) We have learned that we will be leaving island about a month before we thought we were.  3)  Suddenly we realize that our possessions will be shipping in just a few weeks.  That hasn't exactly sunk in yet.  "You mean I have to pack all these things?  Already?!"  "You don't have to pack everything!  There's a trash pile and a sell pile right over there!"  My mom is very organized and enjoying the whole 'weeding out process'.  I, on the other hand, am not.  She says I get it from my dad's side.  So, the next few weeks are about to get amazingly crazy with all the packing and the garage sale coming up.  Add to that ice-skating lessons, ballet lessons, small-group, and school....I don't think things will be slowing down anytime soon.
~RM

~RM

Kindness Never Fails

A retelling of an Aesop's fable assigned for writing class. 

With his little red cape billowing in the soft breeze, Noah galloped around his yard on his invisible steed.  The Sun watched with growing amusement as the little boy donned his cooking-pan helmet, uttered a fierce war cry, and charged his imaginary foe.  Chuckling at Noah's childish antics, the Wind, who was gently pushing clouds here and there across the sky, smiled ruefully.  "He reminds me of the Element Olympics we used to hold!" exclaimed the Sun,  "What fun those were!"  Unintentionally, the Sun had toughed a sore spot, the Wind was overly competitive and reveled in putting others to shame with a show of his might.  But he had never won the Element Olympics because of his anger issues.
"May I make a suggestion?  I suggest that we have a contest, you and I," the Wind went on slyly, "to discover who is the strongest."  "Enticing idea, I assure you, but how will this be accomplished?"  Pleased, the Wind proposed that they compete to see who could make Noah remove his cape. Because of the Wind's proposition, the two elements cast lots to decide who would go first, where they would hold the competition, and when the contest would begin.  The Wind was chosen.  The place was here and the time was now.
Preparing himself to blow his hardest, the Wind huffed and puffed and touched his toes.  When he was sufficiently warmed up, the Wind began to blow so violently that Noah, who was completely perplexed as to where this wind came from, skidded across the yard.  But even though the Wind blew as hard as he was able, he did not succeed because Noah only gripped his cape tighter to keep it from flying away.  Haggardly, the Wind conceded to the Sun, grumbling darkly about the contest being impossible.  The Sun had a different strategy.  Pushing his sunbeams to their fullest extent, the Sun grew warmer and warmer until Noah slumped down under and tree and removed his cape.

~RM

Riley, Summed-Up

            This is Riley.  Riley is our dog.  Riley is...special.

Riley likes to act like an old dog, sleeping inside, going outside, sleeping outside.  He has a schedule.  Unless of course it's a Friday afternoon and the ice-cream truck drives by, then....well, then it's best to stay out of his way. He also has this thing with people walking along the curb next to our fence, he'll run up and down the length of our yard, over and over again, barking like anything while the people walk calmly by.  Then he'll go lay down again to catch his breath.  He doesn't care if the people walk on the other side of the road, on the sidewalk.  Riley just enjoys defending our borders.  Little girls on our street think he's a monster and spend their time running right up to our fence and staring at him while he barks insanely.  That pushes his buttons.  So do birds eating his food, the birds have learned to fear him.  Though, once you get to know him, he is really a sweet, laid-back dog.  He lives with Bear stepping on his paws and generally treating him as something to boss around.  If that isn't patience, I don't know what is.

~RM

To My Dear Brother...

Happy 13th birthday Isaac!!  In celebration of your thirteen years, I have put together this little blog post that pictures each year of your life from year 1 to today.

Happy Birthday Isaac!