Dancing for Joy

I've been taking a praise and worship dance class for the last 10 weeks and we had an end of term performance for my class and some other classes.
Now, the hard thing about being in my class was that I was the oldest and second tallest girl in all of the class. It was for ages 6-13 and the only 13 year-olds were me and my best friend Shannon. It was kind of awkward for the audience to see all of these little girls next to me and Shannon who looked like giants compared to most of the other dancers in that class.
On the night of the performance when we walk up and took our places, I entirely expected my lower lip to be bitten off by the end of the dance, and I entirely shocked myself!! I was smiling my biggest and bestest smile the whole time!! By the end of the dance, I felt like exploding! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging, because, I didn't even see any of the other dancers or the audience by any means until the dance was finished and we skipped off of the "stage" (okay, we danced in a bank).
The audience was cheering and clapping and whistling and later, my mamma told me that she had the hardest time not sobbing because she was so proud of me and my sister Marley. My other sister Mirial said that she wanted to be a dancer just like us, so, she's going to take a little ballet class next term.
I think that dancing is such a useful and fun way to please God. That night, I felt in my heart that God was smiling at me, his little dancer. I felt like I couldn't say any thing, so, in my heart, as my way of saying thank you to God for helping me, is said....supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Laundry

I'm sorry that I haven't had much time to write lately. We have family coming to our house for Thanksgiving and we've been very busy.
My particular duty this week has been laundry. Lots of laundry. Our Family Room has been transformed into my folding/sorting station. There are approx. 9 buckets stuffed with clothes neatly "arranged" about the floor.
Laudry has always been a big setback in our lives ever since...well...since my daddy and mamma had me. Mamma could never find time to do the laundry (I was a very fussy baby) and being a "rookie" when it came to managing a household, was always overwhelmed with clothes and probably dishes, too (not anymore of course, she keeps our house running like a well oiled machine!). Then after my brother Moses was born, we moved to Indiana where we had Mirial and Matthew and-you guessed it-the clothes piled up.
Then, we were getting ready to move again back to wherever we lived before (we move alot) and we had to have a friend help us get all of our laundry done! We moved back to the city in which we live now, and lived in a tiny rental house, and you-know-what piled up again. We lived there for a year and then, we get ready to move again. About this time, I was offered a position in the laundering business, $3.00 an hour. O.K., mom, I'll take the job. I did not know how deep the pool I was diving into was going to be.
It was MASSIVE!!!! It looked litterally like you could dive right in and start swimming..."Where's my bathing suit? Oh, right. I suppose that I'll find it once I sort these clothes out." It took me over two hours to sort it all. "$6.00!! I'm rich! Oh, I still have to clean the laundry. Well, I'll make up a song while I do it." I made up new words to the tune of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins.

Clean the clothes, that's what I do.

Sorting, washing, folding all day!

Clean the clothes, I certainly try, while overhead mom's gaining her spry.

All around the dark basement the mice and the spiders all scurry out of the way!

Although I can't see them, I know they are crying because there is no place to hide.

Clean the clothes, that's what I do!

Sorting, washing, folding all daaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!

Impressive, huh? Mamma cracked up when I sang it to her. She told me to write it down, but, I have (as daddy says) a memory like a steel trap-and I can't believe that I actually remembered that song!!

Anyhoo, I finally finished all of the laundry with some help from my awesome family. And I made $0.00. Mamma and I actually forgot about the money(I'll have to remind her anour that)and we were doing laundry up to the day we loaded the truck and moved our stuff.But, hey, we were caught up. Not for long!! Cue the sad music!!!!! Okay, you can put your violins down now and keep reading.

We have lived in our house now for almost a month. I am now officially in charge of the laundry-I still get paid, of course, room and board and 3 meals a day plus desert and snacks!!! I'd say that's a pretty good exchange considering the fact that laundry's not all I do around this place.

I'm down to the last two or three loads now, and I'm internally rejoicing...untill...I'm not going to let it happen ever again!!!

Modesty

I've recently sent an e-mail to a very wise person that I know of, asking her for advice on the issue of modesty.
Here was my e-mail:
Dear Very Wise Acquaintance,
I read your interview with modest ladies and I totally agree with everything that they said. But, I was thinking of girls like me, who really do alot of activities that are dificult to do skirts in. I like riding horses, and we live one house over from a homeschooling family who's just like us, and we play with their kids almost every day-we do the kinds of activ ities that a skirt doesn't work for like riding bikes which is the main thing that we do with them..........I don't have a whole lot of pants. But, I don't have a whole lot of skirts either. My daddy says that especially since it's fall, that pants are more practical-he's not saying that skirts are bad, he's just saying that skirts aren't as practical. I don't know what to think because I'm always feeling uncomfortable in pants, and my daddy loves to see me and my sisters and my mom in skirts, but I sometimes wish that we wore more skirts and dresses.
Could you encourage me, please? I love my daddy and I agree with him, but it seems like I'm getting pressured so much to wear more pants and less dresses and skirts from everywhere-even from him.
Thanks for taking the time to read this,
Mckenna

Here is her reply:
Dear McKenna,
It's nice to meet you! .......What great questions! To start off, I love the respectful way you talk about your daddy; how good to see you honoring him. :-) If he thinks that your outdoor activities would be better handled in pants than a skirt, then you may joyfully submit to him while still looking feminine!
I like to wear long, flowing shirts, or even short, knee-length dresses whenever I put on pants. This helps me to still feel feminine and graceful while giving me the freedom to go through my daily activities with the freedom of pants. These longs shirts and short dresses are all over the place this season: Target, Wal-Mart... and thrift stores are a great place to discover neat finds when it comes to any article of clothing.
As far as being pressured to wear pants, McKenna, I would encourage you not to heed what your friends thin about what you're wearing. You've got to be comfortable in your own skin! After all, it isn't your friends who have to wear your clothes; you do, and you ought to like them! :-) I usually wear skirts and dresses, and my friends are always making kind-spirited comments about that fact; at first, I took offense, but I had to get a th icker skin, and to wear what I liked, and what I was comfortable in! Pretty soon, my friends started trying to dress like me, asking me where I'd gotten some of my clothes! :-)
If you find you are too chilly in skirts during this season, maybe you could put on leggings or tights with them? I think that looks very cute and feminine, and it keeps your legs warm, too!
Keep striving to dress femininely, and to please your parents in what you put on, McKenna! I know your submissive attitude will glorify the Lord.
Love in Christ,
Very Wise Acquaintance
I definately agree with her. It doesn't matter what others think of what you wear, because, they're not wearing it-you are! That hits it home!!!
I have a pair of jeans that are beginning to wear out a bit in the top half-I've had them for almost a year. And I think that a short dress would be the perfect solution to my problem.
If you have a blog, I challenge you to write your opinion on modesty.

My First Ever Post!!!!!

I've just created this blog that I call "Cherishing My Role (in the home)." I first learned about blogs from my daddy who has a blog and then I found Jasmine Baucham's blog "Joyfully Home." And I decided to be one of those awesome bloggers who is really encouraging and Christ-Like.
A few days ago I read Jasmine's post on 15 things that I'm not afraid to admit. She tagged anyone who would participate and for my first post I decided to. So,
15 Things That I'm Not Afraid To Admit:

1. I love being a homemaker.
I love to have the freedom of being able to care for my home and my family. It's a goal to work towards when I'm married and have my own house.
2. I love to read, read, read!!!!
Among my favorite books are: The Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia, the Secret Garden, and Little Women, and also The Hobbit. I'm reading The Fellowship of the Ring.
3. I have not seen Prince Caspian yet.
As soon as it comes out on d.v.d., my parents are going to preview it. I am a huge Narnia fan and I've been patiently waiting to see it since it came out on May 16th.
4. I'm good at doing voice impressions.
I like to do Veggie Tales voices the most e.g.; Larry the Cucumber, Ellen Gourd, Petunia Rhubarb, Mr. Lunt (Mr. Lunt is my favorite voice to do). And I also do Irish, English, and Boston accents as well as a valley girl and Grandma Ruffman among others.
5. I love to dress myself and my sisters up.
O.K. a shirt, and cardigan, a skirt, ballet flats, curl your hair, match it with a big purse, a cute headband and "Voila!!."
6. I love blogging!!
I'm pretty new at this, but, it's lots of fun!!
7. I love to go "antiquing"
My house is filled with antiques and old country style. I love it when my mamma and I can go shopping to add to our collection.
8. I love horses.
I haven't been able to actually get on the back of a horse for more than a year now, but, I'm hoping to go to a horse park soon.
9. I get annoyed when people interfere with my plans.
My daddy says that I'm a "Control Freak" like him. When I make a plan in my head, and get really excited, I often close my hand around it instead of leaving it in my palm until I get the o.k. to do it.
10. I wish that I didn't have to have glasses!
Next year, I'm getting contacts. But, hey, at least I'm not blind! Praise God for glasses!!
11. I love to dance ballet.
Graceful and gentle, and dreamy-just like me! I just ordered a new pair of ballet slippers.
12. I'm a very fast learner.
When I pick up on something, I do it excellantly!!!!
13. I love celtic music.
It relaxes me alot.
14. I often speak my mind when I shouldn't.
I'm often too bluntly truthful about things and get carried away with my emotions. I'm learning to keep my mouth closed when it should be closed.
15. I'm writing a book!
I want to publish it by next Christmas-that's all I'm saying.

That was fun!