A Flood of Memories

As I cut into the passion fruit (Spanish: maracuya), a familiar scent hits my nose. I scrape out the pulp of the fruit and take a small bite. As the familiar taste hits my tongue, a flood of memories rush into my brain.

C'est si bon.
Singing American songs along with the Spanish radio.
Never finishing my pint before Kelly finished his liter.
Being mocked for my slowness.
Walking down the street, listening to Spanish rock music.
Ben.
Feeling like I could stay there forever, and never regret it.
"Rating" the waitresses with Kelly and Ian.
The last visit.
Pretending like the end wasn't coming.
Laying on the roof.
Saying goodbye.
Walking to the gate, watching as Cesar leads Ben away slowly.
Flying away from Pucallpa, not knowing if I'll ever return.

I sit here, crunching the familiar tasting seeds and chewing the familiar tasting pulp. I know there are other things going on around me, I know that time is still moving. I hear people talking to me, but just barely. It seems to me that time has stopped, that I have gone back. The familiar sweetness of the fruit brings back so many memories.

The fruit is gone all too quickly. The memories, however, will never go away. I left my heart in Pucallpa, Peru. A piece of it will remain there forever. It's funny how a smell or taste can bring back so much.

Every question has a story behind it, every lie contains a grain of truth, every joke a hint of seriousness

I'm going to answer these questions with fairly lengthy answers. Maybe you'll learn something new...

What was the last pill that you took?​​
I took allergy medicine this morning, because I woke up feeling like someone had tried to run me over with an old blue VW van. Except, Edward didn't quite catch it this time.

Do you have a good relat​ionsh​ip with your ex?:
I don't have an ex. I'm 15 years old, why on earth would I have an "ex?"

Do you go to schoo​l curre​ntly?​​
I don't "go to school," per se. I am in school, though. See if you can figure it out.

Who was the last perso​n to call you?
Tina called here to tell me she was coming home from work early and bringing pizza =]

Last perso​n you took a nap with & where​?​​
The last time I took a nap was alone, a few days ago. I was here (at Tina's), and Hayden was sleeping. It seemed like a good thing to do.

Did you make a bestf​riend​ in high schoo​l?​​:​​
I am in highschool, and I have several best friends. It's possible

You get a phone​ call, ​​your mom's in the hospi​tal,​​ you say?
Can I have a ride?

You'​​re curen​tly liste​ning to?:
Disclaimer: Hayden is taking an unusually long nap, and Nathan is playing video games. I am bored, and I'm watching The Clique

Who are you expec​ting a text from?​​
Nobody. You see, I don't have texting.

What are you feeli​ng right​ now?
my stomach kinda hurts, and I'm bored.

Do you have any homew​ork to do?:
Come to think of it, I should probably do some debate research. But I'll do that at home.

When was the last time you smile​d?​​
I make a point to smile a lot. If you do it enough, it'll start to mean something.

Who was the first​ perso​n who calle​d you today​?​​
My mom called me to tell me that we're leaving for Thanksgiving tomorrow instead of today.

Are you a forgi​ving perso​n?​​
I try to be. After all, I've been eternally forgiven.

How late did you stay up last night​ and why?
11:30. I was watching Seinfeld on my iPod, and reading my Bible. Not at the same time.

If you could​ move somew​here else,​​ would​ you?
If it was Hillsdale, Piatt, or Peru.

What did you do Sunda​y?​​
Woke up at Emilyy's house. Went to Sunday School, taught Jr. Church. Mrs. Ridley took Mom and me home, where I ate some lasagna really quickly. Bowling with St. Paul, debate research, talked to Jared for a while, dinner

When is the next time you'​​ll hug someo​ne?​​
I will definitely be hugging people tomorrow at family Thanksgiving, if not sooner.

What are you doing​ this comin​g weeke​nd?​​
Thanksgiving with my family

Are you afrai​d of rolle​r coast​ers?​​
It depends which roller coasters. :)

Do you know any songs​ that remin​d you of summe​r?​​
I know a LOT of songs that remind me of summer. I believe there are 129 on my "Summer of 2008" playlist.

What were you doing​ at 7:00 AM?
I was waking up...

Can you keep a secre​t?​​
Yes, yes I can.

Do you wish on 11:​​11?​​
It's happened once or twice :)

Would​ you moon an old man for $50?
Okay, that question just made me laugh really hard. But no, I wouldn't. That would be rude, disgusting, embarrassing, and go against my moral standards.

Do you tell your mom every​thing​?​​
My mom and I have an amazing relationship. Even if I don't tell her something, she pretty much still knows it.

Does anyon​e besid​es you under​stand​ your relat​ionsh​ip statu​s?​​
I don't think it's very hard to understand. I am single. If you don't understand that, I'll try the Spanish: No tengo novio
And the Dutch, just for good measure: Ik heb geen vriendje

Did you speak​ to your mothe​r today​?​​
Yes'm (or Yessir, I don't want to offend anyone)

How old is the first​ perso​n on your top?
I'm assuming this means my top friends on myspace. That person is Kaylie, and she is 15.

Do you have plans​ for tomor​row?​​
Yes, I do. We're driving to G.L. to go to my grandparents' house, getting up EARLY Friday, and getting my laptop. Friday afternoon is Thanksgiving dinner.

Who was the last perso​n in your bedro​om?​​
I was the last person in my bedroom. Unless of course... "Cold and creeper, cold and creeper, it's cold, and we may have a creeper."

Were you happy​ when you got up today​?​​
Not happy so much as relieved that I didn't oversleep more than a few minutes.

Where​ were you at 3:02 AM this morni​ng?​​
I was definitely sound asleep.

Who was the last perso​n you held hands​ with?​​
Hayden, the 14 month old I babysit. He's learning to walk :)

Large Small Children and Life of Late

On Friday afternoon, I drove with Mom and Kathy to Troy, where Laurie and Kaylie picked me up. We went to Coldstone and Starbucks, then drove back Downriver. We met Billy for dinner at Outback, where Kaylie almost got us kicked out with her extraneous laughter. "Extraterrestrial!"

Kaylie and I went to see (I admit it) High School Musical 3 after dinner. In our defense, we took her two little cousins, Mason and Max. In your defense, we were going to see it anyway. If you're looking for a movie to blatantly mock with your best friend, this is a winner. It's got everything: cheesy songs, cheesy romance, cheesy plot, cheesy macaroni- oh, wait, no, that was my dinner.

After the movie we went back to her house, where we just talked and watched tv in her room until like 2. I slept until what I thought was 11, but of course her clock hadn't been changed for Daylight Savings Time. Blarg. We took our time getting up and around, showering, getting ready, etc.

Around 1:30 we left for Ellen's house, where Calvary was doing their annual Operation Christmas Child packing day. I got to see Mrs. Arp, Zack, Christy, Ariel, Jamie, Melanie, Laura, and Ellen, so it was a lot of fun. Plus, they pack over 1000 boxes every year. It's very cool.

We left the packing party (it's fun to say, try it) at 5:15, and drove to Troy to meet Mom and Kathy again (they had been at a women's conference). Kaylie and I tried to get Mom to let us go to Mangioni's with her family, but alas, it was of no avail. Kathy had to get home =/

Mom and I stopped in Clio and picked up Emilyy. We re-did her myspace profile and talked to Jared and Rocky for a while, then watched Hitch and went to bed. As always, morning came way too quickly, and we hauled ourselves out of bed and got ready for church.

At church on Sunday, we did a belated Pastor-Appreciation Day. Pretty much everyone in the church stood up and said something they appreciate about Pastor Brad. From Lillea, who is 6, to Grandma Vera (Pastor Brad's mom), who is like 86, about 40 people had something to say. (We have a small church, and it was like a representative from every family.) It was very cool. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house.

After church, we had a nice, quiet, lazy afternoon at home while it SNOWED! (¿Que tiempo hace? Nieve...) I talked to Jill and Ben for a while, and did some photoshopping... Sunday night church was fun. I wrote a long paragraph in Spanish. :)

In other news, I've taken a regular babysitting job. I call the kid my "Large Small Child," as he's 14 months old and weighs, wait for it, 40 pounds! His name is Hayden, and he's adorable. It's such an easy job. For example, he's sleeping now. Then, around 11, he'll go down for a 2-3 hour nap. His 10-year-old brother gets home from school at 2:45, and helps me with Hayden while I get ready for debate (Mondays) or just crash for a while (Wednesdays).

I have debate tonight, and a partner meeting (with Eric!) either Tuesday or Thursday. This is going to be a busy week. Twilight comes out Friday, and I'm going Saturday with Andrea! Woot!

Home(school)coming and Life in General.

Some pictures from our 2008 Home(school)Coming:

The group (minus Bry and Katy) gathered on my porchKaylie Rae!!

My Emilyy Joy and MeYay for Rebekah, Sarah, and Emily!

Pretty much my brother

I LOVE my Emistotle and our sugar-coated philosophicalness.

Zachary TaylorGrasshopper!

The whole group at Olive Garden

More later

Random Thoughts on Worship

I wrote this on Sunday, after the worship service at my church. These thoughts are kind of disconnected, and don't necessarily flow too well. It's just what was flying through my mind at the time.
Why should it matter how I worship, how I praise? I don't feel right sitting down with my hands in my lap while praising my glorious, beautiful, wonderful, incredible, indescribable Savior. I want to stand and gaze at the heavens, to stand in wonder of my Lord. His Word commands me to "Shout for joy... worship with gladness... and... joyful songs." (Ps. 100) I am commanded to praise Him JOYFULLY. When truly joyful, my emotions can not be contained while sitting still.
If I raise my hands in honor of my God, why should I be judged and whipsered about? Worship is a personal act, and there is no "right way" to worship. My Lord reaches down to me every day, and sometimes I need to remind myself to reach up to Him. He meets me where I am. If I want to raise my hands, to stand up, as a symbol of being closer to Him, why should it matter what you think?
For that matter, I WILL raise my voice. I am to "make a joyful noise unto" my Lord. No, I can't sing. This will not, will never, stop me from singing out to Him with all that is within me. I apologize if my off-key voice is messing up your "experience." My Lord knows that I am singing to Him and Him alone, and He loves it. In fact, my Father thinks I have a beautiful voice, and wants me to raise it up to Him.
"Every tongue in heaven and earth shall declare Your glory, every knee shall bow at Your throne and worship" (Ancient of Days) On the flipside, maybe you praise best on you rknees. Perhaps you feel closest to our Father while you're sitting in church singing hymns. Possibly you connect with the Lord of all on a beach, under the stars. Maybe God speaks to you through the classic Gregorian chant, maybe it's through the beat of a drum. That's okay.
His Word commands us to worship joyfully and with gladness. It does NOT say "with a full band," but it also does NOT say "only with piano or organ." My Father will meet you where you are. He knows how to still your heart, how to turn your mind to Him. He will find you. You can find Him anywhere. Worship doesn't have to involve music. Worship can be done wherever, whenever, whatever, however, whoever you are. He will meet you.
Friends, I beg you, leave it to our Father to decide what is acceptable, who is using outward gestures of worship "just for attention." He knows whether we are pouring out our hearts for His glory or ours. I truly believe that our Lord doesn't care HOW we are praising Him, just so it's genuine.
Hymns, choruses, praise songs, poems, chants, instrumentals, drama, dance, speech, standing, sitting, kneeling, off key, on key, eyes closed, hands raised, a capella, as long as it's an act of love to God; an offering of thanks to Him for His love; if it's for Him and not you, he LOVES it. And if it's truly for Him, that's all that matters.

Yet Another Reason I'm Glad to be Homeschooled.

Last Thursday, Bo fell and sprained his ankle pretty badly. As he's been hobbling around on crutches, I had to help him feed his snakes last night. We got the snakes fed and back into their cages without a problem. I told him to finish putting the bricks and things on top of the cage, and left the room.

This morning, I was sitting at the table, doing school as usual. When I got up to use the bathroom, I smelled something that smelled a bit like a hot glue gun. Our fireplace wasn't on (for some reason IT has that smell), so I decided to check around.

Suddenly, it dawned on me-the heat lamp! The snakes have a light on the top of their cage that keeps them warm, and we had set it on the ground last night. The light is on a timer and was off at the time of feeding. Between Bo's crutches, the feedings, and me being on the phone (oops.), we must have left it on the ground. (This has happened before.)

I dashed (ha!) into Bo's room, and sure enough, the lamp was on the floor. I picked it up to find that the carpet AND padding had burned clear through to the wood- no flames, just melting. Just a couple more minutes and the wood would have begun to burn.

Another thing dawned on me as I returned the lamp to its proper place: I am SO GLAD that I'm homeschooled. If I had been at school, there wouldn't have been anyone home, and our house could have potentially burned to the ground- one of my biggest fears.

Thank you, Jesus!

ADDENDUM!!!! I have a new baby cousin! Ian Joseph MacMullen, 6 lbs, 10 oz.
My first cousin on the Hobson side that is NOT a canine!!! I find him rather adorable.

Another Wonderful Weekend.

Unexpectedly, we threw together a little "Mini-reunion" of our Peru team. Ruth was in the States for conferences, so Kelly brought her up to Marilyn and Doug's. It was amazing. We went out for Chinese food on Thursday night, then Ian, Kelly, and I walked from the church to Marilyn's house. It was... interesting. After the adults got back, Ian made frape de maracuYA in the blender, Kelly and I were laughing at nothing, Ian was playing guitar, and both of the guys were passing massive amounts of gas. All while the adults were attempting to carry on actual conversation. It felt so familiar. I could not believe I had missed them so much. On Monday morning Doug made breakfast for Mom, Ruth, and me, then Mom and I went to pick up Kelly from Ian's house.
Here's a small sampling of the pictures.






Top Row, L-R: A foiled attempt; Hi, I'm 5;
Second Row: Frape de Maracuya; Ruth, Marilyn, and Mom
Third Row: My big brother and Me; picking up right where we left off
Fourth Row: Family; Ruth and Me
Fifth Row: Kelly & Me

On Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner for Tina's wedding, then the wedding was on Saturday. It was beautiful and went really well, and TINA IS MARRIED! Wow.
Bo and I stayed and Nana and Papa's on Saturday night and went to Nanny and John's church on Sunday. The praise and worship there is amazing. After church we went out to eat with Mike and Tracy and their kids, then came home.