My Life Lately!

School is beginning to "wind down" as my mom would say, but with end of the year tests and finals it seems to be speeding up. Thankfully, I'm not too overwhelmed yet, but I bet by Sunday night I'll be seriously stressed. I guess God never promised us an easy life though, and I think sometimes it's easier to walk with him when we're stressed and overwhelmed then when everything is going smoothly. It's also hard to find time to with Him when everything seems crazy, so I guess it can go both ways. Anyway, in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I really have been enjoying a few things.

1. Watching the kittens grow up. It is soooooo fun to watch them just be kittens. Clumsy, adventurous, and a little cocky. =) Maybe cocky isn't really the best word to describe them as, but they aren't very smart, and seem to overestimate their abilities!=) I guess all kittens are like that, but it's really enjoyable to watch!

2. Snow. It's so much fun to wake up and look out the window to a winter wonderland! The lake has partially frozen over, and it's been pretty cold out. Thankfully, there has been some snow though, and it's made the bone chilling weather a little more enjoyable.=) Maybe that doesn't really make sense, but it's just more enjoyable if it's cold AND there's snow.

3. Coffee! Ahh. My dad makes coffee every morning and sometimes he lets me have some. I know it's probably not the best option ever, but it's an INCREDIBLE feeling to hold something warm when it's so cold out.

4. Christmas preparation. We've put up the Christmas tree and decorated it, which was fun. I think the best part though is picking out the tree. =) I have so many fun memories picking out one with my family. Also I've been listening to TONS of Christmas music. It's been super fun. Some of my favorites are Carol of the bells by the Tras Siberian Orchestra and Pentatonix  Christmas music on Spotify. It makes the dreary days more cheerful!

5. Christmas shopping. Blaize and I went shopping at the mall on Tuesday afternoon. One of my highlights was that he OPENED THE DOOR FOR ME! Yup. On the way into the mall he opened the door and let me go first. Now if you know him, he usually doesn't do that, but I guess he knew it would bless me, and he was really trying to be a gentleman. He was really sweet the entire time. Another thing that really blessed me was that he was really patient and sweet when we were shopping in stores (Like Bath and Body Works and JC Penny) that he doesn't necessarily  like and he didn't complain or anything. I guess I thought it was really sweet that even though he doesn't like shopping and wasn't enjoying it he was making the best out of it and trying to be pleasant.=) I'm also excited about going Christmas shopping today. After my orthodontist appointment I get to walk down to Marshalls and Christmas shop for my mom! It might not sound that exciting, but I don't usually get to go places by myself, and it's kind of fun to have some freedom! =)
Anyway, that's all I have for now and I'd better sign off. I still have a bunch of school to do before my shopping excursion!!! until nest time,
Natalie=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

It snowed all day today on and off, and I bet we have an inch by now! We also found a tree on Wednesday, and we just finished decorating it today! Yup, it's starting to feel like Christmas! Friday and Saturday Hannah and I helped out with Bethlehem Revisited which is a reenactment of the Christmas story. It starts out with the prophecies about Jesus, and continues all the way through the resurrection. It was cold, but worth it.=) Unfortunately, I didn't help out tonight because I had several homework assignments to get to...=( Oh well, life is life! Things are starting to get crazier with tests stuff (since it is the end of the year!) I have a Biology Lab Final I need to study for (I'm SCARED!) and some other tests coming next week! Your prayers would be greatly appreciated! Here are some of my favorite things about Winter: 1. You get to wear scarfs and jackets! It's also nice and cold! 2. SNOW! I absolutely LOVE THE SNOW! It's so much fun to sled! 3. Getting snowed in, and not being able to go anywhere! It's so much fun to just hang out with our family when no one is busy! 4. Sitting by the fire! Ahhh. What a marvelous feeling to sit by the fire on a cold dreary day! 5. Warm drinks! (Hot coco, chi, and coffee are the best!) 6. Decorating for Christmas! I also love going and picking out the tree! 7. Soup. If you know me, its' my favorite meal! (Tomato, chicken, chili, and corn chowder are some of my favorites! That's all I can really think of right now! Have a great week!

Thanksgiving was really fun. We had our aunt, uncle, and cousins over (on my mom's side.) Grace and Chelsea are the closest cousins to our age (even though there is a fairly big age difference.) We played tons of games while they were here (blokus, 3-14, dutch blitz, dominion, etc.) We had a prize to give to whoever won the most games over thanksgiving and my dad won. The prize was a ceramic travel mug filled with Andes mints that my aunt and mom had found black Friday shopping. That brings up another highlight: Black Friday! We went with my cousins to the mall on black Friday, and shopped around for a few hours. Then, Chelsea treated us all to STARBUCKS! It was super fun! That night, we watched The Ultimate Gift, and if any of you haven't seen it, it's definitely one of my favorites! (a sequel is coming out on December 10th to redbox called The Ultimate Life! I can't wait to watch it!) Saturday, we held a family "Chopped."  Chopped is based off a TV show on the food network where contestants have to create meals with secret ingredients within a certain time limit. We split up into teams with my mom and cousins on one and my and Hannah and I on the other. The mandatory ingredients were sweet potato's eggs, and apples. We had 45 minutes to bake and plate the dishes for the judges (My dad, Uncle Greg, and Blaize=)
"We'll go and do archery while you guys bake." My dad told us as they headed out the door. We began discussing as teams what we could make.
"I was thinking we could make sweet potato pop-overs with caramelized apples, or something like that." Aunt Kathy told us in our group huddle. Hannah then suggested crepes. We all agreed that would work really well, especially with  caramel apple filling. Then, I overheard my mom's group talking about doing crepes. There goes THAT idea! We ended up deciding to make sweet potato waffles with caramelized apple and onion filling. We set the timer and began. I worked on beating the eggs while my aunt made the apple/onion filling and Hannah made the sweet potato waffles. By 30 minutes, we had put a waffle in the waffle iron and....IT WAS SUPER FLAT! Great. There goes the idea of  fluffy magazine cover waffles! (Fluffy makes me think of cotton, so maybe that isn't the right word choice...Oh well!) Time was running out, and we couldn't just serve the judges bumpy pancakes! Then, Hannah and my aunt had a amazing idea! We could make scrambled eggs and wrap them in the waffles like an omelet or something. Then we could pour the caramelized apples/onion on top and drizzle the caramel over it! Here are some pictures: