the story of tori

School vs. Jail

2010-12-03T20:31:00.003-05:00

Being December, 2nd tri has just started at high school and first semester is coming to an end at Grand Valley. I'm slowly getting used to my new schedule, which is totally and 100% different than 1st tri. Chemistry is the only one I really don't like - completely expected since I have always detested science. Creative writing, Spanish, and French I like/love/love, respectively. ACT Prep I feel is beneficial, yet very, very, very boring. Italian 101 is almost done at Grand Valley, and I'm scared for my exam on the 13th. At the moment, I'm signed up to take Writing 150 next semester, but I'm considering changing it out for Italian 102 - if that's allowed anymore. Not to bore you with details about my school life, I actually am writing on here for one important purpose: to document the comparison I made between school and jail.

Here it is:
School and jail are, for the most part, when you really think about it, the same thing. The main difference is that in one you are graded on your participation and the other one you can kind of just chill.

School is awful. Whoever invented it should be kicked in the ankle a couple times. Maybe not too hard; I learn a lot there after all. I guess it's beneficial, but it's still terrible. Thank goodness I only have 1 2/3 years left of high school. I'm praying college will be better, which I assume it will be because there won't be as much high school drama. If there is high school drama, the school is obviously bigger, so it should be easier to avoid. Those are my hopes anyways.

Alright, this is a completely boring and pointless post, and I'm sorry if you lost brain cells. Oh, speaking of brain cells - you know the phrase, "I lost my marbles." Well, we did a measurement lab today in chemistry. One of the measurements was the volume of a marble, and my friend measured the approximate volume of my head just for fun. I did the math, only to discover that in order to lose all my marbles, there would have to be approximately 418.95 of them. :) Yeah. That's what I do in school.

Tent City.

2010-08-24T17:10:00.000-04:00

August 11

2010-08-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

Today we woke up REAL early and got ready for VBS in Tapion. We ate breakfast and left in a taptap with the best driver EVER. He stopped for every little bump; it was amazing. When we got there, there was about 40 kids in the church. We had them sing some songs (led by the worship leader of the church) and started off with the puppet show. The kids were all amazed with the puppets. Nevil led the kids in helping remember the verses. I know them now too :) After that we did the laughing song. Then they were split into two groups and we went to go do some games outside. The Human Knot game did not work. They were so confused. Then we did the balloon-ankle game which went well. The kids switched with the craft kids and we tried red-light/green-light instead of the Human Knot. Still didn't work so we did the balloon game. A few kids cried because their balloons popped. A man came up to Jenny and I and asked us to come back on the 23rd. I said we were leaving in a week and he asked us to come back later this week. Then all the kids went inside for closing. Some kids in the back saw Marg playing with the puppet and tried to figure out where the sound was coming from. So cute. They all sang again and we blew up more balloons so they could all keep one. They sang a thank you song and left. We picked up all our stuff and headed down a little hill to the taptap. It was pretty steep but they made a train so no one fell :) Nevil taught Katie and I to count to 30 on the way home.

We ate some bread and fruit (I had a banana. Now I remember why I hate them.) and walked to Ti Guinnen. It was SO weird to see the church from last year down. The shoreline raised too so a bunch of palm trees died and houses were buried. A motorcycle slipped into the canal and both mirrors fell off and another motorcycle almost hit Marg.

(Coca Truck ^^^ with Nevil and Caleb)

(Pastor George and his wife)

We walked home and talked for a while and ate dinner. I talked to Katie for a while and then we had devotions and prayed. I loaded my cot with bug spray (and me) since I have 49 already. :/ Shower and sleep after some interesting talks with Mari and Marg. Mari and I are having a nastiest leg hair competition. :) Yummy.

Oh, also we had dish duty today and couldn't get some stuff off so we used rocks to scrub it. Awesome. Degaje.

August 10

2010-08-22T15:45:00.003-04:00

We woke up today at about 4:30 to get through security again and get to our gate. Small delay because they had to change a tire on the plane but then we were on the way to PAP! We all fell asleep on the plane because of the lack of sleep the night before. Nate and everyone picked us up at the airport, which was weird that they were already here. Not a big fan. So then we drove to Petit Goave. We FINALLY got here and talked to the people for a while. We had dinner at about 5 - soo good. Then Kid's Club started, led by Nevil. Oh, another team is here also. They're doing a world mission called the World Race. It's an 11 month thing and Haiti is the second month. They're pretty cool. A lightening storm went on over the cove so we walked out (after Nevil made Mari pray for Kid's Club) and watched it come in. It was so pretty! A few kids were out there that we talked to. Then we walked back and waited for some guys to get back from Leogane. Then I came upstairs and we all fell asleep SO fast. I even got cold in the breeze.

Back Again

2010-08-21T15:40:00.003-04:00

I actually kept a journal during this trip to Haiti. Well, I started to. Then I got sick and didn't feel up to it so I did kind of a recap of a few days on the plane home. I decided to put my journal on here to help me process and go over everything a little bit. I'll probably do a day per day to space it out. Feel free to read it :)

August 9, 2010
We left today! 3 hour drive to Detroit and then a 3 hour flight to Ft. Lauderdale. When we got there we had to spend the night in the airport... yay. Couple hours of sleep before Haiti. Awesome. (P.S. Two random people also going to Haiti sat next to me on the flight.)

More Than Me

2010-07-13T20:28:00.001-04:00

So as I sit here
In the AC
I have this fear
My favorite country will be
Never the same
As it was before
Forever changed
The past out the door
But I want it back
In my selfish being
Of which there's no lack
Change can be freeing
And this could be too
If I just let it go
Make the whole place anew
With new places to grow
And still here I am
Trying to fight
Aimlessly what can,
What should be, what might
Be best for the place
I say that I love
Explained solely by the grace
Of my God above
Because as I make that claim
I can't help but think
If I'll ever be the same
Little girl dressed in pink
I don't want to be her
I want to be me
To keep the allure
Of a girl with a dream
But if I let the change come
To myself alone
And keep the thought numb
That nothing's set in stone
The country did change
And I have to accept
God made a new stage
He doesn't regret
So now I can sit
In the freezing cold air
Knowing God won't quit
That He's always there
If I get to be new
Never the same as before
Then Haiti does too
To be loved even more

-July 2010

The Haiti I Used to Know.

2010-03-19T23:17:00.003-04:00

Port-au-Prince. With buildings standing and clear roads.

A field without a tent city.

Petit Goave.

Petit Goave again.

All the Reasons Why (song-question thingy)

2010-02-28T18:53:00.002-05:00

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 10 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Write what you think if you want to
7. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE ASKS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
Oxygen

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
HeroHeroine

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Hundred

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Mostly Memories

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
A Still Life Franchise

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
A Little Too Not Over You

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Closer

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Forgiven

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MOST?
Unfaithful

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Run the Show

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Tailor Made

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Tattoo

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
La Bamba

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
4ever

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Fall Away

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Crank That

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Landmines and Landslides

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Harder Than the First Time

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Just Like Me

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Rehab

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Unbroken

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
All the Reasons Why

Nou Se Moun La ♥

2010-02-17T18:34:00.003-05:00

Favorite song ever. Check it out. :]

Many Things.

2010-01-28T20:08:00.002-05:00

First of all, wow, I haven't written in a long time. Sorry about that. Too much been going on (not complaining... or making excuses, just tellin' the story :] ) I decided it was finally time to write something anyways. So here we are.

Second of all, Haiti makes me want to cry and puke and eat junk food 'til I feel like I'm gonna die which brings more guilt for eating when they can't. I heard today that JQ99 is sending a reporter down there to get information. People, come on! THEY. DO. NOT. NEED. MORE. REPORTERS. Americans can get all the information they want from people who need and should be down there. Not from their favorite news station. If you are a doctor or a nurse or have medical training - feel free to go. If you speak Kreyol and can translate for some other doctors - go. If you want to be the next biggest newscaster and get all the up-to-date information that people are going to forget about in 10 seconds - do not go. Sorry for saying all this when I am not there, but if you think about it, common sense. They don't need reporters and media anymore. They got the attention they needed for support and aid to come in, now they need action. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be there right now. There's nothing I want more. But I know I can't because I can't speak Kreyol, can't lead a team, and can't do medical stuff. That is not where God is telling me to go right now. God is calling us to pray. Well, me anyways. Off my soap box...

Third of all, (thirdly of all? hmm...) friends are hard. I don't understand them sometimes. (Read: most of the time.) Especially high school ones. They change their minds and attitudes every 2.4 seconds. Gahh. People are dumb sometimes.

Fourth of all, some people impress me. There was a change drive at school for Haiti a week ago-ish, but I heard it didn't go well. The Haitian Church in GR has a food/medical/clothes drive going, so I asked my principal if we could do something like that at our school and I would bring it to the church for them (just with food/medical though). He said it was cool and got really excited about it! :) So that ends tomorrow - I pick up the stuff after school with my mom. I'll let you know how that turns out! I think it should go well; some teachers are offering extra credit for stuff brought in. :) I'm pretty excited about it. My French teacher got an e-mail from someone she knows that runs a school down there and asked for her to have us make cards, drawings and bookmarks for the kids in the school. She asked for them in French, but since I knew enough Kreyol, we got to put that on them instead. A few people in my class were really cool about the whole thing and made a lot of cards/pictures.

Fifth of all, I had my road test today! :) It went pretty well, and I got my liscense! Well actually just a little slip of paper 'til the other one comes in the mail, but it still counts. To celebrate, my mom got me Subway for dinner (yum.) and I made some popcorn and some Chai and then I ate some cookie dough! :D (Don't tell my soccer coach... ;) ) Overall, it was a pretty producive day :)

I think that's all for now. Sorry it was so long. I'll try to post more shorter ones from now on :)

spanish lessons.

2009-12-25T19:25:00.004-05:00

merry christmas.

merry christ-mas.

mas (<-- spanish) christ.

more christ.

hmm...

Merry Christmas! :] Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Cheergon Crismas! (haha that last one is Korean... I don't know the letters for it, so that's a phonetic spelling. Don't judge me ;]) Last night there was a Christmas program type of thing at church, and the song that Mikayla sang has been stuck in my head. (Well, the two lines that I remember anyways, haha :]) "It's about the cross... It's about my sins... something something something to be born once, so we could be born again..." I never really thought about that before. Actually, I guess I did, just not in the context that it wasn't really just to be born that was why Jesus came. It was to die on the cross. It didn't matter about all the details of His birth (well yeah, it does matter, but bear with me here.) The basic reason why He came was so that He could die for us so that our sins could be forgiven. He always knew He was going to do that for us.

Anyways, enough preachin' ;]. Merry Christmas, and remember "the reason for the season."

tilapia schlapia.

2009-11-14T19:07:00.004-05:00

This is a tilapia. Looks nice, right? Yum. I'm assuming that's what a lot of people think anyways. Personally, I don't really like fish though. Ok, so tilapia. I thought the general public should know about these disgusting little fish. Lately I have been seeing many, many commercials and advertisements and hearing so much about TILAPIA TILAPIA TILAPIA. Ugh. Makes me sick. But that's because I know their secret.
This is a pool in which tilapia live. Gross. It's nasty enough that they have to swim around and drink their own waste all day, but this is like mucky kool-aid. Slimy, gooey, slippery, mucky kool-aid. Figured you all should know what you were going to digest.

P.S. In case you want to know if your tilapia is a boy or a girl, I'm an expert ;)

emka && bouskiits.

2009-11-05T19:24:00.000-05:00

I love this girl. ♥

Jonah and the Whale.

2009-10-30T22:27:00.003-04:00

The sermon last week Sunday was about Jonah and the whale. I always liked that story when I was little, so I made sure to pay attention this week after I heard Pastor Steve start talking about it. I don't really know why I liked it so much when I was younger, but it probably had something to do with the fact that he got swallowed, carried around, and finally puked back up by a giant fish. I mean, c'mon. What little kid doesn't want that to happen to them?

"Oh! Grandpa, you said you caught a fish that was 3 feet long and 50 pounds? Yeah. Well I got swallowed and puked up by a fish that was 30 feet long and 200 pounds. Beat that." Every little kid's fantasy.

And then this week while I was listening to the sermon about Jonah, I realized what a typical missionary he was. Or maybe what a stereotypical missionary he was. God said go. He said no. God said yes. He said make me. God did. Jonah wanted to die. (Ok, maybe the last one isn't so "typical missionary," but that's how the story goes.)

I think I like it even more now because it's real. And not just in the sense that it actually happened, but in the sense that it's easy for me to connect to. I don't know if Jonah was asking (or even begging) God to send him. To go for him. To be a missionary for him. (Judging by his reaction to his sending, I'm going to go with that he didn't want to be sent, just to work for God.) It made me think about how many times I pray for God for clear direction for something, or for him to send me. (Here I am God, still here. Waiting to go. I'm ready!) And then when He gives me something to do (ex. ask this person if they know Jesus) suddenly it's "What?! I can't ask them that! I can't make myself do it. I want to God, I really do, but I can't do it. My mouth isn't working anymore. They might think I'm weird. Nope, can't do it." Major. Wimp. Out.

And then right after that, I go back to praying again. "God, I'm still waiting! Where do you want me to go? Send me. Here am I." And there He is in Heaven, shaking His head and saying "Tori, my child, I just did send you." I never realize the little tasks until after the perfect chance has passed to bring it up. And then you go in the awkward situation of thinking, "I know I'm supposed to be sharing this... but it's so awkward now. But this is what God wants me to do, and I wimped out. I need to redeem myself. I got this." And then into the even more awkward situation of actually acting on it. Hopefully the looks I get aren't too funny. But if you don't make eye contact, you can't tell anyways. ;]

Anyways. Long story not-so-short, Jonah is relatable. I understand his wimpiness. (Although, can he really be considered wimpy since he willingly was thrown into the sea? I think not.) Reworded: I understand his chicken-out-edness. (And yes, that's a word.) Jonah is the perfect lesson to show that God doesn't pick the "perfect" person for the job. He picks the person He wants to MAKE perfect for the job. He knows how a person is going to react, and with Jonah, we get a good lesson on the type of person God is going to use. It's not who you think it will be. Jonah is a lesson. And I'm still going to say "God, here am I - send me." Just with a little more confidence added. :]

Plus - I wouldn't be totally opposed to being eaten by a giant fish either.

yep, i got nothing.

2009-10-15T20:52:00.002-04:00

sorry the blog has been so boring lately! i have been really busy, and don't feel like i have anything much to say besides poems. you have to be really bored and upset with me by now ;] just kidding. but i will try to think of something interesting! hmm. well, at the moment i am doing math homework, but that's not interesting so we can skip over that topic. ratatouille is on so that's pretty sweet. i like this movie. OOH! tomorrow my aunt and uncle and cousins are coming in from minnesota and we're going to my grandma's house to have dinner :D YAY! haven't seen them since august-ish. annnnnnd then on saturday, is the shopping trip! to birch run :] kind of a last minute thing, but my friend emily is coming with us :] so this should be pretty amazing. yeahh. i'm excited. too bad we have to leave at 7:00am. y-i-k-e-s. that's early. earlier than school. whoo baby. but it's all good because we get to go shopping! haha :] hmm. i think that's about it. sorry for the random post. kind of rambly too but i guess that's better than nothing.

ooh and this quote i found. "we could learn a lesson from crayons. sometimes they're sharp and sometimes they're beautiful. some have weird names and they're all different colors. and they all live in the same box." i thought that was cute :]

that's all. alright, love :D

Born to Live

2009-10-06T20:55:00.002-04:00

Born to live
I was born to give
Love to all nations
To all generations

Why He picked me
I may never see
My whole life's plan
Is all in His hands

He chose me to know
He chose me to go
He knew from above
He knew I could love

His plan makes me cry
About things I pass by
The things I can't change
That I can't rearrange

I was born to fix
To pick up the sticks
That people just left
To make them their best

Things I want to do
Aren't always His plan too
So I change my old ways
And fall down to pray

To talk to my maker
To not be a taker
To learn how to give
To be born to live

-Tori Westrick
October '09

There's a Place...

2009-10-02T22:58:00.002-04:00

Somewhere out there
There’s a place
A place where nobody lies
Where nobody dies
Where nobody cries
About earthly things
And earthly stings
And somewhere out there
There’s a place
A place where everyone cares
Where everyone shares
Where everyone dares
To show the love
From their Father above
And somewhere out there
There’s a place
A place where we learn trust
Where we aren’t just dust
Where we know that we must
Give praise to our Jesus
And know that it’s because
He died on the cross
We don’t have our loss
It’s all taken away
No sin has to stay
And somewhere out there
There’s a place
A place where He is
Where He lives
Where He gives
Hope to all nations
To all His creations

-Tori Westrick

October '09

faith to go.

2009-09-21T21:11:00.004-04:00

Faith to go
I gotta show
The world who they could be

Who He is
why He lives
Everything He can see

They need to know
so they can grow
Give their God the key

Change their ways
for all their days
Make the "I" a "we"

It's time to share
time to care
God, Here am I, send me

-Tori Westrick
September '09

Called

2009-08-10T11:26:00.002-04:00

Called to go
Called to know
Called to see
Called to be
Called to stay
Called to pray
Called to preach
Called to reach
Called to love
Called to live
Called to be us
Called to Jesus

-Tori Westrick
August '09

He Knows

2009-08-09T16:47:00.002-04:00

Can you close your eyes

From something you don't want to see?
Can you walk away
From someplace you don't want to be?

Is it true you can be
"right place, right time?"
Is there really coincidence
Or is luck just in your mind?

If God tells you to go,
There's already a plan.
He knows why you're there,
Your life in His hands.

So you don't need to worry
About your luck running out.
God knows the whole story,
No reason to doubt.

Just trust in your Savior.
Know His way is best.
Believe in his power.
Put hope in nothing less.

God wants you to be there,
Even when you're not sure.
Know He knows best,
And change how you were.

There's no such thing as luck.
Coincidence is a lie,
When you trust in your Jesus,
And head for the sky.

-Tori Westrick
August '09

Broken & Beautiful

2009-08-08T21:49:00.002-04:00

How can something so beautiful
be so broken?
When something looks like that,
what do you put hope in?

Or is it the brokenness
that makes it beautiful?
Would it be the same,
would we feel its pull?

The beauty is all around,
you just have to find it.
From the mountains to the city,
There's no place it won't fit.

You can't heal the broken,
You can't change the past.
The only thing to do
Is something that will last.

Bring light to the hurting,
Chase the darkness away.
Because when you bring Jesus,
He promises to stay.

Reflect the Son.
Bring hope to all places.
Give love to the world,
And brighten the faces.

When something has Jesus,
No matter how small,
His love will spread,
Just wait for your call.

-Tori Westrick
August '09

2009-08-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-08-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

2009-07-31T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-07-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

2009-07-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

haiti time :D

2009-07-28T21:38:00.005-04:00

we are leaving for haiti in less than 3 hours!! (well, to go to church and pick up allendale people. then we go to nate and brenda's with the van to meet up with the team, and then after that, we drive to detroit.) so there's a few steps in between, but we are leaving the house at 12:30, so i'm counting it :D

i am soooo excited. people always ask me about haiti when i get back. they ask me why i like it so much and why i would want to go back there. they ask why i go there in the first place. they ask about the country itself, its people, its language, its culture - everything. some of these questions are easy to answer, like the ones about the country. most of them are impossible to explain. i can not tell you why i love it there. the only thing i can explain is that haiti is a part of me. God put the passion for it in my heart, and there's nothing i can do to change that. last summer when we got back, i wrote in my journal "haiti is contagious, and i caught it."

this trip is going to be different than ones from the past because we won't be going to la digue. we'll be in port au prince for a few nights and the rest of the time will be at ebenezer, which is farther south than we had been before. this is hard for me because i have friends in la digue that i won't get to see obviously. i know that God has a reason for us not going there, and i'm not worried or upset about it. i trust that i will see them again someday, even if it's not here necessarily. God knows what he's doing, and i know that. i don't doubt him for a second.

thank you to everyone that donated to this trip for anyone, with money and prayers. prayers are the most important thing for us right now, so please pray for us if you think about it! mission trips are spiritually overwhelming, and prayers are extremely important. thanks again :D

love you guys. be back (waaaay too) soon.

(p.s. i'm going to schedule some old haiti pics to post for while we're gone. :])

f.y.i. :]

2009-07-21T22:37:00.002-04:00

There will be a garage sale held at my place of residence for the next three days (Wednesday-Friday). It will most likely be open from 8am-4pm. Earlier closing will apply if there is a lack of customers. Melissa is going to be there too because she also has things on the sale. Come pay us a visit if you get a chance :]

(If you need the address, e-mail or Facebook me.)

2009-07-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

"You may not be perfect, but Jesus thinks you're to die for."

-Anonymous

2009-07-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

random fun facts.

2009-06-28T20:38:00.003-04:00

i figured since i hadn't written anything in over a month, and everyone else was finally getting back to the blogging scene (peer pressure?) that i should probably find something to update about. bullet points are for added effect. they make it seem like i have more to say :] here goes nothin...

summer vacation is finally here :D (yay)
i finished freshman year (another yay) with a 4.0
soccer season turned out great. i love my team. can't remember our record though...
trying to teach myself algebra 2 over the summer so i can test out for next year
so far i have learned 3 lessons
that leaves me over 9 chapters :O (yikes)
i took driver's training a few weeks ago
now i have a permit :D (once again... yay)
i got poison oak probably from the backyard
they put me on steroids ("uber tori" -said by aaron)
i still have it. all. over.
"all.over." meaning: eyelids, ears, nose, the rest of my face, neck, arm, between fingers, over fingers, hands, feet, legs, upper back, stomach, chest, hips...
we put some calamine lotion on it last night to see if it would help
i looked like an aboriginee (hong-chon-chong :])
fun fact: when calamine lotion dries and you itch it, it squeaks. but it only squeaks over the areas where the poison oak is. security alarm? who knows.
i got my haircut on friday
i like it... correction. LOVE it.
but don't expect to see pictures 'til after the poison oak goes away :]
we are going to haiti in about a month (that would be a HECK yay :D)
someone from the haitian church volunteered to teach me creole
haven't seen a follow-up on that one yet
i was hanging out with my dearest tiffany this weekend :D
just f.y.i. she lives too far away for my liking
we went to a graduation openhouse this weekend also and saw aaron-sita :]
he also lives too far away for my liking
he pulled a chair out from underneath me at the openhouse and i almost hit my face on the table
he didn't even feel bad
actually he laughed
today i watched coach carter with my mom
i love that movie beyond belief :]

mmk pretty sure that's enough! lol and all that i can think of. could be more later. we'll see. thanks for carin' about me after all this time ;] annnnnnd. that's all.

shopping with mommie :]

2009-05-23T16:21:00.005-04:00

School = Bored...

2009-04-14T10:56:00.003-04:00

i am sitting here in english class very bored at the moment. we've been working on projects for a while and the teacher gave us yesterday and today [[alllllll class period... the whole 72 minutes]] to work on them. i finished mine in about 10 minutes yesterday. but then after class yesterday he asked how many people still needed time to work [[and me, not wanting to work on anything else, same with my friend emily who is also done]] raised our hands along with the rest of the class who are not done yet. so here we sit. bored. nothing to do. dani took my math notebook last hour during seminar to look at a couple problems and i don't know where she is. so i can't do my math homework now. i did my science homework already. so yeah. thought you would all like to know how incredibly bored i am right now :] because now you do know.

thursday and friday we have home games!! whooop :] thursday at 4:30 and friday at 4:15. both at the middle school field. you should come :] hehe. the game on friday is vs. the first team we played [[and won against]] and then went against in the tournament [[and lost to]] because they moved their freshman varsity players down for the tournament after we beat them. i'm thinking they kept the varsity players down on the j.v. team. hopefully the game will go good. coach says we are a 'dream team.' he is the greatest coach we ever had. he might coach us next year unless he gets a job somewhere else since he is graduating this year. but i love love love my team. we fought so much at the beginning of the year and now we are really close. we laugh the whole practice.

anyway... enough about that. 40 minutes left in this class. ugh. i'm hungry. lunch is next :] yay! mmk i think my ramblings are done now. i don't know what else to say. emily is looking up shoes haha. she needs new ones. they are pretty sweet looking.

that's all. pce out :]

2009-04-08T10:30:00.001-04:00

"it's not about what you got; it's about what you MAKE of what you got..."

-step up 2

another facebook survey :]

2009-04-08T10:07:00.003-04:00

1 - Have you ever been asked out? - yeah
2 - Where was your default picture taken? – my house
3 - What's your middle name?- lynne
4 - Your current relationship status? - depends on who you ask... lol
5 - Does your crush like you back? - well i would hope so
6 - What is your current mood? - kinda bored, pretty happy, just blah i guess
7 - What color underwear are you wearing? - purple :] hehe
8 - What color shirt are you wearing? - um... a pink with orange hearts and a blue tshirt
9 - Missing something? - all the time
10 - If you could go back in time and change something, what would you do? - learn to be myself sooner and not worry about what other people say or think about me
11 - If you must be an animal for one day, what? - penguin
12 - Ever had a near death experience? - all the time!! haha ;]
13 - Something you do a lot? - TALK lol
14- Song stuck in your head? - suprisingly there isn't one at the moment
15 - Who did you copy and paste this from? - soup a.k.a. jessica campbell
16 - Name someone with the same birthday as you? - russell
17 - When was the last time you cried? - last tuesday
18 - Have you ever sung in front of a large audience? - um... i think in like 5th grade for a christmas program at church
19 - If you could have one super power what would it be? - to be able to turn invisible
20 - What's the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? - eyes and personality
21 - What do you usually order at Starbucks? - tall caramel light frappichino
22 - What's your biggest secret? - if i say then it's not a secret! silly ;]
23 - Favorite color? - orange
24 - Do you still watch kiddie shows or tv shows? - sometimes
25 - What's on your walls? - paint and these dot sticker things and pictures
26 - What are you? - [[ c h r i s t i a n ]] :D
27 - Do you speak any other language? - not fluently but spanish and some creole/french
28 - What's your favorite smell? - hmm... summer :] **can't believe i forgot this... thanks mom :] HAITI all the way baby**
29 - Describe your life in one word. - blessed
30 - Have you ever kissed in the rain? - nope
31 - What are you thinking about right now? - lots of stuff
32 - Who is in the room with you? - no one at the moment
33 - What should you be doing? - same thing i'm doing now :] i have nothing to do
34 - Who was the last person that made you upset/angry? - don't remember
35 - How often do you talk to God? - quite a bit... probably not as much as i should though
36 - Do you like working in the yard? - sometimes
37 - If you could have any last name in the world, what would you want? - hm... can't think of one... i'm good with mine. for now ;] hehe
38 - Do you act differently around the person you like? - i hope not
39 - What is your natural hair color? - brown
40 - Who was the last person to make you cry? - soccer

mmk just a question...

2009-04-04T14:04:00.002-04:00

which sounds shorter to you...

7 days? or a week?

i can't decide.

please give me your input :]

much appreciated.

thank you.

no worries

2009-04-02T15:35:00.003-04:00

the last post was not meant to be dramatic. it actually wasn't even that bad. just thought you would all like to know how fast rumors can spread when all the students in school have accessible e-mail during class, and when everyone knows everyone's e-mail address. takes like 5 minutes. and people in different classes don't even have to get up to tell another person/class about it. no lie.

but i thought i should clarify all that, just so nobody was worried about me :] it's all good.

p.s. E V E R Y O N E is going to florida over spring break!! gees... i guess it seems like that because in addition to the regular amount of people that go there over break, most of the band and choir are going there for the week! i'm jealous ;] hopefully it will be warm here so i can get a little tan haha, otherwise everyone is going to make me look albino... hehe ;]

Rumors

2009-04-01T15:18:00.004-04:00

i have something for you to do if you ever get incredibly bored with your life...

go to a high school that has laptops (like ours) and start a rumor.

it takes about 5 minutes for the entire grade to know.

another plus, rumors spread during class between people that are in different classes.

[[ r u m o r s s u c k ]]

**this is dramatic. overly dramatic. rumors do suck though. sorry if anyone was worried**

Random Things

2009-03-31T19:45:00.003-04:00

oh my goodness it's almost april. eep. i have blogged like 3 times this month. i'm sure you were all very worried about my well-being as i received hundreds of e-mails wondering where i was.

kidding. :]

but the soccer season is off to a good start. last week tuesday we had a game vs. hamilton and won 2-1. then on saturday we had a tournament in coopersville, two games, first vs. coopersville (which we won 1-0 **and we have never beat coopersville before**) then the second vs. hamilton again as they won their game against ...some other school... haha. coach told us that the hamilton team took down some of their freshman varsity players after we beat them on tuesday, and we ended up losing the game 0-2. we won second place at the tournament and coach told us yesterday that he found out the trophy we won was the first one ever won at our school for soccer. girls or boys. whoop. go team :] today we had another game vs. zeeland west. they are a good team and most of us were pretty nervous about this game. we ended up tieing...tying? how do you spell that word?? lol... anyways we tied 2-2. another game tomorrow vs. zeeland east and we are all nervous again because they are also a very good team.

other very random, very short statements:
-homework sucks.
-tiffany makes incredibly good pie.
-2% milk is gross.
-it's amazingly cold outside.
-spring break is in 2 days.
-i feel like taking pictures, but because of the statement two above this one, not happening :]
-i, er, tiffany, dyed my hair a couple weeks ago... the bottom of it a black-blue color.

i think that's all for now. you are all caught up with my life. ha. not. ;] suckers.

Self-Control

2009-03-12T19:33:00.003-04:00

"And the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control..."

I am lacking in the last one. I need accountability, I've been working on this for a while and it has been going alright, but lately I haven't been doing so good. Soccer started this week, and I had to get a physical today for it. Let's just say... I need to increase the self-control. Soon. My weight has gone up a lot over the past few weeks which isn't terrible since I am still well under being overweight, but I am not comfortable knowing how much more I weigh now.

So I'm asking for prayer I guess. Pray that I can use more self-control. I saw on Kim's blog a while ago that not having self-control is a sin since it is in the Bible that you are supposed to have it. Ouch. I have been praying about it, and like I said it was going ok, but now I'm slipping again.

I don't really know what else to say, but thanks :]

me bored = facebook survey

2009-03-08T16:39:00.003-04:00

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say? laugh and ask him where he got his crack from ;]
2. Do you trust all of your friends? pretty sure i do yeah, some more then others though
3. Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love? too young
4. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? yes
5. Can you make a dollar in change right now? yeah...
6. Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor? um... at the moment i wouldn't trust any of them to be my doctor lol
7. Are you afraid of falling in love? not really
9. Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times? all the time :]
10. Whats your most favorite scar? probably the weird one on my foot because i got it in haiti :]
11. When was the last time you flew in a plane? this summer
12. What did the last text message you sent say? oh sry about that my phone died and i just got my charger
13. What features do you find most attractive in the preferred sex? eyes, personality
14. Fill in the blank. I love: Jesus
15. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future? run faster and farther haha
16. If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call? my grandma :]
17. How many kids do you want to have? not sure... 4-7 probably
18. Would you make a good parent? i hope so. tiffany told me i have the mom look lol but ask my kids someday when theyre born if you really wanna know
19. Where was your profile picture taken? my room
20. Whats your middle name? Lynne
21. Honestly, whats on your mind right now? someone special :]
22. If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be? nothing
23. Who was or will be the maid of honor/ best man in your wedding? not sure i don't plan on getting married any time soon so i really don't know yet
24. What are you wearing right now? black pants, two camis, t-shirt, coat
25. Righty or Lefty? righty
26. Best place to eat? subway
27. Favorite jeans? old navy skinny jeans
28. Favorite animal? penguin :]
29. Favorite juice? hmm... cranberry grape. or apple. or lemonade.
30. Have you had chicken pox? yeah in 4th grade
31. Have you had a sore throat? who hasn't??
32. Ever had a bar fight? oh yeah just the other night. kidding. that would be ridiculous. i'm 15.
33. Who knows you the best? mom and tiffany and anna and dani and jesus
34. Shoe size? 7.5-8
35. Do you wear contact lenses or glasses? nope
36. Ever been in a fight with your pet? yeah she always wins though ;]
37. Been to Mexico? i wish
38. Did you buy something today? a blueberry muffin. but with my daddy's money :]
39. Did you get sick today? not puking but my stomach hurt... nothing new
40. Do you miss someone today? everyday
41. Did you get in a fight with someone today? yeah this nurse got in my way. showed her what's up. ;] kidding again that would be so mean
42. When is the last time you had a message? today
43. Last person to lay in your bed? me
44. Last person to see you cry? not sure
45. Who made you cry? don't remember
46. What was the last TV show you watched? um... don't remember that either
47. What are your plans for the weekend? the weekend is over :[
48. Who do you think will repost this? melissa maybe? i don't know
49. Who was the last person you hung out with? tiffany :]
50. Is there anyone you'd say yes to if they asked you to marry them TODAY? um. no. we discussed this ^^^ up there somewhere. i'm 15. not happening.

check. check. check...

2009-03-06T14:52:00.003-05:00

Exams taken.

New class supplies ready.

Dogs fed.

Laundry folded.

Clothes put away.

Dishwasher emptied.

Facebook updated.

Quote frame finished.

Entirity of songs on iPod almost memorized.

Ahhh... *sigh of relief*

Surgery. School. Soccer.

2009-03-05T13:27:00.003-05:00

My mom had her surgery this morning at 7:30. Her and my dad left at 5:30 to get there, so me and my brother had to get to school all by ourselves. Eek. Kidding. We were totally fine. :] I called my mom when I got home a little while ago and she sounds like she's doing great. Thank you to everyone praying for her!! :D

Exams are this week. Three down. Two to go. Phew. I need some new classes haha.

Soccer starts next Monday!!!!! :D :D :D Oh yeahhh party. haha I'm pumped.

Not sure if I should do this or not... but I'm going to... I'll just say now that if you read Anna's blog, buy from her because this was her idea in the first place. But this year for soccer we get bags and t-shirts (for the first highschool year, this is how it always is) and sweatshirts. Expensive. They gave us a fundraiser (which I really hate doing), gotta sell some cookies. If I sell 20 boxes then I get the stuff all free. Each box is $15. They are the place and bake kind, so you just take out the pre-portioned dough and bake them. 3 pounds of cookie dough in each (48 - 1 oz. cookies). Flavors are:
-Snickerdoodle
-Oatmeal Raisin
-Sugar
-Double Chocolate Chip
-Chocolate Chip
-Peanut Butter
-White Chocolate w/ Macadamia Nut
If you want to buy any, leave a comment, e-mail or Facebook me, or find me in person if you have that option too :] It says payment is made when order is made, so I guess you have to pay me when you order them. Thank you!!

100 Truths... random and really long survey

2009-03-03T16:39:00.002-05:00

1. Last beverage→ coffee
2. Last phone call→ to mom
3. Last text message→ from dani
4. Last song you listened to→ don't remember
5. Last time you cried→ last week i think

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Dated someone twice? nope
2. Been cheated on? not even possible
3. Kissed someone and regretted it? nope
4. Lost someone special? yes
5. Been depressed? not extremely but sad yeah
6. Been drunk and threw up? no

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
1. orange
2. teal
3. pink but not really light or really dark
4. um... silver or black

HAVE YOU:
1. Made new friends → of course :)
2. Fallen out of love → nope
3. Laughed until you cried → all the time
4. Met someone who changed you → yeah... maybe? i don't know, sure
5. Found out whom your true friends were → definitely, recently too
6. Found out someone was talking about you→ yeah
7. Kissed anyone on your friend's list→ nahh
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life?: all of them i'm pretty sure
9. How many kids do you want to have→ depends on the day haha. but like 4-7
10. Do you have any pets → yes i do
11. Ever been on an airplane?: yep quite a few times actually
12. What did you do for your last birthday→ out for lunch and shopping with the family. little party with the non-family. :)
13. What time did you wake up today → 6:30
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → snoozin' :)
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → warm weather
16. Last time you saw your father→ 10 minutes ago
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → a few things, nothing major
18. What are you listening to right now → the keys clicking
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → yep
20. Have you ever driven a car?: nope
21. Have you ever gone to Starbucks?: haha yeah too much ;]
22. Would you rather read or watch t.v.?: definitely read
23. What's getting on your nerves right now?→ the cold weather
24. Most visited webpage → yahoo, blogger, google reader, facebook, youtube

1. What's your name→ Victoria Lynne Westrick
2. Nicknames→ Tori, Torhey (but no one calls me that anymore), random stuff I don't answer to hahaha just kidding
3. Relationship Status → solo
4. Zodiac sign: sagitarrius
5. Male or female→female
6. Elementary → Allendale Elementary
7. Middle School → Allendale Middle
8. High school→ Allendale High
9. Eye color: hazel-y green i would say. or goldish. but not yellow ;]
10. Hair color → brown. some say the same color as my eyes haha weird
11. Long or short hair: medium long-ish
12. Height?: 5 feet 4.5 inches
13. Shoe size?: 7.5 or 8 depends on brand
14. Favorite fruit?: grapes at the moment but i love apples
15. Summer or winter?: SUMMER
16. Favorite vacation?: hmm... to the dells :)
17. Do you have a crush on someone?: hmm... crush sounds weird
18. What don't you like about yourself? → a couple things but no big
19. Piercings → 2 in each ear, hopefully more ears and a nose soon :)
20. Tattoos → none yet
21. Righty or lefty → Righty

FIRSTS :
22. First surgery → tonsils out
23. First piercing → ears
24. First best friends: hollie
25. First house location: holland i think
26. First sport you joined → soccer
27. First pet→ dog
28. First vacation → florida maybe?? not sure
29. First concert → michael w. smith
30. First sleepover: with Catherine i think
31. First Job: babysitting

RIGHT NOW:
49. Eating → apple
50. Drinking → nothing
51. Wearing → jeans. sweater. shirt. cami. underwear. socks.
52. I'm about to: study for exams
53. Listening to → brother's game
55. Waiting for → Jesus
56. Thinking → too much

YOUR FUTURE :
57. Want to live → somewhere warm and sunny with nice people :)
58. Want kids → eventually
59. Want to get married → yep
60. Careers in mind → photographer, esl teacher, adult literacy, something with language

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
68. Lips or eyes → eyes
69. Hugs or kisses → at the moment. hugs. :)
70. Shorter or taller → taller
71. Older or Younger → older
72. Romantic or spontaneous → both
73. good body or good personality→ both
74. Sensitive or loud → both not too loud though
75. Hook-up or relationship → relationship
76. Humorous or serious → Both
77. Trouble maker or hesitant→ also both :)

HAVE YOU EVER :
78. Kissed a stranger → no
79. Drank hard liquor → um... maybe? not sure lol
80. Lost glasses/contacts → no
81. Went on a date → nope
82. Broken someone's heart → i hope not
83. Had your own heartbroken → nahh
84. Wanted someone you know you can't have → not really
85. Been arrested → no
86. Turned someone down → yes
87. Cried when someone died → yes
88. Liked a friend that is the same sex? → uh. no.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself → usually
90. Miracles → yes
91. Love at first sight → nope
92. Heaven → yes
93. Santa Clause → no
94. God → all the way
95. Kiss on the first date? → probably not
96. Angels → yes

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? no not even one at a time lol
99. Done something you regret? no regrets. just life lessons :)
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? i guess so

2009-02-28T09:57:00.000-05:00

Rainbow Test

2009-02-20T15:16:00.002-05:00

Mari had this on her blog, and I thought it looked interesting :]

Your rainbow is shaded green.

What is says about you: You are an intelligent person. You feel strong ties to nature and your mood changes with its cycles. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.

What color is your rainbow?

a smirk for sunday :]

2009-02-15T21:09:00.002-05:00

This made me laugh today. I think you all should know that I don't qualify, you'll know what I mean when you click on the link :]

waiting is a big word

2009-02-12T17:54:00.001-05:00

missin' my haiti :(

running is bliss :]

2009-02-11T18:59:00.003-05:00

I decided that since it was kinda warm today, I was going to go for a run outside. It started to get dark (at like 6:45) so I thought I better go if I was still going to. I put on a sweatshirt, wrote a little note since no one was around, and left :] I ended up only going a mile because it was still a little cold out and I didn't want it to get too dark (plus I'm not in the greatest shape... ;]) Ahh... it felt SO GOOD though. I got home and my ears still hurt a little bit from the cold, but the rest of me feels good!! hehe. It made me appreciate my summertime though when I don't have to think about if it's going to be too cold to run today. :] Summer come back!!! hahaha

bruised...

2009-02-05T20:19:00.003-05:00

Tiffany blogged about our spatula fight a while ago, and she said something about how her and I were going to have some bruises probably. I thought maybe you guys would like to see the proof of one of them... so here it is :)

Nasty right??

one word ((from aunt julie's facebook)) :]

2009-02-05T16:17:00.002-05:00

ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers.

Let's see......

1. Where is your cell phone? bedroom
2. Your significant other? unknown :)
3. Your hair? ponytail
4. Your mother? upstairs
5. Your father? working
6. Your favorite? laughter
7. Your dream last night? none :(
8. Your favorite drink? coffeeeeeeee :D
9. Your dream/goal? remain
10. What room you are in? basement
11. Your hobby? depends :P
12. Your fear? drowning
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? college
14. Where were you last night? sleeping
15. Something that you are not? boy
16. Muffins? amazing ♥ :)
17. Wish list item? planeride
18. Where you grew up? allendale
19. Last thing you did? facebook
20. What are you wearing? clothes
21. Your TV? off
22. Your pets? annoying
23. Friends? lovely
24. Your life? livin
25. Your mood? blah
26. Missing some one? always
27. Car? underage
28. Something you're not wearing? sweatshirt
29. Your favorite store? target
30. Your favorite color? orange
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? forget
35. Who will resend this? dunno :)
36. One place that I go to over and over? school :'(
37. One person who texts me regularly? tiffany
38. My favorite place to eat? Subway
39. My favorite food? lots

what song is this?

2009-02-04T17:33:00.001-05:00

THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING!!! I'M GOING TO MARRY THIS GUY SOMEDAY ;) just kidding but it is probably one of the coolest things i have ever seen :) check it out... http://youtube.com/watch?v=LbkNxYaULBw

you know you text too much when...

2009-02-04T16:55:00.002-05:00

... your dog growls and you think your phone vibrated. True story.

this is my girl =]

2009-02-01T20:55:00.005-05:00

WINTERFEST '09

me and anna =]

yes we know we are dorks

don't judge us ;]

The dance was fun, and I have to admit that before Anna came over, I didn't really even want to go. But now I want another dance to be coming up soon. And there isn't one :(

Name Game ((from Anna's Facebook)) :)

2009-01-27T21:53:00.002-05:00

Rules: It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag 10 people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real. . .nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.Have Fun!!

1. What is your name: Tori
2. A four Letter Word: twin
3. A boy's Name: Tyler
4. A girl's Name: Tiana
5. An occupation: Technician
6. A color: Teal
7. Something you wear: toe socks
8. A food: tomato
9. Something found in the bathroom: toilet paper
10. A place: Taiwan
11. A reason for being late: too much homework
12. Something you shout: Time to go!!
13. A movie title: The Mysterious Case of Benjamin Button
14. Something you drink: Teem :D ((yummy Haiti pop))
15. A musical group: Toby Mac... does that count?? lol
16. An animal: tiger
17. A street name: Tyler street :)
18. A type of car: toyota
19. A song title: Take You There :)
20. A verb: tickle

Blonde Moments

2009-01-24T10:42:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure that last night I did the dumbest thing imaginable at 2 am.

So I was sleeping, okay? And I woke up all of a sudden because I felt something bitting my hand like a bug. I sat straight up and threw off my blankets. Then I was looking at my blankets, and didn't see anything, but was trying to shake them out and brushing them off and all this stuff. Then I felt the same thing on my leg. I was like there is no way I'm going back to sleep if there is a bug that is going to bite me in my bed. So I kept brushing off the sheets and looking for this stupid bug. Then it bit my hand again. I looked down. I was wearing these shorts that had the drawstring on them, and the end of it is hard. THAT is what kept "biting" me. I seriously just sat there and said out loud to myself "Oh my gosh I'm retarded." Laid back down and went to sleep.

Don't judge me, I was having a crazy day yesterday. My mom and dad went to some thing at my dad's work and my brother was at school last night. I was sitting ((in our new recliners =])) watching some tv show that I don't remember. But someone said something that I thought was really funny that probably wasn't even funny at all. I was kind of in a slap-happy mood yesterday. Lol. But I started laughing and then I stopped for like 3 seconds and kept laughing. It wasn't even funny anymore and there was nothing to be laughing at. I was laughing at myself laughing at nothing. Then my eyes started to water and I started laughing harder because I was making myself cry from laughing so hard at laughing at nothing. Finally I made myself stop though.

Thought you all could use a laugh :) Just a warning though, if you want to hear more dumb things that I did, don't make fun of me okay?? The stories will end :) You have been warned.

P.S. NATE AND BRENDA ARE GOING TO HAITI TODAY AND I AM VERY JEALOUS. :'( but I get to hang out with Tiffany and their kids all weekend so I guess that's okay. :)

Recognize these kids??

2009-01-19T20:31:00.003-05:00

Check these kids out... Anna showed me this during science.

These kids are from the Cabaret Kids orphanage from Bercy that we go visit when we're down there sometimes. :)

What Kind of Soup Are You?

2009-01-15T15:18:00.000-05:00

You Are Minestrone

You are a spontaneous person. You don't make or follow rules. You just go with your gut.
You're eager to go wherever life takes you. If something doesn't work out, at least you've learned.

Nutrition and eating healthy is very important to you. You eat your veggies.
That being said, you're not a picky eater. You like all foods.

What Kind Of Soup Are You?

Resolution...

2009-01-02T13:03:00.002-05:00

My acid reflux was really bothering me for a while, and the two things that triggered it the most were ice cream and chocolate, so I decided to give them up as my resolution. I told one of my friends from school about it, and he was like "I could do that." So now he is doing it to, but he told me that if he did it with me, I had to give up pop like him. Which is easy since I did that a long time ago, and I don't really like it that much in the first place. We decided that we have a one-week exception where we can ignore the resolution and have something. I am making my week in Haiti so I can drink the pop there :) It's way to good to pass up.

I made a count up and put it on the bottom of the page, so you can check that out if you want to see how long it's been. So far it says a little over one day :)

I also changed the pictures on the sidebar. I think they're kinda cute. :)

Happy New Year!!

2008-12-31T22:03:00.003-05:00

Wow I really can't believe it's almost 2009. I remember when I was little thinking about how far away 2012 seemed (the year I'm graduating in) and now it seems so close!!

2008 was not too bad I would say, I met a lot of really cool people, had a lot of fun times, starting reading my bible every day, realized how much I love language and photography, and lots of other stuff too.

I want to know what your favorite part of 2008 was. In 5 words or less :)

Here's mine: Everything I did involving Haiti.

(that includes both the Febuary and July trips, Isaiah project, going to the Haitian church, learning more Creole...) :)

Forecasting Stone

2008-12-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

I think I've seen this before, but I found this picture online a while ago.

Happy Day

2008-12-25T09:32:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!!

I love Christmas lights =]

A New Face For Marlie

2008-12-23T14:28:00.004-05:00

This morning I didn't really feel like doing much of anything, so I turned on the t.v. while I was eating lunch. I pulled up the guide on the screen and started looking at what was on. Nothing really caught my eye, so I kept looking until I got to TLC. The show that was on at the time didn't really interest me, it was about this lady that was living with half a body because of some disease she had. The show that was going to be on after it, on the other hand... one o'clock could not come fast enough for me. I amused myself with Full House for an hour waiting for this show to come on. And the reason the show looked so good to me... the girl in it was from Haiti!!! She had a birth defect, and I can't remember what it's called, but it was the worst case of it in medical history. The bones in her face were extremely distorted and caused a 16-pound growth to form on her face. She couldn't hold her head up without her hands. She couldn't breathe easily at all. She couldn't eat. Her family thought she was going to die. The girl, Marlie, locked herself in another room so no one could see her. She tried commiting suicide once, but her dad caught her before she slit her throat. She was 13 years old at the time.

This is the story.

Her dad never watched the news, but one time he did, and there were these twins from Haiti on it who were nurses and had dedicated their lives to saving people from their country. He contacted them somehow and the nurses came to the house to look at Marlie. They both said that at first they wondered how she could be human and didn't think there was anything that could be done for her. But then they both thought about their own kids and decided they had to do something for her. So they worked at getting money for her to come to the United States on a medical visa to have emergency surgery. It happened, and the two nurses, Marlie, and Marlie's mom all came to the U.S. for about 6 months. In this time, the doctors performed two surgeries on her face, one on the midsection and the other on her jaw area. They did not think she would be able to have a nose again, but during the first surgery they built one for her. In the second surgery, they took out the rest of the growth and put in a metal jaw. By the end, she was dancing and smiling. Before she could hardly open her eyes and couldn't move her face at all. Her dad and two sisters came to visit her in America at the end of her surgeries, and then the whole family flew back to Haiti. She was going to come back some other time to have the finishing surgeries on her face, and the doctors said that when they are all done, she will be able to walk around without anyone looking at her different, she is going to look like everyone else.

Part of it was filmed in Haiti, and the two nurses, and the family were speaking in Creole. Most of it was translated over so you couldn't hear it, but there were a couple of parts where you could hear them talking. They showed some in Port au Prince and some in the city where Marlie was from... I can't remember what it's called though. There were tap-taps, market, the airport, roads, houses, everything.

Anyone up for a quick trip?? ;]

2008-12-15T19:14:00.002-05:00

As I watch myself fall into a little thing I like to call "Calorie Overload" time after time, I start to wonder about all the starving people in the world. They probably will never experience this version of a stomach ache resulting from eating too much junk food. They get their own kind of stomach ache, if you can call it that. Starving, empty bellies for all these people. All the young, younger than me. All the old who have never known everything different. This is life.

I've tried it before, to see what it felt like. I did a minor fast, 49 hours. Then after that, I went to one of the many cupboards in my house, stocked with food. I never doubted that. I never in my life have had to wonder if there was going to be food when I got home. I never worried that I wouldn't get to eat the next day, or the next week. Everyday life for these people all over the world is nothing like mine. I can't understand the pain they feel. Even if I try, just a fraction of the time that they go without eating, I don't have to worry about where my next meal is going to come from. And yes, it hurts after a while not having anything in your stomach. The difference is that for me, at any time, I could have said "Okay, I'm done. Time to eat," walked over to the kitchen and gotten myself something.

Now I have a different pain. One in my heart. I want to help. I want to do something. And that pain grows stronger every time I realize that the majority of my time is spent focused on myself.

So I need to make some changes. I wish it was as easy for all the hungry people out there to change as it is for me. And I don't think it's going to be that easy for me to change, but I have the option to. These people don't.

I am change.

Pool Sign

2008-12-06T16:13:00.002-05:00

Welcome to our

OOL

Notice there is no P in it

Let's keep it that way

2008-12-03T21:41:00.003-05:00

Trying to wait patiently

To get out of this place

This place I don't want to be

Pleading a case

I'm never going to win

Trying to get out

To get out of this sin

My mind wants to doubt

My heart wants to trust

To trust His perfect plan

I know that I must

Let Him be God, let me be man

But it hurts and I'm breaking

I need to move, need to go

My heart is aching

Time passes so slow

Just gotta believe

Believe in His plan for me

I just gotta leave

I just gotta be

-written today when I got bored during art :)

Thoughts

2008-12-01T19:18:00.003-05:00

Have you ever heard the saying "If you have a penny for your thoughts, and you put your two-cents in, what happens to the other penny?" I heard that a while ago, and thought of it today. So folks... a penny for your thoughts??

Christmas Socks

2008-11-29T12:02:00.002-05:00

This adorable little boy is my cousin Caden. While we were in Wisconson this week, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family since my aunt and uncle that live in Minnesota will not be here for Christmas. My mom gave all the kids a little stocking with candy in it along with their presents. Caden was eating the candy out of his (well okay, dumping it all on the floor and leaving it there for me to put back, and then when I did put it back, dumping it out again. I think he ate one piece that whole time). Me and my aunts and my mom and dad and a couple of my cousins were going "for a walk" to the arcade. We said for a walk so that not all the little kids would want to come. :) Caden was going to come, and was waiting with us out in the hallway, but then he ran over by his room door and said "I'm going to eat some candy out of my sock!" then he looked down and pointed at his socks, and completely seriously added "But not these socks." Just to clarify. Thanks buddy :D

Random Question

2008-11-25T16:30:00.004-05:00

If you died today, what do you think people would remember the most about you? And what would you want them to remember?

My Life

2008-11-20T20:08:00.003-05:00

be like ooh ahhhh oooh ahh ;) Just kidding.

This is going to be a completely random and totally boring update about my life. Here we go.

1. I have 27 days until my birthday.
2. 27 days left of being 14 that means.
3. I am approximately 1/12 of the way done with high school.
4. After tomorrow, I have 55 exams left in my high school career. (Unless I don't take 5 classes every trimester)
5. Saturday I am going shopping with my mom.
6. I want to talk in Creole to someone.
7. I have no one to talk to because all the Haitian-Americans I know would make me feel embarassed to try speaking it with them.
8. My friends are amazing :)
9. I don't feel good.
10. I never want to eat junk food again.
11. But I probably will by the middle of next week. Probably before.
12. I think that's everything random I had to say.
13. Told you it was going to be boring.
14. Oh yeah, and I wish I could drive.
15. But I can't.
16. And I watched Juno for the first time today.
17. It's pretty funny, and it's good.
18. Ok now that's everything.
19. Still boring though.

Au revoir cheries :)

2008-11-18T17:22:00.000-05:00

Skittles Project

2008-11-11T16:20:00.002-05:00

I am taking 2-dimensional design in school right now, and our most recent project was to draw candy 5 times, each time moving the picture on the plate and using different things to color it in for lack of better words... the first time was just pencil, second was traced over with sharpie, third was painted with water colors, fourth was colored pencil, and fifth was cut out of construction paper. I finished this yesterday, and took it home so I could scan them and show my mom :) Here they are:

Canned Food Hockey

2008-11-08T09:16:00.003-05:00

I just remembered that I hadn't posted this video yet. This is at the Harvest Festival we went to at the Haitian Church last Friday. They had an air hockey table in one of the rooms, but only one handle-thing-whatever-those-are-called... but there was a lot of cans of cranberries on a shelf next to the table, so we started using those. Me and Brenda had a lot of laughs with this thing... :) Sorry the video is not very good, I was trying to hold it above the table and play at the same time, so I couldn't see anything I was videoing.

2008-11-08T08:51:00.000-05:00

"The happiest people don't necessairily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

-Anonymous

Random Video

2008-11-07T20:07:00.003-05:00

This is Dani. She is going to kill me for this. Unless she doesn't find out so shh... ;) Kidding. You may tell her, I don't care. :)

Other Dani quotes:

"I put 'white/caucasian' for this, but I'm Italian, so what else do I put? Am I Middle Eastern??"

(To which I laughed really hard and she said "What? Wait what's a Middle Eastern person?" And I laughed more and told her "Like an Iraqi" And then she laughed with me... and then wondered if she was Latino...)

Lots of Venting...

2008-11-04T19:40:00.003-05:00

**I am seriously venting right now. School was crazy today. Everyone was arguing since we had a mock election and because of the real election today. These are all based on arguments that people used on me today when I tried to talk to them. If you are easily offended, I wouldn't read this. You can't say I didn't warn you :)**

1) Saying that we aren't old enough to vote anyways so who cares isn't a good comeback.
2) I am old enough to care.
3) We can vote in the next election so if you don't care, you should start.
4) What happens in this elections is going to effect you whether you think so or not.
5) Abortion is murder any way you put it.
6) If God did not have a purpose for the baby, the woman would not have gotten pregnant in the first place. Yes He has that power.
7) I believe that woman have a choice.
8) That choice is made when they get pregnant.
9) And the choice is to take that chance of getting pregnant or not risking it.
10) After that it is up to God.
11) You can't say there is no other option for women either.
12) Even if they are teenagers.
13) They were responsible enough to get pregnant, they can be responsible enough to go through with the consequences.
14) Once they have the baby, there is a wonderful thing called adoption.
15) If you don't want your baby, someone else does.
16) If a woman has an abortion or if her baby is put up for adoption, she is still going to think about that child for the rest of her life.
17) Personally, I would rather think about a child that is still alive.
18) You also cannot say that men shouldn't worry about abortion because they don't have to go through it anyways.
19) Someone has to get the girl pregnant.
20) Not all men leave if a woman gets pregnant either.
21) And if he does, the woman should not have been messing around with him in the first place.
22) You can not be born gay.
23) It is a choice.
24) There is no other way around it, none, plain and simple - a choice.
25) God did not create us to be man and man or woman and woman.
26) We were created to be man and woman.
27) I do like basing my arguments on faith and religion.
28) The government should be involved in whether or not women can have abortions, and whether or not gay people can get married.
29) Our country was founded on Christian faith.
30) Our country should still be run on Christian faith.
31) The Bible is not manipulated to say that being gay is wrong.
32) It is wrong. The Bible says so. Not manipulated.
33) I am okay with people having different opinions.
34) God did not make us all to think exactly alike and be robotic.
35) But if you say you are a Christian, you better not be going against what the Bible says.

Would do you think Jesus would vote for? Who do you think He IS voting for? And would you tell him these arguments and expect him to go with them??

Blogiversary Answers...

2008-11-04T19:25:00.002-05:00

Mari said - Happy Blogiversary! My question is probably one you get asked frequently considering your age, but - I really want to know! What are you plans when you get out of school?

My answer - When I graduate from high school, I want to go to college. Hopefully I will have my freshman year done from doing Dual Enrollment. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life as far as a career goes, but there are a few things I'm thinking about. (missionary, photographer, mission photographer, ESL teacher, elementary language teacher, adult literacy teacher, inner-city teacher... that kind of stuff) After college, if it works out with everything, I want to go to Haiti for 3 months. But farther on than that, I really have no idea!! :)

Mom said - Happy blogiversary! I didn't even celebrate mine so you're one up on me! Hmmm... what question to ask...If you could solve or fix one of the world's greatest problems, what would that be?

My answer - I wish I could fix it so that everyone would be Christians and would go to Heaven and would think like any person in their right mind would, but I can't do that... so I guess I would fix the problem of people being unhealthy. That covers a lot actually haha. That would mean good diets, enough sleep, minimal alcohol, enough exercise... stuff like that. It bothers me that people don't care about how they treat their bodies. I also think that if everyone was healthier, they would be happier and more reasonable, which would end up solving other problems in the world too.

"Blogiversary"

2008-10-28T20:35:00.000-04:00

I guess people are celebrating their "blogiversaries" now? So I decided I should join in on the fun, and celebrate mine too :) This is the first blogiversary for this blog and for me, so I don't really know what to do for it... I guess I'll take Kim's idea and say that you can ask me anything you want and I'll answer the questions in a later post! Have fun :)

Simplicity

2008-10-24T18:18:00.000-04:00

"It is God's business, not ours, to care for what we have. God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust him. The lock on the door is not what protects the house. Simplicity means the freedom to trust God for these and all things."

-Richard Foster

Mean Girls

2008-10-23T16:47:00.004-04:00

My mom bought me a book in like 5th grade from Family Christian Stores, and I started to read it... well since then I have read less than 50 pages of it :) oops... but I wanted to read it finally. So I started yesterday, at the beginning, I don't remember the part that I read over the course of 5 years (shocking I know... everyone should be able to remember that kind of thing) ;)

Anyways, the book is called "Mean Girls: Facing Your Inner Beauty Turned Beast". I read a part during seminar today that I wanted to put on here for you guys... and it is relatable to everyone, not just people with "mean girls".

"No matter what people call you, they can't change who you are. Only you and Christ can do that. If you choose to let others make you into their image, you lose - and you deny Christ, because He calls you to be made into His image, to 'put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' (the apostale Paul's letter to the Colossions, chapter 3, verse 10). Christ died to set you free - free from the enemy, free from yourself and free from the Mean Girl. You might not be feeling it right now, but it's true: You are a child of the King, not the punch line of a bad joke. Don't let anyone convince you by the means things they say that you are less than a princess. If you want to know how to turn it around and be the girl you were made to be, find out what pleases your Father. Find out how he wants you to react."

My Adorable Cousins :)

2008-10-22T18:40:00.001-04:00

These are my cousins that live in Minnesota, I took these pictues when my mom and I went to visit their family out there this summer, and I just haven't gotten to posting them yet :) So here they are. Sorry I don't have a very good picture of Niko, he wouldn't let me take pictures of him when he was looking, so I have a lot of shots of his back ;)

Natalie

Neve

Niko

Do Not Worry (Luke 12:22-34)

2008-10-21T18:27:00.003-04:00

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothes you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32Do not be afraid, little flock, for you Father has been please to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

*Study Bible notes*
-Does Jesus command us not to worry? (12:22)
Jesus does not give a command so much as an invitation to rest in the arms of a loving Father. As humans, we will at times cross the line and fret when we should trust. But only when we allow ourselves to constantly focus on ourselves instead of God do we violate Jesus' principle. He gave it to us as a liberating principle, not as another law to worry about.

-Does Christ really want us to sell all our possessions? (12:33-34)
Jesus' concern is that our possessions do not possess us. Some have felt that God wanted them to take a vow of poverty, learning to trust him by giving away everything they owned to help the poor. Others look to other verses in the Bible to help interpret this one. They believe the point here is that all we have belongs to God. But he gives us the responsibility to manage those possessions in ways that will honor him and accomplish his will.

Free Rice

2008-10-18T20:40:00.002-04:00

I don't know if any of you have heard of this game before, but it is really cool. It's called Free Rice. There are a bunch of different subjects you can choose to play from (like multiplication, English vocabulary, English grammar, learning Spanish, learning French, learning German, learning Italian, world capitals, world country locations, famous paintings, and chemical symbols) I didn't know that there were different subjects until tonight when I was playing it. I guess I should tell you why it's so cool.

For every question you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end world hunger. It has a little wooden bowl on the side of the screen that shows how much rice you donated.

Tonight Iwas really bored, and I tried all the subjects except learning German and Italian and the full version of chemical symbols. I ended up donating 10,000 grains of rice.

Also, I realized that if I was to have a test on one of the subjects on there at school, this would be the best way to study EVER. I did the Spanish one because I am taking Spanish 2 right now, and I did the French one to see how much I actually would know.

So if you get bored sometime, you can try this game :) I know world hunger is never going to end, doesn't it say that in the Bible? But the Bible also says to feed the hungry, so go forth and learn :)

2008-10-15T20:37:00.004-04:00

Why are there hard times?
Why are their lives harder than mine?
Why are they dying
with nobody trying
to tell them it gets better?

And if they've heard,
why didn't they learn?
They're hungry and poor,
maybe tired and sore,
but chose to ignore hope.

The weight of the world on my shoulders.
Only God can move these boulders.
I don't even know
where else to go.
But I know where I'm headed.

I want them all to come.
I want them to know love.
They could be free
if only they could see
this light in the dark.

Show them how to open their eyes.
Tell them to look to the skies.
And when they pray,
they can't see the gray.
Only God can make the storms pass.

With Him or without,
there's rain and there's drought.
You know why it comes
and Who it's from
when you have that faith.

I just don't understand
why you wouldn't if you can?
I wish I knew
what to do
and why they didn't listen.

God has everything worked out,
but I want to know what it's about.
How long is the wait
until that planned date,
and what do I do until then?

Father, show me my part.
Show me, where do I start?
Why don't people care?
What do I share?
Lord - Here am I, send me.

Heart and Mind

2008-10-11T20:26:00.004-04:00

How would you describe the difference between having something on your heart and having something on your mind?

I thought about that when I was out shopping with my mom today, and she told me what she thought, but I wanted to know what everyone else had to say about it. :)

Dude Math

2008-10-08T21:47:00.002-04:00

I thought this was funny even though I don't agree with it :)

Convo #2 of Babysitting... :)

2008-10-04T19:09:00.004-04:00

Caden: Hchhhhh!! (pretending to be a jaguar)
...silence...
Me: Ooh the mad beast fell asleep...
Caden: What?
...more silence...
Caden: Hchhhh!!

Convo #1 of Babysitting... :)

2008-10-04T16:48:00.002-04:00

In the car on the way to my cousins house tonight:

Kayla: Mom, you're showing off again.
Aunt Michelle: Oh I am huh?
Kayla: Yeah, because Tori's here.
Aunt Michelle: Oh really...
Kayla: Yeah... oh and try not to talk to any old people tonight ok?
Aunt Michelle: Why?
Kayla: Like people that are 80 or something.
Aunt Michelle: Why can't I talk to them? Don't you think they'll be sad if no one talks to them?
Kayla: No! They might fall asleep!!
Aunt Michelle: Because I'm so boring??
Kayla: NO because they're so OLD.

In His Eyes

2008-10-02T18:35:00.005-04:00

Why don't people understand?

Everyone is the same.
It doesn't matter your race, gender, or shoe size.

Everyone is the same.

If you're tall or short,

Fat or thin,

Boy or girl,

Adult or kid,

Everyone is the same.

You could be fast as a cheetah,

Or slow as a turtle.

You could be a lion, who roars with power,

Or a small, little mouse, who squeaks in fear,

Everyone is the same.

Even when we all forget

And sometimes judge ourselves,

Someone remembers.

In His eyes,

Everyone is the same.

-written in 7th grade for English class

Haircut

2008-09-30T17:53:00.003-04:00

I am going to get a haircut soon, and this is how I think I'm going to get it done. What do you think? The highlights would probably be right because I'm probably getting those too, and red ones. :)

One Step At A Time

2008-09-30T06:21:00.000-04:00

This is not technically a Christian song, but I think she is, and it fits what I'm feeling right now :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzyys6kW8yg

A New Direction

2008-09-29T20:49:00.002-04:00

Taken from Brio Magazine...

"In just a bit, I'll be driving three hours north to the town where I grew up. My clothes are crammed (uh, packed, I mean), my cell phone is charged, and my iPod is in my purse. I wish you were here, too, so we could load up on junk food, sing along with my (very random) travel mix and talk about what's going on in your world. Road trips are always fun, and this one is especially interesting, because I'm headed 'home.'

"Ironically, when I lived in that 'home,' I spent a lot of time thinking about leaving.

"I loved my parents and friends, but I was desperate to see the rest of the world. I pored over my mom's old copies of National Geographic, memorizing the faces and countries profiled there. Those people with beautiful dark eyes and strange customs seemed so interesting to me. I wanted to see their worlds. I wanted to hear languages I didn't understand, see the sun set over flatlands instead of mountains and be captivated by some dreamy European city.

"I wanted to go somewhere different. I wanted something new. I felt like my heart would explode if I didn't get to touch, taste and see the world past my mountains.

"The longing erupted in high school. I don't know what was stronger - my desire to see a new place or my desire to be seen as a new girl. I wanted to go somewhere I could be undefined. I felt people already knew everything about me there was to know in that place.

"I knew everything about me too. I needed to go somewhere I could reinvent myself. Take some risks. Becoming is so awkward, isn't it?

"And so I wasn't suprised today, when I'm about to drive back into all those memories, the words in my time with God echoed my heart's cry at 18:

"'Sing a new song to the Lord,' Psalm 96:1 says.

"That's what I wanted: a new song. What I didn't realize is that a new song didn't come with a continent change. Sometimes the most beautiful new songs in my life have a way of finding me exactly where I am.

"ADVENTURE REDEFINED
When I find myself in a season where I feel stuck or a place where I feel restless, I know a couple of things could be brewing in my heart. Sometimes, I think God gives us a gentle prompter to get out in the world and love His people.

"If you experienced missions in any form, whether in your hometown or another world away, the gentle prompter probably started to feel like a swift kick in the pants after a while. Every sermon you heard seemed to be confirming a calling in your heart to missions. Everything you read connected your mind to something you've been praying for.

"Suddenly the $2,000 that seemed impossible to imagine is almost together, your parents have a peace about the whole thing, and your friends and excited for you. The fear of the unknown gives way to the joy of carrying the love of Christ into the world. And you go.

"I've learned so much about God by getting out into the world and seeing Him working there.

"But I've also learned so much about God and experienced His love, when He breathes life back into dreams, responsibilities and goals I have exactly where I am. The restlessness in my heart can also point me back to an adventure I'm missing that's already happening around me.

"When the psalmist tells us to sing a new song to the Lord, he follows it with this proclamation: Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

"And whether I'm running through the rainy streets of some European supercity or sitting at the boat dock on my sister's farm, I can still sing a new song to God. I can still feel that rush of excitement and adventure that comes with taking Him up on something new.

"Restlessness stirs in my heart for a reason. Sometimes I need to change my environment, but more often than not, I just need to change the song in my heart.

"I need to remember that my purpose is exactly where I am. I need to remember what I love and why. I need to find somewhere to be alone and worship God in a way I haven't worshipped Him in a while. Sometimes when I worship Him in a new way I feel closer to Him. As long as we worship God in spirit and truth (as Jesus tells us to do in John 4), I don't think one method of worship trumps all the rest.

"But worshiping God in a new way pulls me out of rote formality. I may not know the words by heart. I may not know what I'm doing. I'm just giving Him a moment of spontaneous love. I have a feeling those moments are precious to him.

"IF LIFE HAD A SOUNDTRACK
There was a longing in my heart at 18 much stronger than seeing the world or falling in love or finding the perfect college. I wanted to know God fully. I wanted to fall deeper and deeper in love with Him in that season of my life. I wanted to experience Him on different continents and with different people, and I did. But some of the sweetest times in my walk with Him so far are moments He bacame real to me in my hometown.

"He isn't just the God of my amazing, blow-my-mind-and-see-the-world days. He's also the God of my faded-jeans-and-flip-flops days. Sometimes my soul is just longing to sing a new song. When I do, that song has a way of becoming the soundtrack for an adventure I never saw coming. I don't want to miss that for anything"

-Natalie Lloyd

Homecoming!!

2008-09-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

The homecoming game is tonight, should be lots of fun :) And the dance is tomorrow night!! YAY I will probably post pictures of it sometime, but I bet my mom will be too. I'm going over to my friends house tomorrow afternoon, and we're going to go out for dinner, and then take some pictures and go to the dance later. My dress is black and comes to a little below my knee. I have blue and black bangles to go with it, and blue flip-flops (thanks Tiffany) :) And I'm wearing a necklace/earrings that I already had. I'm actually getting a little excited now :)

Oh and I'm proud to say that yesterday during Career Readiness, I typed 108 WPM, and didn't make any errors. I was in shock for about a minute straight. Dani sits next to me, and she couldn't believe it either. That is a personal record.

White Roses

2008-09-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

**I found this on myspace, the "I's" in this story are not about me :)

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.’

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.'' Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my Mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'

His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.' My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell Mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'

Then he showed me a very nice photo of himself. He was laughing. He then told me 'I want Mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me. I love my Mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me, but Daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll!'

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough. I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it.

There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!' Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that Mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my Mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My Mommy loves white roses.'

A few minute later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state of mind from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno: 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit' Romans 15:13

Answers

2008-09-25T16:13:00.002-04:00

Finally - here are my answers to the second chance survey...

Mom: I know you are pretty sure you'll be doing something in missions with your life... are you thinking anything specifically yet as far as your interests go? Would it definitely be in Haiti? I know that you are waiting on God and where He leads you but I just wondered about your thoughts at this point.

Answer: I'm not sure exactly the specifics yet... I really don't want to expect anything so I won't be disappointed in where God puts me. I know for sure I want to spend at least 3 months in Haiti sometime, but not necessarily move there. I also don't think I'm ever going to stop going there completely, because I love it so much. One thing that I think would be really fun to do is travel to every country in the world. I figured out that if I spent 2 weeks in every country, it would take me about 6 years. And if I get my freshman year of college done in highschool, then I should graduate when I'm 21... then I could do the traveling thing and be done by the time I was 27. But who knows? That's a long way off...

Amy: I am not a "blog commenter", but I couldn't resist asking questions.1. What Christ-like trait amazed you most in the believers in Haiti? 2. What Christ-like trait seems to be showing more in you since being in Haiti? 3. What do you most want your Michigan friends to understand about the changes and passion in your life since being in Haiti?

Answer: 1. It always amazes me how real the people are. They aren't afraid to sing loudly and dance in church and just be happy. They move. They get animated. They're excited about God. I wish America was more like that, most people look like statues in church. 2. I don't know if this counts as a Christ-like trait, but I feel like I wait for God to tell me what to do now more than I did before Haiti. 3. I want people in Michigan to understand that this is a big part of my life and even if I try not to talk about it or think about it, I can't help it. And I also can't explain to people that haven't been there why I like it so much. It's something you have to experience, and if I try to explain it, people give me blank stares or they just pretend to understand. I want people to understand that I don't go down there just for my friends. Sure, I like hanging out with them when I'm there, but if they weren't there, I would still go back. They aren't my whole reason, and who doesn't like hanging out with their friends? Especially those they don't see except for one or two weeks out of the year.

I'm not going to base another post on Haiti questions probably, but if you have a question, even if it has nothing to do with the post, feel free to ask me. :)

100th Post :)

2008-09-20T19:08:00.010-04:00

Finally - I made it to the 100th post!! Woo-hoo! So here is 100 things about me that you may not have known before but you do now :) Have fun learning! ;)

1. I was born on December 17, 1993.

2. My brother Logan was 22 months old I think.

3. I weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 21.5 inches long.

4. I was born at 3:04 AM.

5. We moved to Allendale when I was 3 years old.

6. When we got our dog Smokey, I was deathly scared of her and would run away (like I did when we first got her... I remember jumping on a chair and not coming off for a while) :)

7. Smokey was born the day we moved into our Allendale house.

8. Logan obviously got to go to school before I did and I was always jealous.

9. I remember going to the bus stop when school was over so I could walk with him home.

10. There was a family down the street that we always played with.

11. The girl in that family was 4 years older than me.

12. I have a class with her this year.

13. They moved away when I was probably 6 or 7 and I haven't really talked to her since.

14. Last year my band teacher told me that I reminded him of her... he had no idea she was basically my best friend way back when.

15. I started playing soccer when I was about 6 years old.

16. I have played ever since.

17. Last year I played volleyball for school.

18. I am never playing again ;)

19. I don't remember the name of my preschool teacher.

20. For Kindergarten I had Mrs. Lutke.

21. First grade - Mrs. Czechojwski or something like that (a.k.a. Mrs. C)

22. Second grade - Mrs. Segall

23. Third grade - Mrs. Mumy

24. Fourth grade - Mrs. Kwekel

25. Fifth grade - Mrs. Hastings

26. In Kindergarten my best friend was Hollie Rogers.

27. On the first day of first grade, I met Kasie Pleiness.

28. She was my best friend until 3rd grade when we got put in different classes.

29. In 3rd grade I had no best friend, the group I hung out with was pretty interesting... yeah don't go there... lol.

30. In 4th - 6th grade, Hollie was my best friend again.

31. At the end of 6th grade, I started hanging out with Camryn DeLooff.

32. We were best friends in 7th grade.

33. Our other best friends were Mallory Soule and Kaley Moskalewski.

34. My mom loves Kaley's name. :)

35. About halfway through the summer before 8th grade, I realized how rich and selfish Camryn was and stopped hanging out with her.

36. Then I started hanging out with Anna Hill and Dani Snyder and some other people.

37. Even though I now don't like the term "best friend", they would be considered mine.

38. In 4th grade, I got the chicken pox.

39. They itch really bad.

40. I hadn't been able to catch them before... my cousin had them when I was about 6 and I was hugging him and whatever - never got them. A kid in my class in 4th grade got them and left as soon as he realized it - I caught them.

41. I also broke my arm in 4th grade.

42. I had a purple cast.

43. It had to be taken off and redone because my thumb was numb.

44. It didn't do anything changing it, my thumb was numb for the full 6 or 8 weeks or whatever it was.

45. When we moved into the house we live in now, I found a lady bug ring in my room.

46. I still have it.

47. But it doesn't fit.

48. My mind works interestingly...

49. I say very random things a lot of times if you haven't noticed that yet.

50. I also point out the obvious a lot :)

51. I got a cell phone at the beginning of last school year.

52. It's white.

53. I still have it - I don't understand how people can go through like 4 phones a year...

54. That could have something to do with having been to Haiti 3 times... :)

55. I went to Haiti for the first time last summer with a team of 16 to do a VBS.

56. I went again in Febuary this year for a work trip.

57. Then I went again in July this summer for another VBS.

58. It is my favorite place in the whole wide world.

59. I like the work trips and VBS trips pretty equally.

60. On the work trips there is a lot more extra time, so I get to hang out with friends or go into the village more. (Or swim in the dam) :) And on the VBS trips I get to see all the different kids all day :)

61. I have quite a few friends in Haiti, considering I don't speak Creole.

62. Last summer I met Tipap, Jeanbeauvis, Makarie, Joelle, Merillean, Jeronne, and Sefanya.

63. We (me, Tiffany, Paige, Aaron) hung out with Tipap and Jeanbeauvis and sometimes Joelle.

64. In Febuary I met Fransle, Mickenson, Misslen (Tipap's sister), Makarie's brother (can't remember his name), and a few other kids that I can't remember their names.

65. We (me, Tiffany, Paige, sometimes Aaron) hung out with Tipap, Jeanbeauvis, and sometimes Joelle... he hung out with us more this trip than last summer but still not as much as the other guys.

66. In July I met Esaie, Sano (Tipap's cousin), Kerline, Akeem, "Jim" (that's what he told us his name was... Paige told us his real name, it starts with a T but I can't remember it) and some other guys that never really introduced themselves. :)

67. We (me, Tiffany, and Paige) hung out with Tipap, Mickenson, Esaie, and usually Joelle. Joelle was there mostly every night, but a lot of times he left early.

68. Jeanbeauvis was in the mountains for most of this trip... we saw him once.

69. In 6th grade, we had to do a term of typing class.

70. I was the fastest typer in my class with about 20 words per minute (WPM)

71. Last Friday I got 100 WPM in my computer readiness class.

72. I didn't make any errors either.

73. I thought I was going to faint. :)

74. I can't get that high any more... I get like 80's now.

75. I hate bellybuttons.

76. We had to learn how to say "bellybutton" in Spanish last week.

77. The teacher asked me why I made such a funny face every time she said "ombligo" (bellybutton in Spanish... look what you learned) :)

78. Basically the whole class laughed at me when I said I hate bellybuttons and I don't know why, they just creep me out.

79. Yesterday a girl in my class freaked out on me for saying "ew" really quietly when my teacher said "bellybutton".

80. I thought it was highly comical :)

81. She turned around as was like "Would you quit with the bellybutton thing!?! If you don't like it, tear it out or something!!" This guy in my class was like "I can't do that..." HA good stuff.

82. Apparently I have the ability to pick up on languages really fast.

83. That's what people tell me anyways :)

84. Right now, I am trying to learn Creole and Spanish.

85. It's hard.

86. My Aunt Julie and Uncle Ron have their own photography business, and they asked me to model some senior pics for them :)

87. It was a lot of fun, we went all around downtown Holland.

88. I had to pretend to pet a dog and talk to a guy that were part of a mural on the wall.

89. It was SO much fun! They took like 600 pics total I think.

90. I love taking pictures and want to be a mission photographer someday.

91. I have 31 cousins, including marriages and their kids.

92. I have 6 uncles and 6 aunts.

93. I have one living Grandma.

94. My mom's mom died one year, the next year my dad's dad died, and the year after that my mom's dad died.

95. I saw my Grandma yesterday - she dropped off some cookies for my dad :) They are yummy.

96. During the summer, I babysit a few days a week for the Sall's.

97. I am saving up to buy a car when I get my liscense.

98. Cookies 'n' Cream and Peanut Butter M & M's are my weaknesses :)

99. I think I got food poisoning from bad Strawberry Milk driving home from Minnesota a few weeks ago. :(

100. I don't think my life is very interesting so far. :)

Wow. That was fun! And kind of hard... well some parts were, once I thought of something, I got quite a few. Now I have to do some exercises before my brother gets home and I have to study for a World History test tomorrow!! Eek.

Love Love Love

♥Tori♥