# 13 (2008/2009)

Oh my word! I can hardly believe that the new year is upon us! It feels like 2008 not only flew by but dragged on.

This year was amazing. I met so many awesome people & I learned so much about life, love, my Savior & I grew up and learned how to be a little kid & I experienced so many firsts. Just... WOW. This year has been a glorious blessing! I am so thankful to God for helping me to learn and grow. He's blessed me so much, given me so many opportunities, and brought me closer to Him.

I can remember so well being so excited about 2008. January. My best friend was flown down for a week-long visit. =D We had such fun and I miss her so. My Mike turned 5 too! O.O Valentines Day. My darling Grace turning 8. I remember watching her open her presents. She was so freaking psyched at that liploss I'd hidden in the bag I gave her. =) March third. I turned 16 years old. O.O What is a bid deal to so many was just another day for me, although I did wear a dress and heels. =P Easter. That was an amazing day. =D We woke up at 4 AM to drive out to Arlington National Cemetery to attend the sunrise Easter service there. =) It was SO freezing cold and the marble benches just sucked the warmth outta ya. Poor frozen bums. April. Hmm. I dunno what happened in April... Oh! =P I got Gmail. May. My parents celebrated 26 years of marriage!!! =D June. Mummy's birthday. Summertimeness. Swim team, and doing school at the pool. =D July. IsaRose turned 10! O.O Oh... =D And I had the most amazing Independence day EVER. It was my first time ever at any camp. There I was with about 100 other GenJers on he steps of the Jefferson Memorial. It was raining. And we were hoping and praying that it wouldn't be too wet for fireworks. =D Well. It wasn't too wet. And it was def my favorite July 4th as of yet. =D August. ED turned 13! Holy shitake! That wasn't expected. =P More pool. Em swam in divisionals and made all-stars. Although, only as an alternate. Oh, and in BUTTERFLY of all strokes. So beast! =D September. Hmmm. I missed Matt a lot. =/ And did a LOT of SOFTBALL!!! Coaching and umpiring. =D So awesome! =P More school... and that's about it. =P October. I missed Halloween. =( BUT I got to go on a Student Action Team with GenJ. =D It was such an awesome experience. I absolutely LOVED it. =D I did all sorts of campaigning for some great candidates, to include: Frank Wolf and John McCain. =D November. Well. Let's see... softball came to an official close. =( I'd been a member of GenJ for 1 year. And erm... eh... wow... I give up! =P December. It ain't quite over yet!!! =P No snow yet. Lotsa 50 degree days. =P An AMAZING Christmas. <3

So. That's the most noteable things of 2008. This year's been awesome. Like I can't really even put it into words. =D =D =D I am super excited for 2009. If only because I HATE the number 8 and so that whole 2008 thing was buggin' me. =P

I turn 17 this year! O.O I need to get my permit. And my license. I need to get a job. I'm getting old. And I'm growing up. It's pretty much terrifying. =P But I know that I can do it with the love and support of my family. I know that God's always there for me. He's got a plan and I just need to look to Him. =)

So...

Happyfuljoyous 2009!!!

# 12 (Christmas)

Happyfuljoyous Christmas!!!

(Sorry it's a bit late, y'all. =P)

Well I hope that all of y'all had amazing, blessed, glorious, happyful, joyful, family-filled, lotsa-good-food-filled, some-cool-Christmas-pressies, remembering-that-today-we-celebrate-the-birth-of-our-Savior-Jesus-Christ Christmases!!! ^_^ Hehehe. =D Wow. Okay, so I am sorta kinda a tiny bit super thrilled into a million tiny pieces and in such an amazing and hyper-ish mood that NOTHING can squash it!!! =D

=) I'm happy and content and so amazingly blessed.

So... Here's how my Christmas went. =P

On Christmas eve my daddy was feeling sick, so he didn't come with us to church, but the rest of us did go. We went to the 5 o'clock service. It's the "family" aka "peeps with obnoxious little kids and babies that can't stay quiet during other services" service. =P It was great fun, and there was even a little something for the pyromanic in us all. ;) As in candle-light singing of "Silent Night".

Anyways. We were gonna go home and just... eat. We usually like do snack-y foods and fun stuff, but this time we didn't do it quite like that... Mummy said that "since I'm dressed up we might as well go out to dinner" and she didn't much fancy cooking that eve anyways. =P So we went to Red Lobster. =D Can I just say this? It was yummy. I like scrimps. =D

Then... HOME. And the nest thing was to open presents. It was lotsa fun. I got some really neat pressies. A gorgeous cross necklace and 60" inches of pearls from my sister. Purple high heels, a purple shirt, a real nice gortex rain coat. I also got an awesome day-by-day calendar. It's got Bible verses for each day of 2009. =D I'm real excited bout it, actually. Oh! And I got some belts and 3 new CDs. =D Dierks Bentley, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood. ^_^ I'm SO thrilled with all my awesome gifts. =) It was pretty nice.

Next morning Santa had come. =P Hehe. I got my new, amazing, awesome, superlative, gortex RAIN COAT. Plus lotsa candies and some make-up. =P Hehehe. =D

The rest of the day I just did kinda... nothing. =P Lazed around and stuffs... =D Real swell day. Woulda been real nice if I coulda gone on a road trip to NE to find some of mine extended family, but yeah. =P

That is all. So sorry it's so late. As I've been up to NOTHING these past few days this took me WAY to long to get to. =P

# 11 (Grace & Advent)

I've been doing advent Bible study type thing with my 2 littlest sisters. Today we had to do 8 days worth of study, as we had missed... 8 days. =P

Hang on just a sec so I can grab my Bible. It's up on my bed.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

"Jesus came to bring peace. Select a picture about peace and hang it up so that you can see it everyday to remember why Jesus came." Okay. So that was what the advent paper thingie said.
I was talking about it all with Gracie. She's 8. She's also the most generous, tender-hearted darling ever. I mean, Grace is just a doll.

Anyways, as were talking Grace just started to... cry.

I asked her, "What's wrong, honey?"

And she replied, "It's just so sad and amazing that Jesus came to us and that God just will forgive our us and let us come to heaven and-- * tears *"

She was just... So getting what I was trying to say. What God says. And I was just so happy and proud and trying not to cry.

There were 2 other "things to do that day" as well.

"Write a letter of forgiveness to someone."

Matthew 18: 21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

She wrote a letter to my littlest bro Mike... Although I'm not sure what that one said...

She also wrote a letter to me. "Write a letter to someone thanking them for something nice they have done."

Luke 17:11-19 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going in a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was the Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no on found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

This is what her letter said: "Thank you so much for doing advent with me. I love you so much. Merry Christmas! Love, Grace. Jesus loves you."

And I was just... Almost crying cause it was so sweet and innocent and perfectly amazing.

I dunno. Just... Everytime I end up doing advent... Something perfect and beautiful and from God happens. It's so amazing. Reading His Word alone? Not nearly the same impact as with my sister.

# 10 (WET!!!)

Okay.

So today is dreary. It is dark, wet, rainy, and 40 degrees.

I on the other hand am feeling... happyful. Today was a red lipstick, high heels, rocking out to rain music kind of day.

I decided, hey, I'll go on a walk! I can enjoy the weather and get all happy inside and talk to my sister and walk my dog and... YAY! So I put on my sneakers. I got my coat. I grabbed my phone and my iPod. I left.

"Where should we go?"
"I dunno. Oh! Let's go through the tunnel!"

So we set off. Emma has the dog. I've got "Like The Rain" by Clint Black playing in my ears.

We pass through the tunnel.

We get out on the other side.

As usual, I don't stay on the path. I cut up the grassy hill.

But!!!

As I am taking that nest step I find myself wet. Cold. On the ground.

O.O

I've fallen over!!!

Great. Another wipe-out. If only everyone could be as skilled as I am.

To really explain just how talented I am you should also know that I fell in such a way as to get my entire right leg, my lower left leg, my back, and my butt all 100% soaking wet.

Yes. I know. Skills. Talent. Be JEALOUS.

My first reaction was to laugh. And then... I got a little bit pissed. And I was annoyed... I screamed a bit... And then I just dissolved. I dissolved into a fit of giggles.

I came home. I changed clothes. And I sat down to contemplate myself. I can walk everyday. I go off the path. I frolic. I prance and run and skip. I walk with my eyes closed my ears filled with music. And yet I never fall over.

Sure, I might... Be going down the sledding hill and lose my footing landing on my rear. But I don't wipe out with the same amazing skill as I did today. How does that work? The one day that the entire ground is so saturated with water there are puddles, I slip and fall. Oh my word.

I love me. I am so skilled.

But more than anything I love God. I thank Him. He brought me down into a puddle, and He gave me the chance to have a laugh at my own expense. =)

So now... I guess my mood has changed. It's more of a dirty jeans, white tank top, comfy shirt and socks mood. But the red lipstick is still there. =D

~Riah

# 7 (GOD)

I am crying right now. I have tears streaming down my cheeks, yet I am not sad. I am quite the opposite. I am so joyful. I am overflowing with JOY.

God is HERE. He is in this moment, in my heart, in my tears, in the smile on my lips.

I want to thank an absolutely amazing friend. He listened to Him. He listened. And He saved me through him.

:') :') :') :') :')

I don't want to leave this moment. It is so amazing and perfect. One thing could make it better though. I could be with the dude that helped me to get here. You know who you are, boy. I love you. Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to Him. Thank you for sending me this song... For being here tonight. <3

# 6 (Christmas)

Okie dokie... ^_^ It's December! =D I dunno bout some of y'all but I am totally psyched. I love the Christmas season and all that comes with it. Don't get all "Arg, Mariah! You have to remember the reason for the season!", because I assure you I do indeed remember it. Ya'll know it too... Our Savior, Jesus Christ coming to us as a wee little baby? Yuppers! Told ya I knew it and you did too! =P Anyways...

I'm doing a little Advent thing with my sister. She got the supplies to make a paper chain. A whole series of purple strips with Bible verses and a thing to do that day that corresponds with the verse. =) It is actually really fun. I end up looking forward to her bring the paper strip to me so that we can read the verse(s) together and then talk about them. =) Actually... I can't wait for her to bring me the verses each day! Hehe. Now I'm just uber excited! ^_^ *ahem* Okay. Calm down, self.

Anyways. The tree was up. And then our 8 year old lights shorted out. So we bought new ones. And we took the tree all apart. And we started putting up the new lights. And then we discovered a large section of the new lights was burnt out. So we went back to Sam's today to buy more/new-new lights. ^_^ Hehe. All the flat surfaces in the living room were covered in ornaments; we even brought in a table for some of them. =D Last night as I was leaping off the couch into the kitchen, I actually knocked over a few ornaments. =P Good thing they were just wooden! =P Anyways... Everything is up and prettyful! The tree looks even better than before! ^_^

Tomorrow Jake is gonna like... Put up some outside lights. =D This is highly exciting but also highly annoying since he already put some up but they too all shorted out and died... =P Arg! =P Ah well. He puts up lights, I cook supper and tidy up the living room... =) It's all good. =P

I need to do some Christmas shopping. This year I drew ED's name... =D So yeah. It is really cool cause we all drew the name of our roommates. =D I have no idea what to get Em though... I mean... Ugh. She is always kinda hard to buy for... It almost makes me wish that I was buying for Jake or something! Sheesh! =P But... I'm sure I'll come up with a loverly something--eventual-like. =P

As for me... =P I'm still working on a list... I feel kinda crummy making a lost of things I want for Christmas... But at the same time I feel like I want to tell mummy what I want... It is mostly stuff that I'd kinda need either way... Like a rain coat and boots. =P But I'm being frivilous too, so no worries there. ;)

Anyways... Another one of my posts becoming a mess and a ramble... Oi...

~Riah

# 5 (Books/Reading)

"A well composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter any other way." --Caroline Gordon

"Books are the greatest device for transporting you into another person's mind. Movies excel that depicting action with a bit of talk, theater excels at depicting talk with a bit of action, and radio it all talk. But books can take you deeper into people's thought and feeling than any other media. Until we invent telepathy, books are our best choice for understanding the rest of humanity." --Christopher Paolini

I would have to ditto both of these quotes. I totally agree. I adore books.

I love the smell, the feel, the appearance. I love the smell of old books (like in the library) and the smell of new books (like in a bookstore). I love to see the brand new crisp pages filled with little, tiny letters. Books just waiting to be cracked open and read! Oh! And the old wrinkled, slightly yellow pages of books whose bindings are falling apart, books that have been read and re-read. =) It's so.. beautiful. I love those thick heavy hard bound books. Books that--That contain epic adventures! Books that hold secrets and legacies! I love paper backs. The kind that you can fit into a back pocket or a bag. The old go-to books. Not quite at foreboding... Full of more giggles and fancies.

Books are like friends. They can rescue you. When I've been sad or lonely, I was able to read a book and just for a while be transported someplace else. Someplace full of giggles and inside jokes. Oh! Speaking of being transported... =D You know you've found an amazing book if when in the middle of summer you can be sitting in your room on your bed reading about frost-bitten toes and icy winds, and when you step out into the sunshine and are shocked! The spell is broken... You know that it's 80 degrees and humid, surely not cold and windy! I just am so joyous when I find a book like that! I've been extremely lucky too, as I've found hundreds of such books. =)

Y'all know how someone write an amazing book? One that is either literary genius (Pride and Prejudice) or just has a cult like following (Twilight)? I love those kinda books, but ya know what? When some stupid person somewhere in Hollywood decides to make it into a movie--Ugh! I hate that! I'm never one who enjoys any sorta movie mad from a book. They never get it right, and that just drives me up the wall! I mean... Sometimes it's just not that difficult! My fam hates to watch movies that were first a book. *blush* So yeah... I sometimes like the movie, but that is rare. And anyways... (as I'm sure you might be able to tell from the above) I'm more of a book person anyways. =P

Actually, reading is one of the things that I am most thankful for some days. When I'm sitting curled up on my at midnight with my headlamp on reading some book... I want to run into my mummy's room and wake her up and thank her for teaching me to read! I'm so thankful for my mother. She taught me to read. It was my Mother Ellen that instilled in me this love of reading. As a little girl she'd ever be reading to me. =) Every Christmas and birthday since I was born I have been given books. =D One in particular...

James Herriot's Treasury for Children. My parents gave it to me on my very first Christmas, way back in 1992. In it my mother wrote:

"Dearest Mariah Gayle,
This is but the first of our many wonderful Christmases together. You have brought us so much love and joy. We hope that you enjoy this book but most of all we hope that you learn the love of reading.
Merry Christmas!!
Love,
your adoring parents
Mom and Dad

Even now that makes me well up. =) I did indeed fall in love with books, with reading. =D And it was all thanks to my parents. I thanks God everyday for my amazing parents. That ^ is just one of the things I'm thankful for in regards to my parents. =)

I love reading. I can't imagine not being able to. I cannot remember a time that I couldn't--wasn't reading. I pray that one day I too can teach my kids to read. Help them fall in love with reading, with books.

Oi. Now I think I'm just about finished raving about books and reading. =P I hope that at least some of y'all can relate to and understand what I mean.

Laters,
~Riah

# 4 (Thanksgiving)

^_^ Well... Happy Thanksgiving!!! =D

I know, I know... I'm a bit late for the actual holiday, but you can never really be 'late' when it comes to giving thanks.

I had a wonderful thanksgiving. I spent it at home with my most amazing and loving family. We didn't have anyone to the house. We didn't do anything to terribly special. But it was amazing all the same.

Sadly, I didn't get to do any cooking. =( On Wednesday, I was much to busy cleaning the upstairs, and then the downstairs... I rearranged the furniture in the living room to make room for the Christmas tree. ^_^ I had a lot of fun doing it all. My fabulous little sister, Grace was helping the whole while and even did an entire upstairs bathroom. B-) She learned from the best. *wink* (Yes, I mean me.) All the while Emma and Mummy were coming up with a menu and cooking.

Hehe. On Thursday I actually got up that morning and... ya know... Started my day. Shockin' I know. I bathed and all that good stuff. Then ED and I took Ugali on a walk. =D It was really quite nice. =D I found a lovely stick and crunched through a lot of leaves... The kinda things that make my walks just perfect! ;) We came home and played "Duck, Duck, Bruce" with the midgets... It was happyful. =D

In short, I had an amazing thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for so very much. God is beyond great. He is awesome, amazing, and perfect. I love Him so much.

Here is my post from GenJ of things that I am thankful for... It was perfect for how I was feeling... Hyper and over the top with joy and thanks:

I am thankful for:

--My salvation!
--My family! Mummy, Daddy, Jake, ED, Izzy, Gracie, Mikey, and Ugali!!!
--My amazing friends that for some reason love me. y'all!
--My health and that of mine fam.
--My home, and all that other good stuff like food and clothes.
--Prayer! Being able to speak with God anytime, anyplace.
--Ice cream
--My freedom!
--Smiley faces
--Clouds, rain, snow, sunshine, wind
--Music!!! Especially country.
--Good hair days, high heels, sharpies, and dresses!
--Hugs, snuggles, and kisses.
--GenJ!
--And many multitudes of things more... But I shall spare y'all. I'll just stick to going walks with my sister where together we rattle it all off.
So... Erm... Yeah. =P I guess that is everything... I really do ramble way to much in my posts...
~Mariah

# 3 (Cooking/Meat)

So... I'm not sure why I'm writing right now. I'm watchin' TV, chatting to some peeps... And thinking.

To start, I'd like to say a little something about cooking. I've discovered that I actually enjoy it! ^_^ I've been having quite a bit of fun cookin' supper almost ever night. I do most of the clean up too. =D I find that there is something about it that makes you feel really accomplished! It's fun too. You feel... inventive and creative as you add as spice here, or whatever. I love the clean up even. It's fun to make everything clean and shiny after you made a huge awful mess. ^_^

There is one part that I'm really not that keen on though. It's the whole meat thing. I really don't like meat. I really don't like raw meat. I don't like meat on the bone. I don't like meat that looks like it did when it was alive. I don't like the taste of meat. I don't really like the texture or consistency. I don't like the idea of it either... In general I am weird. BUT!!! Before y'all start lecturing me or commenting that I am a vegan *cough* let me say something else. I do not have a problem with anyone who eats meat. I support it fully. Heck, I eat meat myself. I don't care if peeps go hunting and enjoy it. It seems kinda fun to me too. =D I'm just... not a meat person. =P

So anyways. When I have a large chuck of ground beef that needs to be speedy thawed and I have to keep on stickin' it in the microwave and then touching it and scraping of the soft part to start cooking and the stickin' if back in the microwave and on, and on, and on. -_- It is not a happy thing. And it is highly gross and revolting. *gag* BUT!!! I am getting so much better. I don't really actually gag anymore like I used to. =D

So anyways... =P I made supper tonight too. It was a casserole. That is mostly what I make. Nothin' fancy or complicated. But it tastes good. And it means that mummy doesn't have to cook. Oh. And if I end up makin' dessert?! Holy shitake! Squishy is suddenly the most amazing person in the entire world! ^_^ And let me just say... Being the most amazing person in the entire world just 'cause you made dessert... Well it almost goes to your head! ;)

Anyways... Yeah... Cooking = fun. Touching/eating meat = revolting. =D

# 2 (A rant)

Okay. So... there you are.
Walking your dog. As a matter of fact you are right next to a deer carcass.
You're singing along (Yes, I know. Horrid, but there was no one around!) to "Chicken Fried" by the Zac Brown Band when you suddenly glance up to see a pizza delivery truck.

Now.

Why did you glance up in the first place?

BECAUSE SOMEONE HONKED AT YOU!!!

Now... It doesn't really happen to me all that often. But when it does... Ugh! I get so... upset. I mean... Why? I can see honking at someone you know and then, say... Waving. But that? Just being a rude jerk, honking at a girl walking her dog???

It makes me exceedingly annoyed. And pissed.

Now... I'm shushing up. I'm feeling better to for having yelled out my frustration into this. =) And a question to my reader: Does this ever happen to you? How does it make you feel?

# 1 (Volunteering)

Wow. So I've decided to start a blog. =D Hehe. First, it seems to me that blogs are like... journals. Journals that the whole world can read. Sorta an odd thought, but at the same time, they seem really good for getting what you want to say out there. If you're reading this, then cool. Thanks. You must be exceedingly bored. =P

Something that I enjoy immensely is volunteering. ^_^ I'll volunteer for anything almost. I love it. I've done a lot of it in my 16 years of life and I'll continue to do it. I'm of the opinion that it's volunteers that make the world go round, really.

Anyways, this weekend at my church my family and I volunteered to help out with LINK in our holiday food drive. There was tons of food delivered to our church and then sorted and distributed on all these tables in the Fellowship Hall. We boxed it all up and stacked it behind the tables. It was a lot of work, but there were a lot of volunteers so it didn't take to awfully long. =) My fam and I helped out with all this sorting and boxing on Thursday and Friday. Saturday was the most workingest day. My fam was at the church for 9 hours working. We did a little of everything. Stocked tables, helped peeps "shop", bagged the groceries they chose, cleaned up, hauled tables up and down stairs *a lot* and all the other things that needed to be done.

It didn't seem like we did much. I didn't feel like I was making some huge impact. I didn't really get those "warm fuzzies" that magazines like Seventeen tell you is one of the only reasons to volunteer. (The other being it looks good on college applications.) I wasn't doing it because I was forced. I volunteered my time and skills to help other people. To help the woman who never thought she'd ever being getting food from a food drive, but after an illness of her daughter's, she was compelled to do so. (By the way, I thought that this woman was really quite amazing, and I didn't even get to hear her full story. She even asked me if I thought that the coat drive at another church would be willing to take some of hers, because she had a bunch from before her daughter became ill and was heavier.) My fam and I get a lot of praise for being such great workers. And I guess we are. I mean. We were there *all* day long--longer than anyone save Betty, the woman who was running the whole thing, but I just feel silly and embarrassed having peeps get so excited and thank us so much. It's what any decent person should do. As a Christian, God commands us to do that. To help people. Treat people the way we wish to be treated. That's all I was doing...

So yeah... =P I dunno... I guess I'm not sure if there is even a point in all of this. I just think that volunteering is important, I love to do it, and I think that it's one of the most important things we can do.