Complaints.

Recently I've been really taking a step back and examining the life I'm living. I've noticed how often I complain to my friends and family about everything and how much of my time I spend doing it. And now that I'm trying not to do that I am really running out of things to say. So much of my time has focused on negativity. I don' t want it to be that way but now I'm lost for words. I'm looking for the positive and that's a huge challenge to me. It's good though. So to start I'd like to say I have no complaints. The things that have challenged or hurt me lately have all been a part of God's plan for something so much better. I'm already beginning to see that. I've spent a lot of time focusing not only on the negatives, but the future. And now I'm not spending time trying to find what God has planned for my future but the right now. And there is no better time than the present. I think it's my favorite part of life.

The Blessing of Sisterhood

I can still hear the loud screaming of 7 other girls "Floor, Vault, Bars, Beam, we compete as a team....gooooooo Natalie!" Somewhat this form of encouragement from loud cheering of young girls lightens my day unlike anything else. As a gymnast, I spend a lot of time with coaches, judges, and other gymnasts-particularly girls. Young girls. Sometimes they get on my nurves and I lose the patience to be with them much longer or their childish games just get old. But overall-I love these girls and I consider them a blessing from God.

Going back to that cheer. We really do compete as a "team". Team means so much more to me now after these past few months being on a "team". There's our coaches, who train us to do our best and conquer our fears. There's our parents, who support us along the way and drive us to every practice and meet. But most importantly-there is us girls. We grow closer as the season goes on. I've been training with these girls for almost a year now. And I've gone from not tolerating them at all to loving each an every one of them as if they were my own sister. They all have such unique personalites, endless energy, laughter and joy. They've been such a blessing in my life and I don't know how I've ever going to be able to say goodbye in a few months. They've taught me to enjoy the simple things in life. And they've showed me that if they can do it, I can too. They've taught me not to try to grow up so fast. Because It seems like such a short time ago I was their age.

I love their innocence. I love their smiles. I love their strength. I love their courage. I love their talent. But most of all, I love them. We've all got this bond-this sisterhood that I will never be able to return. And I will never be able to pay them back for all the things they've done for me. They may never know it. They may not remember me, but I know that I will never ever forget them or this year. Even on my bad days they cheer me up. They've showed me gymnastics is most about having fun and feeling good about yourself and what you can do. I only wish that I could stay by their side forever. Watch them grow up. Protect them from when their boyfriend breaks up with them. Show them how beautiful they are when they don't think they are. I wish I could be a friend of their's forever. But sadly, I'm in a different generation. So for now I have to enjoy the last little bit I will ever get to be a part of my sisters' lives. Thank you God for giving me the blessing of these little girls. They mean the world to me.

The Hunger Games

This book has recently gotten pretty popular and sounded interesting so I got it for my brother for Christmas. He read it then told me I had to read it so I did. It is a great book that I would highly recomend to anyone who likes adventure books or just wants something different to read. It's the first book in a trilogy and I have yet to read the second and third but I look forward to reading them as soon as I can! Reading more has been one of my goals for this year since I really slacked last year. So far I've read 2 books, including this one and am really close to finishing a third. I've already started a 4th so I'm pretty busy with as far as books go. Can't wait to see how many I read by the end of the year! My goal is 25+. We'll see...and I'll be sure to keep you posted! Better go read some more if I want to finish one of the books I'm reading tonight.

Books read so far this year:
1. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (still finishing this one up)

January Family Outing

Today my family went out for breakfast for our January family outing from our family resolution. It was a really fun time and I think we all enjoyed it. We went to IHOP and we all got pancakes except for Luke who ordered a burger. Overall it was a fun morning (even though we had to wait a while to get our breakfast). I look forward to more events this year with the family and I'll keep you posted on what we are going to do next.

Traffic

Life seems so busy. There is always something going on. There's all these distractions and things that get in the way of our time with God. I consider this the traffic in our lives. Traffic is frusterating, but you know that if you want to get to where you want to go, you usually have to go through some. Traffic is like those bumps in the road that makes us swerve off the path God has put us on. Traffic will always be in the way, we just have to learn to find God even through our distraction and hard time. This is something I'm trying to work on.

Whom shall I fear?

So there is this song I heard at church yesterday called "Whom shall I fear". The lyrics are so powerful.

When all you are
is glorious, oh God
Victorious and strong
Whom shall I fear?
When all you are
is powerful and true
and good in all you do
Whom shall I fear?

You hear my call
you hear me calling

You won't let me fall
when all else is falling

This song reminds me that God is so much bigger than everything going on in my life. And all the big things in my life are so much smaller than Him. And all the small things in my life matter to Him. So I think, wow...God really cares. He has reason for everything. He wants me and has a plan for me. Even if I don't have a boyfriend, if I'm not perfect, if I'm not worth to keep as a friend to some people, it doesn't matter.

God is powerful and true, so whom shall I fear?

FEARLESS

My little brother

This is my brother Luke. He is 11 years old and quickly passing me up! We sometimes fight like any siblings do, but deep down we love each other. I find that now as we are getting older, it's easier to see what we have in common. We read the same books, we play the same games, we share the same parents and house. I'm glad that we have much in common now because sometimes that creates less fights, other times...not so much.

I really love my little brother and I wouldn't change a thing about him. It's exciting to watch the young man he is becoming and I hope that as he grows and gets stronger than me, that he will also stay strong in what he believes in and his faith. I love you Luke! I'm so proud of who you are becoming.

Cinnamon Rolls

Have you gotten hungry yet? Have you baked anything this week? Yes, I'm still baking. I've found that it is a great way to settle hunger. Because I'm dieting for health reasons, I am wanting sweets even more. Since it takes time to bake things, it's helping me with patience AND I get rewarded in the end. Nothing better than that!

The cinnamon rolls have yet to make it to the oven. They have an even longer process than cheesecake! It takes a few hours for the yeast to rise and there are so many steps. I'm making my grandma Judy's recipe for them and her's are the best. I've gotten way too used to the kind in the can and my dad has been begging me to make them so I decided to make them today so we can have them as an unhealthy breakfast tomorrow. I will post some pictures of them later if I get a chance.

Fingers crossed that they will turn out!
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Cinnamon Rolls Part II
Here is the finished product....the last one that hasn't been eaten yet! My family has eaten these up faster than I could count them! Probably going to make them again next time I have a long weekend or a break. Cinnamon rolls are the best!!

Cheesecake

So today I made an American Classic Cheesecake. This is the first cheesecake I have ever made, and it is much easier to make than I thought. I'm very excited to eat this tonight...took a picture as soon as it came out because I know my family is going to eat it as soon as they can. It was a very simple recipe. There are 100s out there, and for all different kinds. I found this one on splenda.com (great site for sugar free recipes). Anyway, I just wanted to share what I made today. I've found that baking is a great way to settle hungar. I'm always so hungry after school and since I'm trying not to snack-I bake. What's coming up next? Who knows. I found a great website for recipes called allrecipes.com. Great if you need the nutrition facts on what your making. Hope this has inspired you to bake a cheesecake. Mmmm it is gonna be good!

Baking

So you may or may not know this....but in case you were wondering, I love to bake. I also love eating sweets...such a good combination right? Today I made mint chocolate chip cookies. They look really good. Won't be able to have them until they come out of the oven though...patience is a weakness of mine. Later this week I'm planning on baking a cheesecake and cinnamon rolls. The recipe for cinnamon rolls I'm going to use is from my grandma Judy who made me a recipe book for Christmas. So it's her recipe and I'm really excited to try it out. I know that my dad loves her cinnomon rolls. Yesterday I baked some truffles and they are so yummy! They were really easy to make and they have a little crunch on the inside because they have rice krispies in them. Here is the recipe....try it out if you're in the baking mood!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

1/2 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup crisp rice cereal
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place peanut butter in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 10 seconds. Stir in sugar until smooth. Stir in cereal; mix well.
2. Line large plate with waxed paper. Spray hands with nonstick cooking spray. Shape peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls, pressing firmly. Place balls on prepared plate; freeze 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
3. Place cocoa in a shallow dish. Roll each truffle in cocoa; return to plate.
4. Place chocolate chips in small resealable food storage bag. Microwave for 10 seconds; knead bag. Repeat until chocolate is melted and smooth.
5. Press melted chocolate into one corner of bag; cut very small hole in corner. Drizzle chocolate over truffles. Let chocolate set before serving. Truffles can be refrigerated in airtight container up to 3 days.

Makes 20 Truffles

Pictures, Photo Editing, and Friends

So today I started to use a photo editor I got for Christmas. Yes, I know it's been almost a month since Christmas but I've been pretty busy. Today was a really fun day though.

This photo editor is called Paint ShopPro Photo x2 and I highly recommend it. For someone who is into photo editing just as much as photography, I've used many different ones. For something that is free I recommend Picnik. If you want better quality I would go with something Photoshop. I got Photoshop elements and it was really cool except I couldn't figure out to work it. How could I get Photoshop quality pictures without being confused with the software? This is the solution. It does all the things Photoshop does, just a little bit easier to understand. This picture is of me and my best friend. I used this editor to fix it up. We had a really great time taking pictures with each other.

I'm so thankful to have her in my life. I'm glad that God has kept us friends this long and we've been through a lot. I know there is more to come but I know if we have each other and God is in control, I'm not going to lose her and she's not losing me. I don't deserve this great of a friend sometimes.

Thank you God.

Trusting in Him.

I've learned in the past 24 hours that God is in control of things, not me. I can't expect everything to go my way, I have to trust in Him. Without Him, I don't think I could handle all that is going on in my life. I don't think I could be where I am. And I don't think I would be going where I'm going. My interests in life have been inspired by Him. I see that everything he's doing is for a reason and it's a part of his plan for my future. I'm looking forward to the challenges he's put in my life and I'm gradually accepting them. So I'm just going to try my best to sit back and enjoy the ride. Don't know what's coming up next, but right now, I'm trusting in Him because that is all I can do.

Ready.Set.Trust.

Family New Years Resolution

Thanks to Kisses and K's Idea, my family has decided to do the same. (:

We pick twelve things to do for the year, one each month as a family. They are things that are different from normal family activities or things we've never done before. But most importantly, each thing is to bring our family together.

This years 12 things:

1. Go out for breakfast together-January 22nd, 2011

2. Go Ice Skating

3. Go to Boise Peak (Indoor rockclimbing)

4. Just Dance Battle

5. Fishing Trip

6. Alpine Village in McCall

7. Bike the Greenbelt

8. Twilight Criterium (a bike race at night)

9. Boise Festival (100s of Air Ballons go up in the sky)

10. Camping locally and in Yellowstone

11. Meridian Speedway

12. Berry Picking

Some things are simple, some things are kind of adventurous, but overall I think it is going to be a fun year and I'm excited to spend more time with my family. Some of the things may change and they aren't in order because we just worked on it tonight.

Thank you Kisses and K's for the idea!

Just Move. Just Dance.

So this game, Just Dance 2, we recently bought for our wii. It is a really fun game to play and I highly recomend it. It's quite a workout. That's what I love about the wii. It really gets the body moving unlike regular video games. I can't sit still so playing a game that you dance is really fun for me. It's fun to watch people, and do it. When we have to stay inside, we often resort to the tv...but with this, we can stay active during the winter, while staying inside. It is perfect!

Anyway, just thought I would tell you about my new favorite toy. More news to come with the new year. Soon.

True Love

It's what everyone is looking for. It's what everyone thinks will satisfy them. It seems so real, yet impossible to find. He's going out with her, she's dating him...blah, blah, blah. The world we live into today, no matter what age, is motivated and desparate for love. To be loved. To love someone. To have somebody that loves you more than anyone else. It's like a girls farytale. A guys goal. But somehow through it all something just goes wrong. There is this pressure to find that love, and get it before everyone else. Or to try and keep what you think is that perfect person for as long as you can. What's the point of this? Someone's gonna end up confused. Someone might be hardbroken. It could be awkward. Is there any good way this can work? Because I know that I want it. I have friends and people in my life who want it. We desire it probably more than a lot of other things. Some people are afraid of it. Because they've tried to look so hard and have found nothing but crushed pieces of themselves later on. Some think that you have to give them everything to win them over, or keep them forever. But have you noticed the divorse rate now a days? And did you know that no one will be married in Heaven? The relationship will be even stronger than it was on earth with no distractions.

What I'm trying to say here is True love...is it really out there? Are we trying so hard to find it when it is right infront of us? Or should we just be more pacient and not try at all? I think the only real answer is that you cannot find true love without God. There is nothing wrong with trying to find that person...but there might be when it is not in God's timeing. If it's convienint it is probably a test. We always think about right here right now at the time, but then the rest of the time we think about the future. It's so stupid. I watch as people fall into this same trap all the time. Why can't we just listen to God for direction?

This may still be question without answer. But I know that if we first find true love in Jesus, like he did in us, then maybe God will personally bring a true love for only you sometime soon. But for now, I'm just in high school...and honestly I know that I'm not going to remember every guy in my life. And that they won't remember every girl either. So to me, it's a waste of time...but it's so hard to keep out of the mind.

The best thing to do is pray...it makes it a tad easier. Pray for the person you might marry someday. God already knows who it is. Pray for them to have strength along with you and that you can both keep living your lives through God...to someday find eachother. It won't be what you expect. So don't expect it.

I guess that is all on this confusing topic. Hope it brought you somewhere or at least made you think.

The bestest deal

So...It is thanksgiving. Just in case you weren't sure. I got up this morning very early. Thinking about a lot, so now I blog it. We get this huge paper with like ads from every store and currently they are scattered all over the living room floor in my house. My parents always like us to go through and tell them what we want for Christmas. To me, sometimes the holidays just seem to be a big cliche. It's all about Giving and Getting and Shopping and Getting the best deal. I think sometimes the best deal isn't one we should look for,or have to be thankful for, or something we should be proud of even. The best deal is something that couldn't be better anywhere else. But I wonder, if we are looking for something better than everything else, where are we supposed to find that? Do we search the ads? Do we keep running until we find it? Or do we just wait for it to find us? I don't know if this is making any sense but I guess I want to know what is the bestest deal out there. Is it true happiness? Family? Success? Failure?

What has been the bestest deal for you? Not something to be thankful for, but something to be appreciated, something that came into your life and it just can't get any better. To me, that is Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's the time of the year where it can't get any better. The smile on your families faces when they open their gifts...when that pumkin pie is brought out. This can't get much better....It's the best deal I could ever ask for.

Thank you.

Fear of Falling

Life's been good but busy. Gymnastics mostly...I've been having some problems with my backhandspring and I have to get it but I have yet to. I'm afaid of falling. And jumping backwards into the air. And just going backwards without anyone to catch me. It brings me back to life. Sometimes we don't want to do things out of fear of falling. Even though we know God can catch us, we still don't want to do it and fall or fail. But truth is, life isn't about winning. So go ahead and fall, God will catch you. That is something I'm trying to work on this week. Here is one of my attempts with my dad as a spot in my backyard. You'll see what I mean about my fear of falling, even when I know someone is there.

Website Devo # 2

PSALM 63:1
Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, and my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Sometimes it seems easier to go through life without God. I mean, you'd think, since so many people do it, we can do everything on our own too. We don't need help from our friends, or our parents, or even God. This is one of the biggest lies society believes. When everyone around us can seem so happy without God, we think we can too. So we stop believing he is our God. We stop seeking him. We don't thirst for him anymore. On and on..but having God in our lives is like that verse. We do need to believe, no matter what everyone else believes, if we already know that HE is our God, and always will be when we seek him or not. Try and make it your goal this next week to seek God more than anything else. Thirst for him like you've just ran a mile and need water. Maybe your life is running, the only drink you'll find is God.

This verse is so true. We are living in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Everyone gets so used to no water that we start thirsting for something else. When the water is right there for us if we just believe and ask for it. Ask for the water, and it will take care of your thirst and cleanse your body.

Website Devo # 1

~Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength.~

Ever felt like giving up?

"This isn't working!"

"What's the point of this?"

"This MUST be the end!"

Thoughts like this in our minds at that time always seem like the right thing. But are they? The verse up there is one I always go to when I feel like giving up. Philipians 4:13. This week, however it may go, work on memorizing this short verse. Then when you feel like giving up, just say it to yourself. Nothing is impossible with God. We can do all things, no matter how difficult, through HIM, and he'll give you strength. So trust in God this week because God is in control.