A life update

Dear Readers,



The Mason Kids

 Between Grammie's birthday (where she, Uncle Talley, and Aunt Sarah came for a lovely visit), watching Harry Potter at the midnight showing, and going to the Paradise Valley Retirement Community with a bunch of friends for a service project, AND finishing up 8 grade--we have had a busy few weeks! So busy I have not had a chance to blog. But here am I, and I am armed with pictures! Let me start with Uncle Talley, Aunt Sarah, and Grammie's visit.

I loved these southwestern shots!



We drove to Sedona, Flagstaff, and Williams--the whole drive hiding this pineapple birthday cake!



And then, once in Williams, we took a train ride to the Grand Canyon.

The train ride was lovely!

We had SO much fun seeing the sights with our family, and then getting to celebrate Grammie on a train--nothing could have been lovelier! We had a wonderful time.

And the Grand Canyon is breath taking! What a wonderful artist God is!



This is an original telephone pole--that is very short! It had to be short enough that a man could reach it while staying on his horse.

 

Mom with her boys- who are, actually, Professor Lupin and Harry Potter!

Hermione and Bellatrix got along a bit too well. :)

We had a very good time at Harry Potter, as well. It was a lot of fun to pull costumes together last minute, and to be with friends in the middle of the night!ha The movie was  amazing, and everyone was so excited they would just go and talk with anyone! It was pretty cool to see.

Lupin and Harry



And I obviously didn't get enough costumed fun in this week, because today I donned a poodle skirt and went with Mason and some friends to a retirement home. We put on a talent show for the residents, where Mason announced each performance, I played my recital song on violin, a group of people came and played piano, and Breana, Ariana, and I signed to "Good Morning". (from Singing in the Rain)

It was so much fun to watch the residents tap their feet, and then afterward they all told us how many memories our poodle skirts brought up. And one kind man thanked us about a hundred times! They were a joy to be around.

 And then, after the show was over and we were trying to get the residents to play games with us, (no one seemed too interested) one lady came and asked if we would play piano again. She used to teach piano, and missed hearing it. So each of us went up and played her a song, and afterward she told me she wished someone could come and play everyday! I assured her we would be back in a few months. As always, my heart broke for those people.

Although, I must say, I was thinking that I liked going to nursing homes where they couldn't leave, because then they seemed to enjoy the performance a lot more, since they were unable to go out and about and these people were. But Mom reminded me that these people WERE in a nursing home, and regardless of whether they could run errands or not, they still were alone and we still were able to bring them joy. And that made me think of a scripture passage.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." -Hebrews 13:2

Isn't that a thrilling thought?  So, I came to the conclusion that whether you are stuck in an Alzheimer's home, young with lots of kids, or in the middle of 5 grade- you still need God. And we are called to lead them ALL to God! I feel so thankful for the oppurtunity to show this group of people God's love this morning.

(And at the same time, I made some pretty amazing friends! :) ) Your Blogger,

 Claire

Oh oh oh! I forgot to give you some exciting news!! Another neat thing that's been going on is that we got our roles for the "Cinderella" ballet. Mason will be narrator and Duke, Benjamin will be Gus Gus (the sweet,fat little mouse), Uncle Len will be the evil stepmother, and I will be Cinderella! Isn't that SO exciting??!! Just be praying that the parents of kids at United Cerebral Palsy will get their kids involved--God has some amazing things planned for this, we just have to get these kids in! Thank you so much!

A letter

 Dear Ones, (yes, those who read my blog ARE in my list of dear ones! :) )
   It is storming right now... I just changed my blog background, and it makes me smile. A lot!....  Mom  and Dad are on a trip to celebrate 20 years of being together. Oh, my heart is so happy for them! I love to read Mom's posts and know what bliss they are in. But I miss them. A lot. 
  So, I feel the need to write, as I always do when I feel anything! The storm makes me feel cozy, the blog background makes me feel blissful, and missing my parents makes me feel, well, like something is missing in this little life we call ours for the time being. (oh, so dramatic! I'm reading a 'Left Behind' book, and poeticness/end of the world truths seem to flow out of the book and straight onto the keyboard. Bear with me!) Wow that was a lot of rambling! I guess all those things I haven't been able to talk to Mom about all week got dumped on here. Aren't you all lucky?! What would I (and all of you!) ever do without her?
   That question has seriously popped into my head a lot recently, with us starting high school next year and all. I actually googled a bunch of stuff yesterday looking for college! Well, if typing in anything to do with Deafness/disablities on Mississippi State's page can be called 'googling'! Seriously, y'all, MSU has got to get some kind of new program in the next four years! I desperately want to go there, but the only thing I could find on their page was a story of how a correspondence class was teaching people to help the Blind live independently. That is wonderful, and I am glad we are doing that, but my whole point is that I DO NOT want a correspondence class! I want to be in Starkville, on campus, with my brothers! (God willing...)

  Well. That feels better. So if any of y'all hear about any new programs or anything at MSU--let me know. Ah, well, it's all in God's hands! Wow, that storm is blowing!

   Do y'all like my blog's new look? I really reeeaally want to learn how to quilt, so trnasforming my blog into a quilt seemed like the perfect idea! I aim for it to be a cozy, Christ-centered corner of the internet, where you can wrap yourself up in the love of Christ and all your fellow believers'!  And for anyone who has yet to find Jesus, I pray that He will use what I write here to lead you to the Bright Morning Star. (I recently read this name for Christ, and absolutely love it. He IS the Bright Star leading you out of your dark tunnel, calling you to Him, warm and bright with love. What a perfect name for our Savior!)
   Thank you for listening to my letter. I needed to write one today! With Love,
                                                                                                     Claire

Loving Like Jesus

 My Dear Readers,
    I think it is too easy to feel alone in this world. Do you agree? But if we all agree that this world has too many nooks for people to fall into and be forgotten about- then why do those nooks exist?
  I don't know the answer, and really that is why I'm asking. I have an idea,though. It may be because we are all human, and none of us is perfect. Oh, how I hate my many imperfections. And we all have them. Don't trick yourself into thinking we will have perfect peace on this world. Until Jesus comes, there is no way this can happen. Because we are HUMAN. And humans sin. However, aren't humans also made in God's image? So, what does this mean? It means we strive to be like Jesus. It means every ounce of our energy goes into being like our God. It means we catch people before they walk out the door, unnoticed, and into that dark corner of aloneness. It means we don't put people down. We raise them up. There is a song by Casting Crowns that I really like. It is called "Does anybody hear her", and it is about this woman who is searching for hope. And one of my favorite lines is "Does anybody even  know she's going down today under the shadow of our steeple  with all the lost and lonely people? Searching for the HOPE that's tucked away in YOU and ME."
   We shine with the hope of Jesus. And all I want to do is share it with people. But a problem us humans have is in the next verse-
    "If judgment looms under every steeple, with lofty glances from lofty people who can't see past her scarlet letter, and we haven't even met her."  
   Maybe that is one of the reasons why there are not more Christians in the world today.Because we are choosing whose hearts we break for, and are judging the rest.  Maybe that is why too many people feel unloved and unwanted, lost in a dark corner of the world. But it's not true.
We are ALL loved by the Creator of the world, who created us as His most precious creation. So we should never feel alone. 
   If you want to show people that they ARE TRULY loved by the Wonderful Shepherd, show them your love. Love them unconditionally, and then, God will plant a seed. Then they will realize that they are loved.  And you can show them they're not alone. That is loving like Jesus.
None of us are ever alone, so keep holding on to God!  Love,
  Claire
P.S. this is labeled under 'links for mission oppurtunities'. There are not really any links in here, but I wanted this post to give you all the ministry oppurtunity to love like Jesus. To go love those who feel unloved. So, please go out and do it! I believe God has called us all to this.

The little moments

Dear Readers,
  Lots of little things have happened in this past week that I would like to share with you all. Nothing big or major, this really isn't too profound of a post, I just was feeling thankful for all the moments last week and wanted to share.  So. Let me start with book club and move on from there.
   It was wonderful. Mom and I were in book club when I was in public school, so we found a couple of neat things to do at book club. Since our book was about a girl with Congenital Heart Defect who gets a heart transplant, and her quest to meet her donor's family, I found a video on the author's website of a heart transplant recipient meeting her donor's parents. It was touching and everyone had tears in their eyes.
   Next, I took some facts on transplants off my friend's blog and shared those with the group. (remember my post about "My life as a Chronically Ill Teen"? That's her.)  I thought that was perfect because it really gave the other members an idea of what the real statistics are (this was a fictional book).
    And then we talked about the book! It had a few questions at the back of the book that we based our discussion off of, and everyone had really good things to say and a great perspective. However, since our discussion centered on death, (the book was written from two perspectives- Amelia, the girl who receives the heart transplant, and how she now feels with a new heart in her (she felt athletic and, where she couldn't even climb the stairs before, she now feels like she could run up them.) and Eagan's perspective from a place kind of in between death and life (which was weird). So, everyone opted for a more cheerful option next time. (I tend to gravitate to sad books.) So now we are reading "Love, Ruby Lavender". It takes place in my Mom's birthplace, Mississippi, so of course will be good! I'll share more about it after our next meeting. But, the meeting was a lot of fun, and I loved talking with Mom about the book as we read it.

  Well, the rest of the week was also  good. Thankfully, Uncle Len finally came home, and the end of the year party for sign language was wonderful. I love having that group as friends. We also got to see a few new movies this weekend, which was good. It's always fun just to 'be'  as a family.
  And today Mason left for CIY! It will be in Durango, Colorado. We'll miss him.
Cate has Vacation Bible School all week. She is very excited about that! I have such fond memories of Rochester VBS, I'm sure she'll have wonderful Phoenix ones! 
   And, that's about it! I did want to share with you all a picture of the shorts I made in sewing class. It was an adventure! I'll give you a few details--I was the last one done, had to get the seam ripper out twice, and even after it was all over was not brave enough to try them on. They do, however, fit, and are not as bad as I thought! 
  Well, I hope I haven't  bored you with the little doings going on around here! I hope y'all are all enjoying the little moments summer has to offer. It's the book club meetings, friends, and family movie nights that makes summer so special, I think. All those blessings wrapped up in little packages. I'm praying God sends some your way this summer! Your Blogger,
 Claire                                                   



"From the fullness of His Grace we have all  received one blessing after another"
John 1:16

  Remember to praise God for the blessings that come your way, dear ones! They're all from Him.

Mi Madre y yo in Mexico- Time to serve

Dear Readers,

We are home from Mexico. from Mexico... It was such a spur of the moment blessing, I'm still shocked by it! So, if I am, y'all surely will have a hard time grasping it. So let me set the stage for you-

Mom and I hopped on board the week before they left for Ensenada. They needed a photographer, and that is Mom's hobby. (She is AMAZING- just check out her blog, The Blessing Counter, and you'll see what I mean! )

So, we prayed the whole time we were at Disneyland, and the next weekend were on our way! Mom and I. Driving to Ensenada, Mexico. With hours of Scrabble ahead of us. Ahh....It was really, truly a breath of fresh air for my soul.

So, once we crossed the border, we stopped at a little taco place for lunch. Yum. We also drank Mexican Frescas! The lady who served us was so sweet- she helped us order in espanol! I was hooked since then and still haven't stopped speaking in spanish!

 So, we stayed at Rancho De Refugio, which was breathtaking. And the owners of the ranch, who entered their mission field age 60+, were so sweet! Mom and I thought it was a beautiful example of how, just because the present time is not your season to go into the mission field, God may have one planned for you when you expect to be lounging in an RV! Retirement shouldn't exist for us Christians. We should serve the Lord until the day we die!
     We also got to listen to a couple who were missionaries to Papua New Guinea. They took a tribe who just two years before had practiced cannibalism, and was currently allowing girls ages 8 and up to be "community property", and taught them about the Lord. They were there for six years, however, before they could begin preaching. Talk about patience! They were such a beautiful example to us in so many ways, and their stories were uplifting and made all of us want to head out to the barrios!

  Well, the next day we did get to go to the barrios. That was ALL I had wanted to do. All weekend. I just wanted to be with the kids. And when we woke up, it was frigid, the wind was howling, and the fog felt like rain. NO!!!  I threatened to walk to the barrios if no one would drive. My head almost combusted when someone said we might just be 'hanging out' all day. I was not in Mexico to 'hang out'!!! Thankfully, God knew why were there, and the men said as soon as they pulled the hammer out (they were fixing the roof of the police department) the sun came out. Praise the Lord! God is so good.

We brought bookmarks, and this little boy wanted his picture with every one!

This bebe was precious!

We painted their faces, and after a while the kids wanted to paint our faces!

This is mi amiga Lorena. She is learning english, and I'm learning spanish! What a perfect pair.
She painted a big and beautiful flower on my cheek!

This man pulled his son to him and asked me to take their picture.
My heart breaks.

The children would call out "Hermana-un foto!" to my mom, asking their 'sister' for a picture. They called me 'nina', for girl, and we would take turns- I would take their picture, show it to them, and tell them they were bonita. (beautiful) Then, I let some little girls borrow my camera. They took a picture of me and, showing it to me, said "bonita!" Oh.     I truly love these children!  It was so hard to leave them. But God is doing amazing things in Mexico! At Rancho De Refugio, they are building a school for the children in these pictures. Many have never been to school before.   But this school is huge, beautiful, and will be a wonderful environment for them to grow in Jesus.

Well- thank you for reading all of this! Mexico is one of my loves, and I'm SO passionate about these missions that of course they deserve a couple hundred pages of words!! I encourage all of you to be ready- you never know when God will open up a season in your life! Whether it is for a short hop over the border or 3 weeks in Africa, or 21 years in Papua New Guinea's unreached tribes- you can make a difference for the Lord! But meanwhile, continue to serve Him in every aspect of your life- from the grocery store to the church pew! Your Blogger,

 Claire 

Blessings in May...

 Dear Readers,

Mrs.Darling got to wear Cinderella's slippers! My dreams come true...

Mason did an amazing job at improv--and allowed all the little girls to get changed! And everyone adored Benjamin...

   We are now finished with production week for Peter Pan...and our trip to Disneyland! Both were wonderful and filled with blessings.
Peter Pan was an amazing experience.
I've always felt clumsy as a dancer, and have struggled with feeling comfortable changing in front of people and wearing the costumes. Mrs.Caroline did an amazing job of allowing us to wear nude leotards underneath our clothes, and making all the costumes modest. More than that, though- they were beautiful!

Goodbye, Arizona!



Hello, California!

 Mom and Dad have been married for twenty years!

Now- on to our own Neverland!

We went to Disneyland to celebrate our wonderful parents' twentieth anniversary...and Mom's birthday! It was a wonderful oppurtunity for a romantic photographer! They were so sweet to pose...every time I asked... I'm so grateful these two fell in love!

Here are some of my favorite attraction photos.Did I mention that this is my first visit to Disneyland with my own camera?! I WENT CRAZY!!!

I want to play the violin on the carousel!

I love this picture- pure joy.

Dumbo is Mom and my favorite--he is a special needs elephant! And not to mention adorable.. I love this photo. Can you find Dumbo?!

To some, the perfect 'in love' picture may be the image of a gorgeous princess and perfect prince walking hand in hand, but I think the 'for worse' part of the deal is when your true love will show.



  My theme for this trip was mailboxes--and Disney has some wonderfully old fashioned ones! I thought this picture was ruined when Cate hopped in it, but it's actually one of my favorites!

  So--I've hit attractions, anniversaries..hmm.. another wonderful part of our trip was the people we met! My Dad's dear friend who we affectionately call Uncle Todd came, along with Aunt Marti and their adorable daughter Gracie! We had so much fun watching Gracie get to know the park, and were thrilled when she fell in love  with Dumbo, too! And as you can see from the above picture- she and Cate were inseperable! It was wonderful to spend time with them.  It was also wonderful to see another sweet friend who plays piano at the hotel. After running down to the lobby to check for her every day of our trip, I was ecstatic to hear her playing on the last few days we were there. I always love talking with her. And yes--she plays and talks at the same time! She's amazing and it was such a treat.

Another treat the boys were especially glad for-- we got to ride Star Tours! That is a favorite in our family (of course!), and so when we got to ride the new ride BEFORE IT WAS OPEN -- we were thrilled! We also loved World of Color and Fantasmic, although I was frustrated in how hard it was to photograph! But it was still beautiful. Well,I hope you enjoyed this little corner of our adventure! I hope you all are having a week- filled with JOY no matter what. I also have to share a little surprise-- Mom and I are going on a mission trip to Mexico this weekend! I've missed Mexico so much, and am thrilled to be able to serve the Lord and get a little Mommy-and-me time in as well. Please pray for hearts to be reached! I will be praying for each of you in your own private mission fields. Your Blogger,
Claire