Thursday, April 29, 2010

Please pray

Hi everyone. My sister just came home and told us that one of her good friends from work was killed in a car accident today. Her name was Sarah Bronson. Please pray for her family, my sister, and also for Tammy Caton because Sarah was her best friend.

Butterfly Kisses

I found this video as I was looking through different ones posted by a guy from Gateway Bible College. It cracked me up! Enjoy! :)

Monday, April 26, 2010

Not much

This blog post is totally random. The topic kind of cracks me up, and since I'm at a loss for blog posts right now, I'll bore you with it.

Neck cramps. Most of you are probably gonna think, what in the world? Yeah, well I get them. The first time I got one was a couple of months ago. In music class with Sister Stef, we were humming and learning to warm our voices up and sing music as we read it. It was neat and stuff. Well when I got home, later on in the evening, I had just made brownies and was *ahem* eating batter off the beater *ahem* I had my tongue out, and a HUGE cramp of pain ran through my neck. Actually, it came to a screeching halt about the middle of my throat. And it stayed there. All night. : D Well, I found out at our next music class that neck cramps aren't all that uncommon when you're learning to use your voice muscles.

Sister Stef told me that, when my neck cramps up, I need to hum. I was glad she told me that because it's a lot easier and looks a lot more sane than sticking my tongue out as far as I can and massaging my neck. So lately my neck keeps cramping up but I forgot that I need to hum. I've just been massaging :)

So my advice for the day is, never make faces trying to uncramp a throat muscle. Just hum and maybe put a cold or warm compress on it, I can't remember which. OK, forget the compress idea. lol

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

My Awesome Neighbor

This blog is to tell everyone about our wonderful neighbor, Hope. We actually met her at Wal Mart, then when we moved to our new house, we found out that her and her boyfriend, Tim, are our next door neighbors.

Hope visits our house often. And she stays for a while. And by a while, I mean like HOURS! She's so much fun to have around. Whenever we have her over, we always expect her to leave at a regular time, but we always end up talking til way late. One night when we met up with her in Wal Mart, we ended up talking to her for about 1-2 hours by the check-out line.

Tonight we had Tim and Hope over. Dad and Dakota caught some fish while they were fishing in Lake Erie so we ate it for dinner tonight. We didn't have enough vegetable oil for all the fish, so hope brought over her gallon of vegetable oil for us :) It would take forever and a day to tell you all the funny stories that Hope has told us, so I won't try,  but trust me, she has plenty to tell.

I know this post isn't very long, but I tried to make you all wish that you had wonderful neighbors :)

Monday, April 19, 2010

The Rest of the Story

Well, I've finally decided to post about the rest of our trip. I'm gonna start to with AMC. When we arrived at the Gaylord Opryland, I was unsmashing to say the least. I had a blackish-blue skirt on. The reason that it was tinted blue: I had covered my lap with a blue microfiber blanket and it had decided to being very loving and share it fuzz with me. The skirt I had on is a collector of many great fuzzes and lints. I was incredibly embarrassed to be seen, seeing as how it is a preachers' conference and all their beautiful wives and daughters looked great. I quickly ran to hide in the bathroom and attempt to make my hair look like I had NOT just traveled five or six hours and slept most of it. I stayed in my room for most of the evening. When I left the room for church, I looked like five thousand times better than when I went into the room.

The rest of the conference was amazing. It would take a long time to type all of it, so I'll just tell you, I was impacted in a major way. Brother Morton preached the message that affected me the most. I've never felt the love of God so strong. It was incredibly amazing.

After AMC, we traveled to Pigeon Forge. Who'da thunk that a small town like that would have bumper to bumper traffic ALL THE TIME!! They have so much traffic that the comedian at the dinner theater we went to mentioned it! The theater we went to was great! The comedian, Scraps, was a LOT like my dad. Scraps even told my dad that he was hired to work there because Dad could clap on beat! :D After the dinner theater, we went to the magic show where I saw the little abused boy. The magic show was also really great. Sean Paul and Julianne are really good at what they do. Julianne can even "read" minds ;)

After Pigeon Forge we went to Dollywood, which was AWESOME! :) We felt very, very safe there. It was real secluded and just felt great. My favorite ride was probably the Tennessee Tornado! It has three loops in it, and the ride is smooth.

After Dollywood we went to visit my aunt and uncle in Indiana. That was fun, but unfortunately we only got to stay for an evening. I'm glad that they're gonna come up for Memorial Day.

Well, I'm all done posting. Gonna eat some food! :D BTW, if ya'll ever go to Pigeon Forge, stop by the Old Mill and have a meal. You won't regret it! The prices seem high, but when the entree is priced at $15.99, it's paying for your main meal, the salad, a couple of side dishes (I can't remember which ones), and your desert. We had pecan pie.....oooohh my goodness! It was amazing! I'm going for real this time! :D I'll try to post again soon.
Amber

Monday, April 12, 2010

Topic #2: Child Abuse

Hello everyone! Right now we're heading to Indianapolis to be with my wonderful aunt and uncle and their family. This post is a more serious one, but I'll post about our trip later. When I put up my first post, I was planning on addressing certain issues. One of them was child abuse. I never got around to it because I was going to have to do a little research to find out statistics and things. Now, I'm not going to have to now-I've been an eyewitness to a case.
When we were in Pigeon Forge, we stopped at a magic show. While I was washing my hands, I saw a little boy and his mother in the restroom. It was a little odd to me because the boy was probably about 9-10. His mother looked at him with distain, and told him that he was in "huge trouble." The little boy just nodded his head. He had a little bit of an attitude so I figured that was what he was in trouble for. His mother took him into the stall and within seconds he was bawling. When he came out he was wiping his eyes and still had an attitude.

At the beginning of the show, a man had all the kids 10 and under go up onto the stage to do a dance for the video. I lost sight of the little boy, but enjoyed the little dance they were doing, as it was adorable. When they stopped, the man looked at the little boy and told him he could go to his seat if he wasn't going to participate. The little boy went to his seat. I still didn't suspect anything but an attitude about being in trouble.

During intermission I went into the lobby to see what was being sold. As I was getting ready to leave the little boy and his father came out into the lobby so the dad could buy something. The little boy was practically begging his dad for a toy. It was so sad because, yes, I've asked my dad for stuff and pleaded a little, but the little boy was asking like it really really meant something to him. The dad just ignored him and bought himself a drink and some m&ms. Nothing for the little boy-nothing for the rest of the family. I noticed, too, that the little boy had a bruise on the left side of his face in the shaped of a handprint.

I went back to my seat and told my dad what had happeneed and what I had heard. He agreed that the little boy was being abused, as he had heard the father in the restroom. The little boy was in the stall and the dad starting yelling at him to get out "right now, you're just wasting time." The little boy told his dad that he wasn't wasting time, he was just using the restroom. The dad, then, very angrily, yelled, "No you're not. Get out here right now!!"
Dad said that the reason the little boy wouldn't participate in the song and dance was because he was abused. I'd like to note that the older sister was with the famly as well, and she was smiling and happy. After the family sat down, the little boy just sat in his seat and cried. When I realized that the little boy was indeed being abused, it made me cry. I sat there and cried so hard. I just don't understand how someone could abuse a child that they are twice the size of.

When the show had started again, the little boy got up to use the restroom. I really felt like I needed to tell him that I was praying for him. I asked my mom and dad, and Dad suggested that I tell him that God loves him. So I ran out to the restroom to tell him. He was standing in the bathroom looking up at the pictures. He realized that I wanted to talk to him, so he came out. I put my hand on his should and told him that God loves him very much. I told him that I was praying for him, too. I think I said it more than once, but I really wanted him to know. He nodded, and looked like he was going to cry. He turned to walk away, and I asked, "Do you want a hug?" He nodded and so I gave him a hug and held on to him for a moment. I couldn't help but start crying again. He was so small. He told me his name, which I hauntingly cannot remember, and his age-8. After I hugged him we looked at the pictures a little and I asked him if he liked the show and he told me about his cousin that did a magic trick.
There are so many people that are hurting out there that it's unbelievable. Who would have thought that I would walk into a magic show and see a case of child abuse? I've been praying for him off and on throughout each day since I met him. I pray that God will let the little boy feel His love. I ask God, that when he is in pain, maybe having been smacked around, that God will wrap him in His arms. I pray that God will also send someone to be a witness to him. That God will make him a great witness. I told a friend that maybe someday he'll have a story like Brother Russell Frazier. If you've never heard the story of Brother Frazier's life, it's an amazing one. But that's a post for another time. I'm going to go now, but I'd like to ask anyone who reads this to keep the little boy in your prayers. I want to someday hear that he was delivered from the situation he's in now. Also, please offer up a prayer for all the abused children, and don't be too busy with your life to stop and help someone who is hurting. Probably the most comforting a person can hear is that God trully loves them and that you're praying for him.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Washington D.C.

Hello everyone! Vacation has been awesome so far! On Friday we went to see Joseph, as you all know. That play was the most amazing thing ever! It was funny, tear-jerking, and just plain old amazing. It's definitely a play that I would recommend to everyone. If I could, I'd go every day! lol On Saturday, after Dad went to the dentist, we ate at Friendly's, and went to Old Navy, we headed to D.C. When we finally got settled in and figured out how to ride the Metro (which is awesome!) we attempted to go the the Arlington Cemetery to watch the changing of the guard. Well, there was a bomb threat in either Pentagon or Pentagon City, and we had to get off the Metro at Crystal City, which was like 2 stops from where we were supposed to get off. So, we figured since we had to get off we might as well eat. Thankfully by the time we were done eating the Metro was able to go to Arlington Cemetery. We did NOT get to see the changing of the guard because it was too late. So basically, on our first day in D.C. we learned how to ride the subway. Now, we're all experts, except for Mom who says, "I'm just confused. I'll follow you guys."

On our second day in Washington D.C. we went to the National Aquarium and saw some really awesome fish, frogs, alligators, and other neat sea creatures. Did you know that an electric eel's digestive system is all in its head? And did you know that a Hellbender, a type of salamander, can grow up to 29 inches long and weigh up to five pounds?

At the aquarium, we saw this lobster that was HUGE!!! It weighed FIFTEEN pounds!! It was the ugliest thing you ever wanted to see. Actually, the Hellbender was uglier. Those things look like nasty slimy rocks. Ew!

After the aquarium we went up and to the Washington Monument and then to the National Museum of American History-at least I think that's what it's called. It was pretty neat. I didn't enjoy it fully because I had a headache and my feet were tired. We all were tired so we came back to the hotel and slept! (yes!)

After we woke up we went to Walmart and bought some shoes and other things. Then, we went to Denny's which was delicious! :) Well, we're getting ready to leave again, so I'll post later!! :)
Have fun in Pennsylvania with all your brown grass, while I enjoy a sunburn in sunny D.C.!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Vacation: Get Ready for the Anthony's, Baby!

If you read my mom's blog, or you read the title of this post, you know that we're going on vacation. That's right! 10 days of being stuck together as a family. So, tomorrow morning we head out on our adventure. We'll go to Lancaster to see the Sight and Sound play, Joseph. The link below is the advertisement for "Joseph"

http://remote.sight-sound.com/StaticContent/joseph/Video.html

So, we'll be seeing that on Friday. On Saturday, we'll drive to Washington D.C., and we'll be there until Tuesday. The Cherry Blossom Festival will be in full bloom, *ahem* excuse the pun, so we'll be seeing a lot of that. We'll also being going to the different Smithsonian museums, and possibly the Smithsonian zoo. I'll finally get to see the Lincoln Memorial and all the stuff that D.C. contains.  On Tuesday, we'll drive halfway to Nashville, then go the rest of the way on Wednesday. Wednesday night is our first service of the Apostolic Minister's Conference (AMC). The conference continues through Friday night, then we have a youth lock-in Friday!! (Oh yeah!) We're not totally sure what we're doing after the conference. We DO know that we're going to Indiana to stay with my aunt and uncle and their family. Hopefully we'll get to go to church on Sunday even if we're not back in PA.

We appreciate all your prayers for travelling safety :) Please also pray that we don't half kill each other on the road ; ) I probably won't be posting until we get back, and when I do post, I'll post some pictures. Farewell my faithful readers! I'm off to do some more laundry and pack some luggage!