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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Ordinary Blessings

February has ended just as quickly as it began. There are many things that make each day special. A few of the blessings I enjoyed this February were:
(links in bold print)

Skipper, the professor, and Gilligan

1. watching episodes of Gilligan's Island with my mom--and laughing hysterically

2. singing along with my new Celtic Thunder CD (and, of course, ever-faithful Michael Buble)

3. listening to Charles Swindoll's preaching in the car with Dad

4. Jennifer Erin Valent's books Fireflies in December, Cottonwood Whispers, and Catching Moondrops...now that the series is over, what shall I do? Miss Valent has not yet published any others:(

5. skyping with April, Ladd, Jackson, and Oakley

6. hysterical videos by Julian Smith, introduced to me by my cousin Josiah:
JS: HandbagJS: Britain's Got Talent ParodyJS: Trees Hate You 

7. at long last, donning my favorite Greek-style, gold sandals...the winter weather prevented it for far too long

8. making homemade Valentines for family and friends and kindred spirits

9. a thunderstorm...I have missed the sound of rain clattering against the roof and thunder bellowing in the distance

10. The Best of Ron Hamilton piano book

11. Focus on the Family's audio drama of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, possibly my favorite Narnia book

12. the sprouting up of the year's first happy, yellow daffodils in the yard

13. reading stacks of books to McKenzie in our "book nook" (a disorganized closet filled with crates of the family's old children's books and magazines)

14. practicing homemaking skills with my mom in our "spare time" (hopefully, there will be more of that this summer)

15. sorting through old boxes of keepsakes and finding a few pictures of my mom and dad's college days

16. trying to learn on my own to play the violin on an old, well-travelled violin a kind man at church offered to let me borrow for as long as I would like (if anyone knows of any websites or books that would be helpful in teaching oneself to play, I would greatly appreciate it)

17. my kindred spirit/cousin Jessica's lovely blog, Soli Deo Gloria

18. spending my days and nights with my holy Abba, Father, from whom all of these blessings come

7 comments:

Jennifer Valent said...

Emily, I'm so glad I came across this post! I love that you enjoyed the books. Hopefully, I'll have something new for you in the future. I'm doing my best! :)

It caught my eye that you had mentioned Cary Grant on your blog because I've loved his movies forever. It was so much fun to read your post with all the quotes from his comedies. My mother and I use them in everyday conversation. They truly knew how to write back then, didn't they? (I'm actually going to the theater tomorrow to see Arsenic and Old Lace...again!)

Thanks again for reading!

Emily said...

Thank you:D I was soooo excited to see that you read my blog post!!! And I can't wait until you publish more books:)
I love your characters and the dialect and...all of it!
I hope to be a writer someday, too! Do you have any advice for an aspiring writer? :)
I LOVE Arsenic and Old Lace! I hope you have a wonderful time at your movie:) And thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my blog...it means ALOT to me:)

Jennifer Valent said...

My best advice is to pray that the Lord will reveal His will for you when it comes to your love for writing. I never would have become a writer if I hadn't felt Him firmly leading me into it. And you can be sure that if the Lord calls you to something, He will provide you with all you need.

As for everyday writing advice, I'd say find your style and stick to it. What sets each writer apart is their individual writing style. Write what you know and what you feel, and your passion will be communicated to readers.

Wishing you the very best!

Emily said...

Thank you very much:)
I will truly take this advice to heart!
I wanted to let you know that my family was extremely impressed to hear that you had visited my blog:) And that I recommend your books to everyone!
Thank you again:)

Jennifer Valent said...

It was actually my pleasure to find your post. It means a lot to hear about happy readers!

We had a great time watching Arsenic and Old Lace today. That movie never gets old!!

Keep writing... and reading! :)

Emily said...

Thank you! I'm glad Cary Grant pulled through again:)
I will keep reading and writing:) I actually worked on my newest story today--and it's set in the 1930s, of course:) I think that's my favorite era to read about--and to watch movies from Lol (especially when they star Cary Grant) :)

Beth said...

I love that picture! lol Gilligan's Island was always a lot of fun to watch. :)