singin' the song

i love this picture! i took it on the way home from my grandmas house. its where Avila and Shell beach meet.

this is a weird barn style gas station, again, on the way home from my grandmas. i think in Kettleman city.


we are here in socal right now. just visiting family and friends. we even brought mommy cat and the kittens with us, cuz we would be gone so long... no clue when we are going home. haha!

i have a few things that need prayer for... my uncle is having a hard time. really really hard time. my mom is pregnant, and we would all love to have prayer for her! as all my friends know our history in that area, please pray for her and baby. they are both doing fine right now! which is a blessing... and if you all could pray for me personally... i would be so thankful to you all!

home post

this is my first offical post from home. even though i have been home for almost a full month. yes, time and life have kept me busy. there was some fun in the middle=)
ive just been home mostly. working on school, helping around the house (entailing: cooking, cleaning, babysitting... and other house works), and spent some time with some friends this last weekend. it was pretty awesomely fun. we just hung out together. at one point carrisa and i went to starbucks and the moms and three of the kids went to the homeschool book fair. a little later, carissa, nathan, and myself went to the homeschool fair to see what was going on with our family there. there was a lot of procrastination getting that far in decisions of what to do=) while we were there i got see carl and a few other friends! so that was pretty cool. in the end, we all (thirteen al together) ended up at the Anders having dinner and talking for a long while! nathan and i messed around on the guitars a bit then a few of us sat on the pourch talking. haha! it was eleven at night before we went home! it didnt even feel like eleven at night. it was so weird.

other than that, i havent been busy with much. i have, however, been working on writing more songs. i eventually want to record them... but that might take a while. i have finished two song on the piano. they need lyrics and guitar added still. annddd there are two still in the works, on the piano.

oh! i was so excited about this! jon foreman has three of his new single albums out: spring, fall, and winter. summer will be coming out at some point. the songs are amazing! music and lyrics!

well, just wanted to give a shout out to everyone!

talk to you all later

in His love,

just because

well, im posting these really only so that i can save them cuz gmail isnt wanting to work. they are from someone elses camera:-D

jello

well, theses last few fays have been kind of amazing.

tuesday:
we worked till lunch then went over to the printers. it was so awesome to see all these things being printed! oh my word. i really have to add pictures this time.
after we went there, we went over to walmart and big lots. i got a vitamin water at walmart. they were one dollar! i havent seen them that cheap. it made me kind of happy=D and we played jello the whole ride home. which is amazing here, since we live out in the country, so the road are really curvey.
psalmody, amanda, and i

the moon. it looks cooler big. but- if you click it....



wednesday:
we finised another day of work! and caught up the whole company! yesss... so we have hardly anything to do. yesterday, was the lunar ecplipse. (sp?) hannah, lisa, amanda, and psalmody and i, stood out on the balcony and watched the moon and stars disapear. so so incredable. oh my. once the sky went dark, we all went inside and played pit. it was my first time playing, and let me tell you, it has become one of my favorite games. haha! its kind of a loud game. psalmody is gonna platt braide my hair one night. i think this weekend. im excited. i had that done when i was like 8, for summer one year.

today:
the day isnt over yet. its only lunch time. but- the day has started off amazingly! i got my package from my mom. and- she is pretty much amazing! she was amazing anyway. but- you know what i mean. AND since we caught up everything yesterday, we have seriously nothing to do today. haha! no joke.

well, il add on laters i think. i have to go eat.

trick doors

creepy window of the house

me in the house

actual picture from inside the house



hey hey!

i think i decided what my favorite jobs are here in the office. i like restocking, and orders. the copmuter stuff is cool too. its pretty chill. i just decided that those were my favorite. lol!

so all ive just been in the office and hanging with all the girls and kids. its been chill. which is nice since ive been sick.

i did the scariest thing ever today! well, im sure i could have done something more scary but- you know what i mean. okay, there is an abondoned house up the street. and well, i went in it today. i didnt go alone! i went with amanda. we went in together. it was so trippy. okay, so on the outside there are two front doors. one on either side of the house. but when we went in where the living room was, there were no doors in the corners, but a door in the middle! so so weird! so there are three false doors!! in one of the pictures i took, you can see like a line where the doors would have been; the two doors, that look like they lead inside from the outside... ya. and there is no visable line on the outside, for the one in the middle of the wall on the inside. so weird! after we were done, we kinna ran out. haha! cuz we noticed a hole in the ceiling, and it was scary.

more pictures

hello all! sorry for not posting about these picturess=) i was trying to upload more, but the computer wouldnt let me. so- the pictures of me are with the other amanda. we have matching beanies that hannah made. twinners=)
then theres the picture of the office, and the little heater that heats the office. or at least heats one side of the office. haha! uless we turn it up to like 100 degrees then the heat reaches the other side... mrs campbell usually turns it down to 63, no matter what heat we have it up to. we could have it at 65 and she would still turn it down. haha!

and,then,before,after...& the mystery smell.

so ive had a pretty busy day.... this morning, i finished up the thank you letters. they had been so backed up from previous months that it took me two days and a morning to finish them. then i answered the phones for a while, taking orders and fixing accounts. after that i moved on to doing pay pal, which is online orders. so i just print them out then package and mail them. i added the orders i had done to the "book", then i started squirrel mail. which is where i print out people with three or more kids under th age of 10, OR they have requested more than one magazine, OR they have a prayer request, OR all listed previous. if they dont have any of those i just write their name on a mailing lable, slide it in with a magazine, seal it, and mail it. also if the the requests are from outta country i have to look up the above rubies head quaters there, find their email, then forward the message to them. lol! wow, thats very detailed of me....

we may go over to vanges tonight. im not sure. lol! we shall see....

i think im getting sick again... not fun. see all four of us girls sleep in one room. as you saw in the pick a few posts ago.... so when one of us gets sick, we breathe in the diseased (dont think thats a word, so i just made it one) air. so when one gets sick, it tends to circulate. yay! hannah was just sick, and before that amanda and i, before that carrie was sick... so yes im sure you get the pattern. lol! AND nrs. campbell is sick.

okay so- in the office we kept getting whiffs of some disgusting smell. we looked through the cupboard where the smell was coming from,and couldnt find anything!!! so for a week and a half we just went on dealing with the gross smell. we just couldnt figure it out! then today, the smell got stronger, someone calls out my name, and i turn around to see lisa holding a plastic bag. i look at her and then amanda says," they are sardines." rotten sardines were stinking up our office. how they got put in the supply cupbord, i have no idea.

tornadoes

last night there was a tornado. it went right through the town that i am living in. i was so freaked out! needless to say, i didnt sleep well last night. at all. a house right next to us got hit. so, we werent hit specifically. we did, however, get crazy wind, hardcore rain, and massive thunder and lightning. AND we lost power. its so sad, there are 48 reported deaths in a 60 mile radius from us.

the weather all over the place is crazy. i got on weather.com today... wow. you guys should check that out (if you already havent). yay! i hear more wind, thunder and rain.... oh my. the storm is gonna be over in this area again today, getting worse at night.

other than that, nothing is really going on. we'll just be down in the office again today. ill most likely be on weather channels on lunch break. oh ya! we might go into town for a few things... if the weather isnt too bad.

update

sorry all, the internet is not being very friendly so i cant add any more pics right now. sorry mom=( i got two more in).. ill try again later=/



me dressed up like pride and prejudice


a little house we saw on our walk

john

hey everyone!
sorry ive been lazy about posting... hehe.
pretty much just been down in the office working eveyday. lol! which is what im here for. mostly ive been writing a lot of encouragement letters. they were backed up from like months ago, so there were a lot to write.
for my birthday (yesterday) i went with my friend (the other amanda) and her mom, sister, and friend into franklin. we all went out to sushi and thai food. it was so so so so good! though. i think i need to take them one more time, to real sushi. cuz all they had was a roll with no REAL raw fish. lol! they liked that though. amanda has agreed to eat the hard core stuff=) after that we all went to the hotel they were staying at, and hung out. all we did there was watch tlc shows like 'what not to wear' and 'say yes to the dress' it was pretty cool. the following morning we went to the franklin mall. they have some GEWD stores there. it was fun! although all the girls here say that the nashville mall is better. but- im pretty satisfied with the franklin mall. its better than the santa maria mall. thats for sure. i think that any mall is better than the santa marias.

okay. scary story. this just happened like ten minutes ago. we were coming home from being in town agian. it was one of the other g irls, lisa, birthday. so we surprised her and took her out to ice cream. then we get lost on the way home for 45 minutes. no joke. in the dark too. everything looks different in the dark. after all that, we get on the road to home, and some guy is following us. literally! i know mom you migjht think that we were are being dramatic. hahahaha! but for sure. he drove past us. then we turned into the wrong drive way, so he turned around and like stopped right next to our car as we backed up. so by then we were freaked. then! he turns around and sticks his head outr the window, and just looke at us. nothing came out of his mouth. i dont think he was lost or needed directions somewhere. so i told the driver ( amanda holbrook) to not pull into our REAL driveway. so we passed it then turned around. he had turned around with us. then back around again and was just sitting there. we pulled into pearls driveway and took the long way to our house. then literally ran inside. i was hanging onto one of my shoes with my toes.... seriously. it was scary. uh! not. fun.

some pictures

^^scared to death? maybe.^^

^^vision and getty^^

^^room^^

^^road town^^

^^home sweet home, for the next month and a half^^

^^got these done in a day and a half^^

no water, but plenty of mud

^^^^^^thats what we got lost in. at night.^^^^^^^


just when all of us girls thought, we have water!! we lost it three days later. so yes we are without water again. please pray that it returns quickly!!! and that the construction guy would get the water pipes covered (they are currently exposed to the weather and all it brings). thankfully i was able to get a shower in before we heard the news.

well, things are going pretty well here. just working in the office (or the ice box as i like to call it). ive been in charge of the phone calls the last three days. it keeps you on your toes. thats for sure. when im not on the phone taking orders, getting info for account changes, and women who need help logging in im usually doing computer work. as far as the computer work goes i go in and change accounts, send letters to people, sift through squirrel mail (lol), and add people. then theres the packaging and shipping.

hey something exciting! and scary. wow. i still cant believe my chicken self did this. although most the time i thought that i was gonna pass out with fear. lol! clara came over a couple days ago and hung out with us for a while. then had planned on spending the night at vanges. so when it was time for her to walk over there the other amanda and i didnt want her to have to walk through the woods, in the dark, by herself. so- we all linked arms and walked into the darkness of the forest(dramatic huh?). we got there just fine! we had clara as a guide! she has been there thousands of times. but once on our way back. not so much. lol! we got a bit lost and couldnt find the little trail into the woods that would take us back to the campbells house. we found it,eventually, and timidly entered back into the woods. (also when i say woods, i mean Woods....) there was no running either. it had been raining all day and the day before so- mud. lots of it. our shoes were in bad shape after that. i guess my converse are gonna have to be reserved for mud walking now. anyways, it was scary but we made it through.

sorry that all my posts are so long. and thank you to all who endure the time it takes to read them!

the henningsens

hey everyone!!
we had a blast yesterday! we went into "town" yesterday. we went to walmart and out to eat at the cracker barrel. yesss! im part of the cracker barrel club now. haha! if any ways read this post, i went to cracker barrel! (and i had something with bacon mr way!) haha! good times. so it was fun. i got batteries there for my camera. i know i know, its crazy. jk.

when we got home after being out, we all decided to take a nap. it was heavenly. our schedules are still all thrown off. so the sleep was needed. then we went over to the henninstons, where i really think that i met kalebs twin (pre long hair) haha! it was crazy. i kept wanting to call him kaleb when i talked to him. i had to keep reminding myself that he wasnt! they were a really cool family. they had ten kids and like three or four were married with kids of their own. so we had all their younger kids, plus their older children and grand children, plus a few of the neighbors and their kids, and then all of us!! there were so many. i still dont understand how we all fit in the house. at one time i think that there were like three babies crying at the same time... as soon as we walked in a bunch of the guys wanted us to write songs with them about coming here and living with the campbells. cuz you know they meet all the rubie girls. so- they are used to having all these girls come over at some point. they gave me a guiar and had me play with them for a while. it was so fun! they all have martin guitars... ahhhhhhh=) anyways, the henningston family are a recording family. they are all signed and record together. though some of them are breaknig away and starting to have their own contracts. they sing country christian and write a few normal songs on the side. they are pretty good. we stayed at their house for a couple of hours talking, singing worship songs, and having theology discussions. it was all very interesting. i really enjoyed it. i think we (at least i will) end up going over there a few times. im sure some the other girls will too though. their daughter wanted to get together with another girl (who happens to be named amanda too) and i tomorrow. it should be fun! shes really cool. her name is claire(17). so ya!

i met the campbells oldest daughter the other night as well. she so funny. there is never a moment when you wonder where is evangeline?? cuz you can hear her. shes really nice! haha! very funny. she has nine kids. i like her=)

tomorrow is my second day of work! yay for me! its fun.

eventually ill post pictures. i only just got batteries yesterday though!

(mom, dean, and other family/friends i forgot to tell you all that you can comment on here without having a blog. =)

bathtubs made out of sinks...

okay- so, on the drive here last night, mr campbell informed us that one of the water pipes had frozen and broke while they were in new zealand. so they only have one water pipe which ment quick showers. then this morning, mrs campbell walks in the office and says," girls, i have a bit of bad news. it seems the guys who were working on the other pipe, have busted our last pipe. the water came out the cracks and is now frozen as well." so no showers, no flushing of toilets (or pulling the chain as mrs campbell says), no washing of clothes, no dishwasher... we'll be using the spring water from the sink to wash our hair, face, and arms. at least we have water at all!! so please pray that they can get the pipes fixed soon!!!

so, i woke up this morning totally unsure of what to expect. after today im pretty excited for the rest of the trip! excited for the adventures, good times, and lessons ill learn. also the trials. its actually fun working down in the office. i cant help but to think of "the office." today i added a bunch of people to the above rubies group on the computer. i did that from 9 until 12:30. had lunch then, packaged a bunch of news letters from then until about 3. there are four other girls working here with me: lisa, hannah, carrie, and another amanda! they are all really great. fun, easy to talk to.

haha! all the girls adopted from liberia are so cute and funny and very sweet! they almost never stop talking and laughing. i love to see them laugh for some reason. their names are psalmody(16), sapphire(15), and mercy(15).

we went on a four mile hike today. it was really nice to get out and walk a bit. and though everything is still bare, it was still very pretty. we got back and finished i the last of the packaging. now im free for the rest of the evening!

airports....(1st post in tennessee!)

well, im in tennessee! my plane didnt crash. lol! i didnt expect it to...

so we lef t a t like 5:40 this morning. maybe sixish. the drive went well up until we were about a "half hour" away from the burbank airport. we hit quite a bit of traffic. by the time we got to the airport, we were all worried that i wouldnt make the flight. we get up up the counter to check in, and the first thing that comes out of her mouth is," you are gonna have to hustle." i was thinking," oh great." we got the bags checked in then went to the metal thingys. oh. my. word. we had to take off shoes and jewelry! i had no idea that we had to do th at!!! i mean. ya. i knew we had to walk trough those things but- my shoes. anyways- so the people infront of us took forever. the guy kept telling the girl that she need ed to take off her jewelry, but i guess she didnt understand that. haha! finally we get through and dean turns to me and says," dont worry about putting your shoes back on, you dont have time." which ment that neither did he. so there we were, the both of us, running full speed through the airport. and of course my gate had to be the farthest. we get tot the gate and apperently another lady had gotten there late too, cuz the plane had already pulled away and then had to drop the stairs for her. i was able to run out and jump on. still without shoes. haha! it was funny. and then finding a seat. that was interesting. however- i made it. now im sitting here thinking of home and eating charms candy. lol!

in the airport here, there were all these awesome guitars cased around the floor with stories to follow them. it wa amazing! recording city. ahh.... amazing. i wonder?? i bet so many bands well, actually most im sure, have recorded here at some point. pure amazingness. oh and speaking of the airport here, my bags havent gotten here yet. lol! we have to go back later. i really hope they come.... im sure they will. i hope.

well, i miss and love you all! please keep me in your prayers=)

click to make larger....

most spastic picture of the year award '08 goes to:



scariest picture of the year '08 award goes to:

flying alone, but still happy.

so right now, im feeling pretty ontop of the world. i got some things worked out with a friend of mine. and it makes me happy. very. the feeling of loosing a friend... not good. so im so very glad that its worked out!

ive been able to work on my music a lot lately. its something that i really enjoy. and it my parents are supportive of me recording! im so excited. i wasnt sure how they would feel about it. they are pretty much for it. though, i still have a few more things to learn, and figure out before any recording happens. but- it will eventually. one of my goals is to learn as many instruments as i can.ive been doing piano, working on the guitar, and i have a flute. who knows, maybe ill throw in the drums. haha! ya.

AND last but not least, im going to tennessee! my first trip completely on my own! its gonna be a bit nerve racking with switching planes and not really know what im doing in the airport. and waiting for my second plane to come in. whew. crazyness. i get the opportunity to live with fellow christans for two months! helping them in their daily life stuff. also helping them create and publish a magazine. its snowing there right now too! so i get a chance to wear my awesome coat... ill post pics and stuff while im there.

tomorrow i get to spend time with friends... which will be amazing!

ive gotten to spend wonderful time with my family!

so yes, im feeling pretty on top of the world right now.

whats new?

well, im here to blog. i dont really have much to say.
things have been interesting these last few months. very.
some good, some bad. though, isnt that the way it goes
most of the time? maybe its just more so these last months
i think.



well, the nutcracker is gone and past. i must say, im happy
that its over and yet sad at the same time. it was a lot of
work and energy! i think my favorite parts out of my eight
were being the mouse king and waltz of the flowers. i enjoied
those a bit more than all my other parts. welll, i did like
part of snow. the middle-ish part. i got to do an awesome
tour jetè. fun. havent been back to ballet class yet. ive
been battling a cough, lost voice, and weird breathing.
so, the breathing being the biggest reason, i havet been back.
i didnt want to pass the not so funness to anyone there. its
getting better though. hopefully ill be able to go tomorrow.
it seems to be the worse in the evenings into the morning...
which, ballet is in the evening. sooo... .ya. now im just
rambling. would ya all pray that i get better soon?




my mom is outta town at the moment. down south. so we are all
manning the stations here, the best we can. without her, we
can get lost sometimes. haha! jk. we are okay. but we all
miss her. a lot.

sick...

okay so, i guess i have a cold now.
i woke up, and it was there. so weird
how that happens, huh? i mean, to come
on so suddenly. i was totally fine!
then- cold. uhg anyways... nothing
really all that new. same same. i guess
that i just wanted to post cuz i felt
like it. even though there is nothing
really to talk about.
so thats pretty much it.
peace

sos...

i have to do that, Penché↑

so update... well, i spent the entire day at the studio today. really. from 9am-5pm. im a bit sore. haha! im always sore for a while after rehearsals start. i dunno why i have to say i am, every time.
so i found out that my whole angel solo im on point. literally. so, im kinda stressed. i can do it! (haha! i have to boost myself up.) im sure it will work out. i thought i couldnt do the last dances i had to do, but, i did. soooo... mainly, i think, its just good teaching. haha!
deep breath*
ya. that is pretty much it. my days have been spent doing ballet and homework this last week. so there isnt much to tell.

latin choir

tonight my mom puts in the cd of the songs in latin we had to learn for choir, when i was like 11&12. memories. i like that memory. a group of kids, jake and i included, sang songs in a latin choir just before christmas. it was fun! a production that i will never forget. i remember the songs too! which make me happy for some reason...??? i have no idea why. is it just me, or have most home school kid sang in some choir or other, at some point? it does seem that way.

oh! nutcracker update! i have two roles now. i am a snow angel and the rat king. i cant wait! and because i decided to not make time for stretching and doing warm-ups to stay in shape, im very very sore. ive stretched a lot in the past few days and now im very sore. my neck... uh even thats sore. lol! i had a hard time rolling outta bed this morning because of it. im glad though. that way i wont be too outta tune when i go back for rehearsals.