Four-Eyes!

I've been wanting some new glasses, so I got these:

Pray for the Chapmans

Please keep the Chapman family in your prayers as they go through this tragedy:

From The Tennessean:
One of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman’s six children was killed this afternoon when she was struck by a car said to be driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.
The child, Maria, age 5, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
She was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.
The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see the 5-year-old in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.


God, please be with the Chapman family as they grieve and let them feel Your presence. Fill them with peace that comes only from You.

It's Here!

All Because of Jesus

This is my new favorite worship song:



All Because of Jesus By FEE

Class of 2008!

A little over a week ago, we got to celebrate the graduation of two of my very close friends.


After partying the night before, we attended the homeschool ceremony, which was pretty neat. I'm so blessed to have Kiana and Cassia in my life, they are both dear friends who I have had the pleasure of growing with them spiritually .





Kiana and Cassia: I love you both and I pray that as we move on to bigger things that our friendship and relationship with the Lord would just grow stronger!

Allyson with Cassia:

Kamyl, Allyson, Kiana, and Me:

One Step At A Time..

Ok, I think the best way to get back into this blogging thing is to take little baby "post" steps, I'm not going to post one loooog update, just a little at a time.

The place I think is best to start is: {drum rolls} Finals are over! It's been a tough last couple of weeks, especially in Honors English. I have been working this semester on a White Paper titled:"The Future of Conservative Leadership". A White Paper is a name for a paper that argues a specific position or solution to a problem. My paper explored the history of Conservatives in American politics and then provided some recommendations for improving Conservative leadership in the future. This has been one of the most challenging projects. Last Friday, I presented my paper at the Cy-Fair Student Symposium, I was extremely nervous, but I got through it. I'm just glad it's ALL over!

Graduation is just a week away and my anticipation is growing! I'm so glad, that I'm having the opportunity to participate in a ceremony with my friends and other homeschoolers. I'm so grateful to my family, especially my incredible mother, for the way they have been working to get everything ready for the celebration!

Yesterday, a few seniors from my "graduating class" decided to hang out yesterday, so we went to the lunch and the movies. I got the privilege to see Expelled. This movie provided an alternative view to the fight between Intelligent Design and Evolution. Though the movie did not take a stand on a particular view, it explored American Science and the way that views that questioned Darwin's Evolution were given no creditability. The idea that stood out most to me was the fact that many scientist that pushed evolution believed that one could believe in evolution and still believe in God, but this movie exposed the stories of many evolutionist who turned their back on the faith as a result of exploring and believing in Evolution. My little review doesn't do it justice. So get some buddies and go see it!

More blogging coming soon!

Love,

Adrienne Renea

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

-Martin Luther

I Love New Books!

We got our copy of Do Hard Things in the mail today!

Get Yours!

Tech Alert!

I'm playing around with the colors on my blog, it's time for a change! I propably won't keep it like this, but I'm having fun figuring out color schemes. Any suggestions?? If anyone knows of sites with nice blogger templates, let me know!! I'm not too good at this stuff!

Graduation Goodies!

Today, we visited the Graduation Store with my graduation group to get fitted for caps and gowns. It was a long process, we have about 20 graduates and it was a small store! So I spent the time visiting with some friends from debate. I really lucked out to be able to graduate with so many of my friends from debate.

We got to choose the color of our tassels, so I started with blue and brown, but sadly, they didn't have it. Then I tried pink and brown..no...black and pink? No. Ahhh...oh well! I ended up with light blue and white...ahh...I was trying to be unique! Oh well...I'm happy with end results!

Free Jamba Juice!

Tomorrow morning, April 8th,
Jamba Juice is giving away free drinks to promote their new Breakfast Meals!
The offer is only good 'til 10 A.M.!!

Hello!

So I haven't done any real "updating" blogging in a while so here goes:

Graduation things are coming together: we've got invitations coming in. They look like this ---------->


This Friday, Mrs. Axelson will be taking my senior pictures along with Kiana and Cassia, who are graduating this year.
Allyson is sitting next to me brainstorming ideas for the reception after the graduation and scrapbooking. She likes planning and she comes up with some creative ideas!


March madness has been very entertaining. I was rooting for both Memphis and Texas in the Sweet Sixteen, momentaily forgetting if they both won, they would have to play each other! Happily, they both won! Unfortunantly, I had to choose between the "home team" : Texas or my Dad's favorite and my Mom's alma mater: Memphis. Well Memphis won out quite easily, I've been a fan of theirs for several years and there are personal ties. So today I proudly wore my Memphis basketball jersey as Texas was soundly beat by the Memphis Tigers!


On another note, Allyson's favorite team(I admit, I had a soft spot for them too!) and Tournament Cinderella story, Davidson, narrowly lost to Kansas. It's been a great tournament and it contunially is a testament to the fact that NCAA basketball is much more exciting than NBA!

Chris has been cooking around here. He really into finding new things to cook and bake! Last month he made a Peanut Butter Cheesecake. It was fabulous! It tasted like something from The Cheesecake Factory! For the Superbowl he made a wonderful beef stew and a couple of weeks ago, baked some pork chops. He's become quite a chef! For dinner today he made roasted chicken, mint and onion peas, and roasted potatoe wedges. Ah, it was good! Great Job, Chris!


School and work are going well. English homework is kinda heavy, but all our smaller assignments will culminate in to a big portfolio/research paper at the end of the semester. Only 5 weeks 'til Finals!!! YAAY!


I'm loving my job. It's so wonderful to work with kids. Every work day brings some interesting happenings and its so rewarding to see kids learn! My co-worker are awesome and they make any rough days, smooth. I look forward to one day having kids of my own to teach!


Well there's always some kind of homework assignment due, so I better hop to it and go find out what's coming up for the week!


Christ is the Great Light of the World! He has opened our eyes and given us new life! Hallelujah!


Love, Adrienne Renea

Texas, make us proud!

It's that time of year! The Sweet Sixteen is here!

Good Luck tonight against Stanford!

Rah! Rah! Go Memphis Tigers!

Good Luck tonight against Michigan State!

Homework--->Graduation!

There always seems to be lots of it:

I can't wait 'til this!

:c)

Happy Easter!

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
-Romans 6:8-10

Announcing.....

My sister, Allyson's blog!
In Such A Way

Ah, Friday!

It's been a pretty slow week here. Chris and I are on Spring Break from the college. Nevertheless, there is plenty to do at home!
I have several assignments due in English next week, so I've been working on them. In the next few weeks I'll be getting mid-term grades, so I am anxiously awaiting those!
Graduation is coming up fast, so I've been looking at things pertaining to that. I've decided on invitations and I'm working towards starting a scrapbook. I'll be taking senior pictures in the next couple of weeks.
My graduation ceremony is May 17, I'll be graduating with a home school group. I'm not sure about the exact number of graduates, but it won't be more than 10-15. So it'll be nice and small and SHORT! I enjoy the smaller graduations, they are a lot more personal.

This weekend I'm going shopping, trying to find some things for graduation and maybe some summer clothes? It was HOT today!! The high was 80! That's pretty warm considering I was wearing a jacket and sweater last weekend.

I'm so glad its Friday, even if it does bring me close to the beginning of another week. I like school, but I'm particularly anxious for finals to come and graduation!
Tonight I went out to dinner with a bunch of friends. It was great catching up with people I haven't seen forever. I love those girls!
This year is so different, people I saw all the time last year, I never see! Instead I'm out of the house more and come in contact with so many different people. Mostly, very different from friends and adults I grew up around. I'm learning a lot. My relationship with God has grown, I have had to hold His Hand tighter. Being around non-Christians wasn't something I did much when I was younger. Now, I'm always seeking God's will on how I may be light to those who are walking this earth without the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I'm am continually reminded of the grace of God in my life! How precious the Cross is to me!

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from his head, his hands, his feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown

O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find that I may truly live
O the wonderful cross, O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace draw near and bless
Your name


Love always,
Adrienne Renea

Char-lie!

This cute video has been making its way through the blogging world.....

Worship Concert

On Saturday, Allyson, my friend Sarah and I went to see Phil Wickham in Concert at a church near my house. We're fans of his acoustic worship music and gospel-centered lyrics. The concert was less "concert" but more a time of worship. It was wonderful! Phil Wickham is a very gifted worship leader. We look forward to seeing him again, the next time he is in town!

New Gadget!

Graduation is a little over two months away, but I got a present a little earlier!

My parents bought me a Dell Inspiron 1525 for my graduation present! It's awesome!


The kiddos checkin' it out:

Its a very nice computer, I love all the fun, new functions of Windows Vista!

Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Texans...

Texans:

Don't Forget to Vote Tomorrow, March 4th!

Texas Voter Information

"Happy Birthday to you...."

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

I love you!

Pray for My Grandma!

Hello all!
I've come to my neglected blog to ask for your prayers.

Last night we found out that my grandma(my mother's mom) will be having open heart surgery today.

As some of you may know, my grandma has been dealing with health issues in regards to her kidneys. She is on dialysis and sometimes that can cause complications.

They found some blockage in one of her arteries and unable to clear it by other means, they decided to operate.

Please pray for the surgery today and her recovery!

Thank you loads!

much love,
Adrienne Renea

EDIT(3/1):The surgery has been moved to this Monday. Thanks for your prayers!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Mrs. Melissa to share five places I want to see/want to see again.

I want to see:

1: London (this has been my dream vacation for several years, hopefully I'll get to go before long!)

2: Bath (site of many Jane Austen scenes!)

3: New York City( I would love to see Rockefeller Center!)

4: California( what a beautiful state and the beaches aren't too bad either!)

5: Farmington, NM ( I want to visit Grace!)

I would like to see again:

1. My grandparent's farm/house in Arkansas( My favorite vacation place!)

2. Chicago( I would like to do some more shopping and attend a taping of Oprah :c))

3. The banks of the Mississippi river in Memphis, Tenn. (big, beautiful water!)

4. San Antonio (the River Walk is so pretty and it's a nice historical city)

5. The Grand Canyon( I haven't been here in years...now that I'm older, I'm sure my prospective would be different.)

Now I tag:
Anna, Mrs. Sweigart, Jessica, and Elizabeth

How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself

The Girl Talk Blog has a great article on preaching the gospel to yourself, taken from C.J. Mahaney's Living The Cross Centered Life.

How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself

I plan on posting this list on the wall in my room!

Love,
Adrienne Renea

I'm Registered!!!!

I just finished registering for the New Attitude Conference!!!

(YYYEEEEAAAAHHHH!)

Register Now!

Happy Monday!

After two weeks of school, I think I've finally got the hang of my schedule. Honors English is making me rethink my studying/ homework scheduling, but other than that, it feels a lot like last semester!

This semester, I have a new Spanish teacher. I end up being very disappointed with the teacher I had last semester, she was very passionate about the Spanish language, but wasn't a patient teacher. Over the last couple of weeks I've been able to observe the methods and teaching ideas of my new teacher and I'm really excited about learning Spanish in the less-stressful environment of her class. Spanish is her second language and she's a lot more understanding when you don't immediately "get it". We did some review from last semester and I really was happy about how much I still understood after almost a month of not studying it. Another neat thing is my class mates: a friend from my history co-op is also in the class, Allison(not to be confused with my sister!) is also a dual-credit student, I'm so excited to have her to hang out with! Also there are another girl that I was friends with from last semester who is also in the class.

Honors English is lots of homework, but I LOVE the in-class discussions! We've been working through some essays on education and I'm learning so much. The class is very small, only 9 students and it's really motivating to be in a class where I'm challenged! The most surprising part of class is the fact that there are 2 other dual-credit home schooled students! 1/3 of the class is home schooled! Needless to say I'm very comfortable in the class. :c)

Chris is also doing well in his class. He has the same teacher as I did last semester and he's already starting to work on his first major paper!

In other things...

Allyson is training for the Rodeo Run. This race is one of the events that kicks off the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. She'll be running the 5K, we also have some friends from church( including Melissa!) running in the 10K! Good luck guys!

Track season is starting up for Allyson, so she plans on doing a lot of running this spring!

Today, Chris informed me that they were planning to build a Starbucks in the Randalls were he works! I'm soooo excited. Right now, there is no Starbucks on the way to school and I would have to go waaaay out of my way to get to one. This is very convenient!
Starbucks is a favorite of mines, but I try not indulge too often.

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

- Psalm 103:12

Be blessed!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Preach the Truth!

"I would rather preach the truth with too great a severity,
than to ever once act the hypocrite and conceal the truth!"

-Martin Luther


For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

- 1 Corinthians 1:17


What is the Truth?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
-Hebrews 9:15

So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

-Hebrews 9:28


Amen!

Singing the praises of my Beautiful Savior,
Adrienne Renea

School, New Attitude, and an Update

School starts tomorrow! I finally got my the book for my English class in the mail today. We ordered from an Amazon seller and it took forever!! We were suppose to get is somtime around Christmas, but the seller basically forgot to ship it...they finally shipped last Tuesday and I'm so glad it got here before tomorrow! My classes are spaced about two hours apart, so I'll be spending some extra time on campus. I'm going to have to work on self-discipline and train myself to work and not be distracted by all the going-ons of campus! I'll be mainly spending time out of class in the library and it's going to be tempting to put aside my textbooks and pick up a novel!

Last Tuesday, registration for the New Attitude conference opened! This year the topic is Scripture:

This year at Na 08 we’ll rediscover the well-worn pages of our Bibles. We’ll spend time considering the certainty, sufficiency, and relevance of God’s word- that it may become to us a joy and our delight.
-from New Attitude

I'm soooooo excited! I'm praying and saving, taking all the appropiate steps to be ready to attend!

John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, Josh Harris- just a taste of the amazing speakers that will be there!

Check out this nifty video:

Update: Dad came home from the hospital last night. He's feeling well and is looking forward to getting back to work. He has medication that is working to regulate his blood pressure and lower his thyroid levels. Thanks for your prayers!

Much Love,

Adrienne Renea

Austen Fans, Mark your Calenders!

To all my fellow Jane Austen Fans,

Do not miss Masterpiece Theater's Complete Jane Austen
Starting today, every Sunday until April they will be showing adaptations of all the Jane Austen novels and a new biopic of her life.
I will be trying my best to catch as many of the movies as possible!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Weekend Hospital Stay

On Thursday, Dad had a doctor appointment and they checked his heart rate, found it really high and admitted him to the hospital. He's still there. Most of the day yesterday, we went to help at a debate tournament and later that evening we went to visit him and his heart rate was much lower. He really wants to come home. He feeling fine, but the doctors want to continue to monitor him until Monday. Hopeful the doctors will be able to find out what caused the irregularities and Dad will be back to the usual early next week! Your prayers are much appreciated!
Love, Adrienne Renea

Photo Shoot!

Allyson's best friend, Jennifer spent the night Saturday. They were wearing matching shirts so I shot some photos of them:



They had a great time laughing, making videos, baking cookies and going shopping.

Spectacles!

Check out Mikey's new specs!

"Everything looks really big!" - Michael

I-O-W-A!

Today is the Iowa primary and unless you have been living underground for the past year, you already know that!
I haven't posted anything about this, but I have given my support to Former Ark. Governor Mike Huckabee. This man is a true conservative and support many of the values I believe in. I would encourage you to check out his stance on the issues. I would also recommend checking out Hucks Army.

The votes are in and Obama, Huckabee Win Iowa Caucuses.

I'm sooooo excited! Iowa is the opening caucus and is thought to have a strong impact on the respective parties' presidential nominations.

The Texas primary is March 4th, but because I have school and work that day, I'll probably participate in early voting. If I can get off of work early, I'll be trying to attend my precinct meeting.
I urge all you who are eligible to vote!!! In November we had a state election in Texas there was a measly 10% voter turnout. Even if the issues don't directly affect us, we must take interest in the things happening around us and let our voice be heard!

Love,
Adrienne Renea

New Year Fun

Happy 2008!

It's a New Year, and often times we look to this as a time for change and a new start. Many people make resolutions( including myself!) and many fail to keep them, but I am so grateful for the my never-changing Lord!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

-Hebrews 13:8

Even though we may fail our Lord is always there!

For me 2007 was a year of many first and milestones: Driving, Adulthood, First Job, College Classes.

I have had a blast: learning, watching people grow, getting to know new( and very different!) people, and drawing closer to God.

As Christians we are new beings in Christ and all the old has past away. It it so comforting to go before God, confess sin, and resolve to glorify Him; I don't have to wait 'til a new year!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”- 2 Cor. 5:17

Amen!

I pray that your 2008 is absolutely wonderful!

Much love and Happy New Year!

Adrienne Renea

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Friends! I pray that God blesses you and yours as you reflect on His amazing grace and the birth of our Beautiful Savior!

Love,

Greg, Brenda, Adrienne, Allyson, Chris, Taylor and Michael

Isaiah 9:6-7:

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Christmas Facts

Melissa tagged me and I'm suppose to share 12 Christmas facts about me:

1. I don't have 12 Christmas facts :c)

2. My favorite Christmas movie of all time is White Christmas, then comes Charlie Brown Christmas

3. My favorite Christmas album is Mariah Carey's Merry Christmas

4. My favorite Christmas carols are Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Oh Come All Ye Faithful; my favorite Christmas songs are
Last Christmas, (and coincidentally! ) This Christmas, and All I Want For Christmas

5.We always set up our Christmas tree on Thanksgiving or the day after.

6. I have never seen real snow, we had some light white stuff fall a few years ago around Christmas, but seriously...it was nothing!

7. Every year, we have sweet potato pies and coconut cake

8. This year I baked a cheesecake and German chocolate cake. My mom is baking the pies and coconut cake.

9. I have never seen A Christmas Story .

10. My favorite part of Christmas are the parties

11. I didn't help set up the Christmas tree this year.

12. One year, our outdoor Christmas lights stayed up 'til April :c)

So there are my 12 (erh..11?) Christmas facts. I'm tagging Anna,
Elizabeth and Jessica!

Party, Party!

This is going to be a long post full of pictures!

Wednesday:
The Copple's hosted the care group Christmas party at their home. We ate lots! But I think every one's favorite part was gingerbread(graham cracker) house decorating!

Lots of Chocolate and artistic creativity was revealed!

We sang Christmas carols, chatted over hot stew and ate lots of yummy goodies!





As you can see our care group is pretty small. Our small group has grown and then diminished at various times and seems to be ever changing! I really enjoy the families we get to relate to in our care group.

Friday:

We couldn't let the Christmas season get by without getting together! Though our history co-op no longer meets, we joined together for a reunion of sorts and had a Christmas party!

Exchanging Gifts:






Ornament Exchange:






Oh wow, it was fun. The guys seemed to end up with more feminine gifts: Daniel got a shoe, Logan a "Red Hat Society" snowman, and Michael a hulaing santa( or was it a snowman?) Needless to say, there was a lot of exchanging going on! The girls always exchange presents and I got a lot of nifty gifts and a extraordinary amount of chocolate.

I love people! Christmas make it a lot easier to gather with people I haven't seen in awhile!
I hope you've got all your shopping done and don't have to venture out in the Christmas Eve rush. Tomorrow morning we start baking all our Christmas desserts!

Much Love and Merry Christmas,
Adrienne Renea

What's Going On?

It's been awhile:

1. Finals have come and gone! English was easy and no studying was necessary. Spanish involved a lot of studying and I'm sure I didn't study enough! The exams themselves were not that hard. In the end, I have an A in English and a B in Spanish. I'm hoping to get the Spanish grade up to an A next semester!

2. We're registered for spring '08 classes...yes, you heard correctly, "we"! Chris will be joining me at Cy-Fair in the spring to take English 1301! He's registered and eager to work! I will be taking Honors English 1302 and Beginning Spanish II. I'm really looking forward to the Honors English class. The instructor is really nice and it looks to be a interesting class! The way my class schedule is structure, I'll be going from school,and straight to work. Tuesday and Thursday will be busy days!

3. Christmas is here!

Our Christmas Tree:


The Nativity


Allyson and I attended a Christmas Party last Wednesday:


Alison and Allyson:


I so enjoy relating to many of my friends who I haven't seen much of since school started. We've got a couple of more parties coming up, so look forward to more pictures!

I always use the holiday break as an excuse to catch up on movies I haven't had time to see at the theater and on DVD. Last Saturday I went to see August Rush with Sarah and Mrs. Myers. It was a really good. Music lovers would appreciate it, especially. I'm looking forward to seeing National Treasure: Book of Secrets and The Great Debaters. Movies are always a great time to eat an extraordinary amount of candy :c)

I'm really excited about seeing the
Fraziers this Sunday! It will be so wonderful to see how big the boys have grown and hear more about living in India.

I hope everyone is enjoying all the excitements of Christmas!
Love much,
Adrienne Renea

One Year!

Yesterday, December 9th, 2007, was my 1-year blogging anniversary!

First Blog Entry

I've enjoyed this and look forward to a more fruitful blogging year!

Love, Adrienne Renea

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

Prince Caspian!!!!!
The Trailer is Here!!!

( Click on link for better quality)