New blog site

Hey everyone- I'm switching to a new blog site.

If you want to know the address you can email me and ask for it.

If you don't have my address you can email the family email account at hsmomx6@hotmail.com if you want.

Thanks! And I hope to hear from you!

-Abbi

It's official: I'm growed

Apparently my English skills aren't yet... but I am.

Today I sat in a college class and listened to a college professor while he did power point slide presentation. Then, I voted for the first time! It was quite fun, and it was all over too fast. It was all like "secret" and stuff and you had to carry your ballot in special like concealment folder and I couldn't even ask Mom questions or anything. She finished like five minutes before me, because I like read all the names and decided very carefully...haha. There was one guy named Craig Pittman, and I was like cool! And some of the democrats had cool names too and I was sad I didn't vote for them...not really, but kind of. So it was all cool. And there was a little machine that sucked up all the ballots- to where I don't know- but still pretty spiffy. I got my own sticker and everything :)

Ps: I drank a half beer tonight as well. Non-alcoholic of course- it was not very yummy, but I will keep at it. The wine at church is so much better! Hopefully I'll get some wine for my birthday dinner. So, yep. I'm all growed up.

I made it to 18!

Joy In The Journey
by Michael Card

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for all who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind

To all who've been born in the Spirit
And who share incarnation with Him
Who belong to eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sin

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey

And freedom for those who obey...

Fear not, my child

Its amazing to learn that God doesn't always use bad things to make us more aware of his presence.

I really thought that this was going to be a horrible weekend, but so far everything is looking great. I had a fantastic anatomy class (which is REALLY!!!!! surprising)- we disected a brain.. it was pretty cool, besides the smell, and I got to use a scapel and a probe and a magnifiying class and scissors and everything. It was a sheep brain, so it was pretty small- it would have been better if it was bigger so I could see the parts more clearly, but it was still fun. Surprisingly, brains aren't color coded like they are in the book... And NO lab report!! That always makes for a good class. And Mrs Simmons had this really good cookie cake for snack, which ususally its something chocolate I can't have.

It was raining today, but thats ok because it made it cool. I'll take cool with rain any day over sunny, but hot, especially in October. I got a good nap, and best of all..... The McMahans came over for a surprise visit! Just yesterday I was lamenting not seeing them for awhile, but they gave me a present (beautiful opaz earrings), and Elizabeth and Amelia Grace were wearing matching pumpkin jumpers, and I got to hold baby Madeline! And I've got a babysitting job with them on Wednesday (well..you can't really call it work...) Oh, happy day! :)

Tonight, Jen and I are hitting the town (after of course I take an Anatomy Quiz and write a paper) for a movie, and tomorrow I get to babysit again and then Sunday its Disney on Ice. 2 days left to be 17!!!!!!!!!!!

"How dreadfully old I am getting." :)

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over....

..and expecting different results." -Mr. Calatrello. Its true. Don't keep going out with the same kinda guy!

Man, he is the most awesome English teacher ever...well second awesomest...but awesome nonetheless. He does have good classes. And he's so funny! I haven't even WANTED to skip class yet... I probably will during "research season"... but I haven't yet. He's also called on me twice this week.. I'm just glad he knows my name. I brought him a tie to wear, because he's trying to wear a different tie each day (he needed contributions!) and he said the uglier the tie, the better. So I brought him a pretty ugly one, and he wore it. He managed to make it look good. He laughed at how ugly it was though, so that probably made my name stick in his mind. If only all English professors could be like him :)

Maybe I just like him alot in contrast to my Anatomy and Physiology teacher. Not that I have anything against Ms Simmons personally, it's just shes insane- and not in a good way. She gives the most homework ever. Us homeschooled highschoolers are should be getting college credit because her classes are so hard, and my text book is even a college textbook. I've lost many a night's sleep due to studying and many more daylight hours pouring over the text. I had to draw a picture of a brain this week...and memorize all the functions of each part... but I think my memorizing will hold out better over my drawing. Hopefully it doesn't look too much like cooked vegatables... but it probably does.

I'm sad that I've only seen Madeline Kay only twice in her short three weeks of life. She's probably doubled in size already.... babies tend to do that. Oh well, I guess I just gotta wait my turn :) At least I get my new neighbor baby, Jonah, and Mary-Alice every other Monday morning, and hopefully Brooklyn on the weekends. My life is completely insane! (in a good way)

Welp, heres a reminder that its only 4 weeks til Thanksgiving, and 2 months til Christmas.... 3 days til my birthday, and 5 til Halloween (REFORMATION DAY!!!!) In just a few weeks I'll go down to Birmingham to look at the college, and hopefully make a decision about the rest of my life... yeah....that'll happen.

Tomorrow I've got a brain dissection for three hours, an incredibly convicing argumentation paper to write, a meeting with a State Farm agent to discuss insurance, books to read, a house to clean, and Jen and I are going out for my birthday. We're going to Chick-Fil-A for dinner, then going to see Flicka, then going to get ice cream or going to Starbucks afterward. THEN I gotta get home, CRAM sleep into my system, take the ACT for the third time in Huntsville, get a resume together, and go babysit new people for the first time. Then its my birthday! Mom, Jen, Mrs Hundschied and I are going out to lunch after church and then we're going to see Disney on Ice at the VBC. I'm excited about that.

Hopefully my Highland Study Center books will come too. That's all I had on my birthday wishlist...so I'm pretty sure I'll get something from there :)

Hmm... Thursday night... I'll be reading Calvin's Institutes before falling asleep..... mmm.... sleeepppp!!

"Dream your dreams tomorrow..." -SCC

Today I watched in silence

As people passed me by.

And I strained to see if

There was something hidden

In their eyes.

But they all looked back

At me as if to say,"Life just goes on"

The old familiar story,T

old in different ways.

Make the most of your own journey

From the cradle to the grave.

Dream your dreams tomorrow

Because today life must go on.

(chorus:)But there's more to this life

Than livin' and dyin',

More than just tryin'

To make it through the day.

More to this life,

More than these eyes alone can see,

And there's more than this

Life alone can be.

.(chorus)

So where do we start

To find every part

Of what makes this life complete

If we turn our eyes to Jesus we'll find

Life's true beginning is there

At the cross where He died,

He died to bring us .... more to this life

"Goodbye, yellow brick road." -EJ

I don't know why I was thinking of that song yesterday. Maybe it has just the right amount of sadness for a Sunday evening, when the entire weekend has gone and an entire week of school looms ahead. Where exactly does the weekend go? Why do I still have piles of stuff to be done when I haven't done school for two days?

Oh well, such is life. Last week was good though. Madeline Kay McMahan arrived at 7.3 pounds. I think it would be an understatment to say she was cute, adorable, or soo teeny tiny. She is all that, but so entirely more precious than the overuse of those words imply. Her sisters are so entirely precious too and I got to spend Wednesday night and Thursday morning with them. I'm going to miss them so much when I go off to college!!!!!!!!

Our house in Decatur still hasn't closed yet, but as soon as it does, we're trading in our minnie van for a new one. Its gonna be pretty cool, and hopefully its the last major buy before another (my!) car. Life just keeps going on. Dad is now driving to work, but still can't drive in the dark. He's going to Birmingham for an eye doctor appointment (I'll get to look at UAB) sometime in November to see if they have to do surgery or not. But he's almost fully recovered, so I don't think he'll need it. I think life is JUST getting back to normal after his fall in Korea. Seems like such a long time ago!

Sarah surprised me last night by telling me she bought a purse. I'm not even going to recongize her next time I see her :-)