Cherry Blossoms + Washington D.C.

Last week my family and i went on a little adventure to Washington D.C. to see the cherry blossoms. It was so so so cold, and there weren't many flowers blooming, but it was ok because we made memories and had a good time. Enjoy some snapshots of the day!

Have a wonderful Sunday! 

-Maddie

fast-forward

Do you ever feel this way? You're reading a book and it just seems to be droning on and on. Nothing's really happening, but you know there's a good ending coming. So instead of patiently reading every page, you eagerly skip to the end of the story to see the outcome. I know I do. I just want to get to the happy ending, no matter how much I have to skip.

The same is true in life. Lately, I've found myself desperately wanting to find and hit the fast-forward button. Sometimes I just want to skip right through high school, and get to the "good stuff." College, marriage, raising a family, etc. I don't want to wait. I'm not a really patient person, either, and on my own, I want to fast-forward and see what my life is going to be like. Who will I marry? What college will I go to? How many kids will I have? The future is so big, yet I find myself wanting it to get here faster and faster.

Then I think of my Jesus, and what He's called me to be. He is the Giver of Life, and am I using the life He's given me by wanting to fast-froward certain parts? Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to dream about the future- in fact, I do it all the time. Seriously guys, I lay in bed at night and think about what my life could be like and what I might accomplish. However, don't try to live your life for the future. That stuff'll come eventually. Live for today. I know it's hard- i struggle with it too- but think about it. You are where you are for a reason!

-Maddie

A Year in Review- 2012

2012 has been a great year! (I know it is not over yet, but I thought I'd get a little ahead on blogging, since New Years' Eve is going to be crazy!) I learned so much and it was full of lots of memories. I have created a photo collage for each month of the year to see all that happened in the past 12 months. Enjoy! 

January

ok, so January was a pretty slow month. This is the only picture that I could find that was "blog-worthy." :)

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

~Maddie

// Pittsburgh //

hello everyone! sooo, this past weekend, my family and I went to Pittsburgh to go to PirateFest. First of all, let me jnust say that my family loves Pirates baseball. I mean, we're the kind of fans that drive 6 hours to stand in long lines just for a chance to say hi to our favorite players. We love going out to the city in the summer to catch some ball games. So anyway, this past weekend, we went to Pirate Fest, where you can meet your favorite players get autographs, eat, play games, and have a good time. It was a fun-filled weekend with lots of memories made!

us with ken tekulve, former world series pitcher

me and my favorite player, michael mckenry

my brother and I pretending to be tv announcers. we're cool. 

~Maddie

Christmas Time

This is my favorite time of the year. When all the Chirstmas lights make an appearance, and the celebration begins. Chirstmas time means so much, and so much goes on in these few weeks. Today we set up the tree in my house and it was lovely. All the ornaments that bring back memories of years ago, and the pictures and traditions that only Christmas brings. One of my favorite traditions that my family does every Christmas Eve is we all sleep in the living room in sleeping bags and watch the movie White Christmas after coming home from the Christmas Eve service at church. What do you all do to prepare for Christmas?

(sorry about the blurriness, the tree kept moving)

Merry (very early) Christmas everyone! 

~Maddie

Reality Factor Retreat 2012

I had been looking forward to this retreat since the end of the last retreat. It's such an amazing time and I can not wait for it to arrive every year. The Reality Factor was this past weekend, and I learned so much about Jesus and what He did for me and I just wish it could have lasted longer. Some of my closest friends were there to share the special memories that we made this retreat. I am already looking forward to next year!

~Maddie