November 29, 2010

Today, I'm thankful for beautiful sunsets.

There's just something about them that makes me totally in awe of God's awesomeness :) I can tell he has way too much fun using his paintbrush to convince us that he is so magnificent :)

November 28, 2010

Today, I'm thankful for the Testify Youth Choir, and with them, the Testify band (which I happen to play keys on :D But I don't have a pic of us yet...I will be getting one this afternoon :P)

I feel so honored to be a part of what God is doing through all of these kids...my friends.

And when I say God is doing things...he is :) He was totally present last night at the first two concerts of the season...you could feel him. And 5 people gave their lives to Christ after the 2nd concert. How awesome is that? It's so amazing to be a part of it...I can't even describe it. It makes the 3 hour long rehearsals and all of the prep time we as the band had to do with our music, and the confusion and chaos of setting up the auditorium for concerts yesterday, totally worth it.

God is doing awesome things :) Yay Testify!

November 27, 2010

And now it's Daddy's turn!

I am so thankful for my dad :) He works so hard to provide for us...his big family full of girls, haha :) It's so obvious that he loves all of us.


He's awesome, really...he has the most hilarious sense of humor...and we have a few friends with personalities to match, so when they're all together you can't do anything but laugh at their wittiness :)

And I'm so thankful for everything he has given me...he bought the grand piano for me, and my car (I have to pay him back eventually, but...he bought it, for now), a lot of the stuff for my bedroom...new clothes for my audition...I don't deserve a lickin' bit of it, but he did it for me nonetheless :)

I love spending time with him...when I have to vent about something, or even when I just have exciting news, he always listens. Always. And he was there for most of the exciting times in my life...most notably, my audition and acceptance into the music program at UNCC...seeing the smile on his face and hearing that he was so proud of me made my day :)

Anyway...I love my dad :) He rocks. haha

November 26, 2010

So, I know I'm a few days behind again, but you'll have to forgive me. I'm going to get caught up today :P

But for November 26, I'm thankful for my Mom.

I love her soooo much.

When I have something in my life that I need advice or help on, she's always there to listen and help. And she's always there to protect me, or give people a talking-to on my behalf,
when they aren't being very nice. lol Which is very good, cuz sometimes I need that :P lol

She's an amazing cook, teacher, and homemaker in general...our house is almost ALWAYS spotless, haha :P And she loves interior decorating. She helped me pick out colors and make things for my room :) Oh yeah...that brings me to another point, she's also very 'craftsy' haha :P She's really good at making things :)

She loves shopping, too...and coffee :) And she coupons, like...full-fledged, giant binder packed with clippings coupons. haha She's saved TONS of money doing that :) Goes to show that she knows how to smart shop! :)


And after all of that...tons of people love her. There are a lot of my friends who have adopted her as their 'second mom' :P

At any rate, I'm so thankful she's my mom, and that she's always there for me :)

November 25, 2010

Last but not least, Leyna!

She's such a sweet and loving kid. She is by no means mellow (she's REALLY busy! haha), but she's always there to say a sweet word, or encourage, or hug you. She loves hugs and kisses. :)


She tries to be like all of her older sisters...and we're all crazy. Therefore, she's crazy. haha She loves trying to be like us, which I find really funny. And she loves crazy pictures.


One of her absolute favorite things to do is play dress up and have tea parties. And she can actually pull of a British accent very well, for being 5! :) She's very much a girly-girl...she loves dresses and baby dolls, and she loves to dance. She dances with the dance team at our church and absolutely loves it...every week, she comes home, enthusiastic to show us the new dance they were working on :)

She's so fun-loving. She loves to play outside, and loves anything outdoorsy. She's generally smiling and full of energy...

Oh, and did I mention...she's freakin' adorable? haha :)

(btw...for those who don't actually know me, or know about my family...which...is understandable, if you just randomly ran across this blog. You have no excuse if you are fb friends with me :P haha...but anyway...Leyna is indeed adopted, and from Guatemala :D There, now you know! haha)

November 24, 2010

Sorry these are a bit late :) It got really busy at my house over Thanksgiving!

But anyway...

Lyndsie.

Lyndsie is our 7 year old dancer. The only hardcore dancer in our family at the moment, I might add.

She's absolutely adorable. She's sassy, short, and a spitting image of me when I was her age. lol As in...we are so similar, Mom and Dad continuously say how the way I was when I was small is pretty much how she is now.

And on top of it all...she's really funny and cheerful. She always finds ways to make things funny...and she loves to make people laugh. And her laugh is one of those that makes anyone that hears it laugh, too...just because it's so cute and funny. haha I love it :)


And for being 7...she acts a LOT older. She loves wearing make-up (when we let her, haha) because it makes her look "grown-up." And she's a bookworm. She'd rather read than watch a movie on most days (sometimes...that's not the case, but whatever. haha).


At any rate...she's pretty darn cute :)

November 23, 2010

So...yesterday, I said that I was thankful for my sisters in general. So...the next 3 days, I shall concentrate on each one, and why I am thankful for each one (lucky Leyna, she gets stuck on Thanksgiving! haha :P)

So today...Brittany.

I can't even really begin to tell you how absolutely wonderful she is. She's probably the best example of a sister one can have. And, in all honesty, she's my best friend. Which is awesome :)


I can tell her pretty much everything. And, regardless of whether she can help me or not, she at least listens. And sure, we pick on each other a lot, but we never REALLY fight. Like...end it, and not talk to each other for a long amount of time. haha We're pretty close :) We grew up together, literally. We're only a year and 11 months apart.

A lot of people think we're twins. We probably could be. I don't see how we look alike, but whatever :P We like a lot of the same things - our personalities are very different but we get along just fine :)Not to mention, she's beautiful, inside and out. She's an amazing example to the kids in her life...and has a LOT of mini-Brittanys at the Cove. :P And on top of all of that...she never fails to make me laugh. We can get pretty insane. And not even care what each other thinks :P A lot of things I do around her, I would NEVER do around anyone else, because I'd be afraid of looking like a crazy fool. haha But I know she doesn't care :P

So yeah. I can't imagine life without her being there. She's pretty darn awesome :)

November 22, 2010

Mmm...today, I'm thankful for my little sisters :) All of them.

Most of you do know that I have 3 sisters - I'm the oldest, Brittany is second oldest at 15, Lyndsie is 7 and Leyna is 5.


We are pretty average siblings. haha We do argue and fight and all that. But I still love them :)

(me and Lyndsie)

And we can be PRETTY crazy together.


(I don't have a clue what they're doing here. haha)

haha I can't really think about how life would be if they weren't here.

(me and Brit)

(me and Leyna)

November 21, 2010

No pictures again today...because I don't have any, haha :P

Today I'm so super thankful for my Remix family!

And yes, I realize this can be classified under "church family," which was in another post...but I feel like my Remixers get a special post all their own :)

I absolutely LOVE serving on the Remix band. Being able to play keys and glorify God with the talents he gave me takes the cake on a lot of stuff :) AND on top of that...the people who play Remix band with me are some of the most awesome people ever :) We really are like one big, happy family.

There's too many to list here, but there's not so many that we aren't close-knit. It's so nice to know that whenever I need something, they all have my back. Not to mention, we have an absolutely ridiculous amount of fun together :)

And one thing that I love about them is the fact that even though I'm only 17 (and that makes me the youngest person on the Remix band [as far as I know...I haven't met anyone younger than me with Remix as their primary place of service, haha]), they accept me and totally welcomed me with open arms, and made me feel like a part of the family. I absolutely love it :)

At any rate...I love my Remix family, and I'm so grateful that I can go around knowing that they have my back and love me for who I am :)

November 20, 2010

I don't have a picture for today...or a WHOLE lot to say. BUT. Today...I'm sooooo thankful for a few things.

1) The complete and utter awesomeness of my UNCC audition

The audition went fabulously. I messed up once during my Fugue, but I was able to keep playing with my right hand and find where I was with my left. Otherwise...everything was perfect :) Singing in front of people was weird. Very weird. But I can match pitches. haha

2) My acceptance into the music program :)

I was supposed to find out next weekend sometime if I got accepted into the music program...I came home to find an email from Dr. Savage, head of the piano department, telling me that he wanted to personally tell me that I was accepted. I'm soooo excited I can't even keep it in :)

3) All of my friends, family, and church family that prayed for and supported and encouraged me along the way

I was sorta kinda not terribly nervous (lol I was most nervous about the fact that I wasn't nervous :P)...but I had the most amazing support from everyone, it's not even funny. People DROWNED me in prayers, emails, and texts (even fb wall posts!) of encouragement. Knowing that so many loving and amazing people had my back this morning helped a LOT.

4) For an all-powerful God who answers prayers

For he did, indeed, answer the prayers of my friends and family today. And mine :) I absolutely love that I can relax knowing that he will take care of everything for me :)

So today was a very, very good day,with lots to be thankful for :) Absolutely NOTHING can make my joy go away... :)

November 19, 2010

Today I am feeling very, very thankful for my graphing calculator.

My calculator, a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, has EVERY app and program imaginable on it. It has saved me on many a test in my college algebra class. Chances are, if I can't figure out how to factor some bizarre, 5th degree polynomial equation, my calculator can (it can, by the way. haha)

And when I'm doing my online homework, and it asks me to find the graph of an equation...I can find it, in about 10 seconds. It graphs everything, from circles to absolute value functions to piece wise functions (if I tried to draw that by hand, it would take FOREVER. lol)

AND...my best friend on this calculator is Program: Quadratic (aka QUADRATI :P) You type in the coefficients of the variables in this handy little program, and it solves the equation for you using the pre-programed quadratic formula. No more writing "negative b plus or minus the square root of b squared plus 4 times a times c, all divided by 2 times a." YAY!


Would you look at that. It even says "done!" haha :)

And I bet YOUR calculator doesn't have the periodic table of the elements on it. With every element name and abbreviation and atomic weight and number of molecules and atoms of such and such in it. Mine does. haha :P


So yeah. Without this thing, I would be failing my math class right now, which I'm not. haha So...so thankful for my calculator :)

November 18, 2010

Ugh...today's going to be a hard one, already. Did not have a good morning. But I'm going to keep it up anyway...that's what the whole point of this was, right? :)

But anyway, I feel like today would be a good day to be thankful for my piano. Unlike Haley's piano, mine doesn't have a name. But that's ok, cuz I love her all the same :)

There's nothing I love more than when I'm having a bad day and I can just go sit on the bench and bang out Beethoven's Pathetique. Or parts of Mendelssohn's Rondo Cappriccioso. I really ought to do that right now. haha

And what's exciting...is I love it so much, and I really feel God's calling on my life to follow the 'piano major' path in college. So far, everything that has happened with this deal has had God's hand all over it. It's so amazing :) So...the music won't stop, guaranteed, for the rest of my life :)

At any rate, this post WAS about my piano, but hey, derailing blog posts is a speciality of mine. lol I LOVE my piano, and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world :)

(yes, I took the above picture. You can't steal it. lol)

November 17, 2010

Today's post...I'm soooooooo thankful for my camera!

Well...it's not really mine. The beautiful Canon Rebel XTi is actually my mom's :( But she doesn't ever use it and would rather use her point and shoot because it's smaller and she can carry it around. I personally don't mind wandering around with a huge camera around my neck. Actually, I love wandering around with a huge camera around my neck. lol

At any rate, I absolutely LOVE my camera.

When I'm bored, I go outside with it and take pictures of random things to post on my photography blog or my facebook fan page. I love macro photography. Because of that, I also love water. But that's another post all together. I also love portraits, and I'm starting to get into that more. I've watched a few other photographers and how they pose people and utilize the colors and textures of the backgrounds, and I'm learning what looks good as far as that goes. It's just another way to be artistic :) And I'm an artsy person, so naturally this would be right up my alley. haha

And yes, in case you were wondering, that is me and my camera. Mirror pictures rock. :)

November 16, 2010

So...got a little bit behind yesterday. oops. I think it's because I didn't leave this blog window open so I forgot :P

But...thankful for Starbucks. Or coffee in general. Ooooh yes.

I really have no idea what I would do without coffee. Starbucks just happens to be my favorite, next to Cove coffee. Many times it has served as my breakfast while at the Cove early in the morning...or just as a treat or something to warm me up in this ridiculously cold (60 degree) weather (yeah, that's cold for down here, after a 100 degree summer, lol).

And continuing on the Starbucks thread...I also love their passion tea lemonade (with half the sweetener! :D)! Best summertime treat ever. And it made the trips up to Statesville so much more fun, because there's a drive-thru SB on the way to Mitchell. It's fabulous.

Anyway. I'm done with yesterday's post now. Now I have to post today's :)

November 15, 2010

This whole idea of the thankfulness blog is making me think...why DO I get so down, when I have so darn much I'm thankful for that I can't even decide what to post every day? It doesn't make any sense. But whatever.

Today, I'm thankful for malted milkshakes.

They're so full of fat. And so full of calories. And soooo full of deliciousness, that I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much I love them.

I haven't had one since this picture was taken this spring, when my grandparents came and took us to Red Robin. My dinner there consisted of mozzarella sticks and...you guessed it...a malted milkshake.

Sooo. Good. Yum.

But yeah. It's the little things :)

November 14, 2010

Tis a bit late today...but that's ok :)

Today I'm thankful for Converse.

Yes, Converse. Those awesome shoes that come in all sorts of random (but awesome!) colors and styles...

I have a pair of raspberry colored Converse...and the reason I'm feeling thankful for them today is because a bunch of people at the Cove were wearing theirs today...I took a picture of a bunch of the awesome colors with my phone, but sadly can't upload it :( Oh well. Today's colors were

Bright Blue
Brown
Raspberry
Lilac
Tie-Dye
Black
Bright Red
Gray

Yep. We rock Converse :)

(btw...in the pic...the pink ones are mine, and the lilac ones are my sister's :D)

November 13, 2010

Mmm...Saturday.

Weekends are my favorite time of the week...because I get to spend almost my ENTIRE Saturday and Sunday at my church!

So today...I'm feeling extra thankful for my church, the Cove.

And...I don't just love the building. I don't just love hanging out there on weekends. The building is NOT the church. I love...THE CHURCH.

The Cove is made up of some of the most amazing people I have ever met. We have some ridiculous fun on the weekends...and even in between. I love my church family. Even if they are a bit crazy.

(I mean, really. What other church family do you know of that does things like this on a regular basis? The Cove pretty much rocks in that department :P)

So yeah. Thankful for the Cove :) Very, very thankful.

November 12, 2010

Today...I am feeling overwhelmingly thankful for my girlfriends.

You know...the girls that send me random texts or facebook messages...who are always there for me to talk to if I need it...

...the ones I can be absolutely crazy with and not care what I look like, because THEY don't care......the ones that I can stay up until 1 in the morning talking to about nothing, but still feel closer to them than ever...the ones I can relate to, who encourage me and help me when I fall, and who constantly remind me of who God is...


They're very special, and I love them all :) I only wish I had more pictures on my computer and more space in this post to put a pic of every single one of them (so...if a pic of you didn't make it on here, I likely don't have one and we need to fix that! Or they're on another computer somewhere. So don't feel bad, just know you're ALL loved and included in this post :D)

I FREAKIN' LOVE Y'ALL!!!!!

Intro to 365 Days of Thankfulness

First post on the new blog!

Ok, so. You may be wondering..."Why on earth did Bre start ANOTHER new blog?" (Yes, I have a grand total of like...5 blogs now, haha).

Truth is, I feel like this one is the most important one out of all of my blogs.

I have a blog for my NaNoWriMo story, that, when the story is finished, will become obsolete until next NaNo, when it will get a makeover and start over for NaNo 2011.

I have a blog for my photography...but now I have a fan page on facebook, so I don't keep that one up much anymore.

I have my personal blog, which is just a place for me to dump everything about the joys and sorrows of my life on my readers...or just make them think, if I so choose.

Then there's Diary of a Holmesian. I share that blog with my friend Grace, and we just do fun, Holmesy stuff on there.

And now there's this one.

The point?

I'm taking Thanksgiving to a whole new level this year.

I'm taking the 14 days of thankfulness thing that my friend Grace (and some of our mutual friends, and other bloggers around the world) do every Thanksgiving...and spreading it out. All year. 365 days.

Why?

Because I need it. I need to have something to look back on when my life seems to be spiraling downhill...to remember everything that God has done for me, every single day of the year. And I need some place to go, to HAVE to talk about something that makes me thankful. It forces me to think happy thoughts, and be optimistic. Not only all of that...but I figure, it's a good way to remind me to thank God every single day for everything he has done for me.

That all being said...I will do the best I can to post every day. Sometimes I'll post pictures. I dunno. I'll figure it out as I go. You don't even have to read it. But you can if you want...and if it inspires you to do something similar...then by all means do so! I think it will be good therapy for any kind of 'disease' :)

- Bre