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| Man, I've got some catching up to do. First of all, some details on my trip to NC and WV: our flight there was without incident but we were glad to arrive in NC. After visiting with my grandparents for a while I picked up the mandolin and Dan took control of the organ. I was surprised to find that mandolin is actually harder on your fingers than guitar cause you have to press two strings with each finger and your fingers get pinched between the strings. When I came home to my beloved guitar, it seemed soooo much easier. Anyways, Dan was pretty good on the organ. He was digging the power and extra volume.
Two day after arriving in NC we drove to Pipestem State Park in West Virginia. If you haven't guess from the pics, they had some pretty extensive hiking trails. I got up at 6 a.m. each morning to hike. It was well worth the effort. I got some priceless pictures and saw some spectacular wildlife. The majority of my family also plays tennis so in the afternoons, usually after a nap, my cousin and I would play a set. Really nice park. Two pools, an arcade, ping-pong (beware, my mom is a ping-pong beastest, she schooled everybody with ease). Needless to say, I was pretty ragged by the last day. I slept most of the drive back to NC and and took a nap back in Greensboro (I've been reverting to my preschool habit a lot lately lol).
I awoke in Greensboro to the worst hail storm of my life. At first it was just heavy rain like we've been experiencing lately. They hail/rain. Finally, the thunder was right on top of us (like flash and boom at the same moment) and near 2 in. hail covered much of the ground. It was pretty spectacular because along with the thunder, lightening, and hail, there was a dense fog that covered the lower two feet of the ground because of the interaction between the cold air and hail, and the hot ground; really weird looking. That night we had the Wade family jam session. I took the mandolin as usual, Dan jammed on the organ, and my granddaddy swapped between a hair comb covered with a tissue (believe it or not it sounds like a kazoo!) and a harmonica. My granddaddy's pretty cool. I don't think I've ever told yall but he was a bomber pilot in WWII, played violin, mandolin, and harmonica, and later became a chemical engineer. Pretty cool eh? Anyways, we rocked "When the Saints Go Marching Home" and some other oldies.
Now, on to this crazy weekend! I think I hit my party limit this time: 3 parties in 3 days, that pushing it to the limits for a homeschooler lol. On Friday I went to Jake's (first) grad party which was a blast. Then on Saturday I went to Linsey and Brittney's mutual birthday party. I think I need some more practice on my backflip lol. Finally, on Sunday, Drew came over after church, we watched a really boring movie (sorry Drew!), went to youth group, and finally headed to the Rawdon's for an afterglows (thanks to the Rawdons btw!).
Today and yesterday have been much calmer. Had my first class of summer Karate last night and played racquetball today. I'm hoping my feet won't be too sore tomorrow cause I got Karate again lol.
Thank you God for a wonderful past four weeks! Love you all and God bless,
Mike
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It's not the end
But it feels like it is
I'm waking up
Like I'm back from the dead
I'm stepping out
And I feel so afraid
But as long as I'm moving it's all right
I feel alive
And it hurts for a change
And looking back and it's hard to believe
That I was cool
With the days that I wasted complacent and tasteless and bored but
That was yesterday
We're never going back to OK
We're never going back to easy
We're never going back to the way it was
We're never going back to OK
This discontent
Like a slap in the face
Of mediocre
I've had enough of this place
This party's over
And I'm moving away from the frills of you Beverly Hills but that was yesterday
We're here to stay
This is our time
Our only life
Our chance to live
-Amazing Stuff
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| Ahh, good weekend so far. On Saturday I slept in and read a little. Later I pruned my energetic crabapple back. While I was doing that I had an interesting idea. You know that passage in the Gospels about how Jesus is the vine and we are the branches? I think it was in that same parable that Jesus said that whatever branch produces good fruit is pruned by the Father. Now I've done a lot of pruning over the past few years and I've studied the science behind it pretty extensively but it wasn't until yesterday that I recognized the significance of that passage. Previously I had just interpreted Jesus' words to mean that the Father will remove parts of my life that are not helping me and the pruning might hurt for a time. Now that's entirely true but I started comparing my pruning know-how with that passage and I recognized that that interpretation isn't completely accurate. The purpose of pruning is for the plant to conform to the shape that the Gardener wants. Isn't that exactly what God wants? He doesn't just want to remove, remove, and remove some more. He wants to direct our growth toward the light and postpone growth in certain areas until the proper time. I know it's a small thought but it excited me.
After pruning, my dad, Dan, and I headed to Longacre and played some hard-core ball-tag. You should see the looks we get from soccer moms and overprotective dads when a middle-aged dude, a teen, and a kid are all running around yelling and throwing a Nerf ball at each other, fun stuff. And, of course, tonight should be fun as usual. Get some sleep promers lol. God bless,
Mike
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| Lizzy, my squirrel totally owns your squirrel!
He scratches his ear with his foot and he prays!
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| Man, I felt so good outside tonight. Cool, no bugs, like a night on the California coast. Made me want to sleep outside.  "God bless us, everyone." | | |
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