Growing Up & Other Changes!

Phew! So much has happened this weekend! I'm growing up...too fast for my taste, but inevitable.

First things first:

Only 17 days until my birthday!

And I will be 18?!?!

How?!?!?! How am I so old already?!?!?!?!!?

Secondly:

If I'm 18 in only a few more weeks...that means I can date in a few more weeks??

Really?!?! 

I'm scared!!!...

...just kidding!!! I'm really really excited!!! John is a wonderful man!

Thirdly:

When did my friend Elijah grow up??

I don't mind growing up, as long as my friends don't!

Fourthly:

Heidi is actually going to Belize in a few months??? It seems so far away and yet so close!! When did she become old enough to nanny in another country?? Last I knew, we were at a sleepover, giggling over boys and who knows what else!

Fifthly:

I have a job? Like...I really got hired tonight?! I didnt imagine all that??? I really have a date written down on the calendar to fill out paperwork?! For real?!!? :~D Ahh I'm excited!!!!

Sixthly:

...I need to get my permit now...so I have photo ID...I can't stave it off any longer....

Lastly!

If you're growing up like I am, remember this:

You are NEVER too old to go on the swings! Whether you are racing to them to beat your friend and just do it out of sheer pleasure, or you sit down on a swing late at night so you can cry, you're NEVER too old for the swings!!! For which I am really glad!! <3 If I grew up and couldn't go on them anymore, I would miss them!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

No One Told Me

No one told me I'd be sick for a year

and my love of dancing and singing would veer.

No one said that a daily migraine would be

something constant to keep sanity.

No one asked if I'd like to be sick

or if my tears would fall till my cheek was slick.

No one informed me that my fatigue

would feel like I'm constantly hiking a league.

No one questioned if I'd like this at all

but would you want to hang out this fall?

No one needed to ask me a thing

or tell me that this wasn't a one time fling.

No one let me know

that God would make me grow.

No one could tell me that my heart would break

and that some days I'd feel like a fake.

No one would say about the intimacy

I'd grow with God infinitely.

No one should ever get sick for a year

and let their favorite hobbies veer.

No one wants to have a migraine every day

yet I'd never ask God to not have His way.

No one knows that if it weren't for this

I wouldn't know letter writing bliss.

No one mentioned that this trial

would make me fight to find joy each mile.

No one explained each day I'm blessed with 

is truly a gift from God, (and that's not a myth).

No one comprehended how this would be

effective to my testimony and future ministry.

No one treasures sickness of such

yet I do as I have been strengthened so much.

No one may be able to say

Moriah lived joyfully each day.

Yet I pray that someone will say,

God worked on her faithfully each and every day!

Poem by Moriah Peters ~ Written the other day when pondering the past year as I've dealt with pneumonia, mono, and frequent migraines.

Photos by Josh Vanosdell ~ Hello, my name is Joshua Vanosdell. I'm just a beginner photographer. I was born and raised in Louisiana but now live in New Mexico. Thats where most of my pictures are taken now. It has been a culture change for me in New Mexico, but it has its perks. I've been living there now for 5 years and I just love it. If you want to check out more of my photography you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Google+.

100 lbs of Apples and other Beautiful Blessings

~ Watching "The Wizard of Oz" with the girls. I love this movie <3 Its one of my absolute favorites <3

~ Realizing Lil' G is dressed like Dorothy

~ Picking apples from our tree!

~ Getting 100lbs or so of apples!

~ Having Heidi and her sis come over to help pick apples!

~ Seeing T-bug having fun with her Sunday School teacher...aka Heidi lol!

~ Going on a mini vacation to the Y to go swimming afterwards!

~ The girls being brave with ice skating and swimming!

~ Seeing how big T-bug is now <3 T-Tot wore that dress when she was little. 

~ Realizing that all the girls were wearing dresses from Aunt N! I love this one on L-Jo!

~ Being amazed by how big Lil' G is getting! She looks like a big girl!

~ Knowing I cant imagine life without my sisters <3

~ The fields being harvested!

~The beautiful fall leaves! <3

~ T-Tot getting compliments from an art teacher on her work! The lady told her that her paintings/pictures are better than some of the kids in her class.

~ T-bug's creativity for sleeping lol!!

Beautiful Blessings - 9/14/15

~ Finding a perfect hiding spot for a cat-nap and a bath! ;~) She even has towels to ensure everything is perfect! Heehee!

~ The girls getting their first swim lessons!

~ Swimming 8 laps, and Dad swimming 20! He swam a 1/5 of a mile!

~ T-bug getting 5 inches taller over the past year....tis amazing how they grow!

~ Having a friend's honest advice. Thanks girlie! <3

Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 

~ Proverbs 27:9 (ESV)

Beautiful Blessings - 9/8/15

~ Waking up to T-bug giving me puppet dog kisses!

~ Getting a ride home from work when I came down with a migraine. Thank you!

~ My sisters having a blast learning about archaeology!

~ Their excitement over discovering there used to be a second house on our property!

~ Watching how their interests grow and expand through time...they are getting so smart and so big!

Photo-A-Day- Day 20!

"Growth" - the ivy growth on our house!