There's Joy in the Journey!

Hey everyone!
As the New Year approaches, I keep finding myself reflecting on the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord on my family's life. Throughout the past couple years, there have definitely been struggles, but the Lord has remained faithful. Even looking back on my school experience and realizing what a crazy change it has been, I can do nothing but fall on my face and thank my Lord Jesus for how He has sustained me throughout it all. And guess what?! My semester ends January 23rd and I will NEVER have to do Honors Chemistry again...yippee!!

Anyway, thank you all for your prayers and support. I am so grateful for each and every one of you and I know the Lord has placed you all in my life for a reason. I love you all so much!

New subject...:)

Every year, the orchestra serves a Spaghetti dinner at Great Bridge as a way to fundraise for all the orchestra's financial needs. It should be really fun. There is yummy food, prizes and our Pops orchestra performs for some entertainment. Its going to be February 7th at 7:30pm. Please come out and join my family. I'll follow up with more details as it gets closer. Hope to see you there!

These are some pictures we took on Christmas Day.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!

Charlie: Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!

Linus: Sure Charlie Brown-I can tell you what Christmas is all about:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were so afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord!
And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. "

Luke 2: 8-14

Merry Christmas!

It's Finally Here!

Hey Everybody!

I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I have been so busy! But praise the Lord....today was the last day of school for Christmas's break. I have never been so happy to get out! Our Chamber orchestra got to walk across the street today to play Christmas music for the little 5th graders at the intermediate school. They were so cute! We also performed for Channel 3 (I think it's WTKR) last night, and were on live TV. That was a first:) They're going to be airing it on Christmas Day between 5 and 6:30 pm if you guys want to tune in.

As Christmas has been approaching, it's been interesting to see how other kids my age look forward to the holidays and how they celebrate them. The one thing that drives me crazy is the way no one ever says 'Merry Christmas' but the ol' 'Happy Holidays.' I've been trying to say Merry Christmas as much as I can to try to send some sort of message that the reason for celebrating is all because of Christ.

I made over 90 cookies over the weekend to give away today. I think my teachers were a bit surprised that someone was thinking of them during Christmas. I believe that that were blessed. And who knows? Maybe God will use that to spark some sort of interest in the joy of Christ.

Well, the pictures are from my Christmas concert this month. It was lots of fun. We played the coolest song from the battle scene in Gladiator. Neat stuff!

We are having the Battons over tonight for Christmas Eve-Eve. Yippee! We are also going to get our "New Years" pictures taken. I think we have only successfully given out Christmas pictures one year:)

I probably won't post between now and Christmas, so I hope you all have a WONDERFUL day enjoying your family and remembering our Savior's birth.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Hannah

Sing Mary Sing!

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Weekends can be a little crazy! :)

Well, as you can hear, I really love this song by Jennifer Knapp called "Sing Mary Sing." My mom and I were both commenting on how it's usually the simple songs that have the most power and meaning. This song seems to really capture the true, humble disposition of Mary. I was reading in Luke a few days ago, and as I was making my way through, I continued to think about her as a real person, verses just thinking of her as a natural "term" if you will. Whenever I read about her specifically or even watch Christmas movies like the Nativity, I am always drawn to that darling girl. In my devotions, I prayed that God would make me like Mary. How I long to have an innocent, child-like faith in the One God I love. Mary couldn't do anything but trust God. Everything she had ever known and loved was laid on the line with the news that she was to be the mother of Jesus.

I find in seasons of life like I'm in right now, I feel utterly desperate for Christ's nearness. I know that without him , there would be absolutely no hope. Mary must have felt the same at times.

But committing myself to the plan of the Lord and giving my entire being to him is my way of demonstrating my trust in him and my faith in believing that he has a plan for me.

So anyway, be encouraged that no matter how bad your day seems to go, or even when things are going wonderful, that we still need the Lord throughout it all. He is there for us guys, and he loves to hear us talk to him. I don't think there is a better thing in this world than knowing you are exactly where you need to be....walking hand in hand with the Savior of the World. So be encouraged in his goodness this day!

I love you all!

Hannah

Gingersnaps, Christmas Decorating and...Spongebob?!

Hi Everybody!

Decided to take a quick break from our busy evening. Mommy and Daddy are out on a much deserved date, so the girls and I are decorating the house for them as a surprise. Gosh...as the years go by, the Christmas inventory seems to slowly decline. Anyone know what I'm talking about? :)

Well, Nomi Noe has had a bad cold and has been on the couch pretty much all day. Poor baby-Her voice is pretty much shot. So as the three of us are putting up decorations, she is lying there watching Spongebob...and yes, I must confess I love that show:) Just don't ask me why!

Now onto the cookie portion of this post...

This is the absolute best Christmas treat ever! I have never tasted such an amazing gingersnap. I literally had to force my self to stop after 1 1/2 ! They are so good!

So I figured I should probably share the recipe so you guys can try them and see how they turn out.

Love you guys!

Grandma's Gingersnaps

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.
Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.
3.
Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
4.
Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container

Christmas is a comin'!

Hello Everyone,

Well, as you can probably hear, I am sooo excited about Christmas! I think we have what...17 more days to wait? Yippee!!

Yet dispite all my excitement, my heart can tend to go out to those who might be hurting during this time of joy. Even remembering the Vergara family and others who have lost loved ones this year. My bus driver actually lost her youngest sister this past November. Being the oldest and seeing your younger siblings go first can be quite awful. Yet the Lord remains faithful and we can only pray that the Lord will heal their hurt over time.

So lets do that this year ok? You all can keep me accountable alright?I know I can really be tempted to be selfish regarding the way I want my holiday to be, right down to the last detail...but I know the Lord doesn't want me to be that way . I really do want to grow in the art of seeing those on the fringe and who might be very lonely...especially during the holidays.

Oh yeah! Random moment I know...but I have some great news! This past week, I auditioned for All-City orchestra. I thought I did quite awful, but the Lord had other plans...I made it in! I am THRILLED to have this wonderful opportunity! Our concert is going to be January 10th,at Great Bridge. I'm not positive about the time, but I will let you all know when I can. And speaking of concerts, our Christmas Concert is going to be on the 16 of December. This is going to be cool too because we get to play with the band. And once again, I'm not positive, but I think it starts at 7:30. All the concerts are free, so invite people if you want!

All right all, well I have...no...GET to go do Chemistry now....haha yeah right!

Love you guys and hope you have a wonderful evening. Stay warm and Merry-Almost-Christmas!

These pictures are from my past concert. Just try to imagine that Izzy wasn't diggin for gold at that exact moment! :)

In Loving Memory

Hello everyone,

As some of you may or may not know, a girl at my school committed suicide this past week.
As you can imagine, everyone is having a pretty rough time. Please pray for this family.

Also, I have some exciting news. The Lord actually gave me a song for this girl on the way to school. I ended up showing it to my teacher and he was completely amazed that I had written it without even knowing her. He and the band teacher were both moved to tears when they read it. Now they want me to transpose it for the orchestra and band and then they want me to sing it as part of our Christmas concert in memory of Lauren. I still can't believe it! It's all about having comfort in Jesus Christ in the midst of terrible pain and grief . The Gospel is going to be preached from the stage in front of everyone attending this concert! I am so excited!



I have included her obituary from the paper. If anyone of you is available, we would greatly appreciate you help and support. We are going to be giving out bibles at her funeral and hopefully will have many opportunities to share the gospel. Thank you all for keeping this family in your prayers!



Well, I'd better go now. Izzy had her first b-ball game today, so I'm going to go make pancakes for lunch. We're gonna have some hungry munchkins!

Love you all! Have a great afternoon.

Hannah





Lauren Traci Vergara CHESAPEAKE - Lauren Traci Vergara, a brilliant young woman, of the 1400 block of Monarch Reach, passed away at the youthful age of 16, Dec. 2, 2008. She was born in Agana, Guam and lived in Chesapeake for the past five years. She was the daughter of Noel and Gwen Velarde Vergara. Lauren previously attended Crestwood Elementary and Intermediate schools and currently attended Great Bridge High School where she was in the 11th grade. She was a performing member of the Great Bridge Marching Wildcats, the National Honor Society as well as many different academic clubs. Her smile filled every classroom with light because every teacher as well as many students loved her. She is survived by her parents of Chesapeake; her paternal grandparents,Alfredo and Julieta Vergara and maternal grandmother, Eufracia Velardeall of the Philippines; her older brother, Paolo; and her younger sister, Liezl; and many aunts and uncles. She was a beautiful daughter,a loving sister and a caring friend. The Rev. Father Romeo Jazmin will officiate at the funeral Mass Monday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. in Prince of Peace Catholic Church. Burial will be in the Philippines. A Christian wake will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Chesapeake chapel of H.D.Oliver Funeral Apts.; the family will remain in the funeral home to receive friends until 9 p.m. Lauren was and always will be forever remembered in the hearts of those blessed with the memory of her presence and her friendship. Memorial contributions may be sent in Lauren's name to the Great Bridge High School Marching Wildcats Band Parents Association, 301 W. Hanbury Road, Chesapeake, VA 23322. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.hdoliver.com.

Well..here it is!

Hello everyone!
This first post is just to let everyone know that I've finally made my blog! I'm really hoping that this will serve as a means of staying in touch with you all during this new and very busy season of life. Just to give you all a heads up... My blog is private, so it's by invitation only. I decided to do this for alot of reasons, but the main one is that I don't want this to be a blog where I simply ramble about what's going on in my life. I see this more as a convenience thing. I am planning on being very honest on here as far as how I'm really doing, and I hope that you all will comment and offer suggestions and encouragement as you see fit.I'm really excited about this! I know that Lord has placed each and every one of you very specifically in my life, and I pray that He will bring us even closer together as time goes on.

So there you have it! Love you guys!