Pushing the van out of the ditch in the rain...?

I kinda remember that, but not really. Remind me...was that the time somebody backed out of the driveway into the ditch on the other side of the road? I can remember pushing vehicles out of various, interesting situations, but this particular time is not coming to me.

I remember when Jeremy and I would go out in the driveway and walk through the mud-puddles. We would say something like, "ouch, ouch, ouch!" when we walked on the gravel and then: "ahhhh" when we hit a puddle.

I'm liking memory lane. Heh, I don't think I've told Peter about talking in my sleep, and I'm honestly not sure if I do it anymore. I remember Jeanette telling me, a long time ago, that I asked her in the middle of the night: "Jeanette, how many should I take?" Wonder what I was dreaming about!
I can remember Janessa coming up late to her half-asleep sister. And said half asleep sister would try to talk in a coherent fashion and fail miserably. Janessa still teases me about that.

The time we giggled the night away, dear Janessa decided to dive into her bed. But something random happened, she tripped, and made the craziest entrance to bed on record. I wish I had that on tape...sigh.


My trip to Washington was fun. I'm very glad to be back, (just in time for our first Virginia "winter storm"). Washington was dreary, and so I didn't really see the mountains and such. Ah well.


Catcha later.

J

Getting to know Julie IS amazing, Karen. Books…I already shared a few a couple notes ago, but here are a few more: I like The Brothers Karamazov, Great Expectations, Roughing It, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Cat’s Cradle. I never have heard of Eden Southworth till now, though, Jane.

I do like some war movies, Joanna, such as Saving Private Ryan or Blackhawk down. My family quotes Sergeant York a lot. We are really into the old classics too, and Julie is introducing me to a few musicals that we had overlooked.

Most of the cooking around here is done by my mom, Joanne, or my sister Elizabeth. I do cook, but usually for myself, and usually grilling or stir-frying something with onions and peppers. Pretty much anything works with onions and peppers. I like to bake cookies :)

Cally Jane:

1. Not really. The only time I ever tried it, the texture was really strange.

2. Peter Michael LaRock.

3. One of my favorite quotes is when Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes says “We tigers like our food surprised and running.”

4. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

5. Julie told me about the Hellmann’s vs. Miracle Whip thing, and I think I lean towards Hellmann’s; Miracle Whip is kinda sweet, which seems weird for mayonnaise for some reason.

6. Nope. Never even been to Missouri.

7. No, whenever I find myself in the neighborhood, he’s busy.

8. I like hiking and biking, reading, and playing silly games with my friends, like Capitalism or Monopoly, or Nerts. Julie got me started on Nerts.

9. Probably Amazing Grace, even if it is everyone else’s favorite hymn too.

10. Favorite song(s)… my favorite praise song would likely be All in All, and secular, maybe…Eva Cassidy’s version of Fields of Gold. I have tons of favorite songs.

What do the rest of you miss about Julie the most?

Hiyah!

Hi, fans of Julie!

So for my first addition to Julie 'n Pete, how about this: instead of just trying to guess if there is anything you guys would like to know about me, why don't you ask me some questions, and I will try to answer them. Also, how about you tell me something or things that you only find out about Julie by being her family. Not really embarrassing or personal things, but the nicer the better.
- Peter LaRock

Chess champ:-)

Peter and I have this weekly ritual. After Bible study on Sunday afternoons, we play chess. For weeks now, Peter has won every time we play. I'll come close, but I can never claim a win. I am rather competative, and it's become quite painful to lose week after week.
Well, yesterday, I had a grand victory. I won, and I won fair and square. I even finished out the game with not one, but two queens!

I know that I am now in a bit of trouble because it so happens that Peter it also competative.

Let the chess wars begin!

I did cheer for the Bears last night. I was very happy for the Colts, but sad that my home-state couldn't relish the victory. Plus, in all honesty, I think the Bears had the better uniforms. They had three cool colors, while the Colts only had 2. The Bears also ruled the first quarter:-) ah, well.

And the Bible study mentioned above is one that Peter and I attend on Sunday afternoons. It's hosted by my neighbors. We just completed a study on Angels, Demons, and Satan. I did learn a lot, most importantly, I learned that Demons are bad, haha. Inside joke. Ask my mom if you want the details. Now we are onto a study of Mankind.

Hope you all have a great day. I know I will...my chess victory will bring me much joy this week!

Who is Peter??

Well, Peter is a special guy in my life:-) I'm hoping that we can use my blog to give my family and friends who live far away a chance to get to know him better. Most of you know about him, but you don't know him.

The scoop:
We met at HSLDA last summer, (he came to work as a legal assistant). We got to know each other over AOL IM believe it or not. We both were working late often last summer, so we started chatting as we worked.
At first we had very general conversations. Then we began to ask more and more questions about each other, our families, faith, and we shared and told silly stories. After a while Peter started inviting me to things like a hiking trip with a group of friends, his Bible study, tubing down the Potomac, etc. We really enjoyed each other and always seemed to have a great time together.
We have since realized that we like each other and are now working to build a friendship and seeking the Lord and the counsel of parents and friends about the future of our relationship. I want to include you, especially my siblings, in any way I can.

About Peter:
Peter's one of 7 kids, and yep, he was homeschooled. He attended Lord Fairfax (a local community college out here) for 2 years, and he graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in History, minor in English.
He leads a Bible study each week in Leesburg, not too far from Purcellville.
He's really tall:-) I'll try and get some pictures up soon.
He loves to read, he likes to bike and hike, he likes music, he enjoys contra dancing, (we've gone several times), he enjoys being with friends, he's discovered that he likes nertz, and so much more.
Feel free to ask away, and hopefully we'll get some fun stories up soon.

Peter will probably want to add some thoughts, to all that I listed above. Stay tuned...

Happy 2007

Yes, it is 2007, and for the first time this year I saw snowflakes last night! It's been very warm in Virginia this winter, and I have to be honest, I was thrilled to see the flakes. Such a picture of God's unique design, and a picture of His beauty.

My Christmas and New Year's were fun and busy. I didn't make it home for Christmas Day, but Jeanette, Jeremy and Jessica, and myself did manage a trip home for the New Year. It was busy, but fun. We all played lots of games, and enjoyed being together.
My little brothers are getting so tall! They are little men now; no longer the babies I used to carry around.

Work's fine and busy. The conference season has started and that is keeping me on my toes.

That's it for now.

They won!

I can't believe that I haven't yet said anything about the fact that Saint Louis won the World Series! I was in New York the night I found out that they had won. And, yes, I am thrilled that they did it in my lifetime. Yay for 'my boys':-)

Now for the random pictures and thoughts!

Here's a better pic of my sister's horse, Selah.



She's really quite a pretty girl. Oh, Naomi, I'm pretty sure she's draft/arab, but, I'll let Nessa correct me if I'm wrong.

I do have some funny, random shots that I took with my siblings, but I have to deal with the serious red eye in them.

This picture is me with Matthew and Nyssa Smith. Matthew was one of my first piano students, and I was one of Nyssa's first ballet teachers. They live about 6 miles from my house in Illinois. It's so amazing to see just how much kids grow in a year.



Work and life keep me busy. My brother Jeremy and I are acting opposite each other in the Christmas play at our church. We are the innkeeper and his wife. I get to be annoying! It's quite fun.
Speaking of my brother; he and Jessica heard the heartbeat of their new little one for the first time. How cool is that? We had music practice last night, (Jeremy and Jessica are singing with me this week), and the two of them were seriously floating!

K, gotta run. Hope this finds each of you well.

Till next time.