The Past Couple Weeks

Nate and Naomi in the Hood's fairy grass (aka rye grass) of a backyard! The Hoods planted the grass in the early fall, then it will die in the spring and then you can harvest it as actual rye (like the bread, or the Poirot mystery, or like the gluten that Mica can't eat).

The watermelon had its last days mid December.
Alas, there was some gooey gross stuff on the outside of it, then when we opened it most of it looked bad to eat. But mom and I took a wee bit of the good parts; it wasn't extraordinarily sweet. But, I actually grew something!

So, while the girls were in Dubai, Mr. Neal mentioned that he was going to ship a few things to our house, and we could open the boxes, put some letters and stuff in, and condense the contents into one box. So the first day, we got two skinny packages, I wasn't sure how we were going to a book and a bottle of Witch Hazel (for cloth diapers) into those packages. But every day we continued to receive more packages, and boxes, till three weeks later, we had 19 boxes! But, we managed to condense everything into three or four boxes!! Mica and I were very proud of ourselves. :P

This little field mouse was literally an inch big. We found it in the Hoods backyard.

A sweet friend gave me a mug!

We got to meet the Hood's Nonnie and Poppie!

[Note the impressive deer head, stylishly mounted on the wall, compliments of Mr. Hood.]

Dom with his sword, Mia with her hat.

Yeah, this is pretty much how we take pictures; that's why we can never take professional family portraits.

This scarf is the courtesy of Mrs. Mitzi.
Thanks a bunch!

Oh, we went shooting too!

To get to this "shooting range", we had to drive very, very far, past the sticks. But it was worth it because there was no one at the range to boss you about; just you, your guns, your friends, and other people with their guns and friends.

The family, well some of it.

Yes, we believe in child labor. :P

Nicole bought Elena, Mica, and Mom some special cupcakes-- from the best cupcake place in Austin-- for their birthdays which we had missed.

Love,
Caro :)

of Loving the Little Years

Everyone also to whom God has given 

wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, 

and to accept his lot and rejoice 

in his toil—this is the gift of God. 

For he will not much remember 

the days of his life 

because God keeps him occupied with 

joy in his heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

It was a bright, sunny day when I was working in the schoolroom of the N family, most everyone was either outside or reading in the sunroom and Sampson was probably chewing on something in the living room, and as I was browsing through the bookshelf I came across the wee volume of Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic. Though I'm not a mother and have no brood of my own, I had heard many wonderful things about this book and thought I'd recruit it to be a part of my "bathroom reading", so I started. Just a few pages here and there throughout the day and very soon I was finished.

I loved it.

In my experience, there are many "encouraging" books and resources on mothering small children  that don't really encourage at all, mostly just expound on the struggles and lack of "me time" that women with small children have, it's very rare that I come across something that cheerfully shows the joys and trials of motherhood. There are many things I loved about this book, but probably what I appreciated the most was Rachel's insight and the wisdom she shared on raising little ones. It also made me reflect on the wonderful examples of this in my life and reminded me how grateful I am to have women who continually show me the good, bad, and true joy that can come with stickies, littles, children. 

It's a short, delightful read and I highly encourage you, whether you have little ones or not, to read it! 

Also, in my quick research of Rachel's writings I came across this post from Desiring God.org ; in it Rachel shares her thoughts on motherhood as a missionfield, these are excellent and thought-provoking.

"Lay yourself down. Sacrifice yourself here, now. Cheerfully wipe the nose for the fiftieth time today. Make dinner again for the people who don’t like the green beans. Laugh when your plans are thwarted by a vomiting child. Lay yourself down for the people here with you, the people who annoy you, the people who get in your way, the people who take up so much of your time that you can’t read anymore. Rejoice in them. Sacrifice for them. Gain that which you cannot lose in them.

Offered with thankfulness, your work at home is only the beginning. Your laundry pile, selflessly tackled daily, will be used in the hands of God to clothe many. Do not think that your work does not matter. In God’s hands, it will be broken, and broken, and broken again, until all who have need of it have eaten and are satisfied. And even then, there will be leftovers."

Behold the Lamb of God 2011

So, quite a few weeks ago, Dad, Mom, Lizzie (again), and myself, paid an overnight trip to Austin, for Andrew Peterson's concert, "Behold the Lamb of God". We left decently early on Sunday morning, and drove to the Webb's house, where we caravaned to church. I confess, that by the end of the sermon, my stomach was speaking louder than my attentive face [embarrassed smile].
After church, we relaxed at my Aunt's house, while the kids napped. For dinner, Nicole brought over some leftovers, and we had a crazy, but fun, time eating, after which we (Mom, Lizzie, Sophia, and I) had to scramble over to the concert. The church where the concert was held is our old stomping ground in Austin. We used to have many people (and still have a few) that we knew who attended that church; Elena and Mica used to do AWANA there--do I see any former AWANA kids?-- when we lived in Austin.
Okay, I thought that because Andrew Peterson wasn't incredibly well known that there wouldn't be a lot of people there....well, there was. Quite a bit of people. We even ran into some old friends, which were great to see again.
While we were waiting for the concert to begin, I had the same feeling of anticipation as I do when I go to certain midnight showings of movies, but this was better. :)
The first half of the concert, all the people that toured with AP--which were Jason Gray, Andrew Osenga, Andy Gullahorn, Jill Phillips, and Ben Shive--took turns singing two songs from their own albums. Without having ever heard any of the singers --except Jason Gray-- I really appreciated and enjoyed them thoroughly!
They were all very witty and relaxed on stage and weren't showy, like other singers.
A few of them played songs from albums that have not been released yet, including Andrew Osenga and Andrew Peterson. We had the privilege to hear one of AP's songs that he had literally finished an hour and a half before the concert!
After everyone finished singing their songs there was an intermission, then they all sang the actual album, "Behold the Lamb of God". But before, while everyone was still coming, AP got everyone already in the sanctuary to sing It Is Well With My Soul, which was neat. All the songs that they played I wouldn't have necessarily liked, if I had not heard them live or heard the back stories to them. Then at the end, they had everyone singing part of O Come, O Come Emmanuel and they left the stage with everyone singing the Doxology! Thus they put the focus away from themselves and on Christ!
It wasn't like a rock concert, neither was it like a praise-and-worship band; it was different. A refreshing different.

But now, I think I've talked too much.

[These are really all the pictures that came out, all the other ones were blurry]

Lizzie and I, after the concert.

:)


Now if I could say anything to make up for my "overly-giddiness", it would be this:

Dear Mr. Andrew Peterson,
Thanks for indulging two very nerdy and ecstatic girls with your time and pen.
If you ever come back to Texas, I'll do my best to--instead of bringing a pile of books--bring friends and family!
Your books are fantastic!
Continue on with your publishing and recording.
Sincerely,
Caro

P.S Is there any way I can entice you

to come back to Texas and come visit the small

group of fans in Houston?

Afterward, Lizzie and I rushed to buy CD for me and a book for her. Then, with quaking stomach and giddy head, we went to get our books signed (I already had some books with me). I blubbered words that were supposed to be sentences, as I handed my books for him to sign. I said "books" because...well, I had more than one book...I had four. :). So I got three books of the series signed and an extra one especially for my friends, the Hood girls, to whom I had read the books.
So, all in all I enjoyed the concert and especially going with a friend.




:)

Trailer

I am so pleased to announce that the film I worked on this summer, Filmodus Operandi, just released its trailer! You can watch it on our homepage or on Vimeo. The film is set to be released in February.

In Christ,
~Micaela

Dear Traveling Girls

{yes, believe it or not, this was taken at Galveston}

Dear traveling girls,

I would have posted sooner, but I kinda misplaced the camera, and since there was no maid--sister-- to keep track of it for me, I forgot it. But I got it back, don't worry, would I be writing to you if I hadn't?

All this to say, that some of the pictures will be blurry since they were taken with Dad's blackberry.
SO, last Friday, we went to Galveston for the day, and we brought Lizzie with us!
We started off going to a subsea drilling & oil museum...yeah, only people who work for the companies involved in that stuff, go there. But there were actually some interesting parts. After that we had lunch at Starbucks, and then went shopping/sight seeing downtown. We visited a candy shop, surf shops, boutique shops, and ( my favorite) antique shops.
Even though we don't have any pictures, the antique shops were fantastic, however, expensive! One of the antique shops had-- what I call-- a dream land of dress ups!! Beautiful dress ups, scarves, gloves, hats, etc. It was literally like a dream come true! And there were also some Lucky Indian Buffalo Head Nickel coins from the 20s that the lady showed us, plus marvel comic books which I would have bought ( if I knew what to buy), and old, old children toys. For example, mom recognized one of the old aluminum doll houses, the kind she used to play with...yeah, that kind of old. :P
The shopping extended to other parts of the building which as it turns out was an original late 1800's hotel with all the rooms in their original state!
All this to say that I was proven wrong, there is actually some neat places in Galveston.

These are just few of many pelicans that were resting on the rocks.
Lizzie and I could think of only one quote:
Dory:DUCK.
Marlin:[looks up] That's not a duck, it's a... PELICAN.
-Finding Nemo

Exclude the odd eyes, this shop was really nice.

FREE SAMPLES!
Not really, but that's what I thought.

A recycled-paper dress!

I thought of our dear friend the Naquins, when I saw that. :)

[no comment]

It was pretty windy!

First thing I thought when I saw this thing, was, " Look! A huge shadowbox!"

Though I have not obtained the photos yet, I'll be posting soon about a certain concert we went to on December 11th!

Love,
Caro :)

Happy Birthday, Mica!

Dear dumpling--uh, I mean-- Mica,
I'm aware that it is no longer the 14th in Dubai, but it is here!
Well, no special entitlements come with turning 18...19, except the fact that you get to add bigger number to your age [insert cheesy smile]!
You are a special, dear friend and sister, but different from Elena or Nicole!
Like the shop owners in Dubai say, " Same, same, but different."
Love you!
Happy Birthday!

Very, very long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...



[2005]
Mica and Dad!
Do they ever change?

[2005]
With friends, at one of our last days at the beach in California.

[2009]
For one of Mica's birthdays, we tried to surprise her by having the Webbies come for a day trip.

[2009]
Mica, Hope, and Luke, while the Neal's stayed with us.

[2010]
NYC, with our dear friend Joanna!

[somewhere in 2010]

[2011]
John and Mica
During a tight schedule of filming, editing, and basically making an entire movie before 2p(our film class), we managed to fit a mud war in...somehow.

[2011]
Dom and Mica.

[2011]
Ms. Producer!
Mica had just received the shirts for her film, Filmodus Operandi.

Oh, and Dad says happy birthday too!
Love,
Caro :)

P.S Dear Reader,

By now, you must realize how excruciatingly Painful it is

to choose only 10 pictures, from ten million. If you haven't guessed this, then let me tell you,

yes, it is painful.

(really) wish you were here

Dear Dad, Mom, Nicole, and Caro,

First off, I need to apologize for the grave lack of photo's, blog updates, and skype sessions (our recent 2am time not included); honestly, it's been difficult to set aside the time and the words to describe our time here---believe me, our five hour car trip to Uncle Randy's house will be filled with what we lacked to tell you here!

It's so odd to see our departure date approaching, Mica and I both feel as if this is home mostly owing to the generous and sweet hospitality extended to us by the Neal's, we've been brought into their family so well, each piece of advice or wisdom they have shared is very much in line with what you would say, 

they've made us feel very much at home here and we're so thankful for the way in which Mr. and Mrs. have temporarily grafted us into their loving home.

As you know, Joy cried her eyes out  filled the room with tears lost her marbles had quite a bit of a shock when Matthew came home and hasn't been the same since. Thankfully she has also taken quite a shining to Mica, they really are like two peas in a pod and I think it's a comfort for Joy to have such a friend during this difficult time in her life. Since she still is able to fly for free, Joy may be coming home with us for a bit, so please get the bed ready for her.

Recent Quotes in the Neal Home


(Faith walks up to me, halter top in hand) "Elena, do you think this top is inrepropriate?"


John: "Elena, if you could, do you think you would blow mouth out of your fire?"


Mrs. Jackie: (in a sing-song voice) I'm going to loose my marbles!
John: What marbles, Mom? Do you have marbles?


(Miss Grumpy-Pants, aka Hope, sits with her arms crossed in her high chair) 
Me: "Hope, what side of the bed did you wake up on this morning? I don't think it was the right one."
Grace: "Oh, she woke up on the right side...no wait, I think it was the left side."


More to come...

Thanksgiving 2011!

Well, I thought I would share with you my thanksgiving in Burnet, TX.
BUT, instead of drowning you with pictures, I thought ahead, and decided I would make a slideshow.

Warning: There are many cute children in this film.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
Caro :)