"When you look for the best in others you bring out the best in yourself."

So I was going through my pics yesterday and decided to put some of my favorites with favorite scriptures. Here is some of what I came up with. Enjoy! =)

 Cabob took this one...so so beautiful.

Cheryl took this one of Marco. =)

Photo courtesy of Micah. =)

Another one of Cabob's pics!

One more of Cabob's.

The end. 

Be a fruitloop in a world of cheerios.

So I've kinda deserted xanga for a little while...in favor of life, school, and a little facebook. Sad, I know. Sorry. But I'm back now, so let's get over the apologies and just be happy that I'm back!!!

This is just gonna be a pile of random pics from what's been going on in my life lately. Hope you enjoy!!

It snowed!! Again.

This little guy totally cracks me up. He looked SO grumpy!

I didn't know VA was allowed to snow like this. I haven't seen a winter for 12 years, and I liked it that way, but this snow made up for the coldness we had to endure. The beauty of it did, anyway.

Enjoying it. =)

I was so proud of myself! Barefoot in the snow. Me! Little-I-can't-take-the-cold-cuz-I'm-gonna-DIE!

That's what I mean about the "beauty of it".

That's actually a ROAD. So beautiful!

My Jolene.

My flag.

My Quido.

Hi God!

Isn't she just beautiful?

ha. =)

Hints of spring...

Quido and I found this amazing little latino market. I felt like I'd died and gone to Honduras...

This one makes me feel happy inside. =)

We tried sushi!!!! =)

Enduring karaoke...it was BAD.

My best friend and best bro.

My other best bro with my best friend...how many "best bros" do you think I have? =)

Us like red.

Yay! =)

I'm obviously running out of good captions. Bear with me here...make up your own!

My beautiful cousins came to visit me for my birthday!!!

  Shana.

Tonya...

We had a pizza party! (This be Heidi=)

My beautiful Kris...(too bad you never let me get a good pic of you...*smirk*=)

My newest friend.

Stace...

Jolene!

Mi Paquito! =)

Being crazy! =)

My amazing maturity on the day of my 21st birthday. *cough*

I love ice skating!! Dittle and I. =)

Me and the bro...

The end.

"Dear God,

I've never thanked you for my thorns.

I've thanked you a thousand times for my roses,

but never once for my thorns.

Teach me the glory of the cross I bear.

Teach me the value of my thorns.

Show me that through my tears the colors of

your rainbow look much more brilliant."

~George Matheson

Welcome to the new updates by me. I don't have a lot of time, so this might start getting a little boring. I shall quote something cool I've been learning, and post at least one pic every once in a while, but other than that, I make no promises. Sorry peoples...hope you'll bear with me until summer break. I just DON'T HAVE TIME!!!

Love to all of you...hope your life is going good. 

~me 

"It is not a small thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us."               ~Charles Dickens

My life consists of studying, more studying, fun stuff, and then more studying. =) I only have two real-life teachers (that I've actually met), even though I'm enrolled in like, 5 different classes. This is the beauty of being able to take classes online!

My Math teacher is the perfect math teacher. Patient. Kind. He explains things while showing us examples and making us work through the problems. After explaining the thing in detail, he'll look over the class with that wary look in his eyes and see if anyone looks really REALLY blank, then he'll ask if we have questions, while looking at that person expentantly. =) Which is awesome because I'm really bad at math, but with a teacher like him, there's no way I'll be able to flunk this subject!

My English teacher ROCKS!!! The moment he walked into class, I knew I was gonna like him. He's this black dude with an imposing air, and a way of expressing himself that's perfectly hilarious. He can be scathingly sarcastic when students obviously don't care about learning and if they don't pay attention, but when he says "Excellent," it about makes your whole year. =) We're cramming two of his English classes into one semester, so it's an eight-week course for each one. He says it's an "intense writing course" the key word being "intense." So we do a LOT of writing, which is a lot of fun for me. I feel pretty much cramped sometimes, though. I found out that a paragraph consists of at LEAST 3 sentences, and I find myself very tempted to use sentence fragments. I like them! And now we're getting into critical writing which consists of...but then I'm getting too detailed and probably boring you poor people. =)

I'm doing Sociology and Psychology online. I love both these subjects. Especially Sociology! Found out today that if another Hitler were to come back and start commanding people around, most Americans would comply to torturing others without fighting back. Boggles the mind, huh? =) (I know. I wouldn't believe me either...it's just statistics=) Oh, and groups have a HUGE influence on us! Like they did tests on students where they'd pay a certain group to give the right answer the first few times, and then consistently give the wrong answer, and the student being tested would sit there in bewilderment and think he must have had it wrong (it was two flash cards. The first card would have a line on it, and the second one would have 3 lines, and you had to choose which line was the one seen on the previous card. Very obvious answers...), and if you imagine yourself sitting in a group, knowing what the answer is, and yet every single other person in the line says a wrong answer, will that make you change yours? Only 25% of these students stuck to their guns and still consistently gave the right answers...peer pressure. =)

Then I have a weird little thing called College Success Skills that I don't like at all. It's so bad, in fact, that I don't even wanna talk about it.

In between studies, I still get together with my friends (at least every once in a while), and I even watch movies occasionally! =) But yeah...the above pretty much is what my life consists of.

So there you have it. Boring, maybe, but my life, nontheless. Oh, and I still make time for occasional wonderings into the cold weather to satisfy my photography urges.

Speaking of which...

It SNOWED. I looked out the window that morning and almost couldn't believe it. Talk about transformation!

I think the guys' soccer ball is about ready to give up the ghost. I don't blame him. He's FROZEN!!

I love that little bubble there...might have to go get your bifocals to see it...but it's worth it!=)

Yay! Beauty.

Melting snow is almost more beautiful than snow itself...maybe.

I kinda went wild with this one...ice drips slower than water does...=)

I feel very triumphant about this pic. Caught it JUST as it was dripping! =)

Another one! =)

This is actually coke, poured into this bottle. =) I'm gonna have a real one...soon. Once papa and Ryan get back...*trembles with excited anticipation*...ok ok...I'm even more happy about getting to see them again. It's amazing how empty and silent our house can be! I miss them pretty bad, and CAN'T WAIT till they get home. It'll be tomorrow morning...like around 3 probably. =)

The end.

me

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.  ~St. Augustine

My Goals For the Next Ten Years.

1. Learn to let God love people through me. (and in learning this, I will also learn to love purely and completely.)

2. Become an RN. (I'll be graduating in 2012)

3. Learn to sight sing and take voice lessons. (I'm enrolled for music camp this year...YAY!!!=)

4. Take photography classes.

5. Buy me a baby grand piano!! =) (once I get rich)

6. Take a sketching or painting class.

7. Learn Italian. (maybe)

8. Learn to sew.

9. Learn to play piano well enough to play the music as I read it.

10. Get married. (This is not really a "goal"...just something I wanna do within the next ten years.)

So! What are some of YOUR goals?

~me

"There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns; there are things we do not know we don't know."

Did a photo shoot with the guys two days ago. Had such an awesome time, and I do believe there are some pretty amazing pics in here...so prepare to be amazed at the cuteness of my brothers. *smug grin*

Jerry and his "extraterrestre" little pick. =)

Jerry. =)

Ok. Now comes the real photo shoot.

William Arturo Viera (que si no hubiera, no comiera=)

Ryan Dale Eicher

Jerry Jeffry Sanchez (poor dude was sooo cold=)

They weren't even posing in this one, and Carmie took it. I just LOVE it for some reason. =)

I know. This one is slightly depressing, but it's one of my favorites too. =)

So now you must agree that my brothers are about the handsomest 3 guys ever...not to mention all the brothers that are missing here. (Hi Dar! =)

Que Dios les bendiga.

me

Every saint has a past; every sinner, a future.              ~A Good Woman

Ok. This is like a really FAST update. I just had to upload some pics I took on the weekend...had so much fun. Why is it that these people make me feel so much closer to God? Maybe it's because they're so close to him. I always come away feeling inspired and a little bit better for having spent time with them.

I don't even have pics of half the people I wanted to get pics of...partly because I'm always so busy having fun that I forget to take them, and partly because I forgot my camera the one day. I REALLY regret that, cuz there's some amazing untaken pics that still haunt me. I guess there's nothing I can do about it now though!

Michael took this one. I do believe he was winking at her...do you think she looks happy about it? I think I detect a very slight smile.

I FINALLY got to see Thellie again! It's been almost a year since I saw her...it was pretty amazing...I miss you again already...

Motz and Paige.

BOBBY!!! 

Mi Carlita with Esther...love this one. (Thelma took it=)

I'm not sure if I should apologize for this one or not, Michael. I told him to look at me, and this was his response. I love this pic!

Checking out some new gadget...I think he was showing them a game.

JOY!! =)

Meggie...playing with Bobby's hand. The difference is pretty amazing.

Katie. =)

MOTZ!!! =)

Ro.

Kenny! =)

Big sis. I miss you. *sniff*

Random scenery=)

(please appreciate these. I think I froze my fingers down to little icicles in trying to satisfy my photography urges. =) 

My little birdie friends.

Chicadees are my favorite. They really are so spunky and cute. 

Random insert to keep things from getting boring. =)

Us girls on clash night...well, that's not really "us girls". It's our feet. =)

Ok. I have to go study now. =)

Live every moment to the fullest, my dear people...in Christ. (there's no regrets that way)

Suffering attracts "fixers" like roadkill attracts vultures.    ~random quote for the day =)

So yesterday, exactly a year ago,  we were all sitting around the living room, waiting for the boys to come home from their latest adventure. They'd gone hiking to one of the most beautiful waterfalls I'd ever seen...you'd stand at the bottom and crane your neck to look at the top...and it seemed to go on forever.

They were late. Some of the people around me were starting to get worried. I had a pounding headache...I never get headaches. I sat in my chair in the flickering candelit room (electricity was out--AGAIN)...mostly surrounded by darkness, and tried to think of a worse-case scenario.

What's the worst thing that could've happened? I asked myself. I smiled. Almost smugly. They got stuck, I told myself. It was rainy season...people were constantly getting stuck on the slick, muddy roads. It was a logical conslusion. And one that satisfied me completely. They'd all still come home...dripping wet, laughing at their misfortune, making fun of us for worrying, and being their loud, normal selves.

The phone rang. Someone answered...I'm not sure who...and then I saw the look on her face and snatched the phone from her. I recognized Papa's voice. There was an accident. But they'd found the body...were bringing it home. I felt a scream starting somewhere deep inside me. Whose body? When? Where? NO. This was NOT happening. Couldn't be happening.

I don't remember what I did with the phone...might've dropped it. Or handed it back to whoever I snatched it from. Then I sat down. And just tried to wrap my mind around this new tragedy.

He'd only been there that morning. Strong. Healthy. Sweet. I remember him grabbing my hand (a habit of his with me), and squeezing it till I squeaked in pain...and then chuckling and letting go...I remember him saying, "Cuidese, Flaca..." to ME...when he was the one that was supposed to take care of himself.

I compare his death to what we went through with Ronny, and in many ways, Ronny's wasn't quite so traumatic. With Ronny, we had time to get used to the idea of him being gone...we had some warning. With Erik, it was complete shock. Alive that morning, and then staring at the tarp that held his crumpled up body that very same night. I remember thinking, it's too small. He was a tall kid, too big to fit into that little wrapped up tarp...but I guess breaking all the bones in your body makes you smaller.

He climbed to the very top of that waterfall. And fell every foot of the way down. About 600 ft...it's a long ways...I wasn't there. But the guys say he didn't even scream...but he wouldn't. He wasn't the type to show great emotion...maybe not even in the face of death.

Erik was always phlegmatic. Closed in. Laid back. Easy going...smart. He could pretend not to notice things, but he somehow always knew EVERYTHING about almost everyone...cuz he'd pay attention. He'd see things the rest of us were too busy to notice.

He could fix things. Anything got broke or simly refused to work for no reason, he was there to fix it. He'd take it apart and somehow put it back together so that it would run perfectly. =)

Erik and I weren't all that close...until just a few months before he died. I guess he finally decided I was trustworthy, so he slowly started opening up to me. He'd stand at the door, and do a little head nod to me, then I'd go outside. We'd sit on the porch and solve world problems. Or just our problems. Or just his. =)

He told me about his plans for his future. His struggles with the present. His new found love for someone. His vow of loyalty. And if there's one thing Erik was, it was loyal. Once he was your friend, you could trust him with anything...your life, practically, and he'd be good for it.

One of my favorite memories of him was one night when he did his usual head jerk (telling me to come), and then we went outside and sat on our usual spot on the porch, and he reached into a backpack he'd brought along and drew out a knife and two apples. He preceeded to cut  the apples in halves and give me two halves. *insert*--apples are very rare down there...you savor them with great gratitude. And then as we munched away on his little treat, he talked. He talked even more then than he had other times.  I think it was the last time we talked. That night as he left, he said, "Flaca, pray for me, ok?" I looked at him. "Pray for yourself too, Erik?" He looked me straight in the eyes. "Always." And that's the last time I talked to him.

Erik was my brother. I love him still. And I miss him terribly.

When he was younger...sooo cute! =)

He's the one in the middle in front, with the red shirt. =)

Looking at the moon with binoculars...

admiring a new shirt he got for Christmas...

Taken only weeks before he died...

My favorite of him. Wrinkled shirt, free spirit, wiping his knife on his shirt, middle of green outdoors, happy grin...it captures him. =)

Part of the waterfall...where he died.   

Goodnight everyone...remember to love each other...while you can.

me

 Love is to recieve a glimpse of Heaven.

My favorite christmas gift. (thanks, Hil)

Dar came to visit for Christmas. =)

And he brought Marvin along...was pretty awesome seeing him again. (Que belleza, va Marvin?? )

There's a pretty one of Hil...

Ryan and Anika...

Soccer be calling!! Love the patriotic-ness of this pic. =) Total pride in  our country! =)

Los dos charrales. Anika looks freaked out...for good reason. =)

Then I spent New Years with Ruby!! =)

Love this pic of her. She was telling a story...and her face shows everything of what she's feeling...=)

Got to pull taffy...first time thing. Fun.

Ruby and little niece, Brooke. So cute.

Playing piano...she does it beautifully...

We actually DID go to "The Red Rose Diner" so much fun...so many good memories...

Weather was so cold out there...but we did a photo shoot anyway. =)

ANIKA. =)

She has jerked out all her hair pieces, and was so TIRED of traveling...so when we slowed down in a parking lot, it hit her that we were actually finally gonna stop. She started jumping up and down in her car seat and was yelling, "NUMMIE NUMMIE!!!!!!!!" in this pic. She endlessly cracks me up. 

Love her grin in this one..

my favorite!!

It snowed.

Ok. That's it. =)

me

"We have a little sister and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day that she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver; and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. "                       ~Song of Solomon

I can still remember the first time I read that. I was making my way through the Bible, and the Song of Solomon made sorta kinda NO sense to me. But this verse stuck out. It made sense.

So I write to my little sisters. I think of them as the most beautiful girls in the world (so what if I'm a little prejudice?). So here goes:

Dear girls: you are beautiful. You are perfect. When God made you, I think he must've had extra fun...forming every part of you, and making you so amazingly gorgeous... But more than outward beauty, I love the beauty of your soul. The pain you've been through in life...the pain of loss...the pain of betrayal...the pain of growing up in such an uncertain world...it has all worked to make you shine with the inner light of God's love. You amaze me with your capacity to love despite losing so many of whom you hold dear. And your amazing ability to look at certain situations (that would drive others to complete insanity) and just laugh. You have this ability to look at sticky situations and see the humor in it. And as a result, I have to laugh too...sometimes if you have to either laugh or cry, laughing is the best choice. Even if it makes you look a little bit crazy.

Sometimes, when I think of you, I get this protective urge to just wanna lock you up in a freezer and  not let you back out until the most wonderful man in the world comes to offer you his life...and then I'll MAYBE open the freezer and let you out, but only after I'm completely certain that he deserves you.

So in that verse up there, YOU are the little sister. And when it says that she "don't got no boobs" I take it to mean that she's just kinda young. Like you are. So what are we gonna do when the guys come along asking for you (as they have been already)? Well, now here's the tricky part. It all depends on if you're a wall or a door.

I think of you as an amazing garden of flowers. Pure, beautiful, untouched flowers...and there's a wall around the garden. It's a thick, sturdy wall that no one can get through except for the Master Gardener (God)...and since he owns you, he's working in the flowers...to beautify them even more. Taking gentle care of you in every way...watching in delight as you grow more and more perfect with each passing season. And someday, when Prince Charming comes along, he'll be able to buy the Garden from God, and be able to enjoy the flowers (you) for the rest of his life. But only after he pays the price. Only if he marries you.

But if you're a DOOR...where just anyone can walk through, take a look, smell the flowers, trample and maybe even crush a few, that's when we go get the boards of cedar and lock you up...away from the damage that can come from the ungentle ways of men.

I want you to be a wall. I want you to protect and guard yourself till that one man comes along and wins you over...where GOD is willing to give you to him. Where he will be the center of your relationship.

I think sometimes that being 'solteras' is exactly where we're supposed to be. That's where God has me rightnow. It's like he said, "Beth, rightnow it's just you and me. We're gonna get to know each other...because I love you SO much...and then once we're really, really good friends, and once I've found a man worthy of you, I'll maybe let him have a part of you for a while...till I can have you completely in Heaven...but for now, there is so much I want to teach you..." And then my husband is gonna borrow me from God for a little while. I think he's saying that to you girls too. Because to Him, you are worth more than the gold on a thousand ships...and he loves you beyond the price of rubies...so seek him...and learn to love him with your whole heart.

~Your Big Sis~

  Isn't it AMAZING how God just completely surrounds and envelopes us in his beauty?

me