"In the beginning God created philosophical thoughts... And God saw that it was good"

Ever have those days where all you want to do is sit down and listen to the rain for hours on end? I feel like that now. All I need is some rain and I could seriously stay locked up in my room for a few hours listening to the rain and reading. Writing. No, maybe thinking. I do a lot of thinking. Not many philosophical thoughts though, mainly creating a little fantasy worlds in my head... 

In science, we had a long, intense conversation about God. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking; science class not theology class...  It's actually more of a faith, science, and reason class. At least, that's what it says on the cover of our textbooks; Faith, Science, and Reason. 

The big question was about Genesis. There's two creation stories in Genesis. How can both be true? And if only one is true, why would God include the other? Isn't that a lie? 

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! NO!!! 

To be precise, there are 39 creation stories in the Bible and they range from "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." to "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..." Why did God make so many creation stories? Why doesn't he tell us how the earth was actually created so we don't have all these arguments between the scientific creationist and the scientists and those who believe in the big bang theory etc.? Other things in Genesis have been proven to be true, so why can't the same be said for the creation story? We can't prove if man was made first like in Genesis 2 or if man was made last like in Genesis 1. 

(Didn't I say that this science class was a brain stretcher?) 

God can do anything. The point of these stories aren't to explain scientifically how the world was made. They are there to prove that God can do things like this! That he is good, perfect, loving, merciful, powerful, etc. 

Maybe all 39 of them happened. That is an option. Maybe God is simply putting the story in a way that we can understand with our finite minds. 

It's hard for me to put this into the right words. We'll have to ask God about this when we meet him I guess. 

I wrote a story about Love and Anger. Its pretty cool actually. When I have more time I'll put it up here. I also have a poem I'm going to write that I'll post when I'm done. 

Blaze wants me to help him clean so we don't have to do it tomorrow. Thinking ahead... 

--Abby

Rick Riordan is dead to me

(Certain people will understand the title more than others) 

Rick Riordan is doing this Blood of Olympus tour and one of his shows happened to be near where I live. My friend told me about it a month or so ago and we made plans to get tickets. Well, we got the tickets, but were unable to get the ones that guaranteed seats. So the day finally comes, we're all excited, we get there and theres like 1000 people there. We go and stand in the line of people who have "stand by" tickets. 

And we stand. 

And we wait. For an hour. 

And we watch the people in the "guaranteed seats" line slowly file into the auditorium. We're praying that was get in, we're nervously shaking each other going, "WE MUST GET IN!!!!" 

And FINALLY our line starts slowly filing in. We were fairly close to the front and when we heard them announce that they would take fifty people from our line we were determined that we would be getting in, even if it was only standing room. 

So we walk slowly forward until we're right in front of the doors and the guy in charge (with his fancy microphone and his fancy accent)(I think it was an accent)(it wasn't normal American speaking) cuts us off and says, "Sorry, we are at our full capacity. There are too many bodies in the auditorium already." 

ARE YOU SERIOUS???? WE WAITED A MONTH AND THEN WE WAITED AN HOUR IN LINE SO WE COULD BE TOLD THAT THERE'S TOO MANY "BODIES" IN THERE? 

We were only a bunch of bodies to him. No hearts, souls, or feelings. We were bodies that he could simply shoo away and go home content with himself and check us off his to-do list. 

That could be my pain talking.... 

It worked out though. We went and got ice cream and had a fun time anyways, making fun of that microphone guy who cut us off and spurting out the comment to our imaginary Rick Riordan: So how does it feel to be dead to me?  

Even when something horrible like this happens, you have friends there to laugh with XD. 

This morning I woke up at 5:55 A.M. because the pro-life club at school was going to the LIFEsocal event down by Long Beach. It was a LONG drive, but we got there and it was worth it. 

There were 5,000 kids there, Catholic schools from all over. It was crazy when we got there! We found our seats, eventually, and tried to hear each other over the noise, which was deafening. And then, of course, everyone started screaming even louder when the celebrities came on for the game show at the beginning: David Henrie, a model (I forget her name, I think it was Britney something...), someone I've never heard of and can't remember his name, and of course, a high school senior from our school! Somehow she got picked to compete in it! How cool is that?? 

The speeches were awesome. Immaculee Ilibagiza gave a speech. Her story is amazing! She survived the genocide in her country hiding in a tiny bathroom with seven other people for three months! She's awesome! 

Ta-ta! 

--Abby

In which Penguin has no self-consciousness at all

Bonjour! I have returned for only a quick visit, I'm waiting for Blaze to be done with his piano lesson so I can have mine and I decided to pop in and post. 

My amazing grandparents hath come! They're staying for a few weeks, and their visits are always really fun. Saturday, for example, we spent the entire day swimming. Today we went bowling (we being me, my grandpa, Blaze, Penguin, and Mary Rose). Penguin hadn't been thrilled to go bowling, he complained that he just won so much he got bored. It ended up happening, and yes, he won. (I won the second round. Yay me!) 

Penguin is a child to be admired. He hardly ever gets embarrassed over the things I get embarrassed about. For example, we spent most of the morning out and about, going to Target for halloween costumes, bowling, and going out for lunch, and he (I love this) spent the whole time in his pajama pants. He went to TARGET in his flannel PJ pants! And a RESTAURANT! And to the BOWLING PLACE! And NO ONE looked twice. He's so confident and awesome and boss like that. He doesn't worry about what others are thinking about him. Mostly. Sometimes he.... never mind. 

But seriously, flannel PJ pants with blue and grey wolves on them. Why can't I have that kind of confidence?? 

Mary Rose has started taking piano lessons with us. She's only seven and doesn't really know how to read, but still she's doing pretty well! 

I know this was a short post, but Blaze's piano lesson is about to be over. I have a feeling I'll be posting again tomorrow, as it's going to be an interesting day... 

OH before I go, I want you all to know that I wrote a pretty cool story and I'm dying to share it with you but now isn't the time. 

Adieu! 

--Abby

International day and other stuff

Today was international day at school. Each class was given a country and we had to dress up like they do in that country and also prepare a feast. 9th grade was Germany. I know close to nothing about Germany. Well, I used to. Now I know that 

1) Germany is famous for their cakes

2) They have the best beer (...) 

3) They like meats

4) The men tend to brag about how much beer they can drink at once 

5) Germany is WAAAY less chaotic than my class XD 

Ok, so Germany is actually a pretty cool country and the above isn't all I learned. But we were doing a lot of preparation for the feast so I learned a lot about their food. 

We all showed up at school in costume and omigoodness, we are a bunch of weirdos. A good bunch of weirdos. XD A lot of the costumes were amazing! Mine was underwhelming... For the feast itself, each country got its own table and you decorate it and stuff. We decorated ours to look like a German bar, steins of rootbeer included. Plus bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato salad, rolls, German chocolate cake, black forest cake, etc. For our entertainment, we held a contest for the teachers: who could chug a whole stein of rootbeer in the least amount of time. Basically, this consisted of multiple teachers drinking rootbeer at a speed that shouldn't be humanly possible while we stand around screaming "CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!" and cheering. 

Yeah. 

Ok. 

It was actually kinda fun. The food itself was really good! I'm not a fan of sausage, but I have to admit, the bratwurst was pretty awesome. 

So thats international day. On to other things. 

Tonight my siblings and I watched Kung Fu Panda which we haven't done in like a billion years. Why are the villains the most awesome people in movies? Seriously, Tai Lung is so boss in the scene where he escapes prison. If he had been good, he would be so AWESOME. No, scratch that... If he had been good he would have been too perfect. 

But the story itself is actually really cool. The whole theme about being yourself even if "yourself" isn't what others want to see. Sometimes you wish you could add a "secret ingredient" to make yourself even better. 

But, there often isn't a secret ingredient. Its only you. And nobody else out there can be you better than you can

Ok, I need sleep. 

--Abby

Excuse me while I faint from excitement

HOLY COW PEOPLE THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS CAME OUT TODAY I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

My friend Tessa went to Barnes and Noble ALREADY and could be reading it AS WE SPEAK. TYPE. WHATEVER. 
And yes, Tessa, I shall be borrowing it from you when you are done because thats what friends are for. XD 

THE LAST HEROES OF OLYMPUS BOOK EVER IS OUT AND PEOPLE ARE READING IT. 

Let me rephrase that. 

THE LAST PERCY JACKSON BOOK EVER IS OUT AND PEOPLE ARE READING IT!! 
THE LAST ONE! 
EVER! 

I'm going to go fangirl now. 

KSNLVEHRBKWFRNEIFOHUNRQ3UGHFNCHRGBFHVYHDGHFNHCEKSGAFNUCFHDSGBCDHNERUIFGHENRFGCNEHXKBDFNHSKAFBNCHFDSBFCNHDSFNCHDSBFNCHDSBFN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Oh, Percy, we've had some good times. The time you fought Medusa. The time you said hi to the pink poodle. The time you saved Mt. Olympus. The time you almost died. The time you and Frank got stuck in that fish tank. The time you lost your memory. The time you got your memory back. The time you almost died. Again. But this time it was in Tartarus so it was like MEGA almost died. 

And now its almost over. Over these ten books I made some awesome fictional friends. And enemies (I don't particularly care for Frank, thankyouverymuch). And I shall reread every book. A million times. And then another ten times, just because that how awesome these books are. 

I need to stop talking about it. 

Now, for all you who don't already know: 

Risk; the new Monopoly. 

Blaze and Penguin got Risk yesterday and the three of us started a game last night. Our team names (be prepared to gain a newfound respect for my talent of naming stuff): 

Blaze: The Rebels (red) 
Penguin: The Crusaders (green) 
Moi: The Bloody Waters of the Frozen Wasteland Filled With Butterflies and Rainbows (BLUE!) 

Within the first five minutes, I had all of Europe, Penguin had all of South America, and Blaze  had all of the Australia/New Guinea/Indonesia area. All I really cared about was getting Europe 'cause Europe has FRANCE. And ITALY. 
The game is still going on. 

School has been sucking up my life. Plus all the other stuff I'm doing: Piano, art, aerial, drama (possibly), confirmation class, and service hours (which I haven't started yet, but I seriously need to...) 
It may not seem like much, but its a lot if you think about it. I also need time to read, write, draw, sleep, and eat. Oh, and breath. Can't forget to breath... 


--Abby

Jog-a-thon

My school picked the worst day possible for a jog-a-thon. 

That's right. I ran almost five miles before lunch today. And then I ate Chick-Fil-A. And then I felt like throwing up. In this heat.

So we get to the park and its already heating up. They always have a table with bagels, muffins, water, lemonade, etc. I knew if I ate/drank something sugary I wouldn't make it through the jog-a-thon so all I had was water. EVEN SO I just barely made it. I was running with some friends and twice I said, "I'm gonna stop for a sec, I feel nauseous." 

IT WAS REALLY PATHETIC. I ONLY RAN 25 LAPS AND YET I FELT HORRIBLE. 

I'm a mess. I can't run. 

Blaze, however, ran 48 laps. And Penguin ran 30. 

After, everyone was sprawled out on the grass breathing slowly or running around the playground when they brought out--

drumroll, please

*drumroll* 

THE CHICK-FIL-A COW! 

It was girl, weirdly. Isn't it usually a boy? It had a pink shirt and a bow and stuff... Anyway, if you've never had a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A, SHAME! MEGA-SHAME! YOU'RE MISSING OUT! It's like a little piece of Heaven has taken the form of chicken deliciousness and landed in your hands. They're so good!!!!! 

After that, some kids from my class and I sat on the grass and entertained ourselves with those mini cows they hand out and sang random songs. 

As soon as I got home, I kicked off my shoes and collapsed on my bed and just breathed... Until my mom said I had to go to my orthodontist appointment. I couldn't bring myself to get up. I could've spent an hour just laying on my bed and relaxing my tired feet. Finally I said to myself, Abby, you have to move now. I moved my leg over an inch. 

There, I moved. 

I have a couple stories I'm working on, but I'm too tired right now to work on them. I'll be back when I'm not dragging myself around and then collapsing anymore.

--Abby

Where's my rain?????????

Alrighty, people. I have a lot to say, so get comfortable. (I recommend a blanket and a cup of tea.) 

Today was a rather interesting day. First of all, I'd like to welcome our new guests: the Santa Anna winds and 90 degree weather. 
*opens door and welcomes guests* 
*secretly wishes guests would leave* 
IT WAS SO HOT. AND WINDY. AND DRY. I HATE IT. MY LIPS WERE CHAPPED ALL DAY. 

And its going to be even HOTTER tomorrow. The weather channel said it would rain today. Lies.

Besides that, in Latin we made a treasure hunt for the 10th grade Latin class. We made clues in Latin and they had to find them and translate them to find the grand prize: a large tray of homemade cookies! (I ate some too. I think I ate too many.) Anyways, it was fun, even if we had to run around campus in that wind/heat. At one point, my friend, her sister, who was in the treasure hunt, and I were walking towards the classroom where the grand prize was and neither I nor my friend realized it until we were at the threshold. My friend (I'm tired of calling "my friend". She shall henceforth be known as Rene) kinda blocked her sister and looked at me like ABBY! I, being me, didn't understand until Rene mouthed She's gonna see the cookies! Then I had a lightbulb moment and (finally) understood and said something like, "Uhhh, Rosie come here, I want to show you something!" 
As my science teacher says, one day my brain will kick in and then I'll be really dangerous. XD 

For Pro-Life Club, we're doing this thing where we adopt an unborn baby who's in danger of being aborted. We name it (theres a little certificate and everything!) and pray for him/her every day for the next nine months. Mine is a boy, I decided, and I named him Felix. HOW ADORABLE IS THAT. 
You don't have to be in the Pro-Life Club to do this, you know. You could adopt a baby of your own. Its really helpful and could save a life. 
Or you could help me pray for Felix. That's good too. 

I'm working on some drawings. I'll share them with you when they're presentable. 

{It's going to be sooooooooooooooo hot tomorrow........} 

--Abby