This weekend has been great.

Caroline, Jenna and I went to Trent and Sydney's house for a girls night. We watched Pride and Prejudice. He's the best adopted big brother.

I've been writing a lot.

The sequel is amazing. I don't know what in the world I'm going to do with the first one...I guess that would be important.

I wrote for almost four hours Tuesday. It was magical.

School is...crazy.

Overwhelming.

I just wanted this year to be different. Easier.

Oh well.

But after it all...

God is good.

John 16:33
        “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

"All our failure and all our fear,
God our love, He has overcome
All our heartache, and all our pain,
God our healer, He has overcome.

All our burdens, and all our shame,
God our freedom, He has overcome,
All our troubles, and all our tears,
God our hope, He has overcome.

All our failures, and all our fear,
God our love, He has overcome,
God our justice, God our grace,
God our freedom, He has overcome.

God our refuge, God our strength,
God is with us, He has overcome."
~Take Heart, Hillsong

I Saw the Light

Ahh.....

I can finally breathe.

Exams were today, and I've never been so grateful to be done(with classical, that is).

This year, in no way, has been easy. There have been many tears...and many hours of frustration. But I made it through...with many people by my side supporting me.

Amanda, Paige, Mary, mom, your support means the world to me and I can't tell you how thankful I am for you,

But most of all, God has helped me through everything. He has helped me through horrible days, continued to strengthen me when I felt like I wanted to give up, and today...he refreshed me of everything I studied this semester for my exams and I feel so proud of what I have accomplished.

This year has been very challenging, I feel like I have learned and accomplished so much that I would have never had the opportunity to do in a public school. I am so thankful for this opportunity to homeschool...and even on the hard days, I have to remember and remind myself that later on I will be so thankful I learned how to study and know how to learn hard material. And though it's been quite rough...next year, oh next year, I have one of my favorite people in the world as my tutor...and well...I'm quite extremely excited. :) And yes I just said I'm excited about school.

The main thing I have learned...other than defending what I believe(don't get me started)...is that God loves me. No matter what. He will never give up. He is always there. Through good and bad. When we are crying. He has placed people in our lives to encourage us and continually be there for us. He's just amazing. And I, after this year, have grown closer to Him...and I feel God has let me struggle through these assignments and this year to teach me that He is all I need, and He will get me through any struggles. And show me that light at the end of the tunnel.

And today- I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. And I breathed a sigh of relief.

Because now I can write a book. And yes, I know I'm a nerd. But hey, that's how God made me! And even after a year of struggling- I'm still thankful for this opportunity to learn, to open my mind...and I'm thankful for everything that God has taught me. He has given me the opportunity of a lifetime- and I'm trying to make the most of each day He is giving me.

~Bailey

P.S. And just incase you didn't pick up on it...I finished Challenge I...and I didn't give up...HA!

And here I am again...

I'm here at the keyboard,

Writing a book...

Writing papers...

Writing blog posts...

I'm here at the books,

Science...

Latin...

Philosophy...

The Bible...

I'm not back at the craft desk...

I'm not back at the piano bench...

Because life has been simply crazy...

But I am back at church...praising God among other believers whose hands are also lifted high in glory and awe of the king.

"Oh, I'm running to your arms,

I'm running to your arms,

The riches of your love will always be enough,

Nothing compares to our embrace,

Light of the world,

Forever reign!

My heart will sing,

no other name, Jesus, Jesus"*

I'm back in the embrace of Jesus.

Here I am again, in the embrace of Jesus. And it feels like life is back to normal.

~Bailey

*lyrics from "Forever Reign" by Hillsong

Just Life...

Ahh...feels good to be back at the keyboard! School has been back in full swing, which makes life a bit crazy! Here's an update on my life for any of you that care...

School: It's going well. Math has been much better so far this semester. For our science research paper I have chosen to do hurricanes and tornadoes! For our intoducotory philosophy course, I am doing a presentation on the Shakers at the end of the semester. I don't agree with their beliefs at all, but they are very interesting!

My book: AMAZING! I have talked with a self publisher who was extremely interested about it, he's calling back in a month to check with me again to see how far along I am. I am stinkin' excited! Once I get it done, I'll have an extra page on my blog so that you all can read the first chapter!

Sonia: So cute, as always! She is growing like a weed...well so am I, but I'm 14 so it's not very normal ;)

I believe that's all I have to tell you right at the moment...sorry if I bored you, but I thought you would appreciate something! Have a great(raining here) weekend!

~Bailey

Top Five Questions I'm asked as a homeschooler

Being home schooled is a blessing from God. There is honestly no other way I would want to be educated. But, when I tell people that I am home schooled they ask some pretty interesting questions, so I'm going to tell you the top five I hear, and my answers for them.

1. Q: So, do you get to do school in your pjamas?
A: No, I don't. My mom would never let me do school in my pjs!

2. Q: Why did you start home schooling?
A: I had a bad first grade year, and my mom and dad felt God calling them to start homeschooling me in second grade.

3. Q: Do you ever get to see your friends?
A: Absolutely! I get to see my friends on Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, and usually one more day a week!

4. Q: Don't you get done at lunch time?
A: noooo, I don't finish until 3 or 4 in the afternoon,

5. Q: Don't you ever think about going to public school?
A: Honestly, no. I hear what my friends from church say about public school and none of it sounds appealing.At.All. None of it.

So there you have it, the top five questions I hear when I tell people that I'm home schooled. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask away, and I will do post to answer them.
~Your Author~Bailey~

Those Days...

Sometimes you have "those days" where everything does not go the way you wanted it to.

Today was one of those days. Physical Science is a bomb, and I hate it. Having to vacuum. Things not going on very well with your siblings, when you are really trying to love them and show them that. School seems like it is never going to end. It was just one of those days...

But, then I begin to ask my self why these days have to happen...

Why I have to struggle loving my brothers?
Why Physical science was ever invented?
Why school takes so long?
Why the Rainbow vacuum was ever invented?
Why can't I have a good attitude on days like this?
Why you have to have sinus headaches days in a row?
Why God lets you struggle?

So many why's, and I'm not quite sure about the answers to any of the questions, which frustrates me. But I know over time God will reveal the answer to all of these "whys". And on these days, I just have to tough through it, and know that next day I get to start over, and most of all remember that because God loves me I have a responsibility to love those around me even if I am having a bad day. Then I can listen to Taylor Swift or Hillsong United, make cards, and text Paige(thanks Paige), and then I am mostly all better.

I just have to remind myself, that even though there are so many unknowns, I do know one thing. God loves me, and lets me struggle so I want to fix those problems even more. And that also means I have to have a good attitude and love those around me, even when I don't want to.

And because he loves me so much, I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

~Thanks for reading my nonsense~Bailey~Psalm 56:3~

I'm alive....

I really am alive, I promise! I have been so busy the last couple of weeks, its been insane! I just got back from camp on Saturday at about 2:30, and it was amazing! I learned so much and grew in my faith tremendously! We all had such a great time, but I don't have time to do an in-depth post about it now. Then before I left for camp we had Summer With The Arts, so I am exhausted! School starts back very soon and i can't say I'm dreading it or excited about it. Just somewhere in the middle I guess, it's just sad to see the summer coming to an end so quickly! Oh- and Emily Grace and I hung out today and I saw Hairspray for the first time...AMAZING! I loved it.

Anyway- just wanted to leave you a quick note saying I'm alive and well!

~Bailey~Psalm 56:3~