A Day to Always Remember...

Yes, I am very excited about snow. Picture this...

Sleeping in the warmth of my bed...

looking at the clock...

seeing it's 8 AM...

not really wanting to be in my PJs all morning, so getting up before Elizabeth (who I share a room with), and getting into some clothes...

heading upstairs to see what one always sees on Christmas morning...

and then, SEEING SNOW! and tons of it outside...

staring out the window, thanking God for answering my prayer for a white Christmas....

opening gifts...

laughing...

enjoying eachother's company...

playing team monopoly (Mike loves that game and will get us to play it anytime he can)...

winning *laugh* (Patricia and I really did win)...

taking a brief naptime...

getting all bundled up to go outside and SLED!...

having a brief snowball fight with Mary while we wait for everyone else...

driving on super icy roads and doing some fancy sliding...

getting to a huge sledding hill and getting a little nervous about going down...

climbing the hill and getting more nervous...

taking one of our sleds and getting ready to go down the hill with Dad...

Mike generously offers to give us a push and I get a bad feeling...

he gives us a horrible push and we go flying down the mountain, spinning BACKWARDS!...

I scream...

several times...

we slide to a stop with snow in our faces and down our necks...

and I want to do it again!...

climb the hill....

go down...

climb the hill...

go down on a double inertube with Mike...

get a record of snow down my neck...

think the blow-up inertube is the best because one doesn't feel the bumps...

go up and down several times...

go down one last time with Patricia...

get in the van...

drive home while trying to get warm...

spend a lovely evening eating and playing games...

That pretty much covers our day yesterday (from my perspective). I put up lots of pictures on the family blog the other day and more are upcoming so here's the link... www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope you had as wonderful a day yesterday as I had! Praise the Lord for coming so many years ago and giving us a reason for such bountiful joy...

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, it's that wonderful time of year again! I must say, that Christmas-time is the BEST :) I love how cheerful everybody is (most of the time). I honestly can't believe how fast this year has flown by... Things seem to speed up more the older I get (does anybody else have that feeling?).

So what are you and your family doing for Christmas? We're going to have a (hopefully) white Christmas at our new home here in Denver, Colorado. Christmas Eve we attend a service at church and then have a nice, quiet Christmas day (exchange gifts, eat, play games and football in the snow). I'm a home body so that sounds glorious to me :)

I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas. God bless!

Life in Denver so Far...

My dad's school Dove Christian Academy (www.dovechristianacademy.org) is attempting to raise money and one way they're doing that is by radio ads so today one of my dreams came true: I was on the radio! (And by the way, those who know me know that it most definitely is NOT my dream to be on the radio--totally joking on that one *smile*.) So we all headed inside this nice radio building somewhere in Denver (I'm still not good with directions etc. *sigh*) and went into this nifty recording room. Then my dad said his piece and then all of us kids (my four siblings and I) said, "Dove Christian Academy serves special needs students" (say that four or five times real fast and you'll have a tongue-twister). When the recorder played it back it actually sounded really good (better than it sounded live anyway). So yeah, it was a neat experience.

Besides being on the radio we've been getting more involved with our new Sovereign Grace Church, and enjoying the beautiful Colorado weather! I really need to take a picture of the mountains... They're awesome!

I hope life is treating you well and God bless.

And Life Goes On...

I just finished putting pictures on our family blog www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com of our road trip up here to Denver. Yes, we have now moved into a house in Denver and are beginning to settle in. We haven't bought a house yet (can't do that until our house in GA sells) but we're staying with my dad's old friend named Mike, who's like our uncle and a lot of fun :) He has a five bedroom house (three bedrooms in the basement) so it's working out great so far and I actually really like his house--it's very homey. I'm still sad about the move, but now that we're here I'm beginning to feel like it's home. It's really that I don't like change, but I'll cope with it :) Thanks all of you for your prayers...

Incidentally, it snowed here in Denver last night and this morning we awoke to two beautiful inches of snow on the ground. This morning we walked to the park (which is right down the road--what a blessing) and had a lovely walk in the winter wonderland... :)

Have a wonderful week and God bless!

Goodbye...

It is now a for sure deal: we are moving from Jefferson, Georgia to Denver, Colorado on November 19th, 2007 (Monday). Yeah, that's in less than a week. It's all happened so fast that I feel like I'm gasping for breath and just can't get it. But we are really driving away from Georgia this Monday and there's nothing I can do about it but accept it. I don't want to leave. I've grown comfortable here and I now have deep relationships with many people at my church. I feel like I'm being completely uprooted from everything (except my family) that I love and cherish. It's so hard! And it seems like a dream; like something unreal... Your prayers for me and my family would be much coveted during this time.

On a more general note, the packing is going really well and so far everything is going smoothly. My dad is flying down here on Thursday or Friday to help us all drive up on Monday.

So yeah, that's pretty much it. I know that I'm young and that I, Lord willing, have my entire life ahead of me, but it's still so hard... It's only by God's grace that I don't give in to depression. Yes, I'm moving away from my friends that feel like family, but I'm not moving away from Jesus! He will always be with me, no matter where I go--how very comforting that thought is! Praise the Lord...

Cochran Blog Post!!

Hi blog readers! I posted about Robert, Mary, and Patricia's birthdays on our family blog so go to the below link to see!

www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com

I would post all the pics here too, but that seems kind of silly :) Have a great weekend!

Pictures will be Elsewhere...

Hi faithful blog readers! We have been busy around here because my dad came home for a little over a week and we got to hang out with him. He left for Colorado again this morning and will be back on November 16th to (supposedly) move us! Prayer for our house to sell is still needed, and many thanks to all of you who have prayed for us so far. We now have a FAMILY blog

http://www.cochranfamily101.blogspot.com/

And that is where we will be posting pictures of what our family's been up to. I will still post on this blog, but I will also be posting on the family blog. So go the above link and see what there is to see! God bless all of you...

Whispers in the Dark...

Lately this song has been running through my head... It's really spoken to me and encouraged me, and I hope it does the same for you (although it won't be the same without the great music to accompany it *smile*). I must say the the first verse is my favorite--it gives so much glory to God (God is the one singing the song).

(Verse 1)
Despite the lies that you're making
your love is mine for the taking
my love is just waiting to turn your tears to roses
I will be the one that's gonna hold you
I will be the one that you run to
my love is a burning, consuming fire

(Chorus)
No
you'll never be alone
when darkness comes I'll light the night with stars
hear my whispers in the dark
No
you'll never be alone
when darkness comes you know I'm never far
hear my whispers in the dark

(Verse 2)
You feel so lonely and ragged
you lay here broken and naked
my love is just waiting
to clothe you in crimson roses
I will be the one that's gonna find you
I will be the one that's gonna guide you
my love is a burning, consuming fire

(Chorus)
No
You'll never be alone
when darkness comes I'll light the night with stars
hear my whispers in the dark
No
you'll never be alone
when darkness comes you know I'm never far
hear my whispers in the dark

whispers in the dark
whispers in the dark..."
-WHISPERS IN THE DARK by Skillet from their album Comatose

Quite an Experience

Last night my family, Mrs. Burrage, and I sat still for two and a half hours, listening to a foreign language and looking at people who never spoke. (By the way, this is a riddle.) What were we doing??? (DON'T LOOK BELOW UNTIL YOU GUESS!)


















We were listening to Opera! (the artists never spoke, they only SANG!)

At Bronow (sp?) University in Gainesville, they put on an opera once a year and it's quite a big deal. This year my mom heard of the event and before I knew it, we were all dressed up and heading to an Opera. On the way there I was thinking to myself, "What are we DOING? Opera is boring and the artists sing in a different language anyway." But I went along with Mom's little idea because, I reasoned, Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, it'll be worth watching (and listening to). Okay, that wasn't the only reason I went along quietly; there was a catered mini-meal after the opera and I didn't want to miss out on that *laugh*.

I was pleasantly surprised: I enjoyed the Opera! Of course, they sang about quite, um, sorted things; but it wasn't like you knew what they were saying! The maestro would get on a microphone before every piece and tell the audience what the artists would be singing about and none of it was pretty. A lot of love stories where everyone dies in the end (don't get me started). But if I just forgot about what they were supposed to be singing about and just listened to their voices--oh my, that was beautiful. I don't know if you've ever heard the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack, but on that soundtrack Enya sings a couple of songs in Elvish and I really enjoy those scores because her voice is so beautiful... Same thing last night. This one Asian lady had one of the most beautiful voices I'd ever heard--it was heavenly. And she made it look so EASY! I liked when the guys and girls sang together. This one thin guy came out and when he began to sing I was totally surprised: his voice was SOOOO deep! I was like, Wow! He just didn't LOOK like the type of fellow who'd have a deep voice, you know? They sang in Italian mostly, throwing some French and German songs in there as well. The German sounded the most interesting. And some of the artists were really good actors. Their facial expressions were quite moving...

So all in all I enjoyed it very much. However, I must say that when the first artist (a lady) sang her piece, I was trying really hard not to laugh. It was just new, seeing a person on a stage, staring at the ceiling, and singing in a funny-sounding language (I soon began to think the language pretty, but it took a couple of minutes). Robert was even worse. I was dreadfully afraid that somebody behind us would hear all his comments. He didn't say anything rude, it just took him a little while to get used to it :)

So go to an opera sometime--it'll be a really neat experience; and who knows, you may even like it! I'll give you a little advice: if' it goes late, either bring a snack to munch on at midnight, or make sure you're going to an opera that has sandwiches, cake, and punch afterward!

Youth and Parents

Last Sunday night was our church's Youth and Parent meeting. I am no longer a highschool student, but I have friends who still are so I went as the photographer. I took a whole lot of pictures; in fact, I took so many that they didn't all make it on this blog! It was fun--I LOVE to take pictures! This event took place at the Smith home...

First we ate pizza. From left to right: Steve, Caleb, Hunter. Yeah, I caught some of them at a bad time :)

The ladies. From left to right: Ali, Bekah, Mandy. That's my food in-between Bekah and Mandy.

To me this picture portrays three very different personalities: Mr. Thomas--slightly wild. Mr. Burrage--not really wild at all. Christopher--too wild.

Wyatt, Mik, and Robert enjoying their pizza on the front porch. That's Mr. Ballard's hand holding his plate in the right corner.

To start the official festivities, Mr. and Mrs. Burrage (the youth helpers) dressed up in fun costumes and led a rousing game of Family Feud... They were hilarious.

Whoever knows the answer to the question and slaps Mr. Burrage's hand first, get to answer the question first. Mr. Ballard and his son, Mik, take a go at it.

Mr. Cooke and his son, Noah, have a face-off. Mr. Cooke looks into it, and Noah looks happy (as usual).

And I got it right here, folks. Robert beating Mr. DiMauro by a split second! I love this picture :)

Go Robert!

Mr. Shugart against his daughter, Bekah.

The parents are disappointed that they lost...

After the game we had a short devotional and then everyone just hung out making conversation for a while. From left to right: Mrs. Burrage, Mrs. Shugart, Mrs. Cooke, Mrs. Lidle (sp?)

Noah and Steve in the kitchen.

My mom and Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. DiMauro with her daughter, Mary-Ellen.

Mary-Ellen and Elizabeth kindly pose for me.

From left-right: Mrs. Ballard, Christopher, Mr. Ballard, Mr. Smith.

My dear friend, Bekah, and I.

Ellie and Mary-Ellen having a lovely chat.

My fellow Katie :)

So I go in to get a civilized picture of the guys and I am not able to succeed. Dylan (orange shirt) started all the trouble by refusing to look at the camera for a picture so Caleb and Hunter kindly held him down for a shot, but as soon as they did that I knew my "nice picture" was never going to happen. And don't ask me what Robert's doing--I'm not responsible.

Bekah and Brooke watched my pitiful attempts at order. I wanted order, so I took a picture of them. Made me feel better, you know.

Mr. DiMauro and Mr. Ballard looking quite cheery. :)

Noah, looking as he always does in pictures. After I'd tried to reason with him about how he'd look BETTER if he'd just smile, he told me that if I begged him "on my knees" he'd look normal. What?! I told him to forget it--in (so) many words.

I'll leave you with a sweet picture of Steve and Ali smiling. Have a great week!

Update...

Well, this is my official new blog! It's pretty much the same as my old one though :)

I have some important news: we are now moving near the end of November as a pose to the end of October. Please please pray that our house will sell! That would be such a huge blessing... But God knows best (as always!) and we're trusting in him. Thanks for praying for us as we continue to simply live the life God is calling us to every day of our lives!

On a more personal note, I'm happy our move has been delayed. I love our church and I LOVE Georgia in the Autumn! It's sooo beautiful. So God has made me happy in that little way--thank you, Lord! He's so good and I so don't deserve it...

"Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly FAR more than all we could ask or imagine..." -Ephesians 3:20

Amen.

I've Done It

I know it's annoying when somebody changes a blog or email or whatever, but I was having technical issues with my old blog and so started a new one! I'm sad that I lose all the old posts I'd made, but I'll soon fill this new blog with more than enough! Adios for now...