Quick update....

I've started another blog that can be found here.

^.^

My Life As Of Now.....

Two blog posts in one day? Gasp!

But really, today I'm just in the mood to write. So.... here's a post filled with what happens to be bouncing around in my brain at the moment.

BRITISH LIT..... AKA, THE END OF MY HIGH SCHOOL LITERATURE CAREER

So because of my various ailments during the month of February, I missed about 3 of my British Lit classes. Now if it were any other class, this would probably not be a good thing. However, my British Lit class is great in the sense that you can miss as many classes as you want as long as you keep up with your papers (at least one a week) and at least make it for the tests. I'm not kidding, there is a guy in my class that has made it to about a quarter of the classes and he still is doing well. Sometimes being homeschooled has its perks.

Anyways, I've been going to my lit classes every Monday at 3:00 for the past four years now. It makes me chuckle to think back to how horrible at writing I was back at the beginning of World Lit I. Despite the fact that I am just plain tired of the class now, it really is a great class. Our teacher is the librarian at the Seminary. He is bald (and he frequently reminds us of the fact), he has an incredibly dry sense of humor, and he always finds a way to get something through our heads. For example: every time someone says something like "this quote...," I cringe. One of the first things that one learns in Mr. Brown's lit class is that QUOTE is a verb; QUOTATION is a noun.

Above all, Mr. Brown's class really kindled my love for English. I don't think that I would have ever wanted to be an English major if not for Mr. Brown. Despite the fact that I'm just plain tired of having to drive 45 minutes away every Monday for his class, I really love it and will miss it terribly.

THE HUNGER GAMES..... AKA, MY MOM IS A FANGIRL

As some of you might have heard, the film version of the currently popular book, "The Hunger Games," is coming out in only a few weeks. Now, I liked the book, I really did, but not as much as my mom. I would compare her love of The Hunger Games with my love of Star Trek - it's pretty insane. I was sitting at my computer one night watching YouTube videos when she called me (from downstairs) on my cell phone and said "I'm ordering the tickets." I had no idea what she was talking about, so I responded "What??" "The tickets. For the Hunger Games. The midnight showing." Needless to say, I was kind of surprised.

So my mom, my friend Mary, and I will be seeing The Hunger Games at midnight on opening night. I'm pretty excited :)

LETTER WRITING..... AKA WOW MY ENGLISH NERDINESS IS SHOWING

Recently I have begun a correspondence via letters with my friend Sarah (who lives all the way in California). I had tried to do this before with some of my other friends but our attempts to keep the correspondence up failed miserably. Sarah and I are determined to keep it up, though. We've gotten off to a good start so.... we shall see!

D-NOW.... AKA THE BEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR

So now I'm preparing for the insane weekend that is D-Now. Even though I technically haven't graduated High School yet, the Student ministry has contacted me about being a co-leader for the middle school/early high school girls. I'm so very excited about this! D-Now has always been an amazing, encouraging, and convicting weekend for me and I am so thrilled that I can continue to be a part of it! I'm beginning to pray that the Lord will work on the student's hearts during D-Now weekend and that He will help me be a witness to them in everything I do even after D-Now is over.

COLLEGE.... AKA DUH DUH DUHHHHHHH

I think I'm at the point where I'm actually realizing that I leave for college in a matter of months. College. Hours away from my family and most of my friends. Living with strange people. Trying to find my way around a strange campus. It's TERRIFYING. I keep trying to tell myself that there are going to be a lot of other freshmen in the same boat as me.... totally lost and scared out of their minds. I know that I'll probably be fine but it's still pretty intimidating to think about. Thankfully I'll know at least two people down there so that's a plus. I'm definitely just asking God to help me remain strong in my faith while I'm there, away from my family, church, and friends.

I guess that's all for right now...

Much love!

Andrea

The History of Me..... Or, My Mouth At Least

Hello my lovelies!

So this last month has been a whirlwind. It feels like it was over before it began! To tell you the truth, I really didn't get much done at all this month. I've only really been feeling up to doing the bare minimum and nothing else. I hate that, but getting an operation done on your mouth closely followed by crazy allergies really takes a lot out of you.

Now, some of you might be wondering what exactly what I had done during this operation. In order to tell you that, I think you might need some back story. I decided to give you the long version because I'm about to have even more stuff done and I thought I would just go ahead and get the story out of the way now :) So, here goes nothing....

I was born with a cleft lip which was just a smidgen away from being a cleft palette. Because my cleft went so close to my palette, it affected my nose as well, causing one side of my nose to…. well, not form correctly. Basically one nostril was much smaller than the other and that added to the fact that I also had a deviated septum….. I've always had more trouble breathing than most.

Anyways, growing up with my whole cleft lip issue wasn’t always the most fun thing in the world. When I was only a few months old, I went in and had my lip closed up so that was taken care of early on. However, the operation left a scar and I was frequently asked about it, sometimes even teased. That and my lopsided nose fueled the little immature children that I socialized with and caused me to be really insecure about my face basically up until I was about 16. Braces were another issue. My teeth were horrible so I really didn’t notice for a while that I was missing one where the cleft was. I’m pretty sure I went through at least 10 false teeth on account of me breaking/losing them while I wore braces. I was kind of an experiment for my orthodontist haha.

Two years ago I had surgery on my nose, both to fix the deviated septum and to open up my nostril with plastic surgery. Recovering from that was an adventure but now I can actually halfway breathe out of the nostril. (although there still is a bit of scar tissue in there…. seeing as both the ENT and the plastic surgeon were working on me at pretty much the same time, the plastic surgeon couldn’t do as much as he wanted so I’m probably going to have another operation done soon to get the scar tissue out and maybe open my nostril up even more.) After that operation, I got many a judgmental look after I told people what exactly I had done. People hear “plastic surgery” and they automatically think it was purely cosmetic reasons and they judge. While I did want my nostrils to be even, I wanted even more to be able to breathe like a normal person so no, I am not one of “those people” thank you very much.

So now just recently we’ve started to tackle the whole “that tooth never grew in so we’re going to need a semi-permanent fake one in there until we can do an implant….. if THAT’S even possible” procedure. Right before I got my wisdom teeth taken out a few months ago, I replaced the fake tooth I was sporting at the time (one attached to a wire which was attached behind my teeth…. it was an ugly little thing but it didn’t budge and I liked it enough) with what I have now: a clear, plastic retainer with not one but two fake teeth in it. Basically, the gap left by the nonexistent tooth had grown and one big tooth in that space just wouldn’t work. I really didn’t care about sticking another fake one in the space as long as there wasn’t a huge gaping hole there.

Ok so this retainer thing is a pain in the butt. I can’t eat with it in, it needs to be cleaned constantly, I have left it at home more than once and so I’ve had to turn back around and get it (causing me to be late for lots of stuff)…. it just isn’t convenient. But we got it because, at the time, we were planning on doing all sorts of procedures this year so I could have the implant done with before I left for college. Well, clearly that plan didn’t pan out. Basically I’ve seen at least a half a dozen people about this and what they’ve all been thinking is that my cleft goes too far up so an implant might not be possible. Even if it is, it’ll be much more radical than we were thinking it would be.

So what we decided to do was go ahead and do the gum graft (which my dentist and periodontist insisted I do because apparently if I didn’t do it soon, my gum on either side of my cleft would start receding and cause me lots of problems and it wouldn’t be good. such encouraging words.) so that would be done and then just pop a bridge in there just to get me through college and we would address the possibility of an implant after I got school out of the way.

So that's where I am now. Am I a normal cleft case? Well I don’t know because I’ve never met anyone remotely in my situation before. I wish I knew someone like me…. someone who was born with a cleft lip that I could talk to and sympathize with. Frankly, having to go through all of this has really stunk and I have wished countless times that I could have been born normal so that I could have a pretty nose and nice teeth and a scarless lip and wouldn’t have to go into a new dentist office and hear “you’re going to be a challenge” for the millionth time.

I guess one of the best parts of all this is the knowledge that I’ve gained from this whole thing…. the fact that, if I do meet someone either like me or with a child like me, I can at least encourage them and help them get through this without throwing a chair through the wall. Also, I’ve kind of gained a better view on myself…. like, dealing with the teasing and stuff with my nose and lip has helped me focus on the things that I really like about myself and not focusing on small details like my stupid nose.

And, above all, I’ve really learned to appreciate breathing in general!

So that's my story as of now. I still have at least two if not three more operations to look forward to after college, but right now I'm taking a break. It's a lot to go through.

Ok, I've rambled on for long enough. I hope all of you are having a great week!

Much love,

Andrea

Why I'm Single (and other epiphanies)

So tonight during our college service at church, we had this panel with my church's pastor, his wife, my college minister, his wife, and another couple that attends our church as well. It was basically so that we could ask questions about how to have a truly Godly relationship (dating, marriage, love, sex, etc.). It was pretty awesome :) It got me thinking about my own (lack of) relationship and why, in fact, I am single and have been for.... well, forever.

Basically, I have always had high standards. I don't believe in casual dating at all. Dating is really serious and shouldn't be taken lightly. So, therefore, I'm waiting for God's best for me. I'm not settling for second best just because I want to be dating someone. My standers for the guy and the actual relationship are pretty high, but not impossible (at least.... I don't think they are.... X]). I'm not going to settle for the first guy that comes up to me and says "you're hot, wanna be my girlfriend?" (I almost did that but thankfully I listened to God when he told me "NO, NOT THAT ONE!")

I have always hated seeing my friend's relationships fall apart because of some stupid argument. Through watching my friend's relationships, I have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. One of the biggest things is: DON'T THINK THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS ALL ABOUT YOU. IT ISN'T. The most successful relationships that I have seen (aka the marriages that last the longest, happiest couples, etc.) are the ones that both the man and woman are totally humble and selfless, dedicating their relationship to God and basically just serving the other person. That's the way that all relationships need to be: totally selfless and, above all, God-centered.

So that's what I want: a guy who will not only take care of me, but that I can take care of. A guy that I love so much that it becomes a selfless love. And, most definitely, a guy who is more in love with God then he is with me. So what if I have to wait another ten or even twenty years? If it takes that long for God to send in my perfect guy, my "knight in shining armor" if you will, then so be it.

On a totally different note, I'm rewatching The Office. I had forgotten how frustrated yet happy Jim and Pam's relationship made me during the first few seasons. X]

So that's it for now! Please keep me in your prayers in the upcoming weeks. I'm getting some operations done on my mouth soon and basically we just need wisdom for some upcoming decisions regarding the operations. Fun stuff :P

Love you all!
-Andrea

NaNoWriMo and Allergy Brain

Hello all!

November has begun and so has the anticipated yet at the same time dreaded event - NaNoWriMo. After getting off to a slow start, I wrote close to 3,000 words yesterday and caught up to the suggested word count for the day. Today, however, I'm having a small case of writer's block. One moment my brain is vomiting ideas faster than I can type them and the next... poof. Gone. It's slightly infuriating and I find myself desperately looking for distractions, but stumble on in the end. Last year I failed miserably, quitting after a week, but hopefully I'll actually reach the daunting 50,000 word goal this year. Wish me luck!

I have also recently found myself having to deal with my seasonal allergies. Coughing I can deal with. Sore throats I can deal with. I'm even ok with a stuffy nose. But a runny nose? I do believe that a runny nose is the most annoying ailment to deal with. A constant flow of mucus that you can't seem to stop... and then after you recover, you're left with a sore, red nose from dealing with the runny-ness. It's so irritating!

Allergy brain is also been plaguing me. Going throughout the day, only half aware of what is happening on account of my foggy brain... alas, life goes on and drags my allergy-ridden self along with it.

I hope you all are having a good week!

Much love,

Andrea

Catching up...

Hello all!

I apologize for the long absence. Every day is crazier than the last and blogging was far from my mind.

I'm getting really pumped about going off to college. Ever since I got accepted at Mississippi State, stuff has been falling into place college wise. I took the ACT again and got almost exactly the same score as the first time - only a point different! I took that as a sign from God that it's time to stop.

School has been... well, school. I'm doing pretty well in the classes that I'm taking at a local community college (which is good). One day, one of my fellow classmates (and fellow dual-enrolled homeschoolers!) mentioned that he, another person, and I were all still in high school and all homeschooled. One of my classmates looked at him and said, "But you three are the smartest in the class!" Needless to say, that comment boosted my confidence a bit.

Right now, I'm just trying to finish everything so that I can finally graduate this spring. I've gotten a bit off track recently so I'm slowly cutting out my biggest distractions. It's not easy, but it's helping a lot.

And lastly, I got my driver's license about a month ago! After suffering through driver's ed and long, crazy car rides with my parents, I finally felt ready. So, on my 18th birthday, I did it! It was nerve wracking and the instructor's attitudes did not help in the slightest, but I did it! I think my mom is the happiest. I can now run errands for her and drive myself places without having to have her in the car with me.

I'm going to try to update more regularly from now on. Ha! We'll see how that goes!

Much love,

Andrea

"God is good all the time!"

Hey all!

This past month has been pretty awesome. I admit, it got off to a slow and rather boring start, but the last two weeks have been pretty amazing.

Last week my brother went on a mission trip to Ohio with our church's puppet team. I knew from experience that he would have a great time. The whole team that went came back changed. They returned on Friday. My brother went straight upstairs and a short "Hey! How was your trip?" "Great!" was the only interaction we had until Sunday. I was sitting with my parents in the balcony that morning and was simply watching the congregation during the invitation like I always did when I saw my brother stand and go forward. Even though he had said nothing to me about what happened that week other than it was "great," I had a hunch on why he was going forward. And I was right. During his mission trip, my brother accepted the Lord and became a Christian. I admit, I cried. I was so happy. And he wasn't the only one that had gotten saved that week! Four others had prayed to receive Christ as well!

This happy news was followed by VBS this week. I had one action-packed, exhausting week with a great group of fifth graders! They were truly a blessing as well as the people I worked with. On Thursday during our Bible time, we separated into smaller groups of about 5-6 kids and talked about our Bible story for the day. We were studying the story of the woman at the well and our question was "How does this story make you feel?" I guess up to that point, I had never sat down with kids that age and got deeper into the Bible than "normal." The amount of insight that some of these kids had was amazing. Our question seemed easy enough to answer. I never expected that these fifth graders would go as deep as they did. I didn't get one word answers like I thought I would. I heard paragraphs about how amazed these kids were by this story and how shocking some of the facts were to them. It truly blew me away!

Overall, I look back and feel humbled and amazed at how God has worked in just this last week-two weeks! Our God really is an awesome God!

This week, I will be attending the dreaded Driver's Ed! As an (almost) eighteen year old, I feel like I'm doing this extremely late. I definitely will be praying that God would give me some humility this week! If you guys wouldn't mind, please be praying that God would give me humility and compassion. Not only this week, but every day of my life. I find that it's an area I struggle in quite a bit!

Much love,

Andrea