Several Unrelated Items. . .

1.) My dear mother started a blog for our family!! I'm not sure exactly how she is finding the time to post . . . but I think she sees it as a chance to relax from her other, more emotionally and mentally taxing activities. :) The address is http://missourihallslovecompany.blogspot.com/ "Missouri Halls Love Company" (see the explanation on the blog, although if you've ever spoken to my father for any period of time, you've probably heard this expression of his. lol).

2.) The Rolla Royals had their first volleyball games last night! It was quite exciting - we had a large, enthusiastic crowd there at the Middle School, and the girls played hard. The game was against Lebanon. . . our rival homeschool group. ;) Our Jr. High girls played first. Most of them had never played in a game before, and Lebanon's "Jr. High" team had some highschool girls who were quite expereinced. But our team held their own, and stuck in there, although they lost both games. A definite highlight was watching Megan Riefer serve 3 or 4 serves over in a row! Way to go Megan!!

After that were the Varsity games. The girls played well - once they began returning the serves, they really looked good, like they knew what they were doing. :) Some great digs and spikes made it an exciting evening, although we lost all of those games as well. The highlight of those games was Alida getting the volleyball stuck in the ceiling, and a girl from the other team getting it stuck in the basketball hoop. :) Congratulations ladies on your hard work out there, and good luck at your tournament this weekend Varsity!!

3.) I noticed on the Nisbett's blog that today is the one year anniversary of the passing of Amy Wilhoite. I never met her, and was only introduced to her sisters this spring. But a few months ago I decided to sit down and read through her blog. It shares of her struggle with Lukemia, and her ultimate victory over it - not a victory in your typical sense of the word, but a victory none the less. I shed many tears while reading it, and shed a few more today when it was brought to mind again. It really impressed upon me how far reaching one's influence can be - a young lady I never met, and didn't really know of until recently has, through her writing, caused me to think a lot about life. May you, as you go through this day, be encouraged - and remember that you have an impact you may never know of.

4.) As I am writing this, Isaac is watching a video about Florence Nightingale. I don't know much about her, her life, or her faith, so I have been inspired to research that. Since, as of now, nursing seems to be the focus of my next stage of life, it will be interesting, and I hope enlightening. Please let me know if you have any good resources on her to recommend! And I will certainly let you know what I discover on my own.

In Him,

Becky