You know you've got brothers when..

Today I'm really thankful for my brothers. Yeah. I just have to keep telling myself that.

You know you've got brothers when...

~The formal room has weathered remote control car races
~Family night consists of eating cookies and watching the minion's banana song. Watch it and you'll know what part always erupts a burst of laughter. (hint- think like little boys... always solving things with violence)

 

 

~Playing Settlers of Catan can start as friendly sibling rivalry... and end with World War III
~The house magically does. not. stay. clean. Seriously. One minute you've got clean floors, the next, mud. everywhere.
~The cup song has been played on every surface of your home. the toilet. the couch. the fireplace...
~It sometimes seems like you're car schooled, not homeschooled. Appointments, classes, scouts, and everything in between.
~You get excited when you see lego & starwars stuff on pinterest. I'm so crazy that I'm attempting to cross-stitch Han Solo.

~Trying to do a photo shoot is like trying to swim up the Niagara Falls.
~Lord of the Rings are carefully added into every conversation.
~Everywhere you turn, there's a nerf dart.
~You laugh constantly. Okay, maybe not aloud, but certainly in your head. Seriously, wouldn't you be laughing too if your brother told you that math is clearly overrated and we should just eat pie?
~You understand that God most definitely has a sense of humor.

Modesty- plain and simple.

Modesty has been mind so much lately.
I'm not really sure why, but every morning when I'm trying to get dressed the question of modesty keeps coming up in my mind.

Okay, so I'm going to try to share a little bit of my heart on this matter.

~Modesty is not dressing to attract or draw attention. That's an easy one. Modesty is humility. Taking the focus off you and onto something else, like your faith, your spirit, Jesus.

~Okay, so if modesty is not dressing to draw attention, it means not showing off all you got, but also not dressing frumpy and dirty and yucky.

~Modesty is not always the prettiest, the trendiest, the hottest. Yes, there is tons of fabulous modest clothing, but you sometimes have to make the choice between darling or decent.

~Modesty is dressing in a way pleasing to God. Ask yourself "if I was standing in Jesus' presence right now, would I be comfortable with what I have on?"

Those are just some general ideas of modesty that I have, but you are going to have to form your own view on certain things. Here are a few practical tips on modesty that I try to follow...

~Try to follow the below the knee rule. For skirts and dresses, they should cover your knees. This will ensure that you can bend over and sit down without showing anything.

~Shorts- the fingertip rule plus a few extra inches. When you stand up with your hands at your sides, your fingertips should be touching fabric, not skin. a few inches longer than that always helps.

~With your four fingers placed straight at the base of your neck, your pinky should be touching fabric, not skin.

Since I was around 12, I've felt convicted to wear mainly skirts and dresses. I'm not saying this is for everyone, but I feel much more feminine and modest in them. True, if I'm camping with AHG and it's 40 degrees, I will wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt, but skirts are the way I like to go

So I hope my random thoughts have helped you, or at least not hindered you.
blessings,
Sophia

oh yeah! I almost forgot! Remember my joy dare? Here ya go!
a few things I'm thankful for...

~bananagrams
~apple orchards and corn mazes
~libraries
~tater tots
~sweater mittens
~hobby lobby

My Joy Dare

     So I've been reading Mrs.Voscamp's blog for a while.She is always encouraging me with her poetic thankfulness and her beautiful pictures.

     I've been thinking about it for a while, but I finally decided to take the Joy Dare. I going to take a breath and leap into a crazy attitude of gratitude, a crazy thankful, grateful, lifestyle. I'm going to write down a multitude of things I'm thankful for every day... normal things... funny things... God ordained things...

 

     Will you hold me accountable? Every time I write, I will try to mention some of my 1000 things I'm thankful for. If I forget, (which is not an unusual thing) will you remind me?

Okay. Here goes. A few things I am thankful for today...

~The Autumn rains that make everything smell fresh
~The little brother who snuggled with me this morning
~The tall stacks of books that are full of things just waiting to be learned
~The neighbor who dropped off muffins
~The friends you can crochet and sew and giggle with
~The young pianists who I get to hear play every week
~Amazing Grace

     My hear is full. Wanna know something? when I began this blog post,  my heart was grumbling about the dirty dishes, school undone, freezing feet, and anything else that I could think of, but now those things don't really matter that much. Because of thankfulness.