Happy New Year?

Happy New Year, Everyone!
As I look back and reflect on the things of 2010 I see, the good, the bad, the regret, the happiness, the sadness, the pain etc. You can't hide it. If you asked me what the #1highlight of 2010 was, I would not be able to answer. Because it was really good overall, but hard at the same time.

I could elaborate for hours on the year(esp. Dec!;) but instead Ill just share some pictures of us bringing in the new year, at the Keith home. Enjoy. :)
Joah and Stephen on wii dance.

Just a taste of the firework show that Nate and Cameron put on...I think we must have had at least 200 all together if not more! lol
Joah and Stephen, best buds when they're together! ;)
I decided it would be best to wear a wig to bring in the new year. ;)
All of us girls. Freezing. :)
It was a happy moment. And if your wondering whom the young man in the pink wig, crown, tutu and lab coat is, that's Dominic, what a character! haha
And last one, josh. :)
It was definitely a good night.

I'm not one for new year resolutions but, this year I pray that God will bless it for you all and that there will be joy in your heart and no regret.
I plan on having more patience, love in my heart and to grow more and more in love with God everyday.

Random fact: I don't feel like it feels like a new year at all...

Verse : "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Mandie

Gale

So yesterday was my Uncle Gale's funeral.

We showed up right on time and were seated immediately. All the way there I was holding back the flooding tears. And when they started to play that wonderful song, "I can only Imagine" the flood gates were opened. Even tho I didn't know my uncle incredibly well, it was just so overwhelming. He's a loved one and thats all that matters.
My cousin, Kyle, preached a great message. A few more songs were played. Then we had a sharing time of memories of who he was and being with him. The last time I saw him was in April.

We were at my aunts house for a family reunion and all my family members and I were exchanging hugs and I didn't even notice him sitting in the corner when he rubbed my back and said, "well, do I get a hug" In turn I didn't even say anything but gave him the biggest hug I had in me.

After the ceremony we were escorted 45mins to the cemetery and when we got there my cousin preached a few more words, then, because my uncle served in the national guard, they shot off 3blank rounds, that by the way , scared the day lights out of me; and then we left and went to my aunts house and had a wonderful time. Saw a lot of family I haven't seen for years. Served my uncles favorite foods, including taco's and doughnuts. ;)

He was the most patient, loving, funniest person I knew.
And I was thinking, you know, he died right before Christmas, how sad, but then God said to me,
yes, I took him home early, but he got the greatest gift of all and he is now in paradise with me. No more sorrow, no more pain, trials or doctor visits. He's with the Lord now and thats the best place to be.

I had to share this because he was really special and I really loved him.

God Bless,
Mandie

May you all have a very blessed special Merry Christmas!

Glendale Glitters Christmas Recital

Last night was the Christmas recital at Glendale Glitters. Every year my teacher gets invited to bring all her singers to sing there. And its always so much fun!

We started rehearsing in September! Yes, that early. It paid off. This year was just a bit different tho, she did have one of her talented pianist come to play a piano piece. I felt his pain as he sat at the piano Thur. night trying so hard to play his song with all these distracting noisy girls! haha But he did very good. We must have ran the program 30times before calling it a night.

Yesterday was the big day! We had to be backstage at 5pm sharp. Then we had to wait for Lori to get there to hand out our passes so the Security guards could let us in(ok, they really were nice tho!). It went by sooo fast! I'm sad its already over.
It was very hard to keep all the girls quiet while the other singers were on stage. Some of those girls are very obnoxious and bratty! The only time they obeyed was when Marshal was in charge. Oh well!

Quite a few little girl groups went before it was out turn to go on stage. Here is the first song we sang(not all of my group, actually, 4 of these girls aren't even in my group hehe).
Me, Emily, Ally, Karlie, Erin and Julia. Then right after us Tiffany and Rachel sang Silver Bells. I LOVE their voices. So pretty.

The second song we sang was, yes, Santa Baby. I was so nervous about singing this song because we have never had a boy dresses as 'santa clause' gawk at us while singing! But we were fine. If you want to watch, here is the link, http://www.youtube.com/user/AmandaN93/u/7/--571VeQejI

Anyways, despite my nervousness and my horrible cold, I think I did pretty darn well! ;)
And here is the Peace, Peace, Peace song that the whole group got to sing. :)

It was a great success! Now, I will say that after us a group of elderly women came to do an act after us and kudos to them for getting up there and being active etc. But, the way they dressed so not right even if you are 80 and don't care(yes, they ranged anywhere from 65-80). So anyways, Emily and I were in the bathroom fixing up before going out and this lady comes in, in her skimpy outfit and her stick body and says " you guys did such a wonderful job, such lovely voices!, now, just think keep this up and one day you can look just like me!" No thanks, I'm good. It was gross.
Here are a few fun shots! Rachel and Madison

Stephen and Joah

Emily, Erin and Karlie being goof balls! haha
















Abby, Emilee and Rachel
And one last one, not my favorite, but its pretty much the only shot we got together, Em and I. :)
Sorry this is sooo long, but I had to get it all in. haha

Random fact: I'm wondering how long its gonna take to get this glitter spray outta my hair.

Verse:"For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose". Philippians 2:13

Hope everyone has a great day!

Mandie

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know, a little early. But Better now than never! ;)

We'll be super busy these next few days(and weeks!), so I won't have time to be on the computer much at all. I just wanted to update a bit, real quick.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays out of all of them. And I got to think'n a few days ago-actually, this is something thats always been the obv.- This day is set apart for more then just silly super-bowl games and laughing and eating until we burst(Not that I ever do) like the world has made it out to be, its about remembering those who came to America and what they made this nation to be(or what it was) and what they came for- 'a better life', to worship Christ freely and being thankful for that. And giving thanks for everything.

Some of the things I am thankful for:
Being placed by God in a Godly home.
To have been homeschooled. haha
A roof over our heads.
My family.
My amazing friends.
To be able to worship Christ Jesus freely.
The Bible.
To be able to play the piano. If it weren't for my aunt, I'd never have discovered it.
Books. Because I love them.
And, music. And a lot lot more that I just can't think of, but I placed the most important. ;)

Like I said, we'll be busy here for the next few weeks. I have a GGCR coming up in two weeks!! Exciting! And the regular shabang that comes with the holidays. :)

Hope you all have a blessed week.

Verse~Psalm 107 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Random fact: God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends that we all are able to encourage each other and can just have a great time with, but if I had to choose a day with one or the other, it'd be my mom. Because she's the bestest friend anyone could have. And she always blesses me with tips on how to do things and teaches me how to be a great 'homemaker'. :)

Oh, Ill also be putting up a Christmas playlist in a few weeks. So, look for it. :)

God Bless
Amanda

When writers give you books, read 'em! :)

With all do exceptions, of course!

I have been reading A LOT lately. And tho life never slows down, I find time.
Have any of you heard of the lamplighter book, The Wide Wide World? (there are two vlms.) That book(more like novel) was a good read! It took me two months to read it, but only because I was soooo busy. Usually only takes me two days to read a good sized book. I won't tell you what its about , or what happens (just encase you haven't read the book, but if you have, lets elaborate together:)) But what I will say is that this book really shows and teaches you how to deal with trials and losses and whom to go to when you are(God). its a really good book. I only cried once, but it was a satisfactory cry. haha!

Read "Seeing the invisible~Being aware of Gods presence" Uhm, can I just say that book was absolutely a blessing and soo good! By Mari Irwin.

Then I read A Walk To Remember.Emily let me barrow that one, I got it from her Tues. afternoon, and finished it last night(wed. the 3rd) She was so surprised to hear I had finished it so fast! haha it was just so good. Sad, happy, and at times made me so vexed, but in the end it was really good.

Working on Hines feet for high places and So Much More right now.
Rest your little hearts, I am reading my bible everyday more then my books aswell! ;)

And its that time of year again! I love the holidays, baking, social gatherings with all your loved ones, baking parties, thanksgiving, going up to the rim to pick out a Christmas tree, ornaments exchanges with family, AND friends. Remembering and esp, taking time to thank God for all the wonderful things He blesses us with in life. I just love it! :)

Well, I won't bore y'all anymore. Hope your all doing well.

Random Fact: I am absolutely obsessed with Kyle Landry's piano covers/songs he writes himself. I have printed off several of his songs to learn for myself! haha If your curious enough, here is link to his youtube....http://www.youtube.com/user/kylelandry

Verse:Ecclesiastes 10:12
"Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips."

God Bless,
Mandie

Prayer Request.

Hey guys!

*Update Edit*
The surgery went really well! He will probably be there for 2/3 days with a draining tube in his neck to let all the fluids drain out. And they will see where to go from there. I would post before/after pics, but Ill let him do that if he wants. He is doing good, starving(hasn't eaten for 30hrs) but good. Thanks for your prayers! :)

Could you all please pray for Micah?
For the past few weeks he has had a swollen lump type thing on his neck and yesterday he went to get a CTscan and then to our pediatrician. Yesterday evening he was admitted to PCH. This swollen lump is MRSA on his lymph node. Which, is located right under the jaw area. Not sure how long he will be there. But, he is sick and tired of being in and out of the hospital all the time and always having to deal with the mrsa junk. So, could I just ask prayer that he heals nice and quick and that God will give the docs. wisdom on how to deal with this and that it will be a short stay?!
They are getting ready to prep him for surgery here in just a bit.
He appreciates any prayers!

Thanks!

God Bless,
Mandie

October

October starts the birthday phenomenon, it contains 5(family) birthdays, and 3(friend) birthdays(that I am aware of.) It also brings in my favorite time of year, Autumn. Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, pumpkin pie making(and lets not forget pumpkin spice lattes :D) Crunchy leaves, bon fires, hay rides, well, I could go on for hours. Some of my favorite memories are because of Fall. I won't go into dets. but, you get the gist.:)

To start, the 1st was Zac's 20th birthday, TWENTY!!!! Holy cow. I was thinking, in thirty years, Ill be 47. Scurrryyy. I feel so old. lol jk We celebrated by going out to a late lunch, early dinner...linner. ;) Tradition in our family is, you either pick where you want to eat for dinner, (or if you'd rather a home made meal, thats great too!) or a favorite breakfast. He chose Red Robbin, after that we came home and watched a movie and just visited..well, some of us! lol That concludes the 1st family bday.

The 2nd was my friend Ian's 17th birthday. I went, had a fantastic time. I especially enjoyed catching up with his parents! haha (first friend birthday)

The 3rd was Grandmas bday. So thankful to God that she is still here with all her health problems and what-not. Love her!

The 10th is Micah's 15th!! Blah! He is getting so old(and, might I add, tall as well?!) He's pretty much a super amazing brother. To put it short, at birth Micah almost didn't make it, not even from the beginning, but he is here, sick or well, he is here. No one can have him! haha



The 11th is Joah's 8th birthday. Aww. He has gotten so big. I still remember the day he was born. And, going in to see him for the very first time. He's our little angel, long story behind that. haha
Not sure what we are going to do for M's and J's birthday yet, but it should be good!
There are two other friend bday's after them. Zac refuses to let me put a pic up of him, so, yeah.
Then, the 15th is my daddies birthday!! :))
I have the most amazing dad in all the world, I thank God for him everyday, and that he chose to raise us up in a Godly manner, and at home! :)
So! Today we went to the Tolmacoff farm for a family outing and to 'pick' our pumpkin(s)..they wanted $7 per PERSON to get in, thats just to get in. Did not include rides, petting zoo, corn maze or anything. Just to get in. HAHA! What a joke! Aaah, I miss Crow Dairy Farm, and The Dunkin Family Farm. So, we came home and just rested. Started searching for farms that are reasonably priced and such. Found two so far. A bit of a drive, but worth it I'm sure. (tho nothing beats the farms I stated above).
Who enjoyed the rain/hail/thunder all that jazz the other day? Whoot!! I know I did! haha My friend said he got pine cone sized hail in his neck of the woods(Paradise valley). Crazy. Gee, there goes that global warming again! (jk, ;))
Just thought I'd update. Hope everyone is doing well!

Verse:Romans15:13~May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Random Fact: I wanna move to Prescott. And visit Verona Italy. :) (In my dreams!;)

God Bless
Amanda