April

After writing "March", I felt really inspired to write a poem about each month of the year (hopefully I will be able to stay faithful to writing at least once month!). Here is my poem on April, if you live in Texas, you will totally be able to relate!

April

April showers bring May flowers,
They say.
I say,
One minute it is hot,
One minute it is cold,
One minute it is raining,
One minute it's a desert.
The weather is a - changing,
And I never can tell
If I should put away space heaters
Or bring out my blankets!
Will someone please tell me,
What season we are in,
I can't tell for myself-
But surely someone can!

Tree Farm Beginnings!

I can hardly believe all the work that we have done on our tree farm, which, we have decided to name "Sorelle Tree Farm!" So many things have happened in the past few days. In fact, to tell all that we have done, I am going to start at the very beginning of my visit to Mineola, and retrace my steps all the way back to today.
Let's start at Wednesday. On Wednesday, we arrived at a filthy, dusty, grimy house. Luckily for us, my mom had expected this, she had completely stocked up on cleaners, disinfectants, rags, towels, bleach, and scrubbers. Yay mom! That day, we sprayed, scrubbed, wiped, and greatly improved the whole house. However, we still have quite a bit to do.
The next day, we had 50 cubic yards of dirt delivered. It was really cool to watch the big truck drive in and slide it's floors back and forth to push out the dirt! My dad used his new tractor to tear weeds and shrubs off the back house walls. We loaded the trailer with these shrubs a dumped them into a pile, which we will hopefully soon burn.
On Friday, we drove to Ada, Oklahoma. Here, we bought and loaded 1,000 potted trees onto a rental truck! We bought a bunch of different kinds: Spanish White Oak, Chinese Pistachio, Bald Cypress, Crete Myrtle, Sawtooth Oak, Loblolly Pine, and Southern Red Oak. This took pretty much all day, so we didn't get anything else done.
Yesterday, our friend, Mr. Mike Little, came over. This guy is practically superman! He helped us load up the trailer and drive all of the brush that my dad tore off the walls of the house into the fire pile. He also helped us pile up all of the broken brick that was laying around the house into a nice little pile. After this, we all unloaded the big truck that had taken the trees from Ada to Mineola. It was much easier unloading the trees than it had been to load them! We divided them up into species and placed them in ten tree by ten tree squares, it's a lot harder than it sounds! By this time, we were completely worn out, so we simply returned the u-haul truck, and called it a day.
Today, we are expecting some huge storms and tornadoes, so we didn't have a lot of time to work. Dad once again used his tractor to pull weeds and shrubs off the walls of the house, these weeds followed their brothers and sisters and were unmercifully loaded up into the fire pile. We are praying that our trees, which we have loaded into a shed, will not be ruined by the storms. In fact, to ensure this, instead of going home today, we will stay yet another night.
Being a country girl is a lot of work, but thankfully, I enjoy it! And even though there will be days when I will be tempted to grumble, I know that I can always turn to the Lord, for He alone can supply me with perseverance and strength.

Animal Farm

George Orwell, the writer of Animal Farm, wrote this amazing book to mock the Russian government at the time of the Russian Revolution.  He begins his story with Old Major, an elderly pig. Right before his death, Old Major inspires the animals of Manor Farm to rebel against their mistreating owner, Jones. When they finally accomplished this, they renamed the land Animal Farm and began to govern themselves. The pigs, the smarter class, soon rose above the other animals, breaking a commandment clearly stating that all animals are to be equal. In the beginning of their revolution the animals wrote a list of rules which were to be strictly followed. They were known as the "Seven Commandments". Sadly, bit by bit, these rules were changed by the pigs. They realized that since they were smarter than all the other animals, they could rule them without interference. Slowly but surely, the pigs rose above the other animals, they became the "elite" class. This elite class, made up of 100% pigs, soon became the "ruling" class. By this time, the pigs had officially taken over the farm. However, they did so in a way which blinded the other animal's eyes, not letting them see what was really happening. Napoleon and Snowball, the smartest of animals, were constant rivals and were continually against each other in court. Whenever one wanted one thing, the other was sure to oppose it. Soon, Napoleon kicked out Snowball. By means of his dogs, who he had trained to obey at a single word. Napoleon then gained supreme rule over the farm. Sadly, the animals were too stupid to notice that he was doing so. The animals worked harder than ever under Napoleon. Building, rebuilding, and rebuilding yet again the seemingly unachievable windmill, while at the same time working hard to get the crops in. The animals worked tirelessly, their rations were low, they were cold in the winter and bothered by the flies in the summer. Yet, through all their sufferings and trials the pigs still had the animal's confidence and were to keep it for a long time. The story goes on to tell how the pigs eventually are turned into humans because of their desire to be just like them. This book has a wonderful point: if we want to govern ourselves correctly, we must have a good sense of judgment and true knowledge. With this, we can make choices and discern whether others are leading us or tyrannizing over us.  This knowledge and sense of judgment will not only impact your life, but everyone that is around you for as long as you live.

Augustus Caesar's Crowning

I can remember the day very clearly. Chilly with a slight drizzle of rain, but these things made no difference to me, it was the final day of my triumph! I had received a triple triumph, a day for each major battle I won: one day for conquering the pirates, one day for my win at Actium, and one day for my victory over Egypt! Dancers, the two milk-white bulls that were to be sacrificed, and many others led the procession. Beside me stood my stepson, Tiberius, and my nephew, Marcellus. We three rode in a gleaming chariot; I carried a scepter with the head of an eagle in my right hand. Behind us walked the senate. For the first time in decades one man was named ruler over Rome, me. The people of Rome gasped when they saw that I led the senate, it did not lead me. However, these people were soon to find that I truly tried to do what was best for Rome, not me. Over the chanting and marching I saw in the distance the gates of Janus. At last after years of war, these gates were closed. Little did anyone know, except perhaps me, that these gates would remain closed for 200 more years. For centuries more, peace would rule Rome. Ever since then, I have tried to do what is best for Rome. Yes, my rule was a bit like that of an emperor, but it was so because I believed that that would be the best way to govern Rome. True, the republic had worked well, but only when Rome was a tiny city-state. After I had conquered those many nations Rome turned into the ruler of countless peoples. We had to learn how to give them freedom, but not to let them turn rebellious. I asked my two best friends what their advice was on how to rule Rome. Their ideas were quite different, but I took that which I needed. Anyone can tell you that in the year 27 B.C., the year I was crowned governor of Rome, the government greatly improved. I have tried to serve Rome faithfully, that was certainly accomplished! Now, I must try and bring up Tiberius in the ways of a noble ruler, for he shall succeed me, and I must not bring shame upon the name of Caesar.

This narration was written as if by Augustus Caesar himself. I got the idea from my friend, Noah. He is a very good writer, keep writing, Noah!

Slowing Down Life

Things are really starting to come together! So many little things are making big differences. For instance, my dad bought a mule (no, not one of those spindly-leg horse-like creatures, an actual farm vehicle), my dad has also bought the trees that he will be planting on our farm, my mom has bought a book called Fresh Eggs Daily and two alpaca magazines, already we training for a completely different lifestyle. Anyways, why are we moving from a comfortable city life, to the rugged country, where wall-mart and CVS are fifteen minutes away? The answer is simple, we have caught country-love syndrome! N,o not really. Yes, my dad wants to run his own business, and, yes, living in the country will be awesome; but also, me and my family have noticed that living here in Frisco can really shorten your perspective. Instead of seeking for things such as a good  relationship with God, and true, lasting friendships, it is easy just to look at what we want now. We want the most fashionable clothes, we want to live in a nice big house, we want to be engaged in the most popular activities. In addition to this, it is very easy to give up our lives to all the different places to be, things to do, and people to see, it simply becomes to much! Now, sitting here in my pajamas, I am not saying that living in the country will stop this, it will simply make it easier, as long as we make a point to do so, we can slow our lives down a bit. However, we can only do this with God, if are our wishes are parallel to God's we will succeed! To put what I'm saying in a nutshell, we could all slow our lives down a tad, doing so, we will not only free up a lot of time, but also, we will be able to focus on what is more important than the latest trends, trusting and obeying the Lord.  

Alexander The Great's Empire

After Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he was immensely delighted, however, he still felt that his kingdom could be expanded even more. He wanted to extend it all the way to the Hydaspes River, perhaps further. Then, he wanted to enlarge his kingdom towards the west, perhaps uniting all of the Mediterranean! However, before he got a chance to conquer India, something very interesting happened. One day, the great palace at Persepolis was burned! We can not be sure how this event came about, but there are about three reasons that we think could’ve happened. One, Alexander and his friends became drunk and accidentally burned the place. Two, Alexander and his friends burned the palace purposely in order to show the Persians that Athens was better than Persepolis. Or three,  Alexander and his friends burned the palace to get back at the Persians for trying to destroy Athens. After this startling event, Alexander and his army tramped across many miles to get to India, along the way he conquered tribes, made peace, and dealt with many other problems. When Alexander finally reached India, he confused the Indian king by spreading out his army along the banks of the river. When he did cross, the bowmen shot at the Indian’s fierce elephants angering them to the point of destroying anything in their way, friend or foe. The Indian king gave in after a few hours leaving Alexander ruler of India, too. This crucial battle extended Alexander’s kingdom all the way from Pella, in Greece, to the Hydaspes River, in India. However, Alexander’s army was tired. They had not seen their family for a full eight years and were ready to return home. They certainly did not want to go to the west of Greece and try and conquer the rest of the Mediterranean. For a few days Alexander sulked but eventually, he was forced to give in to his army’s wishes and return back to Greece. The Great Expansion was over. Alexander’s empire stretched over miles of land, at least half of the known world. He had truly worked hard and earned power and respect over many nations. Sadly, Alexander would not be able to live long enough to really enjoy this power, and died after the short reign of thirteen years.   

Promising Future!

I, currently, am in the process of moving. It's really tiring! I never noticed how much work moving could be. Packing, purging, cleaning; wherever you look there is something to be done! Luckily, our realtor has just taken the photos of our our home and put them online, what a relief! Now all we have to do is keep the house clean (okay, maybe not that much of a relief)! However, more changes are coming, no, not just the excess cleaning. See, right now, me and my family live in Frisco, Texas; a quickly growing community. My mom and dad moved here in 2001, thinking that it would be a lot of fun to live in a small town. Well, then the mall was built, and, it wasn't such a small town anymore. That being said, for my whole life I have lived here in the rapidly growing town of Frisco. My dad has always wanted to run his own business, and right now, he believes, is the time to move out to East Texas and start a tree farm. He believes that God is leading him to do this, and I agree with him. I think it will be a lot of fun to live out on a farm in East Texas, it's going to be awesome! We will get to have alpacas, horses, chickens, and possibly a milking cow! However, the transition from city life to country life is going to be a rough one. It's sometimes hard to know what I like best, and who I really am. I know that I love city life, but there is a part of me that wants to be a true cowgirl! I know it's probably best to love both equally and not try to be the best at one, but that can be very hard! Please be praying for me and my family as we start a whole new lifestyle, we will need it!