a letter to sarah

 

dear sarah,

for the past six years you've been with us, you've already done so much for me. thank you for cheering me up and making me laugh. i love your crazy dances and your jokes and, yes, your singing (even though you sing the same songs over and over again every single minute i'm with you). thank you too for constantly telling me i'm pretty. i don't receive compliments like those very often, so it really means a lot to me. i also like that you make me cards and little art projects, and that you bring cookies to my room, and that you're almost always ready to offer your help when i need you. through your example, i learned that being kind is already a reward in itself. i admire how you're always so quick to forgive people too. you showed me that love meant keeping no record of wrongs. many times i've seen your patience and your willingness to sacrifice your wants for those of others, and i'm just so proud of you.

i don't tell you this very often, but i love you so, so, so much. thank you for being the nicest, sweetest, cutest, funniest, prettiest, coolest sister ever. :)


wishing you a happy birthday,
ate hannah

He Loves Me

Around a week or two ago, I went through a really rough time. In a way, though, I'm almost glad it happened. Through it, I was able to experience God's love in such a deep and personal way. I am so awed and humbled that the powerful and amazing God, seeing the darkest parts of me, would love me anyway. I could go into detail here about what the situation was, how I felt, etc., but none of it matters, and I would probably end up feeding you with so many words that you'd miss the point. So all I'm going to say is this: I am not worthless. I am not a mistake. I don't need makeup, or boys, or nice clothes, or praise from others to know that I'm beautiful. And, really, those things don't measure beauty at all. I am beautiful, simply and entirely because God, the creator of heaven and earth, made me. Sometimes I look at myself and hate what I see, but God looks at me and sees His beloved daughter, whom He created and redeemed. He loves me, and that is all I could ever want or need.

Breakthrough (I've Returned)

Bonjour, tout le monde! I have returned!
Now, before anything else, here is a list of what has happened recently and what is to come soon:
Un) I’ve decided to retain Footprints on the Moon. As some of you said, it does have a somewhat whimsical feel to it that I’d hate to give up. Also, I’ve mentioned that FOTM doesn’t feel like me because I’m not inspiring anyone yet, but I realized that I want to rise to the challenge of blogging with that goal. (And thank you to those who said that I already have inspired people! That really encouraged me.)
Deux) With a new year comes a new look. I hope you all like the updated blog design. Don't forget to grab a blog button! :)
Trois) I would like to apologize to everyone who emailed me a month or two ago regarding ad swaps and header designs. I must have sounded rather snobby to refuse, at that time, simple blogging requests. I will be getting back to you soon, if I haven’t already. Thank you for your patience!
Quatre) I finished my final exams last January 29th. Now, I have officially entered high school (also known as Grade 10 in America and Third Year in the Philippines)! I am now at the stage of life where I will begin to work more and drive more and start to plan for college. Truth be told, I am terrified and I feel so old. But it’s also quite exciting too.
Cinq) Speaking of old, it is now 2013, which means that I am turning sixteen later this year. Six-freaking-teen. I know that some of you are already in (or done with) college, so sixteen is still quite young. But it really feels like only yesterday when I was eleven and crushing on Joe Jonas or when I was thirteen and moved to a different country so...holy cow, I feel very old.
Six) The hiatus has been good for me. I was able to step back for a bit and clear my head, and it has been unbelievably refreshing. With exams finally over and done, as well as the start of a new year, I’m ready to turn the page and begin a new one. (And now I come to the late new year message part where I share my word of the year. You ready? Here it is.)

 

B R E A K T H R O U G H

a significant advance, development, or achievement that removes a barrier to progress

{dictionary.com}

For years, I’ve made plans and goals for my life, but again and again I failed to accomplish them. This 2013, I will break through my past failures. With God's help, I will be kind, I will be patient, I will be productive, I will be thankful, I will finally begin to grow into the person He made me to be. This task will be difficult, I know. It will be slow at first. There will be trying times and mundane times and everything else in between. But my God can do anything, and He will be my strength.

As I start out on this little journey, I would like to invite you to come along. It won't always be pretty, and it won't always be exciting, but it will be real. And I wholeheartedly believe that it will be worth it.

I hope you all have an awesome day. It's really good to be back. :)



Hannah G. 

For Authenticity

{Image source: 1}

So here's a little confession. Maintaining a nice steady stream of posts in a blog is great, but I feel that if I post something just for the sake of posting, it will not be worth reading. It will not really be me. Like I've said in previous posts, an authentic blogger is one of the things that makes a blog great. And I think part of being authentic and real is accepting that there will be days when you won't write quality stuff. There will be days when you get overwhelmed or stuck. There will be days when you might need to step away and get your head straight again. And as a blogger striving for authenticity, I confess that my days for the last month or two have been these kinds of days. All sorts of thoughts, ideas, plans and fears are tugging at my brain, and right now it's a complete mess in there. In the coming months, I want to straighten things out a bit, so I probably won't be very active in the blogging community. I want to work on my blog--I really do--but I feel that a break would be necessary so that I don't go insane from all the things going on in my life. I dearly hope you understand. 

I wish you all a marvelous day/night and a meaningful Christmas in advance. :)

Hope to see you all soon!

Hannah G.

Oh, October!

{song links: Today, The A Team, Center of It}

october, for me, was much better than september. there's just been so many things happening and so many more opportunities to see God's greatness. there were answered prayers, good (and bad) times with friends and new life lessons to learn. i've really been blessed in countless ways. i have everything to be grateful for.

speaking of God's greatness, today is my birthday. i'm still in that phase where turning another year older hasn't fully hit me in the face yet. my birthday has been amazing, though. i played laser tag and had snowball fights with some friends. epic.

also, The Mark of Athena and Shatterproof are awesome.

Captain America makes me want to watch The Avengers again. i love marvel.

i cannot get over how awesome "Today" by Newworldson is. i've played it about a hundred times already.

anyway, october has been marvellous. november, let's hope you are too.

{PS Is it just me or do all my photos look a little low-quality? Is there any way to improve this?}

Pinographer

I feel like I'm getting swept into some sort of mainstream hubbub here. Even though I told myself that I had too many social networking sites and that I certainly didn't need another addition, I decided to give Pinterest a chance. I haven't been on for very long, but I love it already. It's like a giant cauldron of anything and everything inspiring.

If you'd like to see my profile, click here. There's lots of artsy things, inspiring quotes, typography, wanderlust, DIY's, and other whatnot. I hope you find it very pinteresting. ;) {That was my attempt at punny wordplay...it won't happen again.}

Anyway, don't forget to leave me a link to your profile so I can follow you too. Have a fantastic week! :)

This Is Gabe

He likes Minecraft.

He likes bacon.

He has the ability to build anything out of anything.

{Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but he comes pretty close.}

His toleration for spicy food is way above average.

He likes the music I listen to.

He puts up with my constant ranting.

He often reminds me of how weird I am.

Once, when I showed him how I carved Jello to look like a little rocky island,

he replied that I needed a boyfriend.

I can't get him to read the books I like.

{He refuses to read the Percy Jackson books. :( }

But he likes reading non-fiction books.

He's pretty darn smart.

And freaking hilarious.

And trustworthy.

And loving.

And just as weird as I am.

We like to make ugly faces at each other.

And make up cheesy dance moves.

He's pretty fun to be with.

We've had thousands of memories and inside jokes.

Even though we probably won't admit this to each other,

he's one of the best friends I've ever had.

I know that he's always got my back, and I've got his.

We're not very mushy people, but I don't say this as often as I should.

Love you, weirdo.

Happy birthday.

Stay awesome.

Love,

Your equally awesome and devastatingly beautiful sister :)

---

{PS I tweak my blog too much, I know.}

When History Came Alive

 Heritage Park was fantastic. It was like an old-fashioned town, where people strolled around in suits and dresses and frilly umbrellas like it was the most natural thing in the world. (There was also a mini cruise ride and an amusement park for the more modern folks, but even those were decorated in an old-fashioned style.)

There was a one-room schoolhouse too and, oh my goodness, you should have seen me when I entered it. I was so excited I was practically jumping around. I sat in the desks and wrote on the slates and felt the warmth of the old-fashioned stove near the back of the room. Total Little House on the Prairie fangirl moment. The teacher inside probably thought I was strange...oh well.

I even got to take home some horehound candy (the candy that the Ingalls family from Little House on the Prairie made!), some wintergreen candy (the store-bought candy that the Ingalls kids and the Wilder kids only got to eat on Christmas), and a butterscotch stick...which I only got because it sounded historical. The whirly pop was my little sister's, who cares not whether candy is old-fashioned, just as long as it's delicious.

So, yes, my week has been quite a marvellous one, full of historical adventures, the perfect way to jumpstart the new school year.

What about you? How has your week been so far? :)

{Images (c) Hannah G.}

Oh, August!

experimenting with the look of these monthly posts.

pink and orange is a cool colour combination.

yes, hugo is on there twice as both book and movie of the month. it's that awesome.

anna sun. because jocee loves that song, and she is cool.

i can't believe i'm typing without capital letters.

anyway, i hope you've all had a lovely summer.

have an even lovelier september!

{PS  I updated the About page and the Inspiration page. Maybe you'd like to check them out?}

Oh, July!

{Image Design (c) Hannah G.}

July was quite amazing. Here's to an awesome August!

{PS How's that for a new look?}

{PPS You should really try reading Matthew Kirby's books. He. Is. Awe. Some.}

O Canada!

Yesterday, July 1, was Canada Day.

My family and I spent the day on a picnic with a couple of friends from church.

And so, like what 99.9% of bloggers do when they experience something exciting and/or memorable, I am going to unleash a photo dump. Of course.
(I was able to borrow my dad's DSLR and his 70-250 mm lens, which is perfect for picnic shots. So yay to that!)

My photos aren't the best in the world, but I hope you enjoy them. :)

Oh, yes, summer has really begun.
(Unless you're in the Philippines, which, in that case, summer has just ended. I'm sorry! But, hey, rain is pretty cool too.)

{Images (c) Hannah G.}