speeding through chapters

dear rory,

I realize that I have not written for a long while, and for that I am sorry. as it is, this letter will most likely be rushed and unpolished (and considering I just ate a bunch of chocolate, it could be rather curious), but please bear with me.

and if you possibly can, please help me answer the following question:

where on earth has time flown?!?!?!?

doesn't it know winter is long gone? it's time to migrate back! start flapping those wings! come back up north! preferably to northern Illinois! to a little brick house with a bright red door! to a somewhat frazzled blonde! I NEED MORE TIME!

*pants for air*

*regains composure*

sometimes I feel like my life is a boring book. a new chapter can be written about once every six months with a dull title like "school" or "more school" or "GUESS WHAT? more school". but sometimes life comes at me fast and I feel like I can't read my own story quickly enough. I'm turning the pages as fast as I can, but the new chapters have bizarre names and the plot has weird twists that I would never have expected and everyday I wake up and wonder, "what is the Author writing today? am I ready for whatever adventures He gives me?"

recently, my chapters have looked something like this:

Chapter 487: a mini zoo-

that's what our backyard has become. currently it is filled with eleven-ish chicks (I didn't take the time to properly count), an old dog house waiting to be renovated into a coop (stay tuned for the next addition of Extreme Makeover Chicken Coop Edition.... ), a fluffy dog who is afraid of little noisy chicks, and a bunch of the neighborhood kids (whom I am considering charging a fee to see the Smock Circus).

as it is, we're passing out popsicles and generally laughing (and occassionally shrieking when a mess of feathers accidentally flies in our faces) as we try to chase the chickens out of the rose bush and back into their home in the garage.

Chapter 488: a mini store-

that's what the garage has become. it is filled with roller blades and old doors and stop signs and street names and bikes and vaccuums and a refrigerator and a box full of chickens and saws and hammers and nails and sleds and counters and scooters and exercise equipment and old tables and chairs and paint and stain and popsicles. and it seems like people are stopping by quite often to borrow this or that, see a chick, grab a frozen treat, and leave. it's the hang out place. it's my dad's work place. it's the store all the junk place. it's the home of our future breakfasts (not the chickens I hope. just their eggs. though they do sort of remind me of chicken nuggets... mmmm. ;)

Chapter 489: a mini army-

that's what our family has become. my mother is expecting. no, not expecting a package. she's expecting a child. a child who will hopefully make it's appearance in the world sometime next January (if it was wise, it would wait til spring when the weather is nicer... but mother probably wouldn't like that, and to be honest, I'm rather anxious to meet this baby myself). soon there will be at least six of us (if not more... twins do run on my mother's side.... makes them an awful nuisance to catch when they're born... *somebody punch me for being so punny*... and if you don't get it, just keep reading and pretend I didn't try to make a joke). dad is rooting for a boy. so am I. the others have yet to decide. I think Megan would be happy with a squirrel, so her vote doesn't count. nonetheless, a baby is coming, and we are completely overjoyed and starting to get overcrowded. which means figuring out rooms and who sleeps where. dad offered to sleep in the chicken coop... mom laughed. I nodded approvingly. then dad set his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and him and I had a fake boxing match. the outcome is that dad gets to stay in the house after all.

Chapter 490: a mini taxi service-

that's what we're running over here these days. my dad, mom, and I all have regular jobs now and my middle sister often babysits. it feels like we're constantly driving and running and skipping and hopping (okay, well, I'm the only one who really skips and hops anywhere... what can I say? skipping and hopping is fun!). Mom is working at a health foods store and I really hope she doesn't become too much of a health nut, because Cheetos and I have recently reconnected after our long seperartion (my sickness) and I really don't want to break up again. I'm working at a BBQ Smokehouse restaurant and I have found that smelling like smoked pig 24/7 is really quite pleasant. plus, if I get hungry in the night, sometimes I wake up and find that I still have bbq sauce on my arm (which makes for a lovely midnight snack).

Chapter 491: a mini victory dance-

I'M ALMOST DONE WITH HIGHSCHOOL. enough said.

anyways. I won't bother you with any more chapters. but you get the point.

and I know I'm not the only one with a busy life. my dear, dear friends are constantly out running too and sometimes I feel like we have more of a chance of crossing paths than Neptune and Pluto do.

"life's like an hour glass glued to the the table..."

I have nothing terribly deep to add to what I've said.

only this

"WHATEVER YOU DO, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." Colossians 3:23

Nobody has an emergency break to slow down time when life is driving their car at 150 mph. Nobody has a way to speed things up when the speed limit God has set for the stretch of road they're on is 15 mph.

but I do know this: in the fast times, in the slow times, do everything for God's glory.

and trust Him. He knows what He is doing. He knows where life is taking you.

He writes the boring and exciting chapters.

until we meet again,
muffin