some hard times

     There has been a lot of crazy things happening lately. Everybody has been getting the flu. our friend got really sick and she had to go to the hospital. While she was there she was coughing so much that she cracked a rib.
     My brother Joshua was playing softball and he was the catcher, the ball went from the pitcher to the batter and the batter hit the softball backwards (somehow) into Joshua's nose. So his nose is sliced open about an inch long and kind of deep. It's pretty high on his nose. He got 5 stitches across his nose. It's all swollen and he has two black eyes.
     Me, my brother Ben, and my mom are sick. We have really bad coughs, headaches, and we're really tired. It's hard for me to sleep at night because of my throat and headache. It. Is. Miserable.
     One of our friends drowned in her own pool the other day and my sister lost her baby. Even through all these things I'm putting my trust in the Lord and refreshing myself by reading from the Bible in James 1:2-4. These few verses are really cool.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

 Even through this stuff I can be joyful, knowing that God has a plan and a place for everything and everyone.

Memory in the Grand Canyon

     Last year me, my sister and my brother went to hike the Grand Canyon with our friends. We took two days to get there and four days to hike rim to rim. Then another two days to get back. It was really fun and hard. We were going slow enough that it wasn't as hard. Since we were going for four days we had big packs on. While we hiked we saw people running past us with tiny packs and a water bottle in hand. Then we would see people running at midnight while we were trying to sleep.
     On our first night, Ben, Bonnie and Katie were trying to put together our first meal. We decided the girls would make the dinner and Ben would clear a place for our sleeping area. Ben made his own broom out of branches and string he found. He made a nice little area for sleeping. So Bonnie, Katie and I started out putting together a little cooker to make rice. Our plan didn't work very well. We couldn't figure out this rice, because it was different from what we were used to. Ben ended up finishing the sleeping area and then making rice. He just randomly tried something and he kept on pouring out water and adding rice. We all watched and had it in our mind for the next night. That was the sad story for us girls, but it's too funny to be sad or disappointed in myself or the other girls.    

This is one of my favorite pixar shorts. It's just hilarious! I don't know how to explain it, but that's okay. He is just a man playing chess by himself in a nice park.

The Violin

     The violin is a stringed instrument that is sometimes called a fiddle. The word violin comes from the Medieval Latin word vitula, meaning stringed instrument. The violin was originated from Italy. It has a bunch of different little parts on it that have names that make sense. For example, the parts that look like shoulders are called the shoulders, and the board where you put your fingers is called the fingerboard.
     The oldest documented violin to have four strings, like the modern violin, is supposed to have been constructed in 1555 by Andrea Amati. (Other violins, documented earlier, only had three strings and were called violetta.)
     The violin immediately became very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility. A French king, Charles IX ordered Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560.
     The strings on a bow are usually made by long strands of a horses mane. You shouldn't touch them though because of the oils on your fingers. Every time you play you rub rosin (which you also shouldn't touch directly) on the bow strings.  

     I love violins! I play the violin, but I haven't played for that long, but I know that I will end up playing for a long time. They are so beautiful and I love the sound they make. Especially when the violin makes a beautiful ringing sound while you play.










This is a really funny and random picture of a friend who is playing the guitar like a violin. with a metal rod instead of a bow.

These are some pretty pictures of old violins.

 

 

 

 

I hope you guys like these awesome pictures and little history.