Cup of Thoughts

Summary (inserted from Goodreads) :  In 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father's place as scrivener. Before long, it's clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own—some of which have to do with her father's sudden death. Can she ever truly love him? Thoughts: I LOVED this book! Every time I read Laura Frantz' books I think to myself, "how can she top the last one?" Not that this one is any better than the others I've read from her, but this one has also placed itself on the favorites shelf of my book-heart. The characters were very engaging and authentic. I felt so bad for Roxanna every since she started travelling through the forest trails to reach the fort of her father. Not knowing what to do, she b...

The next morning, after Crazy Horse , we went to Mount Rushmore. You might recognize this picture from my bubble braid tutorial ! This is a panorama standing before Mount Rushmore. After standing there for several minutes acting like the typical tourists, we decided to take a trail to get a closer look. Little did we know, that the trail makes a loop and only half of it is non-strenuous. Each of the presidents had their own profile viewing, which was neat This is one of the views that features all of them. This was taken inside of the Sculpture's Studio. You can't really see it very well, but the miniature sculpture was the ideal piece by Gutzon Borglum, which never got finished completely. The actual monument should have gone all the way down to the mid-length of their uniforms.  Thomas Jefferson ice cream. The old-fashioned vanilla ice cream was made from the president's very own recipe . ...

The fishtail is classic for looking like a mermaid braid. The bubble fishtail braid looks even more like something from under water! When doing the normal fishtail braid you simply take a section of hair and divide it into two. Giving parts of each section repeatedly creates the traditional fishtail braid. However, to do the bubble fishtail braid you'll stop after 6 or 7 "trade-offs" and end it with an elastic to divide the braid and make it look like bubbles!  Here are the tools I used to create this look: ♡Anna

The first All Over Color I get to do is red/violet, of course. Why not? Go big or go home, right? This was really fun to paint. Not only is the chica hilariously witty, she trusted me enough to let me experiment with her beautiful hair.  ♡Anna

My lovely nana came in for a root touchup but wanted it to be drawn down some to look almost like a balayage.  So I decided to give her a reverse balayage while covering her roots.  I absolutely loved the turnout! ♡Anna Interested in getting this done?

You're not the only one stressing out about staying on track during these yummy-comfort-food-feasts. If you're like me you don't just have one favorite dish, you enjoy them ALL. So I've come up with a list of tips that will make your conscience feel easy and not stressful during Thanksgiving! Tip #1 - Drink water Water is so important! Our bodies are mostly made of it, so I'm pretty sure God approves of us drinking it ( Daniel 1:12 ) . I like to mentally keep track of how much water I consume on a regular basis. Which is around 50 oz. Pay attention to how much you drink now and double it (if possible), or drink ⅓ more when you know you'll be eating lots of sodium-packed foods. Tip #2 - Go for the greens When you've got your empty plate waiting to get it looking full, keep in mind to get your vegetables. I'm not saying you can't get a spoonful (or a couple spoonfuls) of dressing, but get more dishes that have a vegetable as...

Ever since I read the Christy Miller series as a young girl, I started writing letters to my future husband. The main protagonist in the book does the same after she becomes a believer in Jesus, realizing that marriage is a picture of our relationship with God.  Don't worry, this isn't a letter to him, although it could be. I won't even allow my sister to read the things that I have written for his eyes only. This will only be my open list of attributes that I look for in the one who I will marry one day.  The things he strives for. Jesus  First off, he needs to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son. Without knowing Jesus, I don't see how our relationship would even work out. Since we both wouldn't strive for the same things. I pray that we both are growing spiritually during this time of waiting. "-grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him...

This updo is possibly my most favorite. Super easy and simple to do. Gives a touch of elegance and fun.  How I did it All right, so what you're going to do first is section the pieces framing the face away from the rest of the hair. Then section another area starting 4 inches from the nape of the neck, (this is going to be your base). The crown will be put in an elastic after being volumized (teased). Braid your base section with a braid of your choice, I chose to do a dutch braid. Wrap the braid and the strands coming from your elastic into a bun by twirling it in circles and then pinning it into place with bobby pins. Determine what your desired look will be and style the pieces framing the face by draping them towards the back and pinning them. I chose to do a simple rope braid for this look and left out a few little strands to curl.  What I used ♡Anna

"Endeavour to serve with such good will and attention to the interest of your employers, that they know they are blessed in having gotten such a good servant, one who serves, not with eye-service as a man-pleaser, but in simplicity of heart as a Christian." -Samuel and Sarah Adams, The Complete Servant Summary:  Margaret Macy, born the daughter of a respectful and honorable man, raised by a harrowing stepfather who only entered the family for his own personal gain. Margaret's deceasing aunt has a large fortune, which will be inherited when she turns of age on her next birthday. After overhearing her stepfather's plan to trap her into matrimony with his nephew in hopes of obtaining the money, she runs away. Fleeing alongside her maid, looking for a job elsewhere, she must resolve to do the same. Margaret disguises herself as Nora Garret, a maid at Fairbourne Hall. Eventually, life as a housemaid opens Miss Macy's way of the previous manner towards her own...

Have you ever felt jealous of another person? Maybe they had better clothes than you, or they could afford certain things you couldn't. What about wishing bad on another person because of that reason?  You were created to be just who you are. Why try to disrupt that originality by trying to mimic others?  Never degrade yourself because you are different from others. You have been made perfect through Jesus.  He has sealed us and filled us with a Spirit of love and hope ( II Corinthians 1:22 ) if you are a child of the King.   Child of the King? What does that mean? "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear-" I read that scripture verse before a certain encounter at work. A certain individual was in th...

On Friday night of August the 11th, the Dutchmen (our camper), my family, and most of all our belongings left the State's borders and headed west!  This blog post has taken longer to write than this trip actually lasted. So to make a wrap I'm going to divide this trip into several different posts. Because who's got time for that? While we traveled, Holly and I passed out the little Gideon New Testament Bibles to whoever we came across. I remember the first girl who took one was working at the gas station I got this coffee. Her name was Sarah. Our first stop, besides the gas stations we went to, was the MinuteMan Missile National Museum which had a lot of information concerning the underground nuclear missiles that deterred war from the Soviet Union. Some missiles are still embedded in the soil of South Dakota today.  Then we went to the Badlands, which are not as bad as they say.  This was just a glimpse of the many rock formation...