Off we go, into the wild blue yonder!

Choir concert is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Last night was our choir concert and I am so glad it is over. At Christmas our concert was about 2 hours long (which is kinda long for a concert) but last night the first half alone was 2 hours! The concert started at 7 and didn't get over until 10:20! I was about to collapse on stage because I was so hot and tired. I was standing directly over a spotlight that was in the floor that was supposed to illuminate the American Flags on the wall and by the end of the second half my shoe had heated up so hot that my foot felt like it was about to catch on fire!

During our first ensemble song (the one with the costumes), when I pulled my microphone out, the cord got stuck in the stand and when I backed up it was suspended in the air and the whole audience laughed! It was quite embarrassing. However, the song went fine. Our second ensemble song went really well! Dad said that it was one of the best songs sung by an ensemble!!! I was really worried that it would sound right because we never got to practice it with microphones, but it turned out great!

After the reception we went to IHOP with several friends and ate and talked 'till after one. We learned some of the art of sneaking tobasco sauce into your friends food and heard stories of how this skill was used. We also witnessed the drinking of a container of syrup (not a whole one, only about a quarter) for the prize of $10. We took lots of pictures and had a great time and then came home and crashed. I got about 5 hours of sleep last night and when I woke up I discovered that it is not very conducive to one's health to eat pancakes and sausage at one in the morning.

Various friends

Learning about the art of tobasco sauce

Eating syrup

Tomorrow we leave for D.C. and we will arrive Friday night at our hotel. If possible, I will post from the hotel but if not, it will be about two weeks before I return, farewell!

~Ellentia

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Government office building located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing, the most significant act of domestic terrorism on American soil(before 9/11).

The federal building was constructed in 1977 at a cost of $14.5 million, and was named for federal judge Alfred P. Murrah, an Oklahoma native. By the 1990s the building contained regional offices for the Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and other agencies.

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck with explosives in front of the complex and, at 9:02am, a massive explosion occurred which sheared the entire north side of the building, killing 168 people.

Following the investigation at the site and recovery of victims' bodies, the surviving structure was demolished with explosives on May 23, 1995. The Water Resources Board and Athenian Building, located across 5th Street from the building, were heavily damaged and later destroyed. The entire 3.3 acre site subsequently became home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, a place to honor the victims, survivors and rescue workers, and to learn the impact of violence.

This is from the official website of the memorial. Today is the 13th anniversary of the bombing.

~Ellentia

Griffons, sunburns and hats

I am getting very excited about our choir tour. We will be So, I looked up Busch Gardens (I will be going there on a choir tour in a few weeks) and I looked up the rides and I am very excited about the Griffon. I hope someone will ride it with me, Jc has already said she wouldn't.

Saturday Dad, Nat and I went to a workday with some people from our church and we fixed up an elderly lady's house. We painted her living room, put new doors on the house and fixed up her yard. I helped paint the living room. I felt kinda sick (allergy type stuff) and so around 2:00 I laid down on one of the sofas that we moved outside and went to sleep. I woke up to the wonderful surprise of a sunburn on my face. Brilliance, I know, to lay outside without sunscreen on.

For our choir concert our ladies ensemble is singing a medley of Oh Susannah, Home on the Range, Dixieland, Shenandoah and I've been working on the railroad (have I mentioned this before?) and so we have to dress up as either southern belles, cowgirls or engeniers. I am going to be a southern belle and I have to wear a hat. Bother. I don't like hats, not one little bit. At least it is only for one song.

Well, so long!

~Ellentia

Rain

Why does it always rain on Wednesday? It rained last Wednesday and today (Wednesday) it is raining again. I don't mind the rain, in fact, I love listening to the rain but up here when it rains, it storms with thunder and lightning so if it's night, Libba has to get into my bed and that is annoying (I only have a twin size)!

Ah! Only two more weeks, one more project and one more test and Oklahoma History is done! We finished our textbook last week and that was exciting, soon we'll be done with the whole class! I am very excited.

Choir has been frustrating lately. I don't want to quit simply because it constitutes about a third of my social life! But, at the same time, it is driving me nuts! Mainly it is the choir director that frustrates me, but several of the people are quite obnoxious. But, I also like a lot of the people and have some good friends in the Choir. Well, you can't expect something to be perfect, but the choir is a ways off from being perfect. But, I really enjoy the devotionals we have on Tuesdays.

Okay, this has been a dis-jointed post. I think your idea, Jc, about the drop-down menu thingys was good. Well, back to doing useful things, like school. Farewell!

~Ellentia

Lament

Today it rained. There is a song from Lord of the Dance called Lament that always makes me think of rain. I found a nice video combining one of my favorite movies with the song. It fits so nicely, don't you think? :)





~Ellentia

April Fools'

By Bob Smiley

April Fools’ Day is a holiday when it’s totally fine to pull pranks and make up stories. Politicians love this day! I’ve pulled some great pranks over the years. The best one was two years ago when I called my dad and told him I’d gotten a real job! He fell for it instantly and shouted, “Finally! No more telling jokes for a living!” Then I told him I was only joking . . . and I was about to remind him that it was April Fools’ Day, but our phones got disconnected.

My dad used to pull pranks on me all the time. He once told me a $50 bill was hidden somewhere under the leaves that were leftover from the fall, just to get me to rake. I raked that field for two days before he finally shouted, “April Fools’!” And when I was in college, Mom and Dad moved and didn’t tell me. I finally found them — a month later. I love the Internet!

All that to say, I feel like I know a lot about pranks and this particular holiday. With that in mind, I’m proud to offer you . . .

Bob Smiley’s Tips for April Fools’ Day:
1. Remember it’s the day of tricks, so you don’t get fooled. I once asked a girl out on April Fools’, and she said, “Not even if you were the last man on earth!” I told her that if I was the last man on earth she wouldn’t even be allowed in line. Of course, I didn’t say this until a month later when I thought of it. Later I remembered that it had been April Fools’, and she obviously was pulling a joke on me. In fact, she did such a great job that she even threatened to take out a restraining order! But then she never remembered to tell me she was joking, which leads us to the next tip.

2. Let people know you pulled an April Fools’ joke or else it could go on forever. For instance, the president of Starbucks once jokingly said they were going to call their smallest cup a “Tall,” the middle size a “Grande” and the largest cup a “Venti” which, when translated from Hebrew into Pinkoneese, means “Ha Ha! April Fools’!” Then he forgot to tell his employees that he was joking before all the menus were made. And that kind of thing happens all the time. In fact, that has to be the only explanation as to how the TV show “Wife Swap” got on the air.

3. Make sure the prank is not something that’ll hurt someone. If you’re going to pull a prank, remember that you’re a Christian first and a prankster second. Before pulling a prank, ask yourself if you’d mind having it pulled on you.

Follow these rules, and you’ll have a fun April Fools’ Day! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go outside and watch my two boys look for a $50 bill!


Now, on a slightly different note:

Interesting read. You might find out why there is such a Holiday we all know of, but never knew why. Now you know the rest of the story.

Atheist Holiday ... Love this one!

Clever!!! Would be nice to have more judges like this.
This is probably one of the best emails this year. Have you heard
about this case? Great answer from the judge!

In Florida , an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter
and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the
discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded
to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday
to celebrate.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long
passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and
declared, 'Case dismissed!'

The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said,
'your Honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have
Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur
and Hanukkah...yet my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!'

The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, 'Obviously your
client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own
atheists' holiday!'

The lawyer pompously said, 'your Honor, we are unaware of any such
holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?'

The judge said, 'Well, it comes every year on exactly the same
date---April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as April Fools Day,
consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no
God.' Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by
scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st i s his holiday! Now have a good day
and get out of my courtroom!!'
(I didn't write this)


~Ellentia