the chin...

while we were waiting for our pumpkins to arrive, we made a movie. it's really stupid and has no point but is so funny!

no pumpkins = (

sooooooo today we were supposed to get a half load of pumpkins in addition to the full load we got 2 weeks ago. well, the place we get them from is having some financial problems and couldnt send a truck and didnt bother calling to tell us that. we really need some more pumpkins because we only have like 1/3 of what we started with left! when jonathon called them this afternoon to ask where they were they said they werent coming but could send a truck towards the begining of next week. yeah well. whatever. well since we thought we were getting pumpkins, jonathon told everyone to jus come after school and start unloading. we did absolutly nothing but hang out. some of us went and got pizza n ice cream sundae stuff and brought it back so we could just have like a party at the pumpkin patch. it was fun anyways. we can try agian next week! = )

PUMPKINS!!!

they have arrived! we got an entire semi-truck full of pumpkins and we unloaded them all. actually they've been here for about a week but we still have so many and we get another half a truck load in about a week! come buy some!!

also we went to a refugee camp for youth over at centennial park sunday. that was really fun and i learned a lot about the refugee camps. the day before that was the celebration of cultures at centennial park and also went to that with my mom. she knew the person that organized it and she knew a bunch of other people there. the parthenon was free that day so we went to check it out. let me be the first to tell you that its not worth paying for. im glad it was free because it wasnt all that great. thats what i thought anyways.

my great aunt died sunday morning and today was her funeral. just keep her and our family in your prayers.

have a great rest of the week! i know i will with no school. i am working pumpkin patch though so come pay a visit!

break? yeah right

this first week of break has already been busy and will continue being that way. i have 3 design team meetings, several volleyball games, and the pumpkins come tomorrow! the first load of pumpkins are coming in tomorrow around 4. i'll have all of next week to work the patch so come buy some! this is a fundraiser for the youth who work it and the hours you work give you credits towards trips. pumpkin patch is so much fun. = )

lawsuit for praying in public schools

my elementary school is now under a lawsuit. it made the front page of the tennessean yesterday and i think its just not worth the trouble. here's the article-

"School-based religious activities, heralded by some who welcome a return of God to public classrooms, came under fire in a new lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee this week.
The lawsuit claims that a series of Christian meetings and prayer events at Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet violated the constitution al separation of church and state and illegally subjected young children to "religious proselytizing."
But many involved in public school education say that religion is exactly what's been missing.
"I know there is going to be some conflict and controversy about this … but I believe we need basic religion in our schools to teach children the way God would have them go," said Will Duncan, a member of the Sumner County Board of Education. "If we don't, somewhere down the line we are going to lose a whole generation of children."
But others say that exposing children to God and religion is clearly not the role of public schools.
"Parents should be the ones to decide which religion, if any, they should expose their children to," said Rob Boston, assistant director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "When school officials step into that role and start promoting particular faiths, they are usurping parental rights."
It is a perennial debate. In 1999, parents of some fifth-graders in Warren County public schools took issue with educators who allowed representatives of the Gideons ministry to distribute New Testaments in school.
That same year, members of the Putnam County Board of Education vowed to continue to begin their monthly meetings with prayer, despite a federal appellate court's ruling that such prayer is unconstitutional.
A few years earlier, in Lebanon, the Mighty Men, who perform feats of strength in between testifying about their Christian faith, canceled an appearance after school officials became concerned, in part, about the performance taking place during the school day.
The ACLU's lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Old Hickory parents, who said their son — a kindergartner last year — was exposed to religious events and messages that were "coercive" and "highly offensive."
The activities included a "Praying Parents" group that regularly met in the school cafeteria during school hours and dropped off fliers in classrooms to let children know they'd been prayed for, according to the suit.
And it says that the school observed "National Day of Prayer" by holding a competition for students to draw posters promoting the day, handing out stickers that said "I prayed" to students who'd participated and encouraging students to link up for the day with "prayer buddies."
Those students without a prayer buddy or a sticker stood out, "disfavored and isolated," the suit said.
ACLU attorney Eddie Schmidt said he did not object to religious events that took place on school grounds before or after the school day, as long as they did not involve the endorsement and promotion by school officials. Some of these events, however, did take place during school hours and established a pattern and practice of endorsing not only religion, but a particular version of Christianity, ACLU attorneys said.
But that claim, in the view of an attorney with the Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund, is "absurd on its face."
"Essentially what (the ACLU) fails to distinguish is the critical difference between government-sponsored speech and private speech, which is constitutionally protected," said Memphis based attorney Nate Kellum, with the Alliance Defense Fund, who read the ACLU's suit but is not involved in the case.
School officials would not comment Thursday on the lawsuit, but several parents who were told of the legal action as they picked up their children from school said they stood behind the school in offering the religious activities.
"I think it's absurd that anybody would sue over that," said Donna Crowson, as she sat in line to pick up her two grandchildren at Lakeview. "They have a right to do that, I believe. The child doesn't have to participate. Parents don't have to participate."
Other parents said they were drawn to the school because of its Christian activities.
Mike and Cindy Davison, who have a kindergartner at the school, moved to Mt. Juliet from Davidson County eight years ago. The environment at Lakeview was a big factor in the decision, they said.
"As far as the curriculum and the environment and the staff, it's as close to a private school as you can get. I believe that goes along with the Christian theme they have," said Cindy Davison, who said her family reads the Bible every day.
The suit names the Wilson County School System, the system's director, Jim Duncan; Lakeview Elementary School Principal Wendell Marlowe; Assistant Principal Yvonne Smith and school teacher Janet Adamson.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the suit seeks a preliminary injunction, asking that defendants be stopped from engaging in any future, similar religious activities. It also seeks attorneys' fees and compensatory or nominal damages for "emotional distress."
The suit says the parents repeatedly tried to discuss their concerns with school officials but were rebuffed and ultimately pulled their son out of school to home-school him.
The suit does not name the parents or child. It asks the court to allow the parents to pursue the action anonymously, saying "they fear community reprisals and attacks, and ostracism, and because their minor child, James Doe, remains of tender years and sensibilities."

homecoming week

homecoming week is over and the seniors actually didnt win, the juniors did. the sophomores did horrible and didnt win any thing. even the freshmen won two of the dress up days.

NO MORE SCHOOL!!= ) well for 2 weeks anyways. i'm not going anywhere so i get to just stay home and relax. i really needed this break
too.
this is ashlyn on tacky day

homecoming week!!!

and its also our last week of school until our two-week break!! this week we dont have to wear dress code so instead we get to wear... our pj's, the tackiest clothes we can find, dress up like a super-hero, and have just another school spirit day. homecoming week also means class competitions like the penny wars (which is just which ever class has the most pennies at the end of the week wins but other coins and bills count against you.), class floats, and a parade on friday. this friday is just going to be like one big party. we dont have to do much of any work because thursday is the end of the grading period and we have a pep-rally and a parade, and all the teachers will just be busy getting ready for intersession (summer school in the fall). this will be mj's best week ever!!= )

Gavin and Erin-September 23rd, 2006

today's the big day for gavin richardson and erin foster. they're getting married!!!! it's so exciting to finally see the two getting married. = D

mi madre is much better

my mom is back at home after spending two days at the hospital. she came home wednesday during the day. she stayed home yesterday and is doing much better.
we also didnt have shcool yesterday so we rented movies and just took a day off.
there's a football game tonight against lebanon so we had a pep-rally and spirit day today. the seniors won, of course. next week is homecoming week so we get 4 dress down/up days!! so pretty much my week has just been uneventful. maybe next week will be better. peace.

mom's sick again.

saturday my mom had another attack and she was feeling bad all night and into sunday morning. my dad and i went to church and i guess it was like 10:20 when my sister had to take her to the ER. my dad and i met them there after sunday school. he stayed and me n sarah left. we just hung out all day then i went to youth. my dad picked me up from uth and my mom was in the car. they had decided to let her out but i really think she didnt feel well enough to be out because this morning she went back to the doctor and he's holding her there over-night. my dad is there with her now and he'll be there for a while tonight. i dont know how long she'll be staying there.
this hasnt happened in over a year. like 2 years. it used to be this bad before her surgery but it hasnt since then. 2 weeks in a row is pretty unusual. just keep our family and especially my mom in your prayers.

long time, bad week

so these past few days have been pretty busy for me. well the entire past week really. saturday was a busy day starting with the end of a lock-in then going to a design team meeting. after the meeting we went out to lunch and thats when i found something out that i really was hoping wasnt true. one of my good friends has a problem thats kind of obvious and bad but we're working on the situation.

for those of you that have known me for a while know that my mom has this disease with her intestine that cause her A LOT of pain. well she had surgery to fix it about 4 years ago. it had been about a year and a half since she's had an "episode" as we like to call them and saturday night she had one. she had to go to the ER and spent about 6 hours there. she came home from the hospital that night and just rested all day sunday.

monday i found out that one of my other good friends' step-mom stabbed herself 3 times in the stomach on sunday around 3. she went to the ER and she's still alive. she's been in a mental home for the past few days and now she's going to her home for a week to see how things go.

yesterday my mom was at a meeting somewhere and she tripped over a curb and fell all the way to the ground and bruised her hand and knee. she and her doctors were surprised that her hand wasnt broken or even sprained.

on a better note, tomorrow night is our first home football game and from what i hear, we really arent that good this year. so i guess it really isnt such a good note. we did however beat hendersonville in volleyball tuesday and i think it's safe to say that we didnt just beat them, we killed them! well our JV killed them, anyway. i think the final score was like 10-25 the first game and 16-25the second game. varsity beat them in the first 3 games so i guess they did kill! all i remember is that it was not a close game.

peace.

AFJ!!

mission trip 06
Originally uploaded by hermumcyouth.

i hear so much about how cool buddy Christ is. well you know what, Action Figure Jesus(AFJ for short), Francis Asbury, and John Wesley go on our mission trips and they actually do some drillin. they did so much more than just drill, they put on sunscreen, ate sandwiches, hung out with a jack sparrow cut-out, hitch-hiked, uh i mean.. gave a thumbs up to the people driving by, rode bikes, and had a wonderful adventure in a tree. and to make all that more fun, AFJ has wheels instead of feet and bendy arms that ocationally fall off. but then we can still give him emergency surgery if needed. i have to say that this fine trio beats buddy Christ alone. well, they are all equally cool. they're kinda like the Y-guys. they're all different but all equally cool.

Pluto, WHAT!

so i found out this morning that pluto is no longer considered a planet! all my life, learning the acronyms and think that it was a planet and now one day all the scientists just decide that it isnt! so now does that mean that we have 8 planets in our solar system? and whats with naming a planet oprah? i personally think it's just all messed up. i guess its just another thing we have to live with

tomorrow is our big game against wilson central. i have heard that they are really bad this year so i'm sure we'll beat them. we get a dress down day, too. just because we are playing central and it isnt even a home game, but i'm not complaining. whatever mel brown feels he has to do. he's the coolest principal ever and he's like 75 years old. or at least he looks it. peace

-em

a lot to do

tomorrow morning i get to get up at 530 and go do a service project for school. we will be handing water to the people in the wilson county bike race. if we do three service projects we get to go on the class trip at the end of the year. i think it also goes for our service hours for tennessee scholars.

the second week of school is over and i have had a bunch of homework. i'm taking world history this semester and the teacher is new this year. he gives a lot of work and requires us to take so many notes. i have a feeling that i will learn a lot though. i like the people in most of my classes and volleyball season has been kickin up so i've been going to the games. well, the home games anyway. i should probably go work on my homework now. peace

-em

what a beautiful wedding

tonight i went to my godbrother's wedding. it was amazing! his brother played guitar and sang for part of it and he was so good. weddings always make me so happy and i cant stop smiling the whole time. everything about it was great. they aren't going on a honeymoon right away. i think they are waiting until september but tonight when they go back to their apartment, they will walk into a room with champaign and rose pedals on the floor. my family had to sneek in after they left and set it all up. we also had music playing. it was so beautiful.

so many people!!

tonight at youth, we had like 50 people show up and i think more than half of the people there were 6th and 7th graders. i could not believe the amount of kids runnin around. im not complaining because it was amazing!! we played underground church.. sort of. that's what jonathon called it anyway. after that we had a mini contemplative service. it was so great tonight.

on wednesday my godbrother is getting married!! its pretty exiting considering the women he's marrying and him have been together for like 3 years. i heard its not true that throwing rice kills birds. if you have no idea what i'm talking about, people said that the birds eat the rice, the rice swells up in their throats and they die. well its not true.
--peace
em

summer sizzler

this past weekend i went to summer sizzler!!! it was a blast and since it was a confrence event, hendersonville was there. we all got to see gavin and a few of the h'ville youth. jonathon n. was hanging out with his old youth from blakemore and west nashville. one thing i thought was really neat was that our speaker, jacob armstrong, graduated from mt. juliet in '98. i know a lot of people that graduated around that time and he did too. it was so random but i thought it was really cool. i had so much fun just hangin out with everyone and this year i was a small group leader with adam burgett. it was my first time being a small group leader and it was fun. the only bad thing is that it was sooo hot and humid. i strongly suggest to everyone to go next year. next up-jr., sr. high retreat! then the oh so famous warmth in winter. see every one there.

today is cara's birthday!!!! i didnt see her today to tell her but if you get the chance, tell her happy b-day!

dang, son!

ok, so yesterday was our first day of school! today was our first full day and yesterday was just a 2 hour day. no school tomorrow though. but we go back friday until we get out for fall break.

my classes are all good. i have a media concepts class and if you have comcast digital cable on your tv then watch channel 9 and see what we're putting up. channel 9 is MJHS's educational channel and we put up slides of stores in mj and school announcements and things like that. if you watch between like 11:15 and 1:20 you will see our news. that class is my only fun class though.


my next classes are just spanish dos, world history, which i'm taking because it talks about world religions, and honors geometry. maybe i'll have better classes next semester.

mission trip to south carolina

this past week i went to john's island, south carolina to do some mission work. it was incredible! we helped a woman with her house. we painted it, gave her a back porch, built a pump house, and gave her a working sink. we had a ton of fun every night for our sabbath time. we went to a baseball game, seafood jamboree, ghost tour in charleston, and we went to the beach a few times. the group that went couldnt have been better. i think that it was the perfect group for the trip. everybody stayed on task and was willing to work. it was here and gone like that.


well, school starts tomorrow and then its summer sizzler time. things should cool down after this week. matt bell, our summer intern, is leaving sunday, also. we will all miss him.


mission trip pics. soon to come

time to leave again

well, i just got back from beersheba a week ago and today i am departing for yet another trip. we're going to johns island, south carolina to do some mission work. as soon as we get back from that, it's time for school to start! august 1st. that weekend is summer sizzler but after summer sizzler there's nothing until november. im not playing volleyball this year so my fall will be focused mainly on school. blogging might be slow when school starts back but i'll do what i can. well i guess i better go pack. wont be blogging this week for the obvious reason that i wont be here.

peace