Flights and Friends

Day one. 

Tuesday, August 15. 

My mom and my sister Rebekkah got up with me at 5:00 AM to take me to the airport. I was a bit nervous, this being my very first time to be on a plane, travel by myself, and meet Micaiah. (Pronounced Mic-kay-a by the way. I mispronounced it for a long time. Thankfully she’s very forgiving and didn’t mind) 

I nearly cried when I said goodbye to my family, but I managed to steel myself some as I went through security. It was super easy, I didn’t have any problems. I found my gate, and texted family and friends until we boarded. I must admit, the plane was a bit smaller than I expected. But my first take off was amazing. Going up into the clouds like that is something I hope I never forget. I took pictures and just marveled at the awesomeness of the whole thing. My plane was a bit late, so when we set down in San Francisco I had to run to catch my next flight. But, I made it. This plane was bigger, and I wrote until me and my seatmate got into a conversation. We hit turbulence and my weak stomach was not happy. But, I survived. I exited the Washington airport, and Micaiah found me. Goodness that girl is just like she appears online; sweet, and happy, and pretty much like bottled sunshine. They took me out for burritos, which were amazing after the long flight and time change. We went to their home and I was so tired we decided to watch a movie. We decided on Wreck it Ralph because I had never seen it before. It was cute. 

And then I crashed at ten, which felt like midnight to me because of the time change. 

And thus ended a very long and amazing day in which I got to give one of my best friends a hug for the first time. 

Me and Micaiah

Cookies after they were baked!

Day Two.

Wednesday, August 16 

Micaiah wanted to take me to Barnes and Nobbles because I really have only been there twice in my life. So we spent a good hour looking over shelfs of books and CD’s, and taking selfies together with our some of our favorite books. Then Micaiah and I went to Red Robin (A gourmet burger place) because I had never been there. I’ve got to admit that to a casual Texan girl, gourmet and burger didn’t really seem to mesh, but amazingly this place made it work. We had an amazing lunch and even better conversation. 

When we got back to the apartment we made cookies together and got to share them with some of the kids in the neighborhood, which was super fun! Then we watched Signed, Sealed, Delivered together!

Hiking

On the hike!

Day Three

Thursday, August 17

We went to a hiking trail around a beautiful river. Here in Texas, we don’t have a lot of really beautiful rivers, so it was a treat to see this one! The water was a gorgeous blue! We had to go over a suspension bridge, which swayed some. I did fine on the way there, but coming back my fear of heights kicked in a bit more and I got off as fast as I could. We had a pretty fun hike with some amazing overlooks. We got a bit turned around at one point, but thankfully managed to get back on the right path. We ate a picnic in the park, then went back to their home. Me, Micaiah, and her two siblings played on the Wii together. They introduced me to the Wii U, which I had never played on before. That thing is pretty fun. Then we watched a Hallmark movie together called The Midnight Masquerade. 

Thus ends day three, and this post. If I was dividing this more equally I would include one more day here, but I am typing this at eleven at night and I am egsousted. Also our internet has been really fluky, so I am praising God that I got the photos to upload at all. 

Thank you so much for reading. Just wait for a super long post next Monday including the Q&A and the notes from the rest of my trip!

You Let Me Fly

You let me fly 

You let me go away

You gave me freedom

No one else did

But before you let me go 

You gave me the greatest tool 

You gave me love 

It helps me soar 

It helps me fly 

But it fills me with longing 

To always come back to you

Love kept me out

Of so much trouble

Love makes it so I can fly 

Unafraid of coming home

And makes me long

To always be back with you

Recommendations from My Week

This is a duckling we found. =)

Hey everyone! I'm still in Washington (I'll be flying home tomorrow) but here are some recommendations from my week!

Music: Britt Nicole (Self titled album) 

Blog: A Purpose and a Promise

Book: Andora's Folly by Abigayle Claire

Instagram: Abigayle Claire

Got any recommendations for me? 

How are you doing today? 

Getting déjà vu with the photos? They were accidentally published last Saturday, but I decided to enlarge them and share them in my proper posts anyway.

Unfinished

Photo Credit: Unsplash.com 

Unfinished 

Like an abandoned house 

People were ready to move in 

They were so eager 

About what was to come 

But then it struck 

It was so unexpected 

But they just couldn’t stand 

To move into that house 

So they left it 

Never to be touched again 

Saying goodbye 

Not only to the house 

But to the dream 

And really 

There is nothing quite as painful 

As leaving something you loved 

Unfinished

Plane Tickets and Packing

Well, guys, tomorrow I leave on my first plane trip. I've got my ticket printed, my bags *cough* (we won't talk about how not packed they are), and I am ready to go. Actually as I type this I have about twenty things undone on my to-do list that must be done before I leave. No one ever said I was good at getting work done ahead of time. 

I've got a couple post's scheduled on here for while I'm gone, and any comments left will be replied to when I get back! If you want to follow along with my trip's progress, the best way would be to view my Instagram account here: Mikaylatheordinarygirl  Its a public account, and even if you aren't on Instagram you can view it. 

I am so excited for this adventure to start, but I am trying to enjoy every minute I have at home with my family till I leave. I would appreciate prayers for safety on the way there and back. You can expect a huge post on it when I get back, including our Q&A video!

See you in a little bit!

Getting déjà vu with the photos? They were accidentally published on Saturday, but I decided to enlarge them and share them in my proper posts anyway.

Refining

I was reading this in my Bible last week and it really struck me. It's Isaiah talking about the coming Christ. I wanted to share it with y'all. 

Isaiah 43:2-12

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,

    nothing to attract us to him.

He was despised and rejected—

    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;

    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,

    a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion,

    crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

    He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on him

    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,

    yet he never said a word.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,

    he did not open his mouth.

Unjustly condemned,

    he was led away.

No one cared that he died without descendants,

    that his life was cut short in midstream.

But he was struck down

    for the rebellion of my people.

He had done no wrong

    and had never deceived anyone.

But he was buried like a criminal;

    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him

    and cause him grief.

Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,

    he will have many descendants.

He will enjoy a long life,

    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,

    he will be satisfied.

And because of his experience,

    my righteous servant will make it possible

for many to be counted righteous,

    for he will bear all their sins.

I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,

    because he exposed himself to death.

He was counted among the rebels.

    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

July Highlights

It was an amazing month, super jammed with more things then I have room to share here, but I'm going to try!

I did CampNaNoWriMo in July and managed to get 10k in. I wrote a short story called Healing Rain about a girl who's recently lost her brother. This is one of my saddest story's I've written, but it was also an amazing challenge for me, which I loved. 

I turned 18, so me, my family and some friends all went to San Antonio for the day. We ate at the worlds best Tx-Mex restaurant (Alamo Cafe), walked a lot of the River Walk, visited the purple store (one of my favorites for obvious reasons), I got to have my first warm donuts from Krispi Kream, and my best friend called me in the middle of her hectic day. Honestly, it was my favorite birthday I've ever had not just because of what we did, but that I got to hang out with some super awesome people 

Me and Abigayle Claire

I had the pleasure of having Abigayle Claire over for the day! We figured out we only lived an hour apart, so we arranged for a meeting, and she drove out to my house. This girl is even more awesome then her books (If that's possible). Her first book is Martin Hospitality, and she just came out with Andora's Folly, which I did a review of. I would highly recommend both.

I booked my first ever flight, and did a lot of prep for that trip. My amazing mom and I teamed up and we found a suitcase and a backpack that are the right dimensions. So now its coming up crazy fast, and I'm trying to get a lot done so I can just relax on the trip!

We had sunshine rain. It was beautiful. 

I got to meet my favorite author; Jessica Greyson. She is an amazing writer, but shes even more fun to hang out with! 

My sister Rebekkah turned twenty. My super awesome, twin at heart sister just get more awesome as time goes on. I put trick candles on her cake, so it took her five minutes to blow them out. She's the best sport ever, and just laughed every time that candle came back to life. Also we may or may not have let her spray the whipped cream right into her mouth, but no one's going to confirm this one. ;)

Worked on editing Flight From Kelar. I wrote most of this back in November, finished writing it earlier this year, and now I'm almost done editing it!!

Yes, I'm one of 'those' crazy cat owners who dresses my cat with scarfs. 

My siblings and I started attending our churches Ultimate Frisbee meet up after church and it is awesome! 

I bought a new set of Sharpies. I know, thrilling right, but apparently you have to be carded to buy them, so my mom ended up doing it because I didn't have my permit yet. I'm trying to figure out what they expect me to do with Sharpies, but I'm over eighteen, so I'm allowed. 

I took my permit test. Six hours of fun... not. But, I passed with a score of 85 and I received my permit in the mail not to long ago.

We went to our friends bay house, and generally had a great time. We relaxed a lot, I got to do bible time while looking over the water, which was awesome.

I'm trying not to cringe at how few books I read, because it just wasn't a priority this month. 

Andora's Folly, Grace Triumphant, and Control Girl were all my favorite. Forge was probably my least favorite, but it was still pretty good!

Why You Ache Twilight to Dawn

Dreams and Callings  Audrey Caylin 

Sixteen Going On Seventeen Totally Graced 

Hiking Fragrance Lake Whimsical Thoughts

Remember Remember and You Are Beautiful Burning Youth

Life Lately || Q+A is Coming Adventure Beyond the Horizon 

Also Micaiah and I are doing a Q&A, so we would love some questions from ya'll! You can either comment on her post, listed above, or mine here: Q&A

July was so amazing, I honestly don't know why God decided to give me so many blessings in a row. Like every month, I had bad days, I was a mess sometimes, but overall I really felt God's hand in everything. Isn't He awesome?

How was your July?