Smörgåsbord: Because that's What Being Swedish is all About!

...A few weeks ago, "the girls" of the family (my mom, two sisters and I) went to visit our cousins. The special event? Their 25th wedding anniversary (yay for them)! It was a fun time--since we traveled about three hours to get to their home, we stayed the night after the party, too.

The day was filled with driving (and all that goes with driving=), and so by the time we got there we were, understandably, quite hungry! Much to our approval, a traditional Smörgåsbord was there spread out before us on a linen table.


Smörgåsbord is a Swedish word. It means, basically, a LARGE variety of foods/finger foods. Since *all* of my relatives are either Swedish (on my mom’s side), or Norwegian (on my dad’s side), we children are *full* Scandinavian and must expect a Smörgåsbord or two in our lifetime. =) There are good things in a Smörgåsbord, and…interesting things (like cod and raw fish and fish eggs and the like--bleh! I guess I'm not a TRUE Scandinavian, lol), but all in all, it is quite tasty and pretty.

~A "cake" (this is the bottom of it, though) that is the traditional Swedish Wedding Cake~

...I was quite full near the end! ;)

May He bless you today, and always!

~Miss Lucia~

To God Be the Glory!

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,

And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;

But purer and higher and greater will be

Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father thro’ Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory, great things He has done!

~....Fanny Crosby, "To God Be the Glory," third verse....~

the guestbook

Hey! Welcome to lucia marie // the road less traveled. I am pretty thrilled you have found me--I mean, out of all the blogs and web sites in the world, you stumbled upon my little place? I think this calls for a celebration! Or a remembrance of your stay. Sign my guestbook? :) And after you've done that, if you want to learn a little bit more about me and why I even have this "on-line diary," feel free to do so! 

Leave a link if you so happen to be a blogger as well; I may just stop by sometime to thank you personally!

Tis the Season for...Popsicles!

*...Comes in panting and sits down.* Ahhhhh.

*winces*

...Two words: Hot. Sunburn. =)

It was at least 85 degrees today--purty warm for where I live (though maybe not for some of you Arizonians or Texans..:)! I sat out in one of our kayaks in my grandma's pond (just next door) today, doing my schoolwork. Boy did I get a little color...browned, and red, I'm sorry to say. =P Yes, I put on sun-tan lotion, and yes, I was wearing short sleeves. =D ..But it doesn't hurt THAT much, thankfully!

Anyways, much as I enjoyed all the fashion shows, I am glad to get back to 'normal' posts, what about you? ;) And THANK YOU to all the young ladies who voted for me over at Samantha's blog. I am touched, and excited to announce that I either tied for second or got third (it's sort of mixed up at the moment, so I don't know..)! It was so much fun, and I am looking forward to the "voting session" here, tomorrow (which I won't be included in, of course), for "Thrifty & Chic." :)

So. What have I to relate?? Well, I am still doing school...school...helping at VBS just ended yesterday...I am behind on writing to my dear pen-pals...strawberry picking starts next week....church is tomorrow...yep! My mom is currently at a Homeschool Curriculum Sale, and I helped get all of our stuff ready with the tags/prices/formalities, etc. That took a *good* part of the day on...Thursday. The sale started yesterday, and ends this evening. It's also a conference, and has sessions and speakers, too.

But--yes! I am so excited that Summer is finally peeking out from its shy little corner. At last, the sun! And (as I mentioned in my title)...POPSICLES!! *reaches for a cool blue* ICE WATER!! WATER BALLOONS!!

As you can see, I am thoroughly excited. :)

Blessings as it grows warmer--remember your sun screen or risk looking like a raspberry!

~Miss Lucia~

The Piano Recital

"The Piano Recital" by Vittorio Reggianini

...My first piano recital with my new teacher, Mrs. Kathleen W, is coming up! I have been playing the piano for nearly seven years, now, and have had three teachers during that time. I have been playing with Mrs. W. for almost seven months, and am excited to be in a recital! Between Mrs. W. and my teacher before her, Mrs. D, I hadn't had piano lessons for more than a year! So I was happy to have found a teacher at long last. =) Mrs. W. is an EXCELLENT pianist and teacher--I am learning alot from her, as she has been playing for over fifty years. :)

Here are the songs I am playing (you'll have to go down to the other playlist at the bottom of the blog's sidebar and hit 'pause' to listen):


 

Twenty Four Years Together!

Twenty-four years ago, today, my daddy and mama 'tied the knot' :) and were wed! Those years, before and since we came along, have been filled with love, devotion, and care that we children see in their attitudes towards us and eachother.

Dad and Mom met at church about 26 years ago. After a year or so long courtship, they married and moved to Mulheim, Germany where Dad was writing a good friend of his life's story, who was dying of cancer. After his friend's death, they moved back to the states and rented a small home in a rural area, where my oldest sister, Olivia, was born. Two more children came along while my parents were saving for a house of their own, myself, and my brother Mark, and finally Annie was born in the new house. =)

 <3 Here are a few words summing up their relationship and what they are to us:



T rue to eachother

W ise

E lligable =)

N ever apart

T ogether always

Y ears of loyalty 


F orever love

O ur parents =)

U nderstanding

R ightful pair


...Thank you, Dad and Mom, for your choice to homeschool and raise us in a godly home! We love you!

Blessings,
Lucia

The Events of my Life Layed Before You.

…You know, just when I thought it was going to be sunny and *officially* JUNE, the skies decided to close their grey doors again and cry on us. =( Hmmph. I’m ashamed to say that recently I have been too (dare I say it?) lazy to put on a sweatshirt, so I’ve just been going around in my pink wittle blankie. Awww…not. =D But it is very cozy and warm!

Hahaha…=P

Anyways, there’s been a slight change of events around here, for the weekend. =( Mom and Dad decided that they wanted us to just stay here and “hold the fort,” as we have more animals than last year and it would be a hassle for the C. Family to drive down the ‘mountain’ =) every morning for us to take care of baby chicks, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, dog, cats, and the like. So, we are rather disappointed, but then again we are still alive, aren’t we? *muffled sniffle*

Okay, and this is slightly weird of me to be announcing this all the time, but I just feel so *touched* that I have to “personally” thank my new follower, Miss Charity! I am utterly indebted to you, my dear (in other words, much thanks!). =) Gahh! And do you know what I just realized?? Today is FRONT PORCH FRIDAY!!! Woopsies. Hehehehe…well, is this “encouraging enough” for you? Oh well--maybe I’ll take a break from it today, but if you simply CANNOT live without it (*winks*), you can scroll down to previous posts under that label. Or riot in the streets.


Blessings,
Miss Lucia

I Can't Believe It.

...What can't I belive? I can't believe that my freshman year in homeschooled hi-school is nearly over! And that my fourteenth year is only two months away from lapsing into my fiteenth. *sigh* =)

School is slowly, but surely, coming to a close. Summer is at hand, and by the end of June I think I will be enjoying it! This is the *first* sunny day we've had for awhile, and now it is finally beginning to seem like June. I'm not sure what plans we have for this year, but we usually go camping and to the beach. It's fun, because every year we vary our camping trips. =) Last year we visited Wallowa Lake, the year before was Crater Lake, and...my memory fails me! But something I really enjoy about our little family excursions is how close they knit us, and how many memories we make.

Something fun that is coming up this week is...my parent's 24th anniversary this June seventh! They are planning on going to the mountains. =) Fun! Us kids are, by now, old enough to take care of ourselves while they are gone (my oldest sister, Olivia, is seventeen), but a fun "tradition" for us is going to stay TWO nights at the C. Familys' house! I mean, come one--this is a once-in-a-life-time deal (well, in this case, a once-in-a-YEAR-time deal)! We always have a jolly ol' time there.=)

...and, I was tagged by Hannah! Thank you, dear. =) It's sort of a "get-to-know-you" tag, I guess--I had fun doing it!:

Q. Why did you start your blog?

A. I don't really know why I started it at first--I thought it would be fun to share my life with others (at least, a little of it!), and since a few of my friends have blogs that I enjoy reading, I wanted to do the same!

Q. What are/were your objectives for your blog(s)?

A. To spread the light of Christ through them, to have fun sharing my thoughts and photos, and to meet new people who have the same goals!

Q. Who tagged you for this tag?

A. Hannah over at "My Nutty Life!" (Aww, Hannah! I'm sure it isn't nutty! =)

Q. Do you love chocolate?

A. Well, I don't love, LOVE it, and not American chocolate! =P But a little of European chocolate once in a while is delicious! =)

Q. Have many blogs do you have? Do you post often? Are any private?

A. I have three blogs:

Virtuous Girlhood (this one)
Little Women in the Making
& Floralia Photography

...Feel free to visit any of them! None of them are private, and I post as often as I can--usually three times a week, more or less depending on my "schedule!"

I don't think I'll tag anyone specifically for this tag (mainly because I'm not sure who likes/does tags), but how about this? If you are a follower of my blog, I tag you!

Want to Make a Collage?

...Do you want to see the cutest thing ever? Well, it's pretty, I think, if you enjoy scrapbooking, making collages, or spiffing up cards. =)

...I made it today for my dear friend, Miss Sarah C, on a photo editing site called picnik.com. It is the coolest site ever--yeah, not everything's free, but you don't have to buy the premium upgrade to get some pretty neat things (I certainly don't, hehe)! Anyways, just click on the link above to visit this site, and if you want to do what I did (the collage), you will see a link to that program on the site. I just wanted to share this with ya'll...I thought it was pretty special! Beware: there aren't that many *free* available collage templates, but there are enough (for me)!

Blessings,

Miss Lucia

Memorial Day Weekend...

...I want to thank ALL of you who have so far entered my "Pro-Life Giveaway," and have followed my blog. I was greatly surprised to come back from my weekend trip and see so many new entries, and new followers! Blessings and much thanks to:

Miss Gwyn

Miss Jenna

Miss Laura

Miss Maggie

and Miss Sami

...For those of you who have not yet entered, please do so quickly--you still have until June 11th! The details are in the post below this one, or click on the "advertisement" for it which is at the top of my sidebar. =) I am looking forward to drawing and seeing who wins!

Anyways, as I said eariler, this weekend, I was gone with my family and some of our good friends at a camp called "Lake Retreat." We didn't go for the camp part--that's in the summer, but it is a yearly tradition for us to go with the C. Family to a program called "Helping Hands," at the camp. It is always Memorial Day weekend, and you go on Friday, work all day Saturday, get a free-time day Sunday (as well as have church on the campus), and then work Monday. In exchange for that, you get meals and cabins (for a small fee, too). So, that's what we did, and have been doing, for the past five years! =)

Unfortunatley it was rainy all weekend, and on Saturday we chopped, hacked, heaved, and pulled at a HUGE hillside of blackberry bushes, trees, and ivy plants--and withing seven hours, cleared it all out! It was terribly hard work, but fun. =)

Then Sunday, we went to the chapel there, and heard a sermon, then since it was raining HARD at the time, my sister Olivia and our two friends went and watched some "Andy Griffith" shows in our cabin. =) Then it was lunch, and the rain stopped for a little while so we went kayaking in the lake. After that, we rook a walk around the lake, then played some games in the dining hall and outside until dinner--a yummy, *fancy* family banquet with a speaker and all.

~In a paddle boat!~

~Matthew C. having fun in the Kayak!~

Monday was a half-day--and we succeeded in getting jobs indoors this time. =) Us girls and our moms cleaned the windows and floors and everything of a big meeting room, then cleaned bathrooms, then the four girls went and cleaned out all of the cabins which had just been emptied. We vacuumed, mopped, polished, dusted, sprayed, and wiped until all was finished and it was time for lunch. The food there is SO good--though there is always alot of it! All in all, it was a FUN weekend. =)