{Update}

Hello! 

Wow, this break has gone by fast... Well, I guess I should give some updates. 

Deborah is now living with us, (she's the college student I mentioned in the last post) prayers have really been answered! She is a great fit for our family, and totally fun! Also, sharing my room with Olivia has really been going well! 

Hmm... now what to talk about... well, over break I've had some really amazing experiences with God! He's really taught me to seek him out, no matter what! I'm currently reading a book about prayer for quiet time, and it is so cool! It talks about how you don't need any set time, not even a 'dear Jesus', because Jesus is surrounding you at all times, and knows exactly when you're talking to him. My favorite part so far is when the author talks about ending every thought with God. He's been working in me the past two weeks by helping me see how much I get angry, worried or stressed, and reminding me to just pray, after a worried thought, or when I feel like I'm getting annoyed. 

So, on a completely unrelated topic, here's some pictures!  

When the snow finally almost completely melted, archery came back out! Yay!

My dad makes bows, so archery is a hobby for him. I can't remember exactly how long we've been doing this, probably since we moved here, so seven years? Woah, half my life! 

The bow I'm using there was my Dad's when he was a kid:) 

Savanna and I did a photo-shoot(ish)! We wanted to give one of our friends from Pennsylvania a picture of ourselves, seeing as we haven't seen them for about three years:( Anyway, here they are! 

I like my red coat:) 

Also, I've started writing my Other Worlds novel! A good thing and a bad thing… here is a sneak peak of the first chapter, of which I only have half written:) Here's the beginning, sorry if it's a little rough:) 

                  Many say that our choices define who we are. But how do we know which choices impact our future? I chose to live, and it didn’t turn out well. No food is a problem, and no money to buy food leaves only two options: starve or steal. I chose to steal. I was five, and the fruit smelled good. More food followed that fruit, until it was a habit. Then someone saw me. Shipped to Australia with a bunch of men, all criminals, the kind that make you shiver in your skin when you hear what they did. But I didn’t know that you weren’t supposed to make friends with that lot, my parents died too soon to teach me that. So I made friends. They told me stories, about how they didn’t used to be bad. They called me their little angel, said I’d saved them from despair. I liked that, and I took to calling myself Angel, seeing as I didn’t know about any names before. I said it to myself in the dark, the old prison ship creaking so loud it seemed to tell stories of it’s own. I told myself everything would be all right, if I just kept saying my name.

I didn’t care where we were going, although I knew it was somewhere called Australia, where the criminals went. I had no reason to be scared. I didn’t know what was ahead. One day the men told me that the dark spot up ahead was Australia, my new home. I didn’t like it. I wanted to stay, but they said I couldn’t. They got a dead look in their eyes again, like the spot sucked away their hope. Soon the smudge gained details, and then I could see little houses, lined up to the water. There were other ships there too, but they weren’t moving. They were lined up in the water that went into the land. The sails were full of wind, the rough sailors said it would only be an hour or two until we reached the port. I could hear the waves, slapping the ship, and laughing. Then I heard singing. It was so beautiful, I forgot I was afraid, I could have listened to it forever. 

It stopped. Only water. Chains clinked. I could only see one man left on board, where they all used to be. It seemed as if all the others had jumped, and his chains had caught on the side. I ran to him, telling him about the song, but when I saw his eyes, they burned with a passion so bright they scared me. He told me to push him off, spitting in his attempt to make me understand. He mumbled something about a beautiful woman. A hand reached up, and pulled him over. I bent over the edge, the water thrashed so much I couldn’t tell what was happening. The churning stopped, and a flash of fish scales blinked in my eyes. I was alone. I curled into a ball, I hated this alone. 

When I reached the harbor, men threw hooks on ropes to stop the ship from beaching. They asked me where the men went, and I told them they all jumped. They didn’t want to touch me anymore. No one wanted to talk to me, and they all avoided my eyes. They said I was cursed, I was left to walk the new streets alone.

Thanks for reading! (did anyone else see the commercial during the Super Bowl with Tom Hiddleston, or the one with Black Widow?  Sorry, just wondering if anyone else would have noticed:)

Being weirdly me,

Avery