cute little kiddies.

Every Tuesday, we go to the Multi-Purpose Centre in the Location {the poor part of town} to do a bible lesson, game, craft, etc. with the kiddos after school. 

They're all so adorable and run up when they see us coming. 

One thing though- they really don't know how to treat each other with kindness and respect. They're always being loud and talking when others should be. 

BUT it's giving us opportunities to love and be patient. 

This is Mene {I'm not sure how you spell it} pronounced- Maynay. Is she not the cutest little chunk ever? She always comes running up to me with a open arms waiting for a hug. She doesn't speak too much English, but she always dances around and giggles. TOO CUTE!

This is Mene's sister, Queen. She's a funny girl with a little 'tude. ;) She showed me she was knitting a scarf, and when I told her my grandma taught me how to knit when I was younger, she handed over her needles so I could give it a shot. I haven't done it in probably 2 years- not too shabby!

The crew...

This picture. OH my gosh. That's Mene looking through Queen's bible. 

Look at those tattered pages and those cute little fingers… AHHH! I die. 

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." John 10:14-16

not so lazy lazy day.

Today, I did nothing. 

Not like the "OOOOH MY GRACIOUS. I had SUCH an unproductive day. I did nothing but watch TV and blog!" 

Which trust me. I have days like that quite often. 

But today, I woke up late. 

Like quarter after 9 is now late for me? 

What the poo. WHO AM I anymore?

 Did my quiet time, RAN… Which was nice. 

But for some reason I kept having to stop. 

It was quite lame, and SOOOO unlike me. Ha. 

Maybe it was because I left my iPod so I could gather my thoughts. 

Other than the lameness of it though, it was nice and quiet. 

I saw ONE car on the road and no people. Best part? 

Hardly any dogs barking. 

However, if there were NO dogs barking, it'd be safe to say the world was coming to an end. 

My mom is letting us take this week off of school. 

"SCHOOL IN THE SUMMER?" 

Yes. School in the summer. 

Since we were in Kenya for a month, plus packing up our home, we were off of school for like 2 months. 

Now we're catching up to the African school schedule. 

ANYWAYS. 

I layed in bed and read with my window open and the breeze swifting through. 

It. was. heavenly. 

Then I played French cricket with my brothers and dad. 

We got some weird looks with all the screaming and dancing, but whatevs. 

I'm pretty sure we're known as that crazy white family around here. 

We live up to our name. ;) 

Then the afternoon rolled around. 

The time I savor in front of the TV with a cucumber, cup of Coke Zero, and my good 'ol Food Network. 

And now here I sit. Writing and eating a bowl of hot beef and spetzel stew. YUM!

I've also eaten better today. 

That, lots of water, and my run, made for quite a good day. 

Have a great day, my lovelies! 

-Sophie

be happy.

Today. I had "a day". And "those days" are multiplied by a trillion when you're in Africa, missing everything about the United States.

See where I'm going with this? Mhmmm.

I don't know what it was that triggered it.

Perhaps it was a bad start to the morning when my parents opened my door while I was sawing logs and then my puppy comes in and licks my face. Who knows.

Then in church. I lost control of my feelings and tears ran down my face.

Without making a noise, I cried.

I know you're thinking "In church? Get ahold of yourself, woman!"

I was thinking that too. Good thing I was sitting in the back!

I was also thinking about home. I was missing it so bad.

Last night, I had a dream about one of my friends who I haven't talked to in awhile.

I miss her dearly. Along with all of my other friends.

And Starbucks. Let's not forget Starbucks.

I had to get up and walk around outside for a minute and gather my thoughts.

"Sophie. Just be happy, for gosh sake."

Then we were taking my dad's friend home to his house- a tin shack.

On the way I saw kids digging in the trash, hoping to find their meal for the day.

I have lots to be grateful for.

When I'm thinking we live in a small house- Umm… I know people who live in 5ft.x5ft. shacks.

When I complain that I have nothing to do- Those people don't have access to computer or TV.

When I'm mad I can't find some baking ingredients at the store- Lots of people don't eat anything, let alone some pan of bars.

And when I'm missing home… Well. I've still gotta figure that one out.

We've heard that people don't want to go bad to the US after their term.

Honestly. I don't understand that.

My mom said my feelings will change.

But I've been here for 6 months- a quarter of our term, and my feelings really haven't changed.

I mean I can stand living here, but in complete honestly, I'd rather be in the States.

I've just got to get a different perspective on things. To live my life here, and just be able to look forward to going home.

And sometimes. I need to slap a smile on my face and tell myself "Sophie. It could be a lot worse."

true love waits.

What IS love? I mean really… when you hear the word love, what do you think of?

Is it an action, a feeling, or what?

Some people, when they hear the word love, will think of Valentine's Day, their spouse, their family, pets, boxes of chocolate wrapped in pink ribbons, X's and O's, the list goes on.

But the world has quite a distorted picture of love.

In movies, TV shows, books, magazines, and even music, they talk about giving themselves away outside of marriage.

And the world will tell you: "Hey, that's okay!" or "It's the cool thing to do." or "Nothing's wrong with that, right?"

Wrong.

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4 

This is my purity ring… Symbolizing sexual purity until marriage. 

It's a promise to my husband, that no other man will have any part of me. 

I'm saving it all for him, and I intend to keep that promise. 

I pray for my husband often, that he will or has made the same promise to me. 

In my book, saving yourself for your future spouse is far more romantic than losing your purity before marriage.

After all, you're giving  a part of yourself away to that person.

Wouldn't you rather have your WHOLE self to give to your spouse and not have to say "Oh. Well… I haven't been able to save it all for you."

Here's an illustration… Let's say your purity is a pitcher of water. Each time you give yourself away to someone, they put some dirt in your pitcher of water. Wouldn't you rather give your husband a full, clear, pure pitcher of water? Or one that was fogged up and dark with dirt.

Just think about it…

Have a great weekend, loveys! 

xoxo,

Sophie

Satarrrrrrrrrrrdayyyyyyyyy.

Good morning, loves!

It's Saturday in these here parts. And you know what that means? A lazy day. The best kind, indeed.

A day full of yoga pants, fuzzy blankets {it's winter here.}, good books, and hot bowls of oatmeal.

We were up late last night watching the Olympics {it ended at about 1 in the morning.} and my brothers had a friend sleep over.

Can ya guess what that means? Me waking up at 7:30. BOOOOOOOOO.

Saturdays are my favorite day of the week… Being able to sleep in. EHEMMMMM. Most of the time. And just chillaxin'.

Although the way it usually turns out is that the weekends end up being busier than the weekdays. I disapprove.

Right now, I'm reading 90 Minutes in Heaven. It's about a man who was in a car accident, died, and came back to earth. His injuries were HORRIBLE and he went through a total of 34 surgeries. It made me think that in the big picture, my diabetes really isn't so bad.

There's so many things to be thankful for, even if you have to search under your bed through the dust bunnies, to find 'em.

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10


Have a loverly weekend!

xoxo,
Sophie

button swap.

Hi lovelies!

Because I love you, and because I'm hoping to expand my little bloggy-boo, I'm open for a button swap!

No matter how big or small, high or wide, short or tall you blog is, I'm interested!

Let's be swap buddies!

Drop me an email if you're interested…

sophiamarie4498{at}gmail{dot}com

Thanks loves!

sweet things.

I wanted to write today. But I was at a loss of something to write about.

Which is weird because I have a bunch of unfinished posts waiting to see the light of day, but whatevs.

I'd rather talk about the good things in life right now…

Sweets… 

:: pictures of Zac Efron ALL over Pinterest. 

:: american food

:: Sleeping in

:: hot cocoa in my favorite mug 

:: 30 Rock

:: bloggy friends

:: peaceful mornings

:: time in prayer and reading my bible
:: Food Network
:: pretzels that taste like the ones you get on an airplane
:: spontaneous Skype dates
:: oversized t-shirts
:: the smell of yummalicious cookies in the oven 

just trust.

Sometimes you have to trust that everything will turn out just peachy…

Even though it's hard to look at the big picture, God puts trials in our lives for a reason. 

To give us a chance to trust in Him and grow a stronger faith.

In 2009, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It was one of the toughest, scariest, and for sure the worst few months of my life. 

Being poked and prodded in the hospital was horrible. 

Learning that I had a disease that would change my life forever was even worse. 

My life was turned upside down and I had to learn to check my own blood sugars, give myself injections, and count carbs which is DEFINITELY something that most kids don't do. 

But everything works together for the good. 

Through those hard months of transition, my faith grew. And I was inspired to lead a healthier life, eating better and exercising daily. 

I learned to depend on God when I felt like burying my face in my pillow and wondering why it happened to ME. 

Why did I have to have this horrible thing happen to me? 

But like I said, you have to depend on God when things seem to be heading south. 

He'll pull you through- pinky promise. 

P.S.

Sweet Hazel installed a shmancy pants menu thing on my sidebar… But when I click on it, it bounces back up. Would you mind telling me if that happens to you? Thanks lovelies! 

i'm gettin' it straight.

Lately, I feel like my priorities are quite… messed up.

My blog has sort of been becoming an idol. I put it above things that are WAY more important.

I've been working on it though… I tell myself that I can't use the computer before I've had my Quiet Time. And I've been doing a lot better.

But there's still something that I need to get rid of.

I sleep with my iPod right next to me.

And when I get up in the morning THE first thing I do before even rolling out of bed, is checking my email on my iPod.

Last night, I realized I needed to stop doing that.

So I put my iPod up in my closet at like 4 pm and vowed not to touch it until this morning AFTER my Quiet Time was finished.

I succeeded.

I feel so much better that I had my Quiet Time before doing ANYTHING blog related.

After all, we're supposed to give God the first of our day. And I did. And I'm HAPPY I did.

I'm learning self control… That I really don't need to have my iPod every second of the day.

Emails can wait. But my relationship with God can't!

Will you hold me accountable?

i'll see the world.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

I have a dream. 

That one day I will travel the world. 

And see everything through a vintage camera lens. 

I'll see the wonders of this world. 

Those pretty little things that God's put there to make us think "Wow."

I'll eat good food. 

Make international friends.

Take great pictures. 

Have a pair of eyes that have seen amazing things. 

And live a full life full of worth. 

I'll travel from one country to the next… With no consistent mailing address. 

It'll be a great, exciting, amazing adventure. 

I just can't wait… 

One day,

I'll see the world. 

it's the little things...

When my family and I were at dinner the other night, we were talking about how blessed we really are.

Sure there are a heck of a lota days where I wish nothing more than to get out of this crazy place.

But even though sometimes I have to dig deep to think of them, there are so many things to be grateful.

::Having internet/electricity.

::Places to get away.

::The fact that I can safely go running in the morning.

::Skype and Facebook, so that we can chat with our friends and family at home.

::Having a roof over our heads.

::Being able to read the Bible, pray, and have Bible studies.

::Sunlight… Lots and lots of sunlight!

::Friends

::People who speak English


I have to remind myself that there are people within a mile of me that are starving, freezing, and lonely. 


Yet they still put a smile on their beautiful faces like nothing is wrong. 


It's amazing, how much I have that I let slip away totally unnoticed.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1 :17

not made up.

When we were in the states, I put make up on every single day, even the days when we were lounging around home.

And honestly, I see absolutely no point in that now.

My face was overcome with acne {darn teenage years}, and I would do my best to cover it up with all sorts of concealers and powders.

I wouldn't leave the house without a drop of makeup whether that be a little mascara, powder, or eye shadow.

It made me feel beautiful… Make up made me feel beautiful.

I mean it's in the name MAKE up.

I don't want to me made up.

I don't want to cover up what God's given me.

And I don't want people to get so used to seeing me with make up on that when I decide not to they're thinking "WHOA. She looks different!"

When we got to Africa I started wearing it less and less.

Probably because I am trying to impress absolutely no one here.

Now, I wear a little only on Sundays for church, if any.

I actually can't remember the last time I wore make up.

In all total honesty, I would rather be in yoga pants and a t-shirt, makeup-less, and with my hair up in a messy bun.

It's just how I roll. :)

"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him for he is your king." Psalm 45:11

sweet things.

Sweets…

:: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

:: laughter

:: emails 

:: nail polish

:: peaceful mornings 

:: long hot showers

:: pink things

:: cookies… lots and lots of cookies. 

:: funky rings 

:: colors

:: fuzzy socks

:: special k

:: happy music

beauty.

before the day i die.

Alright peoples. I had to dig into the good 'ol journal for this post… Oh dear.

But just FYI my journal is where my bucket list resides. Take a deep breath.

I'm not going to go on about some crush... Anyways.

Everyone has dreams… some of them just a little cray-cray. But hey people, that's ok.

{it rhymes! muaha.}

I love that God gives everyone their own talents, dreams, passions, and abilities for some purpose.

Like He gave me my passion for baking and photography, and I pray that I will use those things to honor Him. 

There are SO many things I want to do before the day I die. Way too many to condense into a blog post. So I shortened up the list just a teensy bit. :) 

Read through the entire Bible. 

Learn how to use chopsticks… The CORRECT way.

Get married and have a family. 

Meet a famous person. *cough* Justin Bieber *cough* 

How ironic he showed up after the marriage one… ;)

Own a piggy. It's name will be Gertrude. Don't judge. 

Have pink hair. 

Be kissed in the rain. Cheesey, I know. So sorry. ;)

AND… Got to Paris, France.

i miss it.

I've been trying to think of things to write about for you. And honestly, this is the thing that's on my heart most of the time.

I miss it. 

Miss what, you may ask? Everything. My friends, my dogs, my home, and all the surroundings of life I was used to before I moved 8500 miles away to whole other world.

I know I, SOPHIA SWANSON, am here for a reason. Even though I don't really know what that is right now.

But it's awfully hard to be here, most of the time not really doing much, and just having to trust God's brought me, my family, here for some reason.

This cute little down called Otjiwarongo in Namibia, Africa is a whole other world from Stillwater, Minnesota. 

The people, the food, the weather, the stores, the nature, the EVERYTHING. 

Sometimes I have what my family and I call, "I hate Africa" days.

When everything about being here just gets on your nerves… I'm sure other missionaries can relate 100%.

And then there's other days where I think "Hey this is pretty cool. I'm liking it here."

After all, I've been able to do so many things in these 5 months than most people will never get to do in their lives.

{at the top of a mountain in Kenya}

I've been in Kenya for 3 weeks, I've gotten 5 feet away from a giraffe, I've gone to Victoria Falls and gone zip lining from Zambia to Zimbabwe!

I've also realized, that little by little, my dreams of traveling all over the world are getting closer and closer to becoming possible.

I'm sure I know I'll have some pretty awesome stories to tell my friends and family when we go home in 15 months.

But until then, thank the Lord for Skype, Facebook, and email.

carl.

I'd like to introduce you to my little man… Carl. 

Carl's a six month old Rottweiler- basically a  toddler in the body of an 85 pound puppy. 

He's an interesting dog. Really, he is. 

And I'm pretty dang sure he has ADHD. 

You should have seen him when we were taking pictures… 

Exhibit A. 

Don't ask what he's doing, what he's looking at, or why in the world he's sticking his tongue out. 

He's a special little boy, dontcha think? 

I still love him though… Especially when he's in his lazy, cuddly moods. 

Oh yah and those eye boogies… Sorry I forgot to fix that little issue.

They're just kinda always there though!

He can't help it. They're just like his disease. Along with puppy ADHD.

What I don't like though, is when he comes in the house with his muddy little bear paws and jumps on my bed.

Ummm... I have a white down comforter, thank you very much. 

I need to teach Carl some manners. 

But first, let's work on "Sit" and "Stay"… 

He already knows how to shake. 

What a good little boy. 

And see what I mean when he gets tired? He can't chase ants forever. 

Although sometimes it seems like he never ever stops moving, and usually it's at the most inconvenient times….

Not that there's any convenient time to have a hyper dog. 

AND this is how I feel right now. Lame. It's 9:30 and I'm tired already? In my defense, it's winter here.

Off to go throw on some sweats and fuzzy socks and hop into my bed covered in mud and dog hair. 

-Sophie

different.

Alrighty.

 I'm so excited to use this blog for my photography and edits as well as writing and {hopefully} smacking a smile on that face of yours.

I just love getting creative with my pictures. Even ones from Photo Booth.

I'm not trying to draw attention to myself, I just find it so fun to edit pictures!

Usually I use Picmonkey… It's the best photo editing site that I've used and it's totally free! You'd be surprised at how often I'm on there every day.

I don't try to look hot or attractive in any way shape or form. hahahahahaha;)

You know like those girls who take pictures of themselves in mirrors with their cellphones? Not this chica.

So I encourage you, with whatever it may be, don't be afraid to BE DIFFERENT and stand out. 

Wear that extra necklace, read that book, eat that cookie, put a pink mustache on EVEN if others don't find it "cool" or "trendy". I dare you. 

Honestly, normal is overrated.

Even God said so. 

No really, he did... 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Romans 12:2