Wish I'd Never Grown Up.

You're sitting in your room...playing Barbies or Legos. Crashing cars together or combing your favorite doll's hair.

Laughing and playing like the world will never end. Running around in your superhero cape or dress-up clothes.

Looking at your mommy and wishing that you were as pretty as her. Dreaming to wear that red lipstick or bright nail polish. Watching your daddy shave and lift heavy stuff. Hoping to be as strong as him one day.

Just an innocent little kid waiting for the day when you're big enough to drive around a real car or do your own make-up.

Then 10 years passes by like the wind, and you're a teenager learning how to fit in and get through life's crazy stuff.

The reality is that growing up is way harder than we thought. It's more than just hanging out with friends, driving fast cars, looking pretty, or watching TV like a boss. No...it includes actually becoming responsible, paying for your cell phone bill, helping to grocery shop, watching your little siblings, working hard in school so you can graduate, and maturing into the person that God wants you to be.


And did I mention innocent above? Oh yeah I did...There are so many things that we don't know as little kids. We don't know what drugs or alcohol are, we don't know that bullying even exists in school, or what suicide even is. We think guns are things that cowboys use in the wild west not a common weapon, or that music in the world can be so obscene.

Yeah there's puberty to go through and good hygiene to learn but that's just natural and normal stuff. Of course there are those awkward and funny moments about that stuff, but it's just part of growing up.


And it's hard and frustrating, good and awkward, humorous and exciting. We just have to make wise decisions and live in the moment. Realize that no matter what we go through will pass and we will grow to become mature people.


And sometimes I pretend that I'm a little kid again with no internet access, playing Barbies in my room with my little sister, or swinging with the wind in my hair. But to live without pretending is to take the hard challenges straight on and crush them!



Deep down inside we're still that little kid...Just a bigger version wishing to go back in time.
~Michlyn

Blooming

We have flowers that are actually blooming on our trees! They smell good and look really pretty.

A couple days ago I decided to go outside and see if I could get any good snapshots of them. Here's what I got!

~Michlyn

Tag You're It!

So Sarah tagged me from her blog A Free Mind. Here we go....

Rules:
1. Once you've been tagged, answer the following questions.
2. Link 5 other bloggers.
3. Comment on their blogs to let them know you tagged them.

1. Favorite restaurant? 

Applebees or Buffalo Wild Wings

2. Favorite music band/group?

Kristian Stanfill (favorite Christian artist), Jim Brickman (he's just a composer), & Taylor Swift

3. Favorite TV Show?

F.R.I.E.N.D.S (it's an old sitcom & kind of dumb but funny)

4. Favorite movie? 

Letters to Juliet (never gets old)

5. If you could be best friends with one celebrity-who? 

Jennifer Lawrence

6. If you could marry one celebrity-who?

ZAC EFRON

7. You could live in a movie-which one?

Hmm...I'd say 'Enchanted'. Go from living in an animated world to the crazy real life city.

8. Biggest pet peeve?

When people sing or play or listen to Christmas music when it's NOT Christmas!

9. Biggest fear?

Someone I love is going to die unexpectedly (I know kind of cliche but it's real)

10. If you could change your hair color- which color?

I've never dyed my hair at all...a blonde w/ natural highlights right here. But I'd have to say I'd change to a brunette.

Thanks for tagging me! I don't do these very often so it's fun when it does happen. :)

The 5 people I tag are:
Emma from Rescue the Orphaned
Sierra from Keep Growing Beautiful
Hannah from in Neverland
Megan from Boundless
Jenna from A Beautiful Heart

~Michlyn

Way Easier Than I Thought

So everyone has been saying that Google Reader is shutting down...

I didn't really believe it at first because I haven't gotten a notice from Google.

But sure enough it is closing. Bummer.

So everyone has been posting about moving all their blogs they follow onto Bloglovin'. 

And it just sounded like a lot of work since Google Reader isn't shutting down until July 1st.

I just wanted check it out to see if I could get it done. Oh my goodness.

The website is so easy and welcoming. Just a few clicks here, make sure to sign up, put in your email, & it imports all your favorite blogs for you!

WAY easier than I thought. Now I'm even more curious to look around and see if I can find any new blogs to follow.

You can find me and my blog if you search: Small Town Girl. I'm the 12th down the list.

~Michlyn

300th Post!

IT'S MY 300TH POST! Wow.

You all are wonderful! You keep me going. Give me encouraging and thoughtful comments. Follow along.

It's fun! :) And I just hit 50 followers!!!!!

Here's to another 300! 

~Michlyn

Annnndd School is OUT!

Wow guys...I'm actually done with school. My sophomore year of high school is over.

I'm officially a junior. Whoa. Crazy. Scary. Sort of.

And I think it was my favorite year of high school so far. Last year it was my first year back to school after being homeschooled for 2 years. So this year I knew a lot more people and I was more comfortable. I got to know so many more people this year, started playing volleyball again on our school's team, and actually had a social life. :)

Here are only a few of my favorite memories of the year. Of course I don't take pictures of everything (need to work on that) so it's just somethings that were my favorite and came to mind.

Me #1:::Official varsity jersey:::driving to school early:::volleyball girls - my team praying:::

blogging:::getting my license:::Snowdaze 2013:::snowtubing with friends:::

watching basketball & baseball games w/ friends:::growing in my faith:::my good friend Jake & I on field day:::Me # 2

My last day of Sophomore year included:

Dressing up with my best friend and going to the last baseball game of the school year! We had tons & tons of fun!! Now it's on to SUMMER 2013...Prepared to make this the best summer yet!

~Michlyn

Adoption: Behind the Scenes

Most of you know that I have an adopted sister. She is 7yrs old, she was born in Ethiopia, Africa, and has now been home for about 3 years.

The first thing people see is a beautiful, spunky, & innocent little girl that is part of our family. If meeting someone for the first time, they ask her a lot of questions and just say how cute she is. The thing is...they don't know.

They don't know how hard our daily life can actually be.
They don't know how much trauma and hurt she's gone through.
They don't know how different everything was before.


Adoption is a miracle. It brings kids home from all over the world. And everyone who brings a child(ren) home always have different situations. Some are good, some are not so great, and others are rough.

Ours has been rough. Because behind that little girl with crazy curly hair, and a smile that could trick even the wisest person...Is a daughter of our King who is broken. Completely and utterly shattered into thousands of pieces.

The pieces of trust, love, connection, joy, security, and hope are missing. They were missing before we even laid our eyes on that very first picture of her.

And as I see the tantrums, tears, and hurt through her...I see more than just my broken sister. I see how she sees herself. I see how she thinks she should be treated. It's the hardest thing I've experienced.

Mostly I just want to cry at the hardship of it all and sometimes I want to laugh at the craziness God put into our lives.

The patience my parents have. The wisdom of therapists, friends, & prayer warriors. The protection and grace of our Savior.

It's all just a gigantic huge mess. Sometimes a bad mess. Sometimes a good mess.

When people don't understand our situation and chat and smile with my sister. I just want to scream. Because she barely does that with us. We should be the ones giving her the love, patience, and lessons of life and get a smile. But that's rare. And I just want to tell that person how they don't understand. How incredibly hard we try to make progress and teach her every. single. day.

1 yr. 2 yrs. 3 yrs.... Those walls around her heart have been falling a lot slower than we ever expected. Everything isn't hard of course. She's grown so much and learned quite a bit. But when survival kicks in from past memories or something triggers...we start sliding down instead of climbing up. And each step is going to be work & worth it.

This is exactly how we live without pretending. We show her the best we can and hope & pray that things will get better. I don't know who will truly understand this, but I hope it makes you think a little differently if anything at all.

I just needed to say this. And Jesus is faithful.

~Michlyn

3 Days...

A little catch-up from 10 Days...

Spanish Oral Test ✔

Biology Final ✔

Spring Choir Concert ✔

Add in another baseball game, driving around actually feeling like "a real teenager", and more sibling soccer and there's my life for the next 3 days! Wooooo SUMMER is almost here!!!!!!!!!!!

Just 2 more finals, one project, and singing at graduation! :) Hope your summer is going well or will come quickly.

~Michlyn

When I Look in the Mirror...

Sometimes when I look in the mirror...

I see beauty. I see uniqueness. A daughter specially designed by our King. Flawless.

And other times...

I see scars. And bumps. I see the flaws. The imperfect skin and hair.

When really, all I want to see is that girl who is perfect in the eyes of her Father. The one who has no mistakes or flaws on her body. Who's hair is always in place. She doesn't need makeup to feel pretty. Who doesn't have to cover those spots of past breakouts to see the beauty.

That feeling isn't always there though. There is only that very seldom day where the mirror and I agree with each other. I know that Jesus is looking at me every morning when I get ready. When I add the color to my eyes and cream to my face. And I'm sure he is sometimes shaking his head and saying "You're perfect just the way I've made you". 

But's it's hard to grasp that concept. As girls we are pressured into wearing clothes that are "in style", to get that new nail polish color, or to be bold with a new hairstyle.

He sees the way I dress. He sees the frown on my face when I look at my stomach and legs. How I think they protrude more than they should. The self-consciousness that creeps up and is there to ruin my self-esteem.

Then I realize that this feeling can change. I can pray all I want for God to "make me skinnier" or "please let money fall out of the sky so I can go buy that new accessory". The thing is... it won't work without your effort. You have to start to make a change.

To get dressed and smile because you're happy in your own skin.

When you skip the concealer and accept your small scars.

To go for runs and give your body some motivation.

Look up to the sky and say "Thank you Jesus for making me who I am"!

And when you look in the mirror with that attitude...You're gonna see the girl you've been waiting to see. The happy, bold, and proud girl that's been dying to come out.


Because she's behind the mirror...I know she is...You've just got to search a little harder because she's beautiful no matter what!

Treat yourselves well girls! You're worth it.

~Michlyn

Saturday Morning

~Michlyn

Another Start to a New Series!

It's been quite a while since I've done a series...and I just love them!! They're fun & creative.

So my new series is called........

Just like my In the Eyes of a Teenager series...I'll be taking real life stuff. Except it will be things that pertain to my life. Real. Raw. Hardcore. Stuff. 

Some might be inspiring, jaw-dropping, or thoughtful. But it's stuff that I've always wanted to write, but never have found the words to actually tell the story. My first post has already been written & you can see that right here.

Hope you enjoy this series and if you ever have a story that you think would be good for a series like this...go ahead and write it, use the button above (you can save it or copy it), contact me with your link post, and then I might just share it right here on my own blog.

Thanks to all my fabulous readers and followers! You guys keep me going and give me such positive and thoughtful feedback. I'm sooo close to 50 followers...I never even dreamed that would happen. My goal was never to have the most followers, but it's wonderful.

Hope you continue to follow along!

~Michlyn

Catchin' up on Instagram

Hey.

So I'd thought I'd give you a little catch up on my instagram since the beginning of April.

I really don't know if people really like seeing my instagram pics, but it's a fun place to document them.

Anyway if you don't have an instagram you can click right about........here! And that will bring you right to my page. :)

So here's a great big collage for you that's full of random pictures from my life.

driving my brothers around for a fun day//started running again//outfit//bff Beka and me//

fishie necklace my grandma made//district blitz conference//sister and friends at a hotel//my Bible//

band The Neverclaim//beautiful sun//playing Candy land with my brother//my best friend trying a food for the first time//

black&white selfie//baseball game for my school @ the metrodome//another selfie//Megan & I on field day//beautiful sista Erin

And that would sum bits and pieces up of my crazy life. Thanks for following along! :)

~Michlyn

My Beautiful Mom

Today is Mother's Day...

Celebrating every wonderful mom who works hard to keep their crazy kids in line.

And my mom...she is awesome! A one of a kind, laundry folding, car-pool driving, kid loving, dishes doing, soccer watching, MOM! :)

I couldn't imagine my life without her wisdom, patience, spunk, and kindness she shows every day!

LOVE YOU MOM! Hope you feel extra special on this day!

~Michlyn

Field Day 2013

Our school is K-12th.

And every year there is an annual Secondary Softball Tournament, (7-12th graders) otherwise know as Field Day.

Every advisory (home room) makes shirts and plays as a team against the other advisories. 

It's a lot of fun, and this year was no different. The weather took a while to warm up, but everyone had a BLAST!

Although my advisory placed second to last it was still fun! :) Bring it on 2014!

~Michlyn

10 Days...

Comparison Essay ✔

6 page Evolution Paper ✔

Biology Presentation ✔

Spanish Test ✔

Throw in a few baseball games, extra homework, chauffeuring of soccer siblings, and babysitting, and that would be my life! :)

Just field day, 3 finals, a spring choir concert, and I'M DONE!

10 Days until Summer!

~Michlyn

Photoshoot {My Bro}

On Sunday I took some pictures of my little brother Jace.

He's such a stud. Seriously... And it was a lot of fun actually.

It took him a little while to warm up...

But he got the hang of it and actually cooperated with me.

And then his silly little personality comes out...

But they turned out pretty great! :)

Now onto the other siblings in the near future...

~Michlyn

The "Sister Birthdays"

I have one sister who has a birthday on May 5th....

And another sister who has a birthday on May 6th...

DEAR LAURA GRACE - MY ANGEL BABY SISTER!

You are so precious and dear to my heart...I think about you sooo much and I can't wait to meet you in heaven one day. You are beautiful and perfect and I LOVE YOU! Give Jesus a big hug for me! 

AND TO MY CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL, SPUNKY, AND HILARIOUS SISTER ERIN!

You are my best friend. My life would be so boring and uneventful without you. I've loved having you as my partner in crime since the wee age of 1 1/2. :) You have a funny and unique personality and some people think it's hard to handle, but I think it's great. I can't wait to go on so many more adventures and make lots more entertaining memories. Keep your chin up and that beautiful smile bright! Love you!

~Michlyn