"Houston We Have Ducklings"

I can't believe that it's already been about a week since these little ducklings were just eggs!!! :) (These pictures were taken only a day or two after they hatched, so they're quite a bit bigger now!)

My brother has some ducks (three to be exact), and about a month or so ago, the oldest of the females started gathering her eggs into a nest and sitting on them. Then about a week ago, the first little duckling appeared, then another, and another, making a total of three adorable little fluffs of feathers. :) They were a lot smaller than I had expected them to be from what I'd seen at Tractor Supply! (If you're not familiar with it, they have a time in the spring called "chick days" when they have a whole bunch of baby chicks and ducks for people to buy, and you can go look at them and hold them, it's really fun.) And we named them Houie, Douie, and Louie–according to the order that they had hatched. So let me introduce them to you. :) (You can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you need.)

Below is Mrs. Mama Duck (her real name is just "Duck", but we've taken to calling her Mama Duck) and two of her babies (Houie–the yellow one in front–and Louie–the dark one behind).

Here's all three; Houie, Douie, and Louie. I love this picture 'cause it makes them look like tiny conspirators!

And here's Houie again (who I'm for some reason always and forever wanting to call Howie! And I'm not exactly sure why. . . . Maybe it's the way I've been spelling Houie. . .).

Houie, however has been having some troubles, and we're not exactly sure what all was wrong with him. So a few days after hatching (like the day after I took these pictures I think), we had to bring him in to try and nurse him back to health, 'cause he was just getting more and more weak, and we were afraid that he wouldn't last another day out with the other ducks (the Mr. in particular. . .). So we brought him in, and for about two days we were carrying him around snuggled up next to our chests with our hands wrapped around him, trying to keep him warm and comfortable. After a bit his eyes started to get crusted up and stuck together, and he was virtually blind, but after an accidental dump in the water, we realized that that could be washed off. So after washing the crust off of his eyes, he started to eat more and began to get more energy. Now he's continually gaining more strength and interest in everything around him, and he's growing at the same rate as the Douie and Louie outside. Our hope is that after a little longer he'll be strong enough to go back out and join them (if they'll accept him back in). :)

. . . Bet I had you expecting me to sadly tell you that he had died, huh? ;) lol. For the first few days we were absolutely certain that he wouldn't last another day, or even through the night. But God is good, and now he's doing really well! :) But I'm actually kind of glad that we went through that. Because now we have one of the ducklings that we can pet and hold, and that will snuggle up in our hands and even come on occasion when we call it! (Yup. That's right.) If he was still outside, he would be running away with the other two, acting like the boogy man was alive and coming after them. lol. . . . That gives a funny picture.

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Never Underestimate My Jesus

So God's been doing like a TON in my life these past few weeks; teaching me to listen, truly listen to Him (not just say "ok, if You want this to happen, let it happen" like I usually do when I'm "listening"), and showing just how amazingly awesome HE is!!!!! :) Today I heard this song on the radio, and I got to thinking just how perfectly it fits with what's been going on!! Here are the lyrics, and I tried to find a good link for the actual song, but couldn't find one. . . . But here are the lyrics anyways:

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What are the deaths I still dwell in?
I try to excel but I feel no movement
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin
oOoOoOoO

CHORUS:
Never underestimate my Jesus
your tellin me that there's no hope
Im tellin you your wrong
Never underestimate my Jesus
when the world around you crumbles
He will be strong he will be strong

I throw up my hands
oh the impossibilities
Frustrated and tired
Where do I go from here?
Now Im searchin' for
The confidence I lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles
Is overcoming my fears
oOoOoOoO

CHORUS

I think I can't
I think I can't
but I think you can
I think you can
gather my insufficiencies and
place them in your hands
place them in your hands
place them in your hands.

CHORUS (2x)

You will be strong (3x)

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Update On Books

The editing of the 2nd draft for The Sword of Teneraz is underway. :) So far I'm pretty happy with how it is coming along, though I really need to put more focus into it so that it can come along faster.

But The Wolves of Langoor however are having some troubles. . . . :\ So I'm currently taking a break (gives me more time to focus on editing), and when I pick it back up, I'm planning on doing basically rewriting what I've written so far. I was only on about the 30th page so far, so it won't be that much to rewrite. . . . [sigh] all that hard work.

But anyways. . . my reasons for doing stated dreaded thing: It just didn't feel right, and I was at the point that the ideas simply weren't coming out unless I poked, and prodded, and–to put it plainly–tortured them to. I finally realized what I think my problem was:

1-I needed a break. Time to clear my mind and bring back to focus where I want this story to go.

2-I was relying on my own strength; my own will power and imagination. At the beginning it wasn't coming all that smoothly, because this story has a more complicated story line than any others that I've written, and to be frank, I hadn't spent as much time just sitting and daydreaming about this story, to the point that I'd figured out the structure of every sentence in a certain scene, like I have for the others I've written. So, I had heard that it was good to make a layout of your story, and I decided to give it a try. But that was my error. Don't get me wrong, for others, I'm sure it helps a TON! But for me. . . planning everything out like that left out any room for last minute spurts of inspiration, which push the story in a different direction; any room for God to give His ideas. I'd left MY author out of the planning. He's the one who had always given me those spurts of imagination that kept my pen going–He's the one who gave me that imagination in the first place! I remember when writing TSOT, a time when He stepped in and completely changed where I thought the story was going, and because of that, it turned out FAR better than it would have if I had kept going the way I'd thought it should go. I know that other authors use the layout, and it works great for them. But for me, that's obviously not the way God wants me to go. I believe, that He wants me to trust in Him; trust that He will guide the story where it needs to go; trust that, when I sit there with a blank paper, and an open mind, asking Him what He wants me to put down, that He will tell me, and I won't be at a total loss like I fear I might be.

So. . . [takes a deep breathe] the layout goes in the trash. And I feel like I'm stepping off a cliff. . . . But, like that one character that I pushed off a cliff; since the author's still breathing, I know that somehow I will survive–and in the process, have the adventure of a lifetime. :)

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

New Header

I finally decided that it was time to change the header on this blog. . . . So I did. :) What do you think?? Do you like it?

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Easter!!!!! :D

Happy Easter all!!! :D I hope that you have a special day sharing this day with family and friends, or having a just you and Jesus day. :) Whatever your doing, remember who, and what you're celebrating:

Matthew 26-28

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!! :D

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Waiting For A Perfect Cue

It's been a week and a day since my amazing experience of being a movie extra. . . and I'm wondering what is next on God's "to do list" for me. I'm going to audition for a Tom Sawyer play next month, so I'm counting down the days until that. . . but I'm not exactly sure if that's what God wants me to do. Both of my parent's and I felt that I should audition for it, and ask God that if I was supposed to be in it that He would give me a decent sized part, one that I could learn in, and that would stretch my acting skills to a new level. And I'm also involved in a drama at our church. . . . But I wonder about that other opportunity that God started opening the door for me several months ago now. The one that I made Assr er Go∂r day because of. . . . I still haven't heard anything back since then, but the last I heard was that I would be contacted when they began preparations for another film. So who knows when that could be! But I'm praying, and trusting, that God will open the door completely, right at the perfect time; HIS perfect time. I just wonder when that is!!

Well. . . during this waiting time, I've been keeping busy with preparations for a short film that a friend and I are making. It's a film based around the song "He's a Pirate" from Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as a few other tunes from that movie. But that is all I will say. ;)

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Quiet on Set! . . . Places!!

So, yesterday has got to have been one of the best days in my life!!! :D A friend of mine is making a film for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, so I was asked to be an extra in it.

I had never, ever done ANYTHING like being in a film unless home videos count, although I've dreamed of it since I was really little. And have recently started making plans to make several short films with my friend.

But, like I said, this has been a dream that I have had for a VERY long time! And you probably already know that I absolutely LOVE acting! So I was super excited for this opportunity that God had opened up.

And, well, to say it briefly, I wasn't disappointed. :) And now I fear that I am hooked on acting in, and/or making films for life. . . .

But anyways, I can't tell you any details of the shoot (I am under strict orders from the Director), but I can tell you that I have now gotten a whole new outlook on how do filming (like angles, etc.), and I have now had an "insider" look on how they do it. So my mind is just reeling with ideas and the thrill to get out on the field and practice what I've learned.

Basically, when I got home (and in the car on the way home), I was practically jumping off of the ceiling with excitement (plus the 3 and a half cups of coffee probably didn't help matters much. . . .). And even now I feel like despite the discomforts of a springy outfit on a cold wintry day and being in an unheated building for filming, I would be FAR MORE than willing to go back and do it all over again!!! :D

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Amazing!!!!!!!!! :D

Wow! I wanted to draw your attention to the "Astronomy Photo of the Day" from my sidebar. (I have it posted belowˇˇˇ)

What an AWESOME God we serve!!!! Who created such a wondrous, and beautiful universe! :D

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

I Used To Like The Dentist. . . USED TO

When I was little and I had this thing about doctors. . . I loved them, and wished I could go there more often. You know the little smarty candies that came in the long clear plastic packages all rolled up? You don't see them very often any more, but they used to be the big thing. Those were my favorite candies BECAUSE they looked like medicine pills. . . . I was one strange kid!

But then I finally went to the doctors office. . . and they gave me four shots on my legs. . . at the same time. Let me tell you! No longer did I like going to the doctor's office! And the dentist. . . well. . . getting braces took care of that pretty quickly. Now I despise the mere thought of going to a doctor or dentist office! Well. . . after moving, I hadn't gotten my teeth cleaned or checked for quite some time, so just the other day we went. :} The x-rays weren't as bad as they usually are, and even though I was tense throughout the entire cleaning I could bare it! I could have lived to snatch up my little bag of tooth brush, tooth paste, little container of floss that lasts about a week, and even that little needly thingy to thread the floss under the metal bar that the other dentist put beneath my lower front teeth to keep them in place when the braces came off.

. . . . But no. . . the x-rays HAD to show that my wisdom teeth were coming in. . . and OF COURSE they're coming in crooked, and don't have enough room. :{ I had dearly hoped that I would follow my mom and sister in the way of there being enough room, or at least them stopping and not having to be removed! But I guess that was too much to hope. . . .

So. . . sometime (I don't know exactly when yet) I am going to get my wisdom teeth removed. :(

I had and have only ONE question after that appointment disappointment (ever notice how similar those 2 words are??): What in the world are wisdom teeth even for anyway? I mean, practically everyone gets them taken out, so obvious it's not some survival thing. . . otherwise we'd all be dead right now! :\

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~

Yipppeeeeee!!!! :D

I have like 5 or 6 more chapters in TSOT to edit, then I'll have finished my first round of editing!!! :D I'm very excited!! Of course, I still have 2 more times of doing that, each coming from a different angle. This time was just a basic over all, make sure it flows well, work on grammar problems. . . etc. Next time will be focusing on the characters; are they consistent? Do I describe their personality, appearances, or things that make them special, singular people well enough or correctly? Then on the third time I will work on Alleria's history and the landscapes-also description. You know, all of the things that makes it more than just a story in a book, but gives it the feeling of it being someplace real. 3D instead of 2D if you will. . . .

After that, I'll pass the manuscript out to my parents and a few choice people for them to edit. And once that is done: publishing! :)

And The Wolves of Langoor is going pretty well I think. I'm probably about 3-4 chapters in, so it's not going incredibly fast, but that is because I am focusing more on editing TSOT, and getting that done. I won't tell you the story of TWOL. . . not yet! Further down the road I'll post the summary as I did for TSOT, but not just yet, you'll have to wait for that. :) Though I WILL say that TWOL is going to be a lot more epic of a story than even TSOT was. It's more of a constant battle raging on one side, while on the other is suspense and mystery. Ok, that's all I am going to say. ;) Hehe!

Assr vísa ykkarr or∂.

~ElizabethMarieKauffman~