Fast Shoes!

Lee-man got new shoes!  He calls them his "Fast shoes".  Every time Sam asks him to play outside he says, "Hold on.  Let me get on my fast shoes."

The smile on his face the first day he got them was priceless! He loves showing them off! :)

Things have really been but in perspective for me lately.  The other day, I was helping Mom plant some vegetables in our mini garden out back and it was beautiful outside!  It was finally warm enough to go barefoot. :)  Unfortunately, there were some thorns that were strangely attracted to my foot.  Anyway, the outside of my left foot has been really sore since then (I'm going somewhere with this, so hang in there.).  And it really got me thinking about the children who live in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The children in Liberia who run around and play in abandoned fields that were left littered with shattered glass and rusted bullet shells from a 14 year civil war.

The children in Uganda who walk miles and miles everyday to get water that may or may not make them sick.

The children whose feet now hurt from the debris in the grass they play in and the rocks and thorns they tripped over on their way to the contaminated stream, because they didn't have shoes.

The children who aren't allowed to attend school because they don't have shoes.

In Ethiopia, there are around 1 million people who are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot on volcanic soil. (I'm pretty sure my small cut isn't going to permanently disfigure my leg...)

I also wondered what their smiles would look like if they ever got a new pair of "Fast Shoes"?

Probably similar to this...

or maybe something like this...

PRICELESS!

Last year my family and I participated in this thing called "One Day Without Shoes."  Check out this video

April 8th, 2010!  going barefoot to raise awareness about the importance of shoes! :)

Also, there are these really awesome shoes called "TOMS Shoes".  When you purchase a pair of TOMS Shoes, they send a pair to a child who needs them.  How cool is that?!  I have a pair and they're the most comfortable pair of shoes I own.  Check them out @ http://www.toms.com/.

This has just been on my mind lately...

maybe just a while...

It's American Idol season and as usual, we Hickman's were enjoying our dinner while cheering for our favorite contestants and praying the really suck-ish contestants get kicked off. At a commercial Dad hopped up to go to the kitchen and as he left, he looked at Mom and began singing a song that went a little something like this...

I remember when those gasoline jeans used to make me smile.
I knew if i had the chance i'd ask you to the homecoming dance,
and maybe we'd be happy for a while...


after he took his last steps out of the room, I looked over and saw my mom sitting next to me with tears in her eyes and a beautiful smile on her face.

Late night/early morning ramblings

round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows...

Tonight, I've simply decided to blog.  I have no idea what this will end up being, but we'll see. :)

~ *MUSIC*~

lately, I've been playing around with our acoustic guitar.  I LOVE it!  My fingers are really sore though :) I can play an Em chord and a D chord.  Earlier this evening, I was learning how to play a G chord, which looks like this-

(This is not my hand! Just thought I'd let you know)

As I was figuring out how to get my fingers placed properly, my middle finger kept getting locked!

Like this...

(not my hand either)

It was really frustrating! 

~*MISCELLANEOUS*~

I've recently come across a website where teens can post their short stories, poems, books, essays (you get the idea) for others to read, comment on and vote for.  The coolest part about this site is that the top five picks of every month get viewed by professional publishers! Inkpop.com

I was first introduced to this site by my friend Landon.  I joined Inkpop so I could vote for his book and bring him up in the ratings, but I had no further intentions for the site.  Despite my initial purpose, I'm an Inkpop addict.  

Through inkpop I've had the opportunity to read some beautiful poetry and I was inspired to write something of my own.  It's not finished yet, but it will be soon.  I hope it turns out :)

~*SIBLINGS*~

My brother, Sam and I have this ninja war going on. In this war, there are battles, if you win the battle, you are the stronger ninja.   A couple of days ago, I was working on a paper and I had some yogurt in front of me. Sam walked up casually and began chatting with me, all the while, eying my yogurt.  I knew his plan and quickly won that battle!

At lunch this afternoon, he had some yogurt on his plate (yogurt is very popular in our house).  It was a perfect time to demonstrate my ninja superiority!  I quickly grabbed my spoon and  stole a bite of it.  I was filled to the brim with pride!  after some laughing, and unnecessary bragging he said, trying to convince himself that he's still a match against me, "It's easier if you have your own spoon."   No sooner did he say this that I reach over and do the exact same thing using his spoon.  I couldn't believe the next thing he said!  "I think I'm going to retire as a ninja."  Had I won?...............................Nope.  he changed his mind.  The war will go on.

~*FRUSTRATION*~

I have recently discovered one of my biggest pet peeves!  Hypocrisy!   Not the kind of hypocrisy where a person tells someone to do something then turns around and does something completely different, I'm talking about the kind that is simply a lie.  This kind of hypocrite says something about them self that simply isn't true. They deceive others with their words, and even with some of their actions, but it's merely a mask.  They play pretend, dress up like the hero even though they're the villain!  (slightly dramatic)

That's all I have to say about that...

~*FAIR WELL*~

It's nearing 2 a.m. and my eyes are getting heavy.  I hope you enjoyed this random, scatterbrained post.  :)

love,
Sarah

if only :)

Levi, as he builds with his not-so-lego type blocks: "Sarah! You're making my stairs fall down!"

My not-so-witty defense:  "I'm not even touching them, how could it be my fault?"

Levi:  "You're using your powers!"

If only it was true. :)

No Longer in the Future...

Last night as I lay in my bed, slowly falling asleep, I heard a little voice coming from the boy's room.  Levi had had a fever earlier that day, so I went to see if he was ok.  I walked in only to find a little four year old boy laying in his bed talking to himself and I went over to chat with him.  I was standing on my tip toes at the edge of his bunk bed smiling and whispering.  We were talking about how old he was and he was playing with my fingers, bringing them up one at a time until we got to four.  He did that over and over again.  Then he pulled my thumb out and counted to five.  I told him he would be five in July and I was suddenly caught off guard by what I had just said.  He was going to be 5 in JULY!  I couldn't believe it.  Just yesterday we were in the airport waiting for Mom and Dad's airplane to land from Liberia, and for them to walk out with our new brother.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my future, where God will lead me and what I'm going to end up doing.  I've actually been kind of worried.  I feel inadequate.  I've never been good at making decisions and all of the sudden, every decision matters.  Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely excited! It's just everything's coming quickly.
My future is no longer in the future...

Things to Say.

I've decided to start this blog because I have things to say.  Things to say about life, family, and my beliefs.  Things that can't be said within the limit of 420 characters (if you have a Facebook you know what I mean).  So throughout this blog my things will be said, and perhaps, be read. :)