Johanna Speaks

Sophie and I had our choir performance three days ago. It was so much fun singing and being with friends! 

I am in the Chamber choir, and this time I have a duet, and I also did a song intro. The only thing I was truly nervous about was my song intro because my voice was still kinda bad. I was sick about a week ago, and I still had a stuffy nose, which made it hard to pronounce certain words, including my sick-sounding voice. But thankfully, it sounded a lot better than I expected.  

Here are two videos of me singing/reading that my family took:

Here is the whole performance link:

Sophie is in Junior choir (the dark blue shirts), and I am in Senior choir (the black shirts). 

I went fishing near the Lake Club yesterday and used live worms for my bait. My fishing line isn't for large fish, but for smaller ones that don't weigh much. But I still put a large hook and one full worm because I really wanted to catch a big bass this time. 

After about an hour of fishing, I finally got a bite! I felt it tug a lot, so I started reeling it in as fast as I could. I thought maybe it was a small fish, but I could feel the weight of it while it was pulling hard. The moment I realized I had caught a big bass, I was so excited and happy! Then my fishing line started going backwards since the weight was too much. So, holding the fishing pole in one hand, while using the other to grab the line, I pulled it to shore. 

I took the hook out, grabbed the mouth with my fingers, and took some pictures before letting it back in the water. I was about to kiss it because I've done that in the past with other fish, but I didn't. If I catch another though, I am so kissing it. 😁

When I put it back in the water, I kinda held it with my hands so I could feel it swim out. I love feeling the scales and the tail. I was so happy and overjoyed about catching such a big bass. 

Today, I'm thinking of going back out and fishing again. It's going to be addictive lol. 

I have been playing pickleball for about two years. It's been a lot of fun, learning more and more about the rules of the game and finally understanding the scoring system. I feel like the scoring was the hardest thing for me to learn. But after a year or so, I fully understood it. 

I've been getting a lot better on my serves (pretty proud of myself on that), but I still need to work on backhands and defending from the kitchen. I am so afraid of getting smacked by the ball. Yes, I have been hit many times, twice in the face. But I need to be confident in hitting it when it comes straight at me, so I don't hesitate, and then it does hit me. 

Last night, we played, and Sophie took some pics and videos:

At our church, six of us play on the worship team. And recently, the lead singer/pianist and her husband are "retiring from playing." They said they wanted the younger generation to take over and to lead. Now, that means my brother Nicholas is in charge of the music, and his wife, Noemi, will help lead the singing. 😊 

We've also recruited another guy, Ian, to play bass. We've actually put the piano away for a bit. I'm not entirely sure why, since one of the violinists can play it. 

There's one acoustic guitarist, two electric guitarists, one singer, and two violinists. So far, it's been going pretty well. The Orrs (the pianist/singer and her husband, who plays the bass) said they could help us out once in a while and play if some of us are gone traveling on some Sundays. I'm really happy they said that because Nicholas and Noemi are gone right now in New Jersey, and I don't think we could do it with only a couple of us playing and nobody really leading. 

Anyway, it's been a challenge, but I know over time, it will become easier. I really enjoy playing violin, and sometimes I will play the mandolin. I'm still learning, but I know enough chords to play some of the songs. 

Here's a pic of the worship team:

I haven't written about my brother Jonathan, who got engaged about a month ago, yet, because I didn't exactly have all the details of the engagement. And I also forgot to. 🙄

Anyway, now I will. 

My brother Jonathan has been dating his girlfriend for about five years now and has been planning this engagement for two years. He planned a whole scavenger hunt for her. They went to Guatemala and some other places (not exactly sure where). But he proposed in Guatemala. 

Jonathan has been making an orrery, which is a replica of the solar system. It is pretty complicated and took a long time to make. He made it for Julia so she would have to put everything in place and figure out clues, and, originally, the ring would come out when she did figure everything out, but they decided not to do that part because it was too complicated. 

Here are some pictures I took of the orrery:

Jonathan made every little piece, making sure it fit just right. And in the end, it looked awesome! 

They will have their wedding sometime in September. 

Now on to my brother Gideon's engagement!

Gideon has been dating a girl named Elizabeth for about four weeks. Yes, I know, it was extremely fast! She lives in Boone, North Carolina, at the other end of the United States. They met at a Christian conference. 

He brought her to California five days ago to meet the family. Everybody loved her and her personality! 😊 She is really fun to be with and can't wait to have her as my next sister-in-law. We got to spend lots of time with them, and I found out she could play fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and piano. And probably more instruments. She actually played the fiddle and guitar for us while she was here. It was so nice! 

She is super sweet, and I think she and Gideon would be a really good pair together. 

Gideon proposed to her on their way back home. Like, when they got off the plane and went to a park. Both of them were extremely tired, but Gideon proposed in a beautiful park area as the sun was rising. Afterward, they went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast.

 They will be getting married in April in North Carolina.