• My tulip from Leah in 2007 grew and then died. It never bloomed. It was awfully sad. A green thumb I do not have. I was also given some tulip bulbs from Meghan from somewhere in Europe, I planted and watered them, and they never even sprouted. Somehow my lucky bamboo is still alive...it has lived up to its name.
• It's been 3 years since Miriam rollerbladed out of our lives. I still miss her. It's sad. I forget about her, and then out of the blue something reminds me of her. I look at her picture sometimes and can't believe I knew her. Seeing videos of her helps me remember her more. It's weird though, the pain is still there almost as deep as ever. I think that it's gone sometimes, but then it'll hit me.
• We had our summer camp in August. It was fabulous. We changed our rules and a few things and I missed the age so sadly I couldn't be in it. It was pretty sad but I helped out in the kitchen doing dishes and got to spend some time with some awesome people. :) I posted about camp last year and I was so sure we wouldn't still be here this year, but we are. It's awfully hard to believe.
  
• Leah is home! :)
• I took a summer class and it was ok. I'm supposed to be graduating with my Bachelor's in Spring 2010. Please pray all goes well. I also could use some prayers for direction and guidance as I'm applying to OT schools this fall and am in desperate need of Divine intervention.
  
• I took a couple of road trips this summer, neither of which included Idaho. It's quite sad, I miss Idaho. But, I went to Oregon and Montana. Both trips were fabulous. I'd easily move to either state. :)
  
• This summer hasn't been so crazy as last year. It's been busy and crazy in it's own way, but not as much. People are busier with their own things. Oh, and a bunch of people have gotten married this year.
• Krista and Jon got married a few weekends ago. Rose is getting married this month. Another friend is getting married this month too. I think I missed another couple.
• I got my CPL! :)
  
• I started volunteering at the hospital and it's been a lot of fun. I like it.
• I'm going to be starting my SO job, hopefully, soon, and it'll be another crazy thing. And school starts on September 23.
• I switched to Verizon from ATT and got a new phone I'm not so fond of. Not advertising or anything, but Verizon has been so much better to deal with than ATT, however I miss my pink Razr.
• I hyper-extended my ankle in January. I slipped off our icy front porch in a big hurry and my foot got caught on the edge of the stair and I bent it all the way backward, knocking off both sock and shoe, and falling quite hard on it. It's still slightly messed up, nine months later. Then, in June, I fell down some different stairs for no reason and sprained my other ankle. Needless to stay, I am still paranoid about stairs.
• Sadly, we had to get my beloved Sparky put down. He got sick with some terrible thing, and after many attempts at the vet, we were unable to keep him in good health, so we put him down. It was pretty sad. I had gotten so used to having him around and when he was gone, it made life so empty. No one to come home to, no excited greetings at the door, etc. But, we got a new puppy! He's a Boston terrier, my mom insisted on it, and his name is Zeke. He's adorable, but a pill. He's growing on me though.
• I dressed up as Mz. Frizzle for children's book week at the library. It was quite fun. :)
  
• Had some amazing times up at the camp. A friend and I went and cleaned and painted. It was lots of fun. :)
• This year I've spent a lot of valuable time with my family. I'm so blessed with awesome family.
• I've spent a lot of time at the beach and water. It's been fun. :) I've also gotten very tan, compared to my usual skin color. :)
• I went to the TEA party on July 4. It was one of the most exhilarating things I've done. I've never felt so American. :) I love my country! 
• Went jet-skiing and got stuck in the middle of the lake for over 20 min. It was a little petrifying.
  
• Enjoyed many summer events. :)
• Went to the Fair and Whistler.

What an awesome week! Our camp ran from August 4-11. Junior camp was from August 4-7 and Senior from 7-11. I, along with some friends and other sisters helped in the kitchen at Junior camp doing the dishes. It was quite fun. :P Meghan and I sang while working, not knowing everyone could hear us...so then we sang louder. hehe It was quite fun.

Then began Senior camp. It was awesome! The weather was great except for Saturday and the creek was a welcome relief from the heat. We were split into teams, I on the mighty "BLACK ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It was great. :D Thursday was volleyball, which I actually enjoyed. :) My team did great, but alas we weren't in the top 3, which still confuses me. Oh well. It was tons of fun.

Friday was relay races and games. We played giant Pit, tug of war, sticking our hands into junk and getting coins, feeding our partner as many bananas as possible in 15 seconds or so, and a bunch of other fun things. I didn't take many pictures, it was too difficult.

Saturday was a whole day event, all focused on Pilgrim's Progress. We started out lining up for breakfast and getting a small pack with a large brick. Then we got our hands stamped with "SINNER" and headed on our woe-begotten way to a meager breakfast. Boiled eggs, toast, scones, and a few other meager items. We then headed down to "devotions" in the pouring rain. We were told to line up outside the chapel, so we did, then the authorities came and told us we weren't having devotions, so we were herded to the garden, where we sang and watched our Bro. John Bunyon get arrested for preaching. We were then herded back to the chapel where we were allowed to sit down and have devotions. Bro. Evangelist preached for us, since our Bro. Bunyon was in prison. He preached about grace, love and mercy, and laying down our burdens. Then there was a small skit of Pilgrim getting started on his journey.

From there, we were led outside to the Wicket Gate where we were allowed to get in groups of 15 or so and head up the hill of difficulty. And let me tell you, it was difficult. My group was the last to go, after waiting in the pouring rain for half an hour or so, we were singing, to pass the time along, and listening to Bro. Tom preach about our journey. We went up the muddy Hill of Difficulty and clung desperately to the rope as we slipped up the hill. We then headed to the House Beautiful for some encouragement from Bro. Byskal and the Interpreter. We got to sign the Memorial Wall and catch our breath.

We then headed in our groups to the cross where Bro. Lance preached about laying down our burden and embracing the cross. Pilgrim was there to demonstrate, and then we all got rid of our bricks and got "FORGIVEN" stamped across our previous "SINNER" stamp. We then headed off on our path. My group went to the station about the keys of something. We got these cool passport things but they were taken away at the end to count our points and I can't remember everything. But, we were split into smaller groups and given clues as to where to find our key. Ours was difficult, and we succeeded in helping everyone else find their key first...

Then we headed off to our other stations. I can't remember them in order but they were all tons of fun and I had a great time, despite the rain and mud. :) We did some puzzles and did a maze, and then cleaned our armour, went through the Battleground. We had Pilgrim with us, armed, going before us. He "fought" the battle and we all started singing "Onward Christian Soldiers." :D We were a vocal group. :P

We went to a game of right and wrong influences. We were in groups of three, one the right influence, one the wrong, and one the blindfolded person. The two influences had to lead the blindfolded person to piles of rocks and convince them to pick up the rock or not to pick up the rock. I was the wrong influence, and since I can't lie, Anna didn't believe me. I think I should have gotten points for not being able to lie. That's a good thing, right?

Then, we went to Vanity Fair. It was so cool. The A-Frames were different shops and by that point in the game, we were allowed to look at the places and interact a bit and get our canteen. There were people trying to get us to sign away our talents our souls for candy bars. I encouraged my fellow pilgrims not to give in and almost got arrested for preaching the Word. Colleen and I were too paranoid to look at most of the shops because we had people telling us different things. So we stood in the middle and observed. By then we were already pretty paranoid because of the confusion going on and decided not to trust anyone. :P David D. sold out right as we were leaving Vanity Fair for 4 candy bars. As we were walking to Fellowship Square, eating his candy bar, he sang, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go..." :P

From there we were hustled to the next station, because we were told our group was running behind and would get in trouble. So, a few of us ran into the Annex, only to find we had gone through the wrong door, and got a demerit. Yes, there were things along our journey that could get us merits or demerits. All of which caused our faith in anyone to be severely threatened. So, the Pope gave us a demerit but one defiant young man refused to give him his passport. He ran away and hitched a ride on a passing truck, only to be taken directly to jail. :P In there, we played Press the Mark.

We ran to our last activity in the field, which was translating a Scripture and getting it to the right mailbox. We did quite well and then found out we had to go up one more smaller hill of difficulty and run back down to get to the crossing.

The final thing we had to do was cross the bridge over the Waters of Death. All the campers were on the one side of the lake with the counselors and helpers and everyone else on the other side, cheering us on, like the Cloud of Witnesses. IT was really neat. :) So, one by one, we all crossed over the bridge, some slower than others, a couple "falling in," but all getting over. Then, we headed back into the chapel where we watched a skit of Pilgrim going before the White Throne Judgement and almost getting condemned because of small sins, but still prevalent, but then the Angel of Mercy stepped in and reminded the Judge that Jesus had paid for our sins. It was really neat. Then, we headed off to dinner and the evening service.

Sunday was a morning service and then free time until the Great Supper and then a bonfire and then little sleep. :)

The services were truly amazing. Bro. Ron Spencer was our speaker and it was powerful. I prayed very specifically and for many things this camp and put my order in. I've never gone into a first service so expecting. The atmosphere was electrifying. It was amazing. Every night, God answered my prayers and expectations. So many people I'd prayed for gave their hearts back to Christ. It was amazing that some of them were even there. God answered all my prayers at camp. I'm still waiting on a few, but God did answer. Some He fulfilled and some He said wait. He's soooo good. I honestly don't think we will be here next year. Looking at the news and everything going on, I don't think it's possible to still be here in a year. I'm so looking forward to the Great Supper and our crossing over into God's presence. It'll be awesome.

One album of my pics

The second album

Sorry, none of the pics are the greatest, but I wasn't too focused on taking pics. There wasn't much time. :) Hope you enjoy!

I guess it has. It comes up so fast I forgot sometimes. Yeah, it's been 2 years since Miriam passed away. I miss her so much still. The pain isn't as fresh but it sure hurts still. I don't think pain like this ever goes away. I'm not mad anymore though, I'm still sad but not mad. God has been really good and been working with me on that over the past 2 years. It's still really hard to accept though. Even after 2 years I still look for her at church and think of her and things to tell her. It's so hard to suddenly one day have someone taken away with no time to say goodbye or anything. And 2 years later, where are we? So many young people are gone, unaffected by the passing of Miriam and Silas too. You'd think it would wake them up. Ever since Miriam died, despite being upset and out of wack, I've had the thought of seeing her again on my mind and doing what I need to to ensure I see her again. I know I'm just rambling but that's all that's coming out. It never ceases to amaze me how much it hurts when I read the first entry I made after her death. Life was such a haze. It was like I was in a walking cloud looking around on life, trying to make sense of what had happened and what on earth I was supposed to do. I went to her gravestone for the first time at Silas' funeral. It was harsh. You don't expect to see your friend's name on a gravestone. It kinda helped though, to finalize it a bit more. Anyways, I miss you Mim, we all do and I can't wait to see you again. It'll be grand. Until then, peace out!

Miriam Neis -First post about her

God is Good! -Awesome testimony that God allowed me to experience to give me some encouragement.

For anyone and everyone - Venting/sharing/coping

Grief -Man it still hurts. How can it be possible to lose someone so close, it seems so wrong. :(

How Can You Sum up a life in 1 Post? -1 year anniversary

Dear Mim - A letter to her on her birthday

We truly live in the greatest country on God's green earth. Despite our faults and failures, we've done what not many countries have ever done, gained freedom and independence. I truly feel blessed to be an American and I wouldn't want to be a citizen of any other earthly country. We started on Christian principles and were great because of it. It is too bad we have turned out like we have, but I'm still proud of my country.

God bless the USA!

Have you ever heard The Pledge of Allegiance by Red Skelton or John Wayne? Truly American. :)