Thank you, my dear sweet friends, for not forgetting me.  Though you have every right to forget me, you have stuck by me this summer, and I am truly thankful. 

Let me tell you a bit about my busy summer.  Doesn’t it seem funny that you stay extremely busy, and then afterward you can’t remember everything you did?  *sigh* 

After my uncle’s death, I couldn’t seem to get hold of my life, and pull it back to normal.  A death of a loved one puts everything in perspective, and sometimes it makes us think differently about our every day activities.  Through a series of fortunate events, God worked through me, and I took a sweet journey through His mercy and faithfulness.

Bible school this year was themed Avalanche Ranch, and for a whole week I could act like a cowgirl and be as wild as I wanted.  =]  WHAAA HOOO!!!  (Okay, some of my excitement has not worn off yet…)  I had an amazing week that week.  I had the 2-3 grade class, and those kids never ceased to amaze me.  True, they were not always sweet, polite, loving children… but who cares?  I had a young girl that comes from a broken home.  I have always shaken my head when thinking about her, since she can be a HANDFUL sometimes.  However, this week she and I got to talking one on one about situations in her life.  It was amazing how she really wanted to do the right thing, and she just wanted her mom to love her.  I could see loneliness in her eyes, and it almost broke my heart.  Throughout the week, I was able to spend time with her, and share with her God’s love.  You never know how much kids get from talks like that… but I feel God is going to do something great in her life.  Thank you God for Bible school… something I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of.  I learn something new every year.

The mission trip I took with my church youth group was indescribable.  So many things happened that I would have not expected, and I learned so many valuable lessons.  The best part was how we were able to bless others.  I was able to experience the happiness and thankfulness of a family whose house we worked on during our stay down in New Orleans.  The true value of our experience shone bright as we gave recaps of our trip to the congregation, and saw the tears in their eyes as we showed them a slideshow of pictures accompanied by the song We Will Stand by Avalon.  One of my favorite parts of the mission trip was the fact that we as a group grew stronger in our faith, and our relationships with each other strengthened as well.  We prayed together, laughed together, cried together, and I think we all learned valuable lessons from each other.

There is so much more I could say about the trip, and other things that have happened this summer, but I’m sure you’ll all tired of reading by now, and would love to move on to other, more exciting things.  =]  Again, thank you all for being there for me.  I appreciate it greatly.  Now, just a few interesting things I’ll leave with you that I have done this summer.

-Ate alligator

-Threw up at work

-Watched Oceans Thirteen

-Learned how to sink to the bottom of the pool

-Obtained a 4.0 grade average at the community college

-Cried on a ferry crossing the Mississippi River

-Hugged a mannequin in Kohles

-Was soaked by a water balloon

-Met relatives I didn’t know I had

-Realized I was shorter than my little brother… GAHHH

-Missed all my internet friends!