Made it

Hi mom, dad and everybody else =)Mike and I had an good trip down here to Haiti. The train ride was a tad miserable with both of us trying to figure out how to sleep. We somehow completely switched places in the middle of the night and woke up about 50 times in the 8 hours the trip took. We were hugely blessed when we got to the Minn. airport because the USO (for military members) took great care of not only Mike but me as well. I have never wanted to hug strangers so much in my entire life. They let us store our baggage in a closet while we waited 7 hours for our flight. They had couches, beds, free food and drinks, and really friendly volunteers. I finished Mike's gift while he slept and then I took an hour nap. The plane rides were smooth with only one 15 minute delay. We slept in the Miami airport and froze! Our flight got to Haiti at around 9 something in the morning. We went through customs and security with no problems and Mike got to see his dad, Keith and Kent within 20 minutes of landing=) The trip up here to Bombardopolis is something else. The roads are insane. I will put some pictures on my blog soon so you all can see them. I got a little sick just from bouncing all around. It only took 7 hours compared to the old 14! To Mike and Kent's dismay I did not have to go to the bathroom behind a bush. Instead I went once, in a crazy outhouse in a bucket. I also got Mike to kill the spiders before I went in there and almost stepped on a little lizard thing. We had a good time last night. The Byers are taking care of a premature baby and he's so tiny! I've been attempting to feed him every once in a while. Okay so we're getting ready to go to a market so I'll let you go. I love you dearly Mom, Dad, and family and to everybody else I'll talk to you soon. Take care and I'll try to get some pictures up. Mary

YES!

TOMORROW!
=)

This past weekend and such

So I've finally finished off my antibiotic for this thing they call a "cold". Those pills knocked me out all weekend. I was a serious little zombie walking around and it had some bad effects. I was sick for part of the weekend with a nasty stomach ache and then I had to give my oratoricle speech which died a horrible death. My mom and I got into a "discussion" about why my speech was not right and why I should never even think about giving it in public. (it was a persuasive speech on the Patriot Act) Needless to say our little discussion shook me up and I butchered my speech. Oh well.. I only had to be there for about 2 hours and then I could hide in my car and drive home.
Church on Sunday was absolutely awesome. A couple from Ireland come to North Dakota every once in a while and they like to stay at our house when they're up in our area. They decided to speak at our church and he gave an awesome message on the Holy Spirit and our relationship with Him. David prayed for me and it was a huge confirmation for me as to what I was supposed to do in my future regarding education/missions. =)
I slept a little more (side affect of those pills) and then went to Christy's house. We hung out and watched some sort American Idol thing where they showed some of the bad contestants' tryouts. Oofta that was interesting. Youth Group was fun last night as well.
This morning I drug myself out of bed and came to school right as the bell was ringing. English was uneventful (we're reading Hamlet) and Accounting was easy. PDP was boring and I did my accounting homework because I didn't feel like doing my PDP. In computer Aps. we're putting computers together, and in Chem we spent the entire hour taking notes on the periodic table and electron configuration. Wahoo. =) Now I'm in study hall and avoiding all homework because.. well because that's what I do. Procrastination.. You know, I have to do a paper on a concept before I leave for Haiti. I should do it on procrastination. My teacher would laugh.
Okay so I'm rambling on and on because I only have 7 minutes of class left.. I suppose I should go and finish some college aplications and PDP homework.

Some Neat Pictures

Awww.. with my luck this is what my cat would do with the mice in my house.
"What are you doing on my bench?"
"I'm being cuddled by a monkey...Do I look impressed?"

Hmm I think that's a few too many ducks to have thinking that the man is their mommy.
Something must have been very entertaining... looks like me when something funny happens.

" What little bit of the North Pole I could find"
STOP THE OSTRICH
oofta
How'd you like that to fall through your roof?

My mom showed me this today and I thought it was pretty cute. Moms are so special and I don't know what I would do without mine. She's mom, but she's also my close friend. I'm so grateful for her.

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:
Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball. 2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye it. You know her hair. I'd dye it, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

This weekend

Happy Happy Happy... God is SO AMAZING!!!!!!!

=) Morning

Goodmorning everybody. Okay so it's more like good afternoon but for some reason it feels like morning. I'm back in school from my 4 day vacation and I am desperately missing my bed. I woke up this morning and my first thought was, "please tell me I can go back to sleep." I am not so lucky as to wake up and find that I have somehow fastforwarded to find myself waking up on a Saturday morning. Pooh. =)
All my classes are going quickly which is good yet bad. Good because I haven't been bored yet but bad because that means work is coming quickly. Background info: I got sick with a really bad cold this weekend and my cough is bad enough to make me want to cry. Working will be interesting if this cough doesn't let up. Hopefully it does though and hopefully George is in a good mood. Hmmm other news for this week... I have an Oratoracle speech to write and memorize for tomorrow's government class. I'll be sharing it for the American Legion on Friday for competition. College english is on Wednesday and I'm not sure when I work yet. Okay so class is going to start. I hope everybody is having a great day. Talk to you later. God bless.

I believe in Love

I went to a concert last weekend and this is one of the songs sung by Barlow Girl. The chorus to this song actually came from a quote engraved on a wall in a concentration camp from the Holocaust. It's an encouragement for me to never give up. God's always here for me. How amazing is He?!!!!

Kacie

This is the beginning draft of an essay I'm writing for College English but I thought I'd put it on here for Kace. I love you girl.
That is Us
Life is nothing without friendship, a lesson I have learned well and I am sure will continue to learn forever. Many friends have influenced my life but all in different ways. Kacie Richard is one of “my girls” as I like to call the trio I hang out with. Kace has taught me a lot in the way of friendship and life itself, that two people, no matter how different, can be friends; that friends are there when a shoulder is needed to cry on or when someone is needed to simply talk to or to vent our anger out on. She taught me that there is nothing in this world better than a good friend because they will never stop caring.
Kace and I are about as different as night and day in some ways, yet in other ways we are identical. Kacie is short, I am tall. She has long, light brown hair while I have straight-as-a-board, dark brown hair. Kace has grey-blue eyes, and mine are dark brown, though both of us have eyes that give away exactly what we are feeling inside. Both of us have days where we bounce off walls and days when we drudge around not wanting to be a part of the world. We both talk with our hands and hug people randomly. Blowing kisses is another tradition. We both can read each other like an open book. That is us.
Kace and I went to the same school since kindergarten but never really got to know each other until the beginning of my junior year of high school. We were both in art and both friends with Sammy. That’s how the whole thing started. We girls, Kacie, Sammy, Becca and I, began going out to eat fries at George’s at least once a week. We called ourselves the two-ranch club because we always got two ranch dressings with our fries. Over such a simple thing, fries, a great friendship was created.
There were quite a few times this summer when only Kacie and I could make it to fries due to work conflicts. I remember her always ordering a Sprite with French fries and me a Coke with French fries, with two ranch for both, of course. Tradition. Having fries with Kace is our time to just unload and talk. We can be loud and nobody cares, two girls sitting in the back corner booth at George’s giggling away. That is us. We can be completely open with each other because we know that we won’t judge each other. That is a really important part of our friendship.
That is one of the many lessons Kacie and my relationship has taught me. It is possible to have a friend willing to listen and not judge. I can remember one night when we stayed at her house talking, and talking, and talking some more. We both lay in her bed and spilled out everything about our futures, our pasts, who wanted to be, who we were afraid to be, where we wanted to go, places we had been, the people we had loved, the people we had hurt and those who hurt us. Kacie understands what I feel like and even when she doesn’t, she tries her best. She never says, “Mary that was stupid of you” when I do stupid things, she stands by me and helps me get through the mess I often cause because of the stupid thing I have done. That is Kacie.
Kacie is the type of friend who will run to the rescue when she is needed, not just a friend there when it’s convenient. There have been so many times when she can tell something is wrong and immediately she starts asking questions and figuring out how to help me. She is willing to rush to me when I am about to break down for some reason and can almost always keep me rational. When I’m inconsolable she knows I need a friend to talk to.
I remember one day this past fall when I thought something may have happened to Mike. Ten soldiers were killed in Iraq and everything, the location, time, job, and soldier's home bases matched up with Mike. I was so scared and broke down completely ten minutes before I had to be at work. I called Kacie and told her about everything. She called me back at work, relayed to me everything she had found on the story, said everything was going to be okay and asked me if I needed her to come into the restaurant. She would have been there in a heartbeat if I had asked her to, but I told her no. Always there for me, that is Kacie.
There were so many times last year that I don’t want to think about having lived through without Kacie. She has left for college in Aberdeen and it’s hard. Since she left there are times when something is happening and my first reaction is, “I want to tell Kacie.” Phones work but it’s not quite the same. I remember before she left, thinking that life was going to be different without her, and I was right.
Kacie is one person who I absolutely love. As far as friends go, she is one of the best I could ever ask for. She makes me realize things about myself and life and that I wouldn't have discovered if she hadn't been here for me. She makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me know that I am cared for. The biggest things that Kace does though, is to be a friend through thick and thin. Somebody once told me that best friends are sisters that God forgot to give us. That's absolutely right, that is us.

I'm back in school after leaving school during last hour yesterday. I developed a lovely migraine headache (more sarcasm, sorry) yesterday and went home early. I had college english last night and made it through most of the class before I couldn't stay anymore. I slept like a rock last night and woke up this morning with my head still pounding. Mom allowed me to stay home and when I woke up at 10:00 the pounding was gone and I now have just a normal headache. Thank goodness. I finished my computer applications project early and have some free time so I figured I would write on here for a moment.

I know I was tagged by Beth about a month ago but I am finally getting around to doing this so here goes.

I come from a family of six kids and love them all dearly. Four of my siblings are married and three of them have kids who I am also madly in love with. I absolutely adore kids.

I hate cleaning bathrooms at work. (Love cleaning in my own house, while at the restaurant it is completely different )

I can’t do a single pushup…not a good thing during basketball practice.

I have a tendency to start things on fire in my kitchen. Towels and potholders are my favorite. (Cooking is something I still have to work on a little bit;)

I like to learn new things all the time.

Reading while cozy under warm blankets on a rainy day is absolute bliss to me.

I’m not a morning person most of the time. It takes me a good 20 minutes to wake up before I can comprehend anything or speak English. The best you’ll get out of me, “hmph” =)


Hmm so there are 7 random facts about me =) Most of them are well known but I hope you don't mind. In about 15 minutes the entire high school is leaving for Rolla. Our football team has co-oped (along with the migraine I have lost all spelling abilities) with Rolla and Rocklake. We've done amazing and only lost one game. We're now in the state-quarter finals and having a big pep rally at the Rolla HS gym. When we get back I get to go to work =)

This won't rotate for me either. It's Kent with Becca's penguin slippers.
Way too early in the morning at Becca's college interview
HMMMMMM.. my amazing desert at Applebees. I think I had more dessert than meals. =)
The city =)
Saying goodbye... I'm addicted to pictures so we snapped one last one before Becca and I turned into crying messes ;) (It wasn't that bad)

The Pike Place Market (lots of little trinket shops on the harbor.. really beautiful)
Kent and Mike checking out some sort of knife or gun... don't remember which.
Mike and I at Applebees...hehe this has a story but I'll be nice... if you want to know ask him about the woman he closed the blinds for.
Okay so this won't rotate on my computer for some reason so just turn your head :P This is at the hotel after Mike got off work Wednesday or Thursday.
Kent combing Becca's hair in the mall... what to do with that guy... ;)

I'll try some more as soon as I get another break in class

pictures

First of all, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY! I'm excited to see what God has planned for today. =) It's a rather chilly morning but beautiful nontheless. School will start in about 5 minutes but I wanted to write something on here before I go drink some soda and wake up for English class. To catch you up, Friday night I worked (It was insanely busy) Saturday I had my ACT test and then I worked the night shift. Sunday was interesting church and then a concert of TFK, Toby Mac, and Barlow Girl. It was Mike's 21st Birthday yesterday and today I work. =)
Anywho I thought I'd try to throw a few pics on here from the trip.. this is the 3rd time I've tried so lets see if I have any luck. Take care and God bless. cao

Wahoo

So I am back in Rolette, North Dakota. Wahoo. Hmm that was sarcastic (don't know who I could have picked that up from. *cough cough*) The trip to Washington was amazing and if my camera decides to like me I might get a few pics uploaded to here soon. Washington is extremely beautiful (besides the gloomy weather) and it blew my mind how red and orange the leaves on the trees were. Here the leaves seem to fall off the same instant that they turn slightly yellowish. The mountains were also beautiful, until driving through them late at night after 12 hours of driving. We'll just say that a car with 3 women who have been on the road all day, driving through the mountains on unfamiliar roads when it's pitch black outside, is just asking for some crazy memories.
Mom, Becca and I arrived home on Sunday night around 10:00. I spent the first 10 minutes at home hugging and kissing little Kallen. =) He grew like a weed and started walking during the 9 days we were gone. It was crazy. The rest of the week since I have been home has been consumed with make-up homework and working at the restaurant. Today is my first day off and I am SO excited to eat french fries with Becca and go home to relax with my big sister =) I think I may even sneak in a little nap if I am lucky.
Anywho this was supposed to be a short little update since I am in school (I just finished lunch) so I'll wrap it up. I hope that everybody is having a superb week and smiling. Take care.

=)

So yesterday was a great day. I woke up to a phone call from Mike saying he was in Maine =) School went by quick and then we got to beat a car with a sledge hammer for homecoming. It's amazing how fun that was :P Even though I killed my arm.. that's what I get for letting Becca lift all the weights. I announced for the volleyball game and then played in a powder puff football game for about half an hour. Today is homecoming and it's been fun. We got out of the last half of school to have class competitions and we seniors won, of course (it's kind of rigged) =) I am going to go babysit Kallen for a bit and then sing at the game. =) Wish me luck because I have a bad cold and sound ...shall we say interesting? hehe. Life is great and I'm on cloud nine.. wonder why...=) I hope everything is going well for everybody. Take care and God bless.

YES!

HE'S COMING HOME!!!!!! =)

News!

Hi all!
I got an email from Mike and he said he was flying out in four to six days!He finished washing the strykers down and as of two days ago they had moved half of them to the ship to be loaded. =) He probably wrote to tell you all of this but I figured I'd just write it here in case. I hope you're all having a wonderful day and take care.
Mary

P.S. Mouse update. I went into the bathroom to get ready for school two days ago and another little mouse was stuck in the trap except that only his foot was caught and he was flipping around with the trap. I convinced my mom to set him free outside =) Yes it is a little stupid since he'll be back, but neither of us had the heart to kill the little guy. He had the biggest eyes and was so adorable! :P

Mouse Hunt Update

Some Senior Pictures taken outside...

So my little mouse friends have come back to haunt me. Here's my two lovely stories, please try to contain your laughter, because it's really quite painful for me to recall ;)

Story numero uno:

I went to work and recieved a bag of peanut m&m's from my boss' son because he had ordered an entire box full and he saw me eyeing them greedily =) I went home and decided that I didn't need chocolate that night and I would save them until morning. I left the pretty little bag FULL of M&M's on my dresser.

I awoke in the middle of the night to a pesky little mouse scratching at something near my bed. I thought happy thoughts and fell back asleep, avoiding all thoughts of the furry little creature climbing up my blankets to cuddle with me.

I awoke a second time at around 7 to get ready for school. "What on earth," I thought, "my bag of M&M's is on the floor." I leaned down to pick them up since chocolate is such a healthy breakfast, and there is NOTHING IN THE BAG! I flipped it over and there was a huge hole in the bag and little shreds of paper all over my floor. My little mouse 'friend' had eaten each and every one of my peanut M&M's.

Story numero dos:

I have woken up quite a few times to find poor little mice (yes I still pity them even though they ate my m&m's) stuck in sticky traps. My mom knows it bothers me a tiny bit to watch them still alive and dying so she bought some new traps that kill the mouse instantly (sorry the topic is a tad bit morbid) Last night when I was getting ready for bed there were two mouse traps. As of this morning, there is one in my bathroom and the other is no where to be found. The little mouse drug it off. We're just guessing but the most probable thing is that it got stuck on his tail or foot and he is, as we speak, dragging it around my house. I'll know tonight when they start running around my ceiling and hear " pitter patter pitter patter thump thump thump" oh the joys of having a house invaded by mice.

P.S. Tyler, I would like to hire you =) Your BB gun sounds really nice...

Cravings

So I'm sitting here at the shop (Wibe Electronics) thinking about food. Yes, food. It's one of my favorite things in the entire world.

I didn't eat breakfast ( I got up really late ) and I didn't eat dinner because what the school calls 'Tuna Hotdish' is anything but tuna hotdish. I was ravenous. As soon as school got out Becca and I went to the grocery store and I decided to splurge. The entire last hour everybody in study hall was talking about food. Chicken primavera, chicken parmesean, cheese ravioli, french fries, hashbrowns.. Ahh!!!! my stomach was talking VERY loudly. I got some really odd cravings

1. I desperately wanted chips with salsa and sour cream

2. I really wanted a salad with tomatoes, cheese, chopped eggs, and chicken with ranch

I'm not sure where these cravings came from since they are things I never crave. (Normally it's chocolate and coke) So that brings me to the grocery store and my big splurge.

You have to understand that I'm tight on my money. For me to waste money on food very rarely happens unless I'm buying soda for Becca and Sammy. I spent 12 dollars and some odd cents on chips, salsa, sour cream and chicken breasts. I'm so completely prepared to pig out and watch movies with Christy and Mom. Hmm food. Anyway, I'm not sure why I felt like writing on here other than the fact that I thought I'd share my crazy eating habbits with you. =)

Today

Today is another day and I'm heading off to work. I came in a little early to run some overheads off for worship tomorrow though. Last night before I went to bed Mike JVD (Christy's husband) and I were practicing music for Sunday. It was awesome and I got to learn a few new songs. Underneath here are some lyrics to a few of my favorites. Anyway, other than waking up, I have fixed Christy's hair for the wedding she's going to and ate some pizza. It's one of those lazy days which are nice to have everyonce in a while. Hopefully George is in a good mood and the night goes by quickly. Saturday nights are normally pretty crazy so we'll see how it goes. Take care =) cao

Well everyone needs compassion,
And love thats never failing,
Let mercy fall on me
Well everyone needs forgiveness,
Kindness of the Saviour
The Hope of the nation

(Chorus:)Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My god is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything that i believe in
Now i surrender

(Bridge:)Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory of the risen king,
JesusShine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen king, Jesus

_______________________________________


A thousand times I failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in You grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my sould
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Everlasting your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my sould cries Out

__________________________________

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust

MICE

So my house has recently been invaded by furry little mice! I like mice, I think they're cute, BUT there is a point when the cuteness turns into a little bit of creepiness. One example is WHEN THEY RUN ACROSS YOUR CIELING WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO SLEEP! hehe it was a long night of me being a little creeped out. I think they were having races.. and when I say they I mean the little ARMY that is living in my bedroom. It is a little sad though because the last two mornings I have woke up to find a mouse in a sticky trap. They are still alive and I almost wish I could unstick them and set them free; however, that would result in more mice and more racing across the tiles. Oofta. What to do?

=)

College English Assignment

As stated in past posts, I am taking a college English class. This semester is based on original compositions. One part of the semester grade is for a journaling project that we are to write about the book Live Like You Were Dying by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman. The book also inspired the song sang by Tim McGraw.
When I first got a look at the journaling project I thought of that song; it’s one of my favorites. I had a lot of emotions as Ms. Muehlberg read through the different topics from the book. Ms. Muehlberg is my favorite teacher, mostly because she doesn’t just teach, she cares and inspires. Her assignments are not just assignments from the classroom but from life.
For me journaling is something that takes a long time to sit down and do because once I start writing about how something makes me feel, I tend to not stop for quite a while.
I don’t know why but I thought I would put the topics on here to share with you. They aren’t things that make you stop in your tracks, but they do make your mind work a little.

1. “Live like you were dying.” What does this mean to you?
2. “We’re all terminal. Some of us are just lucky enough to know it.”
3. “You have big, beautiful dreams that you keep tucked away. You think so many things stand in your way of finding those dreams, those hopes, those wishes…of finding the YOU that you desire. You think it’s too soon, it’s too late, it’s too hard, it’s too crazy… But all of that is about to change. The greatest journey begins with a single step.”
4. “Go! Just GO! Right, left, wrong, right—Go! No stopping and looking back. No what-ifs. Just GO! This is something new. There are no wrong moves—you’ll learn from everything. There are no mistakes except inaction. GO! You’re scared to do this? I’m scared you won’t do it. Go, even if it’s in the completely wrong direction at first. Say your prayers and Go!”
5. “At some point we all start to realize that the fabulous life and fabulous friends we had always thought we were going to have were not going to happen, and we just have to make do with the incredibly odd assortment we have been given. So the only thing to do is start treating your life and your friends and your time together…well, fabulously.”
6. “Too many STOP sings. Maybe that’s the problem. There are just too many stop signs in this world. Every road you go down, just when you’re about to get somewhere… there’s another stop sign.
It’s a metaphor of our lives that every road has stop signs all over it. It’s no wonder so many people feel as if they will never get to their dreams. It’s no wonder so many people don’t even bother to begin the chase. They know there will be so many stop signs.
7. “Hey, would you do me a favor? JUST LET IT GO.
I know how long you’ve carried it around and how heavy it is. JUST LET IT GO.
Deep down, you know it was just one of those things. JUST LET IT GO.
You’ve had it so long, it’s hard to imagine life without it. JUST LET IT GO.
You know we weren’t made to hang on to it. JUST LET IT GO.
Right now. This moment. You’ve waited long enough. JUST LET IT GO.
And then you can give the forgiveness you’ve been denying. Oh, yeah, just one more thing… Forgive yourself.”
8. “Do something that makes your heart beat faster every day. Give the dog a bite of yours sandwich. Play air guitar—rock ‘n’ roll air guitar. If it’s short, let it grow… You can always cut it. If it’s long, cut it…You can always let it grow. Don’t underestimate the power of a crayon. Wear pajamas out for the evening. Top down. Radio up. Laughing friends. Laugh until you cry. And vice versa.”
9. “Like tomorrow is a GIFT, and you’ve got eternity to think, What did I do with it? What did I do with it? May we live like we were dying. With passion and purpose and mission and meaning… and with a little wild abandon. With no forgiveness withheld and no anger held within.
May we live like we were dying. With a heart full of memories, precious and true, like a Bible that we can open anywhere and find ourselves and faith. With friends and family and hugs and laughter and singing and praying and crying and holding hands and saying all the sappy stuff. Then and only then.. May we die like we were living.”

It’s really late right now and I’m exhausted from being in school all day and then going back tonight. I will write some more by this weekend I’m sure. I hope everybody is sleeping well and having sweet dreams as I write this. Night.

Hi all

Hi everybody,
I'm in school and bored out of my mind. I just ate a nasty nasty lunch of what they call 'fish' Today has been a good day. I came to school in sweatpants so it's kind of just one of those relax and act like you're learning days =) I was just rereading everybody's blogs and decided I'd write a quick note. Becca says to say hi. As usual she's sitting right next to me =) I have work tonight and tomorrow is more school and college english, yay. Anyway, I hope you're all doing great and having a wonderful day. God bless.

.... Keith, I hope you're feeling better.
... I am not so great at spelling today.. is it everybodies? or everybody's? hehe sorry
Mary

Time

Time has been flying which is definately a good thing. I don't even really know where to start to catch you all up on everything that has been happening.
August started out with a great surprise. Kent came home to visit. He arrived at my house around 6 on a Friday. He gave me the idea of asking my mom if I could go with him back to Washington to help him with the long drive. Well you know me, if you give me an idea I take it and run. Sunday night around midnight he and I took off. It was a long drive and we took a pitstop in Butte, Montana to watch the Bourne Ultimatum. I fell asleep for the first 15 minutes (driving all night can do that to a person) Kent dropped me off at the Spokane train station that night.
I met some interesting people on the train, including a woman who told me she was going to adopt me =) She was a sweet elderly lady who talked to me for about 4 hours.
The next weekend my friend Jonathan came to take Kayla and I's senior pictures. It was a fun weekend and we discovered that chinese food in Canada is nasty...
The weekend after that my brother Mike, his wife Jenn and their precious son Caleb came to stay at the house. We added another 12 people from Mike JVD's family to my house as well that weekend. There were beds all over the floors and people everywhere. It was nuts but so fun.
Other than that not a whole lot happened in August. I babysat Kallen a lot which was great of course, and I have been working at the restaurant. Somedays it gets so crazy there that I want to scream but I love working with the people.
School started on the 22nd of August. So far it has been okay. Some classes are still boring and some classes I wish were still boring. I already know which classes are going to stress me out and which ones I will love. Oh and I'm taking another college English class. It's only every Wednesday compared to 5 hours everyday like the college speech.
My Kacie has left me for college. Saying goodbye to people is such a hard thing. I know that it is part of growing up and all but it seems like there are so many goodbyes lately and not enough hellos. I can't think of it as losing a friend though because Kace is so close that no matter what I'll always love her and we'll be here for eachother. The night we said goodbye I think we hugged about 20 times and cried for 10 minutes straight while sitting in her car.
Today consisted of me waking up, coming to town to drop off Mark and his friend, then heading to Becca's to watch a movie. It was a horrible horrible horrible movie so it was kind of a waste of two hours. I did however, rent another movie to watch tonight that I know will be great. I know because I've seen it already. It's a chickflick of course, Pride and Prejudice... I know I'm predictable.
Tonight I will be sitting on my couch crying, and screaming at Elizabeth Bennet, while watching that movie, until I remember that I have Chem homework and a chapter of College English notes to take. Then I won't go to sleep until around 1 because I, Mary Wibe, and a big procrastinator. Oye.
September is so far rather icky. The summer is quickly turning into autumn and the leaves are changing already. It's time for tennis shoes and hoodies to be brought out. I don't have too many big plans for this month but am praying it goes by quickly, as Mike comes home in the beginning of October. I can't wait to see him again. Oh and if Kent is reading this. Happy Birthday! I know it's a little early but I haven't gotten around to sending you a gift yet and I know that the snail mail takes forever to get to the base.
Okay I'm going to go for a walk outside. The air smells so fresh and it's just one of those days where walking is wonderful. I hope that everybody has a great day and God bless you all.
Mary

Hi

My darling Becca, and Kacie with me at the park. Some random guy took it for us. Wahoo
Uhm this is actually from Minot. Kallen had his hat on so I grabbed mine for the day too =)
Christy and Kallen at the zoo
This is my sister's husband's family. How's that for confusing. How about my sister's husband's brothers wife =) That's the blond. Then it's Chris Me and Poor Darryl is stuck with all of us. Fun times..
My beautiful Becca being graceful coming out of the slide...
Me being not quite so graceful. It was my pants fault.. I swear. I flew.
Three girls in a slide... more fun times.
Hehe
Kacie and the duck...
Okay so I don't ever have time to write now since school has started. Things are going nuts but well with work and everything taking up almost every minute of every day. I'm trying not to stress but it's a little hard sometimes. Anywho. I was free after school so my girls and I hung out, got fries and took some crazy but fun pics. Here's a few to entertain y'all. Take care :)

pictures for the month

Hey everybody. Just thought I'd put some pictures up from the last few weeks. :) Most of them are of Kallen since he's such a cutie and I'm a little be of an obsessed auntie.

Kallen at the petting zoo when we went to the fair. Some of the goats were EXTREMELY friendly
Ahh my Becca got flipped. Sorry about that. This llama she's petting was overly happy that we brought him carrots and followed me everywhere and scared me at least a dozen times by putting his head on my shoulder.

I had to get a picture with the crazy llama even though I was laughing too hard. We found out his name was freckles. Here is he trying to eat my camera case
Kallen today at lunch. Mike JVD put the NAVY hat on his head so we could send it to my brother Bryan. (sorry Mike, I know it should say Army)
He looks so enthusiastic eh? His look says, "Auntie Mary why do you do these mean things to me?" :) it's my job honey

Becca and I at the lake on the 4th of July. Just two crazy, extremely tired girls

Kallen a few weeks ago when we gave him a cookie. He was not exactly super impressed.. to say the least :P
The other day it was over a hundred degrees so we all hung out in my bedroom.
Kallen being adorable.
Hahaha okay so Mark needed a haircut and chris 'slipped with the scissors' he's not happy