ago I got to make a surprise trip to Maranatha to surprise Julie! We had made plans to be all home as a family the weekend of Jenn's birthday which had to be postponed 2 weeks, then I was going to go to MBBC that weekend, but it fell through twice. 
The day before I would have been leaving I was feeling bummed that it didn't work out after all and was sitting in my last class for the day when I heard the guys that sit by me talking about none other than "Maranatha this weekend..." and I piped up..."Maranath!?! -- THIS WEEKEND!?" Heehee! They said they had an extra seat and gave me a ride to Maranatha for the weekend so I could successfully surprise my sister! 
I was VERY grateful 
(even if I did have to ride in a ford! j/k! heehee!) ;) So HUGE thank you to Aaron, Seth, and Chad for putting up with me and helping me pull it off - it was fun! Of course her roommate, Jess had a HUGE part in helping me pull off the surprise and friends - such as STEPH! were helping with the surprise on the other end. As soon as I got there they orchestrated everything for her to go to get something out of her closet and there I was sitting in there - SURPRISE! :) We got busy right away with our "hanging out" 
together since we had little time.
I got there Friday night at 7 and we went shopping at the outlet malls and found a couple deals and then they took me to Coldstone - for my first time ever - very good and filling! Then we went back to the dorm and talked as sisters do best - while Julie gave me a French manicure. We got to bed at 2:30 a.m., and got up at 7 a.m so as not to waste any of the short time we had. We went out for breakfast at Berre's Brothers - another place I had never been - it's a very cute little coffee shop! We're both picture freaks and think in blogs, so we were taking pictures of our breakfast to blog
- heehee! and Julie put her nice long fingers in the picture - probably the longest fingers in the world. haha! Just kidding, Jul! ;) The guys were going to pick me
up at 10 the next morning, so we ate our breakfast fast and went to the house of a dear family friend, Mrs. O'Neil. We used to always go to her and her husband's house to help them mow their lawn, rake leaves, clean, etc...they ended up being like grandparents to us. Mrs. O'Neil always had Little Debbie treats, homemade cookies, or ice cream bars for us after we'd worked outside, and Mr. O'Neil always insisted on making butter popcorn for us because he knew how to make it just perfect (he had the timing down right to the second on microwave popcorn) Heehee! 
They also had the best old toys that Julie and I would have spread out all over their floor while Jason and Jennifer listened to Mr. O'Neil's stories (he had the best stories) :) 
Anyways, it was sad when she had to move away to WI after he passed away, so we were sure to go visit her. She's such a sweetie. Then we stopped downtown on our way back to campus and walked the streets looking at the booths - I can't remember what they called it...but at home they call it crazy days when they have all that fun stuff out in the streets. "Teacher Julie" made a purchase, and then the guys
called and said it was time to go. :( Time went way too fast, but we did get to pack a lot of fun things in to the time that we had! While we were waiting for them to come pick me up we sat out in the car and talked and I suddenly remembered I hadn't taken a picture of her room - so hence I have an outside picture...not an inside one. haha! Thanks SO much for the fun time, Jules! I will never forget that visit - it was SUCH a blessing, and just what I needed at the time (I think I'm needing another one) BUT I'll see you in less than a week now so YAY!
Tuesday: Pioneer Day (Green and White Day)
Wednesday: Pastel Day
Laura and I, however, had already bought things from goodwill to be fairies. (before we knew about the surprise day of rest), so in order to make good use of our purchases - cheap though they may have been - we decided to bring them along with our 1 back pack (Jordan's rule - which I'm proud to say we were able to abide by! We are very good at packing efficiently). So we had our fairy wands and fuzzy headbands along, and managed to get a picture of Jordan wearing one - he grabbed it when we weren't looking and just wore it the whole way because he loved it so much! titter - heehee!
...spirit week was fun,
Derrick was Jason's very good friend at Ambassador Baptist Bible College when Jason attended there for a year. Derrick came up to visit us over Christmas break. We called him our southern bro and he called us his northern fam. We all made some good memories together. But then Jason transferred to Bob Jones and we only saw him once after that until Jason's other friend Brian got married and Derrick and Jason were both in the wedding. Derrick had gotten married and was about to be a daddy. But we lost touch again until now - this time I got to meet his wife, Katie and his little daughter, Emily, and found out that another one is on the way! It's so neat how God keeps making our paths cross. That weekend I went down to visit Julie at MBBC and we went to the outlet mall together. When we parked we got out and the first thing we saw was a bus from Huntsville, AL! I knew Derrick's group was going to Maranatha after N-land but we still thought it was pretty crazy they were there! So we hopped on the bus and asked if we could have a ride to Alabama. Heehee! They are such a sweet little family and I hope God causes our paths to cross again soon - maybe next time when our whole family is together and we can all catch up!
the crowd passing out tracts and invited teens to an activity for later that afternoon. It's a great outreach opportunity, but also a lot of fun. Jessica and Karis looked so pretty in the dresses their mom made and a blacksmith there taught Emily
how to make a cross, so she walked away with a neat souvenir!
One of my favorite pictures is the one of Jenn by the big buffalo! She's so tiny! Heehee!
This year "the people in charge" did away with the GA football team, 
so all the GA's had to go back to join the society teams they had been apart of before they graduated. Some did not graduate from N-land so they don't play, I guess. Jordan's society had been Spurgeon. So this year he's been playing football for them. Laura and I have only made it out to two of their games. But it's always fun to watch - though I must say, His team was MUCH better last year! Laura got a picture of Jenn and Jordan heading back home after one of the games after which 
having her come with us on Sundays. She fits in very well - like she's apart of the "kampus family". We always have a good time, and now we have yet another girl to ensure the car is filled with chatter and giggles and to help us convince Jordan that we just HAVE to stop at the mall! Heehee! This week Jordan has consented to the idea of taking us to Goodwill to get stuff for Spirit week! (Maybe we can help him find a costume for "dress up like a video game character day" - he can be his "the Rock" from Halo II! - I'm sure he would LOVE that! haha! Just kidding!) Emily goes with Laura and I to the nursing home on Wednesday nights. We sing, play the piano, share testimonies, and she also brings along her recorder and plays along with most of the songs, and then we spend some time afterwards talking with them. The people love it - and so do we! 
Laura and I were also given the opportunity to do Junior Church the last two Sundays of every month. We usually have 
between 25 to 30 kids. Last time we used the last 5 minutes of our time to get a picture. Alex Whitt arranged all the kids. I think it turned out pretty good considering the amount of kids + time. They are all so precious, and such good kids! We are so thankful for the church at Norway - this year it is much like a home church! It grew a lot over the summer, and has continued to do so to the point that we now have 2 services. God has truly blessed.
