CAMP!

So, as I said in the post before, I'm going to post about what has happened at Grand View Camp in Arizona. First, let me quick explain the properties. There's the Alpine property, which they're currently renting. They're using this for camp while they build on the Grand View Ranch property. This property was donated to them, and all the buildings are brand new. They aren't done building on it yet, but they do have a lot done there. The Grand View Ranch (GVR) property is only several miles away from Alpine, as the crow flies, but unfortunately we don't fly like crows, so it takes almost an hour to get there.

Anyhow, my sister left right after easter to go help out at this camp. It just so happened to work out that she had to be there before the rest of the staff, so she spent a lot of time cleaning and preparing for summer camp. But, as more of the summer staff started arriving, other things were arriving too. Such as wild fires.

And by the time staff training had begun, smoke filled the air. Like, really bad. In fact we had haze here in Colorado because of the fires in Arizona. The fires started getting closer and closer to the Alpine property, and the smoke was so terrible that some of the staff kids were starting to get sick. They decided to evacuate to the GVR property. Right after they decided this, they were mandatorily evacuated. As they drove away, they watched some towers that were 6 miles behind the property burn to the ground.

This was all very disconcerting to me. I could not concentrate on anything, all I could think about was the fires. Did my uncle, aunt, and cousins still have a home, or had it been burnt down? There was another family that hadn't even had enough time to pack before they left, so everything they owned would be gone.

And then they were evacuated from GVR. International Baptist College opened up their dorms to the staff, so they went there. Well, most of them, that is.

While evacuated, they had many chances to minister to others. It was exciting to see all the chances they got to share the gospel with others!

During this time, my uncle went to the Alpine property, and found that all the buildings were there. I'll post a link to his video at the end of this post. At the end it shows how the fire went in between all the buildings, but never touched them. The video shows how close the fire got, but God protected each building.

But the fire danger wasn't over yet, and they still didn't know if GVR still stood. Everything was up in the air as the fire returned to the Alpine Property.

But God would still show Himself real.

And I'm gonna cry about now.

But a while later, the neighbors next to the GVR property called.

The fire split in two "like the Red Sea" and went around the property.

And met again on the other side.

And not one of the buildings was touched.

And the Fire Dept. Said that they weren't going to let the fire get to the Alpine property again. They said the fire had to stop there, because there's a town right behind the camp.

And not one of the buildings was touched.

Well, I take that back. One building at GVR was burned down afterwards. Some flying embers got to the cabin, and it burnt down completely. But it just so happened to be the one old cabin that was there. An old cabin that they wanted to burn down anyway. But this way, insurance paid for it. ;) Speaking of insurance, they also paid for the first two weeks of lost revenue because the fires held back camp for a few weeks.

But they were able to start camp soon after they got back onto the property, and I'll be there week after next! I'm SO excited to be there! It's the best camp I've ever been to! I can't wait to see how God works in my life. And I'll be sure that you all hear a lot about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCjuXolNUW8 (During the part that they are evacuating, it's in the middle of the afternoon, but the smoke was covering up the sun. The smoke spread here to Colorado as well, and was so thick that we could look directly at the sun without hurting our eyes.)

My God is an awesome God!

My fail.

Oh, my followers will be so happy! Thought I. I'm going to have a wonderful post with lots of pictures of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, and they're gonna love it! I said to myself. They might even enjoy the hike as much as I did! I didn't think that. I just now came up with that. Wow, what a perfect post this will be! Yeah, I thought that too.

On the mountain: Oh, a columbine! *snaps photo* I wanna pick that pretty purple flower!! (Don't worry, I didn't.) *snaps another photo*

*something flashes across my camera screen*

Out of memory.

What?! How can this be?! I just dumped my camera onto the computer! This is impossible!

*turns camera off and on again* (My epic way of fixing most anything.)

Out of memory.

Maybe my memory stick got locked by accident.

*opens camera to pull out memory stick, and finds that there isn't one*

Yes, somehow I left the house without my memory stick. My bad.

Next day:

I'll take some nice pictures of my sister's birthday celebration and post them on my blog. I guess it's better than nothing.

*puts memory stick in camera*

A few hours later:

*snaps a couple pictures of my sister opening gifts*

*something flashes on camera screen*

Out of battery.

So, in other news, I got three new ADORABLE journals. I'll use them for writing letters, because the paper in them is SO CUTE. And I got some of my Christmas shopping done. And my grandparents are coming for my brother's birthday next week, and then I'll be going to camp.

CAMP!!!

*slams head on computer desk*

I have a post coming soon about what has been happening over at camp! My sister is there this summer as a waitress, and my aunt and uncle happen to work there, so we've heard a lot about what's been going on.

It's amazing.

My God never fails to astound me.

I do believe in miracles people, 'cause I've seen a couple happening.

Well, I didn't see it. But I heard an awful lot about it.

So yeah, look forward to a couple better posts soon! =P

~Lizzie the Lame Blogger, and Photographer of Fail

P.S. Stephanie, Andrea, Hannah, and other people: Yes, I changed it, so it doesn't say on the top of your screen that I'm 13. Are y'all happy?

Life actually did something!

So yeah, I'm actually POSTING, because I have something to post about! I figured you guys didn't want to hear about adding like terms and such, so I never posted. But now that there's something OTHER than adding like terms and such, so here I am! I feel bad for not posting, despite the fact that nothing has been happening, and hopefully I will get to doing some devotional posts and some other things that don't require any sort of excitement (such as those Fashion Friday things I've been wanting to do for a long time).

So, last Monday the doorbell rang, and there was my neighbor carrying a bucket full of dirt, grass and seven ADORABLE baby bunnies! (We're guessing they were about a week old, but we aren't sure.)

He found them at work while he was digging with a tractor. Since Mamma bunnies don't usually come back after their nest has gone through dramatic change - such as being dug up with a tractor - he brought them here, so we could take care of them. And since I was the one that was most excited about it, I am the one who gets to take care of them. (Trust me, feeding seven bunnies takes time, and it's extremely uncomfortable to sit in the same bent over position for that whole time.)

But no matter how sore my back is, how tired I get because I woke up at 6 AM on Saturday morning (SATURDAY MORNING, PEOPLE! SATURDAY!) to the sound of ALL of them trying to dig through the cardboard, or how freaked out I get when one of them has been missing all day and hasn't gotten any food, I do think it's worth it. Because they are SO. CUTE.

Unfortunately, it isn't very common for all of them to survive.

Guess which one died that night? :( I was actually kinda glad it died, though. It had a miserable life. You know how it is when you get the stomach flu, and you are STARVING, but everything you eat comes right back up? That's how that rabbit's whole life had been. =( Another one died yesterday morning, but the rest are pretty healthy. There is one that's smaller than the rest, but it isn't half as bad as the other two that died, so we're hoping it does ok.

We bring them outside for a while each day so that they can get some fresh air, and get used to the outdoors, and eating all the yummy stuff in yards. ;)

Usually they just snuggle under the box, or in some little corner, or try running away so we will never see them again, or hide behind thorn bushes. No trouble at all. (I'm serious, they DO run away. Mom had to grab one by its tail before it got away.)

Now they're getting bigger, and we'll probably let them go soon. But taking care of them has been so much fun! (Except for getting up at six on a SATURDAY MORNING!!)

Update, and randomness.

1. Thank you all so much for your prayers! We can see that they definitely are helping! Dad has been doing very well, and moving around a lot! I also wanted to share with you what my uncle thinks happened.

{Just so you know: this is what my uncle THINKS is what happened, but we're not really sure. Mom said not to preach it as gospel truth. Just so you know. But I'm like 90% sure this is what happened.}

My uncle is EMT trained, and when the accident happened, his first assessment was that Dad had a punctured lung. In fact, with the symptoms Dad had, that was pretty much the only thing that could have happened. The paramedics said the same thing. By that time, we had a ton of people praying for us, and by the time he reached the hospital {which wasn't for several hours} they said he only had a bruised lung. I believe God healed the punctured lung during those few hours! If we didn't have so many people praying for us, I doubt that would have happened!

2. My mom just walked up and wished me a happy day-that-isn't-my-birthday...thanks Mom, you too...

3. I had a VERY happy Monday. Mom was going through my school schedule, and pointing out that I was two weeks behind in math, and four weeks behind in science, ect ect ect. And then... "Wait a minute...how many math lessons did you say are in your book? But I have eighteen more than that written down here." So basically I've been AHEAD in math the whole time when I was sweating it because I had to do three lessons a day. =D =D

4. I have to pick which movie we watch tonight, which really stinks because I like all the movies that my sister hates, and I want both of us to be happy...but I've been dying to see Sound of Music again. **SIGH** I wish my sister liked musicals.

5. There's a nice dusting of snow today. That makes me happy, cuz incase you didn't know: I LOOOOOOOVE SNOOOWWW!!!!

6. My little brother's breath smells really bad, so he just came and breathed in my face. **rolls eyes** Very different from my mom's morning salutation.

7. So, my dad has been out of work since December, and now he can't really GET a job, but a family from church just moved, and gave us a bunch of their food. Now usually when that happens, most of the food ends up being given to somebody else, or thrown away, because we try to eat healthy, so we don't eat sugar, and try and stay away from white bread, ect. Well, apparently one of the people in this family has diabetes, taking care of the sugar problem, and they gave us a bunch of whole wheat oat bread {which is our favorite kind}. It was such a blessing to receive all that food, and most of it was food that we can actually eat!

8. ONE MORE THING:

Which one??

Well, TTYL folks! ~Lizzie

Another Update

Dad is home now, and doing well. He's been walking around a little, but mostly just hangs out on the couch. I think our biggest worry is our cat right now. She likes to jump up on people's chest's, which is obviously NOT good for somebody with three broken ribs. =P He also has had little phlegm stuff in his throat {sorry, I just HAD to spell that word!!!}, which is perfectly normal, but he can't really cough it up, which tends to be rather annoying. =P And he sneezed yesterday. OMGOODNESS, I FELT SO STINKING BAD FOR HIM! He just sat in the chair clutching his chest, groaning for five minutes. It was awful.

I saw these questions from a blog party, and thought I'd put them on my blog, so here we go:

How would people describe your personality? (If they could only use ONE word.) Are they right? Weird. Yeah.
What celebrity/celebrities would create a “Star-Struck” feeling if you saw them in real life? *cough* *tries to think of a GIRL I would like to meet* Let's see...ummm...girl...Logan Bartholomew...oops, that's a guy...oh, crumb...Hannah Ours. After all, she's bound to become famous some day...=P And of corse, Hannah S. But we'll be famous together, right?
Who is your favorite blogger? Why? I don't think I really have a favorite blog. But it asked about bloggERs, so...can I just say my BFF, cuz I love her so much?
What is your comfort food/drink? Chocolate. =P
Be brave – tell us something very random and weird about yourself. I play with my food. Especially asparagus, it's SO. MUCH. FUN.
Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it? Meet my best friend. =P
Movies: Action, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Documentary, Comedy? What are your favorite genres? Action, Drama, and comedy.
Books: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Romance, Biographies, True Stories, Self-Help, Devotional/Study? What are your favorite types of reading material? Fiction, and Bible. =P
Music: Funk, Rock, Country, Jazz, Classical, Film Score, Blues, Classic Rock, Crooner, Alternative, Heavy Metal, Techno? What are your favorite types? Sacred and hymns.
If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money? Invest it. =P And then prolly give some of it to a family I know, give some more to missionaries, and then buy that new building for our church. And buy chocolate.
If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go? Steamboat Springs.
Strange Talent? Can you juggle basketballs, put your legs behind your head or perform some other strange feat? I can "accidentally saw at my finger with a steak knife." Yes people, some advice for you: if you have a choice between using a cutting board or your hand, spare yourself the pain, and go with the cutting board. But seeing that was {hopefully} a one time thing, I guess the only strange talent I have is...I can balance a spoon on my nose. =P
What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift). I sing. I think I'm good at it, anyway...nobody's told me otherwise.
What is one of your favorite things to catch a whiff of? Chocolate and cinnamon rolls. And coconut. And garlic. And mustard. And my shampoo. And...food in general, I guess. =P
When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less? Ummm...I would have talked more about godly things, and less in general. =P
What is your greatest fear or strange phobia? I don't really know...I have a hard time with fire, I guess. =P I mean, I love camp fires and stuff, but if it wasn't on purpose, or burnt something it wasn't supposed to, or got out of control...it makes me feel sick to just hear about it.
What is your greatest accomplishment? I can balance a spoon on my nose. JK! I don't really have a greatest accomplishment...OOOH, LAST WEEK, I WENT AN ENTIRE DAY WITHOUT WRITING ON MY HAND!! **GASP**
What are your favorite animals? Dogs, horses, my brother, geckos, and zebras. I was just kidding about the zebra. =P
Are you a hopeless romantic? *gigglesnort* No. I'm hopelessly anti-romance-for-young-people. Or something like that. Just ask Hannah Ours. {Blog link above. Not here due to extreme laziness on the part of Erin. =P}
What movie or book character can you most relate to? IDK...prolly a mix between Emma from Emma by Jane Austin, or Jo from Little Women by Luoisa May Alcott. Why am I a mix between a stupid character {no offense to people who like Emma - she's one of my favorite Jane Austin characters too} and a character who is socially awkward??? =P