IT'S COMING!!!! Oh, it just came...

The Christmas season is definitely here!
It's freezing cold (yes, litterally), I'm seeing more and more Christmas lights coming on every night, and holiday songs are playing on the radio. I love it :-)
It's such a joyous season. And what reason is there for it not to be? Hey, it's Jesus's birthday- now that, I must say is something worth celebrating. It's no wonder there is so much joy in the air this season!
We just put up our tree 'n stuff this past weekend. How fun! I just love decorating, especially for Christmas :-) Our house looks so pretty around the holiday season... I shouold post some pictures some time. We'll see if I actually get around to it. I've got so much to do and so little time each day to do it in, it seems. I have two books going, one for fun and one for School and I'm only half way through both of them. The one for school I'd better finish up soon though because the questions that go with it that I need to answer are due on the 6th! Then there's all the other stuff... Ultimate Frisbee, youth group, volunteering at the library, getting Christmas cards made and sent, chores, guitar practice. Plus there is a ton of stuff that I keep meaning to do. Like I need to finish putting my Camp Hope photos onto Picasa for Lucy...I started on that last week and then somehow I got destracted and didn't finish... Don't worry Lucy, they're coming soon- I promise! I'm hoping to do that some time today.
This weekend they're doing the Christmas parade...It's gonna be COLD! The weather forecast says lows from 14 to 11 degrees! Stalk up on the blankets and cocoa, I guess. I'm hopfully going to be bringing my friend Kitana along, so maybe when candy isn't being flung at us, we can huddle together to keep warm. Also some other fun activites are coming in the near future - a free hour long jet boat ride up the river after dark to see all the Christmas lights from both sides of the river. My mom, brother, and I went last year and it was so much fun! The other one is the home school Christmas parties. The Teens are going to go bowling this year again. That'll be great. I had so much fun doing that last year. And on the 15th my youth group is going up to Spokane to see a Stellar Kart concert. They're a Christian rock band which I like. Turns out that I'm the only girl who's going to the concert though...all the other ones are going shopping in the big mall there while me and the guys go to the concert. I was kind of suprised none of them wanted to go to the concert, but oh well. It's not the first time I've been the only girl in a group. I guess that day I'll get a taste of how it was for Tim the one night where he was the only boy in a room full of girls at youth group once. lol. Man, I felt bad for him that time...stuck in a room full of crazy giggling girls with no other guys to talk to!
I suppose that I should stop typing here and go work on the other things that I've been meaning to get done. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

So What!?

Okay, time for a less depressing post to be at the top of my blog!
So it's still raining...So I didn't get to ride my bike to the park as I'd been hoping...So I once again got distracted from that book I've been meaning to read...So what!?
It's really actually been a pretty good day, thinking back on it.
Because we don't do school on Fridays, I got to sleep in-- That's always nice. Especially when I'd just stayed up past 11 the night before like I did last night.
So first thing when I got up I ran down stairs to check my email before my brother got on the computer to play games half the morning.....

Inbox: 2 unread messages.

Sweet :-)

I scroll down, read 'em and reply... then I look again... Inbox: 1 unread message. Huh? I guess it must have just come in. I look to see who it's from.

From: Zak Boyd Subject: Camp Photos Time: 8:50 AM

Camp Photos...Hehe, the same subject line title that we've had for the past 5 months. Subject lines really aren't always the most accurate things, when you think about it. Sure, they probably were at one point, like when you sent the first message. Talk of game systems, computers, and how much they both cost doesn't have to do with camp photos so much, no? lol. So we email back 'n forth for a while and I end up getting him to make a Yahoo account, so then we end up instant messaging on there until nearly 10:00. It's then I realize that my mom left a half hour ago and left my brother and I with a list of chores of which I really should be working on. Furthermore, I'm hungry. I fix myself some break fast and then decide to get my chores done... fortunately they were really quite easy today, so it didn't take all that long.

I look at the clock and it's nearly 11:00 and I'm still in my PJ's. Not as late as I've worn them some mornings, but even so I really should get dressed, I think to myself. I go into my room, shut the door and...Oh look! A distraction! I see my laptop and I can't resist it- I click up the Internet and check out my yahoo account and see that Zak's back online. What the heck? It's not every day I'm on at the same time as my friends, so I type up a message and we chat some more.

RIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

I'm only half dressed and there's an incoming call. "Nathaniel! Will you get that??"
Turns out it's for me. I get the phone from him. "Hello?" "Hi Sarah, this's Mrs. Kopp... I'm in need of a techy person and you were the first to come to mind..." Wow, I'm getting to be known as quite the computer geek, aren't I? Lol! By the time I'd got off the phone I had gotten myself a photo editing job! Cool :-)
I look back at the computer and another message from Zak pops up. I quickly write that back and then look at the time and realize I've got a recorded episode of Survivor that I missed last night and that I really should watch that soon. I also wanted to keep IMing though. *Ding!* A mental lightbulb just popped up! I can use my dad's laptop down stairs. Once the thing FINALLY finishes starting up and I get to Yahoo, I get a message that says the ol' Windows 98 is too old of an operating system. Dang. *Ding!* Another lightbulb pops up. I could use my laptop! So I unhook it and bring it down to the couch. Everything was working great until 15 minutes later I saw my batteries had already ran out. So I'm running upstairs with the thing to try and hook it back up before it shuts it's self down and guess what happens? My teenage klutziness kicks in and I trip on the top step. BANG! I'm suddenly on my knees holding the laptop out in front of me. Now that was close! I would've been in soooooooooo much trouble had I dropped it! I did get it plugged back in before it turned off though, so that was good.

After dinner this evening I suddenly have a brilliant thought: I should call Lucy! Yes, that would be fun! So I dial up her number, get a voice mail thing telling me to leave a message, then like 10 minutes later... RIIIIIIIIIING! "Sarah! It's for you!" That was fast :-) We talked for like 2 hours... Something my parents typically don't let me do. But since I never get to see Lucy and don't talk to her like every day, they let me, which I'm quite grateful for. It was a very enjoyable convo and I even got myself an over the phone piano recital! As side from a bit of phone fuzz, it really was very good! Once it was almost 9 we decided it was about time to get off and we had one of those good bye's as only happen with Lucy and I. Yup-- sidetracked! lol. We say we should go, then suddenly get reminded of something and start talking again... it takes us probably 3 rounds of "Oh, we really should be going" before we actually go. But I don't mind a bit! It's just so fun to talk!

Clouds

I'd been slightly depressed for the past few days... Not been one of the best weeks ever, let's say.
Laurel and I are officially not best friends anymore, although neither of us will admit it to eachother. I've thought it and she said it to another friend who mentioned it to me. *sigh* I've never had a friendship fall apart so fast. Infact I've never had a friendship fall apart, ever. We were the best of friends two years ago and I really wish I knew what changed. Aparently we must have though or we'd still be best friends now. I don't regret knowing her though. I owe a lot to her because if I hadn't met her, I wouldn't know a lot of my friends that I have and I wouldn't even know any of you Camp Hopies.

Then besides that there have been a lot of small sad, bad or frustraiting things happening off and on. It's been cloudy a lot lately, so I guess that would be part of it because cloudy weather and rain tend to make me not as happy as usual. 'Cause it's so much darker. And I have another friend who suddenly seems to be avoiding me for some reason of which I do not know. It's very odd because just last week he was the same person who came and sat by me while us and the rest of the soup kitchen volunteers were eating dinner and now this week he barely is speaking to me.

But then this morning in the middle of school I suddenly felt lead to grab my Bible. So I got up from my computer (I'm home schooled, incase you didn't already know) and flipped to a random passage and ended up in Job chapters 26 and 27. It helped me to regain my optimistic attitude back...I realized things could be a whole lot worse than they are. In fact, I'm lucky to be alive. If God so chose, I could collapse dead this very minute and never finish this post. All kinds of horrible stuff happened to Job and he never lost faith in God. It was all a test. So, as I figure, God must be testing me too and I should count myself lucky that it's not as severe as the test he put Job through. I still have my house, my family, pets, all you great friends, and most importantly, God. We're all lucky that He's kept us alive one more day, so we shouldn't waste our breath complaining about it.

Christmas Crashing In

I'm tired...I stayed up past 11 two nights in a row and then I spent all afternoon shopping with my mom. That was fun. I honestly don't know why I went because I knew that I didn't want to spend any money because I'm saving for a new video camera. Oh well, it gave me something to do all afternoon anyway.My mom was doing some Christmas shopping...our first stop was Halmark. Man, take one step into that store and [!!BAM!!!] You're suddenly smacked in the face with holiday spirit! LOL. I love Christmastime though. I can't wait until people in Lewiston start decorating their houses with lights-- For those of you who have ever seen the veiw out my bedroom window, you'd know why. I have a great veiw of the ritzy district of Lewiston and it's absolutelly BEAUTIFUL in the holiday season because a lot of people there go all out with their lights. Another thing I love to do that happens near this time of year is getting up at like 5:30 in the morning and going downstairs and just turning on the lights on our Christmas tree and drinking a cup of cocoa. That won't happen for a few more weeks though. We put up our tree a day or two after Thanksgiving and leave it up until New Year's Day. I'm always so sad to take the tree down, but hey, if it was left up all year it wouldn't be as special, now would it?

The New Girl

This is a story that I wrote...quite some time ago, really. But yeah, just thought I'd post it. A real blog post will hopfully be coming soon, but I can't promise anthing because this is one crazy busy week for me!
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The New Girl
By Sarah E. Iddings


As I walked through the halls at Kingston Middle School (Other wise known as KMS) that day, I wondered if I'd ever find a friend.
I wondered about allot of stuff. Like, why did Mr. Goodman have to fire dad anyway? Yeah... "Goodman" he doesn't exactly live up to his name, does he? And another thing, why did my parents have to choose Kingston to move to? Couldn’t dad just get another job back in New York? Obviously I was thinking WAY too much and not paying enough attention to where I was going. "Ooof!" I ran right into another girl, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" I apologized to the tall blonde girl in front of me. "Yeah, whatever." She said, as she quickly gathered her books and walked off. The first bell rang. "Better get to class." I said to myself. I walked fast down the hallway, looking down at my feet all the way. Everyone was watching me. I was friendless, and they all knew so.
After school let out that day, I was more than happy to go home. You know that girl I ran into earlier? Her name is Sandra, and it turns out she's the head of the KMS Cheer Squad, one of the popular people, and if you mess up around her, her whole group hears about it. So I wasn't only friendless, I was now mocked by the whole cheerleading squad. "Better watch out- she might run into you" or "Hi, little miss klutzy!" They would giggle as I passed them in the halls. By the end of the week, I'd made no friends, just enemies.
"One way or another, I'm going to make a friend this week!" I promised myself as I went to sleep that Sunday evening.
The next morning, I awoke in a very cheery mood, determined that this week would be much better than last. When I got to school, the KMS cheer group giggled and pointed as I walked past, but I ignored them and went on, reminding myself that this was a new week- a good new week- and that nothing could bring me down unless I let it. Later on in Mr. Benton's history class, we were all assigned partners for reports we were supposed to write. I sat listening for him to call out my name and tell me who my partner would be. "Frankie, you'll be pared with Jake..." He went on calling out names and partners as the two boys he'd just called on did a high-five. "Let's see...who else do we have... Oh yes, Kelsey Peterson, your partner is... Kari Cripton." I looked around the room, wondering who Kari was and desperately hoping I'd like her. After class, a girl with shoulder-length light-brown hair walked up to me and said, "Hi, are you Kelsey?" "Yeah... And you must be Kari." I replied. "How'd you know?" Kari asked me. "Maybe I'm a mind reader." I said mysteriously, and then giggled, "No, not really, I just saw the back of your sweat-shirt. I says Kari on it." she laughed, "Oh yeah... I kinda forgot about that." From then on I could tell we'd be friends, I already liked her, and I'm pretty sure she liked me too. I spent the rest of that day with Kari, I sat by her in class, walked with her through the halls, and after school we walked to my house together. "So...would you like to come in for a few minutes?" I asked Kari. "Sure, I mean, if it's ok with your parents and all. I'd love to." She answered. When I came into the house and mom saw I had made a new friend, she looked very pleased, and so was I. The next few months flew by; I never knew how fast time could go when you had a great friend to share it with! Before I knew it, it was Christmastime. "Hey, do you wanna go to the mall with me and do some Christmas shopping and stuff?" I asked Kari that afternoon when school let out. "I dunno, the mall's not exactly my kinda place. Incase you haven't noticed, I'm somewhat of a tomboy." Kari said, fiddling with her glasses. I gave her a disappointed look, but didn't try and argue. I knew she was never really into shopping, so why press the issue? So I went to the mall with this other girl I knew, Victoria McCall. As we were just getting ready to walk back to the car after our shopping trip that afternoon, I happened to turn and look into Claire's (this awesome jewelry/accessory store that I LOVE) and seen who I though looked just like Kari! I stood and stared for a minute, hoping the girl would turn around so that I could tell for sure who it was, but before I could see her Victoria looked at me curiously and said "What are you staring at, Kelsey?" "Oh, um, I thought I seen Kari over there in Claire's..." I said to her. "Oh brother", Victoria rolled her eyes, "You see Kari even when your not with her." We started on our way out of the mall, and I snuck another look over to where I thought I'd seen Kari. She wasn't there anymore... If she really ever was there. That night I lied awake in bed wondering about weather or not I'd really seen Kari in Claire's this afternoon. It couldn't have been her...She said she hates shopping. She wouldn't ditch me anyway... would she? The questions turned in my head for hours, and then at last, at 12:00 I finally went to sleep. At school the next morning I thought about asking Kari about it, but if it wasn't her I seen, I'd sound like a complete idiot. So I didn't say anything.
The next three weeks until Christmas slipped by and then on Christmas Eve, I had a terrible thought- I didn't get a Christmas gift for Kari! I wasn't quite sure what to do, my grandparents were coming over for dinner, so I couldn't make a last-minute stop at the mall, and everything would be closed tomorrow. I walked along the sidewalk beside the school, looking at my reflection in its dark windows when Kari suddenly came running up to me with a tiny box -wrapped in red and purple paper- in her hand. "Hey Kelsey- wait up!" she called as she ran to catch up to me, "I wanted to give you this before you head home... Merry Christmas!" Kari held the small package out to me and I took it. "Can I open it now, or shall I wait until tomorrow?" I asked, as I examined the nicely wrapped gift in my hand. "You can open it now, if you want." Kari said, with a slightly nervous-looking smile. It was then that I looked up and seen that she had a necklace... but not just any necklace, there was a small charm on it that read 'BFF'- meaning 'Best Friends Forever'. Suddenly I felt sadness rush throughout my whole body. I had never really thought about this, but she was my best friend. We'd done just about everything together, I thought we knew each other so well, but she never told me she already had a best friend! How could she do this to me?! HOW!?! I didn't know what to say then. I glanced down at the present and then back up at Kari, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were trying to form in my eyes. "Um...Actually... I think I'll wait until tomorrow- nothing like a little suspense!" I said, faking a smile. "Oh, well, ok. Whatever." Kari looked at me, "So, I was wondering, are you doing anything tomorrow afternoon? 'Cause me and my sister are throwing a Christmas party. If you wanna come your more than welcome to!" She smiled and handed me a red and green invitation that had a picture of Santa Clause on it. "Sure, I'll come." I said, still feeling as though I might burst out crying any minute. "Ok, great! Well, I better be getting home now, it's starting to get dark." Kari said, looking up at the sunset. With that, the two of us separated and walked to our homes. I had never felt so relieved to be leaving her.
I looked down once again at the gift in my hand, and thought, “Well, maybe I'll go ahead and open this...” So I stopped and carefully untied the red satin ribbon that held shut the tiny purple box. I couldn't believe what I saw! Inside that box was a little necklace- identical to the one that Kari was wearing! I suddenly realized that I was the one that had the other BFF charm. I was Kari's best friend! Me- Kelsie Peterson! I was practically overflowing with joy. I turned and took off running to catch up with Kari- this was the best Christmas gift ever! "Oh, Kari, thank you thank you thank you!!!" I gave her a big hug. "Wha...huh?" I could tell she was confused. I grinned and showed her my new BFF charm; "I opened your gift early after all." I said with a sheepish grin. Kari smiled real big, "This mean that I'm your best friend too?" "Absolutely!" I replied.

And since that day, Kari and I have been best friends... Best Friends Forever!