Summer

I haven't been a good blogger this summer. It isn't as if things haven't happened. I guess it's more fun to write when I know I should be studying or sleeping or something.

But here's what's up.

I've been working as a nanny for a family from church. It has been a good summer job. Sometimes I feel like I'm not working hard enough, but other times it's plenty tough enough and I'm tired by the end of the week. I've never spent so much time with little kids before so it's fascinating for me to watch Martha's and Margaret's development. Martha is my chief charge. She's 22 months, almost the same age as my nephew Mark and it has been fun to compare them. Even at such a young age they are so different. Martha is quite shy around people she doesn't know, but very warm with those she does. She's also very independent and intelligent. She can recite the alphabet, recognize all the letters, and count to fourteen or so. Yesterday she was climbing the stairs. She went up eight without saying anything but on the next step she started counting, "nine, ten, eleven, twelve." I was quite impressed.

One highlight of the summer was singing in the 53rd annual Ocean Grove Choir Festival in the huge Ocean Grove tabernacle. I was one of 1,043 joined to sing 10 anthems of praise to God one Sunday evening. There were some five thousand in the audience who joined the choir during a few hymns and the doxology. I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps on my arm more than once during the evening. What an awesome experience!

I also really enjoyed the family reunion in Windham, NY. All fifteen of us and Kate's friend Courtney stayed in a friend's ski house in upstate New York. We hiked and ate good meals and drank tea and played Settlers of Catan and other fun things. It was very special to have everyone together. It could be a long time before that happens again.

I've been practicing the piano lots to prepare an audition to send to Wheaton - Bach, Mozart, and Kabalevsky. It's a lot of music but it's finally memorized and I feel moderately confident. Perhaps I'll be ready to record this Saturday or next. We'll see what happens at my lesson tomorrow morning. . .

Beginning college has been on my mind a lot - the exciting things, the scary things. Having a roommate, a new piano teacher, classes, people, friends, a new church, life without a dog - so many changes in so little time. I guess I'll be ready to go in three weeks or so when we leave but I'm not counting down the days. I want to enjoy every last puppy club meeting, piano lesson, Sunday morning, walk with the pup, or quiet evening with the APs at home.

On Saturday I got back from Reynosa, Mexico. I'm not ready to write about the week yet. There's so much running through my mind. Mexico is pretty much all I've thought about since I left there Saturday morning. I re-live conversations in my mind, think about what we did, all the people I met, the ministry to the deaf, and how much I want to be there next summer. I miss the people I met there, the unity we felt because of the bond of Christ, interesting conversations, the strong sense of purpose to our work, the satisfaction of having worked very hard physically. I feel so lazy sitting here in front of the computer. It's tough coming back. I'm rather sad.

Yosemite

I think this must be the view of the valley from Glacier Point. Behind us (me, Susie, Christine, and Jon) is Half Dome which Mr. Prol, Nate, Dan, and Andrew climbed. Some day I will hike it too.

Nate, Dan, and Jon.

These three guys (Dan, Andrew, and Nate), with Mr. Prol, got up at 5:00, I think it was, to climb Half Dome. They got back eleven hours later.

Our last supper together in California was at this nice restaurant in the valley.

This bear was amazing. So big, so close to us, so exciting.

Me, Susie, and Christine. Susie and I climbed up to Vernal Falls and back.

And here's me in front of Half Dome.

And here are the five of us that didn't hike Half Dome - me, Jon, Susie, Chris, and Christine.

Yosemite was beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Breathtaking. One of my classmates kept describing it as unbelievable, but I have to object to that. Scenery like that fills me with wonder, but not unbelief. It's true; it's there; it's real. It was created by my God.

Simply Scenery

This is Lake Teniah, viewed from the high road that is usually closed for

snow removal in May and even into June.

Here's a beautiful view of Yosemite Valley, featuring Half Dome, that we enjoyed while eating our lunch the first day there.

Vernal Falls

Half Dome

Wait, maybe this is Lake Teniah. I'm confused. This is either a view from Glacier Point or the high road.

I think this is El Capitan. It has a sheer cliff that takes 2-3 days to climb. At night you can see lights twinkling - the lanterns of climbers who are suspended in hammocks, sleeping hundreds of feet above the ground.

The Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful.

We enjoyed walking across it, running, leaping. The guys danced and tried to get the attention of cars speeding past. It was cloudy and windy, but there is something very majestic about seeing the bridge disappear into the clouds.

Bonding Time

We rented two cars for the trip, a Toyota Highlander and a Kia Sorrento. For the first couple days the three of us girls were crowded in the way back of a van with Mr. Prol, two long suffering guys, and one large, heavy wheelchair occupying one of the nicer seats. I'm not sure whose idea that was. For the rest of the trip Mrs. Prol, Christine, Susie, and I traveled together in the Highlander. We enjoyed chatting together, talking about our class, and listening to Mrs. Prol's stories about her family. And, at Susie's request, I was exposed to a lot of country music. The boys probably talked non-stop about cars, as is their custom. Whenever we drove past the salesroom for some expensive car we'd turn to see them hanging out the windows, craning their heads for the last glimpse of some Porsche or Ferrari. They even took pictures and video tapes.