I Forgot.

I forgot to say in the last one that I army crawled today. Kind of. And I got rug burns on the top of my feet that really hurt. So I have bandaids on. It's funny. :)

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday!

Yay!!!! It was such a great day! I love my friends and my family and my school and everything on this beautiful planet that God so graciously made!

And I hope that doesn't sound corny, because really, that's how I feel.

So this morning, Mom and Dad came in and sang me Happy Birthday and an Army-type song that Dad changed for my birthday. It was sweet. Then I fellback asleep, then got up and got ready, and Dad drove me to school in his police car.

So I walk down to my locker, and it isn't decorated, and I'm kind of bummed. So I just sit there and look at my yearbook, and I glance down the hall, and there's Hannah carrying a plastic bag and smiling sheepishly. So she reaches me, and says, "Hey, you should go walk around the school so I can deocrate your locker!" So I start laughing, and wander aimlessly around the school for the next like 15 minutes. Okay, it wasn't that long, but still. Johanna Donner sees me and gets me some cotten candy from Mr. Scharf for my birthday, and I see the french one kids outside jumping rope, and I walk around some more, and go to my locker and Hannah is done and my locker looks really cool and I get super stoked.

So then we stand in the hallway with Chrissy and are late for Anthropology. REALLY DIDN'T MATTER. And Tony wasn't there, which ticked me off cause he was supposed to sign my yearbook. So anyway. Hannah made me a T-shirt that says "Today is my 18th Birthday!" So I went into the bathroom and put it on and wore it all day. And people kept telling me "Happy Birthday" which was fun.

During third hour, we watched the kareoke video that Brittany and I made for Hannah. And it was really embarrasing and funny.

In fourth hour, I ripped a kid's $50.00 in half...oops. :)

Lucas baked me an AWESOME sour cream cake, which I happily began to consume during lunch. And people walking past just kind of stared at me. Haha.

Fast forward to French. One girl bought me two huge things of Apple Juice (my favorite) and some ice-cream for my birthday. We happily consumed them and spent the rest of the class talking and signing yearbooks. It was sweet. I think that out of everything high school entailed, I'm going to miss my French class the most. They are such awesome people. During French class, the office brought me some flowers from Debbie and Earl, which was really really nice of them, and I got a couple of birthday cards (from Hannah, Glendy, Emily) and just felt special.

Went to work afterwards. Woohoo.

Came home, opened presents. Dad bought me a knife, and I got dishes and sheets for college. And lots of $$$$$ from family. Talked to Brad and Jeff on the phone, and we ate at a Mexican retsurant for dinner (I wanted fish, but didn't know where to get any, so there you go). After dinner, Dad and I played catch in the yard, which was fun. I miss playing baseball -A LOT-. I think at OBU, I'm gonna play intermural softball.

And tonight I played "mmbop" on my guitar. And now I'm talking to two of the greatest most godly people I know.

And I am sooooooooo blessed. And I have to take Megan a piece of my cake on Sunday. She'll love it. :)

I FORGOT! The Roots called and left a message on the answering machine for me. They all sang a birthday song for me, then at the end all shouted "WE LOVE YOU, MELISSA!" And I felt so loved. And Hannah sent me the coolest e-card in the world.

What an AWESOME day. And tomorrow I am hiking.

T Minus Two Days And Counting.

In two days, I become an adult. Though, really, it won't change much. The only thing this birthday will change, is that I can now vote. I mean, I'm not going to smoke or do anything that is illegal for me to do right now. But still...it's exciting to be an official adult.

Sometimes I act like a little kid again. Like tonight at church, I played "Chase" with these five year olds and a sixth grader. It was really just glorified tag. And it wasn't even glorified. It was just tag. And how totally mature is that? But when I turn 18, do I still have to act mature all the time? It's getting close to when I can't watch Disney movies, or listen to Aaron Carter and stuff.

Not that I listen to him all the time right now... :) haha. I only have like 6 of his songs on my iPod, tops. And that poster? It's old, I swear. I just haven't taken it down yet. (Okay, I totally DO NOT have an Aaron Carter poster. Really.)

Okay, that's all.

T Minus 3 Days And Counting.

I hate it when people get attitudes. Like, when they think that they are always right, or when they say something jerky, or when they think something is their business when it's not. I hate that.

It's like, they don't know who they are or something so they have to do everything they can to put themselves out there for people to say, "Yeah, okay, you're a cool person."

Then I think, do I need that kind of recognition and approval? Am I the type of person I hate?

I also hate it when people judge other people before they really know them. But now, as I think about it, maybe that's what I'm doing right now. I'm judging people for why they do specific things. And I mean, I know the person I'm talking about. Kind of. I guess.

It's interesting how you think you know someone, then you realize that you actually don't, that they are completely not who you thought they were. I don't know. It's just kind of a time when you stop and simply say, "Oh. I dind't know that about you. Okay then." And it isn't really bad, per say, but it isn't super great either.

I'm probably not making any sense to anyone reading this, but it makes sense to me.

Last night was fun, kind of, I guess. It is what sparked paragraph four. And I'm looking forward to this summer, but it was be akward, I think. But maybe it won't be if I don't make it that way.

I really confuse myself sometimes. And I get mad at myself. And I think its dumb. This whole thing I'm thinking about right now. I think I'm really passive aggressive. I'm not one for confrontation, but I'll do something that is...I don't even know how to explain it.

I wonder if God ever gets tired of my antics. Like, does He ever look down and think "Why the heck did you do that, Melissa? What have I taught you? I gave you a brain for a reason. You should use it. Come on, now, time is running out. Do you really want to live like that?" If He does, I have no excuses. None at all.

Which is not a fun thought to think about.

T Minus 4 Days And Counting.

Okay, so high school ends in four days. And I wrote a letter to go with my thank-you notes today, or rather, yesterday. And it's a really good one, too.

I'm ready. I think. It will be weird hanging out with Maria and Megan and Tyler and all of them, and Jen, since I'll be out of high school, and transitioning onto bigger and better and more expensive things.

I'm excited for the summer, though. I'm hoping to do lots of stuff with my friends...all of them.

My grandparents come up from Oregon in like a week and a day. It'll be really cool to have them here. Last time they came up, though, there was a lot of drama. Seems like I'm always surrounded by drama. With family. School. Friends. Church.

I totally yelled at the kids in Sunday School the other day. Yesterday, I guess. And like, all the parents found out. Which is fine, because hopefully it means that they will become more respectful. Which they need to do.

And I'm really struggling with something. And it's hard. I'm really glad that Jesus has set me free from this life.

That's all I have to say right now.

Thirty-Two This Time Around.

Though it may be considered overkill, another list of things I love:

1. Sumo-wrestling and falling so you LITERALLY can not get up.
2. Fighting with giant Q-tips and being the first girl to beat a guy.
3. Cheering on Chris while he sumo-wrestled Cody (and won!).
4. Seeing people in an environment that isn't school, and realizing that they are totally cool guys.
5. Meeting Craig. Haha.
6. Having Tanner talk to me. A lot. And telling him how to say "Your Mom is a hippopotamus" in French.
7. Relient K songs. Period.
8. Them.
9. Hannah.
10. My friends in general, really.
11. Understanding unspoken questions, and knowing exactly what someone means without having to explain everthing.
12. Watching them interact with eachother and others.
13. Remembering my A Squad shirt.
14. Smiles.
15. Aaron Brehm.
16. Peanut Butter milkshakes with Hannah at 10:30 pm at V-Ho.
17. Leaving a 100% tip for our waitress.
18. Our list.
19. Being on the internet at 11:25 pm.
20. Being acknowledged.
21. My name tag that I'm still wearing.
22. "Do our friends want to sit by us?"
23. Just life.
24. Smiling.
25. Them. ;)
26. More silent understandings.
27. Knowing that tonight was awesome, and I may never again have a more perfect time of...just being. And understanding. And laughing. And loving. And being loved.
28. "Hello, hello...I'm at a place called vertigo!"
29. Jesus.
30. Everything about Jesus.
31. Planning, but living spur-of-the-moment.
32. I can't get over this.

What a sweet, spectacular, awesome, fun night! I am so blessed.

"Jessica's BFF Bids Adieu". Oh. No.

What a sweet day. 11+ hours with tons of awesome godly girls, just learning new things, hearing stories, praying, and letting God speak to me. And making new commitments, and remembering and refreshing old ones.

And I'm all for small group time. Time to talk about critical things in your own life. But there is something nice about big groups. Being surrounded by people who love God and just want to praise Him with everything. Having leaders who remember being where I am currently in this life.

More things to add to the happy list:

1. The sweet shirt I got from today's retreat....
2. And the awesome headband....
3. And the series of haikus we wrote to praise God....
4. And the duct-tape purses Sammy and I made....
5. And talking to Maria in my truck outside her house, telling her the Corrie Story and hearing her Titus Story....
6. And then her Dad coming out, saying that the truck sounds like a washing machine or a helicopter.
7. Having sore abs and arms from raking.
8. 9 more days of school.
9. I don't know how many more days until my birthday...oh wait, 11.
10. No French tomorrow, which is good, because I didn't do my homework. Although, I won't have any time to do it tomorrow, either.
11. M + R = <3
12. All together now, "AWWWW!"
13. Hannah got into Hillsong.
14. I only really need like $5000 more for college this coming year, which is 1/3 of what I thought I needed.
15. It's 9:49. Which just seems funny.

And now I'm going to bed. Good night, world.