Good to be Back!

Here's our dog, Charlie, enjoying "the dog days of summer." Isn't he darling?

Hi everyone! Amy here. Sorry for the long pause in posting activity here in our neck of the woods. Thanks, Julie, for putting a post up after my long vacation from blogging. Let me update y'all on what's gone on since the last time I posted (in August--yikes!)

First of all, I want you to know that I am posting all this from my brand new laptop computer, graciously purchased for me as an early graduation present from my grandparents. Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma! I am so excited to have my own computer so that I won't have to inconvenience anyone in my family when I want to do homework, or check out blogs ;-). What a wonderful gift! However, I have not transferred pictures from the other computers yet, so I may have to wait awhile before posting the rest of my Mexico trip (Yes, I am still working on that--three and a half months later!) Bear with me as I get used to the switch, okay?

During the second week of August, I counseled at a Bible camp for Native American children. I have done this for four years now, and I love every minute of it! We had our largest group of campers ever, and some of the kids were dealing with really tough stuff--parents with drug and alcohol addictions, domestic violence, etc. I was so blessed to be able to share the hope of Christ with them during our time at camp, as we enjoyed fun activities like canoeing, swimming, sliding down the waterslide, etc. One night, I even had the privilege to pray with a beautiful little eight-year-old girl as she talked to Jesus for the very first time, and began a relationship with Him. I can hardly wait to see what God does at camp next year!

On a less interesting, but still important, note, my classes at the local colleges started in late August, so now much of my time is filled with reading textbooks, writing papers, and filling out worksheets. I can't say I always enjoy it, but I am learning a lot, and I'm working hard to develop a balanced routine.

In addition, I have joined the student leadership team for my church youth group. Basically, our job is to develop relationships with the youth in our small groups and to model the saving power of Jesus Christ to them. No small task, but with God's grace, I pray that I will fulfill it to the best of my ability. I so enjoy meeting with the girls in my small group each week and encouraging them to live fully for the Lord.

Of course, as you saw in Julie's post, we are still taking care of our adorable twin charges, who will be turning two this week. We love them to pieces!

Most importantly, God has been teaching me some amazing things this past month that I hope to share more about soon. I'm learning to be content in this season of life, to find joy in serving Jesus by serving my family, and so much more!

I know this post is getting rather long, and I don't blame you if you've lost interest, but I just wanted to give you all an update and let you know that I am still alive and well! Check back soon, as I hope to post some pictures of great deals I've found at thrift stores, garage sales, and clearance racks recently. God bless!