Pictures

Last night, we went to a jazz club in Portland because my friend Megan (right) and I had to go to a live performance for our class, Understanding Jazz. The light wasn't very good, so I didn't get any pictures of the band. It was really fun though! We got some desert and listened to some jazz, and were out by 9:30.


At our Christmas party that I told you about in the last post, we decided to make a manger scene. Sorry these pictures aren't the best...

Last week of school

This coming week will be my last week of school for the semester before a much needed break. I'm done with classes, now I just have finals. This weekend has been really relaxing. I got to go see Lauren play basketball, watch Dana (my roommate) sing in the George Fox Christmas concert, and go to the Penn 2 (the floor I live on) Christmas party, where we had a gingerbread house contest and made shirts. I have pictures, but not my computer, so I'll put them up when I get it back. I've barely studied at all, but I'm not to stressed about finals. We don't have school tomorrow either because it is "Dead Day"! Only four more days till I get to go home!

I've been thinking about Christmas lately and how crazy it is that God came to earth as a baby. He was limitless, yet because He loved us so much, He became one of us, in the humble form of a baby. The pastor of the Foursquare church that I've been going to put it into perspective that it would be like if God gave us this compassionate heart for flies and there was this huge epidemic that was going to kill them all, and the only way to save them was to become one of them. Why would any of us want to become a fly or even save one? It's the same way with God. Just like flies, we can be so rebellious and annoying, yet Christ loved us so much that he took on our form to save us. I am so thankful that I serve a God who loved me enough to become like me and live the perfect life, then die for me so that I could know how to live and by His grace live eternally with Him!

One Day Earlier

On Wednesday I was talking to my friend Meaghan and she convinced me that I need to come home a day earlier, so I decided to fly home rather than drive like I was originally planning. And I am soooooo excited! I'm now getting in on Thursday evening rather than Friday, and I get to leave later also! I get to go to skit talent at Valley and the Deerlodge basketball game! And I get to see everyone earlier too! Now there's only seven more days!!!

Computer Trouble

I can't believe there's only 11 days until I get to go home for Christmas! As you all probably know, my most challenging class this semester has been anatomy, and this past week I have lost motivation to study, so I have to force myself to. I have a lab practicum tomorrow over the brain, nerves, the eye, the ear, the nose, and other things. I'm praying for favor, because I need to do well on this practicum to keep my B. Plus, I have another anatomy test on Friday, then the final next week. I have actually been amazed at the peace I have about it, not too much stress!

One thing that has been giving me trouble is my computer. I am actually writing this on my roommate's computer, because mine wouldn't turn on past sleep mode, so I had to bring it to the tech desk. I think I'll probably have to get a new computer. I just put all of this into the Lord's hands and trust that He will give me strength and wisdom in planning these next couple of weeks! I'm just so thankful that He has put me in this place and is allowing me to experience all that I have here! It's wonderful, but I am ready for a break!

Colorado!

It's been way too long since my last post...sorry :)
Since then, life has been pretty crazy with school (Anatomy) and everything, but good. I am now sitting at Beth and Tanner's apartment in Colorado Springs as the turkey cooks in the oven and Tyler tries to take a nap. This break is much needed! The flight was wonderful and I sat next to a woman in her fifties (it was her birthday). We talked about things from family to work and school to reading to holidays to volunteering to help homeless people and taking the focus of of yourself for a time. I don't know whether she was a Christian, but I shared with her about the homeless church and mentioned missions trips. I pray that either way I was a witness for the Lord, or at least an encouragement to her.
Today I remember the importance of giving thanks.

Thank you mom and dad for being Godly parents who have encouraged me to have a personal relationship with the Lord from the beginning. Thanks for being an example I can follow and for always being there for me to talk to or to hug. Thanks also for always supporting me in things I have pursued and been a guidance and source of Biblical wisdom.

Thank you Peter, Beth, Lissa, Erik, and Will for being amazing siblings! I am so blessed to have a strong family and relationships with each one of you.
Peter, thanks for being a great example as the big brother and for your funny personality and great hugs.
Amanda, thanks for marrying Peter and being the best sister-in-law I could have asked for. Thank you for your love for the Lord and for your passion for prayer.
Beth, thanks for your wisdom and example and for being a great friend that I can talk to and look to for advise.
Tanner, thank you for your passion for the Lord and your desire to serve him and do his will no matter what the price.
Lissa, thanks for having triangle lips with me and for being my friend. I love having a sister that I can talk to about anything that is on my heart.
Erik, thank you for being the one and only person who knows how to push my buttons. Thank you for having a compassionate heart and for your determination in sports. You are truly an inspiration to me!
And Will, thanks for your friendly personality and creative mind. I am amazed every time we are in a new place and you make friends within the first five minutes of being there!

Kylie and Jesse, thank you for supporting me and being great friends that I know I can always turn to. Thanks for your passion for the Lord, and for being amazing and Godly parents to Asher and Cora. Thank you for being an example that I can follow when I have kids one day.

Lauren, thank you for your determination and your love for the Lord. You truly inspire me to seek God and to trust in His will and timing. Thank you for standing up for what you believe in even when people make fun of you for it.

Hannah, thank you for your fun personality and your love for people. The joy you have in your heart is so attracting for people and that is a gift from God!

Meaghan, thank you for your dedication and determination and for living for God when your not surrounded by others who are.

And GOD, thank you for blessing me with these amazing people. Without them, my life would be going in a totally different direction. I am so thankful for each one of them!

A Weekend on the Coast

I consider myself so amazingly blessed to have the family I do. This weekend, my parents and Erik and Will drove ten hours (plus two to the beach) to see me for a day a half. They came on Friday and we drove to Depoe Bay, where we stayed in a condo with an amazing view of the ocean. It was wonderful spending time with them! We basically just sat around all day Saturday until the evening, when we went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was stormy most of the time and the waves were huge! When it cleared up, though, it was beautiful. It was really hard to say good bye again, but in a month and ten days I will be home for three weeks! I can hardly wait! Here are a few pics :)

Conference XC meet

Well, the conference meet didn't go as well as I was hoping. I was on pace the first mile, but slowed down a lot...mostly because I was in last place and there was no one else with me to pace me. It was kinda hard to finish in last place, but I was proud of myself for finishing anyways and racing in Conference knowing that was a possibility. I'm not positive about what my final time was, but I'm pretty sure it was a PR for a 6K. Lauren came to watch which was SO helpful! I was so encouraged as I would run by her...she's an amazing friend! She also spent the night last night and we got to hang out and watch a movie which was really nice. I absolutely love having her live so close! We also messed around with the webcam...here are some pictures we took!

Mid-semester already...finally!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while...I really don't have much of an excuse. Since my last post, I had a cross country meet at Concordia, and it didn't go so well. It rained a ton that day, and the whole course was basically mud, so I was focusing so much on not falling that I didn't have such a good race. It was our last 5K, but we have Conference this weekend to make up for the bad times. I wasn't sure that my coach would have me go to conference, since I am one of the slower girls on our team, but he decided that I had earned the right so he let me choose! It was nice that he was looking at more than just speed. This week has been nice and easy for cross country because we have been tapering to prepare for Conference. Only four of us girls are able to go because the others have injuries...we started out with 8, so it's weird that only half of us are racing now! I race at 11:00 (my time), so I would greatly appreciate any small prayers if you remember :)

As far as school goes, we are half way through the semester, which is kinda weird. It feels like it's gone by so fast, yet a whole half of a semester until Christmas seems so long! I have a C+ in Anatomy, which is my hardest class. As long as I'm passing, I'm happy! We have an exam tomorrow, and I'm hoping that I will be able to bring my grade up to a B by the end of the semester. Luckily, for this exam, I was smarter in preparing, so I won't be cramming tonight. A little studying each night is definitely the way to go! Half of a semester done, and half to go 'til I get to see everyone! Woohoo!

Here are some pictures from our cross country meet on the 17th...


I half-tripped going around a corner...only one knee went down, but it definitely got muddy!

Homeless Church

I had a wonderful three day weekend! I got to see Lauren on Saturday and spend the night with her in her dorm. She took me to her church, Salem Alliance, and we went to a Mexican restaurant with two of her friends from cross country. Then, Sunday morning, we led worship together at the homeless church she's been going to, and it was one of the most amazing experiences! I can't wait to spend more time with those people. It was amazing seeing the love they have for each other, and to get to meet them. Just this one experience changes my viewpoint of homeless people from the stereotypical homeless person on a street asking for money to buy drugs, to a person who needs a friend, and who I can be friends with. I was so humbled and encouraged! Thanks for letting me lead worship with you Lauren :)

Fire Drill

Last night, at 5:25 a loud screaming noise woke me up...it was a fire drill. I quickly put on a long sleeve shirt and some tennis shoes as I ran out the door with the five other girls from my floor and the others who were here for the weekend in the whole dorm. We stood outside in the cold, in our pajamas (one girl just had a blanket), for over 30 minutes as the fire department came and security made sure we were safe to go back in (even though it was just a drill). It wasn't the most pleasant way to wake up, but thankfully I got to go back to bed and sleep in this morning! Today I get to go see Lauren!

My Niece!!!!

Wednesday afternoon, Beth had Tyler Elizabeth Joy, 6lb. 8oz.! I am so excited! I get to see them over thanksgiving, and I can't wait! Here are some pictures Tanner took.

New PR!

I had my third cross country meet this morning at Willamette University. There were about 300 runners, so it was a pretty big race. The exciting part of this race was that I got a new personal record! I ran it in 22:32 (that's my approximation...i don't know the exact time) and my prior record was 22:45. It was about a minute faster than my last time too! Even though that's not super fast for college, I was excited! Plus, I got to see Lauren, which made my morning even better. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the race :(

You should also know about the adventure I went on last night with my roommate and a couple other girls from our floor. It was a little after 7:00, getting dark, and we started driving with no real plan...first we went to Safeway. Then we found a pet cemetery (kinda creepy), then we drove 15 minutes to McMinnville, and took pictures at an airplane museum. It was closed, so we just took pictures outside. There were two suspicious cars ahead of us that drove around the parking lot then left... Then we drove back to Newberg and went to McDonald's for Dana. We went back to George Fox and wrote our RA notes in her room. It was quite eventful!

Prince Gilbert

Today my roommate, Dana, and I finally bought a beta fish! He is so pretty, and we decided to call him Gilbert. We also have three other fish that are kinda like translucent fish. Two orange ones and a smaller blue one, and I have a funny story about them: We originally bought four fish (two blue instead of one), and we decided to name them Adam and Eve (the orange ones), and Cain and Abel (the blue ones). We were joking that night about how Cain was going to kill Abel, because that's what happens in the Bible story. Well, we wake up the next morning, and guess who's dead...ABEL!!! Haha! We had a funeral for him in the bathroom. Here are a few pictures of our little family :)

Casting Crowns and a Day with Lauren

So on Friday night, Dana's mom bought me a ticket to go see Casting Crowns with Dana, Jonny (Dana's boyfriend), Lauren (Dana's sister), and her. She also bought me dinner at P.F. Cheng's, which was very tasty! That's where Dana and I are in the picture. I was a little skeptical because I don't like the concept of a Christian concert since it is glorfying toward the band, but they were so humble and I loved how much the leader encouraged the church rather than pointing out all the wrong things. It was really fun too! And, today I got to see Lauren! We met at the Woodburn outlet mall and got sweaters at the Quicksilver outlet. In the picture it's Kate (Lauren's roommate), Lauren then me. After that, we went to a Starbucks and did some homework. I have my first Anatomy lab practicum on Tuesday so I am stuffing my brain with information this weekend! Hopefully I will retain it all :) (Also, side note, tonight I played extreme spoons with some people from the dorm and actually met some of the guys from my "brother floor"! Haha, I haven't been very good about that, but it was really fun! We had to jump over couches to get to the spoons! There aren't any pictures from that though.)

(Above) In our new sweater's!

At P.F. Cheng's before the concert.

Goodbye Piccolo

I have already made a post about this, but here is a poem I wrote about Piccolo when he got the tumor on his leg. Tomorrow my dad is taking him in to be put down and buried at deep creek. It's actually pretty sad thinking that he won't be there when I go home for Christmas. Well, here's the poem/ode

A Tribute to Piccolo
By Monica Hartzell

A small black Shih Tzu with a mighty strong voice
Sits staring aimlessly into the dark cool night.
His owners have left him on his own,
With not much, only one eye for sight.

Seemingly indestructible, this dog has been.
One lost eye, a rare blood disease, and a little overweight.
And this just in, a malignant tumor on one back leg
Has caused him much hate.

He once was a playful, friendly fellow,
Who danced for a treat and chased his tail.
With a family like his, his life was desirable,
Except that his blatter sent him out with a wail.

Although he lives in jealousy
Of his fellow Shih Tzu’s who, in China are royal,
He enjoys his home
And his family who is loyal.

But if only he were one of them
With so much power and so much attention,
His plan to take over the world,
Would put the humans into recession.

From the viewpoint of an owner
He is a dog to behold.
So faithful all these years,
Fighting to survive in hot and cold.

We give tribute to our lazy little dog
Who loves to bark and loves to get treats.
He has lived a life of honor and courage
And has persevered through all the heat.

Piccolo will be greatly honored,
By all who have met him,
For they know that besides him,
No other humor could produce such a grin.

XC Meet #2

So, I finished in 23:37 (we ran a 5K) and I felt really good about how I did. It was a pretty tough course, so everyone's times were slower than normal, which means that my time will be faster when we do an easier course! I thought it was a fun course, even though some of the others didn't really like it. It was at Willamette University, which is in Salem, and the park was really beautiful!


As for school, it's been going pretty good. I have my first Anatomy exam on Monday, so I will be spending the whole weekend studying. I can't believe I've been in classes for three weeks already! Time has been going by so fast. I could be really overwhelmed right now, but it's really been amazing how much peace the Lord gives me when I make time for him every day. It's the most important part of my day! I am starting to feel like this is a home away from home, but I do have bursts of time where I really miss home. At least I know that Jesus is always with me!

First XC race

I'll start off by telling you about the dinner I had last night with my "adopted" parents, as they like to be called. Their names are Al and Miriam Washington, and they have a little dog named Brin. They are a really cool couple, and they design water fountains for yards...they have a beautiful back yard! The four other students (sophomores) that they adopted picked me up last night. Miriam made homemade sloppy jos and some wonderful pies. I usually don't like sloppy jos, but these were good! We basically just talked the whole time and went for a little walk in between dinner and desert. They also gave us each a little box with cupcakes, cookies, and a $20 gift certificate to a coffee shop close to campus! I was amazed by their generosity! I'm really excited to get to know them better. They already treat me like family. It was nice to be in a home rather than having dinner at the dining hall (the "Bon").

This morning I had my first college level cross country meet! Girls run a 6K (3.7 miles), and the guys run an 8K (about 5 miles). I didn't really have any expectations going into it for how fast I should run, so I just did my best. Another girl on my team, Kelsey, has never run cross country before, and we're about the same speed, so we ran together. It was nice to have someone to be encouraged by and to encourage the whole time. Our team got last place because one of the top five on our team ended up dropping out...therefore, I scored for our team (only the first five from the team score), giving us lots of points (points are BAD in cross country). I was in the back, but not last place, which was all I really cared about! My time was about 29:28. I want to beat 28:00 by the end of the season, which I think I'll be able to do. These pictures are of me and Kelsey. We were so excited to finish. Oh yeah, I also got to run against Lauren, so that was really cool to see her! I didn't realize we were doing the same race! And I'm really happy I don't have to wear spandex shorts or a belly shirt...we had the option for spandex, but I took shorts :-)

Serve Day 2009

Hey everyone! So, I haven't had a chance to blog about this yet, so it's a little late. This past Wednesday we had Serve Day here at George Fox, and it was an awesome experience! There are no classes all day, and the whole campus goes out into the community to serve. Our dorm floor served at an organization called Love Inc., helping to deep clean their house, garage, paint, do yardwork, and organize donations. They are basically a connection point for all the churches in the area to help those in need. Each church is a different "station" that families can go to if they need food, clothing, kitchen supplies, etc, and Love Inc organizes it all. They also have rooms to host homeless women. It was wonderful to get to serve them with our floor.
Now, it's my second weekend of college, and I have much more going on these next couple of days than I did last week. Tonight I'm going to dinner at a couple's house from the church I went to on Sunday, Newberg Foursquare. They are so nice and invited me over to get to know me better. Tomorrow, I have my first cross country meet, which I am both nervous and excited for. I'm not really sure how fast I will be compared to everyone else, but it doesn't really matter that much. Then, on Sunday, I'm going to a beach party with Lauren that Corban College is having! I love when I get to see Lauren! Here are some pictures from serve day.

Me and my RA, Anika. She's really nice!

Me and Megan, who lives down the hall. We have three classes together...she's very outgoing and friendly.

Washing windows!

Our whole floor...I won't go through all the names. Can you find me???

My roommate Dana. She's amazing!

First weekend of college!

This morning I woke up at about 7:45 and it was pouring rain outside...and we had cross country practice! I love running in the rain, so even though it was a hard workout, we got all muddy and it was great! After practice, I drove into Tigard, which is about 30 minutes away, to get a book at Barnes and Noble and to get some homework done. I was freaking out about the book and the essay, so I re-read the handout our teacher gave us on it. It said that the essay's not due until one week and one day before our presentation, and mine is December 4th...a HUGE relief! I had to e-mail him to make sure since it said a different day online. Also, tonight I got a little inspiration for my Psychology paper, so I'll start that tomorrow. God is so gracious!

I came back to my dorm and did a little more homework, then our whole dorm shared voodoo doughnuts in the lobby. It was interesting since I'm not a very outgoing person. I feel so awkward just sitting there. After that, I hung out with some girls from our floor and an RA from one of the other dorms was making his rounds. He stopped by and told us the whole story of how he and his girlfriend got together. It was kinda funny and random! It's been a productive day, which I was hoping for. Tomorrow I get to go to the Oregon State Fair with Lauren!

Homework :(

So I was feeling pretty good this week about how things were going so far in college. I wasn't too overwhelmed with what I had to do, until today. I have so much homework, and it's kinda stressful thinking about it. I have given it to the Lord, and He's been giving me peace, but it's still a lot. I have to write a reflection paper for Psychology, which I don't even really know how to do...find and summarize an article for a research project...read a book I don't have yet and write an essay on it by Friday...review anatomy notes...read for history...reading for communications... I know it will all work out eventually. I just need to trust in the Lord for inspiration and help in time management! Other than all the homework, I really love it here. I'm starting to become pretty good friends with my roommate, Dana. We made cinnamon rolls last night, and played the guitar the night before. Tonight there's a "movie on the lawn" for the whole campus. We're watching "The Little Rascals". I'm excited! Also, I get to hang out with Lauren this weekend which will be really nice. Overall, I'm really glad I decided to come here, and am looking forward to a great semester...challenging, but great!

First Day of School!

So yesterday wasn't quite my ideal first day of school. It wasn't bad or anything, it just didn't quite go the way I was expecting. Here's why...My class schedule online said that all of my classes were an hour later than they actually were, so I missed two of them. Luckily there was an anatomy class when I showed up, and I caught the problem before my last class. I missed history and Understanding Jazz, so I wouldn't say it was horrible to miss those. I'm just really puzzled as to why my schedule has all my classes an hour late. I did have to cut my run for cross country short because of this, which was disappointing. Other than that it was a great first day! Today I had communications, and I still have Anatomy lab and Psychology. It should be good. I'm just happy I caught that issue before it was too late...and hoping it's not too late for history! It's nice to have a schedule and to start a routine. Being in classes really makes me feel more like a college student, and takes my mind off of missing everyone so much.

Practice

Since I've been here, I think I have already grown a lot as a runner. Yesterday we had a hard practice, but afterward, I felt really good about how I did. We had a certain pace from the time trial that we had to stay at. We ran a 200, 400, 600, 800, then back down. The hardest part was the mile we did after that. We had to run it all together and make it in 6:50. For the faster people that wasn't so bad, but for us slower people, it was a bit more difficult. I wasn't right up there the whole time, but I finished with the pack. We didn't all finish together, so we had to do 50 push ups and 100 crunches. It was hard but good. Today we learned how to aqua jog! It feels kinda funny, cuz we had to wear these weird looking suits and then just run in the water. It was kinda fun though! I can't wait for my dad to come tomorrow! This week seems to have taken forever! Here's one more picture. It's of all the girls on the team. From left: Emily, Olivia, Melissa, Mary, Kelsey, me, Hannah, Bethany. I thought it was interesting that there is a Bethany and Melissa on my team! Those are my sister's names!

Moving in and Cross Country

Since I've been here, I have met some really nice people, basically just my cross country team. It is hard not really knowing anyone though. I have spent a lot of time by myself, missing home. On Thursday, we had a 3K time trial for cross country. I beat one girl by like one second, but I still felt pretty slow. Friday we left for cross country camp in Bend/Sisters. We went on some dusty, but beautiful runs. Each day we ran at least 60 minutes. I can keep up when we do the long slow runs pretty well. It's been hard to be somewhere that I feel like a complete stranger, and not really very outgoing. I know it will all get better once there are more people to meet! Here are some pictures of my room and camp.
Smith rocks in Bend, OR. It was beautiful! Some of the team hiked, but after a hard run me and four other girls stayed back and talked.
From left: Hannah, Bethany, Mary, me. Bethany and Mary are sisters, and Hannah is a freshman. Bethany is the team captain.
My mom and I got creative with the bulletin board! We got a pad of cool paper, ribbon, and some cool thumb tacks, so now I have pictures of everyone I am missing so much up there!

I got my sheets at IKEA. It was a huge store! Lots of fun stuff.

In Newberg

My mom and I just made it to Newberg, OR where I will be going to George Fox University! It hasn't quite hit me yet that I don't live in Missoula anymore. Yesterday, we drove about 6 hours to Kennewick, WA and stayed in a Red Lion. We slept in this morning then had breakfast at the hotel, then drove four hours here to Newberg, with a little detour around Portland. We're going to go get some stuff for my dorm room, and I will move in tomorrow. It's about 90 degrees here and pretty humid...a little warmer than Missoula has been lately! I am really excited about this new adventure, and kinda nervous at the same time, mostly about cross country. But I know that this is God's will, and while I am excited and nervous, I am also at total peace. I know that as long as I trust in God and commit myself to Him every day, everything that happens to me is in His hand. Thanks everyone for praying for me! I'll try to keep this updated as best as I can!

Road Trip!

Well, here I am in Nevis, MN at my aunt and uncle's house. We dropped Erik off this morning at his hockey/golf camp, so now it's just me, Will, and my parents for the next 5 days. The trip here has been pretty good so far. We were supposed to leave Friday morning, but Thursday night, we all decided it would be a good idea to leave that night. We did leave Thursday and I couldn't sleep. We just stopped at a rest stop and slpet in the car. I had no blanket and the windows were open, so I was cold and uncomfortable. I made it through, praise God! The next night we stayed at a campground in a state park outside of Glendive, at the end of the Bad Lands. It was beautiful! I've never camped in a place quite like that. What made it even better was that there was only one other family camping where we were, so it was really quiet. It was amazing looking at all the layers in the rock and I was amazed at how wonderful God is. He destroyed the earth because of sin with a flood, which left this beautiful part of the earth for us to enjoy. Last night, we stayed at my grandpa's house in North Dakota. He had one of his voice students who is 16 sing "Summertime" for my mom as a birthday present. He also cooked us mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and corn on the cob. Last night as we were all talking, my grandpa felt the need to tell me that I had gained some weight since the last time he saw me...I'm not letting it get to me, but I thought it was kinda funny because he just has no tact! And he wouldn't drop it until we pulled out of the driveway! Plus, he thinks Erik is way too skinny...ha! Tonight, we are staying at my aunt and uncle's house in Nevis, MN and will be heading to the campground tomorrow. It's been lots of driving, but I have already finished the book Three by Ted Dekker. It's a great book! I'm looking forward to some more family time and camping. I won't have a computer available, so the next post may not be for about a week. Until then...Tschuss!

HALF MARATHON!

Well, I finished the half marathon in 1:59:15, and my goal was to make it in under 2 hours! My foot has been hurting pretty bad since Sunday, so I hope that isn't a very big deal. It was a really fun race, though! I was suppose to run it with Cindi Parsons, my cross country coach, but right before the start, she had to go to the bathroom, and I lost her. I ended up running it with Lauren and Lauren Morey...surprise surprise! My amazing family got up early and watched us run. It was nice to have the encouragement along the way, so thanks to them! It was a great day!

A Tribute to Piccolo

Here is the first draft...

A Tribute to Piccolo
By Monica Hartzell

A small black Shih Tzu with a mighty strong voice
Sits staring aimlessly into the dark cool night.
His owners have left him on his own,
With not much, only one eye for sight.

Seemingly indestructible, this dog has been.
One lost eye, a rare blood disease, and a little overweight.
And this just in, a malignant tumor on one back leg
Has caused him much hate.

He once was a playful, friendly fellow,
Who danced for a treat and chased his tail.
With a family like his, his life was desirable,
Except that his blatter sent him out with a wail.

Although he lives in jealousy
Of his fellow Shih Tzu’s who, in China are royal,
He enjoys his home
And his family who is loyal.

But if only he were one of them
With so much power and so much attention,
His plan to take over the world,
Would put the humans into recession.

From the viewpoint of an owner
He is a dog to behold.
So faithful all these years,
Fighting to survive in hot and cold.

We give tribute to our lazy little dog
Who loves to bark and loves to get treats.
He has lived a life of honor and courage
And has persevered through all the heat.

Piccolo will be greatly honored,
By all who have met him,
For they know that besides him,
No other humor could produce such a grin.

Summer

Well, I finally got the graduation pics, but I still don't have ones with Hannah Kochel in them, but I put the ones I have up anyways. So far this summer has been wonderful! And since only like three people probably look at my blog, I haven't been doing so good blogging consistantly, especially since those three people are like the only people I ever hang out with! I went on an amazing road trip with Kylie, Jesse, Asher, and Cora Barnes...if you want to know more about that see Kylie's blog. I've been running a lot because I'm doing a half marathon in two Sundays! Last Sunday, Lauren and I ran 12 miles (but you would already know that if you looked at Lauren's blog:) My grandparents are in town, so we have had some fun time with them at their hotel's swimming pool. Yesterday, I spent a lot of the day with Kylie, Aher, and Cora. They came to the pool, then I went over to their house while the kids napped. It was wonderful!

Oh yeah...I must blog about Picollo, our dog. After camping a couple of weekends ago in Oregon, Picollo wasn't feeling so good, so my mom took him to the vet (Lauren's father:). We found out that he had a massive tumor on his back left leg! Yesterday, we took him in to have it removed, and it had spread up his leg, indicating that it was malignant (sp?). So Picollo had cancer, and it could come back any time. Now my family has to decide how to handle the situation. Do we get it tested to see how severe it is? If it's not too bad, we could just have his leg amputated, but it would still probably come back. So, my thinking is that Picollo's days are numbered. It's kinda weird and sad thinking about life without Picollo. He's part of our family...although it is kinda funny how indestructable he seems to be :)

life

Well, I have pictures of graduation coming...sorry for the wait. In the meantime, it has been amazing having Lissa here visiting. This past weekend we camped at Flathead Lake and spent some time with the Cross family. It was really fun and relaxing! This morning, Kylie called me at 7:00 a.m., asking me and Lissa to go over to their house to be with Asher. She's having her baby today! I can't wait to meet him/her. Asher was so excited when he woke up and we told him. He thinks it's a boy and should be named "Bodatious" or "Trubador" after two famous bulls. I have pictures coming!

Only one week!

It is so weird to think that one week from tomorrow I will be graduating from high school. I never knew thirteen years could seem so short! Here's a little about my life the past couple of weeks. My senior recital went really well! I am now preparing to do part of it again for my family who is all coming to town for graduation. A couple of nights ago I hung out with Kylie and Asher, and it was so much fun! We got a tomatoe and basil pizza from the Bridge and had an amazing salad and fresh fruit. Asher got a bath and Kylie and I got to talk. When I was getting Asher out of the bath tub, he said to me, "Monz, I think you're great." It was so cute!!! I am really going to miss them. Today I'm not really doing much.. I need to start running though. I've been saying that for the past three weeks! Maybe sometime I'll actually start.

New Car!

This is my new car! It's a 2008 Ford Focus with 12,400 miles on it. It just needs a name...any suggestions (girl name)?