Recent Tragedy

Last Sunday I woke up to four missed calls and a text, all from my mom.  Naturally, I wondered which of my relatives was in the emergency room.  However, I was completely unprepared for what she said.  Tammy called this morning.  There was an accident.  Elijah didn't make it.

At 12:30 am, our dear friends' oldest son passed from this life into the arms of our Lord.  A recent high school graduate, Elijah was headed to boot camp in three weeks, scheduled to depart on his 18th birthday.  He was a leader in the church youth group, an excellent percussionist, and a gifted athlete.

There are so many things to say.

My broken heart is aching.  But this pales in comparison to the agony of my brothers...Elijah's five siblings...his parents...

This is not fair.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

The town's response to this event has been nothing short of miraculous.  What an incredible blessing to count this my home.

God's presence is so much more visible than ever before.  He has already worked wonders through this tragedy.

I wish I could describe the profound, grief-stricken, worshipful beauty of Elijah's memorial service, but I don't think it could be put into words.  Elijah's life meant so much to so many, and his faithful commitment to Christ has reached the entire community and far beyond.  Through his death and his parents' constant witness in the following days, hundreds - perhaps thousands - have heard the gospel.



Thanks be to God.

Elijah Todd Davis
September 2, 1995 - July 28, 2013

Meine Familie und die Schweiz

Well, the fam managed to make it back from Switzerland all in one piece.


It's quite nice there.


They stayed in a teeeeeeeny tiny town way high up in the Alps.


It was even pretty at night, where it stayed light until very late.


And my mom got to sit in a little pod car thing. Evidently there are only 90 of them in the world. Volkswagen-made, of course.


Pretty cool, eh?

Now I want to go on vacation.

Catching Up

I have to admit...I'm not feeling inspired in the writing department these days. Probably because most days are exactly the same: babysit, beach, practice, ice cream, sleep. Sometimes we throw a movie in the mix too. So...sorry. MLIA. Whatev.

That's not to say, however, that summer is being wasted away. No sir. (Or ma'am.) It's been a long time since I've had a more lazy summer, and I'm really enjoying it. I guess I can't be completely footloose and fancy free just because - ya know - I'm looking for a job and all that. (Have I ever mentioned that before? Yes? Mmm. How redundant. Again, sorry. Chalk it up to networking?)

I've discovered a new-found love for lying on the beach with friends, even though it requires wearing sunscreen (which I hate almost as much as I hate folding laundry).

I've rediscovered the glory of ultimate frisbee, and I've eaten way too much ice cream for my own good (to the point where I finally ordered sorbet instead. Uncharacteristic).

My family is currently is Switzerland, and I miss them a lot. (As in more-than-expected-a-lot.)

I've cried too much. Also uncharacteristic. (Uncharted territory stresses me out, apparently.)

And I've seen so much more to be grateful for. Transitions really make me want to hold tightly to the things that I've treasured in the past, but I really can't do that forever. Thus being grateful for new things is imperative.

In the meantime (while I figure everything out - ha!) I will try to eat more Pinkberry than ice cream, I will try to gain more freckles than sunburn, I will try to branch out from frisbee to whiffle ball, and I will try to practice more than two hours per day.

Brohan the Second

yay i was watching tv when my sister called me and said that i should write on her wall so thats what i'm doing. so im going to tell you a story. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. "it was a dark and stormy night, and three men were sitting in a car and one of them said, "Lets tell a story", the other one said "ok i got one" and this is how it went. well anyway thats pretty much it.



(He's a funny one, that one. Did you laugh? I did. Well...maybe the first few times around.)

Way cool 2.

Guess what! I have TWO brothers! Christopher is a pretty cool person too. These pictures are from awhile ago, but I have a video of him too so maybe I'll put that up later.

 

I think I'll get him to guest blog tomorrow.

Be excited.

Fotobooth Fun

Hello world!

I am writing today in order to explain a photo collage which apparently grows larger upon the commencement of one clicking somewhere on the surface of it. This collage came to be in existence because my sister, the notorious and infamous Jillian Griffin, who i'm sure is known for her blog posts throughout the interwebs, opened photobooth on her computer... Apparently the fun does not end after this outrageous photo taking program is running. We spent nearly an hour creating funny and inexplainable facial expressions as well as body gestures to entertain ourselves in the evening.

One would think that you would use effects to have the most fun, but that is not the case. Simply have an excellent time on good old normal mode and off to the races one goes. You see, I have found that there is not so much ingenuity or perplexity involved in the making and observing of photos that rely simply on the effect to make them funny, like having two faces and four arms. All you really need is to have the soft susurration of your imagination prompt you, within three seconds, to plaster onto your features an indelible moment of creativity that is now saved to less than one kilobyte of space on your hard drive. Congrats you've made a photo!

Well over the course of that one hour, I had a most excellent and bodacious adventure. *Bill and Ted fans insert laugh here* I hope that everyone who reads this blog tries out their own version of photobooth or crystaleye or whatever type of program you have so that they all can have as much fun as my sister and I did. I dare you to try it :)

K, Later all

(Jillian's brother, not v v v)

Way cool.

Johann (the Brohan) and I are cool people. You can tell by looking at our fun pictures.

 

Aren't we the greatest? Or at least Jonathan is. (That's his real name. I refer to him as Johann.)

I think he should guest blog sometime. Maybe today.