Tuesday was a special day.  I think all of us fasted for Ellen at least part of the day.  On fast Sundays it seems hard to fast past 3pm, but Tuesday we had planned on fasting until 6pm.  It wasn't hard at all.  It was probably one of my easiest fasts.  Grandpa and Grandma Kerns went to the temple and then stopped by our house to give Ellen a blessing and break our fasts together.  Before Grandpa gave Ellen the blessing, dad talked about faith and blessings.  He said that miracles used to happen a lot, but as people lost faith in them they started going away.  He talked about the importance of the faith of everyone in the room.  Grandpa told everyone that he had been praying to know if it was the Lord's will that he give Ellen a blessing of healing.  He went up to the mountain to think and pray.  As he was pondering and praying, he didn't receive an answer to his prayer, so he prayed and pondered some more.  It wasn't until he was walking home that the thought came, "I've already told you that I would honor any blessing you put on someone's head."  Grandpa came to give a blessing, but we didn't know exactly what the Spirit was going to have him say.  It wasn't a blessing from Grandpa.  It was a blessing from the Lord and he would say the things that the Spirit told him to say.  The blessing was beautiful.  It said that Heavenly Father was pleased with the way Ellen had handled this trial.  It said that because of her positive attitude and faith her headaches would dissipate quickly, that she would walk and run.  She would be a light to those around her.  When the blessing ended there weren't any dry eyes in the room. …  We sat in the living room and talked for a few minutes, and then went and ate dinner. … After we had all eaten, we sat around the table talking for a good bit. …  Then dad and grandpa went outside to look at the orchard and Ellen's chariot.  The rest of us stayed inside but moved our conversations into the living room.  Ellen said that as she walked from the table to the living room she noticed that she walked a lot faster than last time.  She started walking around the kitchen and living room and Calista noticed the difference in her walk.  I was too busy talking to people to notice, so they decided to go outside.  Dad was in the orchard with grandpa when he heard his name called.  He looked up and saw Ellen and Calista walking around the truck.  Ellen was walking normally.  She came over and gave him a big hug.  He asked if I had seen and she said she didn't think so, so they walked back to the house.  He opened the dining room door and told me to come look outside.  I went outside and Ellen was walking!  I wanted to take a video, but the patio was a mess, so she had us go into the front yard for the video.  She walked back and forth on the sidewalk. I asked her if she still needed her earplugs, and she decided to take them out.  She hasn't put them back in since then.  I looked at the video later in the day, and it was at 7:03pm.  That was just about an hour after her blessing.  That night she packed herself for Trek, and we could hear her and Calista talking and laughing in her room.  It was so fun!

Wednesday morning came and she got up and ready without any help.  She was so excited, and nervous, to walk into the Stake Center and show everyone that she could walk. …  By the time we arrived there were a lot of people there.  Our ward supplied half of the mas and pas for Trek.  Tara Bendixsen saw Ellen from behind and didn't recognize her.  Dad stood by President Christiansen and asked him if he had seen Ellen.  He turned around, looking for a girl in a wheelchair.  Dad had to point Ellen out to him.

I didn't go to Trek.  I got to stay home and watch Seth, Heidi and Ruby.  Dad's chariot wasn't going to fit on anyone's trailer, so we got to drive it up to Ladd Canyon.  I knew the buses were going to make a pit stop at the rest areas just outside of La Grande, so we met everyone there.  Calista, Ellen and Sarah weren't hungry when they left the house at 6:30am, so I picked up some McDonald sandwiches and brought them to the rest area with us.  Then we went looking for them.  Seth found Ellen first.  She picked him up, twirled around with him in her arms, and walked to me!  Then she picked Ruby up and carried her around!  She was walking 100% normal now.  There was no hesitation or choppiness in her gait, and she was walking fast.  She grabbed me by the arm and said, "Come walk with me mom!"  I told her "Ok!" and then took tiny, slow steps.  She was not impressed.  She said, "No, mom.  We are going to walk fast!"  I told her that I wanted her to see how slow she used to walk, but she thought she already knew.

We found Calista, Ellen and Sarah and gave them their breakfast.  Then we walked around and talked to people.  President Sharon found me and was super impressed with Ellen's miracle.  Aunt Sarah was so surprised.  We had told them the night before, but to see her walking around and interacting with everyone was a miracle.  The kids all got back on the buses and continued on their drive up Ladd Canyon.  When she got off the bus, Ellen headed to where dad was assembling the chariot.  She quickly found that walking uphill was exhausting.  She hadn't gone far and was ready to sit down.

The chariot was amazing.  It looked like it belonged on the handcart wheels.  Aaron and Adam made the frame of the chariot out of 1.5" box tubing.  They made it so it could attach to some bike tires, or it could sit on the handcart axle.  We went with the handcart axle because we didn't know if we would be following wagon wheel ruts.  If we had bike tires they wouldn't be wide enough to follow the ruts, and the bigger cart wheels would be easier to pull.  The seat of the chariot was actually a seat from Carter Davis' truck.  It could be reclined and you could scoot it forward or backwards to help with the cart's center of gravity, making it easier to pull.  We watched (and Heidi, Ruby and Seth cheered) as everyone pulled out on the beginning of their journey.  Ellen rode all the way to their camp Wednesday.  The seat she was on was soft, but she got beat up by the big rocks on the road.  At one point the road was getting bad, so dad gave Ellen a piggyback ride while someone else pulled her chariot.  Dad had to put her down and she got back in the chariot.  By the time she got to camp, her head was hurting pretty good and so dad had her sleep in his tent.  When he came back to check on her, she was laying outside of his tent because it got too hot inside.  She rested for a bit, but then felt good enough to go walking around camp.  The second day (8 miles) was a harder day, as far as rough travel, but Ellen's head did better than the first day (5 miles).  The third day (9 miles) was even worse, but Ellen again did better.  After a 15-30 minute rest she was back to normal.

She loved her family.  One of her worries for Trek was that her family would think of her as a burden and regret her coming.  They were so helpful.  Her pa made sure that someone was always helping dad pull the cart, or at least walking up with Ellen so she could talk to someone.  Sometimes they pulled the cart and dad just walked.  John Putnum, Wyatt Perkins, Kierra Sharp, Harmony Blake and Sarah were some of the kids in her family.  One evening in camp, Ellen walked across the field to visit Calista's family.  John came and found her, telling her they were ready to have their family devotional.  As she got up, her legs were tired, and John offered to give her a piggyback ride.  She gratefully accepted.  He said he practically had a degree in giving piggyback rides.  Ellen said she practically had a degree in getting piggyback rides.  As they walked across the field, he jokingly said, "Of course you had to choose to visit someone clear across the field."

The fourth day (4 miles) Ellen was determined to try and push her cart some.  Dad and Ellen figure she got out and pushed about three times.  President Sharon told her that he was confident she could walk into Catherine Creek.  As they got close, she got out and started pushing.  She made it a good bit, but needed to get back into the cart.  As they got close, they stopped the cart and she walked into camp, pulling her cart!  I was told they were going to walk into camp at 1:30pm, so we planned to get there a little early so we could see them come into camp.  Well they got ahead of schedule and were already there when we arrived 15 minutes early.  She was exhausted when I saw her. ...

Sarah and Ellen are sitting on the couch right now singing harmony.  It is so fun to hear her sing again, and they sound really good together.  They've already sung the "Star Spangled Banner", and are now singing "You Are My Sunshine".

Church today was fun.  She walked into church like a champ.  She even crossed the parking lot in front of a car.  That has been really scary for her because it takes her 2-3 times as long as everyone else. …  Then she walked right into the chapel and sat next to Lilly Strong.  She was so happy for Ellen.

Today everyone bore their testimonies on Trek.  She was torn between talking about her miracle and Trek, but she is supposed to speak next Sunday, so she decided to bear her testimony on Trek this week and will do her miracle next week.  Dad gave a little testimony on her miracle, so people know a little bit about how things happened, and everyone cried.  Everyone in our ward has been praying for Ellen for months, and they know how much of a miracle this is.

Ellen is sitting on Sarah, showing her affection right now!  It is so good to see!  I'm not sure Sarah was appreciating it as much!

President Blake said he went to the testimony meetings in Boardman and Desert View Wards.  Ellen's miracle was mentioned in both of them.  His daughter, Harmony, who was in Ellen's family, bore her testimony.  He can't remember ever hearing her bear her testimony.  But she mentioned Ellen's miracle and how much Trek meant to her.  Ellen is being a light to others.

Ellen is playing the guitar now as she and dad sing "Sunnyside of Life".  She hasn't put ear plugs in, and she said her headaches are gone.  When she stands up fast, sometimes her head will do something weird real quick, but she is loving life! ...

Ellen started two summer school classes this week.  They are both English classes.  She didn't get any English credits this year, and you have to have 4 years of English to graduate.  The first day of classes was a tough day, but the second day she did all she needed to do.  She was so tired afterwards, and I was wondering if she was going to be able to do two classes.  Looking at her now, I think she will be able to do them easily.  She is looking forward to going back to school in the fall now. ...

We are loving this miracle.