God made it possible for my mom and dad to give me life. It started when he created Adam and Eve. My life story begins on June 29, 1989, the day that I was born. I was cleansed of the sins I was born with on August 13, 1989, the day I was baptized. The most important people in my life are my mom and dad, my sisters, grandparents, and the rest of my family. They’ve shown me by example how to be a good Christian. They’ve also been very supportive of me in whatever I’ve chosen to do. My mom made sure I had a Christian upbringing by taking me to church and Sunday School. My education continued with confirmation. Pastor Narum and Intern Roise, as well as our mentors, helped in my Christian upbringing. 

There is a lot of sin and brokenness in this world that we live in. Terrorists are killing innocent people and saying they are doing it in God‘s name. It makes me sad to see this happen and I feel bad for the people who have lost loved ones while they were trying to free a country of tyranny. Other things I see happening around me are kids making fun of each other, bullying, and just basically thinking it’s funny to make others feel bad. This makes me angry. We are all God's children and each of us is special in our own way. 

It isn’t too hard to see sin and brokenness happening all around you. Just turn on the T.V. or read a newspaper and you can observe sins happening all the time - abductions, killing, raping, lying, cheating, stealing, and deceiving. This makes me sad and scared to think that people don’t have moral values and that we have to be wary of people we meet because we don’t know what type of person they may be. 

When I was baptized I was cleansed of the sins I was born with. By believing in God and asking him to forgive my sins he will deliver me from my sins, death and darkness. As long as I believe in God and try to do right by others and asking to be forgiven for my sins, I believe I will have eternal life. 

Jesus entered into my life the day I was born and through his teachings I have become a Christian. Jesus’ death and resurrection assures me that I will have eternal life. Believing this has helped me with the loss of my Dad. Losing my Dad so suddenly and so tragically was the worst thing I‘ve had to go through. I was also scared and questioned what would become of him. He wasn’t one to attend church too often but he was a Christian and he was always helping others. My family turned to the Bible for answers. In the Bible it says that we are judged by what is in our hearts and not by what we want others to see on the outside. God knows what is in our hearts and that is how he’ll judge us. By believing this I know that my Dad is with God and that someday I will see him again. 

I believe that God wants me to be a good person and to treat everyone with compassion and respect. I believe God wants me to help those in need. Last summer when we painted and fixed up those houses in Sanish, I really enjoyed it and it made me feel good to do something for others who were in need. Our 4-H group painted the inside of the Laundromat because the owner was in poor health. He was so appreciative of our efforts it made all the work worthwhile. 

I live out my faith by treating others the way I want to be treated and to do what I can to help others. I will keep God in my life and continue to learn through his teachings. I will continue to ask him to forgive me when I sin and to help me become a better person so on judgment day when God looks into my heart, he’ll like what he sees. 

Jamie Dawn Grinolds
Fall, 2005

About a month before Jamie's accident she asked me if she could get her dad's initials tattooed on her hand. I think she was hinting that is what she wanted for Christmas. She never did get the tattoo but in honor of Jamie I had her initials (JDG in her handwriting) tattooed on my hand. Jamie was so proud of her tattoo so I also had Jamie's butterfly she had tattooed on her foot tattooed on my foot with the nicknames of the girls given to them by their dad and also Kim's name - these are all in Kim's handwriting. Mutt (Kristal), Bear (Kari), Bird (Jamie), Kim (Dad). Jamie's sisters and friends also had tattoos in Jamie's memory. 

Name:  Jamie Grinolds
Age:  16
Gender:  Female
Marital Status:  Long-term Relationship
Location:  Stanley, North Dakota, United States
Occupation:  School...



A Little About Me:
I'm like 5'4", I have blonde hair and blue eyes 
and I love to play sports AND I got a tattoo (foot):D!!



Favorite Things:
* basketball
* volleyball
* track...sometimes
* goin to the fair!!
* and just hangen out, watchen movies and 
listening to music..that kina stuff:)



Hobbies and Interests:
...playen sports, drving around, haven fun with my 
frends so pretty much jus being retarded, bein outside,
shoppen, talken on the phone and goin on msn...:)



Favorite Quote:
* Like, flippin everything Napolean and Kip say whad do ya think god
* DO IT FOR SIS--->Landon hehe

Jamie Dawn Grinolds was born in Stanley, North Dakota, on June 29th, 1989. I was born at the Stanley Community Hospital to Kim and Renee Grinolds. I then moved into the house we still live in today in Palermo. My first family picture on the Grinolds' side was taken when I was just four days old. All my aunts, uncles and cousins came home the day I was born. My oldest cousin was also born on June 29 so he wasn’t too happy to have me join the family as everyone forgot his birthday. 

When I was about a year old I fell off my rocking chair onto a wooden stool and my front teeth went through my bottom lip so my mom had to take me to the hospital where I got stitches. My dad had to take my sisters to the park because they had a jazzercise performance. This fall gave me my first scar. When I was about five my Grandma Johnson dropped a tin popcorn can on my head at Christmas because she was trying to get the lid off and didn’t know I was laying underneath her. I still have the scar on my forehead. 

Throughout most of my childhood I would walk up to random people and say, “Hi, my name is Jamie”, I still do that sometimes. When I was 9 and 10 I rode bike in the Prairie Rose Torch Run. One year my cousin Zach Hanchin came with me and he fell off his bike and ended up getting stitches, he always seemed to get hurt every time he came up to visit. When my Grandpa Grinolds first got horses I was a little scared to ride them so I would ride a barrel horse or the fence post instead. I still get teased about that one. Before I started school I went to Minot with either my dad or Grandma and Grandpa Grinolds quite a bit to go shopping or go to the horse sales. Dad told mom that I’d talk all the way to Minot and sing all the way home. In my Jr High years of school I was active in sports and some traveling teams with my friends from other towns. 

The year 2003 had its ups and downs. First, in June my sister, Kristal, had Braedon and they now live in Bismarck with her fianceé Luke Croegaert. Braedon’s our little pride and joy. Then, in September we lost the most important guy in our life, my dad, Kim Grinolds. He worked on the oil rigs in Colorado. My mom works at the extension office. They were married for 22 years. My other sister Kari is a senior this year and is always bubbly and hyper. 

My interests are playing basketball, volleyball, and running in track. I also like to go on MSN, talk on the phone, hang out with my friends, and go driving around on the weekends. I love to play with my nephew Braedon. I enjoy watching movies, I like every type of movies there is but especially comedies and scary movies. I also enjoy listening to music and swimming. 

Over the years I feel like I have achieved a lot. Making the honor roll every semester, my various 4-H accomplishments, making JV volleyball this year, getting the opportunity to be asked to play on a few basketball traveling teams, making varsity track last year and being almost undefeated in basketball my 7th grade year. But my greatest achievement would have to be coming to realize that everything happens for a reason after my dad’s death. It was hard to understand why it happened and I still don’t understand, but now I can think about him and smile and be happy because I know he’s doing the same thing. 

My goals are to do good in school and sports, graduate from high school and go to college. I’m not sure what I want to major in yet though. I also want to keep in touch with all my close friends I’ve made over the years.

Jamie Dawn Grinolds
9th Grade - 2004

Note from Mom:  As you can tell Jamie was pretty proud of her scars. It seems she was always on the floor while playing basketball. One of the first games of the season her freshman year not too long after the game started, she and another girl went after the ball and she ended up getting a pretty deep cut on her nose. I thought she just had a bloody nose so I didn't think much of it until the coach asked me to come to the locker room. Jamie was crying and I asked her if it hurt that bad or if she was crying because she couldn't play ball (it was because she couldn't play ball). We went to the emergency room and they decided to use dermabond on her cut. They put the dermabond on while she was lying down - needless to say it ran into her eye and glued her eye shut. It took longer to get her eye unstuck and cleaned up the best we could than it did to get her nose taken care of. She wore contacts so the right contact was ruined by the glue and with the cut on her nose she couldn't wear her glasses so she went with just one contact until her eye healed up. She was so mad, mainly because she wanted to get back to the school to play ball. We made it back with just a couple minutes to play in the game. She did get to go back in and managed to make a free-throw - not bad for having just one eye.

During the beginning of volleyball season in 2005 Jamie had another mishap. After practice one night she jumped onto the hood of JD's car. Jamie zigged while JD zagged and she ended up flying off the hood onto the pavement. She left quite a bit of skin on the pavement that day - her leg and the palm of her hand getting the worst of it. I can still see her walking through the door - ummm....mom... She was still able to play volleyball and that was the most important thing to her. She couldn't wait to go to school the next day to show Mr Schell her most recent injury. She wasn't too excited to show Coach Jess though. After a JV volleyball tourney a couple days later we stopped at Wal-Mart and Mr Schell happened to be there too - she went running after him with shoes part on and part off waving and calling his name - she had to show him how her injury faired during the tourney. She was pretty proud of all her bruises, even the blonde-moment ones.

Jamie was extremely close to her older sisters, a best friend to both Kristal and Kari. Kristal and Kari were like mother hens to Jamie, always watching out for her and taking care of her. They were very proud of their baby sister. That's why Jamie's accident basically right outside our front door was so hard for them. They always took care of Jamie and there was nothing they could do to prevent her accident.

Kari was Jamie's confidant. She was always talking her through her boyfriend and girlfriend problems. I can still hear her little speech to Jamie, "if they were truely your friend, they wouldn't make you feel bad."

Kristal carried on her role as mother hen after Jamie's accident. She would sit with Jamie at the funeral home for long periods of time, she had to be the one who closed the casket and she rode in the hearse to the cemetery with Jamie. She was even prepared to camp out at the cemetery so Jamie wouldn't be alone.

So much heartache to lose your dad and then just a little over two years later your baby sister. 

To say that Jamie was a "favorite" would be an understatement. That was Jamie's personality though - you couldn't help but love her. She was always kind and thoughtful of others and she never failed to have a smile and a "hi" for everyone. She never passed anyone by - she would go out of her way just to say hi. It was always - may I, please, thank you. She never took anything for granted and was always respectful, even if she didn't always agree. I don't think Jamie was ever spanked and it was because she just did what she was told - no backtalk ever. Jamie made a big impact on everyone and her absence is greatly felt. Jamie was our baby and she managed to wiggle her way into everyone's heart - young and old alike. To know Jamie was to love her. On December 23, 2005 a heart of gold stopped beating but Jamie will live forever in the hearts of those she loved and who loved her so deeply in return.

Jamie's friends were her life. We'd always tease her that we, her family, were her benchwarmers and her friends were her starters. We'd always let her know that we were there for her waiting to come off the bench anytime she needed us. She thought we were pretty weird but she knew we loved her.   
  

This is Jamie in her usual position, talking on the phone to one of her friends, knees to her chest, picking lint from her socks. If she wasn't picking lint she had a basketball and would toss it up and catch it on her feet. I used to get so mad when I'd find her little lint piles. She'd say, "but it's a habit." I'd do anything to find those little lint piles again and to be getting after her for being on the phone for too long.

Messages From Jamie

String Cheese, Cheese Sticks, Fettucine Alfredo, Pumpkin Pie, mmm...
Whenever Jamie was going to have a second helping she'd say "I'm going in for another load." She had a tendency to ask others, whether she knew them or not, "are you going to eat all that?" Milk and water were Jamie's choice of drink. She would go through a half gallon of milk a day and she was always drinking water. She also was so Napolean Dynamite. I had never seen the movie but after Jamie's accident we all sat down and watched it for Jamie. Allen Iverson was her favorite basketball player and I'm pretty sure she watched "Love & Basketball" at least 100 times.  

Jamie loved peeps. Whenever I see peeps I instantly think of how much Jamie loved them. Jamie's aunt Debbie would always have a stash so no matter what time of year it was Jamie could find peeps in her closet. Whenever Jamie would check out Debbie's stash and find the peeps her eyes would get big, her smile huge and all she had to do was look at Debbie and Debbie would say, "yes, honey, you can have the peeps."

Two of Jamie's favorite activities - playing basketball and putting Braedon down for his naps (which always meant a nap for her too). She said there was no better feeling than having Braedon fall asleep in her arms.

The North Dakota State Fair was the ultimate though. Jamie was in 4-H so her summer didn't really start until the State Fair. During the summer of 2005 Kari, Jamie and Randi stayed in Minot for the entire fair. Pretty brave of me to trust a 19 year old and two 16 year olds in an apartment on their own but Jamie was always pretty responsible and Kari took her job as big sister pretty seriously so I knew they'd be okay. I'm so glad I did as it was her last State Fair and she had a blast. The Zipper was their fav.

Jamie was a 4-H member for 10 years and was in her 11th year at the time of her accident. Jamie was involved in several activities as a 4-H member - Consumer Choices, 4-H Showcase, Pet Show and Communication Arts. Her favorite part of 4-H was the 4-H Basketball Tournament, meeting new friends from around the county and state and getting together with them at the various events and participating at the North Dakota State Fair.

After Kim was killed in a car accident the girls picked out a star that was their Dad's star. For Gladys' 80th birthday on November 16, 2005, I gave her the angel holding a star with the saying: "Perhaps they are not stars in the sky but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy." Jamie wanted that angel when she saw it so I bought one for her for Christmas, a present she was never able to open.

We had a family supper after the funeral and on my way home from that I stopped at the cemetery. It was a crisp, clear night and all the stars were shining brightly. One of the hardest things I've ever done was to leave Jamie at the cemetery, knowing I'd never see that smiling face and my precious baby girl again. I found a solar angel holding a star that lights up to put out at the cemetery. Jamie's star will shine brightly always. Jamie's headstone is a blue pearl that looks like stars twinkling in the sky. She was laid to rest at her daddy's feet so now they are together again.

The Jamie Star

Tonight I look up at the stars far away, 
and wonder just how far you are.
I wish you could tell me you are ok.
I hope you are happy on your star far away.
I love you, miss you, and long for you each day.
But I know you are happy on your star far away.
I will love you forever.





It matters not how long a star shines.
What is remembered is the brightness of the light.

After Jamie's dad died I found a penny while cleaning through his things.  I told Jamie about the story of pennies from heaven. She wanted to find a penny so bad. The next day she came across a nickel so we now had our coins from heaven. We never left a coin on the ground and had a glass container that we put our coins from heaven in.

With the help of my mom and dad I was able to make a memorial garden off my deck. We planted three apple trees in memory of Jamie and Kim. The trees were planted with a lock of Jamie's hair and a penny from our "coins from heaven" jar. The garden is beautiful at night because the majority of the items light up. I can sit on my deck in front of the fire and reflect on the wonderful memories I will carry for the rest of my life. For Jamie's 18th birthday her Grandpa and Grandma Johnson bought the cement basketball for the garden. A fitting tribute to Jamie. Hopefully she's playing on heaven's team. 

I also have an "angel" garden in front of the house. You can never have too many angels. For some reason this year the johnny jump ups have invaded my rock garden. Earlier this summer my rocks were completely full of them. As of November 1 they are still growing strong. The stange thing is I haven't grown this flower for years, well before I even put the rock down. I like to think of them as flowers being sent from heaven. The garden arch was made by Jamie as a 4-H project in 2005. Something I will always cherish. 

For the school I wanted a memorial that had something to do with sports but I also wanted it to have something to do with character counts as Jamie was a big advocate of treating everyone equally and with respect. Sometimes so much emphasis is put on sports and winning we tend to forget the real meaning of life and what is really important. In years to come nobody is going to remember how many points you made or that you were the top player in the school, they will remember how you made them feel though.



I love this picture of the girls because each girl represents a different town that not only came together to form a team, but also a friendship that no amount of competition could take away from them.

     



The 30th Annual Mountrail County 4-H Basketball Tournament is being dedicated to the Memory of Jamie Dawn Grinolds, who was killed in a car accident on December 23, 2005. Jamie was in her 11th year as a member of the Nimble Fingers 4-H Club and had participated in the last ten 4-H basketball tournaments - one of her favorite 4-H activites.

Jamie was very active as a 4-H member, involved in numerous 4-H events on the county and state levels, including Achievement Days, State Fair, Pet Show, Showcase, Communication Arts and Consumer Choices. She also participated in several community service projects every year. Jamie received numerous 4-H awards throughout her career, receiving the Outstanding Jr. 4-H'er award in 2000. Jamie loved meeting new people and getting together with them at the various county and state 4-H events.

Since Jamie's accident four of her cousins have gotten married and two have given birth. Such happy occasions yet so bittersweet. Each is a reminder of what Jamie will never experience. One thing I've learned about life is that it does go on - with or without you. I want to thank Jamie's cousins for remembering Jamie during their special occasions.

After Jamie's funeral Monica wanted to pick out flowers to have dried so she could have them at her wedding in memory of Jamie. Something I would have never thought of. Kristal picked out some yellow roses and Kari picked out some red roses to have dried. 

Sarah used the yellow flowers at her wedding - she placed the flowers in the front of the church, along with a picture of Jamie and a bouquet of flowers in memory of all those that have passed on and not able to share their special day. Sarah and Jamie had a special bond and Sarah said she wanted Jamie at her wedding so included her the best way that she could. Sarah and Jamie were five years apart but they seemed closer than that. Sarah was the only one beside her sisters who could carry Jamie after she learned to walk. Sarah was always taking Jamie places too - rodeos, state fair, football games and whenever Sarah could she made sure she went to Jamie's games.