Road Trip

There we were at 7 in the morning making our way down the highway. Lincoln here we come! Melody Geiseman and I took off to our day of fun in
Springfield, Illinois. Driving down there was no problem. After one potty stop we got there about 10:30 a.m. We were going to the Lincoln Library. I've been there one other time so I knew what kind of adventure we were into. Little did I know that when you are with Melody fun becomes crazy. The museum is amazing! It concluded with two theatre shows and two "walk throughs". Which was like walking through the life of Lincoln. One of the walks was Lincoln childhood's leading up to his adult years. The other one was entering the White House and it started at the election and ended with the day Lincoln was shot. As you leave this walk you enter the showing of Lincoln's casket. One of the most beautiful and heart moving things that I have experienced. Near the end of our tour I convinced Melody to go into the children's "play area" and play dress up! We both put on skirts and shawls and got our pictures done. Not to mention I got to put on a mask and look like Abe for day. What fun! After our three-hour tour through the museum, we took off down the street to the first capitol building in Springfield. Which happens to be a very cool building. We took a tour of the building and learned a bunch of interesting facts. After this tour we went across the street to the candy shop! There Melody bought a bunch of candy. After arriving back to the car we both decided that we were not done yet. So after driving for about 30 minutes looking for something to do; we ended up at Lincoln's tomb. This would make our third time touring this beautiful gravesite. We enjoy going to it every time. After this I decided that my knees and feet could take no more!! I was ready to have supper. We drove an hour to Normal, Illinois. What were we doing there!? We concluded our wonderful day of adventures of eating a nice dinner at Bob Evans. Although about 30 minutes away from home Melody had to pull over due to hail and hard rain. She couldn't see anything. I thought the event was kind of funny. This was one of Mel and I many road trips. Luckily our adventures didn't get out of hand this time.

The Calhoun Family

Back in the summer of 2004 a friend from church, Sarah Foster came and asked me if would I be interested in working with Faith. Faith and her family met Sarah through a previous church they both attended. After joining a new church she continued to work with Faith. During that summer of 2004 Sarah received an awesome opportunity to go to Northland Baptist Bible College. She needed someone to take her place with Faith. Faith is severely disabled. When one is working with her you must complete any normal morning routine that one would have. Including shower, getting dress, making the bed and then eventually eating lunch and having her daily meds. When Sarah first came to me, I will admit, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do the job. After meeting Faith and her family it was hard to say no. After the first of couple weeks of learning and getting to know Faith, I grew to love Faith and working with her. I even grew to love her family. They are an amazing family who have adopted four kids and raised them. They had one child of their own, Mercy. After a couple of months I really got to know Mrs. Calhoun. We opened up and shared stories, laughed and even cried. After working for them for almost a year I met their son, Paul, who was home on leave from Germany. Paul is in the Army. After a couple of "outings" of getting to know each other we started a new friendship. Just as that had started, Paul had to leave to go back to Germany. He came home one more time in October and then again this year in February. In October Paul and I started dating. Paul is currently in Kuwait. The Calhouns have another son who is in the Navy and is going to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Early on this year I received the sad news that the Calhoun family was moving to West Virginia. I was happy that Dr. Calhoun did receive a job. Sarah Foster and I were sad to see them go. We both have grown close to the family. We both have shared how working with Faith has changed us a lot. I would ask you to please keep this family in your prayers as their sons are aboard and for their new home in West Virginia.

The Real Secrets of Cheese and Rice

Welcome to the Secrets of Cheese and Rice!

You may say to yourself, "Wow.. This chick must really love cheese and rice!" The answer to that is WRONG! My deaf friends would know right away what the story behind cheese and rice is. I graduated from Illinois School for the Deaf. During my senior year my friends would often find me in a heated discussion about the Bible with my fellow classmates. On many occasions I would forget to sign. I would get so excited that my hands couldn't keep up with me. On one occasion I was talking about Jesus Christ (calmly) to one of my friends. This friend was hard of hearing like myself and could understand if I didn't sign. While I was talking to my friend others around me were watching. My other, completely deaf friend, came up to me and asked me what I was talking about. I explained that I was talking about a story in the Bible that dealt with Jesus Christ and him dying on the cross. She looked at me and started laughing. Apparently she was trying to read my lips while I was talking. She thought I was talking about cheese and rice. Now you may ask yourself. How would one get cheese and rice from Jesus Christ. Go and stand in front of the mirror and without using your voice, say cheese and rice. Pretty bizarre, huh?

Later that week I shared the funny moment that my friends and I had with my teacher, Mrs. Jamsie Hurt. I went to church with Jamsie and often we would meet to pray or she would encourage me through out day by quoting verses. Well, one day we actually were confronted by someone for openly discussing prayer and God in the classroom. In fact when we met to pray it had to be before or after school hours and not in the presence of anyone in case of offending someone. So one day I was having a really bad day. My teacher said, "Barb, keep you chin up. Remember cheese and rice." Of course no one in the class really understood but we knew. That was all that mattered.