Praying for Paul

I know all of you have asked me how Paul is doing. The truth is I don't know much. I do know that he is doing some kind of duty where he is on one week and off the other week. Due to this new set up I hardly ever get to hear from him. I did miss his call last week. I was so disappointed but it was nice to know that he was doing ok and made the effort to call me. Please continue to pray for Paul's strength and safety as he continues to defend our freedom. Pray for all of the soldiers.

Adventures at the Metras

I entered the home of the Metras family as the parents were leaving their kids in the hands of Amanda Myers and Barb Garard. They were brave from the start. The fun had just begun...
We started the evening with random shouting and talking over each other. We went outside because Cody wanted to show us something and now that I think of it.... Did he ever show us? Well we had to go past the creepy dog to get in the house and I must say the dog is cute but creepy. We had tacos for dinner. Our table talk once again consisted of random shouting and talking over one another. Once we finished we decided that we needed to be outside enjoying this beautiful day that God has given us. We wandered around the yard but eventually came to the decision of going to the "lake" at a near by park. I say "lake" because it was more like a green pond with "sharks". After all of us arriving in different groups we started to walk around the pond. While being eaten alive by little bugs Amanda spoted a "shark" in the pond. For a good 15 minutes we stare at the pond seeing fins going up and down. I came to the conclusion it was a catfish. Amanda's conclusion was sharks. Cody's conclusion was turtles. The rest of the kids liked the shark idea. We continued our walk. After walking over some bridges we spoted a dead fish. Quite facinating. After explaining that touching the dead fish wasn't a good idea, Ethan reaches down and pokes it. Now we must wash our hands. We get back to the house and saw sun go down and it was beautiful. Before going inside for some (I thought wrong) quiet time we played a game of baseball. The night was such a blurr that I am trying to remember what we did after that. Oh yeah walk pass the creepy dog. Actually I made Ethan hold onto the dog so I could walk into the house. We had our BARQ'S (rootbeer) float and put National Treasure on for some down time. Then Amanda had a battle with the TV. She came to her own conclusion that the cable was lose and several times went to wiggle it. It helped but several times we were watching a blank screen and just listening to the movie. The movie finally ended. It was 11:15 pm. We play a game of "tell a story". It was a story about a fat boy that jumps of the bed and bounces into the attic to meet his grandma cooking stew and tells the story of the "magic" turtle neck. Its 11:45pm. The parents arrive home around 12:10 from their date which was a lot of fun according to them. I had fun tonight. I love watching those boys. If you ever want a fun time just call the Metras up and ask for the privilage to watch them. Although I must admit that I'm glad I got to bed when I did. Sleep was good.

Girls Day Out

I was so excited getting out of bed Friday morning the 19th knowing that I would soon get to see my little Mercy friend. I introduced Mercy Calhoun on another blog I had posted about the Calhoun Family. They moved to West Virginia back in February and my little shopping buddy was gone but God was gracious enough to allow them to come up to Rockford for a quick visit. I was thrilled when I received an email from Dr. Calhoun saying they would come up on May 19th. Right away I cleared my schedule on that day and set it aside for Mercy.
They pulled into the Holiday Inn around 9:45am and it was so nice to see Mercy come running into my arms. We said goodbye to Dr. and then headed off to Woodmans. We picked up some sandwich stuff and bread and headed to the Fosters. Mercy is also good friends with Nancy and Sarah Foster. They were previous babysitters of hers. We drove to a park near their home and had a picnic lunch. After a great lunch we headed for the one place that we both love. The mall. We shopped their several hours. Got our pictures done in a fun booth. I just love those booths. Mercy and I made it a tradition to go in one of those every time we hit the mall. Sadly the day ended with me dropping her off at her friend's home to have a sleep over. I thought the fun was over then but then on Sunday Dr. Calhoun called me to meet them at the mall. I meet them at (I think) "Paint N Fun". I don't remember the exact name of the craft store. Its a place where you paint ceramics. Mercy had painted me this shirt with all of kinds of fun colors and put the word "shopper" on there. I think I need to work on how I influence people. Ha. "The Shopper" wasn't what I had in mind. Eventually the fun afternoon came to an end. I wasn't too sad seeing them go because I will be flying out to West Virginia this August to visit them. I can hardly wait!

A Short Reunion

There I was dodging cars left and right flying solo to Chicago. My parents finally let me go alone!! For years I have wanted to go to Woodfield mall and meet up with friends. Most of my friends from the high school I graduated from live in that area. The drive there was easy as well as the drive back. The traffic was horrible but "Aaron Shust" and I sang our whole way there and back. I was meeting up with my friend Amy. It has been 2 years since we last saw each other! I arrived around 2pm at the Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time there also which by the way is an awesome resturant. My time with Amy at the resturant and in the mall was so much fun. My "deaf" side just jumped out of me. It was so cool to be able to sign and scare the workers in the stores. I've notice that people get nervous coming up to deaf people. They smile at you and I'm sure they are wondering if they should say something to us or just keep smiling. So I sign and "turn off" my voice... and then out of no where I speak. "Excuse me miss..." Hehe. Amy and I got the full experience of how pushy these workers in the stores can be. First at the resturant our waitress came with our meal. We said, "whoa" and then she walked away. I was like... ummm ok. She came back and asked what we ordered. She was really irritated with us at this moment. Apparently when we said "whoa" she thought we said "no". Looks like we are not the only one deaf here, huh? Then we counted 7 times people asked us if we wanted a bag for shopping. That was only in one store. As we were walking from store to store this lady pulled me to her booth and started putting all these things in my hair! She was pulling my hair up and sticking it in a bun and it looked like I was showered in diamonds. Besides pushy mall workers we had a blast tonight. I really do miss all of my deaf friends. I hope we can do it again some time soon Amy!!!!

Praying for Paul

This past Sunday the 7th of May I was blessed by receiving a phone call from Paul. We actually talked for an hour which is the longest that we have ever talked over the phone. Normally there is a time limit and limited phone minutes available but this time around there wasn't. Paul sounded pretty good. He shared with me some of things that he has been occupied with. There was even moments of sitting around and waiting for orders. From my understanding he said that he was doing a "watch" thing where they are out in the middle of no where "on watch" for a week and then they go back into town and are off for a week. Continue to pray that God gives him Grace to make it through these days. Even though Paul didn't share this story with me personally he shared it with his mother. After talking to Paul on Sunday I called his mom, Kathy Calhoun. We chatted and shared our conversations we had with Paul. She said that while Paul was waiting for orders, him and the other guys got bored waiting. So they made their way to a store near by and bought boxing gloves and had a "boxing match". I thought it was kind of funny how these guys will find anything to do make their time there go faster. It turns out that while Paul was involved in this he got a black eye. Anyways I thought it would be fun to share that little piece of information with you folks. Thanks for your many prayers. Paul even mentioned to me on the phone that he really appreciates all the prayers. Its so encouraging to hear of all the prayers that are being lifted up to God everyday for Paul and the other soldiers.
The prayers are needed.

The Definition of Friendship

1. A person whom one knows, likes and trusts
2. One who supports and sympathizes with

It wasn't until I became friends with Melody Geiseman when I finally realized what a "best friend" was. God brought Mel and I together as friends at a time when He knew we needed each other. During this time we went through a lot individually and together. One thing Mel never did and I know never will do is leave me behind. She has been with me every step of the way in prayer and in presence. When I left for school down in Jacksonville, Illinois she was the one friend that always wrote me letters. When I was in the hospital for 8 days under going tests she stayed all night one beside my bed in a chair that folded out into a bed. Just to give me comfort while I slept and because she knew I was scared. When I need a friend to pray with I know she is the first one there. If I ever need to cry and just vent she is always there ready to listen. If ever I am having a crazy hyper day and need someone to be crazy with me, I know I could call Melody up. Seriously, there is no limit when having a friend like Mel. If you want to lose weight and you tell Mel to help you, she will say, "Now Barb, should you really have that extra piece?" If you need accountablitity to read your Bible, Mel will make sure you get that. It's nice to know that Mel is just a phone call away when I need her. I want to thank Melody for her friendship. I know these past couple of years we have gone through a lot but our friendship has only grown stronger. God has truly blessed me with having her in my life. Now Mel, lets not go get lost in any forest reserves anymore, ok? I love you Melody!