A Trip to the Past

I went to ISD (Illinois School for the Deaf) where I graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago. I truly had a blessed time seeing all of my teachers, especially a visit with one particular teacher that helped me a lot during my time there. I also had a chance to visit some friends who I graduated with and caught up with them. It was good to find out what they were up to.

Friday morning I showed up in the high school building and had lunch with the teachers. This was a time of them asking me questions and wanting to know what I was doing in my life. Saturday was the day of games. V-ball game and football game. After the games I went back to Penny's house and watched a movie and ate pizza. On sunday I went to church with Penny which is the same church that I attended when I went to high school down there. I saw more teachers and friends there. Then Sunday afternoon I went along with Penny to one of the teacher's baby shower. I had a good time there catching up with other people that I knew while attending high school.

Overall this trip was good. It made me realize several things. Even though ISD was considered my home when I was attending there it isn't my home anymore. I guess I thought I would recieve that "home" feeling once arriving but I found myself wanting to go home, here in Rockford. I also got a chance to truly thank some teachers for their help and setting an example for me. I had a chance to sit and talk with one of my teachers who is a Christian and encouraged me a lot while I was there. I know both my parents and I feel that Jamsie (the teacher) was one of the reason why I pulled through my last year there.

Here are some pictures!!

Enjoy












Jamsie, Shelia (Science teacher) and Me
Penny and Me -- Me, (school friends) Krista, Candi and Chris

Praying for Paul

I was able to talk to Paul online yesterday. He seems well and hopefully getting more sleep. He had mentioned that his previous couple of weeks at the tree house were actually not that bad. I don't know what that means compares to what normally happens but we are all thankful. =)
Paul had mentioned that they were actually told a date to be back in Germany. Which is very soon. So please pray that these dates are final and that he can soon get out of the place and safely.

Thanks for all of your prayers.

*Here is a recent picture of Paul. Not really sure about any details about the picture.

Praying for Paul

Prayers are needed for Paul's safety. Paul doesn't get nearly enough sleep as he should be getting. Even when talking to him I can tell. His mom said she believes he is sleep deprived. Which makes us nervous because Paul has to be able to protect himself out there. How do they expect him to do that when he is so tired? Just pray that God keeps Paul safe and that a higher authority sees this as a problem and provides more sleeping time for these guys.

Garden of the Month

First they called me.

Then, dad screamed my name and mom waved her arms around.

Dad called Grace screaming and laughing. Grace then screamed and announced to Kurt and his parents.

Then he called his dad to shout the news.

Both of these phone calls consited of, "AHHHHH! HE HE HE HO HE HE HA HA HO HO. I WON. I WON. HE HE HE HA HA HA HO HO HE HE HE!!"

Yes, after all these years, dad finally won Signal Hill (neighborhood) 's Garden of the Month. Signal Hill which is the ever so clever name of our neighborhood has these "garden of the month" recognitions. This is where the "chairmans" go around looking at the different garden's of the neighborhood and put signs out in the garden that is deemed most worthy. Year after year the cute neighbor down the street got the sign. Well.. watch "cute neighbor" the old neighbor gets his chance to shine. So after many years of working in the garden its finally paying off.

Signal Hill's "Garden of the Month" -- Mr Mark Garard's home on 522 Napoleon St.

=)

More Summer Pictures

At Grandma Garards













At Aunt Teri and Uncle Dan's in Florida

Florida Pictures.. Summer 2006

 

There She Goes!

Dad had given me a list of things he wanted me to do around the house. I was almost done when "it" happened. I was vacuuming the stairs and we have one of those massive vacuums that you have to haul step after step. I reached the top of our stairs and it was still plugged in at the bottom. I grabbed a fan and a broken lamp next to the vacuum as I turned around to walk down the stairs I stepped on the cord and it took a dive. I turned around just in time to get nailed in the head. It hit me right in the temple and the side of the face. I lost my balance with the two items in my hand but manage to use the wall to keep me up. After putting everything back where it was, the pain really started to kick in. Now my jaw is sore, my teeth hurts, my one side of the head is swollen and not to mention my whole head hurts. Oh well... at least I didn't fall down the stairs with the broken lamp. Then I would have quite the story to tell. So... what lesson did I learn? Put away the vacuum cleaner before moving to the next step in a days cleaning. I hope all of my readers can learn from my mistakes! =)

GO EAGLES!

This year at RVC they have created this new holiday rule, which I like a lot. If the school gets Monday off because of a weekend holiday then the next day, Tuesday gets off too. Simply because its not fair to the Monday students to be behind one day compared to the Tuesday students who would be ahead one day in class studies. This long weekend has been fun and relaxing. Although I have today off, I need to be studying for classes and reading my chapters. Which is a reason I shouldn't be blogging about it but doing it.
Well, I thought I would share with all of you how school is going so far. I'm taking Math 115, Child Psychology, Ceramics and Nutrition. They are all very interesting classes. I come home from Child Psych. telling my dad everything that he did wrong. Ha.. Dad doesn't care too much for it though. Neither do I. Its all "new agey" stuff of how we are suppose to let our kids be the adults of themselves and we are only there when they fall. I'm not saying its all bad just most of it. I sure hope my teacher doesn't read my blog. =) So overall God has blessed me with great teachers and fun classes. Just pray that this semester goes smoothly. After that I only have one semester left. Yay!!

*Eagles is RVC's mascot

Birthday Morning

Well... So I didn't get to run down the hall and jump on the bed because dad was already up but I did think about it. So like any normal person I just handed it to him and watched him open it. I think he liked it. I also got him a "sweet" card. With dad I always get a nice card. Not one that says, "You are like the moon and stars to me.. Without you I am nothing." Those cards are little bit weird. Mine was something like.. "even though I am growing up I am never too old to be your little girl." I think "daddies" love to hear those kinds of things. We are going to Mel for a birthday lunch today. I think he'll enjoy that. Anyways I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Inching his Way to 60

My dad hardly ever reads my blog so I know I can say this and get away with it. =) His birthday is this Sunday. He is turning......shhh (51)... So far nothing has been said at home, he probably even forgot himself. Ha. That happens when you get.... close to being old. I won't say old. So Sunday morning I plan to run down the hall screaming happy birthday and jump on the bed with his gift and card. My sister and I used to do that for my parent's birthday. I miss those memories.. I just have to focus not to land on him when I jump. That would hurt someone a lot. Especially someone of my age landing on someone of his age. He isn't much of birthday party kind of guy so we do little celebrations in the morning before we all start our day. So this coming Sunday if you think about it go and say Happy Birthday. Just please, whatever you do, don't do the birthday cheer. People at my church know exactly what I am talking about.

Mispelled Word

So... I've been told of some of my errors on my recent post but it was pretty big one. I used the word "advents" I mean to say events. Don't ask how I got those two mixed up.

Thanks

Praying for Paul

I talked to Paul about a week ago and expect a call from him any day now. I did get a letter and an email from him this week. In the card he had mention that he is doing some of the same stuff over and over that he stopped becoming effected by it. He is seeing things and doing things that one person can't even imagine what he must be going through mentally. Please pray for him. I know he is ready to come home. Pray for him every week as he works out in the tree house for his safety and ability to perform his tasks.
I'm going to be open about this, also pray for both Paul and I to seek God's wisdom concerning our relationship. We more than anything want to do God's will. We have been seeking wisdom and advice from our parents. I am suppose to share something with all of you readers of my blog but I'm at loss of how to put this exactly but dad wanted me to share this with everyone so that everyone is aware of Paul and I's relationship. I met Paul last year in early June. I started emailing him in November of the previous year. Simply because his parents had mention his lack of Christian friends so I thought I could drop a line. When talking through emails I kept it strict. I didn't know him and he didn't know me so I was careful. I often shared Pastor's sermons with him and my devotions and other weekly advents that linked with some sort of spiritual conviction. After meeting him well... things changed. I got to know Paul on a different friendship level and we started going out for coffee. He was only home for 3 weeks so only a better friendship was developed. Over time through emails we got to know each other better and knew that we were interested. I right away got my parents involved. I wanted their wisdom in all of this. In October of '05 Paul came home again for another couple of weeks and we took things a little bit furthur. Dad finally agreed for us to have our offical first date. Still in all of this my parents, friends, me and Paul were careful but it was at this time when dad gave us permission to be a "couple". Paul came home again in Jan and things continued to grow. Paul and I have continued to be careful considering the lack of time we have spent in actual presence but through letter writing, emailing and phone calls we have continued our "relationship" and have seen it grown. Recently.... Paul wrote a letter to dad of his "intentions". In this letter it included Paul's intentions of asking my dad for my hand in marriage when he came home this Christmas. He also talked about how he wanted to join the Coast Guard as a medic once leaving the Army. I'm sure you know what dad was thinking... "You want to take my baby girl to the coast away from me? Without getting to know me or me getting to know you?" Dad (and I) have prayed about this situation a lot. Plus dad has asked many trusted christian brothers for their advice. Dad finally has a letter ready to go in the mail as a response to Paul's letter. Its a long letter but positive and I can see that my dad is a Godly man who is doing his christian duty as a father in the response he gave Paul. It boiled down to getting to know Paul better, wanting Paul to be a strong Christian man, what he expected from Paul now until he came home and what he expected of Paul during his last year in the Army. Dad did say at the end of the letter.., "I don't plan on saying no, Paul. At least I don't have a reason. However it depends on what happens between now and until you come home."

So pray for Paul as he is in Iraq and prepares to come home and pray for Paul and I to seek and listen to both God and our parent's wisdom.

*Additional comments just email them to me.
icpinkbutaflies@aol.com

Thanks!!

Twice upon a Night

My day was going pretty good. I was one my way to the Foster's home and it was a beautiful day. I wasn't more than 15 min or less away from home. I was driving a long and this guy next to me was driving really close behind me but then he passed me. I quickly glanced at him as he passed me by. As I returned to look in back front I was about to hit a guy who had stop to let someone turn in front of him. I slammed on my breaks but it was too late. I hit him from behind but he let off his breaks so the impact wouldn't be so hard. I just lost it. I started shaking before I could cry. The guy was really nice though. He tried to calm me down and told me to sit and catch my breathe. A undercover cop car saw us and pulled over and came and talked to us. We pulled into a parking lot so we were not blocking anyone. We handled all business there and I got the ticket. But I thought about how if that guy who was driving really close behind me, if he would have still been behind me he would have slammed in the back of me. God was merciful to me. In the mean time dad came out and talked with me and was happy that everyone was ok. By this time it was time for me to head to class. So I drove to class. I was ever so carefull and took my time. I pulled into the parking lot and there was a car in front of me. She pulled into a spot and I stopped, let her pulled in and then I continued on my way. Well.. as I was pulling behind her to find my own stop she backed up pretty fast into my door. I just couldn't believe it. At any moment I thought I would wake up and laugh at this unbelievable dream. Or should I say I was hoping would be but of course I knew this was reality. I will say it wasn't my fault. What made this difficult was that the girl who ran into me had this major attitude. I was already an emotional wreck and I didn't need an attitude. I called dad again and he just couldn't believe it so he came back to my side. An RVC (campus police) police came and dealt with us and got seperate stories. No one got a ticket. Thank goodness. I went to class but I REFUSED to drive home. Mom and Dad came and got me. By that time my neck, head and back hurt. God did protect me during these trials. I do feel like he was testing me in many different areas. One of them being, do I have faith in Him first when these things happen. I will admit by the second time, I got angry but I had to stop it and ask the girl to forgive me. She was a bit surprise I said sorry. She was so mad at me and blamed me for the whole thing and I just let it go. Oh well its all over with and even though I am sore. I'm glad I'm just sore and not in the hospital. I had one crazy night. I need to learn to have faith first in situations like this.

A Non-stop Flight to Fun

After visiting Granma Garard and just being around her in her company I was home for 2 days. Since I did 2 classes separately this summer at Rock Valley, my summer was just starting. Melody Geiseman and I headed to Chicago on a Wednesday morning to do our little day trip before I had to leave the next day to Florida. We were on a mission to see King Tut’s Tomb and visit a store that my dad requested us to stop by to "check out". Both of these let us down but left us either laughing or find some other adventure. Once we got off the train we started walking down to the 900 block of Michigan Ave. Might I add that we were on the other end near 800. Once we arrived at the store.... we were disappointed to find a puny little store with not much to offer. By that time it was time to go see King Tut’s Tomb. Something I had been looking forward to all day. As the bus was pulling into the museum we saw, "King Tut’s Sold Out". Now what? We walked to the Shedd Aquarium but there was a long outdoor line. Then we saw it.... "Water Taxi". We hoped on the water Taxi and headed to Navy Pier and finished our afternoon there. We stayed in a nice room at the Holiday Inn Express. The next day I was off to Florida.


My Uncle Dan arrived to pick me up from the airport. I had my aunt and uncle to myself for most of my trip because their 3 boys were visiting their grandparents in South Carolina. Aunt Teri and I went running and did some exercising while I was there. We went to church on Sunday and I enjoyed it very much. On Monday we picked up the boys and drove to Sea World in Orlando. I had a blast there and was just blown away! I loved being with my 3 adorable cousins and spending time getting to know them a little bit better too. After a long day we headed home and I told stories until we found a place to eat dinner.


After this trip I headed home for yet another 2 days before I headed out to West Virginia. I arrived in WV without my luggage. My luggage decided to hang out in Chicago for one more day and take the next flight after me. My luggage was thankfully returned to me the following day in the mid afternoon. Mrs. Calhoun, Mercy and I went shopping Saturday afternoon and had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. On the way home Mercy and I played a never ending game of 20 questions but we had our share of laughs. Sunday morning was church which once again I was blessed with a good sermon and a restful afternoons. Pretty much everyday of the week Mercy and I went swimming at the country club and played games. Several times during the week Mrs. Calhoun and I stayed up really late talking or looking through baby books of her kids. I got the opportunity to see all of these cute, funny, pitiful and adorable pictures of Paul. Ha. We even watched baby home videos of all the kids. I enjoyed watching them so much. Might I add that I did get a chance to talk to Paul shortly this week. He is doing ok but please continue to pray for him. Prayer is needed for those boys and girls over there in Iraq. We ended my trip by having dinner at the country club with a jazz band on a terrace. We had a buffet style dinner with all kinds of food. I had a lot of fun there too. Mercy and I sat on this hill on the grounds of the country club and talked for a long time about what the future may bring. I hated to leave them but I know I will see them again soon.

*Thank you to all of you for letting me visit you and making my trips so much fun. I love you all.

*In a couple of days I will have some pictures of Mel and I's trip to Chicago and some pictures from West Virginia.

Sleepless Night

Its about 10:40 pm and I can't go to sleep for the life of me. Tomorrow Melody and I are driving into Chicago for a day of adventures and then staying over night. Then the next day I fly out to Florida to visit my Aunt and Uncle. I am waaaay too excited to sleep. Yes, folks I tried counting sheeps. Believe me it don't work. I am gone the rest of this week and most of next week and all of the following week after that. I'm visiting Paul's family in West Virginia next Friday for a week. Please pray that all flights go smoothly. If I get nervous I will just pull out the deaf card. Believe me.. If you start signing at someone they freak out. Especially if you were talking one minute and then the next you're deaf. Well, I'm going to go climb back into bed and try really hard to fall asleep. I'll write in a few weeks hopefully with some fun stories to tell.

:)

Praying for Paul

Just click the TV on or open the newspaper and you will see the results yourself. The middle east is in a mess. Fact is folks that Paul Calhoun and Jeff Rebelek (Gene's son) need our prayers. As well as all the soldiers serving our country.

I recieved a phone call from Paul today. It was nice to hear his voice and to know that so far he is doing pretty good for being in a war. Paul mentioned that if all goes as planned he will be coming home the first week of December and stays through for all the holidays. Continue to pray that these last several months go quickly and out of harm's way.

A Vacation With Granma

I arrived here in Shelbyville, Illnois on a Thursday early afternoon to have a week long visit with my grandmother. It is now Wednesday the following week and this visit has gone much too fast. I am enjoying every minute I have with her and hate to see it end. We've enjoyed movies and going out to lunch together. A couple of times we've gotten quite goofy. I will keep those moments between Granma and I. Moments to look back on when we need a good laugh. I will say that I know a granma Garard that is different than what others might know her as. She is quite the character. What did you expect? I got my personality from someone in the family. I have to say after weeks of schooling this summer its nice to have a break. What could possibly be better than spending it with my favorite person?
Every morning we wake up with devotions. We've been reading out of Philippians. After Pastor Bob read the whole book to us on a Wednesday night service at church I was quite convicted. So I wanted to share my conviction with Granma. We are learning a lot together as we read through it. We also have daily readings that we go through. So we each take turns reading our "lessons" for the day. I have to say that its so enjoyable to have this time with her. I just love the fact that I have grandmother who is a Christian and has a passion for Christ. Its so nice and is a blessing that God placed her in my life.
As Wednesday ends I am reminded that there are still four days left of my vacation. Which means four days of silly nights with my Grandmother.

Praying for Paul

Paul called me on Friday the 14th and I have some good news to pass along. His hand is doing much better and he is able to use it again. He was quite excited that he could see his knuckles again. In the mean time continue to pray for the healing of his hand and his safety.

Praying for the Military

I just wanted to remind everyone that prayer is needed when it comes to praying for the men and women in the Military. Just this past Friday I had a friend leave for Iraq. His name is Will. I also have two cousins in the service who could also use prayer and lets not forget Paul and his brother, Dan. I know family and friends reading this can think of at least one person that they know that are in some branch of the Military. I have been reminded by these people that I know, of the struggles that they face everyday including death. I pray for the people serving our country as well as our President for God to give them wisdom. Lets all take time to pray for the men and women in the Military and those who are leading our country.

Here is a picture of Will:

Flowers from Iraq

I knew something was coming through the mail from Paul but I didn't know what. I talked to Paul last week and he told me that something was coming my way around the 6th of July. Dad had left the house around 11:25am and saw the box arrive but (of course) I didn't hear the man knocking. A couple of hours later dad gets home and brings the box in. I open the box and a dozen gerber daisies (my favorite flowers) were sitting in a vase all wrapped up. Each individual flower was wrapped. As I unfolded all the flowers and cut them and put them in water I can't help but admit that I had tears in my eyes and a big smile on my face. Attached to the box was a card that he had written something in. He hoped that recieving the flowers would brighten my day. They most certainly did!