The Painful Dance

Tomorrow is Sunday and at the Calhoun's church, Paul, Mercy and I are doing special music. Paul will be playing his guitar and Mercy will be singing "O Holy Night". I'll be there along with them doing sign language. We practiced a few times before today but today for some reason I was in one of my odd moods. Actually so far, everday this week I've been in these odd moods. For those of you who know me well, you know what I'm talking about. The mood of being weird and annoying. Well..... after practicing a few times I decided that I should do my "interpetive dance sign" version of the song. So jokingly when it came to the words "fall on your knees" I fell down and waved my arms around. I swung my head with full force and smashed my nose into the coffee table. WHACK!!! Pain shot through my nose into my eyes and head. It hurt so bad. I immediantly started to cry. I'm now suffering the pain. I have a bruise on my nose and a small bruise in the eye area. That is the last time I trying to be dramatic with my signing.

Pictures

Paul and I went and bought cowboy hats to fit
in with locals. One problem.. the locals don't
even wear them.
















Engaged!!!
















Take a picture!!

Mall Walking Moms

The other day Paul, mom and I went to the mall and saw something rather unusual that I just had to share it with all of my readers here. We were sitting on a bench when we heard loud music come from somewhere. We looked around and saw a line of moms with baby stollers (with babies) marching down the hall. Mom # 1 had a boom box. Each stoller had a mom or granma with shorts and t-shirts and a baby. The babies looked so funny. They were just cruising a long for the ride. Each had a snack, drink, or toy of some kind. When we got to the other end of the mall the moms were running up the ramps with the stollers and then they stopped. They parked the babies and started flying the arms and legs while single "Jingle Bells". Then they grabbed the babies again and off they went. I asked Paul if I could join them but I recieved the look of, "no way". I got a kick out of it. What a fun yet unusual way to stay fit.

By the way each mom had a t-shirt with a slogan of some kind that explained who they were. For example, "Walking Stollers". I actually can't remember what it said but it was an actual "club" of some kind.

Engaged!

Ok... I told everyone I would post about this asap! Yesterday (as most of you know) was my 21st birthday. We started the morning with toast and orange juice and shopping with mom. Dad went to the church to work in his office. Mom, Paul and I went to Walmart and the mall. For lunch we went and got dad and to Quiznos. I got to choose because I was the "birthday girl". I opened my gifts up there and mom and Paul came together and got a sweater and vest outfit. Way cute. Paul and I raked the leaves for my parents in their yard... I'm sorry, Paul raked and Barb held the bag. For dinner (here it comes) Paul and I went to a place called, "Pastimes". Afterwards we walked down to the park which had christmas lights lit up on every tree. We sat on a bench and talked for a few minutes. Then it happened..... Paul got on one knee. I did not laugh, scream or cry. I smiled and said yes. Here comes the funny part of our "engagment story". We sat on the bench again talking about what had just happened and the bench bent backwards on us. Paul fell backwards with the bench while I stood up on time. So there you have it.. we committed our first crime together. Vandalism to public property.

Today Paul and I are getting the Christmas tree and getting that up. Tonight some kids are coming from my dad's church. I am teaching a girl, Kendi, to sign "Silent Night, Holy Night". I know tomorrow my family and Paul are having Christmas together and watching a Christmas Story.

Well... I'm in engaged.. now what? Keep smiling. Thanks for the prayers, which I know many of you have been doing.

Party at the Cooks

Last night, my entire church was split up into 3 groups to attend different Christmas parties. I went to the Cook's home. I'm laughing now just thinking about it. Its not that anything too funny happened, its just Mrs. Ascher, Heidi Scott and I got the giggles. Yes.. I'm naming names in this blog.

I started my evening by driving to the Scotts' home and getting a ride with them. Barb Garard and driving to the Cook's in the dark is not a good combination. As we arrived not only us but everyone were greeted by two very excited dogs. We started our evening eating tons of great food. After eating we played a game called Four on a Couch. Which was truly funny. I played this game during my youth group days and I can remember this game getting violent for some reason but last night it was all calm. Just for the record, the ladies won! We sang Christmas songs and opened our while elephant gifts. (laughing) I have to tell you some of the gift ideas. First, someone brought a hard drive from some machine, it took us a while to figure it out. A couple more gifts were a little nut cracker that had a string on it and when you pulled on it one leg and both of the arms went up. Which was the highlight of the evening!! I just laughed and laughed. You had to see the thing with your own eyes to understand. After gifts Mr. Cook read to us some scripture. We read from James. The same passage that Jeremy Scott will be preaching out of this Sunday. After all our little events we sat around talking to one another enjoy each others compant and fellowship.

As we drove home several things came to mind. I was thinking about the wonderful time of all of us being together and enjoy each other but also... I was pondering upon the fact that I've never realized that Mr. Ascher was that funny.

I hope all of you at my church had a great time at your parties. I know I did. I thank the Cooks for opening their homes and for the people who have organized it.

Praying for Paul

I know people from my church have been asking me several questions about Paul and his return to the states. So I thought I could post about it and give you all a little update. As of right now folks, he is in the states! He is with his family. I have to admit that none of this feels real yet. It won't until I actually see him.

To my friends and church family in Rockford, Paul will not be able to come. Traveling was getting complicated and it just made it easier to meet up in Oklahoma with my parents. I fly out next Wednesday. If anything comes up... I'll be sure to blog about it.. so keep you eyes open! ; )

Pastor Goula

A couple of weeks ago my family and I were invited to the Hayes' home for dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were there as well. We were enjoying a wonderful evening of great food and fellowship. The topic of Lousiana and Mississippi came up. As discussion of how things were growing in those hurricane afflicted areas were being enchanged, I chuckled at a little memory of my own. At this point, I just had to share it.

Most of you know about my church (Morning Star Baptist) and how we were heavily involved with sending members down to help rebuild some homes and help encourage people in that area after they were hit by the hurricane. One place that they went often was Pascagoula (sp?), Miss. After arriving down there and making several trips back and forth, members were standing up in church giving testimonies of how God has changed them and what they saw while down there. For a long time when they were saying, "We went to Pascagoula" or "We stopped at Pascagoula on the way" It never hit my little deaf ears that it was a city that they were talking about. For almost a year I thought they were talking about a pastor named Pastor Goula. It wasn't until about a month ago when my pastor shared a slide presentation with the church that had the name up on the screen under a picture of the city, "Pascagoula, Miss." It all made sense!!!! Wow...

So after sharing this story with everyone at the table, they were laughing really hard and convinced me that I needed to share this story with others.

Praying for Paul

Great News!!!! I finally heard from Paul yesterday through a phone call. He is on his way home. In the next couple of days he flies to Kuwait and then to Germany. By early December he should he heading home to the states. Please continue to pray for him. God has been good keeping Paul safe this past year. Praise God for his (Paul's) safety that has been provided through Him. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers concerning Paul this past year while he was in Iraq. For all of you in Rockford, Paul plans on coming to Rockford and visiting. I know he looks forward to seeing all of you at church.

Thank you everyone!!

Praying for Paul

Even though Paul's time left in Iraq is short things have only gotten rougher. He emailed me and said he and others were hit by two road side bombs. Four of his friends were hurt but are going to be ok. Please take time to pray for Paul and his friends. Also praise God for keeping Paul safe from any injuries.

Praying for Paul

Paul called me this past week on Tuesday. We had a great conversation with new ideas, plans and goals we had in life. Paul is doing pretty good and is getting ready to head back to Germany. The "date" is getting really close so please continue to pray for safety.
I know I had mentioned to you all before of Paul's plan to join the Coast Guard. He feels that God is laying another path in his life. He hasn't made any final decisions but he is considering them. He talked about possibly going to college and majoring in History/Literature. I happen to like this idea better but he knows that I'm supportive no matter what. So you can also pray for Paul as he seeks God's wisdom about these plans.
Also keep in your prayers Paul's brother Dan who is in the Navy. I know I have talked about him in the past as well. He is still waiting for his orders. For a while he thought he was going to get them but then they didn't give him any and he continues to wait. Which can be frustrating. Especially if you've been waiting as long as he has.
Thanks for all your prayers while Paul was in Iraq. Also thankyou to the ladies in the church who always asked about him and always reminded me that they were praying for him.

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.