Impromptu Weekend

I'm sure my mom inherited it from my grandparents. I learned it from them. That is, spur-of-the-moment, impromptu, shoot from the hip kinds of trips. You know, the kind where you wake up and decide, "I think I need a little vacation today... where could I drive?" It is actually more fun--it feels like cheating or taking a risk, or something, only it is completely honest.

I remember one day when I woke up and told Craig, "Our 15th wedding anniversary is in 2 days, let's renew our vows with a ceremony." I called my mom, and within 5 hours, she was on an airplane with my wedding dress. (Finding a bakery that could get us a wedding cake in 24 hours was a little tough.)

Just last summer I called my mom and told her I had found a car that I wanted to buy--in Florida--and what would she think about a quick girls' trip? The next day we flew to West Palm Beach, and took 3 days to drive home.

Well, last Friday about 1:35, we had a similar kind of phone call. My mom called and asked if I wanted to go with her to a wedding of a friend of our family. You see, I was in Samantha's mom's wedding, Samantha and her brother, Jimmy, were in my wedding, and it just seemed right that I would now attend her wedding. After we talked about the details, (mainly, I can't afford a trip like this right now since General Conference is next week), (mom's reply, I'll take care of it), (argue back and forth), mom won, and after a scheduled optometrist appointment at 3:00, we were all in the car headed for the airport at 5:00.

I flew to St. Louis, and then together, mom and I drove the 6 hours to Cincinnati for the wedding. It was a beautiful drive, with some of the fall foliage making its apprearance. We drove and talked, and did all things mother/daughter.




This is Samantha and Jimmy in my wedding

This is Samantha and Jimmy now.








Mom and I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30 and drove to Indianapolis for Sunday School. After Bro. Mooney preached morning worship, we headed to the airport just in time to catch the afternoon flight back to Dallas. Craig picked me up and we were all able to make it to our church Sunday night.

It was a wonderful little trip, and I am so glad we got to do it together. I feel so blessed to be a part of a family that values time together. I only hope I can transfer that love for each other, and love of adventure to the next generation.

In Jesus Name!

There is nothing in the world more precious
than being present at a birth--except for a newbirth!

Last Sunday we saw 2 of our Deaf girls
baptized in Jesus Name.

Last night we preached in Hurst, TX, and prayed with Jennie as she received the Holy Ghost, and then baptized. God is certainly adding to the church daily such as should be saved! I feel so blessed to be a part of the Body!

Impromptu Lunch Party

While shopping at Kroger a few weeks back, I saw a Deaf couple signing to each other while shopping. After struggling within myself for a few minutes, I decied to take a bold step and introduce myself as an ITP student. I was immediaely rewarded with their obvious excitement. They introduced themselves as Chuck and Cheri Vaughan. This enthusiasm resulted in a 25-minute conversation in the milk aisle. They asked me about what church I attend, and I invited them to join us.

Cheri is very active on the computer, and we kept in contact via email. yesterday Chuck and Cheri came to church, and I did my best to interpret the Sunday School lesson for them. Amanda interpreted for Cheri personally because she has Usher Syndrome which is kind of like an extreme case of nearsigntedness with tunnel vision. While church was going on, I started to dream up some dinner plans, and before you know it, I was planning a small get-together in my mind. When church was finished, I invited Chuck and Cheri to our house for lunch. I also invited Dawn and Doyle and their children. Chandana and Rachael, two other Deaf teenagers were standing nearby, and I invited them to come also. We would certainly want some interpreters, so obviously we had to invite Amanda, Natalie, and Rochelle. Before I knew what was happening, I had invited 18 people to my house, and had absolutely no food prepared!

Amanda and Dawn joined me in a quick trip to Albersons where we started throwing things into the buggy as though we were on some TV game show. Guided by the sale paper in my hand, we raced through that store in record time! When we got home, we tossed the bags of corn on the cob in the backyard with a large bowl and a group of teens, and they took care of that messy job. I put Jason right on chicken duty, and he knew what to do with the BBQ sauce. We whipped up a humongous bowl of macaroni salad, and then had a watermelon cutting contest! (I concede, Jason won). (choleric) We dumped a few cans of baked beans in a bowl, warmed them up, and whala! Lunch was served! (Can you believe we had Sunday lunch on PAPER PLATES!!!)

I really enjoyed getting to know Chuck and Cheri better. They are absolutely the SWEETEST people!! Cheri is BRILLIANT!!! Chuck is not so good with directions (he will fit right in around here) so I gave directions to Cheri. They got to our house before we did and they even went to their home first! One of the first things Cheri asked me when she came in was "Is this a Choice Home?" She guessed right (I didn't even know until I asked Craig.) We found out that they prefer to eat organic food. Yep, Amanda, they will fit right in with this gang! (We need to work on Doyle a little bit.)

The camera was completely forgotten in all of the rush and excitement, so I don't have any photos to show, but everyone agreed that this was only the first of many more to come.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, and I believe God was here. Thank you Lord, for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful Body of Christ!

Oh, as a bonus, it dawned on me this morning that I could use this experience as an Outside Communication Activity, one of the requirements for my class! Yes!

School Time

This marks the end of our first week back in school. It wasn't too bad. Really. I think everyone is adjusting to our routine quite well. The subjects are a little more challenging for everyone, and we will need to put some extra effort into our studies, but it is do-able.

Bethani is in 3rd grade, and it is substantially more advanced than 2nd. The papers look more like the older kids, and they are expecting a lot from her already. And she is delivering it. Our goal for her this year is beautiful handwriting.

Jeremi is in 8th grade, and it is much like 7th. He will, however, need to study more. They expect specific answers 'filled in the blank' on tests. A Beka really isn't a 'cake-walk.' Because his schedule is not too heavy this year, we are going to slip in typing and possibly shorthand. (This is something he has shown an interest in.) Apparently this lighter schedule is just a reprieve for him before he hits high school. Look out Jeremi, they don't mess around in 9th grade! Our goal for him this year is to eliminate school procrastination, finishing each day in a timely manner while being thorough.

Tiffani is a full-fledged high school student. She has a heavy DVD load with Grammar/Comp, Algebra 2, consumer math, world history, biology, and French. She started to struggle in French the first 2 days until she found a "suitable tutor." She is excelling now. Our goal for her this year is to cram as much into her little head as possible in order to excel on her SAT and be accepted at Richland Collegiate next year.

They are awesome students! Sometimes I tend to focus only on the things that they still need to master and forget to recognize the good that is already imbedded. I was just pondering this morning on how well-disciplined they really are:

• Promptly at 8:00 EVERY morning, all three of my children are dressed and sitting in their seats in the school room--all on their own, and most of the time without me. (It is here that I confess to sometimes [okay, many times] checking my email from 8-8:30.) Now, granted, there is a small reward for them if they are on time--not one minute late. Nevertheless, they are establishing a good work ethic.


• Each morning we gather for family prayer--sometimes with mom, sometimes with dad. Occasionally they sleep, but hey, so did Jesus' disciples! We are setting a precedent for them, (right Jeremi?)


• We work diligently until 12:30 with an occasional 5-minute break, and then have lunch until 1:00. Any work left-over must be done after lunch. Obviously, the goal is to finish before lunch time, and most of the time they are trying.
  

Now, before this sounds like pie-in-the-sky, let me confess that just about every day we have an issue with someone. You see, my children are not perfect. But then again, neither is their mother. We are, however, continuing to become. God is helping us, and I believe this year we WILL see more fruit.

Riding Blindly

This morning during our devotions, God spoke to me in a powerful analogy. It was so forceful!

I remembered our tandem ride last week along the coast. Because Craig is so much bigger than I am, when I sit behind him, my view is completely obstructed. I can see to my right and left, but there is always this huge wall of a back in front of me. It is higher and wider than I can see. If I were to try looking around his side, we would most certainly 'dump over.' If I were to stand up to see above him, I would have to stop pedaling, and if he didn't...well, not good. Two people on a tandem have to pedal together in order to go forward. (Now that will preach!)

It had been a while since we had ridden a tandem, and my first feeling was a bit of anxiety. That same helpless feeling came over me briefly, and then I had to remind myself of the facts. I trust that he is not going to run us into a wall. I trust that he sees other motorists and pedestrians, and will steer accordingly. I trust that he won't ride through a mud puddle. He is taking all the precautions, and, well, I trust him.

Eventually I was able to relax and enjoy the view to my right and left. It was kind of nice to realize that I was not responsible for any driving mistakes. I was not the one directing. (I did, however, have to pay attention to which way we were going soI could actually help my directionally challenged husband get back.)

I don't know what my future holds. I could worry. I could stress.

The message this morning from God: "You don't have to see what is in front of you to go forward. Relax. Let me lead. I won't steer you wrong. We will not go the wrong way. Trust me and I will take you where I want you to go." I felt comforted to realize that we are in this together, and He is not going to abandon me. After all, a tandem ride is not possible with just a passenger, and I don't feel comfortable in the driver's seat. So "Jesus, take the wheel. I will sit behind you and trust that you know where we are going. I don't have to know. You won't even get us lost!"

17 Wonderful Years

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart.

I love you more now than ever.

I will be here.

Always.

Summer Grand Finale

Well, this was the last big hurrah before the end of our summer. Nana flew in, picked up the kids, and took them back to her house to stay with Papa and Grandma for 11 long days (just ask her).

This summer trip has become a tradition for them that they look forward to with much anticipation. This year they went camping in Nana and Papa's RV. I am sure that had to bring back memories, at least for Tiffani and Jeremi. Jeremi proudly declared that he was the only one who caught fish, but Tiffani defended her cause by saying that it was only because she didn't participate.

They got back on August 7, and they are already making plans for next summer. Thanks mom for making such great memories a priority.