Thoughts...

Not exactly sure what I’m doing. It probably smacks of wallowing in self-pity. White walls staring back at me. Fan is spinning over head. Who am I today? God I want to follow you. Show me what to do now. Head leaning on closet door. Procrastinating once again before bed time. Sleep? Not sure I can… So much on my mind. Missing my soul-mate, he’s many states away. Grieving possible lost friendship. Stupid me. Why did I put myself first? I’m not like that. Heart is aching over wasted time and wasted words. Foolish pride. Stubborn selfishness. Can’t wait to reunite with hubby. Life is definitely changing. Yes, God has a plan. I’ve known it all the time. Problem is the enemy is trying hard to throw me off course. Not going to happen. God won’t let it happen. Praying for peace and clear vision. Made it so far because of powerful prayers of faithful friends. Tomorrow’s not far away… His mercies are new every morning! Thank you Father for loving me!

And the Countdown Begins...

Well, if you must know, I actually initiated this countdown in my planner as soon as Patrick left. Now that the numbers are actually feasible, I thought I'd let my readers know.

I will get to see Patrick in exactly 16 days!!!! Woohoo!!!

Can you tell I'm excited? My mom, sister, brother-in-law, and I will all head toward South Carolina exactly two weeks from today. I can't believe it. We'll get to see Patrick on Family Day and then he'll graduate from Basic on September 5th. WOW!

The reality is that we actually will only get to visit for a short time before he goes to his AIT. Hopefully his time there will go by quickly!

Another Rainy Monday...

If you are familiar with any of Steven Curtis Chapman's older music, you'll recognize the title of my post. Here I am, sitting at my computer on a rainy Monday morning. It's amazing that through our weakest days, Jesus keeps us strong. All we have to do is keep our eyes on Him.

Weak Days
Written by Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott
II Cor 12:9

Another rainy Monday,
Looks like I'm gonna be late again;
Why does the race I'm runnin' never seem to have an end.
A day away from Sunday,
Feels like I'm already losing ground
Funny sometimes how quickly my emotions get turned around;
They're letting me down.

CHORUS
I gotta keep my eyes on Jesus
Through the weak days;
In a world where we really don't belong,
I've discovered if I keep my eyes on Jesus
Through the weak days,
Then even on the weak days He'll make me strong.

The spirit is so willing
When the fellowship is so sweet;
How soon all the good intentions
Find the flesh is weak.
But there's a power waiting,
With no limits to times or space;
All of our doubts and fears disappear without a trace
When we look on His face.

(chorus)

And when we keep our eyes on Jesus,
We'll gladly follow where He leads us.

God, please help me keep my eyes focused on you when everything around me seems to be pulling for my attention. You are powerful and mighty! You give me strength when I'm unable to do anything on my own. You know the answers before I ask the questions. You are everything and I am nothing...

When I Need Him Most!

Just when I was feeling my worst this week, God showed up in the most wonderful way. No, I wasn't really going through anything major. But, I was at a low point and at the end of my emotional rope. I've been feeling sorry for myself and digging myself a nice little hole of self-pity.

It all started with the fact that I've been extremely lazy this week. That's never good for one's emotional health. Way too much time to think about how depressed you are and how much time you're wasting. Add to that wonderful mix the questions I have regarding a recent correspondence I initiated with a friend. Throw in the fact that my computer crashed on Monday for the second time in exactly one month.

Tuesday, I had a frustrating interaction with a commander in Patrick's unit. I had called to ask if I could take Patrick from Basic to the School of Music. I was just following the advice of someone at the School of Music. I was treated very unprofessionally and overheard them making jokes about Patrick's last name and his musical job. I was furious, of course. So, I e-mailed the commander in a plea for information. That night, I went to bed with a heavy weight on my mind and heart.

After staying in bed longer than usual on Wednesday, I got up and continued my pitiful existence. In a moment of awareness, I knew I needed to spend time with God in prayer and in reading the Bible. I had been neglecting that time for a few weeks. Obviously, God wanted to speak to me. So, I began to study the passages for day. He really got to me with a pair of pages from My Utmost for His Highest. Then, as I was reading, my cell phone rang. I recognized the area code as that of Ft. Jackson. I assumed before answering that it was a commander returning a call I had made earlier. When I said hello, Patrick's voice answered with "Hi". I was shocked!

It was Wednesday at 2:00 pm and I was hearing my husband's voice in utter amazement. The timing could not have been any better. He was given direct orders to call me. Talk about a perfectly timed surprise. God directed actions of Patrick's drill sergeants in order to send me a message of His love. As it turned out, the commander who received my e-mail directed Patrick's officers to allow him to call me himself and answer the questions I had. We actually got to talk for about 25 minutes, the longest conversation we've had during Basic. When I told Patrick how much I had needed to hear his voice, he said, "God obviously knew what you needed." I immediately felt better. I could feel God's presence at that exact moment. He was watching over us and wanted me to know that He is in control all of the time.

God wasn't finished yet. Patrick also had the news that he had finally passed his 2-mile run. Wow!!! The test was Monday and he did great. My mind jumped to the fact that I will see Patrick in exactly three weeks. I am so excited. The pride I have for him is immeasurable. We reluctantly ended our phone call, but looked forward to the next call.

Then, last night, I attended church orchestra rehearsal. God reminded me of how much I love to play music in worship. It was a wonderful climax for the sad beginning of the week. I know people are praying for both Patrick and me. God continues to answer those prayers in amazing ways.

Lots to say, not sure how...

Blogging is a complex creature. It's hard to know what is acceptable to share and what is past the point of what others should be subjected to. Is it a therapy tool with which to rid your mind of all emotions or does it have to be more focused on a subject? Does it have to be structured? Or is it just a blank slate?

My struggle with these questions seems to be making me second guess what I want to share. So much is going on in this brain of mine...

A Sweet Word from Patrick

Upon returning home from a quick but wonderful trip to OKC, I received a new letter from Patrick. In it, he shared that although he still hasn't passed the 2-mile run, he has improved greatly on it and the rest of the physical fitness test. He has one more opportunity to pass it and has felt the prayers of all of his family and friends. Please read the following words from Patrick that he asked me to post.

TO ALL OF OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

"Thank you so much for your prayer support. Daily I can feel God's guidance through this training. My PT scores have drastically improved and I WILL pass the next test. I love and appreciate each of you and look forward to finishing my training and getting to thank each of you in person."

-Patrick

I just want to add my thanks as well for your prayers for me through this time. I can feel them as I get through each day. I am SLOWLY adjusting to this no job, no schedule thing. It's a very hard thing for a band director to get used to, but I'm not complaining. It is also difficult knowing that Patrick is working extremely hard in very tough surroundings and I'm doing nothing.

On another note, it's so relaxing right now listening to the thunderstorm outside. We've been so long without rain and I almost forgot what it sounds like.

Thank you God for the rain and for your constant provision in my life.

To Conduct or not to Conduct...

And I don't mean electricity...

A week has passed since my trip to Kansas City and I have neglected to do any blogging.

My trip was wonderful. I made some new friends, renewed an old friendship, learned a whole mess of useful stuff, some not-so-useful stuff, and ate at a few really good restaurants.

I'll spare you all of the details, but would like to share the conclusion of my journey. I went to KC wondering if I should continue my pursuit of conducting/band directing. It has been my prayer that God would show me very clearly if I'm doing the right thing. All week long, He showed me that this is definitely what I love to do and I should seek to do it with all of my heart.

We concluded the symposium with this question from the director -
"Why am I a conductor?"

Immediately, my pen began writing the following words with no question and no doubts:

I believe that God has given me a deep sense of musical appreciation. I live and breathe the music that I hear and perform. My passion is to convey my love of music to others in a way that allows them to know who I am. Music moves me in deeply profound ways. It is at the core of who I am and to not share it would be a great denial of who God made me.

When I grow up...

You know, I'm going to admit something. I don't know what I want to be when I grow up and I've been seeking God's direction. Forgive me if you've heard me say this before, but I needed to be honest. Currently, I'm sitting in a dorm room at a university far from home. No, I'm not a student here. I'm attending a week-long wind band teaching symposium to further my personal education in the band world. I've wanted to be a conductor since I was in junior high but I've only dreamed it. Yes, I am a band director, but it's not the same. I don't think I feel like explaining the difference right now.

I've always wanted to attend a symposium like this to see if this is really what I should do. This is the first one I've actually attended. Usually, I get interested in participating in one, then I chicken out with excuses like no money and no time. I've never done it because it's a very personal growth experience when you are critiqued on your conducting technique.

Well, Patrick encouraged me to attend this one because we could finally afford it and he knew he'd be gone so I'd have no excuse. So, here I am. And, I'm wondering why... As I meet and interact with most of these people, I'm finding a huge sense of self-importance from each one. It's the kind of career in which you have to know the right people and have a "no fear" attitude. And ego must be a prerequisite also. I feel like I don't belong. Of course, it could be that I'm just emotional about Patrick not being here to talk with me.

We've only finished one day, and I am actually having a good time. It's just that I am getting even more confused about what path I should take in my career. I want to be obedient to what God wants for me, but it's hard to understand right now. Everyone asks me where I teach and I have to say, "Well, I'm between jobs...and here's why..."

God, I know that you have a plan for me. Help me be open to what it is.

S...N...A...I...L...M...A...I...L..........................................

In case I wasn't exactly sure why people have all but stopped using written word as a means of communication, I now have no doubts at all...

I finally received mail from my dear husband this week. Three envelopes came on Monday after the holiday weekend. Those three envelopes contained letters that covered June 24th through 30th. It was great to read about Patrick's new adventures in the Army. I have been obsessed with checking the mail. I feel bad for wondering why he hasn't written. He has written, it just takes the US Postal Service FOREVER to deliver things. I guess that's the real reason they started selling those FOREVER stamps. Maybe that's the kind of forever they meant.

A fourth envelope came just today. It covered July 1st through 3rd. Okay, in case you didn't see the date for today's post, that is a full week behind. He mentioned that he's finally getting the bed making routine down. One day, he was the only one in his room that got it done. Everybody else got their beds tossed... I'm supposed to ask my brother-in-law what that means.

He sounds like he's having fun in some ways. He really loved rapelling down a fifty foot tower. He also enjoyed the nutrition class.

Well, after catching up with him through reading those notes, I feel much better. Little by little it's sinking in that he's in the Army. I'm extremely proud of him. We have no idea how long we'll be living the military life, but it is a huge adjustment.

And now to some not-so-happy news... I found out that our precious dog must have some teeth pulled. Several of our family members' dogs have had this done. I scheduled the surgery and pray that he'll do okay. The weirdest thing is that Patrick and I had a discussion right before he shipped about our sweet dog. I didn't want to have to make decisions on my own about the dog's medical needs if they were major. Basically, we agreed that if it was less than a certain amount of money, I should proceed. Now I am just debating over letting Patrick know. I don't want to worry him.

Only 5 Minutes???

Patrick was able to call today. But, he only had five minutes of time before he had to give the phone to the next guy.

He sounded so much better than he did last week. This weekend was relatively light due to the holiday. He seems to be handling the training okay. He mentioned that he really needs some duct tape. When I asked him why, he explained that he and others have been wrapping their feet in duct tape to help protect the blisters. OUCH!!!! Can you imagine pulling it off??? I guess he's not using the band-aids I sent. He did say that one guy in his unit busted his head open and everyone remembered that Patrick had some bandages. He was able to help the kid out.

Of course, we couldn't talk long, but he said that he'd mailed me several letters already. I haven't gotten anything from him in the mail. I hope they come tomorrow. He did have time to mention that tomorrow is the Gas Chamber day. Yikes!

God Bless the USA!

Wow! What an amazing weekend! I must say that this year's Independence Day weekend has been a wonderful one. Friday morning, Mom and I treated ourselves to a movie and had a great time. Then my sister and her husband came over for some good ole' hot dogs and ice cream. After we got our Guitar Hero fix, we headed out to join some friends from church. A group of us went out to Lake Grapevine to see the Grapevine fireworks display. We chose that location because we thought it would be less crowded. The super thing was that because we were sitting at such a high elevation near the dam, we could actual watch about nine different cities' fireworks displays. It was a great evening. While we waited for the sun to set, we played games and fellowshipped.

Of course, I couldn't totally relax because I was hoping that Patrick would have some personal time to call. I mean, come on, it's our nation's birthday... But, I managed to enjoy the fun anyway.

Saturday was not extraordinary. I had to mow the lawn. I don't hate it, but I slept too late to get it done before the heat really turned up.

Today's church services were so powerful. We had guest speakers in both. The morning service was filled with lots of history about our Christian heritage as a nation. It was really eye-opening. It was amazing to hear all of the stories about our Founding Fathers and how much they wanted to be guided by God and their love for Jesus Christ. We've all heard a few of the stories, but people today have tried to distort the facts and they only focus on the to least religious founders, Franklin and Jefferson. However, the other 54 signers were devout Christians who wanted Biblical principles to define our nation. I encourage you to visit WallBuilders to learn more about it.

I spent the afternoon at my sister's place. We went swimming and got sunburns. Ouch!

This evening, I was talked into singing in the choir. After all, I had heard most of the music before. We had a guest soloist and also Rick Scarborough from Vision America. He inspired us to take a stand for Christ and for America. It was a very powerful and moving message.

This 4th was very different for me. First, Patrick was not here to celebrate. And second, he's in the military now and that gives a whole new meaning to anything patriotic for me.

Blisters, Band-aids, and Brats

Oh, Happy Day!!!! At about 5:30 pm on Sunday night, Mom and I were exiting the interstate to visit my grandparents in Hope. Suddenly, my phone rang and it was Patrick. Between the road noise, dog in my lap, and just the shear excitement, I couldn't hear him very well. I told Mom to pull into a gas station just a block from my grandparents' house and I was able to speak to Patrick more clearly.

His unit had started Basic Training on Friday after a few days at Reception Battalion. His first three days included paperwork, shots, uniform issue, a hair cut, and I'm sure a lot of yelling from Drill Sergeants. He said that it hasn't been unbearable yet, except for the painful blisters he and most of the other guys are getting on their feet from their boots. I thought the boots were supposed to be fitting better than that...oh, well, what do I know? Patrick asked me to send him a box of band-aids. Actually, he asked me to overnight them. So, first thing Monday morning, I went to Walmart and bought a large selection of bandages and some antibiotic cream. I hope they don't make him throw them in the trash. When I went to mail them, I couldn't overnight them because Hope doesn't have an airport. The best I could do is get them there by Wednesday (today). I'm not even sure if he'll get them today because I'm not sure how often they get Mail Call.

Patrick said that the sleeping arrangements are better than he thought they'd be. He is in a room with seven other guys. The worst part of the training has been the unruly teenage and twenty-something brats who won't do what they are told. Patrick said he could totally identify with the Drill Sergeants. It reminds him of being a band director. Problem is, as band directors, we punished the problem kids, not the whole band. In Basic, it's quite different. The whole company gets punished when the brats cause problems. Needless to say, they've already received a great deal of punishment. Hopefully, those guys will grow up sooner, not later.

I'm not sure how often Patrick will get to call, but I know I'm looking forward to each call. I know I need to start sending him some letters.

Adjustments

We knew there'd be some adjustments to make when we felt the Lord calling Patrick to join the Army. The obvious ones of course, like being separated for the longest time in our marriage, me living with my mom, Patrick being under constant pressure, neither one of us being in control of anything, doing what the Army wants us to do...

Now that he's gone for training, I've become aware of some adjustments I didn't plan on. You know, the silly ones like learning how to spend the day when you are a teacher and school is out for summer. Not only is school out for the summer, but I have no job to return to in the fall. How weird is that? For the first time in our marriage, or in my life for that matter, I don't have to get nervous a few weeks before school starts. This problem has plagued me since childhood. Like clockwork, as a student and as a teacher, I have always become sick a few weeks before school. This summer, I don't have that to dread. I didn't look for a job for next year because I know I won't be able to fulfill the length of the contract and I wanted the flexibility to visit Patrick and other family during this time. What I didn't fully realize is that now I have nothing to anticipate. How am I going to spend my time? I've been told that the more busy I stay, the faster our time apart will go by.

So far, I've been LAZY. I'm cutting myself some slack, as this is really my first week to have time to do anything. It's the first week we've actually been settled long enough to waste time. To my credit, I have managed to do Mom's yard work and help her plant some new flowers. I also got an oil change and a car wash. I think that's pretty productive. Mom and I are making a trip to Arkansas to visit my grandparents. After that trip, I'll be living on a schedule. I've found that it's the only way I can be productive.

There are other adjustments to make, of course. I'll probably be letting you know about some of them as I go. For now, I'm just settling in to life as a bum. I'll keep you updated on that!

On another note - I did get to talk to Patrick Tuesday night after his plane had landed in Columbia, South Carolina. His group was waiting for the bus to take them to Fort Jackson. I haven't heard from him since, but I know that God is watching over him. I expect to hear from him next week or the next.

And He's Off...

I wasn't quite sure how I'd react today, but it has been an emotional one.

I woke up to a text message from Patrick at 7:10am saying that he'd be briefed at 10:15am and shipping at 10:30am. I quickly replied to say we would be there by 10:00. He responded that we should get there earlier just in case. So, I called Melody to see if she wanted to go and forfeit a few hours of her much needed sleep. She said yes, so Mom and I hurriedly got ready and headed to downtown by way of Melody's to pick her up.

At 9:09am I received a text from Patrick that said "Fixin 2 swear-in". We were still a few minutes away. At about 9:30, Mom dropped Melody and me off at the front door of the Federal building so that we could try to find Patrick. Mom tried to find a parking spot and finally found one. We had to park in Metered parking and she only had enough change for thirty minutes. Oh NO! I told her that I'd pay the ticket if we got one.

So, we proceeded through security, got our badges, and made it upstairs. We were just in time. We waited a few minutes while they prepped for the Swearing In ceremony. We got to be there with Patrick when he officially swore in. The pics and video are grainy, but here goes!




















We waited after the ceremony to see Patrick one last time and watch him get on the bus. He will travel by bus to the airport and then fly to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Please pray for his safe travel and success in Basic. I will keep you posted as much as possible. Thank you for your love and support.

Last Night of Freedom

Not exactly sure of how to start this post, but here goes.

I just got home from spending the evening with my wonderful husband Patrick. We spent our last day together before he ships to Army Basic Combat Training tomorrow. It is hard for me to describe my feelings tonight. This is something we've been anticipating for several months and now the time has come.

After getting some last minute things done today, we headed into Dallas to meet his recruiter at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We were supposed to meet him between 7 and 7:30. Little did we know that this would be the start of the "Hurry up and wait" element that we knew would be part of the Army experience. We arrived early, but the recruiter was late.







And WAITING,





Finally, at around 8:00 or so, the recruiter showed up. After a quick briefing and last instructions, he released Patrick to leave the hotel and get dinner. So, we left to grab a bite to eat and spend some time together. I dropped him off at 9:45 and he headed to bed.

Patrick will wake up at 3:45 am, get on a bus at 5:00 am and head to Military Enlistment Processing Station (Federal Building in Dallas). Mom and I and possibly Melody will be heading down in the morning to see him sworn in.

Until then...

Austin Trip Rap-up

We're back! Home together for three days before Patrick ships to basic training. I want to catch you up on our trip to Austin, so I'll refer you to Patrick's post on the subject. Have fun reading. We had a lot of fun exploring.

Quick Howdy and Check in!

I just wanted to check-in with you! I don't have time to get deep right now (I would really like to get settled and start writing better blogs someday). But, life is busy right now. School is out, we have hopefully just one more day of work to get done at the good ole' band hall. Officially, there are eleven days until the big move and 21 days until the big life change. Patrick leaves exactly three weeks from today.

I wish I could describe the emotions I have been experiencing these last few days, but I can't put a label on them. I am sure that eventually this huge change in our lives will hit me, but I am going on adrenaline at this moment. It was very sad to hug our students and say goodbye. Many of them cried and that really helped us feel loved. We will miss them.

As usual, I am procrastinating. I should have been cleaning and packing tonight, but I've squandered my time once again. Please pray for us in the weeks to come. Pray that I'll use my time wisely and get things done. Please pray for Patrick as he continues to prepare for the physical and emotional trials ahead.

Sorry for the short sentences... It is SO past my bedtime...

Checking things off of the list...

In our four days of school, 19 days until we move, and 29 days until Patrick leaves, there are many things that we've got to get done. The check list is huge. Yesterday, we checked-off one more thing. SELL THE MIATA. CHECK.

We loved the little car, but decided we don't need it anymore. We didn't want to pay to store it while Patrick's in training. So, we headed to Carmax and they made us a good deal. It was a breeze. No problems at all. That was a big weight off of our shoulders. And, we got more than enough money to pay-off our new computer. Yippee!

We also checked-off a couple more items:
MOVE KAYAKS TO MOM'S HOUSE AND INSTALL STORAGE HANGER.
MOVE INSTRUMENTS TO MOM'S HOUSE.
MOVE WINTER COATS AND JACKETS TO MOM'S.
GET PATRICK'S FOSSIL WATCH INTO THE REPAIR SHOP.
HELP ORGANIZE MOM'S GARAGE SO THAT MY CAR WILL FIT.
SHOP FOR SOME SUMMER CLOTHES.

Now on to the next thing on the list: PACKING, PACKING, and MORE PACKING.

WARNING! Your foolish pride is showing!!!!

By now, it's safe to say that I've done a number of stupid things in my life. Regrettably and admittedly, some have been adverse to the law (okay, we're talking minor traffic violations...nothing major). But, nevertheless, I've been wrong.

Unfortunately, I haven't learned. Tonight, on our way home from handing Sebastian off to Mom in Dallas, I drove into our neighborhood like any other night. It was just getting dark and no one was behind us or on-coming. At the last stop sign near our house, I stopped, but apparently failed to signal my usual right turn. I didn't realize the mistake. Upon turning, we noticed a cop pulling over to the opposite curb facing us on the next block. We saw him turn his lights off and even discussed the fact that he was setting up a trap for some unsuspecting game. As usual, I made the right turn onto our street to head home. No other car was in sight, except the officer in his parked car. After I had turned completely and headed down our street, (our house is only like the fourth one down) I noticed the nice young cop come up behind me. He followed us until I signaled the turn into our driveway... You know what happened next? Yep! That guy proceeded to turn on his flashing red and blues and pull in behind us. Angry and embarrassed that he had the nerve to flash his lights in my drive way, I immediately got an attitude. I was sure I'd done nothing wrong. After all, I was just on my own block. We had even opened our garage door already for Pete's sake!

Nervous and a bit upset, Patrick and I both opened our car doors. You would have thought we were wanted criminals carrying weapons and drugs. Cop began shining his light in my face and demanded we get back in the vehicle and shut the doors. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I was just so ticked-off and scared at the same time. We obliged him and got back in. He told me to roll the window down, and I did. Neighbors literally began coming out of their houses to see what was going on. And I guess that's when I lost it. Cop nicely told me that I had been pulled over for failing to signal my intent to turn. WHAT? You've got to be kidding me... This guy's got to get a life. Pulling me over in my own driveway for doing something that put no one in danger. I was livid. There's a newspaper reporter living across the street for goodness sake.

He took my license and insurance and went to his car. He was there for what seemed an eternity. During that eternity, I was pleading with Patrick about the injustice of it all. Seriously, I know there are laws, but come on!!!! Give me a break! I'm sure there was some robbery going on that he could have been tending to. But for goodness sake, it's my own front yard. TURN YOUR LIGHTS OFF!!!! You're telling the whole neighborhood to come out and watch!!!

After moaning, groaning, and griping of innocence and injustice to my husband, the little man (who could not have been more than 22 years old) came shining his light in my face again. You see, when we moved to this new place, we failed to get new licenses. That gets me into another rant altogether, so I'll just say that we had to convince the man that we now lived at this location and had not gotten the card changed. It was correct on our insurance and registration, just not on our license. You'd have thought we'd just murdered someone. After convincing him of our residence and profuse error in not getting a new license, he wrote me a WARNING for failing to signal intent of a right turn. I think I would have found a lawyer if it had been a real ticket.

You know, I've been pulled over for speeding I think three or four times in my life, but that's it. I understand that there are laws for our safety. But, come on!!! Turning my blinker on when there is no one around. You've got to be kidding me.

...

I've had a few hours to think about it, and Patrick has helped me come to a conclusion and admission. If I had been pulled over for not signaling anywhere else but my own driveway, I'd probably not even be writing this post. But, because I was so embarrassed to be seen with flashing cop lights in my yard, I ranted and raved with anger and hatred. Instead of taking my lumps of correction and having a gentle spirit, I chose to let foolish PRIDE control my responses. Wow, there's that horrible word. You know, if cops gave tickets for letting foolish pride show, I think the world might be a better place to live. Let's just say, I'd be in attitude court way too often! Fortunately, I have the Holy Spirit to handle the attitude correction, not the men in blue!

Drawing to a Close

It is very hard to believe, but things are starting to wind down here in C-town. We had a wonderful time of fellowship on Sunday with our family at Memorial. They are so loving and care so much for us. We are so thankful to them for their support and encouragement. On our last Sunday with them, they gave us a very unexpected gift that included a goodbye video. We all stayed around after the fellowship to watch the video as members said their sweet goodbyes to us and laughed and cried together as we remembered the last four years. We will still attend tonight and next Wednesday to finish up our study of the book, "The Case For Faith". We will miss our church family! This Sunday, we're planning to attend church at the church of our college friends.

School is drawing to a close quicker than we expected. We'll be out on band trips Thursday,Friday and Saturday. Then, after a quick trip to Dallas to spend Memorial Day Weekend with family, we'll take our little convertible to the Carmax to sell it. We are hoping to get what it's worth. We've loved having it, but it's time to downsize. With Patrick being in training for nine months, there's no need to have two cars. Anyone in the market for a 1994 Miata?

Next week will be a blur, I'm sure. No school Monday. Then Tuesday through Thursday are skeletal at best because of exams. Friday's a shortened day with a graduation rehearsal, with graduation on Saturday. Then, after a time of fellowship with our CSO friends on Saturday, we hope to visit our dear friends Julie and Darin in Frankston on Sunday.

As if that's not enough to think about, we'll be doing even more in the following three weeks. Three days of in-service will be followed by a long awaited trip to Oklahoma to visit family. Then, it's packing, packing, and more packing. We'll move on a Friday, have a gargage sale on a Saturday, then rest for a day. Next, we're off to Austin for a few days of relaxation before the big send-off. In case you didn't know, Patrick will be "shipping-out" on Tuesday, June 24th. I hope to go to MEPS to send him off and take pics. We'll keep you posted!