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We Need To Check Ourselves |
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Faythe Emens
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We had to stay in a hotel on Saturday night after we had driven for around 5 hours through the course of the day and attended a wedding and reception.
Arriving in our room exhausted at 10:30 p.m., I set out to prepare Diego for bed. He was excited to have the chance to sleep on a hide-a-bed in a hotel (he had no idea what a hotel was before Saturday) and had his stuffed animals lined up for snuggling. After putting Diego into bed, Joe and I readied ourselves for a good night's sleep in a King-sized bed.
Lights out. Ahhhh, drifting off to what I hoped would be mindless slumber... and then it started... armpit noises from the hide-a-bed!
My initial reaction was to yell and go into a lengthy explanation about Dad and Mom being tired and needing a good night's sleep before we could travel more the next morning. However when my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw Diego lying in just his underpants on top of the blanket I could do nothing but laugh. Laugh until tears streamed down my face. Joe began to laugh which only fed my giggles. Diego asked, "What's funny?" He honestly didn't know that he had become our comedic relief.
Yet another FAS moment brought to you by Diego, my wonder-boy.
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A Wedding Worth Waiting For |
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Faythe Emens
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My family and I went to a wedding last Saturday in Grand Rapids, MI. It was the wedding of a very special young man in my life. His name is Brad, his bride's name is Bethany.
Brad is someone I met as a pre-teen, trouble child. He appeared one morning in my Sunday school class. Brad always had a toy of some sort to occupy his hands, he wanted to be a magician. Brad eventually grew into a great teenager. He took a lead part in the youth group's "Human Video" drama group, named the group "Take A Stand Ministry" and traveled to various locations presenting the gospel through dramatic reenactments.
I am incredibly proud of the fact that Brad went to college to become a youth pastor. He has recently been promoted to a department manager's position in a new office supply store in Traverse City, MI. I am praying that he will pursue his passion of working with teenagers there.
Brad gave me a nickname that he still calls me to this day - Tree. He seemed to think because of my height and hairstyle (at the time) that I resembled a tree. I didn't like the name at first but it grew (HA!) on me and I learned to accept it and even answer to it. When I met his bride after the ceremony on Saturday, she exclaimed, "So, you're Tree! I'm so glad to meet you, I've heard so much about you!" I bet she has.
There were rough times with Brad, it wasn't all grins and giggles. He grew closer to the Lord and learned some incredible life lessons while I worked with him. I'm not bragging on myself, but I am bragging on Brad. He was one of my success stories... some time I'll write about some of the others.
At the age of 16 or 17, Brad became attached to a baby named Diego who had come into our lives quite unexpectedly. When it came time for us to make the decision about adopting Diego or giving him up to someone else, Brad came forward and told us that if we didn't adopt Diego, he would. He said he loved him more than he ever thought he could love another human being and was willing to give up his dream of going to college to raise this little boy on his own.
Brad regularly appeared on our doorstep to spend time with us and Diego. He came over on all of his important dates like prom or sub-deb to have his photo taken with Diego.
I couldn't be happier for Brad or more pleased that he found his life's partner in Bethany. At the risk of sounding cliche', I must say that they complete each other. I can't wait for the children to come along, he's in for a run for his money if the kids are anything like him :)
Best wishes, Brad and Bethany and may God bless you with all the good things He has in store for your life together. |
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Pete Bishop
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Mad Mike E our lighting engineer today told me Ozzfest tix are free this year. So we put our name in to see if we can snag some. Why go to Ozzfest? To hangout with people far from God on their turf. Yell if you wanna go.
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Faythe Emens
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Diego has been "off" for a couple of weeks now... until Tuesday this week. I really thought he'd be worse due to a field trip to the police department, fire department and public library in downtown Adrian. Well, he has been really good since then. He's been getting up and ready for school without being told to do so... that's HUGE for him.
He did have some difficulty at the fire station, he wanted to talk during the presentation but he assured me that he knew the firefighter and wanted to ask him a question. His teacher said he pointed out where his mom :) works as his class walked by the building that houses the office I work in (Diego said his friends thought it was cool).
With the end of the school year and change in routine I fully expect Diego to have some struggles. The thing that bothers me is that his teachers act surprised by problems. Their expectations are higher since the school year is almost over. I mean after all, he's been taught all these wonderful things for over 9 months now and he should have them committed to memory.
Wow! Sometimes I wonder whose brain is more like swiss cheese... the teacher's or Diego's.
For instance, the art teacher wrote a discipline slip on Diego yesterday. He put his things away at the end of class and took out some clay to play with. She told him to put it away and he didn't want to. Eventually he put it away (without incident) but she wrote a note that went something like this: "At the end of class today Diego took clay out of a tub when the rest of the class was cleaning up to leave. He had put his things away already but shouldn't have taken the clay out. Please talk to Diego about the rules and following directions."
Are you kidding me? It's not like taking clay from a tub is the worst thing he could have done. He could have thrown it, eaten it, ground it into the carpet (yes, the art room is carpeted), put it into someone's hair... get my drift? I can think of 100 different things he could have done in a classroom full of items hanging from the ceiling, protruding from the walls, written on the windows, flashing on a computer screen, etc... I'm surprised this is the first time he's had problems in that classroom! The stimulation is enough to make a 'normal' child bounce off the walls. I think I would have problems focusing in that room.
Maybe the teacher is just ready for summer vacation? I know I am.
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Pete Bishop
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Shari ( thank you Shari!) sent me an invite to Jott. It is appearing to be very helpful. Its kind of like email by phone. Yourself and others. Its proving to be a great way to quickly get stuff out of my head when Im out and about.
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And let there be no light |
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