Oh my, oh my!

Crystal was in town again this weekend. So, we spent the day hanging out and had planned to attend a concert this evening. We had a rather eventful and entertaining time tonight. We ate dinner at Chili's beforehand and not long after we were seated, Crystal said, "Heather, don't look right now because it will be obvious but sitting over at the bar is a guy in a bunny costume and a guy dressed as a pimp." Sure enough, they were ready to go trick-or-treating (or so it appeared). Not much time passed by before she informed me there were more that had entered in dressed in costumes. The whole bar area ended up being filled by these Halloween dressed big kids. There was a convict, the Pope, Bat girl, Spiderman, a Caveman, Napolean Dynamite, a mobster, a princess, etc. Once the bunny stood up, we realized that he was actually dressed as a bunny coming out of a hat (like the magic trick). He began to head our way & stopped at our table & began conversing with us. Crystal asked if they were going to a party afterwards & he told us they were not...they had just come from work. Crystal asked if they wore those to work & he said, "Yes." We asked where they worked & they were from Pappas Toyota. I was sure to ask how many cars they sold today. He said that didn't matter. He proceeded to tell us he needed to go to the bathroom but was unsure how he was going to work that. Crystal wished him good luck. Crystal seemed to think he was hitting on us. The "pimp" stopped by to say hello too. If dinner was not enough to handle, the evening only got better (or worse..however you want to look at it!). We headed to a nearby church to hear the Children of the World International Children's Choir (comprised of orphaned and disadvantaged children from around the globe-singing songs in English as well as their native dialect; also sharing testimonies & trying to raise awareness to the AIDS epidemic that has left many of them orphaned). After arriving, we discovered that they were not putting on a concert but were just doing a few songs for the church's Saturday night church service that began at 6:00 (I thought I had read online that the "concert" began at 7:00)-we arrived at 6:40. We were informed that they would probably do a number or two at the close of the service. We waited out in the lobby & once we saw the kids head in, we followed. Though we were disappointed, we were glad we were able to hear them sing-even if it was only one song. They sang, "I am a Promise" and as soon as the tiny Asian girl began her solo, Crystal and I were already almost in tears. They finished and the kids ran up the aisles hugging people on the ends of the aisle. I was fortunate enough to get a hug from an adorable little Asian boy. After our very quick time there at Calvary, we headed back out to the car. I am currently driving my cousin's car as he is working on my car. I opened the door and the lights began to flash & the horn was sounding. I realized I had somehow managed to set the alarm off & had no clue how to shut it up. Immediately, I was panic-strickened. Crystal & I got in the car & she advised me to start the car. I attempted to do so and did...but it just died. We were pushing every button we could find & the drama continued. Meanwhile, we both were trying to not be noticed or seen as everyone passed by (kind of like playing hide & seek--only our object was to never be found!). I was trying to reach my cousin's cell and got no answer. I tried he & his wife's home and left a desperate voice mail message pleading with them to call me back. Crystal suggested that I call my aunt. I called to tell her our dilemma & she began to advise me on what to do-Crystal & I had to get out of the car-that was the first step. Crystal was bent over double laughing (trying not to pee in her britches), I was laughing & thankfully, in the midst of my conversation with my aunt, my cousin called. He was instructing me on what to do when a man walking by looked at Crystal & said, "Hey do you know your car is going off?" Crystal, unable to hardly answer him because she was laughing too hard said, "Yeah I know, she doesn't know how to get it off!" Finally, PEACE...no more noise! My cousin asked where we were & I told him. He thought it was humorous & said, "All those people are probably walking by thinking-Look at those two girls trying to steal that car!" The evening presented quite a tale to tell & I'm sure we will not soon forget the humor of it all. My, oh my..what a time!

"I'm Gonna Be A Superstar!"

I have always loved to sing even from a very young age. As kids, my sister and I would sing constantly. So much so that we received many microphones as kids and also got a few singing machines through the years. Oftentimes, we would put in a cassette tape and record ourselves singing all kinds of things. Last week, I decided to make use of one of those singing machines that has been left untouched for a while. I turned on the mic and sang some songs to some accompaniment tapes. While in the basement doing so, I came across an old cassette tape. I carried it up the steps and listened to it in it's entirety. I was rolling on the floor because I was laughing so hard. The tape was one that Haley and I had recorded at least 8 years ago, possibly even 10 or 12 years ago. What a grand entrance we made - burping! Let me share with you, just a few of the things on the tape...Haley saying excitedely, "I think Jase is home!" (Jase lived down the street and Haley's crush for a while), the two of us bickering back and forth, us sounding like dead dogs howling on some of the songs, Haley telling me to sing a song she knows, me asking Haley if she can't sing with a better tone quality and so much more. At one point, Haley yells, "Yo, yo, yo...what's up G-Funk?" Haley also gives a weather update during the midst of all the other entertainment. Later, my voice is heard saying, "Miss Spectacular, Here she is!" (and I was talking about myself) while Haley asks, "Heather, who are you talking to. No one's gonna listen to this!" I reply with, "Yes they are, I'm gonna be famous!" Anyway, listening to us sing praise and worship songs, old hymns, goofy songs, rap, etc. just brought back many good memories. Though I would run around as a kid with that microphone in hand singing, "Celebration" and "I'm So Excited" and my Mema just KNEW that I was going to be a singer one day....I am not. I'll just have to relive those moments through the old tapes!

Choo-Choo...Chuggachugga...Choo-Choo

5 arrived, 4 went in and only 3 came out. OK, so here's the scoop. Yesterday, my parents, aunt and uncle and I went to another corn maze. This particular one was in St. Charles County and it was a locomotive theme. 1 person chose not to go into the maze and another quit before we were done (though we commend them on sticking it out as long as they did). We began with a piece of paper with 18 questions (which we had to get the answers to), pictures that had to be found and so forth. None of the items were in order. For instance, the answer to question 2 was not near the answer for question 1 yet 11 was. Fortunately, we had a map to tell us where each number was-it was just a matter of getting there. We were nearly to the end but we still had several items missing. As we looked at the map, we realized those items were all towards the beginning of the maze. We had to walk all of the way back through the maze to get those last few items. We came out at the entrance and one of the workers said, "Did you all do the corn maze because you're coming out where you started?" He was sure we must not have finished. We showed him our paper with each item completed and explained that we somehow had missed the first few things (we were not looking at the map when we began) and had to work our way back to them. He was rather impressed. He said very few people ever complete the entire thing. My Aunt Cindi said she thought the paper said that if you complete it all you get a free hamburger (it did not). The worker went and told the girls working the food counter to give each of us something for free! We definitely got our exercise in. The trail all around is 8 miles and of course, we certainly did not go down every path to complete 8 miles but we did walk a good bit and even backtracked. We were in there for about 1 hr. and 45 min. Once we were done finding our way through the maze and learning all about steam engines and railways, we met up with the 2 that were out waiting and we all went for a short hayride. I hope to return to this particular farm next year as I felt they had set things up really well. They said they are considering making the maze the state of Missouri next year and the checkpoints will be different cities in MO. So, 2 corn mazes in 2 days for me. I think I have 1 more that perhaps I'll try out next weekend.

"Corny" Cardinal Fans

While my best friend, Crystal, was in town over the weekend, we decided to go try out a corn maze. We headed out to Moscow Mills to try to find our way through the Cardinal's maze. We had quite an enjoyable time despite getting lost once. There were 9 checkpoints that we should have come to. We, however, only made it to 4 out of 9 as the checkpoints were not shown on the map. So, unless we would have went down every single path, we would have never have known where the other checkpoints were. Lucky for us, no prizes were involved for completing the task. Had there have been, we would have been jipped. Anyway, a good time we had.

The Itch Has Been Satisfied

Unable to really come and go as I so please due to a lack of transportation (my car is out of commission right now and has been for some time), I have been itching to just get out. Those that know me well know that while I enjoy scenery, I am not much of a "nature" girl. I do not go hiking, I don't camp on a regular basis and you won't find me repelling down a mountain. Sometimes, it is nice to just get out and breathe though. Today, I drove to a nearby park and decided to go for a walk. As I walked, I also stopped to take pictures and just enjoy being outdoors in the nice weather (in the low 70's while I was out). Unfortunately, the beauty of the transition of summer into fall still has not taken place here much so there were no stunning shades of orange and reds to see. Even still, the "itch" to roam around outside of these four walls has been satisfied.

Hannah Bug

Two years ago on October 5, our family was blessed with little Hannah Renee'. Hannah was a long awaited gift from God to her parents. As we awaited word of her arrival that day, we were so anxious. When my cousin came out to tell us Renee' had just given birth, we were all eager to get back there to see and hold their new bundle of joy. As we age, it seems that life goes by so quickly. We celebrated Hannah's 2nd birthday a couple of weeks ago. Hannah was not too interested in her presents. She was enthralled with stickers though and kept decorating her face and arms with them rather than sitting still to open her gifts. Her final gift to open came from her parents-a t-shirt to wear that said, "I'm the Big Sister." Which, for those that are not as quick as others, that means a baby is on the way. Hannah's little brother or sister is expected to arrive sometime in April. Until then, all eyes are on Hannah. We watched Hannah the other evening while her mom attended a Tupperware meeting and goodness, she's quite the ham. Renee' brought a bucket of toys for her but those toys went untouched as she spent her whole time here eating Cheez-its, sharing fudgescicles with my mom and sister, drinking water and devouring her favorite..dill pickles. Unfortunately, I do not do well with babies...I'm just terrified that I'll break them or their heads will fall off while I'm holding them. However, I love it when kids are at Hannah's age and can interact with me. While everyone else detests the terrible two's, that is the age when I begin to really enjoy kids. Then again, I do not have toddlers and all of the kids I know go home to their parents after a while! Just thought I'd share some pictures of our little Hannah Bug.

Greenbeanaholic

After inquiring and finding out that Stan (a member of our Connection Point--Sunday School) did not have any cats (I am not a feline fan), I decided to go to his house lastnight for a get-together with our class. Having been in the class for three years, I've not really been that involved thanks in large part to my not-so outgoing, timid, shy personality. I was feeling rather comfortable when there were only seven of us present and I had been around each before. So much so that I began to unveil myself a bit-let the real me begin to show. During a discussion about vegetables, I discovered that one of the girl's loves green beans. Guess what? I LOVE green beans as well. She said that she could eat a whole can in one sitting. Haley was quick to tell her that I could eat two. I volunteered telling them that I even will drink green bean juice. Perplexed, Haley told them of our visit to a friend's house in FL a few years ago when we ate green beans with our meal. The bowl remained on the table-complete with green bean juice. Never imagining that I would do so, the guys dared me to drink it. I downed it pretty fast. If I could only live off of three foods, I would pick hot dogs, green beans and ice cream without a doubt. My green bean craziness added much excitement to the evening. We had a blast playing board games and learning some more about one another. We had so much fun that...oh, never mind! No time to tell every detail...I must get in bed. I partied so hard that I did not make it into my bed until 3:15 this morning. I'm a little on the tired side.

Back in the Day

Today, my mother and I met my Grandpa and his 4 sisters for lunch. Each time we do so, it is such a treat. Not only are his sisters quite entertaining as they often bicker just like sisters do, but they reminisce about life back in the day. Over the weekend, while at my aunt and uncle's, we discussed life for one who has lived 90-100 years. I said that I would love to have the opportunity to just sit down with those "young at heart" and inquire about how things were in the "good ole' days." We heard a bit about that while eating our meal today. Evidently, my Great-Grandfather (who died long before I was born) would store his coffee in a whiskey bottle. Several times, he was stopped by the police as they thought he was drinking whiskey. I learned who my Dad takes after on a couple of things - my Great-Grandfather and my Great Uncle Bill (I also never knew him). My Great-Grandfather would make his food black with the amount of black pepper he would use. Likewise, my Dad does the same. Every Saturday, all of the family used to visit my Great-Grandparents house and be fed apricot preservatives. I can't help but think that life was much more enjoyable then as people weren't so busy that they could not build relationships. Sunday afternoons were a time of rest and visitation with friends and family; a time to sit out on front porches and talk and laugh. I look forward to the next time we are able to get together and I am able to hear more about life back then. The older people long to and love to tell these stories too.

Livin' in the 1940's

Sunday afternoon, I had quite the memorable time. My dad, sister, cousin and I went down to the Edison Theater at Washington University to travel back in time to the 1940's. The drama department at Wash-U was performing songs from the 1940's. I knew a number of the songs that were played (one of which was I'll be seeing You-the song on the video) and enjoyed hearing them very much so. I venture to say that we were some of the younger individuals there as the majority were well in their 60's+. I thought about the fact that many of the songs played were songs that my grandparents probably listened to as young people-they probably even fell in love to some of the songs. What a grand time it was to go back to a time when I would love to have lived through.

Take me back to the 80's

Like most young people, I joined facebook many months ago. Of course, I am able to add-on all kinds of applications to my profile and spice things up a bit. Several weeks ago, I added the "Checklist of the Day" application. Each day, there is a new list and one is able to check off each thing they have done, worn or whatever the case may be. The other day, the list was in regards to fads, styles and trends that people had participated in. As I read through the list, I realized how many of the things I had forgotten about. Yet, at the same time, many of them seemed as if I just did them yesterday. Checking the things off the list made me think of the Mark Wills' song "1980 Something" in which he lists many of the things that we, the kids of the 80's grew up with. So many of these were on the facebook checklist as well. Even better, some of those things have made a return - Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies & Rainbow Brite. Remember the days of legwarmers? Slap bracelets? Atari? Hypercolor shirts? Tight-rolled jeans? My, oh my, those were the days! Some things would be better left unvisited forever!

Compassion International

One of the most exciting things to take place in my life has been the opportunity to share hope and the love of Jesus with a child whom I have never met in person. A number of years ago, I felt God leading me to sponsor a child through Compassion International. After searching online for a child to sponsor, I chose Ares Carles in the Dominican Republic. Such a neat experience it has been to watch her grow throughout the years...not only in her appearance but in her knowledge and faith. I am overjoyed each time I receive an update from her as she typically refers to me as "Aunt Heather" and is sure to thank me for sponsoring her. She often takes time to draw me pictures or request prayer for not just herself but her family. I encourage each of you to ask God if He may be softening your heart to help the many children around the world that are much less fortunate than you or I have ever been. I pray, God-willing, that I will one day be able to travel to the Dominican and meet this angel face to face.

America, The Beautiful

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My sister and I have been very fortunate in the fact that since we were very young, our parents made it a priority to go on family vacations. Probably the first trip that I really have any recollection of was to Disney World in Orlando, FL. Though I believe I flew as a baby, the first flight I remember was one in which we flew to Detroit for a few days and then crossed the border into Canada. The first big road trip we took was in 1988 as we toured the wild, wild west going through Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, the Rocky Mountains, etc. Though I have been to many places, there is still much, much more to see. I hope that I will one day have the opportunity to see it all. Despite the areas that we've not yet traveled to, we have seen so much more than many people twice our age. I'm so grateful that my parents have helped us to see this that we call, "America the Beautiful."

No fooling me

After months apart, it was time to visit my neurologist for a hospital follow-up visit. This took place last Friday, September 28th. I had great difficulties even scheduling the visit so once Dr. Goyal called me back on Friday to be seen, he was sure to express how glad he was that I finally made it in and to also apologize for all of the troubles in making the appointment. As I was headed back to the room, another doctor needed him. He told me which room to go into and said he would be with me in a moment. I went ahead and went in and as I looked around, noticed a sign on the wall that said, "Gyn Room". Below, were all kinds of gynelogical tools listed. My parents had come to the room with me to overhear what he would say so I pointed the sign out to them and said, "What in the world am I doing in here?!" As Dr. Goyal came back in, I said, "Dr. Goyal, this says this is the Gyn Room and I don't believe that is what I came for." He laughed. He had no idea why they chose to put Gynecology and Neurology on the same floor in the same office. As expected, we went over basic things and then discussed my health. I was starting to get a bit nervous as I thought he may not get around to the things I was certain he would do. No need to be getting impatient for he did not disappoint. Soon, he came around and pulled out his "book" to show me a picture of different items and ask me to tell him what each was (checking my memory as well as my speech). I was quick to let him know that I was very excited to be going over all of it as I'd been practicing at home. He did, however, have me do a few things that I had forgotten about doing while in the hospital. All in all, we covered everything I had become so good at though--touching my finger to my nose and then to his finger, squeezing his fingers with my hands, following his finger with my eyes. I had it all down. There was no fooling me - I knew what was going to take place! I think he was rather amused. Anyway, some of you have heard much about the handsome (but married) doctor. So, I posted the picture of the two of us. Unfortunately, just as my dad got the camera into focus, another doctor walked by the room and was talking and Dr. Goyal glanced over there. Hence the reason for his wandering eyes.