Mom

Today has been one of the hardest days with missing my Mom. I am not exactly sure why, but honestly it's just extremely hard. I know these posts get redundant because I always mention missing her, but I don't know what else to do. Writing is like therapy for me. My older sister just last week mentioned reading my blog, this of course shocked me and I got very embarrassed. She asked why I even had a blog if I didn't want people to read it. The truth is, I'm scared for people I REALLY know, to know what's going on inside, but those of you who read and haven't really gotten to know me, are okay. Because I'm more of a made up person in your head.

Anyway, yesterday Sage and John came from Oklahoma to come up for Mandy's party. Well I have talked with Sage before and she said if she comes she would like to see pictures and old videos and such of my Mom and to hear stories. Well of course I thought I'd love it, because I don't want the memory of my Mom just slipping away. So, last night we started looking at some pictures and were talking about her and then this morning my Dad was talking to them about her dying and how much it hurt him and I just couldn't take it. I know my Dad says it hurt him, but it really hurt me to. Sometimes I can't just freely talk about it, it gets very difficult for me at some points. And then to make things a little worse, Mandy and Sage are headed to my Mom's grave right now. I've been once and invited Mandy but she wasn't ready, so a friend too me. Well, that was the last time and I feel like I am ready to go back, she is my Mom and even though she isn't in the grave, it was the last place I left her. :( But I don't have my own vehicle and I can't just go, and I never asked Mandy since she always said she wasn't ready, so today has just been difficult. I didn't know they had this planned to go, and Mandy really wanted to be by herself, well I mean just her and Sage, so I'm trying to understand that, it's hard, but I guess we are all different.

Well, Lane is trying to get me to go ride bikes with him, so I better wipe the tears away and just forget about this. I'm wallowing in my own pity I guess.

I love you Mom and miss you So much! ;(

Time to Think...

Today, I went to Mandy's house to help her watch her kids, but on the way home, Hanah fell asleep so it was just me in the car and well, it's been a long time since I've just driven anywhere by myself, so since this drive was longer than just the usual run to Wal-Mart, I had lots of time to think...which is scary. I don't know how my mind does it, but in those quiet times I have, it's like my Mom immediately pops into my head and I dwell on the fact she is not here anymore, and as the tears run down my face I try hard to "get myself together" but it's hard, SO hard, and the tears just keep falling.

It seems like over the last month I've tried REAL hard to not let myself cry about my Mom not being here, and typically I move the thought out of my head as soon as it comes in, it's too hard to think about her. Today wasn't that way though.

I don't know why now, all of a sudden I am so upset, but I am. And the fact that my Mom isn't coming back here and I'll never see her again on earth, hurts so bad. It doesn't seem right that I would have grandparents in their 70's still alive but my Mom died in her 40's. Or to see women that are 60 or so and still have their Moms. I understand that this thinking is so selfish of me, I know I am wrong, but I'm trying to be honest with you all so you can understand a little better why this is hard.

It's like time is going so fast since she died, and I don't want it to be that way . Mandy has had TWO birthdays without Mom now, and I've already had two jobs, one car accident, one REALLY hard time, where I needed my Mom so bad, but all these things were done, without her here. I think about things like, My Mom will never know the guy I marry (If I get married), she wont know my kids, she'll barely know me. She doesn't know me now, and wont know how I'll be in 10 years. All of this is hard for me. I wish I could have a do over, and I could be the daughter to her that I know how to be now. One that respects her and honors her ALL the time and doesn't question her decisions. One that loves unconditionally and stays with her all the time. But.....I can't be. I guess I had my chance.

I guess the more I dwell on this the more I'll cry, I better quit now. I hope this somehow lets you in a little more to "my world" Also I must say, I know almost everyone is out there hurting over someone or something. I'm not the only girl without a Mom. I know some of you have lost children, grandparents, siblings, pets...so you know somewhat what I'm dealing with. I in no way think I am hurting more than you, just needed to get this out. :(

Revelation 14:13 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us"

Psalm 95

O COME, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Happy Birthday Mandy!!!

Yes, this post may seem a little late for those of you who actually know Mandy. Her birthday WAS yesterday, but with the busy schedule we kept, there was no way possible I had time to update my blog! :) Plus, I wanted to have some pictures to post along with it! :)

It really does seem like I was just doing a blog post for her last year. I guess the time does go by quickly, so I'll try not so say the same things as before, although all of it definitely still applies! ;) Click here to see last year's post! ;)
The last year has definitely been a constant trial almost I'd say, but the Lord has been so faithful to bring Mandy through it all and grow her in ways no one could believe. One major thing that Mandy has learned is to be independent. Now that will sound odd to most people, but I'm not talking independent in her life, but in her beliefs. For the first time this year, she believes what she does because SHE studied it, SHE had the desire to learn why she believed the way she did. No longer was her faith, something that came from my Mom and David, it was her own! She stood on it now. :) I really admire Mandy for doing that!

Mandy is adventurous, outgoing, fun loving, HILARIOUS, hard worker, sort of okay driver, and my best friend! I appreciate the things she does for me so much and I can't imagine having to go through life without her. I'm so thankful that God gave me a sister like her! I love you Mandy!


For Mandy's birthday, we had such a full day. My Dad wanted to go to an early lunch at Red Lobster, by 11:30 we were sitting down for lunch there. Dave and Kim, let me borrow their camera for the weekend, so I got a lot of pictures from her day! :) It was quite funny, at Red Lobster I don't think they typically do things for someone's birthday, but we told our waitress anyway, and so, she gathered up some other waiters and waitresses and had them sing to Mandy! :D It was SO off key, but who cares, right?? It was fun!!!

After Red Lobster, Mandy and I went our own way. I had planned to do a photoshoot with Mandy. She had been wanting her pictures done, so I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately there was no one to come with us, so we couldn't use a reflector at all, and it was majorly sunny yesterday! (that's why all the shadows are on her) :( We had a lot of fun getting the pictures though. We went to Old St. Charles and down to the river, and then to St. Peters City Hall. It was really neat! I think she enjoyed it, and I for sure did!
We still had a lot of time to waste, so we ended up seeing a movie. :) So after the movie it was finally time to meet David, Papa Jim, and Tara at Texas Roadhouse. This restaurant is like the "birthday spot" Most people dread going their on their birthdays cause they do the most embarrassing thing to you, but...Mandy actually picked it! :) She said she didn't get embarrassed anymore, I'm not so sure she believes that anymore though! ;) We had a nice time though with them all, so all in all it was a great day! I know I had fun, and I hope Mandy did! I wanted to make the day special for her, I think we all did!

Love you lots Mandy!

(The picture of Mandy with the trash can is to show how funny she is! While we were taking pictures she says, "Hey, how bout I get my picture with the trash can, that'd be nice!" :D Of course I laughed and then did it!!! And then the other funny face one she was just being silly!!) Oh, the picture of me, Mandy took. :)

Pendragon

I don't usually promote movies on my blog, but they just came out with graphics to put up on our websites or blogs so I thought I should participate. I know a lot of people who are looking forward to seeing this film, I don't know THAT much about it to say that I'm SOOO excited to see it! :) I do have some friends working on it though, so they must think it's pretty neat! Check it out!

Questions?

This morning I was getting ready in the bathroom just doing my hair and putting pins in it and Hanah looked over at my necklace that was laying there of the locket. She comments frequently about it, but not as much as today. She was just staring at it and then she asked,

Hanah- "Is this your Mom?"
Danielle- "Yup! It is"
Hanah- "Did God kill your Mom?"
Danielle- thought awhile and then said "No, He didn't, he just took her home"
Hanah- "Oh..."
Danielle- "My Mom was very sick, and so he decided to take her home to heaven with Him"
Hanah- "My Grandma was sick and God drove her home too"
Danielle- "Your right Hanah, now my Mom and your Grandma are together"

I then started to put on my necklace and I told her that I wear it everyday to remember my Mom and to "keep her close to my heart" sort of. And she replied with saying..."That's where God is, in our hearts!"

I know this short conversation might not mean much to all of you, but Hanah made me think a lot and taught me some too. Not that I ever thought God KILLED my Mom but I have looked at it as more of a punishment. But today, after thinking of Hanah's grandma dying so recently and just reasons why it could happen, I think the reason can be simple. God wanted my Mom with Him, just like he wanted Hanah's grandma. My Mom was sick...very sick, and now she isn't anymore. She is in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Revelation 21:4 "He (God) will wipe out every tear from their eyes. And death will be no more. Neither will morning, nor outcry, nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."

BIG BELLY!

This might seem like a very odd or even humorous post to many of you, or all of you, but this little was SO special to me, so I had to do a post about her. While I was in Oklahoma I became extremely attached to this puppy, Big Belly. :) Of course, when she was like all the other puppies I paid no special attention to her, but very quickly after I got there, she became so sick. We weren't sure what was going on, at first we just thought she was fat, but as the days went on we noticed she was not fat, but had a very large stomach. My initial thought was she had worms. So, Bethany (Beshu) just gave her some worm medication which would make you think she'd be better, right?? Well, Big Belly didn't get better. She just got larger and larger each day, but the rest of her body got weaker and weaker. It was so sad to see.

I actually ended up calling David and asking him about her and he said he would take her. He told me he wanted a lab puppy and he would take her if I could get her into the vet. Of course all the M's were wondering why in the world we would want the SICK puppy, and my answer was, because she was SO cute, and no one else would want her. I guess I like things that no body likes, and feel sorry for things like that. Oh, one thing you must all know, I am NOT a dog person at all. Not really an animal person very much, but this puppy really got to me. ;(

So, on Saturday after the goat show, I wanted to go up and see Big Belly again, hoping she would be better, because the night before she had actually followed Besh and I outside of the barn and whined for us when we left. It was so sad, so I was hoping she would be feeling better and would be all excited! So, Anna let me take her camera up there so I could get some pictures of her. Well, at first she was acting so cute. She'd pose well and was just so cute. Then after like 10 minutes of pictures, she went back inside the barn and just laid down. It was then that she started looking VERY sick. I was very afraid she would die right there. She was breathing so hard and had her tongue sticking out. Bethany told me she didn't think she would make it and we should go. I lost it then....I thought I might cry if something happened to her, but I never realized it would be so tough for me. I wanted to stay in there with her, but it just got too hard. That's when we went to plant the corn. It was nice though, I had time to just think and cry without anyone seeing. :)

Bethany ended up going back and forth to check on her to see if she had died yet. I really believed she would be dead in like the next 10 minutes. She continued to check though and she was still just laying there. So, after planting we went back up, and this time Caleb and Daniel came up also. I was really thankful that those who were up at the barn with me weren't laughing at me (at least to my face) or just making light of the situation. They seemed very considerate. We all ended up going back inside to search online what it could be. Worm, tumors or something else. We never quite figured it out, but I think it was Caleb that found a site that talked about roundworms. It makes the abdomen very large and there is no "sign" for them when giving them the wormer medication. We tried to rule out tumors so basically we are thinking the roundworms.

Well that night was the night we stayed up so late recording the song, so before going to bed we went back up to check on her. She was still just laying there, new spot this time, and her breathing was much slower..which made me kind of scared. Then when we left the barn that night, she didn't follow and no whining.

Saturday night I didn't sleep like at all. Hope the Morris Family isn't all reading this post, cause I didn't want them to know, but I was very sick that night. That kind of thing has happened to me lots where I'm nervous about something or I don't know, it just happens, so it was kind of normal but I was at lost the whole night what could be making me so nervous or just sick. The only thing I could think was I would be going to their church which meant meeting a lot of new people. :) But, then...I went to check on Big Belly up at the barn. I went by myself this time and as I was walking I got that same feeling again and thought... IF she had died, maybe that's why I was sick, who knows. And when I got up there, there was Big Belly, she was just laying there, in the same spot that I had left her that night before, and she was dead. It was so sad to see her there, not moving. Andrew then came up and saw her there too. He was also very considerate to not make any jokes or say anything to me at that point. I guess somehow Bethany and Anna found out because they came out also. I thought I had all my crying out, but when I went inside it was hard all over again. I ended up calling David and telling him that our puppy had died. He helped me a lot. He had me change my focus. Not to think about her dying but of all the good things, the blessings...like all the time I was able to spend with such a cute puppy and being able to get the pictures. Those were the times that were good. :) So that helped me a lot. I still wish so much that she would have lived. She would have been the cutest dog I think.


Elijah and Andrew buried her I think and then the day after I left Bethany made this memorial stone thing for her. She did a great job and I was happy to see pictures of it!
Okay, so you all might be laughing right now, I guess I can't explain why she was so special to me and why I had such a hard time with her dying. To be honest, I just have a hard time with death I think. Anything or anyone dying is hard for me. Makes me think of that part of my Mom and I don't want to remember her dying. And then it makes me just think that EVERYTHING dies in my life...Everything is here for such a short time, and that's hard for me.

OKLAHOMA!

Well I have been home three days now and there is not an hour that goes by that I am not thinking about my last trip to Oklahoma. It's probably a good thing I am at work alone this week because someone would be getting an ear full about the Morris Family! ;) I had the best time while at their house and it wasn't only FUN but also so encouraging. I never expected to learn the things I did, but I am thankful I did.

I was afraid that when I showed up Sunday night the little ones would be really shy again and it would take a few days for them to warm up to me, but that wasn't the case so much! Which I was SO happy for! Mercy let me hold her that first night I think and Siah talked just like normal! :) Right away I got to see all the babies around the farm! First the chicks, then the kittens, then the baby goats and lastly the puppies! After feeding the baby goats, it looked like it could storm so we were back in the house and Mr. Morris was staying up to see about tornados. Anna, Beshu, and I had talked about it and they said the last time they had gone in their storm cellar thing had been over a year ago, so what were the chances of that happening, right? :) Well, if you recall, my day hadn't been going so well already, so I figured it'd happen! And around 2:00 am someone came in our room and did get us up, telling us we had to get down to the shelter thing. Funny how all the bad things happen right in a row. Everything was fine though, we all got down there and no one got bit by spiders or scorpians. The guys kept killing brown recluse spiders, it was pretty scary, but I was so thankful they were down there to do it. It didn't seem like we were down there very long and then the storm passed, so we all got to go back to bed. No damage had been done and everything was fine. Praise God!

The next morning was my first experience with milking a goat, milking anything for that matter! :) I was pretty scared about it. I had no idea the "things" looked like that and well...I was afraid of them having veins in them. The thought of squeezing it just really didn't go over well with me. So, Bethany put her hand around mine and she squeezed it, I jumped at first, but then tried again. Feeling it was SO weird and pretty gross at the moment, but I ended up trying to milk one of the things. I was not good at all...it took me forever and I couldn't get the pinching part down, so no milk was really coming. It was fun to try though. The next day though, Andrew let me try milking his goat and I got to use two hands and I loved doing it. Since that time, I wanted to milk everytime we went up. I still never got fast, but I wasn't afraid anymore. It was just so neat! I'm gonna have to live close to Bethany when I'm older so I can go over and milk her goats!!!! Planning on moving to Missouri, Bethany? :P :)

Rook became a favorite to play this last time I was there. It was a lot of fun. Usually it was Beshu and me on a team and then Micah and Andrew, but Anna and Elijah would switch in sometimes too. It was a lot of fun. Almost always Micah would end up with the bid and get SO lucky cause the rook would be in the nest..which WASNT fair. :P I'm gonna have to buy a deck to have here because I miss playing it, it was lots of fun!

Tuesday we got to spend a lot of the day playing Ping Pong!!!! I LOVED IT! I had played twice before and it was fun, I've always enjoyed it, but I never got to play so much. They were all eager to play me cause they knew they could win! Andrew and Micah spent a lot of time trying to teach me how to hit the ball on these really hard serves that Micah does. Well I guess it was actually Andrew teaching me.... :) It helped a lot learning from them, but I still was never able to beat Micah, maybe next time...I doubt it though! :) That night we had a tournament too! Everyone was involved and it was so much fun! I was out right away but it was a blast to watch everyone else. It got down to Micah and Andrew actually and Andrew had to beat Micah TWICE to win, and guess what! HE DID!!! They were both champions though....they played so well! After that night we didn't play ping pong anymore! Maybe more next time! :) I'm gonna practice too, so I can get better! ;)

Oh earlier that day they all wanted me to go across this huge brush pile. I kept telling them I wouldn't because I was afraid of the ticks but as soon as I saw the pile I changed my mind. I wasn't going to not go cause of TICKS, but because I could kill myself on it possibly! This thing was massive.

After just climbing up a little bit I had my first scary jump to make. They all just went across efortlessly, but it was a different story for me. I can't remember what shoes I had on, but I'm pretty sure it was my flip flops. Oh wait, no it was not! :D Regardless it was scary!
Right after this picture was taken, I just went ahead and did it, I jumped and you know what! I jumped right into this big tree thing and scraped up my leg. I COULD have cried...but I didn't! :) It hurt though and proved my point that the pile was dangerous! ;) It WAS fun though, shhh...they better not see that I wrote that! :)
Wednesday was Josh's 10th birthday! Mrs. Morris does really neat things for each of their birthdays, so this time Josh wanted an Indian Party I guess. It was a lot of fun helping put together some decorations and headband things! The little ones wore "indian shirts" and then most of us had the headbands on and had some sort of face painting! There is a family picture of all of them, as soon as I get it, I'll edit the blog and put it up! It's good and you can see all the Indians! ;)






Thursday evening it was planned to go to the Naylors house for a small get together for Anna's birthday. We had such a good time! I loved seeing their family again and some other friends. We spent the first part of the evening playing volleyball and then played Taboo. It was a lot of fun! Sad to say bye to such great friends, but it was getting late!

Oh one thing that I keep forgetting to mention was all the pranks that were done to me while I was at their house! Bethany and Micah were the MAIN ones and boy they got me good sometimes! I'm not even sure how they all started and I can't mentioned about 75 percent of them, but I'll share a few! One thing was the trick about Micah hurting his arm. I was in the, what's it called??? Container?? I always wanna say cabinet! Anyway...I was somewhere and was talking to Sage on the phone. Well, in walks Micah and I thought he had just hit his arm. I freaked out, I put Sage on hold and checked his arm and he just started laughing hysterically...turns out it was red food coloring and ink! That boy.....then...Beshu and I were cleaning the studio and we knew they were going to scare us someway when we came out, so I figured they'd jump out at us....nope! Instead he let off some sort of explosive, cause if BOOMED, when we walked out! Besh and I both jumped...so scary! Then one morning, I was just sitting in the recliner or as they say, rocking chair, reading my bible. It was just a peaceful morning and all of a sudden my chair goes tipping over backwards, my bible flies out of my hands and I'm sure my face was priceless...I was terrified. There are SO many more, but one might be a good one to do to other people so I can't spoil it and the others are just...well..yea, can't talk about those! :)

Friday afternoon some of us were supposed to go up to the goat show place and get the goats ready for the show on Saturday. The guys were working late though, so we had to go pick up Elijah to take him with us, which was neat, because I got to see the job site. I had heard a lot about this build block stuff, but never had seen it. It's very interesting to me. They had been pouring concrete that day though, so they were quite busy. We were there only for a short time. Brought them some food and then left with Elijah. We got to the goat show place by like 4:00 or so, my memory is going, and after like 3 hours Bethany was just finished with ONE goat! :D The goat sure looked pretty though! All of it fascinated me. First the goats had to be washed, then blow dried. Then clipped, brushed, and stuff done to their hooves. :) A pretty involved process. Later in the night more of the family came up to meet us, I think they were quite shocked with how long it was taking. :) It was a lot of fun though, I really enjoyed it! I'll have to say though, the show was probably better! ;)

The show was supposed to start at 8:00 am, so we were there close to that time, but they didn't end up starting till later. Since Bethany's goats were a little older, not old...but like 12 months or so, they were later in the morning. We got to sit and watch the other classes go, which was neat. It seemed like I'd see the same people win though. Then it was time for Andrew to go and show a goat! Unfortunately though, his got sent out in the first round. Not sure why though, the goat looked so good! :) Right after his class, it was time for Bethany to show! Her's did very well! She didn't get sent out like some did, but she wasn't in the top 3 either....I think she was pleased with her rank though!


While sitting and waiting for the goats to show Anna got some really cute pictures! This first one is of Andrew being a "dude" ;) We had lots of discussions on what a dude was, so he was showing us I guess! :D Looks cool huh?? Cool dude! The goat show ended for us around lunch time, so we were able to get home early and have time to do some stuff. Something really sad happened when we got home, but my next post will be about that. After the sad news though, Mr. Morris had asked Besh and I to help plant some corn. I really enjoyed doing it. I needed some time to just think anyway, so it was good for me, and I learned how to plant corn! :) Mr. Morris gave us an illustration too. As he was making the rows for the corn, he would look forward at the stake to make a straight row and one time I guess, he looked back behind him and when he was finished the row was crooked. Well, he told me the verse about, "No man who has put his hand to the plow and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of God" It really made a lot of sense when he said it. We need to keep our eyes forward, press on toward the goal, and no looking back! And if we can do that, we'll stay on the straight and narrow path!



Well Saturday night was our last night and we had to be up early for church but we wanted to make the most of the night that we could. I guess it was Mrs. Morris, I think she was the one that suggested that we recorded a song in the guy's studio. It sounded fun but I was sick and would have been SO embarrassed I thought to even do it, but well...we did! :) It was SO funny! We had decided to sing, "Living For Jesus" I had heard the song once maybe, so I didn't know it very well so I messed Caleb and Bethany up a lot I think. We tried singing it by ourselves but the timing didn't work and then we tried us together, and then Daniel did the piano over and then we sang again all together. It was a lot of fun! Beshu was getting SO tired so it was so funny to see her and I guess when I get overally tired I just laugh, so at least once we had to stop the recording cause I just started to laugh. Also, Caleb, Daniel and I are perfectionist so we wanted it to be just right, although we never got it to that point, but Bethany was fine with whatever! She was so funny to be around that night! Oh, and I guess I got over my embarrassment pretty quickly. So many things have happen in front of all of them, I should be over with it now! Anyway, after singing it like 150 times... (not sure to be exact), we finally got in bed around 2:30 am but it was such a great night!

Sunday was sad for lots of reasons! Mainly because it was the day for me to go home! ;( I did not want to leave, at all. I was thankful it was in the afternoon though, so I got to go to church with them in the morning. I really enjoyed it and the message was very good. Saying goodbye was so hard though. Saying bye at the airport helped a little I guess though, I didn't want everyone to see my cry, so I held back the tears and was just hoping I'd be able to see them all again soon! Their family is really a blessing to me, hope I know them a long time!!!!

Something doesn't look right here, does it???? The only socks I had left were these fuzzy purple ones my Grandma had got me, and I didn't realize it but they had a little puff ball at the ankle part. :D Soo...when I put on the boots with them, this is what it looked like! :D Crazy, I know...

Love you lots Beshu!

Where I've been!

Okay, so I know it must seem like I just dropped off the face of the earth, as far as you are all concerned I'm stuck somewhere in Mexico probably! :D :D Well, I am not! ;) Mandy and I left that Friday back to St. Louis. We actually got an earlier flight which was REALLY nice so we were home by 6:30 on Friday night! That evening was spent with Tara and 2 friends which was nice and then that night Mandy and I just stayed at Tara's house, planning on going back Saturday to spend the day with family. Well, while I was at breakfast with David, Papa Jim, Tara and Joan, the Bradfords (the family I work for) called and said that they would be gone another week in Texas so they really didn't need me that week. I was very shocked but also kind of happy because I was planning on using the week to just recoup from my trip! Well, when I got back to the table to tell Mandy and the rest of them, they suggested I go to OK and use the week I had off instead of taking off a different week! Not sure HOW I agreed to go on with this crazy plan, maybe because I REALLY wanted to see everyone in Oklahoma, so I called Bethany and basically invited myself over. I know, I know...totally awful of me! :( But!!!! They said YES!! So, that day my crazy plan started! Mandy and I went home for 2 hours, that's it and then were off again. The plan was to ride down with Philip's (a friend) church van back to the Springfield area and then Katie, Joan's daughter, would be picking me up there and then on Sunday morning taking me to a bus stop to ride a bus to OKC. Sounds easy enough, right???? WRONG! It was the worst experience ever I think! Thanks Sage for the bus idea! ;) :P No, just kidding! It should have worked, but the Lord must have had something to teach me...anyway....on with the story. :) I met up with Philip around 5:00 in St. Peters and when we got there he sort of acted like there wasn't any room. He was afraid that they had forgotten I was coming and wasn't sure where I would sit. I was in a panic, I kept asking Mandy to just drive me down to Springfield, but she REALLY didn't want to do that, so she kept trying to work it out for me. Finally, Philip asked and they said there was room but in a different vehicle. So that was okay with me, and actually was the best thing! I am thankful I road with 3 Moms instead of 15 teenagers! :D It was very odd too, because within 15 minutes of driving, the lady in the passenger seat realized that I was going to stay with a family she knew in OKC..she was from the same city! It was pretty amazing to me, so we knew 2 of the same families, so she told me lots about the Burnetts and Morris' :)

Well, after driving an hour and half, they wanted to pull over to eat so we stopped at some Steak and Shake and were there for 3 hours!!! I couldn't believe it! I couldn't say anything, but I kept watching the clock and noticing it was getting later and later. It was 9:30 when we left and I told Katie we'd be at the meeting place by 10:30...there was no way we would make that now. So.....everything with Katie got scratched, she wasn't going to get me anymore. I had no clue what I was going to do and was just really frustrated. The ladies in the vehicle with me were calling all sorts of people to see if I could stay with them and they would take me to the bus station so early the next morning, but then Philip called and said his family said it was alright, so by 2:00 am we were at his house and going to sleep. At like 5:30 my alarm went off, that was not enough time to sleep, but we had to leave early to get there in time! So when we woke up, their Dad got up also and kept mentioning all the rain and storms. He said that we probably wouldn't be able to get out of the drvieway because of it flooding...I was SO scared...I kept saying, NO I have to get there...can we take a boat? SO, we tried anyway, and thanks to God, we made it!!! :) Philip and his brothers got me to the bus station in time and all I had to do was wait for my bus, sounds easy, but it wasn't. It was a disaster! My bus was supposed to leave at like 8 something, so I was there an hour early and just sitting there. I was so tired, but I was determined to not fall asleep, and I didn't. So, I sat and sat and sat....I saw buses come and go but none were headed for OKC. One said some weird place and the other that I watched said Los Angeles. I kept waiting and finally I called David and asked him if buses are usually late. By this time it was like 9:15, he asked if I had missed it and so I assured him I couldn't have and I went up to ask the guy and he said, "Yea, your bus left a while ago...I called for it twice, how did you not hear me?" He was pretty rude. Just then a bus that said OKC on the top drove in and I said...No, that's my bus there, and he explained that there wasn't enough for that bus so they switched it, BUT they didn't tell me! SO AWFUL of them! AND, the other mistake was...he never shouted OKC, he just said Westbound bus...I know, I should have been smart enough, but I kept listening for OKC....ugh I was So upset. I think I was just overally tired too, but I just called David back and cried and cried and cried. I was So upset. I couldn't believe that I had missed the bus. David offered to come and get me, but it'd be 3 hours sitting in that bus station and the next bus for OKC didn't leave till 1:30. So I called Katie, and as soon as she heard me crying she said she would be there, and within minutes she was...she is a life saver! I didn't want to spend one more minute in that station, there were two really creepy guys that said things and well...they just weren't good, it scared me. So, it really worked out good for me to miss the bus. I went to Katies, and was able to shower, sleep some and have something to eat! I was happy! So, at 12:30 we went back to the station and I made sure I didn't miss the next bus. Someone had reccommended sitting near the front of the bus, so I got the very front seat, right behind the bus driver. A man asked to sit next to me and he didn't look dangerous so it was fine with me. He was very kind and knew I had missed an earlier bus, so he said he would help me get to OKC. The bus made 2 stops a long the way, so I was thankful to have someone to look for to make sure I was going the right way. :) It was almost a 6 hour drive on the bus, but the time went pretty fast. The things that went on while on the bus were SO bad though. I'm cautioning everyone to not let their son or daughter of ANY age ride a bus like that alone, it is NOT a good place, well it wasn't for me. I got to do a lot of praying while on the bus, it was SO sad for me to see such corrupt people. I wont go into detail, but they were dealing drugs, taking drugs, using horrible language and talking about things that I would NEVER in my LIFE want to hear. It was SO bad. I did get to witness to the man sitting next to me. He seemed like a Christian at first, but I think he is searching for truth now. I was SO relieved to get off that bus though in OKC and see Bethany!!!!!! Her and Caleb came to pick me up and I was so thankful for that! Took awhile to get my bag, but as soon as we did we headed for the house! I couldn't wait to see everyone! :)

I don't have any pictures from my trip yet, so I am going to wait to tell about the whole week till' I get the pics, but it was one of the BEST weeks for me! I learned SO much and got TONS of pranks done to me and some certain name kept popping up while down there, oh AND pics (Thanks to Micah) but honestly, it was a really great week! It was SO sad to leave yesterday, wish I could stay forever but reality has to come sometime. :( I did get a few pictures on my cell phone that I uploaded to the computer, so I'll post them. The quality isn't good at ALL, but just a sneak peak from the week!!!!! Hopefully soon I can write about the week though!



(These 3 were at a Goat Show we went too...details later...the last one is SO blurry, but it was too cute to not post! ;) )


The brush pile they MADE me climb over.... :D I might have a scar to show for it...a bruise at least! ;)
Siah's crazy hair!! So cute!
Mercy
Bethany and Me
Josh
Jeremiah
BeshU
Siah looking like a cowboy bandit sort of thing :D
One of the MANY pranks Micah tried pulling on me...this one worked, I was SO scared thinking he was really hurt!