Ice Cream

You know those things that sound like a good idea, then
after it is over you are left shaking your head mumbling
"It seemed like such a good idea?"

In there defense .... it is REALLY hot here and ice cream melts fast

Noelle is just so amazingly cute right now even
if she is basted in chocolate ice cream.

You can tell the sugar is already hitting their bloodstream

This may look innocent, but I think it was a "you better give me
what I want or I will put this hand print somewhere."

"Look No hands"

I think in the future we will stick with icy pops.
I am just so thankful God gave us three
happy, energetic, funny kids.

A cheerful heart is good medicine.
-Proverbs 17:22-

Plants in Our Neighborhood an Ode to Sarah

We have a friend Sarah Floyd, and she is traveling all over the world right now. She loves plants, so the kids and I took a walk in our neighborhood and took some pictures. We thought you would like them too. I am not a master at plant names like Sarah, so the kids and I have made some up for you.

Pink-a-mint in our front yard.

Hawaii surfer girl flower in the park on the corner
of our street

White Angel Flower with the blue devil standing next to her.

Banana Tree

Bougainvillea on our neighbors fence. This grows
everywhere here

This is an ivy like the popular house ivies in the states, but
they get ginormous here.

The Rest of the Story

This is going to get tricky, cause Jeff remembers this more than meeting at camp and we don't exactly agree..
In 1992, I began a year at a University in Lubbock Tx. I was at a class in church one night, and I saw Jeff. I know it is strange, but after all that time I knew exactly who he was. However, I wasn't a shy little girl anymore. I had swung to the opposite pole. Jeff asked me out, and we went to go have ice cream. I was a nut at that time in my life. Not into anything bad, just having fun, but I was still a fickle girl. I kind of had a distrust or something for guys. I enjoyed laughing and playing and flirting, but I was not interested in really dating anyone......anyway I felt I had been brushed off years ago. We lost touch. The next year I went to a missions program in Lubbock called AIM. All the AIM people lived in an apartment complex and Jeff was a living in the same complex. He was actually friends with a friend of mine, Charles . I would see him coming and going (in his cute little purple wind shorts) but he didn't talk to me. Which at that time I would see him in the parking lot riding a unicycle and I knew he was really into skydiving ("I know why the birds sing dude." ? ) I did think he was a little..strange. Later that year I left for Slovakia. Charles and I were on the same team, and Charles would get funny letters or audio tapes from Jeff and other friends and we would all get to enjoy and laugh. He fell off the map again.
Years later, Charles came over to my house to visit, and Mr Jeff was with him. I don't remember him saying hardly a word that day, but he called me from an airplane later (Which I thought was the coolest thing). He was working for Southwest Airlines, but he was going to be back in Lubbock and wanted to know if I wanted to go to dinner and to see STOMP, a percussion/art/drama musical group. We went and had a great time. Our second date was a flight to San Diego, for some walks on the beach. We held hands, it was fun and sweet but there was no kissing. Actually, there was no kissing for the next 7 months. This part gets a little hard to explain, but at the same time as this, I was coming out of a relationship with a snake. I was happy being friends with Jeff. I even remember saying " We will only ever be friends ". His response shocked me. He said "I would like there to be more, but I am fine just being friends". However, I didn't really believe he really wanted to be my friend, my real friend. We talked regularly, went out and did things. He would buy me dinner, and he became...my best friend. Later, that year in October, I had a migraine that crippled me. I have had four in my life. That was the first time I found myself alone in my house, and I needed help. I had been in the bathroom floor for hours. When I would move for some reason it induced vomiting. I had a puppy that needed food and water. I called Jeff to ask if he could please come feed the dog. He came, and feed the dog; went to the store and bought some Excedrin migraine; gave me drugs and later helped me from the bathroom floor to the couch. While I was on the couch he started to rub my back ever-so-softly. I motioned for him to come closure and whispered "Don't touch me". It was extremely painful to talk , open my eyes or be touched. He sat down at the foot of the couch. I was in and out of consciousness, but when I would open my eyes, he was just sitting there. He left late that night, and I knew two thing when I woke up the next morning. Bad migraines leave you weak and with a headache hang-over the next morning and I was deeply in love with Jeff Gearhart. He was a man of his word, he could be trusted, and he was my best friend.
That next day we already had plans to go see The King and I with 2 other couples. I went to a university clinic to get medication to help with the migraine left overs and to ward off another one. We went to the play and then went swing dancing afterward. While dancing there was another girl trying to monopolize Jeff's time. This was completely appropriate because I was clear before we were just friends. I know it took forever but I had just realized how amazing he was and I was not going to let this girl in a red dress steal my...friend.

Wow... now I will try to tell my version. Of course there are many similarities and much accurate information but first off, know that I have never worn wind shorts and especially purple. They were blue and they were swim shorts. Ok, now we can go on. I remember seeing Amy playing roller hockey and I thought... "wow, she's not only pretty, she can play... and she's pretty good and can hold her own" So I found out her info and called her up for a date. We did go to get ice cream and I thought things were going well... until... I called for a second date (in '92) and got the cold shoulder baby!!! I asked her if she would like to go eat and she said she would rather make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and stay in... OUCH! That was a pretty clear message but yet I tried to call a few times after... basically... she wasn't interested. On we go to 1994 at which time we both lived in the same apartment complex. I saw her and still, thought she was the most beautiful and intriguing girl I had met, the catch... she was "non dating" (because of AIM) someone else and I sat back and watched. However, Charles was friends with me, friends with Amy and friends with the other guy. (BTW not the snake) So we had casual contact and I was able to keep in touch with her when she went to Slovakia... via Charles.

As the story goes I started work with Southwest and was moving around and Amy had come back to LBB to start nursing school... enter the snake... hissssss. I moved back to Lubbock in 1997 (was planning on staying 6 mo.) and was cruising with Charles and we went to Amy's house. I didn't say much when I was there... I was just enamored and couldn't figure out how I could be sooo drawn to someone for so many years and our paths cross so many times. I have got to learn more about her. I did call her from an airplane and yes... I thought it might be the difference between yes or no and I couldn't bear to be turned down for another sandwich. We went to STOMP and things were going great. What I didn't know is that the "other dude" was tugging at my future wifes heart strings, but he was just a player! So for several months I wasn't sure if Amy and I would ever work out but I knew that I found a good friend and definitely someone who needed a true one. We did go out on several dates that summer/fall but Amy to this day has a hard time admitting that they were dates. I don't know what she prefers to call them. We finally kissed the night of Craig and Kelly's wedding.... one night after the swing dancing... pretty sure it was Nov. 98!! I asked her to marry me in Feb. of '99 and after she said yes she started calling me her boyfriend... fiance was too difficult. In May of 1999 I finally got the girl of my dreams and prayers. She resisted... I persisted!!

P.S. I never said, " I know why the birds sing dude" I just liked skydiving!

The migraine story was interesting... I really thought she might die or
something. I still laugh about the "Don't touch me thing"

Oh... and she said she doesn't remember the sandwich thing but she said she
thought my car was the most important thing to me. It was just a Camaro that I
just bought and I only took care of it and cleaned it... especially for dates!

P.S.S. I must also say it was Angie Burns that got us to going to swing dancing classes in the first place. We had a blast with Angie, Charles, Selandra, and Greg.

How I met Jeff

Jeff and I met at a church camp in New Mexico. I was 12 and he was 15. I watched him from afar the whole week. He was funny and friendly. He was preppy but not really pretentious. At camp fire I would look for him and hope that accidentally he might sit with me. Well he never did, but I had made other friends and we had fun.
On Friday night of camp they did a special dinner. The boys were matched up with the girls and one by one the boys came (were sent) to the recreation area to pick up there assigned "dates". I begged not to have to participate, as did several of both genders. There was no getting out of it. As a young girl it was a little terrifying for me. As the numbers of girls dwindled I was becoming uncomfortable. Then came the realization...I was the last girl, and they had matched me with no one. I felt embarrassed and stupid. "Can I please just go to my cabin?!". Several boys had taken more than one date since the girls out numbered them, so it was decided to send a boy back for me that only had one date...More embarrassing. I really wanted to cry, but I am good at playing tough. You guessed it. They sent back Jeff. He was really sweet to me, and made me forget how stupid I felt. His other date was blond, pretty and older, but Jeff was nice to us both. He made me feel special, and I thought I was in love. I tried to talk to him after our "date", but he dismissed me pretty quickly. It was obvious I was getting a cold shoulder. At one last attempt, I wrote him a note on our last day. He wasn't rude but he never responded.


That... is what SHE said.....
This... is what I say (enter Jeff)...
First off, unfortunately, I have to agree with most of the story cause I don't remember much about it. I do remember having preppy clothes (but my Mom still dressed me) and I was way to important to be pretentious. OK... on a serious note Amy may have felt ignored or "dismissed" but let's look at the reality of the situation. When a man is 35 and his wife is 32... it's ok, when a man is 25 and his wife is 22... it's ok, when a man is 21 and his wife/girlfriend is 18... depending on the man... it's ok too, but when a teenage boy is 15 and in high school and a girl is 12 and in elementary school... it just can't be justified... at least not from the view a 15 year old high school kid. All of this aside, not only do I remember Amy and that night with two dates, I still, to this very day... have the note that she wrote to me. I kept it all those years (I used it to track her) and it was one of VERY few that I kept through my life. You know you didn't keep very many notes from camp, and if you did, it was from people you liked or hoped to see again someday. I not only got to see Amy again... I have the privilege to see her every day of my life. I love you Amy with all my heart and thank you for doting on me... now I get to dote on you.

Camping anyone??