We had a wonderful night at the carnival and at Callie's performance. There was a good turn out at the carnival, and I look forward to seeing how much money the school made. It's always a challenge putting an event on with a group of people because everyone has different ideas, so once in a while it was a little difficult to try to understand others' perspectives, but for the most part, I think we did a great job coming together to put on a fun Friday evening for families. Two days ago, our pet rat, Rita, escaped her cage, and the kids were very worried about her. It was in a small way, an example for the kids of how it must feel for the families who lost their loved ones in the earthquake in Haiti and for the family that lost their son in Ames. They were so glad when thirst made her return home from her adventure. My mom said that she heard on the news that they just found another survivor from the earthquake, and weeks later he is still alive and says that a white man in a robe kept bringing him water. I thank God for sending Jesus to this man, for putting a song in Callie's heart, and for putting love and hope in the souls of the residents at the nursing home who could choose to feel drowned in their sea of burdens or could choose to have the strength to wait upon the Lord knowing that He is in control and continues to give them grace and wisdom. We met a very nice man named Joe this morning visiting his 92 year old girlfriend, Elna. He said that before her stroke they were great dancers and spent many late nights at the Elks Lodge doin the boot scootin boogie. John and TJ and Grandpa Fred are ice fishing at Ponderosa. It is Freddy's first time ice fishing this year due to his recent health problems, and he is so glad to be out there. Callie's show was so beautiful last night. She sang an amazing song by Sarah Groves called When The Saints and a lot of her own songs about learning to obey God and to always remember where home is. Callie told us about a boy who said the Spirit told him not to go to school the day of the earthquake, and he stayed home and now he's alive but all of his classmates are gone. Mara was dancing and asking everyone's names and making a sweet gal named Tori smile. We visited Dixie and Bob afterwards, and it was great to see them. They are wonderful people and parents. They gave Chloe a $100 donation to give to their school. So generous and thoughtful. My mom told me that she has an interview in Cedar Falls on Monday for some home based sales business. I pray that God does whatever He has planned, and that she listens. The girls brought me breakfast in bed this morning and sang me a sweet Valentines song. The girls and I went shopping for TJ's 6th birthday this morning and found him exactly what he wanted: an electric guitar, amp, microphone, and melodica. He'll be so excited. We ate breakfast at DooDah's Diner this morning, and Robert Slocum was our waitor. We bought the coffee for the man we sat by, and we hope that he enjoyed our little act of kindness and passes it on to someone else who also passes it on. A mom of a classmate of Mara's came up to me at the carnival and said that she had gone to the girls' Valentines Party, and that the kids passed around a ball and said who they loved, and that everyone was saying their dog or their cat, and then Mara said that she loves Jesus. I'm so proud that she loves Jesus and that she isn't afraid to say it, isn't afraid to dance infront of a group, and isn't afraid to talk to new people. I pray for my student, JoAnn Johnson and her family, for Brett Weiss, for Grandma Mike to find the strength and grace to rise above the rough waters, for my brother, Jimmy, my cousin, Erica, for my friend, Christina and a closer friendship between us, and for us all to show love everyday, not just on Valentines Day.
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