Today, myself and 12 others from the Tulsa area will be heading down to Dallas for the IBLP Seminar. I am the CI Team Leader/Story teller. So this will be a new experience, but I am really looking forward to it. So please be praying for me, my sister who is doing materials, and the rest of the staff and teachers. Also, please be praying for the children that will be attending and for their parents. That God will be working in their hearts even now preparing them for what they will hear.

Blessings,
Richard

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Well, a few post ago I entitled one three weeks of action packed days and little sleep. Well…  that has happened again only this time it is FIVE weeks!!! I guess we had better back up a little. On May 17^th my sister graduated from high school. Who-hoo. She had a wonderful graduation and an awesome party with friends afterwards. We played volleyball and ultimate Frisbee till about 10:30pm. http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/ElizabethSGraduation

 

The following morning, Sunday, John and I headed up to the Reckner’s house in Kentucky. We spent the time helping them get ready for the ALERT Cadet high adventure canoe trip that was to start on Tuesday evening. Monday night the rest of our family joined us at the Reckner’s house. Wow, I tell you that was one party. J Tuesday morning the Reckner and Shoemaker guys all headed east to the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River. Meanwhile the girls all tried there best to not get into trouble back at the house. I am not sure if they succeeded. But I give them the benefit of the doubt. Back on the river I was the Group “A” Co-Leader. And when not on the river I helped with the cooking and was in charge of finding a dish washing crew each meal! We had a blast on the river. We were able to find some rapids that the guys could get out and ride down in their life jackets. And another one where you could portage your canoe back up and come down again. I did that several times with Nathan Snyder. I think we must have run that one about 6 times. That was also the only time we ever flipped out canoe. But hey, we had already taken all our gear out so it was a small price to pay for taking the more technical route! The whole camp was a lot of fun. Our theme was Biblical Manhood and I had the privilege of leading one of the wisdom searches the second morning.

 

Following the canoe trip my family left on Sunday. It was sad to see them go. I wish they could have stayed longer… Then, they went to Silver Dollar City WITHOUT me on the way home.

 

On Tuesday Bryce, Heather, Brystol, myself, and the rest of the Behren’s family headed south to Nashville for the ATI Regional Conference. I stayed with Bryce and Heather and we had a blast there. Including pulling up to the drive through at Wendy’s with three different orders amongst the seven of us in the vehicle and being told that they can only do TWO orders per vehicle!!!! So guess what we combined two. Then we pulled around to pay and Bryce started to give him the money for the SECOND order FIRST and they said, “No you have to pay for the first order first”! And to top it all off they gave us the orders all mixed up!! We should have said, “Excuse me but I need the FIRST order first!! J Bryce was the SMAJ for the Cadet Challenge and an Event Leader. I did Traffic and was also an event leader. Brystol and Heather did registration and meals, and the rest of the Behren’s family just attended the conference. All in all it was a great time. From swimming till late at the nice resort that God had graciously provided rooms for us at, to meeting up with friends, and of course just talking. Friday night Brystol and I rode back to the Reckner’s house with friends of our Ben and Becky Clarke. We had a blast on the way back. The next day the rest of the Clarke family came up from Nashville and there other two children came down from Verity.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/CadetChallengeNashville

http://gallery.alertcadet.org/main.php?g2_itemId=61229

 

Saturday we also started cutting the Reckner’s hay. Bryce and Capt. Reckner cut the east 10 acres and Lyndsae and I split cutting the 25 lower acres. However, because of wet ground and rain it took all week to cut it and bale just the 10 east acres that were dry enough. From the east 10 acres we cut and baled 263 square bales.

 

During the five weeks I was in and out of the Reckner’s we had several fire and EMS calls. On one call Bryce was the medic that came out on the ambulance and Lyndsae, Brystol, and I had responded POV with the VFD and Bryce took me along in the ambulance with him and his partner. It was a lot of fun and some good experience. One day in particular we had three calls while we were trying to get packed and loaded for the Bedford civil war reenactment. The first was a call to one of the local mines for a patient that had a piece of rock fall on him. Bryce, the girls and I responded to that call and the ambulance showed up about 15 minutes later. After waiting 50 minutes and they still had not gotten the rock off the patient and brought him up to the surface we received another call for a possible structure fire. Bryce had responded shortly after us to the mine so Bryce went straight to the scene and we had to run past the house, which was on the way to the fire, to grab our gear. When Bryce arrived on scene it was a totally involved structure fire at a residence. We arrived a minute later just as they paged out a second department for the fire. However, on the way we passed a grass fire in a field along the road we were on. When Bryce arrived on scene the owner came over and said we were abandoning the house and it caught on fire as we were working on it. And handed him $20 and said thanks for coming see you later. Hmm that doesn’t sound like it adds up right. Well it turns out he had called the assistant chief and told him if he saw some smoke out that way they were just burning a little brush pile. It turns out they had intentionally set the house on fire probably so they could collect the insurance money. Well the assistant chief wasn’t happy when he heard Bryce call in that we had a totally involved structure fire so he came out. And they called the sheriff and got him for arson, and called the EPA for him polluting the air. So hopefully he learned you don’t lie to the Chief.

 

The first weekend in June found us in Bedford KY at the civil war reenactment at Preston Plantation. We took the team, wagon, cocoa and her filly, and the milk cow. Tyler and I rode Cavalry in the battle both days. It was a blast. When reenacting battles, going for horseback or horse drawn wagon rides, or cooking, we were busy talking with friends. This was the last reenactment before Bryce left for PA so it was a bittersweet time. It was a nice relaxing reenactment for me because things were slow and easy. 

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/BedfordReenactment

 

After arriving back home on Sunday we unloaded everything, had something to eat, did wash, and went to bed. For as soon as the dew was dry on Monday Lyndsae started raking the remaining 25 acres of hay and I followed right behind with the baler. Brystol did some of the bailing and Mrs. Reckner and the others hauled up the first 200 bales from the field. Then it was just the older ones to finish it off after lunch. We hauled the last bale into the barn about 6:30pm. We had a record 530 bales from that field. And Tuesday is promptly rained. Thank you Lord for helping us to get all the hay in.

 

Wednesday we began scraping and shoveling out all the sawdust in the barn so we could replace it with new sawdust. Wednesday and Thursday I went with Lyndsae and Brystol to train and would pick up a load of sawdust while Lyndsae was training.

 

Thursday we got Bryce all loaded up in the trailer and Explorer. Friday morning Tyler, Timothy and I headed out in Lyndsae’s truck with the 16’ box trailer with a FULL load. Bryce, Heather, and Heather’s mom were in the Explorer. After a rather un-eventful trip we arrived in Greencastle PA at about 10:30 pm local time. THEN… as we were backing the trailer into the drive behind the house the pump seal blew, dumping transmission fluid all over the ground. Being almost 11pm at this time there was not much we could do. So we left it were it stopped and went to bed.

 

Saturday morning we discovered the truck would drive forward but not in reverse. So off we go to a local transmission shop. After calling or visiting three or four different shops we finally found one that could start on it Monday. Because remember we were supposed to be driving back to KY on Sunday. So Monday comes and they find that the main pump seal is blown and that the pump needs to be rebuilt. OK so that will be done on Wednesday about 10am. Ten-o-clock rolls around and still no word yet. So we call and they say it will be about noon. Then they call and say it will be 3pm. So just after 3pm Bryce and I head over there and pick it up. It works great not a problem. I back up near the trailer over at the barn and get out to put the receiver in the hitch and Bryce hopped in the truck to back it the rest of the way up. And guess what. Kuuppttt. It kills the engine and will not go in reverse. So we called the shop back and off we went, only with forward gears. On the way back to Hagerstown the transmission started not wanting to shift out of first gear. It took longer and longer to shift from first till we were just about a block away and it wouldn’t shift from first at all. Just before we pulled in the owner who had been working on the truck left with another vehicle to test the brakes they had just fixed. So Bryce and I spent an hour waiting for him to return. When he returned they hooked it up to the computer and found several things not working right with the transmission on of those being the torque converter. So that would be till Monday some time before it was finished.

 

Thursday Tyler and I worked two drywall jobs with Bryce in the morning then after lunch the three of us boys headed out with Bryce and Heather to Fort Necessity National Battle Ground and then on the their grandparents. Bryce took us all to a wonderful dinner as a thank you for helping him move and then finally landed at their grandmother’s house in MD. Being at their grandmothers house was a lot of fun, even if it was only for the night and a wonderful breakfast the next morning.

 

Friday we arrived in Georgetown for the reenactment about an hour before the rest of the Reckner family. So we looked around the event site, and ate, and waited. Once they arrived we set up camp and then went out to eat. After dinner we had to make the normal trip to Wal-Mart and also needed to get to TSC.

 

Saturday Tyler and I were in both the Downtown raid and the main battle. Tyler galvanized and was Union I was Confederate. Timothy and Mr. Reckner both worked with the Union artillery. During the downtown raid the Confederates defeated the Yanks. However, in the main battle they did overpower us and win. After the battle we had dinner and then got ready for the Grand Ball. Normally only the officers are allowed to go to the Grand Ball at this reenactment however, they specially invited the entire Reckner family. It was fun.

 

Sunday they had a worship service in the old tobacco barn which we attended. After church we sat around camp and talked and worked on lunch. Tyler and I went and drilled a little with the confederate army for an hour before the battle. Before the main part of the battle our unit was sent to engage a unit of dismounted Yankee Cavalry. During the battle today the Confederates won. However, I was shot during a charge at the fence the Yankee soldiers were holding. It was a good battle that went for a while. Then close to the end Wesley came running over and “died” next to me. He had been helping Brystol, who was an ice angel. So he lay next to me and proclaimed, “Brystol told me to find someone I knew and die by them”. That afternoon we hurriedly packed up camp in a light rain. And thankfully, we had everything packed in the van and trailer before much of the rain came. A few of the staff from the reenactment host location even came over and helped us.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/GeorgetownReenactment 

Because Mrs. Behrens hadn’t come with us from PA she was still stuck there. Because the original plan had been to go right back there after the reenactment and get the truck and come back home. Well the truck was not finished and it was going to be another week because it was not just the torque converter as they had thought. But the entire transmission was toast. Gears that were almost smooth. Clutch plates everywhere in side. The mechanic said he was not sure how we had even been able to drive as much as we had. I just told him it was a tough truck like me!!!! Jk So we were not going to be going back to PA for a while and she needed to get home… Therefore, she got a flight from Baltimore to Louisville for a good deal. Only problem Louisville is an hour from where we were and the flight didn’t come in till 10:30pm. So we headed just past Louisville to the some friends house. The Maggards had allowed us to borrow one of their guns so we had to take it back so we just went and spent several hours there waiting till the flight came in. Just as we were getting ready to leave and head back to the airport Bryce called and said her flight had gotten delayed an hour. Oh well, that just gave us more time at the Maggards. Seth and I were going to go see the VFD Station where he works and ended up with a party of about 7 in the tracker made for 5 people!

 

As we were driving back to the airport at 11:30pm, I braked lightly going around a corner and suddenly the left rear brake made an awful screeching! But then went away. But the next time I used to brakes it did it again. Well I didn’t even know what kind of breaks were on the back on this tracker so when it made that noise again I pulled to the side of the road and examined them. The Tracker had drum breaks on the rear wheels. So I was think hmm I wonder if something has come apart inside a spring or clip and allowed the pads to fall down inside the drum? Well we finally got a hold of Mrs. Behrens around 12:30. Her plane had been delayed AGAIN. After picking her up we started trying to find an auto parts store that was open at 12:30am. After several tries near the airport and no luck we headed to Wal-Mart. The plane was to get a few tools and jack up the tracker take the drum off and see what the deal was. And if it was something coming apart as we feared then we would remove the pads and clips and then reassemble it and drive back with three operable brakes. By this time Tim was hard asleep and couldn’t be awaked for anything. After working for a quit some time we were not able to get the drum off. It was on there to stay! WE just put it all back together and started back toward Sebree. Thankfully the Tracker was a standard. So I was able to drive the three hours back only ever using the brakes about 20 times or so. And the noise got progressively quitter as we drove. Hmm it must all be getting ground apart in there and that is why it is not making anymore noise. Needless to say it was a tired trip back. Brystol and Mrs. Behrens talked to me non-stop the whole way back so I stayed awake. I guess that was a good thing. During the whole Wal-Mart ordeal and one gas station Tim never moved a bone he was so tired. By the time we pulled into the house it was 4:30AM. We promptly got out of the car and walked upstairs and sent to bed! At 7am I was awaked by the little guys who had gotten home long before us and gotten a full nights sleep. They didn’t realize we had gotten home so late. So much for sleeping I was now awake and light was streaming in the window.  

 

Sometime in the afternoon we jacked the tracker up and tried once again to remove the drum. After hammering with bigger hammers and prying with bigger bars and using PB blaster we were unable to remove the Drum. So Mr. Reckner told us to put it all back together and he would just drive it to work the next day and take it to a shop. Tuesday he ended up not taking it and when he got home from work early was able to finally remove it. I guess the PB blaster just took a while to work on all the rust. And just as fear all that was left inside the drum was a pile of ground up brake parts in the bottom of the drum.

 

Thursday I went with Lyndsae and Brystol to Goldenrod Farms where Lyndsae trains world champion stallions. Brystol some times would go along with her and help and this time I went to. So I got to ride some nice horses there. It was fun.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/PhotoShootForLyndsaeWhileTrainingAtGoldenrodFarms

 

Wednesday morning at 3am we were awoken for a structure fire in Sebree. We arrived on scene to a backyard shed/barn that was fully involved with the roof already collapsed. It was a total loss. Tracy was manning the hose and just putting out the grass around it that was on fire, then we just let it burn some. Then Tracy gave the hose to Brystol and she opened it up and sort of fell back into Tracy because of the force. Then it was my turn and I finished off putting out the fire and emptying the truck of the last 400 gallons that we had. It was a lot of fun! My first time to run a hose, 2.5” 200psi 125gpm! After cleaning up we headed back home and slept for a few more hours.

 

Then it was time to say goodbye and start back to Tulsa. I was a little tired because in the past 5 days I had gotten just over 22 hours of sleep! So many people made sure I stayed well awake by calling and talking to me on the way home. Since it was Wednesday everyone was over at my grandparent’s house so I went straight over there and had a great time with everyone.

 

So all in all it was a great time.   

Here are a few other links to pictures that I took during that time. I still have many more to upload and will hopefully get the done soon.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/RecknerFamilyPhotoShoot

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/ME

http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/GraysonSBirthday

  

 

 

Friday my brothers and the Butler boys went to the sprint car races in Claremore. Several of the guys that work for my dad are all related and one of the guys nephew owns a salvage business and races. So dad has his name on one of the cars and they gave us tickets. We had a great time. http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/Racing

Saturday I went riding with two guys from work and Michael Butler. It was a lot of fun. I rode a nice Dun named "Buck". He lived up to his name. Before we put the tie-down strap on him there was one time where he got a little excited and we had a rodeo on our hands. I almost thought we were doing bronc riding for about 30 sec. He got to really bucking and jumping around and thankfully I was (with the Lord's help) able to stay on. After that it was a pretty peaceful ride. :) except for the snake! http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/HorsebackRiding

Here are a few pics I have taken aver the years and have put some verses too. http://picasaweb.google.com/rshoemakeriii/AwesomeGod