Wow Virgie,
You've received my message and I haven't.  Strange.  At least I know 
that it got through.
Thank you for your prayers.  Yes, there is a lot of good in Chris, 
but he has to choose to let it shine through.
Kathy

At 01:37 PM 5/20/2006, you wrote:
>Hello Kathy,
>I thank you for the update on Chris, it is a good start and I think 
>you and Greg are wise not to make decisions for him.  As a parent I 
>know how hard that can be especially when you see your child 
>struggling and making some wrong decisions but it is the best thing 
>to do for Chris.  Wewill keep praying for the Lord's will to be done 
>for Chris and that he will repent and change his ways.  There is 
>obviously a lot of good in him and he is just a little mixed up 
>right now.  I have faith that he will understand the error of his 
>ways and I do believe he will make the necessary changes in his 
>life. Feel free to share with us at any time we are all here for you.
>Virgie and Hoshi
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Du Bois" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2006 1:25 PM
>Subject: The Latest from Maine
>
>
>>Hi Guys,
>>         Well, It looks as though Eudora and Microsoft have declared
>>a truce for the moment, allowing me to get a message to you from
>>behind enemy lines concerning the state of affairs, better known as,
>>life in Maine, at present.  All troops are present and accounted for
>>and conditions appear favorable.
>>         We had all the kids home for Mother's day last Sunday.  Greg
>>and I stayed at church for adult Sunday school, which happens after
>>worship at our church, and Liz and Matt went to Bangor to pick Chris
>>up and bring him home for the afternoon.  After dropping Chris and
>>Liz off at home, Matt came back to church to pick Caleb, and us up
>>and take us home as well.
>>         By the way, in case you're wondering, we are back down to
>>one car because that little fender bender that Matt got in to at the
>>beginning of the month resulted in having the car declared "totaled,"
>>by the insurance company.  Oh well, easy come, easy go.  Too bad too
>>because we had just invested in a tune up and new tires.  Ouch!  I'm
>>sure glad that our Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills cause it
>>looks like we may need to sell a few, but that's another story.  Back
>>to family matters.
>>         When we arrived home, Chris had taken it upon himself to
>>vacuum our living room and sweep our kitchen floor.  I had made a pot
>>of chili for dinner, but I hadn't had a chance to clean up completely
>>before church, so he had also cleaned the counter and stove tops.  It
>>was really sweet.
>>         Chris has often complained, in the past about what a lousy
>>driver Matt is, so Matt and I were both dreading what Chris would say
>>when he learned about the car, but Chris didn't say anything nasty or
>>critical at all.  That in itself was a relief.  In fact, the whole
>>meal was pleasant and Chris is hoping that he can come out to be with
>>us again some time during Memorial day weekend to have one more
>>family gathering before Matt goes to Michigan for his summer job.
>>         Chris was open to talking about himself.  He shared with
>>Greg and me, privately, about all his confusing feelings about his
>>relationship with Nicki.  I asked him if he would be willing to read
>>Doctor Laura's book, "The Ten Stupid Things Men Do To Mess Up their
>>Lives."  He said that he would be willing. We purchased it for him on
>>Wednesday and Greg dropped it off Thursday morning.  I talked to
>>Chris for a bit Friday morning and he had already been reading it
>>some and told me that he's seeing himself on the pages.
>>         He also asked Greg and I if we would be willing to help him
>>study the bible.  He said that he knows that we know a lot and he
>>wants to learn.  He also said that he would be willing to do whatever
>>we asked, but we told him that he is an adult now and he needs to
>>make his own decisions.  I think that he was hoping that we would
>>order him to break up with Nicki, but we won't.  He needs to end the
>>relationship because he knows it's the right thing to do, not because
>>we want him too.  It's kind of like getting to the point where you
>>need to believe in Jesus because it's right, not because your parents
>>told you too.  We just keep respecting him as an adult and making him
>>face the consequences of his decisions even though it is very hard to
>>resist the impulse to reach in and rescue.
>>         He is being forced, by the life program that he is involved
>>with, to go to the learning center at least twice a week to work
>>toward his G., E.D. The program is  putting pressure on him to look
>>for full time work as well.  He can get kicked out of this program if
>>he doesn't cooperate.  He knows this because his roommate is getting
>>kicked out this week for continuing to keep a girlfriend and baby in
>>the apartment that the program is providing, so I think that Chris is
>>deciding to take the threat seriously and begin to get his life in order.
>>         Chris is also still interested in the military so the
>>program is also arranging for him to talk with a recruiter as soon as
>>possible.  Now, for another interesting twist, Greg's youngest
>>brother is already in the military and has been for 21 years.  David,
>>Greg's brother, called me this past Monday and pretty much ordered me
>>to tell Chris not to sign anything until Chris talks to him
>>first.  David is stationed in Korea right now, but that doesn't
>>matter because he uses phonage and is linked through his home phone
>>in Missouri.  So, I gave David Chris's number and I gave Chris
>>David's number and I think Chris knows that David means
>>business.  We'll just have to see how this plays out.  Chris has told
>>us that his main interest in the military is to gain
>>self-discipline.  That is an interesting commentary on what he thinks
>>of himself right there.
>>One other thing that surprised us last Sunday was Chris's reaction to
>>the fact that we are sending Liz to Florida for a music camp at a
>>Christian college there,  in July.  At first, he sounded incredulous,
>>but when I said that Liz has shown real self discipline by sitting
>>down at the piano for the past nine years and practicing on an almost
>>daily basis and how  we had spent a lot of money on Him during his
>>teen years, he backed down right away and agreed that Liz deserved
>>this reward.  I think that he knew that I was referring to all the
>>time and money that we had spent on counseling for him and trying to
>>help him chase his dreams when he was in high-school.  This time
>>though, instead of complaining that we had been stupid to spend the
>>money, especially on counseling, which he had declared at the time
>>that he didn't need, he just backed down and agreed with me and
>>dropped the matter altogether.
>>         Wow!  This has really gotten long.  Sorry about that.  I am
>>just so grateful to the Lord that our relationship is beginning to be
>>restored.  I had to share it all with you guys because you have so
>>faithfully prayed for my family.  I appreciate that so much.  I don't
>>for a moment think that we are out of the woods completely.  There is
>>still the matter of Nicki and Chris is still hanging around
>>questionable people, but I think that he is glad that things are
>>better between us as well.  He's always glad to hear from me when I
>>call and that, at least, is a start.
>>Kathy
>