Virgie,
Yes, I did finally see it, but it sure is wierd to see responses 
before you see what you sent.
Kathy


At 03:14 PM 5/20/2006, you wrote:
>Kathy,
>Did you ever see your message?  It came through loud and clear 
>here.  He will shoose the good, he is just taking the sceenic route 
>to get there. Huggs and blessings,
>Virgie and Hoshi
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathy Du Bois" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2006 1:44 PM
>Subject: Re: The Latest from Maine
>
>
>>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
>