In case you were wondering,...

Paul did make it home this last weekend. It was so good to see him. His being gone so much makes me really appreciate the time we have when he is home. I am so thankful for a husband that is willing to work hard for our family, even when it isn't the most convenient or the most enjoyable thing. 

I am very excited about my dad coming for a visit this weekend! Right now, he is with J.P. and Amber and he will be spending Christmas Day with them. Then I will get him from Friday until New Year's Eve. I'm so excited! I love my Daddy SO much! He has done so much for us in the last few months. Daddy, if you're reading this, we are so thankful for all that you have done for us, and hope that some day soon we will be able to repay not only what we owe you, but also for your generosity. Praise the Lord for Godly parents!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!   

Home again, home again...

Last Thursday, Drew, Petie, and I took Bethany home to Illinois for her Christmas break. We had a pretty good visit with Paul's family, but I think all of us are glad to be home.

Paul has had a few ups and downs in the last week of truck driving. His truck broke down Saturday afternoon, and he was stuck at a truck stop in Pennsylvania until Monday afternoon. They finally got his truck fixed and he got on the road again. He's hoping to be home this weekend. I hope he's home this weekend! 

Well, that's all for now. It sure is good to be home!  

Heartland Express

Well, I took Paul to the bus station today. He's heading to Atlanta for orientation with Heartland, and hopefully will have a truck by Wednesday night and/or Thursday morning. He was nervous and excited when he left, like he always is when doing something new. (That's why we got to the bus station by 12:10 and his bus didn't leave until 1:10.) Drew and I are okay so far. Drew cried for Daddy all the way home from the bus station.. Partly because he was tired, and partly because he doesn't really understand everything that's going on. Hopefully, the next few days won't be to hard on him. I suppose he'll get used to it soon. Paul is supposed to get 3 out of 4 weekends a month home.. I'm not banking on that, but I hope it's true for Drew's sake. 

We do appreciate your prayers during these next few months. I don't know who actually reads this blog, or if any one does for that matter, but if you do, please add our family to your prayer list. I know that this is the right thing, and that God will take care of us. Our God is so good to us, isn't He? 

I guess that's all for now. I'll try to keep you updated best I can on Paul's job.

So, I've never really done this before, but my dad told me that our blog needed to be updated, so here goes... 

November was a pretty good month. Not much happened at the beginning really, but it picked up toward the end. On the 23rd, my brother, J.P., was ordained to the Gospel ministry. That was pretty exciting. Drew and I drove down to their house in Cumming, Ga, my dad came up from Florida, and my sister Lynn also came up. We had a really good time together. OR at least I did, I don't really know about them... I didn't get to go south for Thanksgiving, so it was nice to see them then. 

Speaking of Thanksgiving... Paul and I made our first Thanksgiving meal by ourselves this year. Usually, we go to Paul's grandparents house in Gays, IL to celebrate Thanksgiving. Well, that is when we can't afford to go to my dad's. Anyway, so Paul, Drew, and I were in good old Powell, TN this year for Thanksgiving. Paul made the turkey, and I made all the sides. We took some pictures, but I still can't seem to find the cord for the computer, so I will have to keep you in suspense until I do. But, it looked pretty good, and it all tasted pretty good, if I do say so myself. And those of you who know my love for cooking must be pretty amazed right now. If you aren't, you should be! We did have a good day, and enjoyed our time together as a family.

So far, December hasn't been to bad. Paul is starting a new job next Monday, the 8th. He is going to be driving a truck again for at least a semester so that we can catch up on things a little bit. God has been so good to us in the last few months. He has really been teaching us to trust in Him. As unexcited as I am about Paul going back on the road, I know that God has provided this job for him, and that He will take care of us along the way. Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. We have truly seen the Lord provide for us in the past few months.

I guess that's about all for now. Drew is doing really well. He amazes me every day. I am so blessed to be called "mommy". I love staying home with him and watching him learn new things every day. I am doing well, too. So far everything with Grant has gone well. I have about 11 weeks left until my due date. I went five days past that with Drew, but I'm praying it will be different this time...

With Paul gone all the time, I guess this will be my baby, so I'll try to keep it updated as much as possible. Maybe eventually there will be updated pictures on it...

Missions conference!

Hello all,

Missions conference is over now at our church, Temple Baptist Church in Powell. (www.templebaptistchurch.com) We had such a great time! Missions conference has always been one of my favorite times at church. I'm sorry to say my home church in Illinois no longer has a missions conference, and I am very sad that those children do not get exposed to such wonderful works the Lord is doing throughout the world through New Testament missions. 

Paul and Kelly Childers and their family were her for the conference. They are missionaries now to the people of Italy. They are doing such a great job over there. Paul was my room leader my freshman year, and Kelly was Janell's room leader her freshman year at Crown. We have a long history with this couple. We love them dearly. I wish we had more time to spend talking with them, but things didn't work out that way. Maybe we can get with them again before they go back to Italy.

Paul and his brother David were some of my best friends my freshman year at Crown. At the time Paul was dating Kelly and they were preparing to marry the next summer. He was working in the kitchen (where I worked) and worked a couple other jobs to get enough money to find a house. I remember him coming home late at night from work then having to leave early in the morning to go to the kitchen to serve breakfast. He was always faithful to the Lord and I knew he would be used greatly in years to come. 

We would laugh and sing many nights. Paul and David could both sing beautiful harmony and loved the old country and bluegrass songs I played on my guitar. I was the weak-link vocally, but we had a great time. I also met their parents several times. Greater people the world have never known. I hope to see them again someday, though they probably wouldn't remember me.

David went home to be with the Lord the summer of 2004 while traveling with a Crown College singing group in Florida. The entire group went home that morning. I couldn't believe it when I heard about it. Another of my dorm-mates, Brad Askew, was also with the group. I didn't make it to the memorial service held just a few weeks later. I couldn't stand to go.

Crown College now has two displays with memories of the members of the group. The first time I say David's suit and Bible in there I had to walk away. Its hard to lose a friend, especially when you don't get a chance to say goodbye. Now I can look at the items and laugh with memories we made and I am overjoyed that I will see David and Brad again. I still miss them. Especially Dave.

Some other of our friends and members of TBC were in the conference as well. Jeremy and Amanda Tyler and John and Julie Kokenzie are both missionary families to Brazil. They have been good friends to us over the years.

Jeremy is originally from Brazil through missionary parents. He understands fully the country he is going to and the people he will be ministering to. Amanda is from good ole Clay County, Illinois. She has known me since before I was born. Her brother Andy and I still talk several times a week. I consider the King family another branch of my family, we were so close growing up. Amanda and her sister Kerry (now a missionary to the people of Haiti) used to babysit us quite often. I'm sure we were much harder on them than we should have been! 

We haven't known John and Julie quite as long, but they are wonderful people. They have invited us to their house tonight to have dinner. We are very excited! I hope we get to know them better before they leave for Brazil. They were at our church in IL for a week helping the pastor some time ago. That is where we first got to know them. They are working hand-in-hand with the Tylers and hope to continue to do so in Brazil.

I'd like to post some pictures of the conference, but we don't have any. This is due to: 1. we didn't take any pictures and 2. we lost the cable that goes from the camera to the computer. As soon as we get some money together, I'll buy another one. 

Continue to pray for us. I started work last week as a security guard. The money is lean, but we are trusting the Lord. We will barely be making enough to cover our expenses, but that does not cover the school bill. I would like to be done in 3 years (for 2 years of schooling). Pray the Lord works all this out. Plus there is the baby!

See y'all later!

Its been a while

Hello again. 

I know its been a while since I wrote on here. I would blame it on the fact that I'm so busy, but really I have a lot of free time. Mostly I just forget to do it. Honestly.

I start my new job tonight. I got a job with Wackenhut Security. I know, the name sounds weird. Andy King pointed that out the first time I told him, but its a job. I will be working 38 hours a week at two different locations in Knoxville over four days. I hope everything works out. I'm not going to be making a lot of money, but it will be something for now. 

Missions conference starts at church tonight with the World Mission Banquet. It should be fun. Janell is making a big lasagna to take with us. We are sitting with Keith and Kami Henschen (sp?) and the Cho's, a Korean family that moved here to attend college. We are looking forward to it very much.

Drew's second birthday was yesterday. Nell made him a cake and we went to Ci Ci's for pizza. Pizza is his new favorite food. He ate like five pieces while we were there. I don't know if he has a hollow leg or what. We didn't really get to the cake until lunch today. He was awful glad to get it. The first thing he said when he woke up Friday morning was 'birthday cake.' He remembered that from when Mommy had a birthday.

Thats all thats happening here. Hopefully work will go well tonight. A few hours of training tonight and Tuesday and then I'll be on my own Wednesday night! Too bad they didn't give me any handcuffs or even a big stick with which to hit people....

Sorry... I think...

Its been a long time since I wrote on here last. Thats either a bad thing if you like the posts, or a good thing if you dislike them.

Since then not much has changed in the job situation. I'm still looking. I was out for several hours today and still nothing too promising. I went to a temp agency. They MIGHT find me something, but its not very hopeful. The economy is so bad most places are laying off, not hiring on.

Janell went to the doctor the other day and found out we are having a little boy in February. He will give Drew someone to play with if nothing else. At least we can recycle Drew's clothes on him. I'm not going to tell you any names yet, I want you guessing. I guess to raise money, we could auction the baby's name off. I bet someone would pay a lot of money to have us name him "Dr. Pepper" Frederick. I like the sound of that... I don't think Janell will go for it though.

I baked us up some bread yesterday. We had roast for dinner Sunday, so I made bread so we could make beef manhattans with the left-overs. Homemade bread isn't really all that hard to make, but it is one of my favorites. Janell doesn't know how to make it so the responsibility lies on my shoulders. 

Mid terms in college are next week. It should be interesting to say the least. I hope I can pass them and all. Really, I've done pretty well so far this year. I've had lots of time to study though with no job and all. 

Well, thats about it for now. I had better go, the beef manhattans are about ready to be eaten. And eaten they will be...

Out with the old, in with the new!

Today was a big day for us. It wasn't planned to be that way, but it was.

Most of you know Janell is expecting our second child in February. This means we need to find a crib for the baby, or a toddler bed for Drew. What would be the best? We didn't know.

When Janell was expecting Drew, her home church in Georgia gave us a brand-new crib. They even let us pick out the wood color we would like. It is very nice. The people at Victory Baptist Church in Thomasville, GA are always so nice to us when we go down for a visit. 

Back to the crib: It is a transformable bed. I don't know if that is the term you should use, but it sounds good. It can be 'transformed' from a crib, to a toddler bed, to a twin-size bed (with additional rails). It is a very nice setup for any couple expecting, especially a young couple expecting their first child. 

Today we made a big step forward. We (mostly I) transformed Drew's crib into the toddler bed. Now he has to sleep like a big-boy. He is excited about it. 

His mother, however, is not. Its not like she doesn't like the idea of the toddler bed, she is just anxious it may be too early. More than that, she thinks its too early for her baby to grow up. She almost cried looking at the bed this afternoon.

I think its time. He needs to learn before the new baby comes. We don't want Drew crying for his old bed while baby X is trying to sleep. Thats the last thing we want. 

I decided its time. We changed the bed. I guess tonight we'll learn how long how Drew (and more importantly Mommy) think of the bed. I hope it goes well...

I couldn't take it if two people were crying over the baby bed...

Back to school.

As many of you know, this semester I decided to go back to college. 

For most, going back to school is somewhat easy. All they have to do is sign up online, or go to the local community college. For me, it wasn't that easy.

The biggest problem I had to face was moving my entire family 400+ miles so I could finish. Then I had to find a job (which is a task yet unfinished) and take few enough classes so I wouldn't fail miserably. 

We decided to move around the first of August. The trip seemed long, but worth it. A friend of ours found a nice house for us. We really like it and the people we rent it from.

Next step is a job. Thats still being worked on. Please pray that I will find a job. Every time we have a need, the Lord has provided, but I would really like to work.

Finally, I registered for classes. This will be my first full-week in school, again. 

I only took three classes, to keep it simple. History of Civilization, English Grammar and Composition 2, and Greek 3. These classes are interesting so say the least. It has been a long time since I was in class. I am studying a lot though due to not having a job. I think I'm doing fairly well so far.

Well, thats the story of us going back to college. It wasn't very interesting, I know. Hopefully it will get you caught-up on how we are doing, and what we are doing.

Hope to see you all again soon!

Family, part 2

Now we come to our "furry son," Petie. 

We got Petie in early November, 2005. At the time, I was driving a truck and was away from home a lot. Janell got lonely sometimes, and we thought it would be better if she had a dog at home with her at night while I was gone.

  Thats when we got Petie (on left). He has been so much fun to have as well. Of course, he was supposed to be Janell's dog, but now he is mine. As I type this he is on top of my left foot, asleep. He wants to go with me everywhere I go, and do everything I do. Drew is like that to some extent, but he is still too little to do some things. Petie is right there with me if I am anywhere in the house.

I chose this picture because it shows Petie's tail very well. Notice the curly-que tail he's got? Well, he had is more like it. Last Sunday he got hit by a car. It didn't hurt him too bad, but he had to have part of his pretty tail amputated. Now he's got about 4 inches if stub following him. It could have been worse, I'm glad we still have Petie, even if we don't have his tail.

Its interesting to note, too. Drew was born at the hospital in Fairfield,IL. We got Petie out of the Wayne County Animal Shelter in Fairfield, IL. 

Now we come to my wife, Janell.

                              

Janell and I met in 2002 when I came to Crown College the first time. I was a freshman, she was a sophomore. At the time, we knew each other. I worked in the kitchen, I knew everyone! She also had some very good friends that worked there as well.

When we came back from summer vacation, something was different. I got my first cell phone. We started talking more. Before long, we were dating. 

In August of 2004, we got engaged. We had spent the whole summer apart. Janell was at Venture of Faith camp in Valdosta, GA. I was serving my internship at Calvary Baptist Church in Estherville, IA. 

After several more months apart (her-TN finishing college; I-in FL for college and IL for job and house) we were married on May 20, 2005. Janell had just graduated May 16 of that year. 

Janell is originally from south Georgia and has a bachelor's degree in Music Ministry from Crown.

We have not always had it easy, or got along, but we have had a great time being married. I couldn't think of anything I would rather have done for the last 3 years.

Well, thats us! You'll find out more about me as this goes (if you don't already know me). Hope to see you soon!

Top O' the Morning!

Well, its morning. Morning is not my favorite part of the day. In fact, its not in the top 300 times of the day. Yeah, its that bad.

I figure most of you probably know us. If not, it probably wouldn't be nearly as interesting to read what I'm writing, would it? 

Well, for those of you who don't know us, I'm going to give you a little introduction. First, lets start with Drew.

Well, here's Drew. There is so much about him, I don't even know where to start. I'm sure most of the stories on here are going to be about him some way or another.

Lets start with his name, Paul Andrew Frederick, II. This always causes some confusion. Some people just don't know what to call him (including my Grandpa). They start will Paul, Jr., Little Paul, Andrew, Paul Andrew. For the record, his name is Drew. Shouldn't be that 

difficult.

When we found out Janell was going to have a boy, we decided to name him after me, but what should we call him? At first we were going to call him Andy. One of my best friends is Andy King, and I liked the name. Then we thought, won't that get confusing for a little boy? This is where my Aunt Janie Ross comes in to the whole story.

"Why don't you name him Drew?"

Drew? Drew! Ta-dah! That day we decided on the name. I mean, everyone loves Drew Carey (and he loves the Cleveland Indians) so why not. 

Then, on October 17, 2006, Drew Frederick was born at Fairfield Memorial Hospital in Fairfield, IL. He was so tiny, and he still takes after his mother in that respect. He has almost no chance of ever being tall. He is big enough to fill up our lives, though. I don't know what we ever did without him. 

Well, thats about all the typing I can stand at this time. I'll introduce you to Janell and Petie maybe later. I'm having a problem getting pictures put on here in the right place. I'll get it figured out and you'll get to see lots of pictures before too long.

Is this it?

Ok, here we go. I think...

For a long time I wasn't even exactly sure what a "blog" was. Sounds like something you get caught on the bottom of your shoe in a seedy hotel parking lot after you've had the worst day traveling in history. Yeah, it really does sound that bad. I didn't want much to do with it. You can understand why now.

Then something amazing happened. Everyone we knew had a blog. 

"You have to check my/our blog," they would say.

"Why," says I, "I've seen them before. Not that interesting." This, I found, always got interesting looks. I guess they didn't understand my personal definition of blog.

Enter stage left, my wife. She got to looking at blogs. She even read the blogs. Some of the interesting stories and antic dotes she had read captured my attention. The whole blogging thing started sounding appealing to me.

For weeks I've been reading blogs. I'm unemployed, so I have lots of free time on my hand. I read blogs from everyone. Missionaries, Pastors, people I didn't know. It was great fun. Now we are coming in this little timeline to this afternoon.

2:30 PM

"We ought to have a blog," said Janell, "we live so far from out families, they would enjoy seeing the pictures and stories."

Hmmm. Interesting. Interesting indeed. Could I in fact write my own blog? I had written articles for local papers while in high school. Most of them were news-based, but opinion-based articles always sounded like something I could enjoy.

9:24 PM

I'm almost done writing my first blog. So far the experience has been delightful. Maybe tomorrow or the next day I will explain who the Frederick family is and why I feel your eyes are worthy of my opinions. I think you'll enjoy it. That, or maybe I'll explain the "Frederick Forum" thing. Either way I hope to entertain and inform in several strategically-placed blows to your consciences. 

Enjoy. I'm sure I will.