Adam Barnett

Feels Good to be a Champion

Not too long ago, our softball team in the church-league tournament performed in an unforgettable way. I'll preface this by informing you that our team had to play before everyone else just to get into the bracket.  We had one of the worst records in the league. So, to win the championship, we had to win 4 games in a row, two of which were against very impressive teams.  

After 5 innings of the championship game, we were losing 16-2.  Our spirits were low and the team moral was suffering.  Andrea decided to start screaming encouraging words at us to get our confidence out of the gutter.  It worked.  WE WON 19-18 (that's a 17-2 run if you didn't notice).  We were jumping and screaming all over the field like 7th graders.  It was remarkable.  

I am waiting for the phone to ring any day - I'm ready to sign my MLB contract. 

 

One Horrific Night

The other night in Nicaragua, I experienced something I'll never forget - waking up to really large cockroaches crawling across my face (it happened multiple times). I shared this horrible experience with my friends Kevin (crawled on his face, too) and Michelle (got stuck in her hair).  So, look at what I just found on YahooAnswers.com: "Cockroaches bite sleeping humans because they are looking for food.  Sometimes a cockroach will sense a small amount of food on the mouth or fingers of a person and will accidentally bite while they are trying to eat.  Cockroaches will also sometimes risk crawling over a sleeping person to get to moisture built up around the eyes or the nose.  The cockroach needs water to survive and if it can't find water anywhere else, it might have to get it from you."

This really irritates me. 

Chi-town

This weekend, my friend Lennell and I drove a total of 22 hours to spend 67 hours in Chicago.  It was worth it.  We watched the Bull's beat the Wizards 117-110 and the Bear's beat the Jaguars 23-10.  At the Bull's game, we were sitting in a really comfortable suite so we were able to watch the Big XII Championship throughout the night as OU stomped Missouri 62-21.  I can honestly not imagine how Chase Daniel feels about OU - we are pretty much responsible for ruining his season last year and this year.  Bummer.

FYI - The Bear's game is officially the coldest I've ever been behind sleeping in a tent in the Himalayan Mountains in Northern India.  A wind chill of -1 the entire game.  Brutal.  Not to mention the intimidation of pulling into Chicago and the mirror-thermostat saying 3 degrees.  We've got it pretty good down here in Oklahoma!!!

      

This is Oklahoma

I had lunch yesterday with my good buddy Mike.  On our way back to the church, we ran into this 5-foot rattlesnake.  Boys will be boys, so we taunted and aggrivated it a little bit by talking trash to it.  This led to us discussing how awesome it would be to say, "I've been bit by a rattlesnake."  Then, Mike said, "Ok, I'm going to grab it by the tale."  I responded, "You're an idiot... I'm getting in the truck."

Adam & Eve

Typical Saturday morning... woke up at 9:00am, watched about 2 hours of recorded Animal Planet and Discovery Channel shows and then ate Waffle House with Andrea, Ashley Carter and Lennell.  On our way back to the house, Ashley said, "What did the Insurance Agent say to Adam & Eve?"

"I can see that you're not covered."  HILARIOUS!!! (That's all for today.)

Our Little Brother, Jacob

We have a wonderful young man in our ministry, Jacob.  He is 11 years old and for almost his entire life, he's battled SMA.  He recorded part of his testimony on a video for us and wants it to be shared to encourage others to trust in God! 

Jacob went in for a 9-hour surgery yesterday morning.  He is doing well today in ICU, and the surgery successfully straightened the vertebrae in his back.  He had two rods put in his back.  Please join our staff, leaders and students in praying for this wonderful little brother of ours!

Andrea's Turning 25 & Her Hair's on Fire!

Andrea's turning 25 next Friday, but since I'm going to be on a plane on her birthday, we went out Friday night to celebrate.  I can honestly say we have been blessed by the Lord with the greatest friends in the world!  We had a great time, and ate a delicious dinner at Lemongrass (a Sushi/Asian restaurant in South OKC... give it a try!)

We went on to the Blazer's Ice Center (Andrea loves ice-skating and talks about it all the time, so I booked her a birthday party... cheesy, but come on, unique!)  As Andrea blew out her candles, her hair caught on fire! Todd screamed, "Oh God, somebody help her!"  Why didn't YOU help her, Todd?

The good news is that she kept her hair (only a little caught on fire, but it was enough to scare the crud out of everyone there!).  Ice-skating was fun, although it isn't something that will ever be high on my to-do list.  They put "Happy Birthday Andrea" on the sign along the highway.  That was fun - every time we drove by this weekend we read it and screamed like it was our first time to see it.  Happy Birthday, Annie!  No party with you is ever boring!  Here's a few pics that we took that night:

Todd's Foot is Nasty

My friend Todd recently had a wicked surgery where they had to chop up his knee-cap and use it to replace some of his ankle.  Having to take down his Christmas lights for him while he ate lunch on the couch: About 30 minutes.  Having to fetch him a coke and popcorn at an OU basketball game: $9.50.  Todd having his cast off so he can take care of himself: PRICELESS.

Flights, Friends, Food, Family and Fellowship

Many people don't believe me that I went snowmobiling to 13,500 feet and lived to talk about it.  So, Andrea just got the pictures on her Facebook and I thought I'd throw one up here... We've been fortunate enough over the last month to move around a bit and visit some friends and family that we rarely see...

//Dallas - Got to hang out with the Boatwright family and see their new crib, went to dinner with Jack and Neelka, our friends from India, attended Fellowship Church and had lunch with the Chasteens!

//Keystone - Hung out with a ton of family from the Barnholt's and the Raub's, had steaks and skied with friends from St. Louis, and got to spend an entire week with Andrea's brothers!

//Chicago - Met up with my buddy Gabe, from Wisconsin, and met his wife, hung out with Heather, Ted, Jessica and Kate - Andrea's HS friends, got to attend an incredible service at Willowcreek, spent a few days with Natalie (Andrea's Maid of Honor) and her fiance, Mike, and met up with our long-lost Kanakuk friends, the Freideau's.

Oh, and all I've done on all these adventures is eat.  Eat with people.  Eat and talk with people.  Eat bacon first thing every morning and ice-cream last thing before bed.  Eat on the moutain.  Eat after church.  Eat, eat and eat.  Time to go on a vegitable diet or something...

Alan Tiedeman - more like Alan "The Man"

If there is one thing that I am extremely blessed by it is the people that God has surrounded me with.  I look at my life and cannot even explain how rich I am simply through relationships.  I have incredible family.  Some of the best people in the world for some reason call me their friend.  And I have great relationships with my two wiener-dogs.  If you know my dogs, you understand. 

In those relationships, certain people have made their way onto a list that sets them apart as a HERO in my life, so I'll write about these people from time to time.  Because I just went camping with him and his small group and he emailed these pictures to me today, let me take a few seconds to talk about Alan Tiedeman:

• The man loves Jesus more than anything.
• Alan is a family man and makes time to take his son camping! 
• He loves the outdoors and can cook a heck of a campfire meal.
• Alan is a servant - he will always put others before himself.
• He's got a sense of humor.  He will make you laugh your butt off.
• Alan loves BBQ and an unspoken obsession with Furr's Cafeteria.