The crazy, hazy days..

With one week to go, you'd think that all we could think about is I-Fest. Well, we do think about it every day, but there's SO much more going on, that we no longer say "think outside the box", instead we say, "think outside your mind!" So, these days we're out of our minds!

In our personal lives, yesterday was a big day for us. It started with breakfast with our Holly, Doug's youngest daughter. She just finished her junior year at Montclair State College, and is planning a full summer with several missions efforts in mind. The first is a trip to the Bahamas with "Touch The World" ministries based here in New Jersey. She'll be a ministry leader on a trip to help children's camps and kids in need in this Caribbean island. While she's had a lot of experience working with beach missions on the Jersey Shore, this time she'll be responsible for leading teens she doesn't know through work projects and kids' counseling. Please pray for her. We'll try to link you in to the work she's doing. At the same time we're at I-Fest, she'll be in the Bahamas, but the link will provide daily updates of the work she'll be doing.

Once we finished breakfast and had a time of prayer with Holly, we moved on over to "the Pines", where we moved Mom and Dad into their new housing arrangements. It seems we're moving them a lot lately, that's true. But thank our Heavenly Father that they moved to a place just one year ago that could accommodate all their needs. The two things we want you to notice in the pictures: 1) the quilt that contains squares made by families at Rutherford Bible Chapel is now hung on the wall for everyone to see, and 2) Dad is able to get the YES channel in his new room, and he's comfortably watching his beloved Yankees!

Mom has returned to the independent care apartment they shared together when they moved to Whiting, and Dad has moved to a smaller, dependent room in the assisted care facilities known as "Georgetown". This will enable the medical and social staff to attend to him more regularly, because his room is now closer to the nurse's station and because he is totally dependent on them. Mom will not be his primary care-giver. There's no doubt that she has been "over the top" these last few months, and it's taking a toll on her. She doesn't get the rest she needs and it has been an intense pressure on her. So, the aides will now step in and keep their eye on him, care for him and attend to his medical needs. It will be a difficult adjustment for both of them, so please keep them in your prayers.

Dad's health is improving these days as he is now getting personalized therapy to get his hip back up to "par". We noticed that he is walking better with a walker, and getting himself in and out of the wheelchair to his easy chair and dining chairs. He won't be doing the marathon this fall, but we're thankful for his improved condition and good attitude. Please continue to pray for him.

Lastly, we're getting ready for the International Festival of Puppetry and Ventriloquism, "I-Fest" for short. It's held from July 7-12 on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee, Illinois. You can check on the posts from last year to learn more about it, but we want to focus on our work for this year.

Lee will be in charge of all the Conference Assistants, along with Susan Schmidt, the head of all events at One Way Street. The CA's, as we call them, are exactly that - helpers in all things - for the good of the conference. They assist the staff and faculty in making I-Fest a blessing to all who come. This week, please pray specifically for the devotions she's planning for daily spiritual direction and focus for the CAs.

Doug will be teaching 9 classes on everything from Copyright concerns to Ventriloquist Ethics. Both Lee & Doug will be teaching a class together on "setting the stage" for vents. It's a busy teaching schedule, not to mention that he is also the coordinator for the three ventriloquism competitions scheduled to take place throughout the week. He's also a participant in a new session, featuring improvisation from selected staff members. His concern is that through all of this, his focus will remain on the Lord, and all things will work to His glory.

We'll keep you posted on all things Nearpass in days to come, so c'mon back, there's more where this came from!

Thank you for your continued support and prayer. God is good - ALL THE TIME!

until we meet again, we are

gathering the children in His arms,

Lee & Doug

ain't it GRAND...?

...parents, that is!  Yes, we're grandparents AGAIN! Praise the Lord!

Lee's daughter Chrissy gave birth last Wednesday (June 18) to a beautiful baby boy, Ty Jackson Puopolo, 19.5 inches, 8 pounds! Chrissy and her husband Todd, Sam (age 5), Dylan (age 4), Petey the dog and a cat we love, but just can't name - are all doing well! They reside in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Please join us in praying for this precious child and his family. 

You might also want to pray for Lee who isn't able to hold her grandson NOW!

We'll keep you posted with new pictures and details, details, details!

Thanks for your prayers!

in His arms,

Lee & Doug

Right Back Atcha!

We are WELL aware that we don't update you folks nearly often enough... and we apologize. Truth be known, we're not that much ahead of you in knowing what's coming down the road! Changes happen quickly, and with those changes comes homework. And as every good parent knows, homework takes time.

With that in mind, we want to thank those of you who have added your comments to our blog. The idea of a blog is to interact. We tell you what God is doing here, and you tell us how that impacts you. Some of you have done that. When we've posted about Mom & Dad, many friends have written to share their thoughts and love. We appreciate that tremendously. Perhaps, though the most surprising (and humbling) response has been the impact of what we've come to call "the article." 

As you've seen here, the Newark Star Ledger ran a wonderful write-up on Doug and his puppet ministry at the end of April of this year. We are STILL hearing of the impact that article has had... 8 weeks later! Three people we don't know have recognized Doug on the sidewalks of Newark, stopped him ("Hey! Aren't you the puppet guy?!") and told him how much they enjoyed the article. Most have commented on how thrilled they were to have read his clear testimony in the article. Just yesterday, we ran into old friends of Doug's we haven't seen in years, and true to form, they read "the article". We're SO thrilled to hear how God used that to touch people's lives all over the state of New Jersey! ... and beyond.

One person sent us a comment and (Jack Wilson, are you listening?!) left a note that ventriloquist Wally Jones and Tommy (or as Doug calls him, "the dummy who lead me to Jesus"), was his uncle! Wow! Living relatives! Jack referred to his time growing up, and having Tommy come with Uncle Wally on family visits. It's truly a joy for us to be a blessing back to the family who blessed Doug so many years ago. 

Jack tells us that these days, Tommy is in a museum in Kentucky, enjoying his restful years with other "dummy" friends. If that is, in fact, the Vent Haven Museum, as we suspect, then Tommy sits among some well known and highly respected figures (the technical name for a "dummy" is "ventriloquial figure", or simply "figure" among us "vents"). Each summer, ventriloquists from all over the world gather for a week-long get-together conference for the purpose of socializing and honing their skills. This summer, Terry Fator (pictured above with DigDag & Doug), winner of America's Got Talent, and currently the highest paid vent in Las Vegas ($100 million dollars over 5 years) is planning to come back to Vent Haven for a chance to meet, greet and thank them all for their support. Doug, of course, has never been to Vent Haven due to vacation time restraints, but he's thrilled to know that Tommy is there. 

If you, like Jack, would like to connect with us, we'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to click on the "comment" button below and leave us a note. We promise to read it!  

Most of all, if you're reading this blog via a link to our website, please visit the "contact" page, and send us a note that has your email address. Sometimes we like to write back, but don't know where to reach you. In this day and age of digital wonders, we'd prefer to drop a quick, "Thanks for the blessing" note than to know you as a "phantom of the keyboard". You are such a blessing to us!! We hope we can be a blessing back atcha!

Thanks for checking in... we'll be writing more in the next few weeks as we prepare for a lot of activity between Mom & Dad, the wonderful world of Christian puppetry, and kids, kids, kids!

Gathering the children in His arms....

Doug & Lee