Okay, so my title is tacky.  I know that.  Sorry.  I really can’t help it. 

It dawned on me today that Thanksgiving is only two days away, and I haven’t given one single iota of thought to what I have to make or what I have to clean up.  My house is in shambles, and my fridge and pantry are scantily stocked at best.  Considering we are not going anywhere, and no one is coming here to visit (the first time that has happened since we’ve lived in here in the Hoosier state), I feel no pressure to clean house or turkeys.  Yeah!  Maybe I would feel differently if it felt more like a holiday.  The kids are in school until their normal dismissal time tomorrow, and I won’t feel like we’re taking a break until the notorious parade is in full swing on Thursday morning.  By that time, we’ll be heading over to join in our first “Turkey Bowl” – a game of pickup football between a great group of family friends.  Our food plans for the day???  I think we’ve decided on Cracker Barrel.  I don’t plan to do anything more than pass through my kitchen on Thursday, and I feel pretty darn excited about it to tell you the truth. 

The downside to all the free time we have on Thanksgiving this year?  Time not devoted to packing, driving half-way across the country, unpacking and then starting all over again?  Time not spent scrubbing floors and tubs, and planning out a week’s worth of meals for company?  It’s pretty clear, isn’t it?  Although the six of us will be together and enjoying each other’s company, we will dearly miss our extended family – the laughter, the craziness, the food that no one makes like Mom or Grandma.  Cracker Barrel may be inexpensive and hassle free (and perfectly perfect for this year), but you can be sure that even though we’re far away, we’ll be counting our wonderful family and friends among the things we are most thankful for this year!

The other day, my sweet little Luke looked over at me and said, “Mama, you’re round.” 

I begin to choke on the chocolate chip cookie I had in my mouth.  When I finally regained my composure, I asked him to repeat himself.  (I’m a sucker for punishment).  Sure enough, I had heard him correctly.

“Mama, you’re round. (long, long pause) Round and foxy.”

By this time my head was swimming.  “Round and foxy???”

“Yep, just like Manny says on Ice Age 3.”

Okay, we have watched that movie one time.  Once!!!  That’s the line he takes away from it???  I really wasn’t sure whether to be offended after being compared to a female wooly mammoth, or if he meant it as an enduring term of love and affection.  I’m going with the latter, even though my rational mind tells me I’m perfectly pathetic for believing that. 

That, along with a good inch and a half of dark brown and gray root growth, was enough to plunge my self-confidence to new depths.  I was in dire need of a cut/color so that’s where I headed this afternoon.  It never ceases to amaze me how much sheer joy I receive sitting in that chair for at least an hour without having any other duty.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the birthday money…now my new boots have a decent head of hair to go along with them!   And to all the rest of you wonderful friends and family…thanks so much for the sweet cards, lunch, the flowers, and the steady infusion of caffeine (aka Stbx cards!!!) you sent my way to celebrate my birthday.  I am humbled by your kindness and the gift God has given me in such faithful friends. 

In completely other unrelated news, Philip has started basketball and is in full frenzied play.  That kid has more hustle than Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony.  (Just so you know…I had to look that up because, although I am old – I’m not quite THAT old!)  It is completely exhausting and exhilarating watching Philip play.  He has inherited some of his Granddad’s super-athletic basketball moves, all the while reminding me of his Papa dribbling down the court with his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth.   

Luke joined Anna this past week at her gym for a trial gymnastics class.  I wasn’t sure how he’d do, but I don’t think he was the one I should have been worried about.  He listened well and fit right in with the other 3 and 4 years old who have been in the class for several months.  Unfortunately, Anna E. couldn’t concentrate on her class with little brother within 100 yards of her.  She kept yelling his name, waving, and giving “across the room” hugs and kisses to him.  One time she even ran over and almost tackled him in her excitement.  He was waiting in line for his turn to do an obstacle course, and despite the fact he was finding it very hard to keep his balance with his sister hanging all over him, he never took his hands from behind his back.  He just looked at me with eyes that were screaming, “HELP!!!”  I had to laugh.  He is quite the rule follower and I find that very interesting.  The other night at a basketball practice, Anna kept running between the two teams from one side of the court to another.  That drives me crazy, and I kept getting on to her about making sure she didn’t get in the players’ way.  Luke eventually decided that he would like to join Anna on the other side (she was practicing dribbling in a little alcove).  I told him to follow the black line across the court so he didn’t get in the middle of the practices going on around him.  He painstakingly put one foot in front of the other and walked toe to heel on that black line…even going around the semi-circle at center court.  Another mom looked at me and said, “Wow.  He’s quite the rule follower isn’t he?”  About that time Anna E. came flying across the court; arms waving, legs flying.  I looked at the mom and said, “Yes, but his sister is quite the free spirit.”  It guess it takes all kinds.   

Of course, Luke comes by his rule following ways naturally.  His mom and oldest brother being quite the rule followers themselves.  When Anna gave him some stamps today, he asked me what he should do with them.  “I don’t know, Luke.  Put them on your face if you want…just don’t put them on any windows.”  A few minutes later he came back in the kitchen and said, “Like this, Mama?”

Yes, baby.  Just like that.

When I wrote this over a year and a half ago, our family thought we only had days left with Great-Gran.  Those days passed.  Weeks too.  When we visited Texas a year ago at Thanksgiving, we felt we had been granted a special blessing to visit and love on her in person.  When we said goodbye, we thought it might be for the last time.

Wednesday, our precious Iris went home to be with the love of her life…her Savior, Jesus Christ.  Today, the family will be celebrating her life in a small service in East Texas.  She will be laid to rest next to her husband and remembered with all the love and fondness you can imagine.  Sadly, Wayland has been in Wisconsin on business since last Sunday.  He is scheduled to teach a class today, and is not going to be able to attend the funeral.  Please pray for him as he has been alone this week and had much time to ponder.  He flies home tonight – I know he wishes he could be with his family right now.  We all do.  Please join us in praising God for calling home one of His faithful servants, and pray for the family as they deal with the loss of a precious, precious gift.

I feel I have neglected the poor blog long enough.  When so much time elapses, I really don’t know where to start.  Too much has happened.  I have new gray hairs and wrinkles to prove it. 

Granny left last week.  I think I laid on the couch almost all day Tuesday.  I felt like a lazy bum.  A lazy, comfy, content and warm bum.  (Typing bum that many times makes me feel a bit judgemental and politically incorrect – please don’t take it that way though).  It’s really all my mother-in-law’s fault.  If she hadn’t made all the kids “snuggies” while she was here, I wouldn’t have felt the need to play Goldilocks and try them all out.  That pretty much summed up my Tuesday.  Reading in Nate’s snuggie.  Snack break.  Reading in Philip’s snuggie.  Lunch break.  Reading in Anna’s snuggie.  Another snack break.  Using Luke’s snuggie as a blanket until he caught me and took it away.  He really doesn’t like to wear it around his neck that much, but after some coaxing, he does finally think his is “awesomer” than Anna E.’s because his has a pocket underneath for his feet.  Here are the kids modeling Granny’s latest gifts:

Nathanael wears his all the time. I mean all the time. We call him "monk boy" when he walks through the house in it with nothing on underneath except his boxers.

 Granny set up her sewing machine (it’s actually one she gave me but she still uses it more than me…even though she lives hundreds of miles away) while she was here she worked non-stop on recovering couch cushions, snuggies, a nightgown, a baby gift, Halloween costumes, and all the mending we had stockpiled for her since her last visit.  This is how the kids ended up looking on the 31st:

Anna E. as Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia

She's really getting into character here

Sir Luke from the House of Thompson

Watch out - he's deadly with that thing

Purple-icious

When the wig got "itchy" he went for the Middle Eastern look

Philip teased his Granny by sending her an email asking for a princess dress.  He didn’t think she’d take him seriously.  When she came with dress in tow, we made sure Philip followed through with it.  The worst part of the night was, despite the sun shining brightly for a while, it was pretty cold.  I told Philip before we left to go put on a pair of leggings under his dress.  Yes. Leggings.  Unfortunately, when we met up with some friends and Philip wanted to take off his dress to throw the football, he was wearing his sister’s pink lace leggings under that dress instead of basketball shorts or wind pants.  I don’t know what I was thinking…I guess I was in the “girl” mindset and doing what I would if Anna E. was wearing a dress.  Oops!  You’ll notice Nathanael is missing from the above pics.  He went all “middle-schooler” on us and opted to attend a bonfire with some friends instead of hanging out with his family.  That’s okay, I ended up getting some great one-on-one time with him later in the week.

This past Thursday, Nathanael and I went downtown to the Convention Center to attend the National Middle School Conference.  Nate’s school was chosen to represent a 21st Century Model Classroom and Nathanael was one of about thirty students chosen to demonstrate how technology can be used to make learning more efficient in the classroom.  On his permission slip there was a line for parent chaperones and after much begging and pleading, Wayland made a way to rearrange his schedule so I could attend as well.  All I can say is that what I saw was amazing and awe-inspiring.  I watched Nathanael use electronic microscopes to take pictures and record video of hair and cheek cells, download them on a laptop notebook and then proceed to explain the whole thing to teachers from Florida who were looking in on the process.  His group also linked up with NASA to use what they were learning in math to land airplanes on a flight simulator.  Nathanael was the first one to get it right.  A heart surgeon did a distance learning lab with the kids where they compared and contrasted real hearts from healthy people and those who had suffered heart attacks.  It was just like he was in the classroom.  The technology there blew me away and what’s even better was that our middle school actually received some of the equipment that was being demonstrated at the conference.  What an honor.

Nathanael and I got some more mother/son time on Saturday night participating in a living drama at Conner Prairie.  For my birthday…yes – I’m another year older, and no, Wayland didn’t do a blog card this year.  He did write me a pretty nice letter on notebook paper though…just like in the old days.  Anyway – for my birthday I asked Wayland if Nathanael and I could do this program that gives people a glimpse of what it would have been like to be part of the Underground Railroad.  I’ve wanted to do this from the first year we moved here, but participants have to be at least 12 years old.  Now I know why.  Nathanael and I, along with 13 others, were taken out into a dark wooded area of the settlement and told that we would be playing the role of slaves who would try to escape from their master and reach freedom on the infamous Underground Railroad.  I was scared and extremely emotional during a good portion of it.  Although the “slave traders” were only actors, and more than likely really nice people in real life, they did an amazing job of verbally and mentally abusing us into believing we were nothing more than animals.  When Nathanael and I were separated into a “bucks” and “breeders” line, I begin to cry.  I couldn’t lift my eyes to look for him and see if he was okay without the actors yelling and berating me.  They gave all participants strips of white fabric that they could tie around their head if the experience got too intense.  Evidently, Nathanael was fine and only worried about me – neither of us ended up using our white strips.  I wouldn’t call the experience “fun,” but I will say it was very poignant and thought-provoking.  A perfect birthday present for me. 

I know there are about forty-two more things I promised myself I would blog about, but I’ve run out juice.  Lucky you.

Well, Football season officially ended in the Thompson household tonight.  Philip’s All Star team lost the North Side championship to our dreaded rivals Hamilton Southeastern 7-0.  The difference in the game was a reverse with 45 seconds left in the first half.  I am so proud of our boys – Carmel, win or lose, always does so with pride.  It is hard to explain the delight other cities have in beating Carmel – we always get everyone’s best.  It is a blessing to have our sons coming up through a system that teaches excellence in everything they do. 

Philip had another fantastic game tonight.  He threw a really nice pass on 4th and long to his tight end on a flag route.  I was so proud that he stood his ground and took a big hit to be able to get the ball off.  With just under a minute, he rolled out towards the sideline and fired a pin-point accurate pass to his receiver on the sideline.  All of us coaches were jumping up and down as the receiver almost broke it for a TD.  Nate was working the chains on the opposing  team’s sideline and said that coaches and parents were coming up asking who the QB was for Carmel.  I know that sounds like bragging, but I only share that story to say that Nate proudly answered, “he’s my brother.”   What a life I have been blessed with. 

Philip continues to get better and I cannot wait to see how he does next year.  He works so hard and carries his leadership capabilities into everything he does.  I am also proud to report that he scored all A’s on his report card except for 1  B+ in Advanced Math.  Keep in mind that in the Carmel School District, to get an A you must score at least 93%.  A  B+ is over 90% and would be an A in most school districts.  Kaleesha and I are so proud that Philip strives for excellence in everything he does. 

Speaking of excellence, Nate shared his report card with us tonight as well.  I was blown away (and reminded of how much he is like his mother), when he reported a perfect 4.0 GPA.  Nate takes everything he does seriously – and is humble about his success (even as his dad shamelessly brags on him in this blog).   He was also honored to be selected by his teachers to participate in the 21st Century Classroom “technology utopia” taking place at the Indianapolis Convention Center.  His middle school was selected by the National Middle School Association as a 21st Century School in the area of technology (Nate is taking a class this semester where he is taught how to make digital video productions – his first will be a documentary showing the processes Philip has to go through with his diabetes).  At this conference, Nate will participate in a learning experience that will be on display for students across the globe.  We were also proud of Nate for trying out for the Clay Middle School 7th grade basketball team despite the fact that he has not played basketball since 1st grade.  He was ripped off not making the team – apparently they are looking for players that can dribble, pass and shoot

As for Anna, she continues to flourish in gymnastics.  She also earned a certificate in Spanish for hard work, is falling in love with reading, and has declared her best talent is walking on her heels in boots.  I am blown away by her beauty - and she is super-duper sweet.  Our little Luke is hopelessly enamoured with anything Star Wars (including princess Leia).  He is also getting more  ornery by the day.  This kid is deadly with a light-saber.  Friendly sword fights typically turn into all-out death matches as his big brothers and I have to run away from his sweeping blows.  He shows no mercy, until he thinks he has actually hurt you and offers to kiss your “boo-boo.”   As I sit here writing this, he is informing me that I need to “tell momma how to spell Master Yoda and Luke Skywalker” (he heard me ask her how to spell Leia).  

Kaleesha continues to be her “children’s mother” and I am proud to report that she was not kicked off of any football fields this year – even though she did turn the head’s of a few of our coaches this year with her spirited cheering.  We are having a blast with my mom this week.  I have included a picture taken at the Halloween party at Carmel’s Library last night.  Take a look at the costumes my mom made for them.  She is so talented – she made Anna’s cape in just a couple of hours after Anna said she needed one to complete her outfit.  Luke was the Unhappy Knight (he was not feeling good) and Anna was a Narnia Princess.  How fitting that she is a princess with a sword – that fits her perfectly.  We are looking forward to this weekend’s open schedule – it will probably be filled with picking up leaves and the Headless Horseman night at Conner Prairie.  Check back in – we will be taking pictures.   

WT

7th Grade Champions!

Monday night, Nathanael and his teammates ended their football season with a 34-30 win to become the 8-0 undefeated 7th grade football champions of the district.  Our oldest son has had a heck of a football season this year.  After an extended sabbatical from sports (due to two broken bones), Nathanael was a bit behind in the conditioning department when the season began.  Fortunately, he rebounded quickly and was once again playing with that “Freight Train” mentality he is known for.  So far, I think the transition into school sponsored team sports has been a great one (both for the player and the parents).  Nathanael has only had one day to recover and he is already missing it.  He’s decided to fill his time by trying out for the basketball team next week.  Wayland has told him if he makes the team it may be the single greatest sporting accomplishment of his life and has promised to take him for a steak at St. Elmo’s.  (The last time Nathanael played organized basketball was as a 1st grader with the Upwards program).  I think that was all the motivation he needed.  Food does that to him.  He could probably summit Everest if he knew a good steak and our neighbor’s homemade apple pie were waiting for him at the top.  If basketball falls through, his back-up plan is wrestling.  Coming from a city where competitive wrestling was non-existent, I was happy to know that Nathanael would not have to change his name to “Bone Crusher” and wear gothic make-up to join the team.  (Although that little singlet will make a pretty amazing photo opp all by itself!)    We’ll let you know what happens with winter sports in Nate’s life.  Either way, it’s going to be interesting.  (By the way, if you’re trying to find Nathanael in the picture, you’re only going to get a profile.  He is behind #20 and to the left.  Isn’t my son a cutie?  Getting more and more handsome every day!)  And if you were wondering…Nathanael’s wrist was not broken.  Just a sprain.  Thank you, Lord!

In other football news, Philip had his first All Star game on Sunday afternoon.  They walked away with a 28-0 win over the Noblesville Millers.  Despite a couple of messy handoffs, and a fumble on a QB keeper, Philip (thank goodness) also had a nice TD pass and a good run where he somehow broke several tackles after almost being sacked in the backfield.  Their team plays again tonight (against a great rival) and Philip is looking forward to it.  We were afraid yesterday that he was getting sick again, but he seems to feel better today.  I found an H1N1 clinic that is open to the public tomorrow morning.  I think I’ll be there bright and early with Philip (and maybe Luke) in tow.  We’ll have to fit that in before we pick up Granny from the airport.  She’s coming back for another visit, and we can’t wait.  It will be so much fun having her here to see Philip play some football and deliver the costumes she made for the kids in person.  I see lots of picture-taking in our future.

I spent most of the day wanting a do-over.  “Please God, let’s just rewind and start again.  With new circumstances.  Including life without diabetes.  And alarm clocks.  This isn’t fun.” 

It started early this morning (2 am) with Philip’s numbers spiking.  We didn’t know if he needed a new injection site, or if he was starting to get sick.  Despite doses of insulin at 2 and 4, he was still high this morning, so we decided to change everything out.  Every once in a while Philip doesn’t do well with the change.  Like the first time we had to do it by ourselves….this past Tuesday…and this morning.  It took forever.  Both of us in tears.  A faulty needle.  Start over.  Shaking.  Missed the bus.  Finally got it in.  Still wiping tears.  Not a great way to start the day.  I went up to the school at 9 and he was still high.  I thought he must be getting sick.  We checked his temp – it was 99.  I started to panic.  H1N1 has hit our area really hard and the cases have been much more severe than expected.  And that’s just in “normal” kids.  Philip assured the school nurse (and me) that he felt fine and was just hot because the heater was running.  Thankfully, his numbers (both temp and blood sugar) dropped as the day went on.  Regardless, the whole ordeal spurred me on to spend all afternoon searching high and low for someone, somewhere to give my son the H1N1 vaccine.  Our county received their shipment of the vaccine this week and sent out all its supply to “Pediatric and Obgyn clinics in the area.”  Funny thing is, our pediatrician didn’t get any.  I even called our prior pediatrician to see if they got any.  No such luck.  I called the county and state health departments to see how they decided to pass out the supply.  The way I understand what the CDC has been saying is those who are “high risk” get the vaccine first.  Philip qualifies.  Times two.  I finally got the name of two clinics that received the vaccine in our county and when I called and explained the situation Philip was in, they basically told me “too bad.”  Only their patients could receive the shot.  Regardless of risk.  I began to call surrounding counties looking for the vaccine (by this time I felt so desperate you would have thought I was some kind of junkie looking for a fix).  The health departments agreed that my son definitely needed the shot  like yesterday, but were unwilling to oblige us as we did not reside in the correct county.  My frustration level hit an all time high, and I finally had to walk away and cry myself into a little ball on the couch.  Wayland told me not to put more hope and trust in the vaccine than I was putting in Jesus.  I needed to hear that. 

Today just topped off a week that was already crazy.  Nate had a game on Tuesday night - a GREAT game if I do say so myself.  (They are now one game away from an undefeated season – really cool).  He was tackling like a madman, his snaps looked just right…I mean, what else could we ask for?  Not another broken bone, that’s what.  When he wouldn’t make eye contact with me after the game, I knew something was wrong.  When the trainer started looking for me, I thought I was going to toss my cookies.  Remember the last broken bone?  Yep.  Same exact place.  Swollen.  Bruised.  Needed x-rays.  (Of course when Wayland was in Michigan, and the clinic was full of flu infested people so I had to keep my three little ones in the car for two hours as I scuttled between Nate in the waiting room and them bundled up in the suburban watching Ice Age 2: The Meltdown) (I’m aware that was a really bad run on sentence.  Sorry).  The PA that read the x-rays told me she was pretty certain there was not a break, but she would send them to the radiologist to read and we would receive the report the next day.  As of today, still no report.  It is starting to look better, and I couldn’t keep him away from practice this afternoon.  He’s determined to play in that last game on Monday regardless. 

All that being said, tonight really ended on a good note.  We were blessed twice in one day with unexpected drop-offs of good will.  Anna Elizabeth received two big bags of beautiful clothes on the doorstep from a very generous family, and Luke was showered with a plethora of cool costumes from some great friends.  Despite the fact that he acted completely UNinterested when they dropped them off (he was playing Star Wars on the computer, what do you expect?), once I pried him away from the keyboard, he found a treasure of fun.  He went from “Mr. Incredible” to “NASA astronaut” to “Peyton Manning” so fast my head was spinning.  When the boys pulled out his  Cowboys  football gear to remind him it was better than the Colts gear our friends had brought over, he picked up the blue and white horseshoe helmet and told them, “This one is awesomer!”  Visible shudders were present, and I think someone may have shed a tear.  I told them he can’t help it…he was born a Hoosier, you know. 

While Wayland and Nathanael headed off to North Beach, the rest of us loaded up to run some errands.  Luke decided to put on the “Luke Skywalker suit” (which is really a bright orange NASA Astronaut costume), then he grabbed his lightsaber and informed me he was ready to go.  There’s no way I would have allowed Nathanael or Philip to run errands like that when they were little, but by now I just make sure feet and bottoms are covered, and we’re good to go.  Several people stopped and stared.  You could almost read their minds – “Is it already Halloween?  Did I miss it?  Where’s the candy???”  A couple of them bent down and asked, “Are you an astronaut?”  Luke would just stare at them like they were speaking Russian, then he’d pull out his lightsaber.  He even did the sound effects to make it more menacing.  They’d slowly back away, chuckling nervously.  A couple of people looked to me for an explanation.  I knew better.  After a day week like mine, they’d probably get more than they bargained for.

Ready to Shop!!!

He's about to use the force...watch out!

Wow.  That red eye is super freaky.  Picturing me backing away slowly…and chuckling nervously.

Last week a friend took me to brunch and I had the best breakfast I’ve ever had in a restaurant.  A perfectly cooked omelet, complete with monterey jack cheese, ham, onions, and red and green peppers.  Simply scrumptious!  It was paired with a delicious cup of fresh fruit and the best cinnamon toast I’ve put into my mouth since I left my home and my mama’s good cooking.  I’m usually a little paranoid about eating in front of other women (I can eat, y’all), but the tantalizing taste outweighed my vanity, and I ’bout scraped my plate clean.  I had eaten my cinnamon toast all around the edges and left the buttery, sweet, cinnamony middle to savor with my refill of hot, near perfect coffee.  Being distracted for a moment by little Luker, our waitress pounced on the opportunity to snatch my plate away.  I did something that is really embarrassing.  I instinctively grabbed for it!  I know, it’s bad…I couldn’t help it.  She asked if I was done, and I chuckled nonchalantly telling her, “yes I’m all done” with my lips, but banging my fists on the table crying “outrage!!!” on the inside.   I admitted what I had done to my friend and she told me, “Girl, you should’ve taken it back…you’re going crave that for days and look for all sorts of things to fill it.”  She was right.  I finally broke down and tried to make my own cinnamon toast this weekend.  It smelled like the home of my childhood and I had high hopes that I was about to taste a masterpiece.  In the end I burned it!  Dad gum it! 

I think it’s a perfect example of what I tend to do in my relationship with God.  If I don’t allow the all-consuming holy spirit of God to fill me daily, I try and try to fill that craving with something else.  I look for approval and fulfillment in other relationships; I try to busy myself with daily tasks to deafen the sweet, simple whispers of His spirit.  Or, when I have true fulfillment within my grasp, I sometimes allow it to be whisked away by fear, worry or doubt. 

The same friend that took me to lunch recently shared one of her heart’s desires, and I’ve taken it as one of mine as well.  She said she doesn’t want to be the same person three years from now, or one year from now, or even tomorrow for that matter.  God, change us.  Mold us.  Make us more and more into a reflection of the image of Your perfect Son.  Help us to feast on Your satisfying word and drink of Your living water, so we never thirst again.

Well, I am happy to report that after 3 days of camping with the entire 5th grade class at Forest Dale Elementary – I am still sane, still alive, and even brought Philip back intact.  This trip is just one more example of why we love the school district here in Carmel.  Most 5th graders in the district get to spend anywhere from one to three days at this YMCA  camp about an hour and 15 minutes southeast of Indianapolis.  That’s some kind of field trip if you ask me.  When Nate went 2 years ago, I was unwilling to leave our football team behind to be a chaperone.  This year – even if we had not been knocked out of the playoffs, I knew I would be going to take care of Philip.  The alternative was to have the school district hire a personal nurse to follow Philip around to count carbs and help with insulin dosages.  They would have been required to do so – but imagine being the only kid with a personal nurse following him around.  Although there were plenty of parents there, I felt like it was important to keep a little distance since I was not only there to herd 5th graders, but also to make sure his blood sugar levels were good and he was not having to miss too much of the fun checking his blood sugars and messing with his pump.  It was my primary goal to let him be as normal as possible.  I think he got a little tired of me constantly asking him if I was giving him enough space - he finally said, “Dad, its OK, you are cool.”   That just about made the trip for me!

On the diabetes front, his numbers could not have been better.  The heavy activity kept them on the lower side of his target range – but he only had a couple of readings below range.  The only real scare came when he forgot to give himself his insulin after dinner on Thursday night.  It was partially my fault for not double-checking, but we were very afraid that we would have a hard time catching up to the carbs and that he was going to run high all night.  Instead of getting approximately 6-7 units of insulin, he only got 1.5 units 2 hours later before we caught our mistake.  Running high has a couple of negative consequences – including lots of urinating (not good when the closest bathrooms are 40 yards down the path from your cabin), feeling lousy, and worst case scenario – ketoacidosis (don’t ask!).  After a few nervous calls to Kaleesha and the endocrinologist on call, we came up with a plan.  First, we had him drink a ton of water – seventeen glasses to be exact.  This would help him rid his body of the excess sugars better.  We also decided to check his blood sugar every 2 hours through the night.  I checked before bed and at 1, 3, and 5am.  Not only were all of his numbers near perfect all through the night, but he did not wake up once.  There are only 2 reasonable explanations for these great numbers considering he got less that 1/4 of the insulin he needed - and God gets the glory either way.  Either God just miraculously intervened, or because of all the extra physical activity during the day, Philip could have experienced delayed hypoglycemia which could have been very dangerous had he gotten all 6-7 units.  Praise God that even when Philip and dad mess up, he is there to watch over us.  The other great take-away from the trip was that I got a lot of practice being the sole parent responsible for his care.  It will make me better – and gave Kaleesha a nice break from the daily toil. 

Some highlights from the trip included some awesome “in the field” education on river, fen (look it up), and forest ecologies.  The students hunted for bugs, animals, mushrooms, and geologic features – all the while learning how to tell trees apart, determine if a river is healthy, and understand the impact man has had on this area.  The counselors were fantastic (if not a wee bit eccentric – see pictures) and challenged the student’s mentally and spiritually just as much as they did physically.  Philip was also able to do archery and climb the 60 foot “Alpine Tower” in addition to taking part in the Team Challenge.  Team Challenge was probably the best session because our group of 16 students were put into several situations where they had to think their way out.  The coach in me wanted to scream out instruction, but the camp counselor held me back.  Each time they would get close to completing a challenge, one of the goof-off students would ruin it for them.  True to the counselor’s word, the leaders started to step up and instruct the group and corral the ”trouble-makers”.  It was a huge blessing to see Philip’s leadership skills come front and center as he was not only vocal – but was really thinking through the situation.  I know God has blessed him with this character trait – he is a true leader, and not a follower. 

Now, imagine all of this being done in constant rain.  Wednesday and Thursday morning were chilly, but dry.  By Thursday afternoon, we were all slogging around in mud and making the best of it.  I came away from this weekend completely impressed with these young people and what they have to contribute to society in the future.  The most hilarious/scary part of the trip was the square dance on Thursday night.  The students all knew it was coming – the majority of the girls filled with notions of grandeur and the boys filled with angst.  Philip was convinced by buddies that if he did not ask a girl to be his partner, he would probably be assigned an unknown girl.  The girl he ended up asking (through a friend of course) is a girl that he has been linked to for quite some time.  There seems to be some mutual interest – even though Philip is not allowed (and for the most part not interested) in having a girlfriend.  I told several parents that if the same interest is there in 5-6 years I would be perfectly happy as this young lady is super smart, athletic and cute as a button.  I could not believe my eyes when I got to the lodge for dinner that night.  Many of the girls had makeup on and were all dolled up after being mud and rain-soaked just an hour before.  There was a nervous buzz all through dinner and then in the interim before the dance started.  You can imagine the broken hearts and silent prayers of thanks that went up once the counselor announced that boys would dance with boys and girls with girls.  I saw more than a few tears from the girls – and there was a mass exodus from the boy’s bathroom of boys who were determined to ride out the dance in a stall. 

We had a great time – one of those experiences that strengthens those bonds.  On the home front, Kaleesha’s fears of Swine Flu at the middle school and her precious Philip away at camp were met with a Peace that passes all understanding.  Here are some pictures to enjoy. 

WT

Cabin Life (otherwise known as “Yurts”)

Philip with his teacher Mr. S

When we moved to Indiana almost five years ago, I had no idea what God had in store for us.  He was, as He tends to be, full of surprises.  A few months in, we found ourselves dealing with faulty plumbing, extended family crises, and the exciting yet terrifying news of another little bambino on the way.  God so graciously placed us in a church that is big on “connecting people with God” and “connecting people with people.”  The people He has connected us with have been more than Christian brothers and sisters, more than friends…they have been family.  From planning surprise baby showers to being on stand by when I went into labor – we were lavished with love and support from our first small group right from the get go.  God has now extended this circle and again knit our hearts with others who continue to be the epitome of spiritual family.  I am overwhelmed by their willingness to allow God to use them to share His love, His wisdom, and His faithfulness with our family.  We are truly, truly blessed. 

I had to say all of that so you would understand the tiny little praise I am going to share with you now.  Yesterday, I allowed a fear to become a stronghold in my mind, and for a while there, wondered if I might go certifiably loony!  This seemingly little worry, took me tight in its grip and threatened to wreak havoc in my heart and physical body.  I wish I could tell you I went straight to the word of God and begin to dig for His truths that could set me free, but that would be a lie.  I did, however, go straight to the computer and reply to an email from our small group asking for prayer requests.  (I sent out an extra one to a friend in Texas who should  be in our small group.  The distance just keeps her from making the meetings regularly ).   I could just say a good nights sleep did the trick; allowing me to awake this morning with a fresh outlook and lightened heart, but that would be selling God way short (and would also be a lie since I did not get a good nights sleep).  Even so, I met the dawn with an amazing sense of peace and reassurance.  I read over words of encouragement and wisdom from my friends, listened to songs to build my faith and turn my heart toward worship, and smiled when I was reminded that I had been prayed for.  All of this from one silly little fear.  A fear God is so much bigger than; so much more capable of handling than me.  God is working on me about surrendering.  Surrendering control.  Trusting Him.  In all things.  It’s not always easy, but I know in the end it’s going to be good.