Holy hit counter, Batman!! Last night I told Pete something seemed off with our website. It was calculating about 50 hits a day. That’s stayed constant for about the last 6 months or so. And we were happy with that! But over time, I’ve been getting lots of people who say that they hit it every day, and when I thought about it, and with the number of people who read it that I know don’t tell me about it, it should be more than 50. So, I had Pete do a little of his cool computer programming voodoo that he do so well, and he fixed the counter to actually count the hits (astounding that logic, huh?). Wowzers! Its 11 o’clock and we’re almost at 500 hits today. That’s amazing! Since we fixed the problem with the "Contact Me" links on our page we have gotten so many wonderfully encouraging messages and I just hate to think how many we've missed over the 7 months or so that we didn't know it was broken. So thank you to all of you who are checking up on us, you have blown us away with all your continued support.
This morning I went to Old Faithful, the ever-loved Cracker Barrel with some friends to sit down and pow-wow about fundraising for tuition. It’s strange for me to think about. But while some families struggle with climbing medical bills that billow out of control, others are just struggling with the every day bills. I had gone back to work so that we could pay those bills and keep our kids in the Christian school that we love so much and being forced to stop working has really made that a challenge. Central was awesome to give us a scholarship this year that kept our kids at the school, but the upcoming year is a much prayed about hurdle. I’m praying that God will provide an answer and a group of friends have gotten on board to make sure God’s answer comes sooner rather than later. We are in the planning stages of a community yard sale and looking to get it organized for late June. If anyone would like to be a part of that, just email me and we’ll be more than happy for ideas and hands.
Dentists….rating right up there with IRS auditors and Spanish inquisitors….but the one that we found today was great! What we found out is that Nathaniel should feel pretty lucky his teeth aren’t just dropping out of his face like jelly beans! The chipped tooth was no big deal as far as the dentist was concerned, they’ll file it down and it’s a done deal. However, the two GI-FLIPPING-NORMOUS cavities that he has are sort of a problem. The poor kid has to go back as soon as possible (meaning, “no, don’t bother to make an appointment, we’ll call you as soon as some other unfortunate kid cancels and we’ll call you to rush the soon-to-be-toothless-wonder in warp speed”) for excavation of the cavities, fillings and caps. Then we have to have the remainder of his teeth sealed to protect them. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just put a protective seal over your kid’s entire body?
Tonight we drove to Clearwater to enjoy yet another wonderful night sponsored by the Children’s Cancer Society. It was the Mike Alstott celebrity softball game benefiting the CCC and the center got huge amounts of money to fund programs for the year. It was neat to get to be up close to all the players in the Hooters Dugout VIP section….yes, we had Hooters waitresses serving food all night long…in fact, at one point, Pete was following two Hooters waitresses, one carrying a tray of brownies and one carrying a tray of chocolate chip cookies….it might be the closest to his puberty dreams coming to life he’s ever gotten. We got to spend time with the marvelous CCC staff, the other families that are always so much fun and the kids were just running around like little maniacs all night long. Nathaniel was in slow motion all night with a toothache, even though I’d given him something for pain. Peyton was suffering from leg pains all through the ride to the ballpark, but made the most of the time there. Rachael was a blur most of the night, running from one thing to another. They showed clips of the video that they taped at the support group last Thursday night…a JUMBOTRON size reminder that I really need to make sure to brush my hair and slap on some lip gloss once in a while. But regardless, the way they put together all the parents’ stories and comments were touching. I was even happy with the part of my taped part that they used, I was so glad that I said something coherent and meaningful….it usually comes out better in writing than in person.
We got home late, shuffled the kids to bed and I sat down to make a “Fairy Princess Teddy Bear Float” out of an empty box…..did I ever mention that I’m not real crafty. After butchering three boxes, sacrificing a Christmas stocking, hacking up a Halloween costume, some mesh and enough glitter to drown a troupe of Vegas showgirls, I came up with something that should knock her little socks off. It’s pink, it’s shiny and it has wings….I am the McGyver of Kindergarten class projects. What I lack in skill, I make up for in PARTS!
Friday night is the viewing for Taylor Arrington, I’ll be going to that and I would ask for prayers for all the people who will be there. It is going to be a hard night as we all say goodbye to a child of God that He has taken home. This will have to be extremely hard for the family as they see the emotions of all those affected by Taylor’s strength and courage and I just pray for comfort and peace throughout the healing process for them.
I have to finish tonight’s post with the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard Peyton say….she told her daddy “I love you more than ice cream.”
It doesn’t get more poetic than that.
f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa
