Beyond Bringing Up Boys

still alive. I have my head buried in books...just to be sure that I am actually smarter than a 5th 6th grader. (No comments in this regard please!) Anyway, just thought I'd poke my head out of one of them and say hi. Sunday night I was feeling very overwhelmed and under-prepared for the responsibilities of this year. There were so many reasons NOT to homeschool this year not the least of which is that my health has a history of being tenuous and the boys have a great Christian school to attend. But over the summer David and I became convinced (separately) that this was God's plan for our family for this season. I am scared. Petrified, actually. But when I filtered out all of the things that really frighten me about taking on a challenge such as this, I realize that what scares me the most are the things that I cannot control (i.e. health). It would be easy for me to focus on how inadequate I am. But just recently I was reminded of the Widow's Mite from Luke's ...

We arrived safely in the Quad Cities and it became exceedingly difficult to pull away. For the first summer in David's career, he had the flexibility in his schedule to allow us to stay and though there were some very emotional times, as we all began to learn of Don's prognosis, we had some wonderful days too. One of those times was July 4th. David's sister and her family came from Des Moines and stayed close to a week or more. Our children are relatively close in age and get along well --and considering each of us has 1 spitfire (who will remain unnamed :-) --that's amazing! We tried to do as many fun things as we could when David's dad felt well: a trip to Galena, IL, ate at Famous Dave's Barbeque, a day at Niabi Zoo. But the boys had the most fun on a boat in the Mississippi River. Dan Dodd (a member from the Bible Missonary Church where David's parents attend) invited David and the boys out on his boat. Oh excited they were! Poor Dan! A few things th...

Okay, where were we? Heading home, I guess...to David's parents, anyway. Grandpa had one more destination up his sleeve though--The Great Platte River Road Archway. It was a great finale to our trip. The Archway is an interactive adventure that pays tribute to the pioneers who passed through Nebraska on their way West. Wearing headsets, we listened in on "conversations" and watched the exhilaration and heartbreak of the journey. It was really neat. And I think seeing it at the end of our trip, it all made more sense to the boys because they had seen some of the places that the exhibits displayed. Even Seth had his favorite parts of the arch: a window at the top of the arch where you could watch the cars speeding by on I-80 and the escalator! (Grandma pointing out something to Samuel on a map--Samuel LOVES maps!) (just 2 of the many exhibits) We arrived safely in the Quad Cities on Thursday, July 26. We planned to leave the next day after Don's bone marrow biopsy. ...

Samuel woke up early this morning...and started the countdown to the minute of his birth...8 years ago. Then he proclaimed, "And NOW I am eight!"

I'll get back to our trip details, for those of you who have been so patient, but for tonight I'd like to digress. As I mentioned in a previous post, I accompanied David's dad (along with his mom) to the hospital in Scottsbluff, NE for a blood transfusion. For any of you who may not know, this procedure takes hours. In fact, that day I think we were at the hosptial about 12 hours. When we got back to the Quad Cities, we spent many more hours together in the hospital. It was such an honor to be there and serve them by offering what limited medical knowledge I have and/or just sitting nearby so Glenda could attend to other needs. Samuel's 8th birthday is tomorrow and I can't help but remember how David's dad sat by my bed for hours after the birth of my boys. I don't recall that he said much. I would awaken to see him with his new grandson in his arms or just sitting quietly nearby. So when he apologized that his health needs were taking "my" t...

14 years ago, David and I were in the process of moving from Florida (where David had taught 8th grade for 1 year at Hobe Sound) to Indiana, Pennsylvania for David to begin grad school. Leaving our belongings in Pennsylvania (we were still unsure of where we would be living) we drove to Illinois to see David's parents. Over lunch, the conversation led to places like the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains. When David's dad discovered that I had never been there, he was determined that we should go--the next day. 14 years and 3 boys later, here we were in the same places (sans the Rocky Mountains) we had visited then. With age comes perspective, I guess, but the awareness and uncertain future of Don's health, gave to us a sense of clinging to each present moment and yet, in the midst of that, looking back into time. And I'm not sure any of us were ready to return. Because to return was to re-enter reality and another bone marrow biopsy for Don. In spite, our trip back w...

It was just about 4 hours, as I remember from Aunt Bev's to Keystone, South Dakota. Don had given me a column that he actually asked me to read aloud -- Dave Barry: "A journey into my colon -- and yours." Read it here , if you wish, but not aloud and definitely not in front of your in-laws. We all laughed until we cried, I think. Then we stopped at a Pizza Hut where a WHOLE pitcher of ice cold water was accidently poured on one end of the table. Not much laughing at all. Except from those of us who didn't get wet and I was one of those. It was after dark when we stopped in Oelrichs, SD, to see a church where Grandpa and Grandma Balty pastored when Don was still at home. I had found our hotel online and was a bit apprehensive about the accomodations. I was not disappointed, the rooms were more than comfortable and the side view of Mt Rushmore from our rooms was beautiful. Breakfast in the mornings was served in the lodge and everything from bagels and toast to f...