fear

Tonight I am scared...and nervous. Tomorrow afternoon I will be visiting the back institute and getting injections in my lower back. These will determine if I am a candidate for the next step procedure which entails the burning of the nerve endings so I no longer feel the pain that will still be occurring in my back. I am not a fan of needles and am admittedly scared to death. To add to my stress, Mr. Auditor cannot go with me due to a conference he needs to be at. Thankfully, my wonderful daughter, Miss Musicwriter, will be going. But still, I wish my husband was coming as well. I tend to try to be strong for my kids and it will be difficult to be so if I am in great pain. I will be glad when this is over with.

Five Days at the County Fair

Weather: Wednesday--sunny, hot and humid with temperatures at 89*
Thursday--sunny, hot and humid with temperatures at 90*
Friday--sunny, hot and humid with temperatures at 94*
Saturday--cloudy and pouring down rain with the same expected on Sunday
Five days at the county fair left me, the Queen of hate the heat, wondering if maybe heat is better than rain! Of course I am joking...I would much rather rain than dreadful, dead, hot air. None of the buildings at the county fair are air conditioned except for the 4-H foodstand, and in there, with the grills going all the time, you can't feel the air conditioning at all. At least any building will give shelter from rain. Regardless of the weather, though, the county fair has been fun--exhausting, but fun. Miss Bookworm is performing in the 4-H county fair arts in. The theme this year is 4-H on Broadway. She has had a ton of fun and I am so proud of her for participating. Her participation required an overnight stay at the fairgrounds last weekend. She knew no one else who was in the show, yet she signed up and went on her own. For her, that is a huge step! She also auditioned for several parts, including the lead. She did not get the lead, but she did get a duet with another girl. They sing "Sisters" from the movie "White Christmas". All together they will perform the show 12 times in the 5 day run of the fair. In between shows, I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the animals who are there. I have loved and spent time with goats, sheep, rabbits, horses, llamas, donkeys, a baby zebra (yes, a zebra!), deer, a wallaby, calves and chickens. The sheep and goats are my favorite of course, but a friend of ours has a horse there named Candy who I am quite partial to as well. Although I believe I may have gained 10 pounds this week, I wouldn't trade the days there for anything. My heart swells with pride when I see Miss Bookworm on stage loving that element and spending time with her has been so nice. We are so very different--Miss Musicwriter and myself are quite similar--so I sometimes wonder if she knows how much I love her. All in all I am exhausted, sore, and extremely proud all at the same time.

What a day of rejoicing!

Today my two youngest children, Mr. Well Rounded and Miss Bookowrm, were baptized in the local lake. It was a step they both felt called to do after spending a week at Lone Tree Bible Ranch in Wyoming. This camp was not cheap, especially for a family whose sole breadwinner was out of work for four moths this year. To send one student would have been difficult enough--to send both seemed imnpossible. Yet, with a little bit of fundraising and a lot of prayer, we came up with the almost $1000 to send two kids to camp. It was worth every cent we paid! The kids came back excited for their walk with God, cemented in their relationship with Him and a willingness to follow wherever God might lead them. This included the waters of baptism in the lake. For Mr. Well Rounded it also led to a final decision on hs future. For a few years he has felt that God was leading him to teach somehow. He assumed that meant being a high school english teacher. After Lone Tree he believes that God has made it clear--his calling is to be a pastor. After the many hurts to my heart, this news came as a welcome salve. He is looking into colleges and, for now, has narrowed it down to two--Moody Bible Institute and Northwestern College in St. Paul. This has truly been a day of rejoicing!