long drive

We left home at 4:20 pm on Thursday afternoon. The boys nearly drove my poor dear brother crazy within the first 25 miles. So, we had a little conference and the settled right down! Ladies and gentleman I would like to let you all know that it is possible to drive for 22 hours in a van with 2 boys and NO electronic entertainment. We played games, read books, drew pictures. I created scavenger hunts for them and we had FUN! As a precaution I did give Elijah some dramamine around 8:30 because he has a history of car sickness. But I am happy to report he has outgrown the problem and did not require another dose the whole time.
Around 10 or 1030 both boys conked out and slept ALL night. Nearly 9 hours!
Around 3:00 in the morning shortly after we crossed the boarder into Ohio we were driving into a thunderstorm and suddenly right out the drivers side of the van we both saw a skinny tornado drop out of the storm clouds. I twisted and twirled around and did not stay long. We were both shocked to say the least. But relieved that the boys slept right through it! WHEW!
Philip and I both grew extremely tired so at 4am we pulled into a rest area about 30 miles outside of Columbus Ohio and tried to take a nap. He slept for about an hour....I tossed and turned and dozed a bit. While listening to the wind whip through the trees. And my thoughts swirling about wondering if a stranger would walk up and knock on the window...crazy things fly through ones mind when they have been awake for 22 hours straight. Around 530 we decided to get back on the road.
The boys woke around 7am. We continued our search for a good cup of coffee...finally Elijah spotted a Star Bucks around 1010 am. SCORE!!! We pulled into the parking lot and Lij pops up from lying down and says "Do you suppose the have a spherical donut that I might sit upon? A toilet would be nice cuz I REALLY gotta GO!!" We all laughed quite hard over that one! And yes, they dd have one and he felt so much better. Not only that but Philip and I had the first good cup of coffee the whole trip!! We had stopped around 1am and picked up a gas station coffee and both ended up with a tummy ache. ACK!!
At some point in the after noon we realized that the garmin was taking us on a long detour. So we had a little break, reprogrammed it and were back on the road. Finally arrived at Nathan's house at 308 pm. Exhausted, hungry, in need of a shower and ever so happy to out of the van!!
Philip headed straight for his hotel and I to the shower. Following the shower we took Dominique to Target to pick up a few things and then ordered some pizza to celebrrate his 19th birthday! I can hardly believe my 'baby' is already 19! I am so very proud of the young man he has grown into! It is so nice to be able to actually hug his neck too!!
Today we ran a few errands.
Nicole and her family brought mother and Alex over from NJ. We had a nice afternoon. a bit chaotic but really fun!!
Tomorrow will be a nice day!

blog break for a few days

Unless I have access to computer service at Nathan's house I will not be blogging until I return from the wedding.
Tomorrow is our last day of school. Isaiah has 6th grade graduation at 11, followed by lunch with the parents. Then Samuel has kindergarten graduation at 230.
Right after we get home from school we will be packing the van and Philip (my big brother) Isaiah, Elijah and I will be driving to Philadelphia for the wedding, an 18 hour drive. I have tons of activities packed for the boys. Dramamine just in case Lij still gets car sick...ew! Pray not!! We are planning to drive straight through just like Dominique and I did in January.
We will get to see Dominique at the wedding and then he will ride back with us. YAY!
I will have tons of pictures and I am sure many stories to tell when I return!

for the ladies only....warning if you are male do not read this post!

My turn to rant...
After 4 different shopping trips 3 with kids 1 without I finally found a dress for my brother Nathan's wedding. Only to realize after I bought it (at a very great price I might add!!) that I need a different bra. Are you seriously telling me I now have to go bra shopping???? I hate shopping anyway but for this??? UGH!!!!
After I got my hair cut this morning I decided to swing by JC Penny and pick up the stupid bra and be on my way. Sounds simple right??? Well, let me just tell you it could not have been a more complicated, infuriating, horrifying, awful experience. I first tried on 3 in Penny's, no luck. Went down to Younkers no luck, stopped into Sears, non there either. Now you must understand it is not because they do not HAVE strapless bras....its that strapless bras are stupid and I do believe after today made for the perky little boobs of young ladies OR those who have had them surgically altered....not for the likes of ME!
I came home half deciding to return the dress and start all over. Changed my mind and ran out to Merle Hay Mall. Kohls first. Nothing. Younkers. After finally figuring out that the "intimate apparel" is on the basement level. (I now believe the department is strategically placed so people like me wont scare away their good customers!) I begin the torturous feat of picking and trying on these hideous traps that fashion designers like to call a bra...
HRUMPH!!!!
Most days I am totally at peace with my roundish figure. Realizing that although I would benefit from a trip to the gym or a run or some rabbit food. truthfully, I just do not have the energy left over to figure all that out and basically I am happy...that is until the dressing room wars begin....
First of all....why why WHY do they keep dressing rooms so stinking HOT???? Lets face it ladies we are already miserable being in there but to have to work up a sweat just standing how are we expected to wriggle into some half spandex half who knows what contraption they call a bra????
secondly....I will never understand the purpose of the kind of strapless bra that is like a sock. Not only is it weird but provides zero support...Like I really want everyone at the wedding to know that I have granny boobs! Who would even waste their money on such a thing?
Do you have any idea how many styles there are to chose from?? the sock, the tube, the push-up strapless, the bustier, the slip/goodness only knows what....there are some I would not even be able to describe!
After hopping and squeezing and shoving and sweating and crying and pouting and kicking and nearly rolling down the hall, finally I found one. I almost did a little happy dance except for a couple things...one I am not really happy cuz I hate shopping and I have decided for real...I hate boobs. I think we should be created with a feature that makes them disappear when their usefulness runs out...had kids...nursed...done BYE-BYE! But since we were not created with such amazing features. I trudged all sweaty grouchy and dis-sheveled to the cashier. Who was a bit too chipper for my grumpy self...$67....what??? WHAT??? did you say sixty-seven dollars??? In American money??? are you flipping kidding me??? I would have been far better off taking the original stupid dress back and started over completely...
Bra shopping is not for the faint of heart...nor is it for those living on a budget! end rant...thank you very much I feel oh so much better!

Where do I begin?
Thanks to the generosity of friends who stepped up and took our children we made the very long trek down to see Madison for the first time since she has been away.
I am not sure what I expected. You know me, there were a million different thoughts racing through my mind and I had worked out every possible scenario I could think of.
I packed everything each child would need, Picked Samuel and Amaris up from school at 1130 on Friday. Dropped Amaris off at Wendi's, ran through the McDonald's drive thru to grab lunch for Sam. Switched vehicles, dropped Samuel and The Burrito off at Miss Trudy's house. We were on the road by 1:00.
The drive down was tense and quiet. Neither of us had much to say as neither of us knew quite what to expect. We have had little communication from Madison. And the staff are not allowed to give too much info over the phone. Who knew silence could feel so heavy.
We arrived at the hotel around 7pm. Grabbed some dinner and then back to the hotel, I had such an awful headache all I wanted to do was Lay down in the darkest quietest place on earth and not get up until it left my head. Unfortunately for me I woke with the same awful headache I went to sleep with. UGH!
The weather was hot and humid. 87 degrees and no air conditioning in the building we visited in.
I guess I really don't know what I expected when we finally got to see her and spend time with her. She practically hugged the life right out of me. It was good to see her sweet freckled face.
Not much else has changed.....yet.....The training for parents was good. We got a lot of information. Confirmation that I am not crazy. Or alone.
We were ushered into an old cafeteria where our visit was to be held. There sitting in small clusters at long tables were other parents and their girls. Mirrors of us.
We did not know we were to bring lunch for us. Penny the cook was kind enough to take care of us this time. Next time we will know. We could of brought games to play. 4 hours is a long time to sit in one chair. Lets face it when your daughter is still mad at you there isn't a whole lot to chat about either. I had gotten a message on my phone from her counselor earlier in the day on Friday saying if we brought ingredients for cookies we MIGHT be able to bake. So we stopped at WalMart on our way and bought some cookie dough. About half way through our visit we baked cookies and shared them with the other families.
It is clear that she has not yet arrived to the place where she sees the bennefits of where she is. She is not yet ready to embrace all the things God has in store for her. I didn't really expect her to be there yet. It has only been one month and 9 days after all. I do expect that she will tests the waters a bit more, I do expect ehr to stay angry a while longer and try to manuever her way out. But, I also expect that one of these days....whether it be a long time or very soon....one of these days when I answer the phone or see her sweet face....my daughter will have metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly...for now she is still a little caterpillar....weaving her cocoon.
Our good bye was to my surprise easier than I anticipated. But almost as soon as we left the building sadness crept in and my heart clouded over.
The drive home was long....the garmin got us lost and added an hour to the trip. We arrived home at 11pm Isaiah and Elijah had been home with my mother about 45 minutes and were freshly showered waiting for our arrival.
We picked up the rest of the monsters from church this morning. We had good reports from all the wonderful caregivers! So either my monsters are nicer to others OR they lied...teehee. either way I am grateful for the care you all provided for my monsters this weekend!
Still have the headache and now we are preparing to enter into the final week of school then off to Uncle Nate's wedding. whew!

the Burrito...the register...NO

So the Burrito is a little man who loves. no I really mean LOVES to test the waters and push the limits. It is hard to believe this little terror was failure to thrive, seriously under weight and way behind in development when he arrived! God is so good!
This morning we have been having a little battle of the wills around the dumb register cover. We have one by the front door that is loose and you can move it. Well, the Burrito loves to go over and mess with it. First he will kick it and look at me to see if I have noticed. (since he knows VERY well he is not supposed to touch it!) No! I say...he grins....then he picks it up...NO! I say and take it away to place it back in its spot....he grins bigger....and reaches down to slide it ever so slightly across the wall...NO! Do you want a spanking? ...grinning he slaps his own leg...and tells me no....then he rests his chubby little hand on the top of the register....I stand up and he grins and giggles and scoots away from the register...I reward his obedience with a robust GOOD BOY!!!! at which he promply responds by placing his TOES on the register and giggles and laughs and looks at me as if to say ha ha ha.....NO! I stand up walk over pick him up to scold him and he kisses my nose and sings I LOVE YOU!!!!
I quit!

I love this story!

The story of the butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

So have a nice day and struggle a little and teach well.

It amazes me at how incredibly busy we make our lives. We get all caught up in the whirl of events and look and up and suddenly a month has buzzed by.
This month has been like that for me. I hate being so busy that it seems you can't even catch your breath.
A few of the things filling my calendar this month....
baseball
graduation parties
weddings
visit with Madison
end of the year activities
6th grade graduation
kindergarten graduation
Omaha zoo
trip to MN for Isaiah
trip to PA for my brothers wedding
church activities
therapy/doctor appointments
dentist
haircuts
whew! I am absolutely sure I have forgotten some things. The reward? A nice peaceful quiet month of June. aahh!

As I pulled into the drive a familiar sense of peace mingled with love fell around me calming my world into a sweet melody. The sound of the crunching gravel beneath the tires of the truck. I slowed the truck to a crawl and took in the familiar sights. Grampa's purple orchids growing along the backside of the tool shed, the basement windows, the stump of the old pear tree, the burn pile smoldering at the back end of the property made me almost expect to see Grampa poking around back there. I parked, jumped down from the truck and just as my feet hit the ground I turned and caught a glimpse of the back porch where Gramma and I have spent countless hours over the course of my life time sitting, sometimes deep in conversation, sometimes surrounded simply by eachothers presence and the peacefulness of nothing. I stood there for only a few moments drinknig in the feast of memories my senses were experiencing.
As I walked up the porch steps I noticed they still creak in all the same places, I miss Grammas chair. The dumpster on the side of the porch assaults my tender memories but is necessary for the chores of this day. I open the door and smile at the small detail that has always been...their door opens backwards to any other door I have ever entered...funny...
Then it hit me. Like a wall. Stopped me dead in my tracks. I closed my eyes, took a slow deep breath, and stood there completely still for several minutes. The smell of Gramma's house. A thought flashed through my mind...wonder if it would be possible to bottle up the smell of Gramma's house and keep it forever. I would open it on my tough days when all I needed was one of our porch talks. It would bring all the love and comfort I would ever need. Standing there just inside the door I could feel her arms wrapping around me. I could see grampa lying on the floor with the fly swatter in hand, resting.
As I slowly meander through the house it looks so different now that all the familiar furnishings are gone. I giggle at the small details I would of never missed, that somehow people have left behinde. The hallway of memories, by the door hanging on the wall are picture frames of family memebers each one present in photo form.
I notice other things remain and some are missing. A sadness comes over me. Although I feel their presence...it seems wrong for people to be wandering about the house when Gramma is not here. I notice one uncle still has his shoes on and chuckle silently to myself as I look at my sock covered feet. Even today I take my shoes off at the door.
As we sit on the floor sifting through the small moments that when added together create the lives and love and legacy that is my heritage I am overwhelmed by gratefullness for all they have given to me. I am not speaking of monetary giftings...wisdom, faith, unconditional love are the gifts I have recieved from my grand parents. These are the same gifts I desire to pass on to my children. I find small treasures a golden compact engraved with my grandmothers name "Edythe Kellogg" I hold it gently in my hand and try to imagine what she was like when she was young and courting Grampa...and I smile again.
This day was filled with moments just like these. Finding great grandmas quilting boxes, an old family Bible, grampas baseballs and golf balls and ties...grammas rubberbands...a box of valentines from 1954 to billy and dickie and jack...
When the day was done and I was stepping into the truck to leave a thought crossed my mind....my family legacy lies within the walls of this old house I pray God will find a way for us to keep it in the family...just being here I can feel the walls are saturated with years of unconditional love that has taught me how to live...I am so grateful for the precious gift I recieved.

rain

Rain...
a cleansing refreshing process. to stand out in the rain and feel the drops gently wash over me. carrying away all the heaviness that has covered me.
When I was a child and even a teenager I loved to stand in the rain. I loved the feeling of the drops slowly come down around me eventually building into a downpour.
Somehow along the way as I grew into adulthood the rain began to represent sadness for me. And increase the heaviness of my soul.
I woke in the wee hours of the morning to hear the steady pounding of heavy rain upon the window and the thought occurred to me. Maybe it was the combination of sleepiness still enveloping me and the smell drifting through my window that brought back memories of standing in the rain. As I lay there lost in thought and memory I realized that even the other day the rain brought with it a melancholy sort of mood for me.
I took in a long smooth deep fill your lungs up kind of breath and was transported back to a time when rain was refreshing and soothing to my soul. The memories this evoked brought a smile to my sleepy face. As I drfited back into dream land I decided I would embrce the rain today.
As I sit here listening to the gentle patter of drops on the window I feel peaceful and happy. If it were not so cold I would go out and stand in the rain and allow its refreshing to fall down around me.
I was reminded of how God is like the rain pouring out his love and refreshing me daily...
Song Lyrics

Let the rain of Your presence
Fall on me
Every day that I live
With every breath I breathe
Let the rain of Your presence
Fall on me
Everywhere that I go
Lord let Your presence flow
Rain on me

Love divine
Joy unspeakable
Overflowing in my soul
This heart of mine
Is refreshed and at rest
In Your presence
In Your presence

© 1994 Praise on the Rock

“Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen.”
Love shows up in many different forms.
One can't help but to be filled with love, awe and wonder at the site of a precious baby.
God's love...
Puppy love....
first love..
child's love...
love of a friend...
compassionate love...
unconditional love...
tough love...
love between a parent and child...
No matter the form it arrives, the root of love should always be God. Then nothing can break it down, nothing can overcome it, love will remain standing to the end...

I must admit, I began my day feeling a little sorry for myself and sad. Sorry for all the troubles in my life as of late. Sad because this is the first Mothers Day since Dominique was born that I did not spend Mothers Day with ALL of my children.
As the day went along my mood slowly lifted. Dominique called to wish me a happy day and tell me how much he loves me. I was unable to speak with Madison today, but thought of her a lot throughout my day.
As I walked through the foyer of church I was reminded of some very special people who are 'like' mothers to me. Dorothy. Karen. Wanda. Suzie.
Then I thought of the women who have drifted in and out of my life and because of them, I am the mom I am today. Mommee. My Otter Motter. Mozelle.
And I thought of all the mothers days throughout my life so far. How my dad always made a big deal of the day. To him, Mothers Day was the most important day of the year. He truly honored and celebrated his mother. We always had BBQ's with all the family gathered in the yard. Planting flowers together when family was no longer around.
I thought of my Gramma. And how over the years she has treated me more as a daughter than a grand daughter and how she has shown me how to be a godly woman and a good mom. She ahs always been there for me no matter what. without fail!
Then i ran into a man at Wal Mart. Haven't seen him or any of his family in a long time. We had what I thought would be a casual hi how are ya doing kind of conversation. Are you ever prepared for the answer...as good as can be expected...His wife left him and the children 8 months ago. They have heard nothing from her since. All afternoon I have thought of that family. Those children and how they must feel today.
I thought of the little girl in my Sunday School class whose mom died unexpectedly a few months ago. And wondered how she was doing today. and said a prayer for her.
I thought of my friend whose son died a few months ago. This is her first Mothers Day without her son. and I prayed for her.
I thought of my friend who desperately wants to be a mom and hasn't been blessed...YET...and I prayed for her.
And I realized. I am blessed. I am blessed with many women who over the years have taught me to be a good mom. I am blessed with children whom I love dearly and they love me. They make me laugh and cry. They make me cheer and scream. I have experienced every feeling and emotion possible this past year as a mom. I have had a few victories and a few failures. But at the end of this Mothers Day I know I am a blessed Mother. God is good. I do not have to have all 7 of them in the same place at the same time to know that I love them and they love me.
So today I reflected. I prayed. I am thankful. The kids and I went and planted flowers for my mom in her yard. I planted flowers here and thought of my dad...funny thing to think on Mothers Day HUH!?

I apologize for not updating yesterday. It was a long day with a long drive at the end. Then I was swamped with house and kid stuff to do when I got home. Scott broke a tooth yesterday at lunch and ended up having it pulled while I was on the road so I arrived home to a drugged up Scott and kids running a muck without dinner etc...etc...etc...nuff said about that!
The drive home yesterday was the first time EVER that I actually was so sleepy I had to stop buy coffee and walk around a while. I have driven a lot of places and for much longer stretches many times. I have never become sleepy while driving. It was a bit scary for me.
Here is what we learned in a nut shell from the orthopedic surgeon.
Isaiah grew another 2 inches! Incredible considering 4 inches ago we all thought he was done growing. Curvatures are within the stable zone so we decided no surgery yet. Here is where it gets complicated. With his syndrome his spinal issues are degenerative which means progressively over time the get worse. Just part of the deal. So the big question is do you do fusion when he is stable and still growing or do you wait until he is done growing and run the risk of having too much deterioration to do anything surgically that will be of help. Right now waiting is the best option so we will wait.
We also learned that his bones grow at a much faster rate than his muscles and tendons which is causing problems with his hips legs and feet. We visited with PT and learned some exercises that may or may not help in tricking his muscles and tendons to stretch and think they are growing. funny to think you can trick a muscle or tendon to behave the way it should....wish I could trick my kids that way! ;0)We also met with orthotics and had some inserts ordered for his feet because the opposite is happening with his feet muscles they are not strong enough to support the natural arch in his feet. We are hoping the inserts help so we do not have to do braces.
God is still working....He is still in control...
Happy Mothers Day to me NO SURGERY!!!!!!!!!! this summer! the best gift ever!

Isaiah is a champ! The testing he goes through is tough for anyone, he chose to go through it all awake. He is my hero! I do not know any adult who would go through all that awake without complaining. at all! Awake means no needles. no needles is great in his world.
We met with his neuro surgeon this afternoon after the testing was complete. I wish I could upload the scans on here...amazing to look at to say the least. Even more amazing to me is the changes that have occurred over the past few months. The last scans showed the cyste growing round, like a little ball in the center of his spinal cord. one side of the cyste had attached to the interior wall of his cord. The cyste continues to grow and has increased in size. The amazing part is that it has changed shape. It is now growing elongated and is no longer attached to the interior wall of the cord. Great news because this means no neuro surgery this summer. Even better than that is the doctor explained that as long as the cyste continues to grow in the manner it is we may not have to do that surgery for up to 5 years. So the plan is to continue as we have. Monitor, be careful, report any changes and PRAY PRAY PRAY!! God is hearing our prayers for Isaiah and is answering them little by little.
One more stepping stone in our journey towards complete healing. Best of all is that God is using Isaiah to change lives of doctors, nurses, therapists and many others. Toad used to call Isaiah his "walking testimony" I bet he never realized how very true this name would become!
Following the appointment we headed off to the Mall of America. Isaiah bought his new Lego and ice cream and we were headed back to the hotel. My kind of man....he hates shopping as much as I do! Know what you want, know where to get it, get it and GO!!
He took a swim when we returned to the hotel. We had breakfast for dinner at Denny's which is conveniently located right next door. Now he is happily building his new Lego.
I am so very proud of Isaiah and his bravery!!! We have more testing in the morning and then will meet with his orthopedic surgeon to see about that surgery.
Thanks again for all the prayers. We feel them and God is listening!

an asthma attack, the dentist, tantrums and a road trip

I began my by having to call the doctor to have Dominique's asthma meds called into the pharmacy by his college campus. He had an asthma attack yesterday and had a difficult time breathing all night. Meds ordered, paid for, picked up and now he is doing better! Thanks to Dr. and his nurse for calling Maryland!!
Then it was off to the dentist for the 5 who are still at home. Good news for all. Some new teeth coming in, some old ones getting loose, even the Burrito got his turn in the chair. Judging from his reaction.....I would have to say he did not enjoy the experience!
Then it was off to the library to pick up some books on CD for the trip to MN. The store for last minute items for home and the road. Home to finish packing and we were on our way around 445.
We did good time wise and arrived at our hotel at 9pm. Tomorrow will be a long day for Isaiah. He has tests most of the day then if he is feeling up to it our reward trip to lego land.
The Burrito has been throwing tantrums lately and decided today would be a great day to try one out on Dad....um...I am praying I still have a Baby Burrito when I get back. He screamed for nearly 2 hours this evening when he woke up and realized I was gone. UGH!
A huge thanks goes out to Wendi and Trudy for helping out with my tantrum throwing Burrito while Scott goes to work the next couple days.
If the internet cooperates tomorrow, I will update after our testing and reward.

Friday we went with the elementary school on a trip to the Omaha zoo. The day was nice, good weather and all the monsters had a great time. Only one problem, I forgot the camera! BLAH!
Tomorrow I take 5 of the monsters to the dentist in the morning, finish packing in the afternoon and right after school Isaiah and I are off to the hospital in MN for his testing and meetings with his team of doctors. This is always a stressful time for me as I can never decide how I feel about the whole thing. I wish we could either have a 100% perfect report or have surgery scheduled. Living somewhere in the middle is quite unnerving for me. It is not that I WANT him to have surgery...I just want to know what is going to happen. I want to be able to walk through the day not wondering if he will be injured or if today is the day his neurological functions will bottom out and we will officially be an emergency. I can handle bad news we have traveled that road plenty, I would dance for joy with good news. I hate the realm of unknown territory. So Early Tuesday morning we check in for testing which always takes 2 days. not full days but it is too much for one day. And of course his reward as always will be a trip to MOA for a visit to Lego Land. He has saved money again and is anticipating the purchase of his new Star Wars set. Wednesday after testing we will meet with the team and learn what the plan is now.
Scott had to rearrange his work schedule so he could get kids on the bus, Zephan will be passed between 2 households. Tuesday he will be with Wendi and Wednesday he will be with Trudy. Thanks Abby for backing me up I will have Scott call you if something happens.
Tonight is the Kids choir program at church. Samuel and Amaris are excited to preform.
It was nice to have Philip home for a couple days. We went shopping and picked his suit for Nathan's wedding. He flew out this morning for Ontario. The kids love it when he is home even when it is for just a couple days. While he was home we planned our road-trip to Philly. Things are falling into place for that it is nice to have a travel partner and someone to help with the finances too!
I will post updates if I have internet access in MN. Thanks for the prayers...as always!