Plans...Glorious Plans

If there is one thing I have learned this summer, it's that I am not in control.  And, for those of you who know me well, that might come as a shock to you, as I am a planner.  I like to be in control; I like to have a schedule (in 15 minute intervals); I like to know what's going to happen and when.  This summer, however, I was "gently" reminded that I am not in control.  God has shown me this summer, time and time again, that He is in control.  I have listened as he has told me, "Kim, I've got this.  Things don't always go according to your plan.  But, trust me....mine is better!"

It started with potty training.  I had every intention of conquering potty training with Harper this summer.  Summer began and we attempted; however, Harper showed no interest.  We tried every trick in the book.  We took him to the store and let him pick out some cool Cars underwear.  We bought Skittles and stickers and tried to bribe him.  We let him run around naked.  You see, it was my plan to have him potty trained.  I went back to work last week defeated.  Because the boys' preschool was closed on Friday, they spent the day at my mom's house.  And, lo and behold....Harper came back potty trained (and, with a new appreciation for his "male parts").  As the boys sat playing a game in the family room, Harper sat up, pulled his underwear down and we heard:

Harper:  "Warren, do you see my penis in there?"
Warren:  looks up from the game
Harper:  "Yup, that's it."

Yup, that was it.  We conquered potty training.  Rather, my mom conquered potty training....in one day, no less.  After I spent all summer fighting it.  That's ok though....mission still accomplished.  Amen! 

Our next "life lesson" came when the boys got sick.  About three weeks before summer's end, Harper came home from school with a stomach bug.  He threw up one night and that was it.  So, the next night when Warren had an upset stomach, we naturally assumed it would run it's course like it did with Harper.  I should've known better.  Long story, short....Warren went seven days without eating, but puking every day.  Yes, you read that correctly.  We spent a lot of time answering lots of questions from family and friends.  "Have you taken him in to see the doctor?"  "What does the doctor say?"  "How much does he weigh now?"  "Has he thrown up anymore?"  "Does he have a fever?"  And, while we are so thankful for the concern, the truth is....we trust our pediatrician.  But, more importantly, we trust our God even more.  We know that if God gave us another chance with Warren after his very first illness, then He has big things in store for him.  All that to say, that from before Warren was here on Earth with us, God had a plan for him (not necessarily my plan, but one so much greater).

So, fast forward a week or so....both boys recovered from their stomach bugs and we started to anxiously get ready for Warren's first day of Kindergarten.  Little did we know, again, God had something different planned for us.  As I headed back to work, Warren started developing a high fever.  For four days, his fever ran between 101-103.  We stayed in close contact with our pediatrcian, trusted his judgement and trusted that Warren was in God's great care.

As Saturday crept up on us, and his fever remained high, we started preparing ourselves for the fact that he probably wasn't going to make his first day of Kindergarten.  I would be lying if I said I didn't shed tears because we wouldn't get to experience the "planned" (my planned) first day of Kindergarten.  While all of our Lincoln friends were posting first day of school pictures in cute uniforms, we sat in our pajamas.  While they enjoyed their Jaguar Jamboree Breakfast, we sat forcing down disgusting medicine.  And, while it wasn't exactly as we had planned, we know that it's His plan...and that's good enough for us! 

Afterword....rather than writing a completely new post, I thought I would give you "The Rest of the Story."  Warren made it to his first day of Kindergarten, complete with our own "Jaguar Jamboree Breakfast" which consisted of a run through Dunkin Donuts drive-through.  He had a great day with his teacher, Mrs. Gieger.  Like Esther from the Bible, we really feel like God has placed her in our lives "for such a time as this."  Amazing how He does that?  But, the funniest part (everything is relative by now) of this story of "plans" is that as I went about my planned day, I literally counted the minutes until I could leave to go pick Warren up.  I couldn't wait to find out about his day.  Little did I know, that I would walk out to find my rear tire completely flat.  Lucky for us, Chris works about two minutes from my school.  He was able to scoot over, change the tire and get back to work.  Not quite the ending I had planned to my day.  But....that's par for the course at this point and I think I can honestly say that I am not only learning to accept it, but appreciate it "for such a time as this."   

A Family Affair

Seventeen years ago, Chris and I graduated high school and started our college careers at Florida Southern College... because "that's what you're supposed to do."  And, while I am doing absolutely nothing with my major, I had an incredible college experience.  Florida Southern was definitely the right choice for me!  I would've stayed longer, if I could have.  

However, Chris does not share the same story.  School most definitely does not come easy to him.  After a year and a half, he dropped out of Florida Southern and tried his hand at Polk Community College, which didn't work out too well either.  So, he decided to try Florida Southern again.  This time, Florida Southern chose to drop him.  I will never forget that conversation.  (Let me set the stage...Chris and I have been "acquaintances" since junior high band.  We went to junior high, high school and college together...and played in band and served on band council all the way through.  While I did not "like" Chris as he "liked" me, our parents had become very good friends, so we were around each other a lot.  I should've known then, he was persistent.)  He called me one night and asked me to meet him at the old Books-A-Million.  He seemed very nervous as we drank hot chocolate. Then he sprung the news on me.  He had been "asked to leave Florida Southern."  I'm not sure what caught me off guard more:  him flunking out, or him thinking so much of me that he had to tell me personally.

Fast forward a couple of years....Chris and I got married (the back story to that is a whole nother post).  During that time, I had gone back to school and earned my Masters degree (which did not help Chris' confidence).  So, after a lot of thought and prayer, we decided to try again for the bachelors.  (Notice the word we.)  This time, Chris chose to finish his AA at what used to be Polk Community College.  Chris' college nemesis had been Math.  And, while he struggled with Math, I had been lucky enough to clep out of it.  After speaking to his Math professor, we decided I would "take" the class with Chris.  So, for a semester, two nights a week, we sat through college Math.  We came home and I retaught the lesson to him.  On test nights, he was so anxious he would drum on the desk, without realizing it.  So, I sat next to him while he took his tests.  Long story, short....he passed and went on to earn his AA!  Hallelujah!  This proved to be just the confidence he needed to get back on track.

With an AA, he was able to transfer back into Florida Southern.  Third time's a charm!  However, this time around, he was married and was working....and had a little boy on the way.  We certainly knew it wouldn't be easy.

And, finally, after 17 years....he drove off Thursday night to his last college class!  There have been many sleepless nights, many nights I felt like Edge Hall 201 was "the other woman", many tears, many sacrifices, many, many dollars paid for tuition and books, many mornings of Chris leaving telling the boys "I won't see you guys tonight.  Daddy has class"....but, in the end, it finally came down to Thursday night!  He left for class with his final Science project in hand.  About thirty minutes after he left, Warren came up to me and the conversation went something like this:

Warren:  Mommy, is Daddy doing his Science project now?
Me:  I think so, buddy.  I sure hope he does a good job.
Warren:  I hope his teacher says "Chris, you did not do a good job."
Me:  (puzzled) Why in the world would you say that, Warren?
Warren:  (smiling)  Mommy, I hope his teacher says "Chris, you did a great job!"

Seventeen long years and it really has been a family affair!  We've sat through college classes together, moms have come over to help on really long days, and the boys have been his biggest cheerleaders.  They say it takes a village to raise a child.  But, I'm not so sure it doesn't take a village to raise a grown up, too!

Surprise! Surprise!

What a fun finale to a rough end of the summer!  Chris decided to take the day off so we could surprise the boys with their first trip to Legoland!  I should have known we were in for a fun time when the boys woke up this morning.  Chris and I were still in bed.  I called the boys in and told them we had a surprise for them.  Of course they were dying to know where.  Warren said "Mommy, just give us a hint."  So, I said "Ok, well, Daddy is not going to work today, but we are all going somewhere."  With that, Harper raised both hands and said "Yes!  To McDonalds!"  Warren's eyes lit up and he said "Family Fun Center?"  (Of course, Chris and I looked at each other and thought, "Heck, why are we spending all this money?  Let's go get Happy Meals.") 

Thanks to Emily Corl, we were able to get in for free....which made the day that much sweeter.  Although we had a few meltdowns (and between the hunger and heat, we were surprised it was only a few), we had a super day!  We loved the rides, loved the water park, loved traveling through the USA in Mini-land (ok, so, maybe Harper didn't enjoy Mini-land as much as we did).

And, the surprise of the day...Warren, mostly sweet little, sensitive Warren....rode his first real roller coaster and loved it.  And, I do mean loved it!  So much that after he and Chris rode, he came and hunted me down so I could ride with him.  Then, he and Chris rode a second one before we left.  Of course, on our way home, we had to hit McDonalds....and make all Harper's dreams come true.  I'm just sorry I don't have a picture of how happy his little cheeseburger made him....to replace the Mini-land picture above.   

Come On Get Happy

Ok, after that "heavy" post, I thought it might be nice to lighten things up.  And, for one so "heavy," there is no one to "lighten" things up better than Harper.  I should preface this by telling you that both of these "funnies" happened in one day...so you can only imagine life with Harper. 

The other day I took the boys to Barnett Park, as a last hurrah to summer.  They love to play in the sand, and then go cool off in the fountains.  They especially love getting a special treat from the ice cream lady.  And, this day was no different.  Warren picked a Spiderman ice cream treat and, in the Olympic spirit, Harper chose to cheer "Go USA" with his red, white and blue popsicle. 

After the boys finished their ice cream, they ran to go wash off in the fountains....or so I thought.  I went to throw their wrappers away and came back to find Harper drinking from his shoe.  There are at least five different fountains surrounding him, yet he has to take off his shoe to drink???

After we dried off and changed our clothes, we headed to my grandmother's house for lunch.  While Memaw and I were fixing lunch, the boys went to my mom's side to play.  Things got very quiet...scary quiet.  All of a sudden, Harper comes back over and "all eyes were on me."  So, after all that....come on now, get happy!   

What I've Learned

We have sure had a rough end to our summer, so I apologize now if this post seems like a therapy session.  Rather than paying someone, I thought I would wrap up our summer in a blog....provide you with some entertainment, while "escaping" myself.

Harper came home a couple of weeks ago with a yucky tummy.  He puked once before bed one night...and woke up the next morning good as gold.  So, when Warren started getting sick, we didn't think a thing of it.  Fast forward five days....Warren is still puking and still has not eaten.  Before you jump to conclusions, I was keeping in close contact with our pediatrician who assured me we need not worry.  After seven straight days, we determined Warren had the same bug Harper brought home.  When Warren puked the first time, it irritated his GI tract, which caused the subsequent vomiting.

I learned a lot of things during those seven days.  I watched his little body heave and vomit for seven days. I wiped his throw up and cleaned him up and learned that it never gets any easier to watch.  I watched him pass up meal after meal. I listened as family and friends told me we needed to do something about it; we needed to call the doctor again.  I listened as family and friends told me how worried they were.  I learned that, in the end, I needed to do what I needed to do. 

Believe me, I know that we were all worried. But, if I gave in to all the worry....I probably would've curled up into a ball and just cried the days away.  We could not ask for a better, more compassionate or caring pediatrician.  After all Dr. Cornett has seen us through with Warren, we really do trust him completely.  And, more importantly, we know that if God gave us another chance with Warren after his very first incident.....then He has big things in store for him. We know Warren is in His care.

All that to say, that from before Warren was here on Earth with us, God had a plan for him. And Lord knows God has been with Warren before....and He was certainly with him this last week.  I learned to trust in God's plan and not give in to my own worry!