So, last week was the 3rd week of Joshua’s class, but only the 2nd trip that I’ve been a part of. It was off to a shaky start when, just as were nearing “go” time, I lifted one corner of the air mattress that Josh would be laying on and both Josh and my mom watched as their last hour of work rolled right off the mattress, crashing to the floor of the garage (with their new juicer it takes at least an hour to produce his morning juice). Josh quickly saves the last half glass of juice that had not spilled out yet and we poured it into a small travel mug that he could bring with him. So, after my mom poured water on it to dilute it and swept it out of the garage, we cleaned up the broken glass…THEN we were on our way! We decided we would pray for peace as we traveled…much needed now! So, half way down the road, from the back where Josh is we hear, “Oh my gosh…OH MY GOSH”! We pull over into a gas station and we see that all the rest of his juice just spilled out of the lid of his new cup all over him and his bedding. And this would be the first time paper towels were forgotten! We were going to just keep going but decided that with the addition of his book reading to his already long schedule of teaching he needed to have his juice. So, with the excess hour and a half that we’d saved for the hotel when we arrived, we turned around, went back to the house, and began his “quickie” juicing session. So, about an hour later and an extra trip to hy-vee to get a new “car appropriate” container to bring his juice in, we were finally off to Chicago…FINALLY! And once again we prayed for peace!
Joshua’s reading went great. He looked so handsome, as you’ll see in the picture, and he was really well received. He had books donated by the publishing companies that we sold as a fundraiser and we had the priviledge of talking to some of Joshua’s super amazing friends. He then went right into his class, my mom and I walked to our usual dining spot, ate, chatted, took phone calls, started a small table fire, contained it and then went back to pick him up! That night in the hotel, while we sat bundled in sweatshirts and blankets because the room wouldn’t warm up, I went into the bathroom to start hot shower water so we could take turns sitting in a warm room. It was really rather funny! After waiting for the water to turn hot and my fingers now being icicles we decided it was time for a maintenance intervention…or a room change! That’s when we met one of the nicest maintenance workers (other than my husband, of course) I’ve ever met. He was probably in his 60′s, has worked there for 25 years and had all our problems solved in about 7 minutes. He put our shower handle on correctly, closed window vents below the windows that had been opened, changed our air filter in the heater, and all our problems were solved. We talked about leaving a note that said he needs a raise, but in the hurry of the morning we forgot! We will have to this next time. Each week we get the same great deal on priceline at the same hotel. 3 1/2 star hotel for $50…why have we ever done anything other than priceline ever??
Well, no real changes or updates this past week. We will have an upcoming PET scan which will show soft tissue changes and if the cancer has spread, reduced in size or stayed the same in those areas. Don’t know the exact date on the scan but we will let you know when the results of that are back.
I am contemplating a fundraiser that would be quite a bit different than other fundraisers we’re thinking about. Its not uncommon and I know many other people and causes that have done it…but I think we could add some creativity to it and make it unique! I’m thinking of designing a Team Joshua t-shirt. See, no ground breaking idea. Still trying to figure out who to do that with since we have so many people out of town and we want people to be able to place their orders independently and have it directly shipped to them, that way we don’t have to handle all the shipping and we don’t have to carry stock. Then every time Joshua has a scan or test of some kind we would let you know and you would all wear your t-shirts. That day, at some point, take a picture of yourself(ves) somewhere or somehow creatively…maybe at a monument or in front of a coffee shop Josh loves. It could be hanging upside down at a playground or just a cool family shot. The more creative the better! We’ll pick the top 5 creative shots of the day and we’ll post them on the blog. But, even if you don’t think you’ll win, if you take a shot, send it…all of them will be encouraging to Josh. If anyone has any ideas on an online place to have them made let me know.
Okay, have to sign off! It always takes 10x longer to compose these updates than I start thinking its going to, probably because I get interrupted 150 times by my kids. Have a great weekend!
Love, Naomi and family
