Please don’t keep this from your children and act as if nothing is wrong. They are grown adults and there is a good chance they already suspect it anyway. Please don’t act as if you are protecting your children from something. They will have to deal with it whether you are aware of it or not. Please don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed to discuss this disease your children. No one is to blame here and time is short, use all of it for what it is worth.

Me? I let two years go by while I suspected that something was up with my mom. She didn’t want to talk about it and I guess I took the easy road by deciding to respect that. But by the time there was no way for her to deny it and a clinical diagnosis was given, too much valuable time was gone. And sadly, the opportunity to be able to carry on a conversation was gone by then too.

Instead of facing the future, enjoying the time we had, planning for what was to come, and being proactive, our time was spent trying to delicately dance around the subject while figuring out ways to protect her from this horrible disease without her knowledge. By the time we were forced to act on things like finances, medical, and legal issues her emotions were in such a delicate state from the disease that everything was a gamble as to if she could handle it or not.

I love my mom, and this is the way things have worked out in God’s plan. I write this to give you the perspective of someone who is a little further down the road so your children might have a little less to regret in the future. Go to the neurologist and be honest with them. Find out what the issue is and see if it’s anything else that can be helped. Then, if worse comes to worse, walk the road before you WITH your family.

I pray that I would have the strength to do this and would not be surprised if I eventually get the opportunity.

The city of Cumming had their fireworks on the 3rd so we went to those too.  No rain that day either. So we had excellent weather this year to go with the food, folks and fun.

Oh that reminds me. I asked Camryn what her favorite part of the 4th of July is and she said, “First, the birthday of our country. Second the meals and being able to spend a lot of time with friends.”

Excellent.

The strangest part was being woken up by the dog to go out. At first it was frustrating because it felt like it was 3 AM. But after looking at the clock, it was only 11:45 PM — right on schedule. Crazy.

P.S. This weekend is a blackout so wear black instead of red.

• Divorce
• Suicide
• Infidelity
• Abandoning the faith
• Addiction

All of a sudden you’re playing with very real cards that have very real consequences.

It seems like just yesterday I was in school worried about grades, relationships, and career path. Then I moved into being married and playing house and trying to raise kids. But when something like this gets laid on the table, I am forced to acknowledge that I — like everyone else — am dealing real cards and the stakes are high. Possibly even the very lives of my wife and children.

I guess it just an example of how easy it is to try and live in a fairytale. Maybe it’s just another step in growing older. Everyone has to play the game of life and we only have the cards we are dealt, but we still need to play them well.

Pray and be there for those who have been dealt the big cards.

It was Mission Child Care Night on Saturday so we dropped the kids off at church to have a date-night. I listened in the car as we drove to Outback. I could see the television at the bar from our seats. I stood in Target’s electronic department and tuned a radio in as Regina looked for some things. I listened more as we drove to Lowes, to Wal*Mart, and finally back to the church.

Not much romance on this date-night, just a good time to relax without having to watch little ones. We finally got a white board to hang in the kitchen so we can write the girls’ weekly memory verses on it — and the cost of the childcare went to missions.

On another note, here it is the second week of September and my voice has been rendered useless by ragweed.

UGA: 35 – Oklahoma: 14

Yep, the family was dressed in red and black today. I had heard speculation across the board about this game — from Oklahoma will stomp all over UGA, to UGA will take Oklahoma to the cleaners, to who ever wins will win by 3. All I have to say is win or lose, the anticipation is just fun. To get behind a team and hope they do good gives a sense of excitement that carries over to the whole family.

As Michigan and Appalachia State proved today, anything can happen.

It’s also more accountability, in that the machines record your workout and you can view your stats online etc. After setting goals and you spend a couple of weeks setting your pace, a trainer views your stats and sees how you’re doing. I like the tech side of it.

It’s also nice because their indoor pool has a walk in section for the kids and the girls love the pool. Maybe they will take up swimming as they get a bit older.

So once the new iPods come out, Regina and I will be caring for the temple and loving the Lord with all our mind as we listen to Podcasts during our workout time. Oh, and I actually find drinking diet drinks tolerable now — amazing.

I’m continually amazed at this winding road called life and all the tragedy and blessing along the way. I’m amazed by how people’s lives intersect and change the course of time and history. I’m amazed by how a seemingly insignificant decision made by someone a few years ago is affecting the lives of people today — people all over the world that they don’t even know exist.

Not only do we tend to minimize God down to our own little sphere of such a big world, but we also grossly under-estimate how vast our sphere of influence in that big world actually is.

Ephesians 1:11 - In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…

Oh, and 25 more days until football season begins. Go Dawgs!

Actually I do have a reason, it came up this past New Years Eve. We had a get together and everyone was trying to remember what we did  two years back and no one could remember — maybe I need to keep up a New Years documentary too.

This weekend Regina had a get-together planned with some families from our church to picnic at Pooles Mill Park — about 15 minutes from our house. She said there was a playground, a covered bridge, and a place for the kids to play in the creek. Sounded good to me but I must admit that I was expecting some kind of paved walk-in area or something “safe and accessible” so the suburban kids can get their feet wet in the creek.

As we unloaded the picnic stuff and started walking toward the bridge area, my ears told me that this was no paved wading pool. We got to the water’s edge to see cascading falls intertwined between rocks and wading pools. So we kicked off the shoes and had a ball. There was a perfect spot for the kids to slide down a slippery rock slide into a shallow natural wading pool, only to climb up and do it again and again. There were places to sit under waterfalls and let the water crash on your shoulders, places to float down small rapids, and places to rest on dry rocks.

As we ended the day and headed back home, my heart was delighted to hear the girls ask, “Dad, can we come back tomorrow?”

Find a swimming hole near you!