Popcorn flunkies, cotton candy junkies

We helped some friends last night with their neighborhood party. They had the works: sno cone machine, cotton candy, popcorn, bounce house, BBQ, etc. We were trying to help get things rolling, and Lisa assigned me to the popcorn machine. There was a notebook of step-by-step directions for all the equipment. The popcorn was in a pre-measured package of oil and kernels. Well, the first batch of popcorn was black, and you know how bad that smells! After the second batch was just as bad, Jason helped me figure out that the whatchamacallit was not set up in the groove for the motor to run right!! Jason was the cotton candy guru. He thought it was fun! One kid came back and said, "Can I have another one? This will be my sixth one!"

We spent the morning getting the yard mowed, weed eated, and porches cleaned off. We talked about it afterward that we both love to get that accomplished. The kids helped, too. Braden is master of the water hose. Landry mostly likes to ride on the mower with Jason. She got bit by some kind of wasp or yellow jacket- right on the arch of her foot. Of course, they were also playing in the sandbox. It is a major mess when they play in there. It is not reasonable to think that they might leave the sand in the box. They are both covered in sand the minute they set foot in there. Then, when they are wet (from master of the water hose) the sand just sticks to them like glue. Don't sweat the small stuff, right!

The friends we helped last night have a 3-year old boy who has leukemia. It was hard for me to see the reality of his treatment last night. Any time he sweats or gets wet, his mom has to change the patch over his central line. He was so patient to sit on the couch as his mom changed the dressing. The worst part was getting the old one off, because it is so sticky. These friends have taught us innumerable things about faith and prayer. Lisa may well be the strongest woman I've been around. She has handled his diagnosis and treatment with so much grace and peace. When we went to see them at Cook's when he was first diagnosed, they had a pager in the room that kept vibrating. Finally, I asked her if she needed to get in touch with someone. No, that was their "prayer pager", every time it went off someone was saying a prayer for them. This little guy has had more sticks, scans, and tests run in the past 7 months than most of us will in a lifetime. He's lost his hair now, and that is the only way that you'd know he is going through chemo. Otherwise, he looks like a perfectly healthy 3-year old boy. Thank you, Lisa, for showing me what real life faith is all about.