Thursday August 24 Was A Great Day

Thursday August 24 was a great day - sort of.

Wil called home! Unfortunately we weren't there to get the call. He wanted to tell us that the scrimmage was on for Friday and that he wouldn't be playing but he would really appreciate it if we would come anyway. (as if we wouldn't)

Now you might be asking why weren't we home at 8.30 at night to get a call from Wil? Well, I would answer, it's because we were in the emergency room with Charlie preparing for an emergency appendectomy. That's why it was a great day. God got us in the right time to the right hospital and the right doctors and Charlie is now appendix-less, but very healthy and doing great, but I get ahead of my self.

So, here we are in the emergency room checking voice mails and we get the most pitiful sounding message from Wil that it makes his dad cry "but, why isn't he playing, is he alright?"

Soooo, while we waited on test results I was busily trying to get into the phone in the coaches office to inquire about Wil and to let him know about Charlie And to see if maybe Wil could come home to see his brother. Again, it was a great day. I was able to get through (the phones are on for only 30 mins for cadets to inform thair parents of the scrimmage) I actually got to speak to a coach and indeed Wil can come home after the scrimmage on Friday. Yea!


So, Wil didn't play in the scrimmage. He has suffered shin splints in his left leg and a bum right knee. They are painful but he will heal. Wil came home with his sister and dad after the scrimmage. They stopped at McDonald's and Wil said it tastes like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Charlie was so glad to see him. Charlie got into mom and dads bed where Maggie and Will joined him so they could see each other and catch up. It was great to see them all together. We had a barbecue at the house on Sat afternoon so the neighbors could come and see Wil and wish Charlie well.

It was good to see Wil and touch him and love on him. It was hard to have him away and be hurt but I got to see him and encourage him in person so taking him back on Sunday first thing in the morning wasn't so bad.

It was a great day indeed.

Wil's First Week on The Line

At 5'9"/200 lbs, the Jr. Prep squad coaches selected Wil to play both the "O-Line" and the"D-Line" (as the players call it). FUMA played a scrimage against Amherst yesterday (Sat 8/19) - FUMA is in white; Wil is the lineman #61 - in the middle, leaning over with his hand not yet on the ground.

Their team got soundly beaten in this scrimage, but they also showed some good team play. Wil made several good blocks off the line and pushed around one of the Amherst boys who was bigger than him. His immediate challenge will be to not only learn his position, but to learn the game. For instance; on defense, he came off the snap and blocked well, but didn't pay attention to the ball movement and move into tackling mode - he just kept blocking his man! For his first organized football scrimage after only 5 days of practice, I would rate his performance as an A. He hustled on the field, played his position, listened to his coaches and had a great attitude.

The Amherst HS football boosters hosted a lunch of Subway sandwiches for the players after the game and I got to visit with Wil for the first time since we dropped him off on Sunday 8/13 (after the game they got to take showers and change into their athletics).

He looked great, felt great, sounded great, was smiling and said he was having a good time. He had the usual list of gripes; the food s*cks, some of the kids are annonying, there's nothing to do in their free time - "Dad are you going to send me a TV? ... and a laptop? I really need one."


As you can see from the photo above, we ate lunch tailgate style. One of his new friends (I forgot his name) is from Richmond. He got a concussion on Friday and had a mountain-sized headache and didn't play. The bummer was that his parents didn't come to the game. I asked him if he'd like to call them and hardly finished my sentence before his eyes lit up and he said "Yes".

Wil got to talk to his Mom on the phone - and he got to listen to voice messages from his Mom and Maggie. We gave him a case of Gatorade and a new care package with some beef jerkey, chocolates from Maggie and Charlie, short socks (his favorites) and two letters.

He said next week they were doing more conditioning and running - not his favorite things :(. The following week classes start (9/01) and they move from a casual environment to full military drill, rules, new barracks, permanent room and roommate, etc. Wil had a great 1st game and we had a good time visiting with one another. His spirits were good and although he was tired and a bit sore, I think he's making friends and having a good time.

Beyond Aquia - the beginning

Sunday, August 13th will not be a day our family will ever forget - not Mom, Dad, or any of the kids, Wil (14), Maggie(12) or Charlie (10). Not withstanding our "many and great provocations" against one another over the years, what we discovered today in a new way, is the love we have for one another and especially for Wil - for today was the day that our family moved "Beyond Aquia". We took Wil to Fork Union Military Academy to start his high school career and begin his first football camp.

Yep - after 3 years of public school and 6 years of home school, our firstborn is venturing out into the world - not just to boarding school, but to military school. What? You're sending him to military school?


Please pray for Wil and for those of us at home in Aquia. Sadness is and was the theme of the day. In some respects it was to be expected - but it took us all by surprise. And unless you've lived through it, it's very hard to explain.

This blog will hopefully serve as a place for us to capture thoughts, pictures, stories and memories as we go along the path that God has for us and as our family spreads its wings and ventures out into the great unknown "Beyond Aquia".

Jer 29:11