June 13 – “Plane rides and birthday parties”

We're still watching with Chris' Mom.  She roused up a few times through the night and today, and even said a few things, but they were very confused things.  The outlook is still not very good right now.  Chris is trying her best to be strong and encouraging for her Dad.  I'm heading up there in a few minutes to see if she wants to come home for the night.   I mentioned plane rides and birthday parties yesterday.  The plane ride was totally uneventful.  A 7 a.m. flight on a Saturday morning is apparently not a very popular one.  Not all the seats were full.  I got an aisle seat near the escape door, so I had about as much leg room as the first class passengers.  And there was an empty sat next to me as well.  I read a lot and sipped my complimentary Dr. Pepper.  The only thing that interrupted my thoughts was the occasional cheery chirping of the male flight attendant.  He was definitely a morning person, so they gave him the loudspeaker and turned him loose.  Every time he spoke he tried to be funny.  It was funny watching the other passengers listening to him try to be funny.  He even struck up a conversation with me about the Astros.  He saw my t-shirt, and when I finally realized he was talking to me, we reflected on the future of the franchise.  I liked the guy.   Zak's birthday party was amazing.  Christi did several different age-appropriate activities, all within a pirate theme.  They had a small jump house, but Zakary wouldn't go in it.  Seems that last time he went in one like that, it deflated and scared him.  Caleb gave it a try, though.  He loved it.  She had a few tubs of water with pirate ships.  And a just bigger than life sized blow-up pirate.  The game was ring the pirate with one of those blow-up floatie rings.  Very popular until one of the little guy bit him.  The finale was an outdoor treasure hunt she took the kind on to find the pirate ship piñata full of treasure.  Josh was dressed as the evil pirate (plus, he changed into a t-shirt that said "I am happy to be here.").  Looked more than a little facetious.  The kids had to bomb the evil pirate with black water balloon bombs to get to the treasure.  Unknown to them, and I think to Christi, Josh had a stash of "bomb" hidden.  He returned fire and even got some of the adult spectators wet.  Looked like a spectacle at Astroworld or something.   Ruth 1:16-17 says, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."   Father, thanks for your promise never to leave us.  As much as this one meant to Naomi, yours is a lot more comforting.  Amen.