Ingram the Conqueror: Sunday March 10th, Our River Bend Family

Sunday morning the five of us got to go to River Bend Baptist Church (G-Mommy and G-Daddy's church) and see a lot of the people that had been praying for Ingram and our family from the beginning of our journey. The girls had been down this past summer and got to see a lot of their friends while they were on their "fundraising circuit;" the rest of us hadn't been down in a while and we were very excited to be able to see everyone and more importantly let them see Ingram. During the "Say Hi To Your Neighbor" part of the service, we got to meet so many of G-Mommy and G-Daddy's friends that had been praying for us. The most common things that people said after they met Ingram in person after they've been praying for him and following him on the blog was how much hair he had and how much energy he had. Even people who've seen pictures of him are amazed at his hair and after hearing all the stories from G-Mommy and G-Daddy in addition to what they read can't get over how much energy he has.

John Crowe, the pastor of the church, asked Craig if he would share a little about our journey during the services. Craig did a great job telling our story and he had my eyes filling with tears thinking about how much different our last spring break was compared to this spring break. It is totally amazing to think through our whole journey or really our whole journey to this point and see how God has carried us through the good, the bad, and the ugly of cancer. Part of the reason that we're doing as well as we are is that people are making time to stop and pray for Ingram and our whole family; the great thing is that we got to meet a lot of these people for the first time Sunday at church and of course see folks we already knew from previous visits too. It's very humbling when we are surrounded by so many people that have been praying earnestly for Ingram and for our family and it reaffirms the fact that our God is a God of Love and we felt loved by so many people Sunday morning.

After church we went out to lunch then back to the house for Craig to pack up to fly home; can I say Boooo again here? We didn't want him to have to leave, but I guess someone in the family has to have a job! G-Daddy had also been saving a pile of Craig's old cars and trucks that he played with when he was little as well as adding new ones to the collection. Ingram's eyes almost exploded when he opened a briefcase full of Hot Wheel's cars and trucks, tractors and trailers, and more cars and trucks that were now his to play with all the time! The girls even got super excited and started helping Ingram open the packages and get some cars out to play with in the den; Ingram was in Hot Wheel's heaven! While this was going on, Craig realized his some of his travel documents were missing and he was going to need a little extra time at the airport. We already had an hour long drive to the airport so he had to leave right away so he could get there two hours early as recommended by the TSA agent that he talked to on the phone. We were still uncertain if he would be able to make the flight, but were very much relieved once he was inside the Terminal and at the Gate waiting to board his flight to Memphis!

To celebrate his getting on the flight to Memphis and my making the hour long trip back to the house in crazy Houston traffic, we decided to go out for ice cream! Aunt Leigh (Craig's Sister) came over and we all piled in the cars and headed to Menchie's for some frozen yumminess. I was helping Ingram get his bowl of chocolate yogurt and gummy bears while the girls were helping themselves to gallons of frozen yogurt and toppings on their own; yep, you know what's coming...trouble! Both of their bowls weighed over 12 ounces individually and they were full of chocolate yogurt, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips, and chocolate M & M's! I couldn't believe what they had done when I saw it, but really I could totally believe it because they've done it before when they were with Miss Brittany in Virginia when she took them out for ice cream by herself. Ingram ate all of his ice cream and so did G-Mommy, G-Daddy, and Aunt Leigh; the girls didn't quite make it halfway through their cups, but I know they had fun being with their family and that was all that mattered. I won't say how long it took to settle them down for bed from all that chocolate, but I will say that everyone slept a wee bit late the next morning, well except Daddy and G-Daddy since they had to go to work!