Tuesday October 23rd, He's Only Four!

I don't even know where to start for today; it's been such a full day of activity and such a full of emotion.  I guess that it doesn't help that it's 11pm and I'm just sitting down at the computer either!  Today was the 50th day of school so everyone dressed from the 50's; I had two of the cutest gals in poodle skirts "do whopping" their way to school this morning!  To add even more fun to being dressed up, the third grade had their Sock Hop today.  They all did the so many of the fun dances from the 50's; the boys and girls even danced together in a few of the dances AND didn't get upset about having to dance with each other.  Ingram wanted to get in on the action and snuck in a dance with his favorite third grader Lindsey.  He watched them do the "Hokey Pokey" and then ran along with them during the "Limbo;" he had so much fun running all around the gym floor slipping and sliding in his socks!

After all that exercise, we were both so hungry and headed off for lunch to Chick Fil A of course!  Ingram downed a whole cup of fruit punch and ate all 6 of his chicken nuggets and french fries.  I have a feeling I'm going to be very excited when he stands on the scale in the morning for his weigh in at St. Jude!!  We still had some time to use before his nap so he entertained everyone at our early voting place, including one of our neighbors Sharon Mrok.  He was so good and we were out of there in less than 30 minutes to head home for a quick nap before the girls and Mr. David got home from school.  During his nap, I can't remember what all I did, but I do know that the laundry did not get done because there's three loads stacked in the living room to fold and I think one more in the washer... oh well, there's always tomorrow! 

Once they were home, Mr. David entertained Ingram while I did homework with the girls, made snacks for all of us,  and got them ready for soccer!  Luckily, our friends the Wests were heading to the soccer field that Madison was going to and she caught a ride with them while I took Lindsey to another field for her game.  I didn't forget Ingram, but it did feel pretty weird not to have him talking in the background all night.  Since I was by myself for 15 minutes, I decided to run into the gas station and splurge on a Diet Dr Pepper and some M&M's...I know, I'm just that wild and crazy these days!  Speaking of Ingram, he had "an appearance" to make at the GFL practice so I put Craig and Mr. David in charge of him from 5:15ish when we left for soccer until we met up for dinner around 8pm.  I'm not sure what all they did before going to the field, but it included Craig and Mr. David running and Ingram riding his scooter for a lot longer than 2 houses which is as long as he normally rides with me. 

Once they were at the GFL practice fields, he was in boy heaven and having so much fun!  He played football with the big boys and they ran some plays just for him; I saw pictures of him running and catching but I'm not sure if I saw any of him kicking.  He and Craig also talked to the boys about how excited we were about them raising money for St. Jude and how much they can make a difference in the lives of the children that are diagnosed with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.  By the end of practice, Ingram had given either a "duke" or a "five" to every kid there.  I can't tell you how lucky we are to be involved with such great kids and such a great community.  My emotions are so crazy these days and a lot of it is due to how compassionate other people have been towards our family but especially Ingram and the girls. 

We met up with Craig, Mr. David, and Ingram at Russo's New York Pizzeria for dinner; we must be there all the time because Ingram feels very comfortable there.  How do I know this?  Once we got seated, he started walking around the restaurant with his "bag of cards" and started handing them out to everyone in the restaurant!  These cards have information about how to donate to St. Jude, about his blog, about how to order shirts, and more.  Once we realized what he was doing, Madison went to get him but she started laughing too much.  He was just telling people "I'm diagnosed" and would give them a card.  She came back to the table without him so we sent Craig to get him.   Everyone he stops winds up leaning down and talking to him and he's just having his own little conversations with them; by now everyone in the restaurant is looking, pointing, and smiling at him.  They all wanted cards I think or maybe just to tell him "Hi" and see what he's handing out I guess; these are the things a normal 4 year old doesn't do.  But since Ingram was diagnosed with cancer, we spread the word everywhere we go and to everyone we can to help find a cure for cancer...and so does he. 

Bedtime is always the same for Ingram.  We always leave the bathroom light on and the closet light on and have the little floor fan on to drown out the occasional snoring of Daddy and the super loud noise of Daddy's alarm clock at 5am.  We sing "Jesus Loves Me" and say prayers and Beau also has to give Ingram his kisses.  Sometimes he repeats the prayers phrase by phrase after us and other times he has us say the prayers.  Well tonight, he wanted to say his own prayers and this is what he said..."Dear God, Thank you for today.  Thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for giving me cancer."  That was it.  That was his whole prayer.  He thanked God for giving him cancer.  We have never thanked God for giving him cancer.  We have thanked God for many things along the way like giving us clear scans and spinal taps, for all the tumor being able be resected, for getting through radiation and getting through chemotherapy, but we have never thanked God for giving us cancer.  We thank God every day for healing Ingram's body and for our doctors and our nurses and for taking his cancer away, but we have never thanked God for giving our family cancer at all.  I think our four year old son has reached a level of spiritual maturity that I don't know I can ever reach and for that I love my God "who has brought us out of the darkness into his marvelous light" even more tonight.  I guess I'll be thanking God for giving us cancer from now on too!

Ingram And His Madison!

Ingram Watching His Lindsey Do The Twist!

Ingram Finally Decided To Try The Twist!
If At First You Don't Suceed, Try And Try Again!
Third Time Was The Charm For Him!

Ingram Flying Through The Limbo With Lindsey's Class!

Ingram With Mrs.  Berry's Bullfrogs!

Ingram With Lindsey And Her Dance Partner For The Sock Hop!

Ingram, Craig, And The GFL Patriots!

Ingram And Craig With More GFL Studs!

Ingram Running The Plays With The GFL Saints!

Craig And Ingram Talkling With The Guys At GFL Practice.
They Talked About St. Jude And ABout How The Money They're Raising
Is Helping Ingram ANd Other Boys And Girls Conquer Cancer!

One Of The Many Sweet Folks That Ingram Talked To Tonight At Russo's!
Pretty Sure He Handed Out About 50 Cards!