Achile & Tetralogy of Fallot

Achile is an 8-year-old boy in Burkina Faso with a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of Fallot. Because of Achile's heart condition, he has been in pain for five years and hasn't been able to attend school regularly and receive the full of benefit of sponsorships through Compassion International.

 Compassion International has provided medical care for Achile for the last two years at the National Teaching Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso in western Africa. However, doctors there now believe his condition requires urgent heart surgery, which is not available in Burkina Faso.

Achile will be transported to a specialized hospital in India for a lifesaving operation that will cost an estimated $20,449. Please donate here: http://compassion.com/Achile

Any funds raised in excess of the cost of Achile's surgery and transport will be rolled into Compassion's Medical Assistance Fund to aid children in need of medical help in the future.

Landon School Scandal has made my head explode

Okay, so I'm working on getting back in my groove. Not rut. Groove. They are different. I guess a groove can become a rut if you let it. Anyway...

My amazing friend, Lori, sent me the horrible info on the Landon School Scandal when I was up to my armpits in bands, managers, tour buses, speakers, no wi-fi, thunderstorms, ceiling leaks, and divas. And, no, the divas are not whom you think they would be.

So, the info has been bouncing around in the back of my brain and today I'm passing it on to you.

Reading about this made my head want to explode. I'm almost at a loss for words. I've typed a sentence over and over, but my mind keeps shattering.

This despicable attitude has been directed at girls that were supposedly their friends. How much worse must their attitudes be about people they have no connections with?

It makes me furious and it makes me realize how easily the idea of people being seen as property is birthed.

The fact the school tried to keep the scandal hush hush is very irritating. The Washington Post article states that just a few of the girl's families were contacted and three boys received in-school suspensions. In-school suspensions? Really? That's all? And, why weren't all the families warned that their daughters were being targeted in this way?

My heart hurts for the girls. It hurts because they didn't deserve this and the matter was swept under the rug, the boys slapped on the wrist. It hurts because there are girls in the world seeking attention and will do anything to get it. They are the perfect prey for predators like these boys.

My heart hurts for the families that believe the boys behavior is acceptable. That just look at it as "boys being boys" and don't see it for the sickness it really is. There are huge vacuums in these families. And they don't have a clue it is there.

My head has exploded and my heart hurts.

Home again

These last two weeks have been insane. Colorado feels like it was a month ago. Oklahoma is a distant memory. Crossover taxed my body and my brain.

But, now I'm home. Sitting in my own bed with my husband passed out beside me.

Colorado was an exhausting delight, except for the rafting trip.
Falls Creek was an exhausting delight, except for the wi-fi being at the bottom of the hill (and not free) and the cell service being at the top of the hill. Made it hard to get business done.
Crossover was an exhausting delight, except for a few things that will not be named. I do want to say that Daphne and Kathy once again rocked hospitality and merch.

I feel completely out of the loop on so many things.
I've got to get back in my zone.
I've got to get all the weight I packed on off again.
Daphne made a spinach lasagna that was so good I almost cried.

I did get to share my convictions about slavery and Wal-Mart and Nestle and Mars with a few people and that felt good. Helped me feel I was in my real world.

Think its time to crash. I figured out that I've been driving or riding in a car for a total of 50 hours these past two weeks.