Sometimes life doesn't work out quite the way we plan. Such was the case for Nathan this weekend.
He left very early Sunday morning for Command and Control School (CCOC) - a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) week long camp with the Air Force Special Forces. To even be considered as an applicant for this camp, he had to pass a tough physical fitness exam. He passed.
However, after being accepted to CCOC and reading through the recommended work out regime (5-6 days a week, 1-2 hours per day) to prepare him for the week, he realized that his way of doing some of the exercises were not the special forces way. So Andy took it upon himself to train Nathan, and train they did!
Nathan made phenomenal strides - from not even being able to really swim the length of the pool, to being able to complete 6 laps in less than 6 minutes! He went from only being able to do one pull-up, to being able to do six!
Alas, all the training was not quite enough. When he got to CCOC, the very first thing he had to do was pass the physical fitness test. And unfortunately, he couldn't quite squeeze out the required number of special forces push ups. Rats. Double rats. All the rest of us were so bummed for him when Nathan called to tell us we needed to pick him up. The disappointment is huge. But he is holding his head up and hanging in there. We are very proud of his effort and fortitude. And he is already planning on what he will do to excel next year at CCOC. That's my boy.
Another crazy weekend at the Wilson House. We had our good friends, the Gaynier's, stay with us. They are currently serving as missionaries with Wycliff Bible Translators in Waxhaw, NC, at the JAARS base. The funny thing when our two families get together is figuring out who is being called when someone is called. We both have Danielle's, Isaac Jame's (yes, even the same middle name!), Grace's, and Nathan's (Nathan Andrew, none the less!). We joke about which names of one another we can use whenever either family grows again! :) It was fun. And even more fun, we get to crash on their house next week when we take Nathan down to JAARS for his week long camp with missionary aviators. He is looking forward to lots of flight time, while the rest of the kids are looking forward to playing with their friends!
Well, it's official. Danielle takes too many pictures. She has managed to fill up all the free space allotted for photos with blogspot. So, we now have to pay in order to continue adding pictures. The temptation to say forget it is huge, but I know too many folks love her blogs, especially for the photos. So, it looks like we've got to pay to continue posting her wonderful pictures. If I can't post photos with this post, they will be on the next one.
 |
| The temperatures have been in the high 90's, with 70% + humidity, making the heat index into the 100's, so the kids found indoor activities to keep them busy. Here is an intense game of Apples to Apples going. From left to right are: Rachel, Promise, Isaiah, Isaac and Isaac. |
 |
| Grace and Nathan Andrew |
 |
| Book worms - Grace, Joseph and Stephen |
 |
| Nathan ironing his uniform pants. Can you tell he has bulked up? |
 |
| Andy trying to teach Joshua how to play Battleship. As Joshua doesn't yet know his numbers or letters, it was a losing battle (pun intended). |
 |
| Grace and Isaac coloring |
 |
| Not a flattering pose, but you can kind of see how buff Nathan's arms are getting. |
