Exhausted and Poopy!??!

Today I am totally exhausted. Today we rode for 70 miles and 50 of them were into the wind. We started out with some really cool rolling hills. Most people hated them, but my riding partner, Dale Ackerman (the guy in the picture to the right) and I loved them! We cruised right through them! At one point we reached a top speed of 36 mph! After we turned South at Pender, life got difficult. We rode into the wind, but Dale and I pressed on. About 10 miles before lunch, my gas tank hit empty and I had to drop out of the lead. I kept in sight of the leaders, but I couldn't catch them. At this point pedaling wasn't a physical activity anymore it was a mental command. "Put your foot down! Now the other! Kind of like Dora from the movie Nemo—just keep swimming—or should I say just keep pedaling!!"

We stopped at West point for lunch at the Pizza Ranch and met some dear friends--the Libby's . Karen Libby said she had been following the blog and just had to see my amazing calves! AARRRRGGGHHHH.

We took off out of West Point and it started to rain! “Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse powered bike!” (Oh dear, Christmas has come to my head!) One funny side note was that as I approached Ariannah Denny I quietly rode up beside her and in my best British accent I said, "Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" She laughed so hard she almost wrecked. Then I took off in chase of the lead again.

My riding buddy, Dale, and I were setting some record paces in between stops. It was fun to just see what we could do. During one of the legs of the ride, Dale got a flat tire and it took 15 minutes for the next riders to catch up to us. After we changed the tire, we both agreed it was time to chase them down and we caught them at the next stop. It was fun. The sad part is that Dale left today. He had obligations to fulfill and could not complete the ride, so I am looking for someone else who likes to push hard and go fast. Tomorrow we are going to ride 100 miles--the infamous Century Ride. We will end up in York, Ne. The cool part is that if the wind holds, it will be at our backs for part of the trip. Dear Lord, it’s me again…please let the wind be at our backs!!

Tonight I am a little saddle sore and stiff, but my wife is continuing to encourage me. This evening I received a kite and a card from her! Between Jen’s surprise encouragement and a good nights sleep I hope to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to ride! Thank you for all your prayers and those that have helped make this trip happen!!

Pastor Busch

Single Parenting-Day 2-The View From My Picture Window...by Jen

Howdy Friends and Family! Well my morning started earlier than Dave's! It started at 4 a.m. with a wake up call from none other than 15 month old Jalise Raelynn! She woke up happy and ready to play! Well, since we all know that is far from my hour of conscienceness, this was not an option. I took her back to my bed and tried to sleep but of course, she had other ideas. Slowly but surely, Jalise let sleep overtake her but not without a few of her own antics of course. Around 4:45 a.m., I felt a pair of little feet on my leg. Now to most, this would be no big deal, but when a certain little girls jammies consist of footed pants, this gave me reason to investigate further! Feeling that nothing was missing other than a pair of pants, I drifted back to sleep...only to be awakened again 20 minutes later. This time though, I felt something much different...something one should not feel in the middle of the night while cuddling with said daughter! If you have let your mind wander, many thoughts may be cruising through...well put the brakes on and continue reading...Jalise had decided that she no longer wanted to wear her diaper! She had successfully taken it off and peacefully fallen into a deep sleep! Believe you me, that diaper had disappeared! I searched as best as I could in the dark, but finally gave up and went and got a new diaper and redressed that sleeping little girl! She didn't even stir!

Soon enough, the alarm went off and it was time to get the boys moving toward school. Thankfully lil Miss Jalise slept on and I was able to get some much needed cleaning done. Jalise woke up around 8:30 and we went through our morning preparations for the day...got her bath out of the way, lotioned, but left her to run around in her diaper...Needless to say, Big Mistake!

As I was finishing up picking the toys out of the bathtub, Isaac came running to the bathroom screeching something about Jalise being poopy and needing a change. Thinking I had a minute, I turned to tell him that it would be ok and I would change her as soon as I was done, only to be greeted by Isaac holding Jalises poopy diaper and Jalise standing right beside him, covered in poop! She had painted herself! Welcome to bath number 2! As soon as we were finished with that, she was dressed for the day with pants and a onesie! No more stripping 15 month old Busch girl!

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, other than a well child check for Jalise and a nice thunderstorm. Today was her 15 month birthday, and she weighed 20 lbs and was 30 inches long. We did find out though that she is battling her first case of tonsillitis--but thankfully we got on top of it before it was out of control!

The boys came home from school, homework was finished, books were read and believe it or not...I grilled steak! The boys were so surprised that I actually made steak and mashed potatoes and green beans! They thought for sure that Daddy was hiding somewhere! He wasn't and that became a reality when we SKYPED with him tonight and the boys and Jalise tried to touch him through the computer. Jalise waved to him over and over and tried to get him to come to her, but with no avail. Soon enough we will see him again and be able to hold him in our arms!

Thanks again to those that have called to check in or email! We appreciate it! If you are following our blog, leave us a comment on here! We would love to hear from you. You can encourage Pastor through the comments here!

Soooo, from our early morning, stripping, poopy picture window to yours, have a great night!