Kale Powell

I have questions for Jesus when I get home. I have already asked. Maybe it is just the fact that my mortal mind cannot comprehend the fact that helping people is not why we are here (though Kale did that beyond most 18-year-olds). Maybe it is the fact that being the "All-American kid" is not why we are here (though he was every bit of that). Maybe it is the fact that he loved Jesus and shared his faith with others... maybe it is the fact that through his death (and what he faced head on), he has touched more people than he even did in his life on earth - which was attested to by the droves of people in attendance today (see Kelly's post below).

Maybe it is just not for me to know yet. In fact, maybe it is selfish to WANT to know until He is ready to let me in on the answer... but I am sure going to continue to ask.

Kale will be missed - but only for a season....

Kale Wayne Haney Powell 1988 - 2006. <- That "dash" means everything.

BB

Closure

Today was Kale's funeral. I'm not sure I have been to a funeral that was as sad as this one. But it's such a double-edge sword because at the same time, they read from Kale's journal and he was very positive and seemed to know he was going to heaven soon.

The church prepared three over-flow rooms with large screens and all three were at capacity. We arrived 25 minutes early and still had to sit in an over-flow room. The funeral was very personal and Kale's best friend Dane spoke, along with the Guthrie HS football coach. The football team was there and they had their heads shaved for Kale, who had lost his hair while undergoing chemo. There were two separate slide shows and most of the pictures were of the past two years. Kale went to his high school prom and graduated approximately 8 weeks ago. It's amazing how quickly he took a turn for the worse.

Knowing what we went through today, I can't even comprehend what his family is going through. But most importantly, what they will go through over the next few weeks, months and years when everyone leaves and reality sets in.

Please keep them in your prayers. Kale is in a better place. As hard is it is for us to understand, God was ready for him.

KB

Sad News

For those of you who met Kale at our wedding, or kept up with his progress through emails, I wanted to pass along that Kale passed away today. It is really sad and I can't comprehend what a parent goes through when they lose a child.

For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to meet him or don't know the story...I'll try and make it brief.

Megan was dating Kale who was a sophomore and on top of the world as the quarterback at Guthrie HS. During the homecoming game Kale was hurt during a play and taken by ambulance to Edmond Hospital. We followed behind and stayed with he and his family at the hospital. I'll never forget because we had made Pierce a shirt that had Kale's name and number and he ran around the hospital and played while we waited on the doctor. They determined that Kale had broken his collarbone in two places, but also found a mass in his chest the size of an egg, next to his aorta. Since that time, Kale has been undergoing chemo, radiation, a bone marrow, etc. More than anyone should have to go through, but especially someone that young.

Megan got a call yesterday saying the doctors had told Kale and his family there was nothing else they could do. They had given him weeks. She got a call today that he passed away. He was only 18 years old.

Please keep his family in your prayers. This is going to be a very difficult time for them.

KB

4th of July

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did on the 4th of July! We took the kids to The Oklahoman Centennial Freedom Festival in Bethany (I know, it's a mouth full). I worked a little, and played a lot. They had rides, inflatables, food, crafts a parade, and everything you can possibly imagine. We had more fun watching Sierra and Pierce as they ran from ride to ride. At one point, Brett and Sierra decided to go on a ride and Pierce wasn't quite tall enough, so I took him over to a "kiddie" rollercoaster and the man said, "son, can you step over here so I can see how tall you are?" Well, Pierce marched right over, stood on his very tippie toes and was just tall enough! haha The man thought is was so cute, he let him ride. Well, much to my surprise, I watched him fasten Pierce in (a seat by himself) and I thought, I hope this doesn't go very fast because he doesn't look very secure. That ride took off and if you've ever seen small rollercoasters, they are VERY bumpy! The first time around his eyes were as wide as saucers and I thought he was going to start crying. By the second time around, he was laughing so hard and having so much fun I thought I was never going to get him off! Then, we headed over and they decide to bungie! Sierra was a little timid at first, but by her second time, she was doing back flips (which dad loved) and JB LOVED the bungie and would go really high. The cutest thing to me was sitting back and watching JB...he would talk to every worker, ask a million questions and wasn't shy at all.

We had an absolute blast at the carnival! We ended the day with me and Sierra making cookies and then headed up to UCO to watch fireworks. JB wasn't quite as interested as Sierra, but thought they were cool.

They are both ready for Frontier City. Sure hope they have rollercoasters and bungies because those two are pro's now!!

See everyone soon. Have a great "short" week!
KB

House

Why is it that every time we have a weekend to ourselves we think we've got to kill ourselves around the house?? As most of you know from earlier posts, several weekends ago we built a berm in our backyard. This past weekend, we laid pavers, built a two tierd flowerbed in the back corner, planted "more" flowers and cleaned the garage (well, Brett did that). Yesterday at church when they asked everyone to stand, me and Brett looked at each other and just started laughing. We're both so sore we can hardly walk! We looked like an 80 year old couple walking out of church.

We really enjoy our home and work inside or out every chance we get. You'd think after a while we wouldn't get sore anymore. Guess that tells you how much we do in between chores :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July. We're excited about taking the kids to see fireworks and spending the day with them. BL is scheduled to catch July 4th in Idaho Falls. He's pretty excited about it and still having a great time.

KB