Updates from the wanderer

Michael has been having a grand time in Europe. I am not sure he is really working very hard there though.
We are receiving lots and lots of lovely pictures of his adventures. This last weekend he got to travel over to France to see some of the countryside over there.





















We miss our daddy a lot but are glad that he is really having a great time while he is tdy in Northern Italy.

Wear Good Shoes

Last Thursday and Friday, Lydia attended youth conference. I prepared all her food and medicines and told myself that she would be fine without me anywhere around. I still haven't figured out the right balance of letting her be independent and still making sure that I am there in case of a medical emergency. I am getting better though.
All those years of daily life vs death experiences make it hard to completely let go. Her mobility is becoming less and less so that is a factor too.




When we arrived one of my dear friends was in charge of Lydia's group and all my fears gently dissipated, I knew she would have a great time. Lydia loves quilting and that was one of the activities. She had such a grand time being with friends and learning how to share the gospel of Christ. They did service and had a lot of fun too!

Maliea, Thayne and I hopped on the Metro and headed into the District. For the next 9 1/2 hours we followed Thayne from one exciting exhibit to the next.




He loves the Air and Space Museum. He loves anything that is hands on, so we ran around finding as much stuff to touch as possible.





I think that Maliea really had a great time there also. Even if her enjoyment was a bit rushed by her brother's enthusiasm.

We had a snack then walked to the carousel. The ride before had been packed with children but then somehow Thayne got the whole thing by himself. The conductor let it go around double for him!






We also had so much fun at the American history and Natural history museum. Lydia did not need to be picked up until 8:00 pm that night so we had lots of time to walk around and enjoy the beautiful day. Needless to say our feet did not enjoy that many hours though. Even Thayne started to slow down at the end.
On Friday , I was able to feel comfortable enough to let Lydia be up there the whole day without me being just minutes away. I am not sure I could have done another long day chasing Thayne around DC again. I love that Lydia had a good experience at youth conference and honestly it was nice being in the museums without having to chase him and push a wheelchair. One thing that we have learned is always, always wear good shoes. There is nothing like exploring the city on foot but you don't want your feet to hate you at the end of the day.

Working hard?

Just in pictures of Elder Callihan and his companion sent by one of the ward members who feed them tonight.






It was said that he had some really spicy hot sauce and that is why he was sweating.

Rejection

This morning my love and I exchanged text messages stating how grateful we were that we were not imbibers. This morning I felt like I had a hangover anyway, that's what crying can do to you. Puffy eyes and a sharp headache were the gifts of released sorrow at 3 am that was an accumulation of lots of emotions.

Thayne has been participating in a summer trial for Destination Imagination. I had been there observing his work and how well he was doing. I wasn't sure at first if he would be a good fit, then I watch how he blossomed with the challenges and how his creative mind was loving it. We started attending at the first part of June and the trial period ended last week. He loved creating an article of clothing out of newspaper and duct tape, then displaying his team's creation, they worked with simple machines and learned how to present themselves and a subject. I was surprised and impressed with how he rose to the tasks.

Unfortunately, the program is about competition and winning is the end all be all. The rejection email came yesterday from the leadership team.
"Realizing the full scope of what a competitive DI team entails, we feel that it would be a frustrating year for Thayne and the other team members.  We want his DI experience to be a positive one, and for his learning to be joyful, and recognize that a competitive DI team will likely not provide that environment.  As such, we have determined not to invite Thayne to a team this year." Part of the email read.

Thayne took this very hard and my momma heart is so sad for him. Rejection, unfortunately is part of life and I can't take away his sadness. So all night he was saying things like, " they think I am stupid" and " I tried so hard but I will never be good enough".

One of the women on the leadership team is a lady from our church. She and I have not been seeing eye to eye on several things in cub scouts and other areas. She sent an email to other people in church behind my back about how I disciplined Thayne weeks ago at cubs scouts and she did not agree, thinking that I was being too harsh. I am trying so very hard to believe that she was fair with all of this, but I fear not.

After raising 4 other kids, you would think that I would have all the answers to soothe my boy. I don't. It is really crappy being rejected. Parenting is hard. The world is hard. All I can do is let him know he really did his best and really that is all any of us can do.

Companionship

This man is the love of my life. He is kind, loving,an excellent father, and currently in Northern Italy without me. Before Italy it was Yuma, Arizona. Before Yuma, California and before California it was Florida. He has been gone for a good part of this year. To be honest, most of this year and the last has been spent traveling with his job.

I would not be honest if I said I am perfectly okay with it all. This trip my phone is filling up with pictures of amazing sites and yummy food.



The most interesting thing I have encountered in my conversation with others, is how they share my lament but then the statement about money always comes up. ALWAYS! " Oh it's too bad he is gone all the time , but the money is really good right?" The variations on this question all are asking the same thing.
For the record , no he doesn't get per diem. It would be dreamy if he did. He does have a very small percentage more of his pay but money can never be a substitute for his presence. Is this what we truly value, money over togetherness?
He does get amazing food and gelato!




I adore this man! He works so hard for our family. Quite frankly he is happy when he is away from the politics and conflict of the engine shop here on base. He misses us and I am a bit jealous that Italy doesn't have me visiting too. His value to me is not in how much his paycheck is. Money is not a consolation. It pays bills, puts food on the table but has nothing to do with how valuable he is to my heart and soul.

Things will have to shift, our boy is having such a hard time with Quayde on his mission and Daddy gone too. I prayed to have an open and loving heart for this trip; so I could delight in Michael's enjoyment of the country and the food. It is amazing how prayer can take away resentment and replace it with joy. I am so loving the discoveries and beauty that is being shared through the photos. I am grateful for the technology that allows us to be close even when we are an ocean apart.

Hello Summer!

It is that time of year again where everything seems just a little bit sweeter. The pressure of daily routine shifts and the world appears to be more relaxed. Our berry bushes are filled with nature's jewels. I went out this morning and collected just around the back yard for a few minutes and came in with a quart.
I know the next week is going to be filled with sticky hands and the sounds of little thumps as the berries are collected.
As I gather and walk around trying not to get pricked by the thorns, everything about this feels true to my soul. There is some kind of deep wisdom I feel that the forest is whispering to me.
I became a nature lover as a wee girl living in N. California. My earliest memories are of rivers, trees and many hours playing outdoors. My parents had friends Lyn & Jo Bates, they came over and they would use the slide projector to share their vacation adventures. I fell in with traveling by dreaming of going on those adventures too.
Summer just brings all those things I love together. We don't have any grand plans this season but long for a trip back to Alaska again to be with family.
The kids and I will just have to make a not-so-bummer Summer list together soon because I feel like it is slipping away all to quickly.

YW Girls Camp 2015

Where: Prince William Forest Park  Virginia 

Dates: June 22 - 26th

Who: Patuxent Ward Young Women

Theme: Warriors of Worth

Putting on the whole armor of God

I have a love/hate relationship with girls camp. There are parts of my soul that love camp and what it means to the girls and then...the heat & sweat and dying of bug bites gets to the other part of my soul.

This was Lydia's fourth year. I have been one of the camp leaders for the past two years also. My main job when I get to camp is to help Lydia so she can participate. This is a lot of work. She needs help to simply even get places anymore. She is not as mobile as she once was and it breaks my heart. 

The second day is always the hardest both physically and emotionally. She is such a trooper. She pushes her little body to go farther and work hard. Lydia is amazing. This year on day two I accidentally gave her some granola bites that had milk in them. Then it was allergic reaction time and meds. She is very patient with me, and still loves me even when I poison her. I had to basically knock her out with Benedryl for the rest of the afternoon. Yep, I'm not winning any mother of the year awards.

The best thing about this girl is her sense of humor and how happy she always is. She won Warrior of the Day for participating in the warrior dash obstacle course. Seriously, she is rather cool. Her leaders had to help her walk and climb but she did it! She made it through the whole obstacle course.

 

I always have to take a little time out during the week to commune with nature on my own. Without Lydia or anyone else. Sometimes I have deep moments and sometimes just the peace that comes from being enveloped in God's creations fills my soul back up.

I am always humbled by the perfect design of mother earth. How complete each aspect of the plants and animals complement each other. I wish my brain could have the enlarging capacity to fully comprehend the sacred geometry of it all.

This frog was huge and right under my feet during my walk. I barely noticed him until he leaped away from my foot. He blended into the forest floor completely. His coloring was totally matching the forest floor.

Lydia's favorite part of camp is always the crafts cabin. This year they made jewelry, painted signs for their rooms and made Waldorf style window stars.

Lydia's favorite color is still purple. I love her concentration as she was painting. She surprised me by actually accenting it with some blue. Their boards had their name and then the phrase "daughter of a king" on them.

Here are the other leaders. Sis. Carolee Battaglia and Sis. Dixie Ely. We all had worked for about 9 months together to make sure camp was the best experience for the girls.

The 4th year level girls rocked the party!!! Emily, Lydia and Bethany were the coolest kids there. Lydia said her favorite part of camp this year was the pranks. Since it was just our ward , we allowed nice pranks. Well these girls dumped some really cold water on some other girls. Lydia thought that was hilarious.

There were some nights where fierce storms raged through the camp ground and we all sheltered inside the dining hall. Never fear, these girls know how to play some games. Lydia's favorite....Killer Frog.

Lydia and I won the Golden Broom award for the most creative and clean cabin. I think our rug between the beds helped us win. It is a necessity though for keeping dirt and sand out of the sleeping bags.

The problem with pranks is that things get a little out of control really fast. The leaders except yours truly all got into the pranking mode. They got caught and had to go to Kangaroo court and receive their punishment. Camp is so much fun!

The best part is the love that surrounds all of these girls as they grow to know who they are as daughters of God. Camp this year was epic.