Sunday, June 29, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Twenty-Six

PHOTOGRAPHS


This week I'm very grateful for photographs!! When I came home from Young Women camp (more to come about that later this week) and checked out our family web site I found these two pictures of my new grandbabies!! I'm so grateful for photographs that can capture how they are changing and growing. Being far away is sometimes hard, but pictures certainly do help!!


Little Thomas is growing!!




Little Leah can sit all by herself now!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Now It Is My Turn


I get to go to camp!! Tomorrow I headed to my 18th consecutive Stake Young Women Camp. Yes, I know I'm crazy, but I do very much love Young Women Camp. I will be helping the second year girls with their certification. They have to learn about first aid, nutrition, weather, tell direction from the sun and the stars, fire building and they get to go on a five mile hike!! Fun stuff, huh, for 13 year old girls!! I have some fun things planned like edible campfires. They learn how to make campfires with things like coconut and pretzel sticks for tinder and kindling and fatter pretzels for the fuel. We have candy to make the rock ring, and candy corn for the flames. It's cute, I will take a picture of the finished project. We are going to lay out under the stars and talk about the north star and how constant it is and listen to a beautiful song "Like the Stars". On the five mile hike each Young Women will get a raw egg to carry. I will tell them the egg represents their most precious possession and to guard it on the hike. I will have some instigators who will try to get their eggs. It will be fun to talk later about how we take care of the things that our most important to us!! Well, that is just some of the fun!! Wish me luck!!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Camp Pictures

Well, lucky for us the camp nurse, a guy name Jeff e-mailed us a whole bunch of camp pictures. So, I'm happy to share.

Just hanging in the lodge with Danielle.


Poolside with Heather. Someone needs to work on their tan!!

Pool fun with Jeff. Evan was so white compared to Jeff!!
Dancing with Heather!

They went in small groups to visit Solvang , a cute little Danish town and had a picnic at the park.



Evan doing one of the things he likes best ambushing someone with a water gun.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Twenty-Five

COLORS



Yesterday we sat outside on our deck enjoying the cooling ocean breeze that finally came to provide us some relief from the heat. I just marveled at the beautiful verdant tree in my neighbors yard. And then, the blue sky contrasting it, just made me happy inside. So this week I'm grateful for colors!! Can you imagine the world in just black and white?? We would never know the color of a yellow rose, or the blue/green of the ocean mixed with the white foam of the waves, or the pink skin of a baby, or the rainbow of colors in an abalone shell. We would not delight in children's art work with all the vivid colors they love to use. The world is indeed glorious with all the wonderful colors of the earth.

Friday, June 20, 2008

What Do You Pay??


Eighty-nine dollars!! That is how much it cost to fill our mini-van with gasoline today!! $4.57 a gallon!! My goodness!! I think that is just too much!! You may have noticed on my side bar, a link to American Solution's "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" campaign. They have a petition to sign that will ask "U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices (and diesel and other fuel prices)* by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries." I hope you join me in signing. Thanks.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

It's HOT!!

Gee, you would think it was summer!! It's almost 5 p.m. and it's 100 degrees in the shade on my front porch. There is no such thing as air conditioning in homes where we live because there are only a hand full of days that it gets this hot. We usually rely on the great big air conditioner called the Pacific Ocean, but it seems broken today!! I'm ready for our "June Gloom" fog to come back and cool me off!!
On another note, Evan is having a great time at camp. I ended up calling the camp this morning because I was concerned about the heat ( Evan dehydrates easily) and wanted to be sure that Evan was drinking enough. The director said, he was having a blast, especially in the pool!! Apparently, he has become the "chick magnet" at camp. I'm so glad he is having fun!!

Monday, June 16, 2008

Well, We Did It!!


We sent Evan off to a week long camp!! We dropped him off yesterday and just drove away (well, we helped him get settle in and talked to staff first)! He is attending Camp Kelley Creek. The camp is run by United Cerebral Palsy. Many of the staff know Evan from the teen club he has been attending for a few years. That helped me to feel better. We explained all his health needs before signing him up and they were happy to do whatever they could to meet his needs so he could attend camp. We meet with the camp nurse yesterday, a guy named Jeff!! I was so happy it was a man! Makes some of the personal kinds of issues better. Anyway, I'm actually doing fine. I think that this is a good thing, both for Evan, and Mike and I. Evan was happy to go and I don't think he will be home sick at all!! This will be his longest time away from home without a parent.

On other note, I just want to say that I have been very busy lately and haven't been able to keep up with my blog reading. So, if I haven't visited your blog in a while, I will as soon as I can. My best to everyone.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Twenty-Four


FATHERS

This Sunday being Father's Day I'm especially grateful for some of the very special father's in my life.

First and foremost my Dad, Paul! He taught me honesty and perservance through trials. Dad I love you and miss you!!

Second is the wonderful father of my children, Mike. It has been a joy to watch you love, and teach, and play with our children. I could not have asked for a better father to help to raise our children.

Third, the father's of my grandchildren. David you are doing a remarkable job in raising your children. And Matteo it is touching to watch you care for little Thomas with such gentleness.

I'm also grateful for the fathers who raised the children who married my children. Thank you for raising such wonderful children.

And, my father-in-law Gayle. You raised a wonderful family.

Last but not least I'm grateful for my Father in Heaven. Without Him I would have nothing and be nothing. I owe everything to Him! I can feel His love and influence in my life. It is an amazing thing!!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Out of Town Again

We are out of town yet again! This time we are in Fresno at the Diagnostic Center of California. The is a center run by the California Department of Education. They do in depth assessments for special education students. We have waited a long time to get this done. I shared the reason why here back in October. As much as I don't want to be in Fresno, I like they way they are doing things here. We have a multidisciplinary team working with Evan. There is a Developmental Pediatrician, an Educational Specialist, a Speech and Language Pathologist, a School Psychologist, a Transition Specialist and a Sensory Integration Specialist. They take turns testing Evan and talking to us, and we get to observe Evan through one way mirrors. (How sneaky!!) I'm excited to see what kind of ideas and strategies they come up with us to help Evan make the best of his future. Next week I will meet with Evan's IEP team (local school staff) and we will have a video conference with the team at the Diagnostic Center to hear their results. It should be interesting!!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Twenty-Three

The Priesthood



This week I'm grateful for the blessings of the Priesthood. There are three reason's why I choose this blessing this week.

Number one. We spent yesterday in the Los Angeles Temple. I'm grateful the Temple in my life. The blessings of the Temple would not be possible without the Priesthood. It was wonderful to watch Mike and Brad use their Priesthood on behalf of our family yesterday. Thank you both!!

Number two. In our ward (congregation) Brother Jarvis was called as our new Bishop today. I am grateful for Bishop's who have helped our family and our ward to grow and be better people.

Number three. On Friday evening the three of us Mike, Evan and I went to a local department store to browse. I was looking for some cooler blouses, while the boys went off to the electronic department (does that sound familiar??). Anyway I was taking my time because I'm picky. All of a sudden I hear this man calling his wife's name. He was very loud. And then he says "Where did that d*** woman go??". I'm standing there shocked that he would talk so bad about his wife! I told Mike later what had happened and thanked him for his patience with me. He said no man should talk to his wife like that. Mike has always been sweet and kind and gentle to me. Just the way a priesthoodholder should treat his wife.



Wednesday, June 4, 2008

More About the House


Twenty-three years ago we had outgrown our smaller home where we were living. We wanted to move closer to Mike's work place. So the search began for a house to raise our then five children. Evan hadn't been born yet. We wanted a house that we could stay in for a long time. It was important to me not to move around a lot. Mainly because when I was growing up my family moved all the time. I went to eleven different schools from Kindergarten to high school graduation!!

Mostly we looked at two story homes. The thought of a two story house didn't bother us, it sounded kind of fun! And besides that is the just way most of the four bedroom homes here are built. Our Realtor was friends with a fellow Realtor who told him about a house that was going to be listed soon. It wasn't even on the market yet. So, he drove us by this house and we parked in front to just look at the outside. I fell in love with the house at first sight!! I was so excited. "Mike this is the house for us". It took a few days to get things arranged so we could take a look inside. When we stepped inside the wonderful smell of spaghetti sauce was very enticing! We just totally fell in love with this house. It was like this house was meant to be just for our family! We felt so fortunate that everything went fairly smooth so we could buy this house.

It was a few years after was Evan born, when he had just started using a wheelchair that it hit me. How fortunate we were to have a house that was all one story!! Did Heavenly Father direct us to this house? Did He know that we would eventually need a house that had no stairs? Well, I just don't believe in those kinds of coincidence. I know that we were guided here, that this was meant to be our home!! I am overwhelmingly blessed!!




Tuesday, June 3, 2008

REMINISCING

Does the recent birth of a grandchild put one in a reminiscent mood?? I caught my husband, Mike, just staring at the pictures that decorate our hallway of the children when they were little! And I have been thinking about the past a lot lately too!

I have started walking again. As I climb up the steep hill it brings back memories of trudging up to the elementary school pushing a stroller. I wonder how many times I did that in my life??

This is the hill, it's steeper than it looks. And, that is our cheery yellow house on the corner. I am trudging slower than I used to up the hill, but at least I'm moving. Actually I rather like going down the hill. But you have to go up to go down, funny how it works that way.

This is what greets you at the top of the hill. The school is at the end of the street.

Here is the kindergarten playgroup. I'm pretty sure the slide is new, but the swings and the jungle gym, car thingy are the same. They have to be over twenty years old.



Then around the corner is the park. This park looks sad just like me, it's devoid of the laughter of little children.

I miss those days when the kids where little. My how time flies. My how things get quiet, very quiet!! Can some one explain to me how they all grew up so fast??

Sunday, June 1, 2008

52 BLESSING PROJECT Week Twenty-Two

HOME

Dorothy had it right. "There is no place like home."
This week I have been very grateful to just be home. Don't get me wrong I love to go places, especially to see my children. However, it is also so nice to come home!! There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed and cooking your own food in your own kitchen and relaxing on your own couch. And as you can see, I'm so fortunate to live in a really nice house. But, more important than that, we have been able to make our house a wonderful home in which to live. This is where we raised our six children. There are so many memories wrapped up in this house. It is my refuge away from the craziness of the world. My heart goes out to people who don't have a home. I am so grateful for my cheery yellow house on the corner!!
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