catch up

Excuse the silence. I have been more busy since school has ended. No really.

I went to girl's camp and froze it all off. I mean literally. I think under the sunburn my nose has a little of frostbite it is working through. It was under 32 degrees at night and we were in tents. No, it did not rain and I am thankful. The theme of the week was Live in Thanksgiving Daily. Therefore I know all the reasons I am thankful for the cold. We did not see a bug until our last day because it was too cold for them. I am grateful for that. I am thankful for hand/foot warmers that we slept with every night. And were still cold.

My New BFF

And I am thankful for the memories.  I couldn't believe how fast it brought me back to my days at Girl's Camp.  I found myself in awe of the time and sacrifice that my leaders gave for us.  I felt so indebted for the love they shared with me.  I was very prompted to send them thank you letters.  And writing this revisits that desire.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  They were such a big part of the village that raised me.  And now has given me such a responsibility to give back as well.  A responsibility that I willingly take on because I am aware of how much it shaped me.  How much I needed that.  And I even had supportive and stable parents at home. Imagine the need of those without a positive home life.   

Insight into my children's minds

Mom, I got you this flower because it has a buttcheek imprint on it. I thought you would like it.

"Chase, as your mother I will take away your clothes if you do not hang up your church clothes. These are clothes that you only wear for 3 hours a week and can quite possibly wear one more week without me having to iron them if you hang them up."
"Okay mom. Come see. I did hang them up."



Do you think the congregation will notice the little pucker from the hanger in the nipple area on his shirt next week?

I am ready for a beauty pageant

It has been a hard couple of days.

Parenting. Painful. So very painful.

Last day of school. A little less painful but there was some tugging on the old heartstrings. There was an extra notch of anxiety as one more step toward 6th grade occurred. There was a little chaos in trying to get everything done for the last week of school. And retrospect. That can always be painful. Could I have done more for Gerardo?

I think the extreme emotion rollercoaster has taken a toll on my looks. Do I look any different?