Well the 2006 FXCC DR team is in Puerta Plata as I type! They left Dulles at 6 this morning...yes if you do the math, that means we had to be there at 4, which means we had to leave our house at 3:30, which means that we woke up at 2:30!!!!
Our teen mission team left to go and be God's hands and feet in the DR (dominican republic) for one week! Let me bring you up to speed on the happenings of the week that will end with Chelsea leaving for the DR.
Monday--
Alex "graduates" from 6th grade at a ceremony at school. The fact that he is now in 7th grade hits me at the end of the ceremony and I am a blubbering mess! We go out to eat with his best friend for lunch and then my mother-in-law takes Alex on a whirlwind trip of the east coast for 10 days. Their ports of call are : south carolina, florida, georgia, and alabama. I go to Walmart to buy supplies for the DR.
Chelsea wakes up on Monday with a horrible sore throat and feeling very "yucky", but soldiers on to school to take her final 2 exams for the year! She comes home and sleeps for 3 hours, all the while feeling "yucky". I take her to the dr. for a strep test. 2 tests=negative. 95% chance of no strep. Dr. says it is virus and to basically "deal" with it BUT if by Wed. she is not better then bring her back in since she is going to a 3rd world country on friday.
Tuesday--
Chelsea still feeling yuck-o, goes to church to work on her skits and props for the DR with her team. by the time we get home she is achy and feeling just rotten. She starts to pack her suitcase anyway. 10:30 p.m.--enters chelsea crying --saying that her eye hurts....yep...gooey stuff coming out--we got the pink eye! I go to walmart to buy DR supplies, again.
Wednesday--
We go to the drs. and get drops of the viral pink eye she has. her throat still hurts so we are adivsed to give her aleve! our dr. is soooo great! She gives us 2 bottles of eye drops! "Just in case" other children come down with the HIGHLY contagious pink eye! We head to Wal-mart and buy out the store in cold meds, pain relief, and you name it we bought it medical supplies!
Chelsea just sat in the drs. office with tears streaming down her face, thinking that the dr. would tell her she couldn't leave the country! I of course sat next to her and cried with her because this trip has been her dream since she was 11. From the moment she understood what happened on this trip, she wnated to be there and helping out! The dr. tells her to go and that she will be fine! WHEW!
She comes home and finishes packing but has to stay away from the meeting that night due to the fact that she needs to be on the drops for 24 hours before going out into public. Her throat? still hurting.....I go to Walmart to buy, yet even more supplies!
Thursday--
I make my final trip to Wal-mart--or so I was foolish enough to think....to buy more DR supplies. Chelsea cleans her room and is 100% ready for the trip! I drop her off for her final team meeting. She is wearing sunglasses to hide her "el diablo" eyes from the others.
I pick up Chelsea from her final team meeting and she is wearing a different set of sunglasses. Oh, yeah, that's right...her sunglasses broke....my eyes fill with tears...i have to make ONE MORE TRIP TO WALMART!!!!!! Can I just tell you....the thought of Walmart is like the thought of eating at McDonald's....it turns my stomach!
We go to walmart, we pick out sunglasses and oh yea, we need anti-freeze--why? My van overheats and the a/c stops working!!! On THE hottest day of the year. It was 8 p.m. and it was 101 degrees with 85% humidity!!!!
We go home and we crash but not for long because the mother of all storms lets loose on the NOVA area at midnight and lasts until 2 a.m.
Needless to say, we did not sleep at all!
Friday (today)
The teens leave and everyone is happy and doing great! I didn't even cry saying good bye to Chelsea. I am so happy for her an the other 16 teens and 5 adults! I do miss her though! Jay and I have NEVER been without both our kids in the whole 17 years we have been married!
Please keep them in your prayers! Hopefully when she gets back, we will have pictures to post!
Friday, June 23, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Father's day
Today at church a video was shown regarding Dads. In it was a clip of my dad playing with Gillian and George with my words laid over the scene.
I basically said that my dad is the most faithful person I know. He has raised 3 faithful children and all 7 of his grandkids are active in church life. He has one grandchild who has commited their life to Christ. I am sure that the others will follow because we have had that legacy passed down to us.
What I wanted to say was this...(this is his story as I know it...so some of it may be incorrect)
Most of you may not know that my dad was not raised by his parents. His dad was an alcoholic. His mother ran off and left he and his sister to be raised by the dad. The dad having some presence of mind knew he could not raise these children, so he gave them over the their maternal grandparents to raise.
From my experience with situations as this, kids need their mom and dads to be healthy people to pass on positive attributes. As much as my great grandparents did for my dad, they were NOT his parents. From what I understand, my grandfather would call and tell my dad that he was coming to take him out to dinner and then not show up.
That does something to a kid no matter how stable the home and loving the grandparents. There is still the inner conflict of "My own dad can't/won't....."
All of that to say that my dad learned how to be a father from his grandfather and INSPITE of his own dad. My dad learned how to be a faithful man without any positive help from his own father. My dad got married and made a career and had a stable life, even though his own growing up must have been pretty tumultuous.
So thanks Dad for overcoming and being the best dad you could be! That helped me with what I looked for in a husband, so he could be the best dad he could be.
Also a shout out to my fantastic husband, who is truly a wonderful dad!
I basically said that my dad is the most faithful person I know. He has raised 3 faithful children and all 7 of his grandkids are active in church life. He has one grandchild who has commited their life to Christ. I am sure that the others will follow because we have had that legacy passed down to us.
What I wanted to say was this...(this is his story as I know it...so some of it may be incorrect)
Most of you may not know that my dad was not raised by his parents. His dad was an alcoholic. His mother ran off and left he and his sister to be raised by the dad. The dad having some presence of mind knew he could not raise these children, so he gave them over the their maternal grandparents to raise.
From my experience with situations as this, kids need their mom and dads to be healthy people to pass on positive attributes. As much as my great grandparents did for my dad, they were NOT his parents. From what I understand, my grandfather would call and tell my dad that he was coming to take him out to dinner and then not show up.
That does something to a kid no matter how stable the home and loving the grandparents. There is still the inner conflict of "My own dad can't/won't....."
All of that to say that my dad learned how to be a father from his grandfather and INSPITE of his own dad. My dad learned how to be a faithful man without any positive help from his own father. My dad got married and made a career and had a stable life, even though his own growing up must have been pretty tumultuous.
So thanks Dad for overcoming and being the best dad you could be! That helped me with what I looked for in a husband, so he could be the best dad he could be.
Also a shout out to my fantastic husband, who is truly a wonderful dad!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
what is wrong with me....
I don't know how well I am hiding it but for the past 2 and 1/2 years now, my life has seemed to operate in a fog. For over a year, I accounted it to the illness and then death of my father-in-law. I had never been through something like that, noone writes a manuel on "how-to deal with the death of your father-in-law". Yes, I had fabulous support and that gave me the strength to support my husband and kids but I still found myself crying at weird times or the sense of urgency that makes me sick to my stomach that something bad is going to happen. All of that went on for about a year. I have noticed that I don't always feel that way anymore and that I am truly enjoying life again BUT I have no idea what I should be doing.
I feel like I have been "out of the loop" and I don't know how to jump back on!!! It's a really really weird sensation. I feel a kind of disconnect and I am not sure how to get it back. I think of things looooong after I would have in the past....i.e. a person is sick and I talk with them and tell them I will pray for them. In the past I would have done that AND made them a meal. Now, I don't htink about the meal part until long after I am done talking with them. I think of 100 things I "should of" said like hours later!!!
I also have like no desire to go anywhere and do anything BUT I don't want to sit at home either. I have no idea if this is all related or what. I just find it weird.
That is not how I was before February 2004 when Jim got sick but that is how I am now. Weird huh? Am I depressed? Am I stressed? Seriously...anyone got any thoughts on what in the world is wrong with me?
Good news--Jay got his own restaurant! Thank you Lord for rewarding my husband, who went back to school for almost 3 years, worked his tail off and we took a HUGE hit financially! I am so proud and happy for Jay! He totally deserves this!
Chelsea is done with crew! We had a great time in Philly at the last regatta!
Alex and I are heading to Blacksburg this weekend to see my neice and nephew "graduate" from preschool! Then Alex is inducted into the youth group at church on Sat. night!
Alex just went through a growth spurt...he's like 5'6!!!
Chelsea is pretty much driving a little bit everyday....maybe that is where the stress is coming from!!! I find it MUCH more stressful than Jay but guess who is home more to be there when she drives?! ME!!!
Loved all the season finales of t.v. this year! LOST--can't wait until season 3!!! Gilmore Girls---soooo disappointed in Lorelai! Grey's Anatomy--I gotta say that I was not happy about the choices made in that one either! I am a geek--I actually like the show "Deal or No Deal". but last night the woman got on my last nerve!!!
Now I am trying to catch up on reading...I am trying to read the DaVinci Code before I go see the movie....or spending time with my Gillian and George! I got quality time with them last friday!!! LOVE IT!!!
I feel like I have been "out of the loop" and I don't know how to jump back on!!! It's a really really weird sensation. I feel a kind of disconnect and I am not sure how to get it back. I think of things looooong after I would have in the past....i.e. a person is sick and I talk with them and tell them I will pray for them. In the past I would have done that AND made them a meal. Now, I don't htink about the meal part until long after I am done talking with them. I think of 100 things I "should of" said like hours later!!!
I also have like no desire to go anywhere and do anything BUT I don't want to sit at home either. I have no idea if this is all related or what. I just find it weird.
That is not how I was before February 2004 when Jim got sick but that is how I am now. Weird huh? Am I depressed? Am I stressed? Seriously...anyone got any thoughts on what in the world is wrong with me?
Good news--Jay got his own restaurant! Thank you Lord for rewarding my husband, who went back to school for almost 3 years, worked his tail off and we took a HUGE hit financially! I am so proud and happy for Jay! He totally deserves this!
Chelsea is done with crew! We had a great time in Philly at the last regatta!
Alex and I are heading to Blacksburg this weekend to see my neice and nephew "graduate" from preschool! Then Alex is inducted into the youth group at church on Sat. night!
Alex just went through a growth spurt...he's like 5'6!!!
Chelsea is pretty much driving a little bit everyday....maybe that is where the stress is coming from!!! I find it MUCH more stressful than Jay but guess who is home more to be there when she drives?! ME!!!
Loved all the season finales of t.v. this year! LOST--can't wait until season 3!!! Gilmore Girls---soooo disappointed in Lorelai! Grey's Anatomy--I gotta say that I was not happy about the choices made in that one either! I am a geek--I actually like the show "Deal or No Deal". but last night the woman got on my last nerve!!!
Now I am trying to catch up on reading...I am trying to read the DaVinci Code before I go see the movie....or spending time with my Gillian and George! I got quality time with them last friday!!! LOVE IT!!!
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