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The Fire
The whole upstairs of our neighbors’ house is damaged…either by flames or smoke.  The downstairs was considerably damaged by water, but many things (especially things off the floor) were ok.  A recovery team was there that same night working thru the morning and into the next day, stripping sheetrock and insulation, getting the water out, etc.  I’ve been spear-heading a minor “relief” effort in the neighborhood and it’s been so neat to see the generosity and kindness of our neighborhood.  I’ve collected lots of cash, gift cards, etc.  And people are doing childcare, making dinners, etc.  All sorts of things.  It’s been neat to be a part of.  The family is now at a long-stay hotel, hoping to rent in the area until they can re-build.

The Diet
Derek and I did really well!  We both lost 4 pounds each.  The nice part about it was there was plenty of food (portion sizes).  And it got easier as we went along (sort of!).  The sixth day was a bust (Saturday) because we hosted a dinner group from church here and I had a baby shower to go to.  So we didn’t stick to the diet.  But we’re going to keep up the workouts this week, and the diet has changed some of our habits for sure.  I’m hoping to take off another 6 lbs.  Will keep you posted!

Twilight Camp
Derek went up on Thursday, I went up on Tuesday and Friday.  It was so fun to be with all of the boys in that environment…archery, bb guns, leather working, crafts, etc.  I enjoyed the time with Jacob and his buddies.  Caleb went as a “papoose” and had a blast too…he had 5 small snow cones one day…who wouldn’t love that!

The Birds
Remember this picture that I posted about a week or so ago?
Well, they hatched.  And here are the babies.

Looking forward to a day at the lake with friends tomorrow, and Samuel’s 18-month mark, and the 4th of July this week (my second favorite holiday!).

Tonight we had one of the biggest lightning storms I've ever seen.  I was out visiting some women from church, and was afraid for my life on my way home.  As I turned the corner on to my street, a bolt of lightning shook the Suburban, lit up the neighborhood and cracked so loud it was deafening.  I ran inside to tell Derek that I was just sure it had hit our neighborhood somewhere.

About 10 minutes later, our neighbors across the street called to tell us the house 4 houses down from us was on fire.  Their attic, over the garage was smoking and then later flaming.  Derek went out in the rain to see what he could do.  The firemen were pulling up, and the kids and Dad were safely outside.  It looked like everything was under control. 

Then 10 minutes later we go out to find the attic engulfed in flames.  It caved in and the rest of the roof was smoking and then flaming.  The firemen had the big crane hose on it.  All of us stood and watched this house engulfed in fire.  It was heart-breaking to say the least.  The entire attic was on fire…and most everything else will be destroyed from either smoke or fire.

Remember my post about our friend, Daylen?  He just moved with his family to Colorado two weeks ago?  This is his house.  A new family had just moved in from Iowa.  They have two boys, ages 8 and 10. 

I stood inside a neighbor's house and tried my best to console, love on, comfort and lift the mom, Susan.  She's a scrapbooker and will most likely have lost all of her precious books and pictures.

Say a little prayer for this family. 

This one hit very close to home…literally.  And we are thankful to be going to sleep in a house that is still standing tonight.

Derek and I took on a very ambitious task this week…considering we're volunteering for Twilight Camp in the evenings, and chasing our three hoodlums around.

We're doing a 6-day Fat-Burning Express, associated with Tony Horton's Power 90 workout.  It's a strict metabolism-boosting 6-day diet with 6-days of the same workout. 

Had I have blogged yesterday you would have found me to be enthusiastic and bubbly about our adventure.

Today…not so much.

Because…

1.  I'm sore from the workout.

2.  I'm hungry.

3.  I'm going through some serious carb withdrawals.

4.  I'm grumpy (see 1-3).

Derek likes to lecture me about the fact that grumpy is a choice.  I strongly disagree (sort of)!  I think grumpy is a condition associated with physical restrictions, i.e. fatigue, soreness, withholding of carbs!  Am I right?!

I have to admit that it feels great to be eating so healthy.  My new mantra is "it's only 6 days…it's only 6 days…it's only 6 DAYS!"

Day One:

Breakfast – Vanilla protein shake (with whey protein powder, ice, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup skim milk) I LIVE for this shake in the morning…it's the only thing that I can think about thru the workout. 🙂

AM Snack – 15 raw almonds

Lunch - Turkey breast and Spinach salad, with carrots, mushrooms, and cucumber and 1 Tbsp of vinaigrette

PM Snack – cottage cheese and blueberries

Dinner – Steamed halibut with tomatoes and asparagus

Day Two (today):

Breakfast – Chocolate protein shake with banana, milk and ice

AM Snack – slice of roast beef with swiss cheese

Lunch – mixed green salad with tuna, broccoli and cauliflower

PM Snack – raw almonds

Dinner – Chicken breast with steamed brussel sprouts (I'll be taking this to Twilight Camp, believe it or not).

So far, we've been very GOOD and very STRICT (keep in mind it's only day 2)…but so far, so good.  As long as we don't wither away…although I guess that is the goal after all…withering.

Hawaii, here we come.

With Jacob at Twilight Camp, Derek and I took the younger two to a local splash park.  It was so fun to watch them play so happily.  Their little smiles and chuckles of laughter just made my day!

 

  

And what is sure to be Caleb's favorite picture, entitled "Blast OFF!":

Jacob is so excited to be going to his first Twilight Camp for Cub Scouts this week.  One of the traditions of Twilight Camp is to trade "swap-ems", and put them on your hat.  The theme this year is Cub Olympics, so we had thought about doing beaded Olympic rings, but I bought the wrong safety pins.  Instead we did the American flag and threw together some fishing lures (which are apparently very "hot" swap-ems).  It was fun to do this project together.

You might notice a theme running thru my summer pictures…Jacob NEVER wears a shirt unless he has to.  Twilight Camp…he has to!

 

I read this last week in our Church magazine and it really struck a chord with me.  It was said by one of the General Young Women President's of our Church, Elaine Anderson Cannon.

"You can soar if you find out who you are and why you are here. There are two important days in a woman’s life: The day she is born and the day she finds out why.”

It reminded me of what Jesus said to Pilate,

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world…"

He knew of his divine mission and cause. 

Obviously my cause/purpose is nothing to compare with His, gratefully.  He was and is the Savior of the world…his sacrifice is infinite and eternal.

And yet, his words…"to this end was I born" and Sister Cannon's words cause me to search my own soul for my purpose, my cause, my "why".  There have been many days in my life where I feel that I am reaching my potential and I know why I'm here…but during the mundane and seemingly unimportant days of my life, the trick is to remember.

This week has been all about recovery for me…laundry, rest, relaxing, etc.  Pure summer fun.  I am making the kids do chores…but have yet to make my official summer chore list.  We've been going to swim lessons, where I learned from their instructor that Jacob is a "natural"…he learned the butterfly and the roll-kick off the wall this week.  And we've had some fun swimming get togethers/parties with friends, none of which I took pictures at.  It's been late mornings, late naps, and late evenings for us…which is great for me.

Here are two projects that we have enjoyed this week:

I bought this paleontology kit for the boys at Hobby Lobby.  A big block of plaster, with dinosaur bones hidden in it.  They have worked for HOURS on this, and have loved it.  Derek told me to go buy 5 more. :)  This one has the bones to make a glow-in-the-dark T-Rex. 

The result…

This other project totally reminds me of 'home'.  I remember often having a puzzle going on a card table, during the summer, to work on as we pleased.  I thought this would be a good bonding project for me and Jacob, who seems to be in early-teenage-parent-rebellion.  Go figure!  He would much rather sit and read a book on his bed, then hang with us, a lot of times.  We have to tell him to please put down his book and be with the family (how many kids his age have that problem!).  And so far he loves it – we both do! 

Stay tuned – I've got more summer projects up my sleeve!

Derek took Wed – Fri off last week to be home with the boys, while I was at Girls Camp.  And I love him for it.  It was so nice leaving, knowing that they were well taken care of and that they would have a great time.  It was especially nice since Samuel was still recovering from being sick when I left. 

They did projects…which included making a homemade rabbit trap!  They camped in the backyard…which only lasted until around 2 am, I’m told…but included a screening of ‘Return of the Jedi’.  They went to the movie ‘Kung Fu Panda’ (Samuel’s first).  They rode bikes.  They shot the bb gun.  They went fishing (and were joined by Pops and Audra).  They went swimming.  You get the idea…just a whole lot of boy fun! Derek’s an amazing dad, and I’m so grateful for the job that he does with these boys. Jacob was the official photographer for the week (using his own Kodak Easy Share camera):

They found this bird’s nest by our local elementary school…and it even had eggs in it – so pretty!

here’s the rabbit trap!

they get an E for effort with the backyard camping!

Always the one for dramatics – a self-portrait taken to show me how miserable he was after he skinned in his knee. 🙂

The knee itself – poor guy!

The best part was that after I got home I was presented with a long list of all the reasons they missed me.  They had worked on it all week…each day saying something else they had missed.  Thought that was so sweet – it’s good to be home.

Girls Camp is an annual gathering of all of the Young Women (ages 12-18) in our Stake (a regional boundary comprising of different wards/local congregations).  This year there were around 215 girls that attended, plus lots of ward leaders, and all of us stake leaders.  I was directly assigned to the Level 1 girls…the ones who were 12 years of age and who were attending for their first time.  And I also was over 13 YCL’s (Youth Camp Leaders) who are girls that are attending camp for their 5th and 6th time and are old pros! 

It is hard to describe the experience of getting that many girls and adults together for a week of fun, learning, faith-building, and outdoor adventures.  And to add to it, our theme for the week was “Once Upon a Time” and everywhere you looked there was fairy wings, glitter, wands, and glass slippers!  So fun.

I truly enjoyed every minute.  I have always loved being with teenage girls.  And these are good girls…making deliberate decisions to choose righteous endeavors.  I enjoyed being in the outdoors.  Swimming in the lake.  Learning how to shoot a bow and arrow (my boys were so proud). I enjoyed staying up late and laughing. I enjoyed solving problems and dealing with conflicts. I enjoyed feeling the Spirit and strengthening my testimony. I enjoyed seeing into the hearts of these girls and getting to know them better.  I enjoyed seeing them perform, serve each other, stretch themselves, learn, and share their own testimonies. I enjoyed being with great women of faith and character.  The other leaders were amazing and gave so much of themselves.  It was such an honor for me to be in that company.

I enjoyed it all…

The Level Leaders with our cone-head crazy hair!  (We were imitating one of the girls who did her hair this way – it involves a bottle and lots of hairspray!)

I was especially thrilled to spend an entire week with Dana (although I think she was wishing I would have gone to bed earlier, since we shared a bunk).

Me knighting one of the YCLs on Tues night

The YCLs

The entire camp

Some of the stake staff
And some of the girls…

After all of the difficulty and tears associated with Jacob's second grade year, I am happy to report that he still made it through with flying colors.  And although we're thrilled to have it over, we're pleased with the result.  Jacob had a great semester with Mrs. Rogers.  He was given a Creativity Award, an Oustanding Leader Award, and recognized for being on the A Honor Roll.  Way to go, buddy!

Jacob has some anxieties…mostly from being a perfectionist.  He sometimes has trouble going to sleep…worrying about things for the next day.  Most of them very minor.  The week before school got out he was having one of those bad nights, and I tried as best as I could to walk him through it.  I felt good about it afterwards (which isn't always the case).  And then later as I went to check on them before going to bed, I found this note on the stairs.  Warmed my heart all the way through.  As hard as it is to raise someone who's so much like you sometimes…there are great rewards too.  I love this kid.