Prayers for Eric

He's driving to Maumee tonight. Sleeping in a hotel. Eating continental breakfast.
and probably enjoy little of it. Because...


He's taking the BOARDS tomorrow!

Father's Day Card Made by Gwen

Gwen made her first Father's Day card! Aren't her feet adorable?

It took 3 adults to "help" her make this card. (i.e. to hold different flailing body parts or grabby fingers!)

and aren't Mama's roses lovely? She has hundreds of blooms this year, all around the house. I couldn't resist.

Ending the Trip in Twin

Gwen thought her cousin Edward was the most fascinating person there. If she spotted him walking around, she would stand up on her tip toes, flap her arms, and squawk to try to gain his affection. He didn't give her the time of day. when they were in close proximity, he didn't seem to know what to make of her.In these two shots we kind of "forced" them to interact. Meaning, we sat Edward down right next to her and didn't allow him to ignore her existence. And you can see what started as an intently staring Gwen (with a slightly worried Edward) quickly became a shirt-grabbing,thrilled Gwen (and a very worried Edward!).

Gwen was happy to be entertained by Grandpa, Grandma, Uncles or Aunts. Grandpa helped her take a ride on the bouncy horsie... and her tongue shot out! (sorry it is blurry, but I had to include it. I have a picture of me on a bouncy horsie when I was a baby-- I couldn't NOT include a similar one of Gwen!)

Uncle Bryce also helped her practice piano.



and by the time she got around to a photo shoot with Uncle Collin, she was tired of all the excitement and only favored us with her "I'm about to bawl" face.

Gwen, Gwen, Gwen...oh, and Edward

Reeeeaaaach! She is learning to crawl, but doesn't like to exert the effort to actually try it if she can get something without needing her knees.
Sitting with Grandpa....til she discovered the fuzz on his jeans

Playing with a remnant of some fabric from Mama Allan's curtain project. Why spend money on expensive toys when trash will do the trick? Notice she's still in pj's. It was surprisingly chilly and I forgot all of her socks in Twin, so she spent most days in pj's.
Carrot face. She was so willingly distracted from eating... by just about anything! But anyone smiling at her was a guaranteed attention grabber!
Gwen with G-Grandma Ian.
Edward sportin his adorable hat and Elise makin that bandana look good! :)
Edward loved the "babush" (bubbles) and would point to them on top of the fridge and chant "babush? babush? babush?" until Elise finally consented to take him out and entertain him with them. If she tired of blowing bubbles after 30 minutes and tried to come back inside... before he was good and ready... he would cry at the door "babush!" until she obliged him with another 1/2 hour. what a funny kiddo!

S'more Fire!

So, I know this was technically a week ago. That makes it old news for all you bloggers. But since this blog is quickly becoming a scrapbook/journal, I want to be sure to include the whole story and document family adventures.
Camping without out s'mores would be heresy. And being outdoors with boys without fire would be unheard of. These boys like to burn things. Makes them feel even more manly, I think. :)

So we had a fire in the fire pit and ate s'mores one night.
Elise, Jan, and me. All prepped for marshmallows. Look at how eagerly we await.
Bryce and his s'more.Elise and her s'more (are you diggin the orange fingernail polish? :)
Evan and his quadruple s'more sandwich! Too bad they don't make foot long chocolates/graham crackers. I think he might be on to somethin.

Another night we enjoyed an even bigger fire in the "parking lot" of the cabin. Here's the bonfire we made after chopping down a dead tree (killed by a beetle infestation. really nasty. and they are spreading. We're going to have to do something to save the larger pines). This night we had dutch oven cobbler. :)
Edward enjoyed the chance to stay up later (it is past 9 pm in this shot, despite how deceptively light it is outside) and the opportunity to snuggle up with Uncle Collin. Gwen was already fast asleep, of course.

A Little Perspective

I want to take a moment and give myself some perspective. While the next post is really about a couple wonderful evenings full of fires of one kind or another, I currently feel a little, well, out in the cold. But there is really no reason for dwelling on that. I need to learn from the positive examples of my best friend Jennie and my dear friend Linzi. I need to stop indulging in a good whine and try looking at things with some perspective. So here I go:

• I miss my hubby.... Atleast I HAVE a hubby!
• I feel isolated when he is sitting right here but I can't enjoy his company because he is studying for the Boards. .. How wonderful that he is here, a part of our lives, rather than an absentee father on a regular basis.
• I find myself easily jealous of the attention he gives to anything else, including the news or shooting the breeze on the phone with his brothers, because I want what little of his time there is.... I shouldn't begrudge him those small breaks. After all, Gwen and I go out and do fun things every week and he misses out on everything from the zoo to libraries to movie nights to swimming. Even visiting his own family.
• Sometimes I think I get a glimpse of what being a single mom would be like. and it doesn't seem like fun.... How grateful I am that Eric still takes time for giving lots of love to Gwen (including her nightly bath!) and that this family is still a joint effort. Soon I'll have him back. (until surgery rotation, but we're focusing on the positive here).
• I am growing weary. He's not the only one getting burnt out over this.... Atleast I got a break and had a nice vacation. He has been going straight through. But the end is in sight!
• Sometimes I feel like sitting down and doing nothing: not because there is nothing to do, but because I am just tired of being/doing so much for our family. ... and I am eternally grateful for the unlimited strength of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am not even in the darkest abyss, there are so many struggling with far more devastating challenges, I have no real room for complaint or cause for Him to rush to my aide... but He does. Every time. He is there for me, buoying me up, sending me friends and family to encourage along the way, and giving me gentle nudges to my spirit reminding me that all is not lost. I just need to trust in His Atonement...

and perhaps gain a little perspective.

Hike

The cabin is in National Forest, so there were lots of trails and opportunities for adventure. As you can see, Gwen wasn't especially excited about our hike up the mountain. She rarely graced us with a smile and kind of growled into her binkie the entire hike up.Even Grandma braved the outdoors...wearing nothing less than a black turtleneck sweater. I'll bet she was warm.
We stopped for some shade and water. Mama Allan got her hat decorated.
Gwen continued to growl...
and Jan joined her in English. (Imagine her mouthing something like "can we go home now?" and you've pretty much captured her sentiment in this picture. She doesn't like to get sweaty and only came to be supportive of the family adventure. And maybe because Evan pushed her into it.)
Lots of moisture on and around the trail. We split up after another good distance up the mountain. Gwen and I continued on with the boys while Elise, Jan, Mama and Grandma went back to fix up lunch. Gwen continued to growl...
The view from the trail. My camera only took 2 more pictures after this before it died. The battery was running really low, that is why it is blurry. Sorry. Try to imagine.

And then also feel free to imagine a baby Gwen growling all the way back down (now on Papa Allan's back. Carrying a baby up a mountain was harder than you might think!). About 5 minutes from the end of the trail, she fell asleep in the carrier. Her head was flopped backwards and her bow had slipped to shield her eyes from the sun. Very amusing and quite cute. Evan took a picture with his camera since mine was dead, but it wasn't digital and I may not get a copy for a while (let alone scanned into the computer), so you'll just have to imagine. I'm asking a lot of your imagination today, aren't I? :) It was a great hike!