Project 365, Week 26

This week was church camp for all the kids and treatment for me. It worked out really well to have a quiet house and to know that the kids were having a blast.

June 24

Since the summer before 3rd grade, the kids have gone to summer camp with our church. It is always a highlight week of the whole year for them. Drop off used to be a big deal...checking them in, sorting baggage, paying for snack shack, 'mailing' cards, taking pictures and waiting for the final wave goodbye as the bus pulled out for their week in New Hampshire.

This year, Avery drove up with leaders the day before and Amanda and Aiden pulled out of our driveway with a tons of smiles and a wave to meet up with the bus at church. It was so different!

Avery was at camp to watch the youth pastor's kids, Amanda was taking in her last year as a camper before she ages out and Aiden was there with all his best bros, everyone competing for the win!

Through IG, I was able to peek in on the goings-on all week and some of these are screenshots from that footage. I'm so very thankful for the leaders there. What a profound impact they can have.

Also, this beautiful girl, living her best life when a baby is in her arms, turned 19 this day!!! She's such a joy!

He's offered so many times and this day it lined up great for him to bring me to treatment. Except for the chemo parts of the day, we had a really nice time together. Rarely do the two of us get uninterrupted time together. He and I go way back and I think he's pretty special.

June 25

The weather was perfect for them all week in New Hampshire. Lots of outdoor games!

June 26

Twin day. Aww!

June 27

June 28

What's a better way to end the week than being declared the champions!

Amanda, Avery, Kelly and Trevor did a re-make picture...Junior High camp to the end of Senior High camp.So special!!

It was delightful to have the kids back!! We did a bit of a download and then Amanda and Aiden were off to the next youth group event. But Avery stayed home and we had such a rare and sweet evening together.

June 29

Amanda, Aiden and I went to the church picnic. I wasn't feeling up for much but I could sit in a chair in the open air. I ended up having a really meaningful chat with a friend who I rarely get sit down time with. 

Aiden and these boys were cracking up at something. When I asked Aiden about it later he said the one in the middle was sharing some camp stories. :)

June 30

I did some yard work at the office and looked in on the stream. 

Amanda met up with her closest friends from St. Mary's school and town soccer days. In the elementary years, we did so much life together, and have the sweetest of memories, then before high school all three moved to different towns to be in better school systems. Now they've all graduated and are heading on their next journey.

June's 10 on 10

10 pictures on the 10th day (Monday) of the month! 

{Document a snapshot of your life...find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Summer days have so much light...such a gift!

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

Doing what I can to stay strong mentally, physically.

The graduation flowers were still all over the house from the weekend. So lovely!

Avery and I left for Westchester around 8:30 AM, which should have been good timing traffic-wise, but there are usually surprises.

They do take great care in keeping the grounds well-maintained. 

While I was waiting to get called back, we did the scheduled telemed with the APRN. I've tried to like her, because she's on the team, but every interaction confirms I still don't care for her. There really was no news for us to report to each other.

It was special to have my girl with me and the day was perfect to be sitting out.

Finally, we got called back to a room with a fake-looking sky. There was much of the day left, but this is where the coverage stops. Avery got us home safely despite traffic and I took on the next few days with the chemo pump.

 

Project 365, Week 24 & 25

A Thursday to Thursday vacation means I'm doing two weeks in one., which also means there's quite a bit here. We front-loaded our summer time away so the kids could be freed up to work and do camps and summer league and all the other commitments they have.

June 10

My dad was set to bring me to treatment but wasn't feeling well, so with 20 minutes notice, Avery jumped at the chance to take me. Such a kind, brave thing to do! It was a nice day to hang outside, so we did.

June 11

This dog sticks pretty close to this boy.

June 12

Dakota's mom sent me this picture of the kindergarten graduate. He just turned SIX!!

I've never seen so many blooms, and this early in the season!

June 13

Aiden took an aviation class in school this year and he is enthralled with it all. Shaun booked an introductory flight for him at a local airport and I got to be the one to take him! The instructor took care of the take off and landing, other than that, Aiden was at the controls. From spending so much time with the simulator at school, it was all quite familiar to him.

He flew us over our house, the office, the high school, the lake. It was such a clear, calm day.

A couple hours later, we were at a different airport to head out on our family's summer vacation. In an effort to experience something new and accomodate our varied interests and limitations, we booked a 4-night cruise out of Florida. And since we were going to be in Florida anyway, we added a couple days at a resort near-ish to Disney.

June 14

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise each morning off our balcony and Shaun was the hunter and gatherer of coffee each morning.

We dropped the kids off at Universal for the day, which was strange because it feels like a short time ago that they were too little to do rides without an adult. Strange, but in a good way.

Shaun and I drove a couple hours to the west coast to visit Nana and John. Nana had a fall and bruised her hip, which landed her in the hospital and then rehab. Along with Shaun's dad who had flown down, we met with some administrators, trying to get a handle on their affairs. It was delightful to get some time with her and also it was a lot to process.

We picked the kids up just as it started to downpour and then stopped for dinner. 

When we got back, Shaun and the girls hit the pool/hot tub.

June 15

The resort was enormous...three golf courses, 11 pools, a water park, mini-golf, etc...really larger than we could fully tackle in just a couple days so we dabbled.

Week 25

June 16

A quiet morning at the resort...

We had a morning swim and then packed up and headed to the port.

Happy Father's Day to Shaun. He's one of the good ones and he's ours.

June 17

What a treat to watch the sunrise while in the middle of the ocean! It was still early when we pulled up to the cruise line's private island, where we stayed for a day and a half.

Family workout in the middle of the afternoon.

We voted to skip the formal dinner and do the buffet instead so we could see the sunset. After dark, they put on a light show set to music.

June 18

Another beautiful day. We had the entire morning at the island and then headed out.

June 19

We pulled in to the Bahamas at dawn and Shaun and I were fascinated to watch our mamouth ship pull right up to the dock with precision.

I wasn't up for extra walking this day, so once they got to the gate, Shaun took the kids and I went back to the boat. They did a small part to support the locals and Aiden got to experience his first time in a different country. It was eye-opening.

By mid-afternoon, we were pulling out, headed back to Florida.

June 20

Back at Port Canaveral. My brief thoughts on cruising...its ok. I know some people really enjoy it, for our family, it was ok. Highlights: pizza available almost around the clock, sunrises on a quiet ship, playing cards, swimming in the green/blue Caribbean, sharing meals around the table.

I don't take it for granted for a minute that our teenagers willingly spend time with us. What I most wanted was time together and memories made and we did lots of that. What a gift!

Disembarkation was a thing so we were quite relieved to be on the shuttle, headed to our car.

June 21

I was happy to be reunited with my plants and flowers.

June 22

When Jack and Avery returned from their date, there was lots of camp talk amongst the kids and Aiden tried on a costume. I didn't ask too many questions.

June 23

More signs of camp.