I'll Be Back!

In less than 24 hours we'll be in the air, on our way to Israel! This is my first international flight, never been on a jumbo jet before. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm headed to bed soon but don't know how much I'll actually sleep.

 

Please take care of yourselves and I'll write when I get back!

 

I took this in May of last year coming home from San Diego

 

Toothless Smile, Pampered, and Abandoned

Chuck is watching hockey on TV and as I logged into the blog they reported about the shooting in Allen, Texas. It's the first I've heard of it! Oh Lord, have mercy on the families. 

 

Beth and I were coming home from the grocery store the other day and the radio station was telling it's listeners about seeking the Lord if they feel lonely, or scared, or abandoned. And Beth said, "I don't want to be abandoned."

 

"Beth why do you think you would be abandoned?"

 

"I dunno."

 

"Beth it's okay to tell me. Why do you think we would abandon you?"

 

Well come to find out, she's afraid we'll go on our trip and not come back. But the way she talked, it wasn't that she was afraid we were going to die, just that we'd decide not to come back home! I told her that could never happen! I told her she grew inside me and so she has a part of my heart and I have a part of hers. We could never abandon her!

 

So when we got home I had her get her calendar and I showed her the day we're leaving and the day we're coming home. We talked about what each of her days would look like, the things she'll do, when Sharaya and Ally would be here... I covered everything. (You know, as I'm typing this I'm wondering if she's feeling the loss of Diana and Peter. Diana I know you read this and I don't want you to feel bad! I think maybe she's just grieving you guys, but she doesn't realize it's 'grief'.) Hmm, I may need to have another conversation with Beth about this. 

 

 

On another note, our church held a women's conference this weekend and I got to attend! I worked for days before, even the morning of: meeting with the custodians to make sure the break-out rooms were set up and the correct tables were in the main foyer, and bathrooms were stocked and cleaned... but then I came back for the event and actually felt like a visitor! Women I didn't recognize were asking me my name and how long have I attended Westgate, and I responded like an attendee, not a staff member! It was so much fun! I had lunch with a lady I've known for a while but don't really know. We talked and laughed the whole time! Our husbands have a lot in common so now we're making plans to get together. Honestly, I don't have girlfriends that I hang out with. I'm such an introvert, and a homebody. But the last couple weekends have found me hanging out with other women and I loved it!

 

Getting Ready

 

Photo booth

 

 

Waiting for the doors to open after lunch

They estimate 150 women attended

 

Snacks while we wait

 Now from Seattle, to the east coast... Sharaya and Ally were in New Jersey last week and sent so many pictures of Adelaide!

 

They're pretty sure Adelaide is teething

Diana says shes yelling at her bear

 

And lastly, my two granddaughters. 

There are no words to explain how much I love these two!

Treated Like A Diva

 About a year ago I found a little salon near our house that Beth and I fell in love with. We've been there a couple of times and Beth went again last week.

 

We looked through pictures of shoulder-length hair styles and she picked this one:

 

 

At first my heart sank because Beth has straight hair. I don't know if it's because she has Down Syndrome or not but it's very straight. I explained to her the difference between a cut and a style. That this lady's hair looks like this because after they cut it, they used a blow dryer and maybe a curling iron and it looks like this because of the way it was styled, not cut.

 

I remember when Beth was born most of the pictures of adults who had DS had short, cropped hair. We didn't know why most pictures showed that cut, but we hoped it was because many of them were living in institutions and it was easier for the caregivers to manage. But we wanted to make sure Beth's hair could grow long, and it did.

As she's gotten older though she likes it a little shorter. Probably because... it's easier to manage. 😊

 

So we confirmed that she did want her hair cut just a little past her shoulders, and when we got to the salon, we showed the photo to the stylist. She was young (to me) just turned 30 and was excited about the photo. Beth sat in the chair and Kaitlyn got to work.

 

First she shampooed her hair, then cut it and blew it dry.

 

 

 Then she began to style it. She talked to Beth about work and family while she worked her magic. And when she was done...

She loved it!! Not as big and full as the photo but a current style that Beth was so excited about! The curls were soft and exactly how she wanted them. It turned out so good, the salon asked Beth if they could take her picture.

 

Now I'm trying to replicate it. Haven't had much success yet and I keep telling Beth I need to practice, but when I'm doing her hair in the morning I'll ask her if she wants me to curl it and she sadly tells me, "Just straight." I've got to learn how to do this!