Beyond Excited!!

Thursday was one of those days when everything went... right.

Diana got us tickets to be in the audience of a local show called New Day Northwest. I had been a part of a studio audience many years ago when my sister and her husband took me to see a taping of The Price is Right. But this was a first for Beth and Diana.

I had to drive downtown - not my favorite thing to do but we got there early enough to get a good parking space, then we walked a couple blocks to Starbucks to wait until the studio doors opened.

Being on the set was so energizing! Seeing the process of retakes, camera operation and set design was fascinating! We loved it! The first guest was Betsy Morgan, she plays Fantine in a production of Les Miserable that's playing right now in Seattle. Our entire family loves that musical and that was one of the reasons we got tickets to be in the audience.

After Betsy finished singing I Dreamed a Dream, the host of New Day Northwest, Margaret Larsen looks into the camera and says, "Everyone in our studio audience today gets a pair of tickets to see Les Mis next week!" That place erupted!!

We got a total of 6 free tickets!! So on Thursday, Chuck, Me, Beth, Diana, Sharaya and Ryan will all be seeing Les Miserables!! We are beyond excited!!

After the show we got free gelato ice cream, plus a free copy of a book written by one of the guests. Here we are in the lobby eating our gelato and watching the show we had just taped!

 On Thursday, July 5 at 8 PM we'll be here!!

Rewind Wednesday - Waiting For Her Bus

I had such a great Rewind Wednesday for you!! This morning I took a picture of Beth waiting for her DART bus to take her to karaoke and art. Then I remembered a picture of Beth when she was 5, standing on a kitchen chair, looking out the window waiting for her school bus.

Did you think I could find that picture today??

I have looked on thumb drives, in photo albums, photo boxes. I've probably spent more than an hour looking for that darn thing. Can't find it anywhere!

I'll probaby find it tomorrow when I'm looking for something completely unrelated.... like socks.

Well anyway, when Beth was 5 she was SO excited about her bus coming! She pulled a chair over to the window and crawled up on it. Sharaya was in the picture too along with a friend named Jenny. All three girls are smiling and anxious for Beth's Bus!

Fast forward to today.

She was out!! Yea, I think the excitement's worn off.

She Sincerely and Innocently Asked

I am the admin for our Ministry to Internationals and on Friday the Iranian Fellowship held a big dinner. I've been planning and preparing for this for weeks and I must say I'm thankful it's over. I worked 14 hours and with help from amazing volunteers, served more than 250 people. It was a long but successful day.

But that's not what I want to tell you about. We had two serving lines and an old friend that I hadn't seen in years came into my line. It was so good to see her and I could tell she felt the same.

After the event she found me again and introduced me to her friend. (Can't remember his name right now.) E and I talked about work and our kids. We counted the years since our last visit.

Then she asked it, "How's your Down Syndrome daughter?"

I was a little surprised at how much it bothered me. There's really nothing wrong with it except she didn't put People First. E doesn't have children who have special needs so I know it was asked with complete sincerity. I didn't say anything about it to her but for some reason I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

Five years ago I wouldn't have thought anything about it. Since reading all of your blogs though, I've come to learn about People First Language. It really is important to remember that they aren't their diagnosis. I'm not a congenital ptosis person. I'm a person who has... ptosis.

Mary is a person who has....

Johnny is a person who....

Beth is a person....

The Young and The Restless... and His Children

I was at home for lunch on Thursday when I heard a knock at the door. It was my dad!! He drove up by himself to surprise me!

He lives in San Diego.

We live in Seattle.

It's 1200 miles.

He's 87.

Happy Father's Day to a dad who has more energy than most people half his age!!

And to Chuck.

A man who didn't have a dad to show him the way. You did an amazing job with our girls! You showed love; you disciplined when it was needed; you played and you prayed.

Happy Father's Day Chuck!

As the World Turns... Ever So Slowly

Wow. I can't believe it's been a whole week since I last wrote. Let's see, what have we been up to?

The first of the week was pretty basic. Beth did a few chores around the house. She went bowling on Tuesday. Had a score of 96, not too bad. She was bowling in the 110 range there for a while but recently she'd dropped about 10 points. Not sure what happened.

I had some much needed quiet time on Tuesday night. Spent some time with the Lord, praying and reading. I crave those moments sometimes.

Diana got called into Campell Nelson this week. (They're a car dealership that sells Nissan and VW.) She actually quit there when she went to Ireland and London a few months ago but out of the blue they called her this week, "Can you come in and work for a few days?" So she'll have a nice paycheck next week! She's already talking about taking the train to Canada for a few days! That girl has a hard time staying home.

I went out last night with a few friends from work and we played Bunco. It was at a friend house; we had dinner, then played for a couple hours! They even gave out gifts to the winners, losers and everyone in between! We play about once a year but we should do it more often. It was so much fun! Most of us are not night owls and by 10:00 were laughing til we cried! I finally got in after 11:00. Completely forgetting that I was babysitting Allison at 8 this morning! I was SO tired and at 1:00 today I hit that wall. Ever been there?!?

Allie rode her bike in the driveway for a while.

Beth changed her bed today. She brought her sheets and comforter upstairs and put them in the wash. I handed her a clean set and she said she needed help putting them back on her bed. I told her to at least start putting them on and I'd be down in a minute to check on her. When I got down there she was almost finished! I asked her if she still needed help and she said no! Awesome! I knew she could do it, I think she was just bein' lazy.

Tonight I took pictures for Ryan's family. His brother is in town and his mom wanted a family photo. Since Sharaya was in the pictures they needed someone else to take them. We went down to the beach by the ferry dock. I used Sharaya's camera and now she'll take them home, edit them and make 'em all purdy. It was a beautiful evening so afterward Diana and I walked along the pier. (Diana came with me to help make Allie smile!) 

And that's about it for this week. I'm going in now to take a shower and get ready for our Sunday school class tomorrow. I hope you all have a great week!

The Days of Our Non-Riveting Lives

We babysit Allison on Saturdays and we decided to take her to the park. Before we left she read Beth a book. It was a pop up book about stories from the Bible. It was cute, Allie just made up words as she turned the pages, but Beth listened intently!

 

Going down the big slide!

I love what these fiberglass slides do to hair!

 

 

We decided to bring Sugar. That dog loves to ride in the car!

Having a deep conversation with Auntie DiDi.

 

 

Jumping!

This park even has a zip line!

I love Beth's expression in this one!

Go Allie!

Poor Beth desperately wanted to play.

Her weight and the size of the equipment kept her from doing too much.

(She's lost 9 pounds in the last month!!)

Allie saw Beth on the equipment and came running.

 

Sorry these posts haven't been more riveting. There really hasn't been much happening around here. I bought some plants today. Some Morning Glories and Minifamous. I plan to put them in a large pot and set them by the latice in the back yard.

Went to a yard sale put on by our MOPS group. Bought Allie a potty chair. Ryan and Sharaya plan to start potty training soon so I wanted one for her while she's at our house. Also got some electric trains and a track for the kids in our Special Connections class. They love trains!

Umm.... took Beth shopping. she bought the Tangled CD. Chuck fixed dinner while we were gone. :)

Well that's about it from here. Hope things are well at your house!

Different Direction

I'm just sitting here staring at this blank page. Not sure what to say. Nothing major has happened, no news to report, just writers block I guess.

Last week we had our second meeting of the Northwest Disability Network. It began as a support group for people who lead special needs ministries within their churches. Some are still in the planning stages, one lady officially started a ministry at her church 3 months ago. We planned to meet once a quarter and there were about 8 of us that met to talk about our ministries, what works, what doesn't, ask questions and just support one another.

Last weeks meeting however, included representatives from large organizations. There were probably 25 of us there. One of the reps was from Joni and Friends. The guy who originally started the NWDN, 'B' said he's been in contact with Joni and Friends and they want us to become a Volunteer Base or something like that. We would appoint a president, treasurer and secretary, then host two community events each year. He and the other reps were SO on board about this new venture and he excitedly asked everyone who was interested to raise their hands! Only he and the other reps did. Us 'small potatoes' began to ask questions, "How often would we be meeting?" The officers would meet more often but we could still meet once a quarter if that's what everyone decides. "Will Joni and Friends support us financially?" Well, no, Joni and Friends won't support financially, we'll have to do fundraising. Oh. I know we were all thinking the same thing, 'how much time is this going to take out of my already busy life?'

There was a large contingent from one church - the woman who had it on her heart to start a special needs ministry, their children's pastor, some youth volunteers and a mom who has a child with special needs. The woman asked the group, if you had to start your church ministry again, what would you do differently and why? Everyone was quiet for a minute then someone pointed to me, "You're the only one right now who has a ministry to kids with special needs." I looked over to say something and the reps all began talking at once, "You should volunteer at *this* camp." "You need to help with *that* organization. "You should volunteer at *that* school." No one really answered her question, they just plugged their organizations. (After the meeting was over, I did go over to her and we got a chance to talk about our ministries.)

B finally decided we shouldn't vote on becoming connected with Joni and Friends just yet. "Go home, pray about it and email me." I think he could tell we weren't all on board. I just don't have time to promote Joni and Friends - as great as an organization as they are, I know they've helped a lot of people all over the world. But right now I'm trying to promote and grow the special needs ministry God has put on my heart for my own church.

I think I will go to one more meeting of the NWDN but it seems to be going a different direction than what I first thought. And that's too bad. I've considered contacting the other church leaders and asking them if they want to continue to meet. I really like the idea of a support group for people who are leading special needs ministries within their churches. I know I would go to those meetings.

Rewind Wednesday - Tonsils

I kept journals for our girls while they were growing up. Wrote about school, their friends, milestones, etc. At one doctor appointment he told me that Beth's tonsils were almost touching each other and it would eventually make it hard for her to breathe. So we made the decision to have them removed.

March 20, 1998

It's 7:15 AM and you're sitting on your hospital bed getting ready to have your tonsils out. You drank some medicine to make you sleepy. You are very nervous! Daddy is here with us today! He took the day off from work so he could be with you. I love you Beth! You're going to do great today!

March 21, 1998

Hi Beth,
You did very good during your surgery yesterday. You even tried to sit up in recovery! The trouble started on the way home when you threw up in the car. Then again after we got home. And again and again. It's been very hard for you to keep food down (jello, ice cream) and therefore your pain medicine. We were finally able to give you some at about 7:00 last night. You have had about 5 bites of food today then some pain medicine and I gave you a suppository - you didn't like either of those! - and now you're asleep on the couch. I hadn't wanted it to be this hard for you. I called the prayer chain at church so a lot of people are praying for you. I hope the worst is over and you'll get better soon.


I wrote this a couple weeks later -

P.S. You did get better. It took about 11 days but you then began to perk up and eat more. It was a very hard time for you.

This was before she went in to surgery;

we were waiting for the medicine to take affect.

Beth was 14.

It's Over

My vacation, that is. One of our ministries had a meeting so I set up, served them lunch then tore down after it was over so today I officially went 'back to work'.


We really had a great week. Seattle had great weather! Monday it was in the high 70's; Diana and I sat outside all day. I didn't lift a finger. Didn't cook dinner, didn't do the dishes, nothin'. It was glorious!

The rest of the week I just did random stuff around the house. Watched the kids come and go to their various activities. On Friday I buckled down and actually painted the kitchen. It's not done yet but it's going to look so nice! Our kitchen has been an eggshell color and I'm painting it Pale Daffodil. It's yellow without being YELLOW, if you know what I mean. Diana used the roller on the big wall while I used a brush on the smaller areas. I thought Beth might come up and help but after she got home from job class, she went downstairs and didn't come up again until dinner!

Saturday we babysat Allie so we went out for ice cream, then went to the beach. It was low tide so we walked out to the water and threw rocks. We sat on some driftwood and layed on the grass for a while. It was a relaxing way to end the week.

Picnic Point Park

(Not my picture)

Needed

I'm on vacation this week. We're not planning any trips or anything, I'm just hanging out around the house. Sleeping in, reading books, sitting by the pool.

What? Were you imagining something different? Well, it's not the Isle of Capri, but it's exactly what I've needed this week!