Daddy's Girl

Daddy has a (super cute) date for game one. Got our gear on!!

Got our claws ready!!

Got our antlers goin'!!

GOOOOO RANGERS!!!!!!!!!

Project Hope and Other Reasons to Smile

Everyone has talent, but some people seem particularly gifted in one specific area. It is exciting to see what happens when those people wholeheartedly dedicate that talent to the Lord to see what He is able to accomplish through them. A really great part of my visit to Arkansas was seeing how my Dad has found a "perfect fit" in his retirement years. He has joined forces with a couple other visionary men to form Project Hope, a local food bank. The vision is simple really; to provide food to area soup kitchens to be distributed to the hungry and hurting in the Hot Springs area, where pockets of desperate poverty exist.

They have about 2,000 square feet of warehouse space, which is blessedly becoming more and more well stocked.

Several large items, like freezers and a fork lift, have been provided by donations from local churches and other organizations.

A boy scout installed a restroom in the facility as his eagle scout project. I had to take a photo to show my boys what an outstanding job this young man did. The bathroom is much more "upscale" than the rest of the facility as far as being decorated and modern. This young man obviously found it important to not only provide function, but also to make it extremely nice for the people who spend time at the food bank. It was quite a lesson in going above and beyond!

Since March, Project Hope has distributed over 53,000 pounds of food. It is said the most expensive food is the food that doesn't get used, so they really research what people will realistically prepare and eat. They constantly strive to learn the most effective way to distribute the food to the agencies who actually hand it out to individuals. They look for new ways to raise community awareness and educate people about who they are and what they do, always with the hope that with increased visibility will come increased support. Then of course, they actively search for the food and raise the funds to purchase it. That is how my Dad serves.

If the food bank buys a pound of food for one dollar and is able to sell it to a soup kitchen for forty cents, they need to come up with sixty cents to fill in the gap. My Dad loves to talk to people, especially about things he is passionate about, and he has a magical way of making that passion contagious. He now spends his day sharing the exciting news about Project Hope with groups in his town, raising funds that are used to make a visible, immediate, dramatic impact on his community.

In case you can't tell, I'm a little proud of this guy, as well as Ted and Charles, who are also in the business of projecting hope, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I just had to share.

And speaking of feeding the hungry, that was a tall order here on the home front this week. The boys are heading out to a boy scout camp in Colorado for a week of primitive camping. In case you don't know, "primitive" is camp speak for not showering and peeing on the ground. It is also code for eating out of a backpack. They do not plan to take a cooler, so I was charged with the task of planning easy camp meals with dry, non-refrigerated ingredients for a whole week. The good news is that they can drive right up to the campsite, so the weight of the food doesn't matter since they won't have to carry it for great distances. So, off to the Walmarts I went with the hopes of smuggling some healthy nutrition into those packs.

NOT speaking of nutrition, look at what I found. Ahhhh.....it is so reminiscent of car trips in the 1970's. Now, I'm rather a purist when it comes to cheese, meaning I like for mine to actually contain dairy products and be a proper degree of cold. But, who doesn't love an orange squiggle on a Ritz cracker once every few years??

Dinner last night was a hoot, and I wish I would have taken a picture of their plates. Since I don't tend to cook with many dried and packaged foods, I wasn't sure what my kids would like. So, I bought one each of several different things to try. I came home and cooked it all at once (had every pot and pan in my kitchen in service!) and served sampler platters with a bite or two of each item for them to try! I don't want to risk packing food they don't like since I know they will be exhausted and starving after long days of hiking, rafting, fly fishing and rock climbing. They tried Ramen noodles, prepackaged spaghetti, and vienna sausages for the very first time. Some of the items on the sampler platter were major "misses", but I think I got enough hits to pack a bucket with a week's worth of rations. If all else fails they can eat numerous peanut butter sandwiches. With a squirt of canned cheese as a chaser!

The local attire is as wacky as the menus lately. People have been tromping through my house wearing new hiking boots with shorts or swim trunks, trying to get them broken well broken in. It's a great look in this hundred degree weather.

So, I'm off to pack beef jerky, jiffy pop, and summer sausage into a camp trunk. I will say that I think of things a bit differently now, and I hope the good Lord always reminds my conscience to give thanks as I am privileged to fill my cart at the Walmart.

And eat real, honest to goodness cheese, right out the refrigerator.

Hitting the Road

Friday night our friends came over for dinner and to share photos of their recent trip to Alaska.

Be. Still. My. Heart.

Eagles, whales, glaciers, quaint fishing towns....it was like a trip through National Geographic with our friends superimposed in the photos! Alaska is my dream vacation. Buzzard promised me when we got married that if I put up with him for fifty years he'd take me there on our golden wedding anniversary. I'll happily continue to stay by his side after seeing those photos. I'm counting the years (or decades) until my own whale watching excursion. Lucky for me, Buzz is a pretty fun guy to hang out with in the meantime. :)

Saturday I visited with a friend of mine who moved away eight years ago. We used to be part of a quilting group together at our church. She retired to a small town, bought a cute little house, and now spends her days happily creating one spectacular quilt after another and racking up grand champion ribbons from the county fair. She brought her latest accomplishment to show me. It was an intricate applique masterpiece that she completed in eight days. Eight days is about how long it takes me to sew on a button.

Saturday also looked a little crazy because we pulled together some travel plans. I got the call that my friend's father passed away after a two year battle with brain cancer. I've heard it said that it's better to have cancer than for cancer to have you, and Mr. Bob was living proof of that. He was, in every sense, a valiant model of a life well lived. Diagnosed two years ago, he spent every drop of physical strength he had living life to the fullest, and dedicating every victory to the Lord he dearly loved and served. God blessed him with two years here on earth, not a moment of which was wasted time. He was the greatest of the great, and my life is one of countless many that is changed for the better for knowing him. Mr. Bob's motto was a simple one....

"CAN'T NEVER CAN DO ANYTHING!"

Amen! I wanted to be at the funeral to see my friend, and to thank Mr. Bob myself for teaching me those words that I will never forget. So, Hannah and Emma and I made tracks for Minden, Louisiana, leaving behind a sick dog, two boys who needed to pack for camp, and one Buzzard with a slight glow above him that resembled a halo. Our departure was made possible by my precious friend Melinda who, in a moment of pure weakness, agreed to pick up my wiggly and giggly boys early Monday morning and drive six hours, with her own two wiggly and giggly boys, to summer camp in Arkansas. If anyone could register four boys for camp, unload four camp trunks, make four bunk beds, install four oscillating fans, and impart last minute truths and warnings about the importance of sunblock, deodorant, and clean underwear to four wiggly and giggly campers in hundred degree heat, it is Saint Melinda. Melinda is so darn good at what she does that she even talked Max into putting sheets on his filthy, vinyl mattress, which I later found out he had no intention of doing. Melinda is all that AND a bag of chips, and I just keep hoping that if I hang around her long enough, some of her Melinda-ness will rub off on me.

The funeral was an inspirational celebration of life, and my friend, poised and eloquent, delivered her father's eulogy. It was breathtaking. Emma did great in the hotel, which was a completely unexpected surprise since she equates sleeping in the pack and play to a completely unacceptable form of torture.

Monday afternoon we rolled out of Minden with our trusty, rusty GPS system to guide us. Buzzard, a very high tech bird, insists that we travel with "Lola" on our dash to give us directions. The plan was to head to Hot Springs, Arkansas to visit my Dad for the week. Lola put me on the highway from Louisiana headed due west. West, I tell you. My sharp geographic perceptions told me something was awry. But alas, we travel with no paper maps, so I could not calculate an alternate route. So, I called Buzzard and tattled on Lola. I've never been a huge fan of Lola, even though Buzzard keeps touting her supposed expertise. Even I know that Arkansas is to the east of Louisiana. Sure 'nuff, Lola had us on one wacky trail, involving a forty minute jog west, a minor detour down a dead end side street, and a twisty two lane road north. I'm sure it's possible there could have been a less efficient way to get to Arkansas. Maybe. We could have crossed the continent in the time it took us to cross the state line.

The good news is, we've arrived in Hot Springs and are all settled in at my Dad's house. (No thanks to Lola.) The boys are at camp, sweating up a storm I am sure, and hopefully having a ball. Buzzard is at home, tending to our sick dog and helping out my one armed mother, who he is affectionately calling "Lefty" these days. Our week is off to a great start, and Emma continues to sleep well in the playpen. I'd say I just can't believe how this crazy week has all come together in the end, but in the words of someone wise I once knew, "Can't never can do anything".

Down

The weather today was absolutely perfect. The boys had a friend here for part of lessons this morning, and as a reward for working hard we headed to the park for a picnic lunch and some well deserved play time.

Emma went down a slide, and somehow, something happened, somewhere between the top of the slide and the bottom. She came down in tears, and fell down when she tried to stand. At first I thought she was having a hard time getting her footing in all the fresh bark and mulch covering the playground. Each time she tried to stand and walk she crumpled into a heap. Then came the tears. I finally realized something was wrong.

We can't identify exactly what is hurting, but something is definitely bothering her. We took her to the doctor at 3:30, by which time she was completely exhausted because she had not had a nap yet. The doctor felt sure nothing was broken, and advised us to come home, take motrin, and see how she feels in the morning. If she is still limping, we will go in for x-rays tomorrow.

After a dose of motrin and a three hour nap she is still having a hard time tonight. She is up to three or four steps, but then she sits down and starts to crawl. Even her crawling is crooked as she seems to hold one leg out to the side. :( It is very sad to watch! The good news is that she hasn't cried any more and is in a good little mood. Obviously no sharp or bothersome pains. I'm feeling a little down, and am praying she is off and running by the morning.

I made a late night run to Walmart to get milk for breakfast. This visitor was waiting for me on the front porch. I think he stopped in to check on Emma. He toadally made her laugh. :)