Really? Who Says That?

I don't get it.  I honestly don't get it.  Some people say the strangest things....

Yesterday we dropped Peanut off for a week of summer camp.  This is the first year she has gone alone as I've counseled out at the camp for the last 2 years with her group.  This year Sissy did not want to go - someone had to stay home with her, so I decided to take a year off.

I was approached by a fellow mom yesterday who asked if I would be out at camp again this year.  I told her no because Sissy really did not want to go and that although Sweet Baby is old enough, she has really been having a hard time lately if her and I are apart.

The response was "Really?  Gee Crystal, you must be doing something right for your kids to want to be around you so much.  My kids can't wait to get the chance to go to camp or get away, but that's ok with me because I don't want to be with them that much anyway."  Now, the kicker is....she said this IN FRONT OF her 15 year old daughter.  And this is not the first time she has told me, in front of at least one of her girls, that she "would never want to spend that much time with her kids".

Are you kidding me?!?!?

Please let me say that I do not love every minute of time I am with my children - and trust me, as a homeschooling mom, it is alot of time.  It isn't always easy, sometimes I want to be selfish and run away,  sometimes I wish I could all the school system for just 1 day a week, BUT.....I love my girls.  I made the choice to have them all, I'm interested in what they do, the memories they make, the young girls they have become, and I want to share that with them.   It is very hard for me to understand the mentality that you would not WANT to be with your kids.

I do understand that, sadly, society has told us that "normal" and "necessary" is that two parents work and that once your children are old enough, we put them on a bus and send them to school.  I do understand that on a surface level.  I was that mom.  Sissy was in public school until 3rd grade, Peanut was in school for kindergarten.  But, it never felt "right".  After awhile, I began examining options.  Homeschooling was laid on my heart and in all honesty, I wanted to ignore it.  I wanted God to leave me alone and go bother someone else.  I loved my girls, I had spent more than 8 years as a stay at home mom, still had a few years to go and was content with that - however, I was excited about the prospect of working again and making some money.

Now, I'm thankful that God did change my heart and open my eyes.  For me, homeschooling, which began as the best educational choice for my children, has become about so much more.  It has become about character training, direction, family time and thankfully a way to shelter my kids from a world that grows them up to fast.  My choice is not the only choice, I do get that but I have such a hard time understanding how a mother could not want to be with their children the little bit of time they are home (after they have spent 7-8 hours in school, mom and dad have spent a day at work) let alone verbalize it in front of their children.

My prayer is that my girls can SEE how happy I am to be with them each day.  That they can see how happy I am that I chose to listen to God's direction.  It is not always easy and trust me, many times I do not show them how blessed I know I am.  I let the day get the better of me - the bickering, the disobedience, the  mess, but in the end, I hope they never grow up and say, "Yeah, my mom didn't want to spend time with me.  She was excited when I had somewhere else to go, someone else to hang out with."    

AHG Pen Pals Unite!

I know I am constantly sharing about American Heritage Girls and how much we enjoy it, but I've been waiting to share this post with you for awhile now.

Our first year of AHG each of my girls signed up for the Pen Pal program.  AHG takes pains to set up pen pals throughout the program.  Their pen pal program is not merely an exchange of names, the girls are asked a few different questions and some magical elf at AHG picks a match for them.  The girls commit to writing to their pen pal, at least once a month, for one year.  

Peanut and Sissy, although they like the program, each had issues with their pen pals.  Neither of their pen pals seemed to write often enough.  They seemed to get one letter every 5 or 6 weeks or so.


Although the older girsl were a bit disappointed, Sweet Baby's pen pal and her were a perfect match!  They have been writing for the last 2 years and the first year they wrote each other nearly every week.  What excitement for a 1st grader to have a friend to practice writing to!!   We used the opportunity to write back and forth as handwriting and english practice.  

Sweet Baby's pen pal is from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Last March I was able to meet her pen pal, mother and two siblings at a home school conference I attended in Cincinnati.  This year when we planned our trip to Tennessee, knowing we would be driving through Cincinnati, we were able to set up a time for the girls to meet!  It was the sweetest thing to see them together.  They had talked on the phone a few times over the last couple years, but being able to meet was  like a dream come true.  

After driving for much of the day we were able to make it to Sweet Baby's pen pal's home, sit and visit for a couple hours and then we were invited to enjoy dinner with her family.  What a great time!  We truly enjoyed  our visit and hope we will be able to spend time together again.  

A Heavy Heart

It has been a very long week. 

Friday, June 29th I received a call indicating that one of our leaders at American Heritage Girls was killed in a car accident.  Amanda Rouse was one of our Tenderheart badge trackers and one of those moms who was ready and willing to help whenever she was needed.  In addition to serving as badge tracker, she was also working as our PR person - spreading the news of AHG to whoever would listen.  We also were blessed to have Amanda working on a fall fundraiser.  SIGH...Amanda was a jewel to our program.

Amanda was a jewel to her 7 year old daughter as well.

Amanda would have been just as precious to her unborn daughter Sophie - just 4 weeks till Sophie's delivery.  However, sweet Sophie did not survive either.

Of course I know that people die.  It is the circle of life.  THIS however is not something that you expect.  A momma leaving her daughter, her husband and losing her baby at just 34 years old is not what we expect.  It makes you begin to question your own mortality - honestly, I've never done that. I've never pictured leaving my family and certainly not leaving my husband a widower.  I'm sure Amanda never did either.

A couple things I want to leave with you...

1) Don't take anyone for granted.  If someone is making an impact in your life, in the lives of your children, in the life of a ministry...tell them.  Tell them you are happy to see their smile each week at church.  There were a lot of people who were touched by Amanda.  On Thursday, the day of her visitation, 1,000 people walked through the funeral home.  She was important, but did she know that? 

2)  Take as many opportunities to have your picture taken with you children as you can.  So often the moms are the ones taking the photos and we are not in them.  Amanda left behind a 7 year old daughter.  How many memories do you have from when you were 7?  I have very few.  Her sweet daughter will probably have very few, if any, memories of her mom.  At AHG camp, just 5 weeks before the car accident, two of our Pioneer girls wanted to take pictures of all of the moms and their daughters together.  I'm so glad they recognized this need.  Since they were being so thoughtful, we have this picture of Amanda and her daughter.

To honor Ms. Amanda some of the girls from our troop were able to do a flag ceremony of sorts for her.  They posted the United States flag and the AHG flag on either end of her casket.  It was sweet that they were willing to do it for her and her daughter.  At the end of the funeral (which was so packed the could not fit everyone in the room), as we walked by her casket the last time, we saw her daughter sitting in the front row crying.  It warmed my heart when Sweet Baby walked over and hugged her. 

So, remember to tell people that they matter.  We take things for granted so easily.  Remember to tell that special person that they are important and there would be a hole in your life if they were gone. 

American Heritage Girls Camp

 A few days after Peanut's birthday the girls and I packed up for our second American Heritage Girls camp.  We camped at our favorite place, Michigan Christian Youth Camp in Attica, Michigan.  This is the same camp my girls attend for summer camp and is merely a 30 minute drive from us.  When we arrived on Friday night we got the younger girls set up in the dorms while Sissy began setting up our tent.  

The Pioneers were camping in tents to continue to work on their camping badge.  This is where I would be sleeping as well since I am a Pioneer leader.  As it turned out, I ended up in the dorm.  Now, don't be thinking, "OOOH, you are one lucky girl to have been able to get out of sleeping in the tent!"  The reality of it is that Sweet Baby has been having a hard time being away from me and she couldn't sleep.  So...I ended up IN her bed.  Trust me, sleeping outside in the tent would have been more comfortable!  Those beds are not made for comfort and they certainly were not made for 2 people!!

We started the night with unpacking and then moved to the fire for smores, popcorn, campfire songs and a devotional.

As the girls were getting ready for bed I was helping wipe the crusted marshmallow of Sweet Baby's cheek when her tooth fell out.  No worries, it was very loose so it was time for it to fall out.

The next morning the younger girls all headed to the lodge for breakfast.  The tenters began cooking their own breakfast.  We made simple egg mcmuffins and had fresh fruit.  Here Sissy is lighting the grill that we would be using.

Now, I know this isn't the best picture, and you may be thinking - hmmmm, is this really worth seeing?  But for me, it is.  This is one of the only pictures I have of Sissy at camp.  Shortly after breakfast, within about 15 minutes of eating she said she wasn't feeling well.  She skipped horseback riding (which was so hard for her because she had been looking SO forward to riding) and she sat through about 15 minutes of the outdoor skills ramblings before she ended up in a dorm in a bed.  After about 2 hours of laying down, hoping it would pass, we ended up calling dad to pick her up.  Poor girl missed all of camp!  This is especially sad because she is my girl that LOVES to camp.  She looks so forward to each outing and was very upset that she missed it all.

After Sissy left I was able to sneak away 2 times to see how my other girls were doing and try to get some pictures of them enjoying camp.  Here Sweet Baby is at the Adventure Challenge.  This course required the girls to use teamwork and problem solving skills to complete.  In this challenge the girls had to get from one platform to another using various boards that were not attached.  Don't you love those shoes??? Sweet Baby forgot her shoes and luckily one of the other girls brought a second pair - groovy!

I ran into Peanut toward the end of the day while they were working on some Outdoor Skills requirements.  They were learning how to read a compass.

At the end of camp I asked the girls what their favorite part was.  I was shocked when this horse lover did not say, "Horseback riding!"  Instead she said, "I loved learning how to use a compass."

Another Birthday

Peanut turned 10 a few weeks ago...TEN.  It continues to amaze me that my girls are growing up.  I have a 13 year old, 10 year old and 8 year old.  I remember the days when they were 2 and we were trying so hard to determine what they were saying, what they wanted....I remember thinking,"I can't wait for them to grow up."  What a mistake.  Although I love my girls so much, I wish I could go back and steal just one more ABC song, one more rock in the rocking chair, one more walk with the stroller.

OK...enough of the sappiness on to the fun.  We don't do ridiculous birthday gifts around here.  There is very little my girls need and we do not need more junk around the house.  I always struggle with gifts for them.  Peanut really wanted an alarm clock of her own, that is what is in this package.

My girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Adventures in Odyssey and when I was at our local homeschool convention in May, I scored a deal on a couple sets.  Sissy, who can listen to Adventures in Odyssey for HOURS, was really excited to be able to give her sister this gift.

The smile this child has lights up her whole face, her blue eyes have always been something that could draw me in.  Of course, all of our kids have different personalities, but this one, this girl has the most amazing spirit of joy and it is one that I envy.  SIGH...here she is...ten candles on her cake/brownie.  SIGH..where has the time gone?

More Service and a Haircut

The girls were able to serve at our local Relay For Life.  They helped with the opening ceremonies by standing with the American flag during the Pledge of Allegiance and then walking in front of the crowd during the opening lap. 

Two years ago Sissy donated her hair at Relay for Life, ever since she did Sweet Baby has talked about donating her hair at Relay.  Here is a shot of her in the beginning of the day.

She was so excited to be able to donate her hair.  This was going to be the second time she would have donated.  The first time she was 5 and donated 12 inches.  This time she had a little less to give.  Her ponytail measured 10 inches.

After getting her hair cut she got a feather extension, just for fun.  Isn't it the cutest cut?

The Survivor Dinner is usually outside under a tent so the girls got to work wiping down the tables before the Survivor Ceremony started.

GOLLY - she looks so cute I could just eat her up!

About 10 minutes before we started cleaning up and getting ready for the ceremony, the sky got really dark and the wind picked up even more than it had been blowing all day long.  The girls were supposed to wait at the end of the track and pass out pins to all the survivors as they crossed the finish line.  Here Sweet Baby and her BFFL were standing waiting when the rain came!  Like true AHG troopers, they stood there in the blowing rain until I reached them and pulled them under an awning.  I wonder how long they would have stood there if someone had not re-directed them.

The weather got so bad, the wind kicked up so much it actually blew the tops off the tents!  It was quite scary.  Thankfully, Relay for Life is held in the parking lot of our local high school.  Someone was able to get the building opened so we moved all the food to the cafeteria and the girls were still able to serve dinner.

I love having the girls working in their own community, there is service to be done everywhere - whether it be collecting shoes for orphans overseas or serving dinner to cancer survivors in our own town.

Summer Happenings

We are smack dab in the middle of summer.  I love summer.  Not the Michigan heat or humidity but rather the freedom in our schedule.  I love being able to sleep in, I love not having to worry about school subjects, I love random phone calls for get togethers.  I just love summer.

Summer is not completely laid back around here, it seems like the calendar is always filling with something.

The day after we returned from our vacation our American Heritage Girls troop was serving at a local 5K Memorial Day race and marching in a parade.  Sadly Sweet Baby ended up not feeling well the last 2 days of our trip, so she was not able to participate in the parade.  It was terribly hot that day but we still had fun.

Here the girls are lined up to help a local boy scout troop with the flag ceremony before the race began.

As the runners came in they girls were passing out medals to each participant.  

The race was early in the day and the parade was around 6 pm.  After the race we went home to relax and cool off in the house.  We made sure we had water bottles in the fridge and ready for the parade since we knew it was going to be a hot evening.  

We loaded our wagon complete with homemade signs on the sides and back, cooler inside with water for the kids and flags taped to it  and headed to the parade route.  The girls all lined up complete with a banner we had made for the front of the procession, bags of candy to pass out to people along the route and fliers all about AHG.

Since we knew that most of the girls would want to be passing out candy, and we didn't have enough bags for each girl, we gave some of the girls little flags to hold, paired up a younger girl with an older girl and had them switch on and off.  This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. 

Up until recently Peanut has not been my child who seems to have an inherent "nurturing" streak.  She usually avoids babies, toddlers and preschoolers and pretty much just sticks to hanging with kids her own age.  However, lately, I've seen a change in her.  I'm sure part of it is growing up and maturing, part of it may be watching her older sister dote on little ones and mother them.  Either way, it was sweet to see her, as an Explorer, grab onto the hand of one of our newest Pathfinders and walk with her.  Another thing I love so much about this program - the little ones being mentored by the older ones and the pride the older ones get as they are looked up to.  In my house, our oldest takes the reigns on most things and it is made very clear to her siblings that she is the oldest.  In this program, my other two get to be the big kids, and I love that!