A Family Camporee {Or Two}

After our initial attempt at family camping last summer, we decided we had so much fun that we (Peter) had to stock up on all the REI dividends and outfit us for some serious camping this summer. (Seriously, no one should ever have the amount of dividends we ended up with).

And because we finished our second trip before I got around to sharing about the first, you get a twofer this post--two trips in one, double the pictures, double the fun! Brace yourselves...

Echo Lake
For our first campout in late June, we traveled to Echo Lake at the Base of Mount Evans. We didn't do so well planning ahead for the actual dates, and all of the weekends were booked, so Peter took some comp time off of work and we went for two nights during the week. We had to bring and cook all of our own food, unlike the church campout where they do it for us (so guess how many dividends our new 2-burner camp stove got us!). Peter knew how overwhelmed enthusiastic I was about the Pioneer Woman deal, so he promised to plan and cook all the meals, and he was good to his word. (Except that I took over at the stove our first night so I could get warmer!).

Pioneer Woman feigning happiness.
Cooking. Cleaning. Abounding joy!

Funny story: we rented a canoe from the local Air Force base for the trip, had to stop multiple times while driving to tie it down better, only to find out when we got there that we couldn't even put it in the water. Apparently we'd read the regulations wrong. So the canoe stayed perched on top of the car the entire weekend and the kids had a sad...

Mount Evans boasts the highest (and arguably scariest) road in North America, being one of the few 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado that you can drive to the top of. (Pike's Peak being the most famous). The road stayed busy, and our campsite was a little closer I expected, but otherwise the campsite was great.

Campsite in the making

After dinner and a fire with s'mores the first night, we put the kids to bed in their tent and enjoyed a beautiful sunset across the road over the lake.

That night, the cold mountain air froze me mercilessly to the bone just like Anna, and if I could have unfrozen myself from the fetal position long enough to take a selfie, I'm sure I would would have been the same shade of porcelain blue. I even packed accordingly this time around, after learning from our fun bout in the rain last year, but apparently eight layers don't matter in the middle of the night at 12,000 ft. All my bitter frozen heart could repeat half the night was, "I know I've been at least ten times warmer then this while skiing!" (Guess we didn't get enough dividends for my sleeping bag even though it's rated to 15 degrees!). Ethan also woke up multiple times throughout the sleepless night and Peter attended to him like a nice husband because I was clearly immobile, and as soon as day began to break I begged him for a fire with which to thaw myself under my eight layers of clothing/blankets.

It lives.

Thankfully the sun came out eventually, and a pretty little doe also came to graze by our site as the sun rose. Marie promptly named her 'Lily' (as she names all of her dolls and animals and dreams of naming a future sister). After breakfast we hiked the trail around Echo Lake. Let me just say that I have never, ever seen so many dragonflies in one place! Or dragonfly nymphs crawling all over us when we stopped for a snack. It was little Fear Factor-ish.

But unbelievably gorgeous, too!

Just because you can't see those dragonflies
doesn't mean they're not there...everywhere... 

We had some lunch and then went back over to the lake for some "fishing" (we never catch anything) before the clouds started rolling in and we sought refuge from the frigid rain in the warm safety of our tent. Well, Ethan and I did anyway. The big kids and Peter played in it for awhile. Thankfully it passed quickly and another family arrived in an adjacent campsite just before dinner. Their kids were the same age as our oldest two, so the children stayed nicely occupied while we got dinner ready and the other parents set up their tent. By the end of the evening their friends had also arrived with five more children, and it was great to see them all playing so happily together while we relaxed!

After dinner and more campfire and s'mores, we packed the kids away in their tent again and Peter plopped a few more logs on the fire so we could enjoy some rare quiet time together with just the two of us (and try
to warm up as much as possible before the long night ahead!).

It went about the same as the first night, but the next morning was slightly warmer. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before packing up and hiking one of the trails near our campsite that cut up the side of Mount Evans.

Overall, we counted it as a success, and I kept telling myself that our second trip in July would be much, much warmer (and a few thousand feet lower in elevation).

Mmm, dirt!

Thankfully, despite the rain, I was [mostly] right about trip #2!


Lake Dillon
Our church held its annual campout this past weekend at Lake Dillon, a gorgeous lake/reservoir sandwiched between Keystone and Breckenridge.

The campout happened to start the same day as Marie's birthday, and she had been waiting allllllll summer for her birthday campout! For three straight days prior to the campout, it rained incessantly (I felt like I was back on the east coast!) and I tried to convince Peter that we should stay home Thursday night and head up Friday instead. But we had promised a little girl that we would go camping for her birthday, and he wasn't about to break that promise. And did I mention that this is the campout where all the big strong men do the cooking and I have to do none? So I packed everything in plastic bags, threw in the galoshes, and by the time we arrived around dinner, the rain cleared long enough for us to set up and even enjoy a little nice weather that evening by the lake while Peter taught the kids how to skip stones. We even brought a cake up for Marie and got to share her happy birthday with a few of the other campers during dinner (of course I forgot to take pictures!)

That night was still chilly, and I still woke up cold throughout the night, but it was slightly more manageable this time around. We also decided to put Ethan in our tent so that we wouldn't have to stumble around the campsite in the dark to get to the kids' tent if he woke up, and that was a smart move. He added extra body heat and whenever he woke up I could just reach out of my sleeping bag and shove him back into his. Win-win.

Friday
We enjoyed breakfast before heading back to our tent to hole up for an incoming thunderstorm. The thunder was a little scary, echoing forever through the mountains in a way I'd never heard before. We played Go Fish and went stir crazy in our tent for about an hour and a half while buckets of rain poured down all around us:

It let up just in time for lunch, and the sun even came out briefly so we could enjoy a family canoe ride in one our church member's famous handcrafted canoes. (He's our neighbor and makes them in his basement--not even kidding...I got to see his workshop a few years ago with this specific canoe in the works)!

The rain returned that afternoon, and because I knew I hadn't packed enough pairs of kid pants to withstand five changes a day, and because Marie's old sneakers were literally falling apart after getting especially wet, and because the I was cowering at the thought of another two hours in the tent together playing Go Fish, we did the only possible rational thing: pack into the car and drive to Target. It's only about 15 minutes down the road, and I convinced Peter that it wouldn't be cheating that much since Marie needed new sneakers. Ethan napped in the car with the big boys while Marie and I gallivanted around the store, and then we drove around the lake in the rain enjoying the scenery. And the dry seats. And the heat! The rain at least had good timing and let up again before our amazing dinner (ribs, slow cooked allllll day!). I snuggled in early with Ethan while Peter did the bonfire with the big kids, and we stayed significantly warmer that night!

Farmer Pete, wildflowers my sweet girl picked for me, boating and playing by the lake,
driving through the rain, and my buddy keeping me company in the nice warm tent!

Saturday
It dawned bright and sunny, finally! The morning consisted of a fishing competition for the kids, then good long stretch of time playing on the beach in the sand while I met some new mom friends. Peter and I spent a few minutes teaching the kids how to play horseshoes (eek!). Peter also rushed into the water Baywatch style at one point to make a daring rescue with one of the other guys when some teen girls capsized their kayaks. Thankfully everyone was fine. After lunch, the teens did some face painting, then we went back to the campsite and relaxed in the hammock before going on a family hike around the point. It was gorgeous. And--dare I say--even hot out!!! Back at the campsite, both Marie and Erik got stung by yellow jackets while playing in some branches--a painful experience, but I'm so thankful that neither of them have an allergy or reacted badly other than swelling up just a little. That afternoon we met some new friends at the campsite next to ours, and our kids hit it off playing together. We soon walked down to the pavilion for dinner...and for church overlooking the lake, because in addition to the men cooking, our priest comes up to say mass for all the campers! That night we tucked the kids in before heading to the bonfire next to our campsite for some real "big kid" fun with the other parents--we may have stayed up a little too late, but it was a lot of fun and worth it!

Hike around the point

Fishing competition (still no bites!), Erik's choice of face paint, relaxing, more hiking views,
the mean bee, altar overlooking the lake, and new friends. (Aren't they the cutest?!) 

Sunday
Sunday was reserved mostly for packing up, but we attempted to sleep in a few short minutes before we got woken up by a little birdie:

Between packing, we still got some time in for a good breakfast and some play time at the lake before also packing our worn out campers into the car. Ethan had a tantrum saying, "I don't want to leave camping!" and the other kids agreed with him, in slightly more mature fashion.

And when all was said and done, I had to agree with them. We made some great memories, survived the rain and cold, and had a lot of fun in the process! Maybe all of those dividends really were worth it, after all!

[And no, Peter, we don't need any more!].

The Spectrum

This past May, our son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Level 1. ASD Level 1 is also known as high-functioning autism, or formerly Asperger's Syndrome; it's a disorder which leads to difficulty with communication, social interaction, and understanding others' feelings. ASD Level 1 is often accompanied by other challenges such as sensory integration issues, (sensory seeking and/or sensitivity), ADD/ADHD, or mood disorders.

We're keeping personal details out of the public eye for the same reasons I stated when I shared about our daughter's Selective Mutism. But even without the details, I think it's important to acknowledge in general the important events that shape our family, as well as connect with or possibly help those who are starting similar journeys.

It's been a relief to finally have a name for what's been going on for so long, but it's been a challenge to figure out the best approach for where to go and what to do for the long haul. Though finding treatment for our daughter was difficult in its own sense, it was made easier by the fact that only a few people in our metro area had experience in her condition; once we completed her evaluation, our options were so specific that they lead us pretty much in a straight line to the treatment we needed. 

With ASD, it's much less straightforward. Though there are broad similarities, each individual--even on the same "level" of the spectrum--struggles with his or her own unique idiosyncrasies. It's not like there's a list of specific symptoms that can definitely be assigned to everyone with the same diagnosis; it seems there are a lot more variables than I've experienced with other conditions (namely our daughter's condition). It's also different to figure out how to approach treatment as a lifelong disorder that we must learn to cope with and help our son learn to cope to function in a "normal" world, as opposed to a condition like our daughter's that we are essentially working to overcome with time.

On the flip side, Autism is much more common than Selective Mutism, and over the past few years has become widely recognized by the general public, which is encouraging. Autism Awareness Day had special meaning to me this past year, knowing that there are people out there who have been working already for decades to bring both attention and understanding to the disorder. So even if navigating things like insurance and treatment is just as difficult as it was with our daughter's condition, it's refreshing to know that there's a big community surrounding us that's already been established. We have the continual option of connecting with so many other families traveling the same road, there are support groups and community events tailored to ASD needs, and there's just an all-around comfort knowing that it's all there if we need it.

Our personal experience so far has been a big mixed bag; some things that used to be really difficult have become second nature, but new challenges are always surfacing. Some days certain tasks are easy as pie; the next day they are exceedingly difficult and lead to meltdowns. Some days there are only a few bad moments, other days there are none, and some days the entire day is an uphill battle for everyone involved. This article in particular from an adult with ASD helped me understand so much of this dynamic. It's a long read but worth it if you or someone you know are working through similar issues. 

Our next big step is to pursue a sensory integration evaluation and treatment, since it is very clearly needed; in fact, last year I had almost completed an entire intake packet for a sensory evaluation before multiple conversations led us to realize that we should first look into a full behavioral/developmental disorder evaluation that included Autism screening. 

I still feel like we have [many, many] more questions than answers, and there are so many roads different roads we could go down that it's overwhelming. I agonize over the next step, what we as parents can do differently, and what the future will hold, especially when it comes to self care. Blessedly, we've already had so much help and support in the process from family and amazing friends. They encourage us and have even picked up the phone to make critical calls to local agencies when the weight of the confusion and frustration felt too paralyzing to take one more blind step. 

I'm hoping we will eventually find a good match, someone who can work with him and also teach us as parents how to help him navigate the most difficult parts of life. Ultimately I see our role as ensuring that he's not held back from sharing his gifts and strengths with the world; already his evaluators have highlighted his incredible knack for math and mechanics, great spatial understanding, and his very active imagination.  

We've learned a lot already, though, and I think the biggest lesson has been one many parents can relate to: learning to adjust as a parent to nourish and meet the needs of the unique God-crafted child in front of us, as opposed to making them conform to the non-existent child we might have crafted in our imagination based on our own ignorance, experiences, or inflexible expectations.

And even as I personally struggle to overcome the above challenge as a parent or figure out what should come next, it's clear that God continues to be in the smallest details. Last week at Vacation Bible School, I had two notes typed out and ready to give to the volunteers who would be working with my children. Before I could even hand the note to the young woman volunteering with my daughter's group, she said, "I used to have speaking anxiety when I was little and saw the note next to your daughter's name. How can I help make this a comfortable week for her?" And when I went to drop off our son with his group the second morning, his young helper said, "I wanted to let you know that there's a sensory story time for ASD kids on Thursdays at the library. I volunteer there every week." The fact that my kids, with their unique needs, both randomly ended up with the two young ladies most suited to care for them out of some 30+ groups just blew me away. And it gives me so much hope as we continue to work our way through the big wide world. 

As I said, we are withholding the specific details from this public forum out of respect for our children's privacy, but I am always happy talk privately and share personal experiences one-on-one. Especially since I know how difficult it is to work through these special paths of parenting without adequate support or an outlet for the emotions that come with the territory. So if you'd like to share your own experiences or want know more about this significant part of our life, feel free to use the contact form on this blog, and we can have a good chat.

“I am conscious of a soul-sense that lifts me above the narrow, cramping circumstances of my life. My...limitations are forgotten- my world lies upward, the length and the breadth and the sweep of the heavens are mine!”  
-Helen Keller

Summer Fun {And Survival}

Alternate Title: Tornadoes and Parties and Bears, Oh My

Playing catchup again--here's what we've been up to so far this summer!

Reality and the Couch
The week after school ended we (I) spent a lot of time on the big comfy couch both exhaling after the craziness and deep breathing about the fact that it was actually summer and I had three littles to entertain for the next nine weeks. Getting out my calendar to fill in the next three months--and realizing that we only had one free weekend and two free weeks during the entire summer--sorta helped. The snuggles definitely helped.

Oh yeah, and I managed to
take them on a nature walk/scavenger
hunt which entertained them for
almost an hour!

Tornadoes
Some Colorado natives (i.e. my husband) like to joke that everything west of Denver (the Rocky Mountains) is awesome, and everything east of Denver (the plains) is basically Kansas. So it shouldn't be a surprise that some years we have a slightly more active "tornado season" than other. Thankfully, Denver tornadoes are nothing like Kansas tornadoes. This year was a little more active than past years, and mid-June the was prime time for most of the activity. So we spent a few afternoons sitting in the basement and watching (or obsessing over in Marie's case) the hype on the local weather channel. Only one tornado has actually touched down, and it was a few miles east of us, and thankfully all the really damaging hail has landed east of us too. But tornado talk has been pretty much ceaseless around here. Especially amongst the boys, who play tornado (it's about as destructive as it sounds) and request tornado YouTube videos instead of bedtime stories. But the best part of it all is how Ethan still says the word: "Mommy, look at the torMADO!"

Father's Day
For Father's day weekend, our ever-young hockey player at heart wanted to take his kids the skating rink. It was fun for awhile, until Ethan fell and scraped his face, Erik ran into the boards and got a bloody nose, and then after recovering from that fell while trying to race Daddy and Marie and got a nice goose egg. Nothing that couldn't be remedied with some snack bar therapy, though.

The next day, the kids assaulted presented their Daddy with cards and breakfast in bed. Then we went to our very first West Point Society of Denver picnic (made me feel so old), and had some fun flashbacks with other old grads while knocking our crass masses of brass and glass together and stuff. We closed out the day with Peter's dad and mom at our house, letting the grill master cook up a feast on his updated man grill. The weekend confirmed once again that our kids are the luckiest ever to have such an incredible father!

Gymnastics Camp

One of our non-free weeks was taken up by gymnastics camp, which involved me dropping Marie and Erik off at our gym to run and flip around all morning while I skipped off with Ethan to do all sorts of one-kid chores and errands. It was a delightful(ly productive) week for all!

Summer Solstice Party
The longest day of the year happened to fall on a Saturday this year, and Peter had been talking for awhile about getting the neighbors with kids and school classmates together, because we've only lived here for two years now and we should take time to do more than wave in passing. So we had a Summer Solstice barbecue complete with some water balloon launching and s'mores. It was great fun and we can't wait to do it again.

Da Bear

The next day we were started preparing for our first family campout of the season-we had only 24 hours to pack up before we hit the road. (The campout will be its own billion-picture post, don't worry!) Anyway, Eagle Scout Peter spent quite a while over lunch teaching the kids (and me, let's be real) about bear safety: what to do if we saw one while hiking or at the campsite, etc. etc. We were still packing that afternoon when I suddenly heard guard dog Samson start growling and jumping menacingly at the front door before running to bark at the back door. Marie had just come in from playing out back; I looked out the window and after a few seconds saw what I thought was a large black dog that had gotten into our backyard, walking diagonally across it from right to left. In took only a nanosecond to realize that it was NOT AT ALL a dog rambling across our yard, it was a bear cub. At which time I locked the door, started "excitedly" yelling about the bear (pretty sure that went against the bear safety rules) and Samsonator jumped against the back door going crazy while the kids and Peter ran to look. I ran upstairs to grab my phone and call animal control (after taking a picture of course, because priorities). When I got to my phone I saw someone was calling me--our neighbor across the street, who started with, "This is going to sound really weird, but a bear just got into your backyard!" "Yeah, we just saw!" I choked out, but by the time I ran back downstairs it had climbed over our back fence and disappeared into the greenbelt. We never saw the mama bear or another cub, which is what we were really worried about. The sheriff's department said they were already on it when we called, and about an hour later we heard a pretty loud shot which we assumed was the tranquilizer. It took about as long for my heart to stop pounding. I mean, he would have been totally cute in a zoo. On the other side of my kitchen window, though, not so much. Thankfully, we didn't meet any of the cub's friends during our campout--it remained that our only bear encounter that week was in our suburban backyard.  

He's out there somewhere...
*shudder*

Definitely NOT a dog.
Source (taken by my neighbor and shared with local news)

4th of July
For the 4th we went to our town's local parade and festival, which we've done for the past two years so far.

I realized that I'd taken pictures with Ethan for the past
two years, so I'm keeping up the tradition. Crazy
to think that even though he's not a "native,"
he's spent every Independence day since
he was born right here! 

We actually had fireworks this year, unlike the past two years when there was a ban due to the dry conditions and wildfires that devastated much of the surrounding area. I guess tornadoes were our consolation prize. We found out last fall (when they rescheduled the fireworks for Oktoberfest) that we could see the them from our backyard. So the night of the 4th we had friends over for a cookout, more s'mores, and some prime fireworks viewing from the comfort of our own home. It sure beat fighting the crowds!

Thunderstorms, Aunt Chica, and Teeth. Or lack thereof.
On the 4th we found out that my sister, who had been thinking about visiting, was able to book a flight that arrived Monday night. We thought we could swing it, even though Marie had dental surgery the next day.

The tooth drama: long story, but at Marie's first appointment over a year ago, everything 'looked great' and it seemed she was in perfect dental health. We didn't get x-rays, though; if we did, we would have seen the cavities between each set of molars that could have been fixed or even prevented in her toddler years through flossing and limiting juice between meals. (Or maybe not since genetically it seems her teeth just bite). Since we didn't get x-rays, though, we didn't discover the problem until I was helping her brush her teeth this past spring, shortly before her next annual appointment. I saw two teeth with very large dark spots--not good--so I immediately took her in. Our dentist said it was too extensive for them to treat, and referred her to a pediatric dentist/specialist who told us she would need 5 crowns and two to three pulpotomies (baby root canals). Her anxiety prevents her from opening her mouth properly in scary situations like the dentist, so they also said she would be a good candidate for general anesthesia at the Children's hospital during the procedure. Naturally I was suspicious, and sought a second opinion which took more time than I'd like to admit. The second dentist said the same thing, and so we began the arduous process of deciding how to go about torturing our daughter, finally scheduling the procedure for July 8th in the dentist office with a private anesthesiologist.

Meanwhile, my sister Michaela, aka "Aunt Chica," was supposed to arrive the night before the dental torture, but this incredible storm sent her to Salt Lake City where she got to spend the night on the airport floor:

Snapped with my phone from our backyard (on rapid fire to catch the lightning of course!).

But she got a flight the next morning and Peter was able to get her from the airport and make it to the dentist just in the nick of time to help calm our little girl's nerves. I was pretty darn nervous about the whole general anesthesia aspect, but I didn't want my daughter to develop PTSD because she had to be semi-awake during such extensive torture, so I just prayed that it would all turn out well. And it did, except for the fact that the two worst teeth, where I originally saw the problems, were so far gone that they had to be pulled. So now poor girlie has three crowns and two spacers. Which none of us are too excited about, least of all her. But--as I'm trying to convince her--it's better to have them for the next 5 years until her permanent molars come in, than for the next 50 years like some grownups.

Recovery was rough at first, but after a few hours, an ice pop, and Aunt Chica's magical presence, she was finally smiling her new silvery smile and feeling better. Two gold dollars from the tooth fairy also didn't hurt!

Goodbye Crib

It's been a long time coming, but we finally traded in Ethan's crib for a big boy bed last night. He climbed out a few times when he was around 12 months old, but got scared enough those few times that he stayed put after that. So I was convinced (despite Peter's push for the toddler bed) that we would wait until Ethan's third birthday this fall for the big move. No worries, just leave it to big brother to teach him in recent months how to swing a leg up and use the rocking chair to climb down to foil my plan. The last straw was this past week when we were playing outside with the big kids and Ethan was quiet in his room taking a nap (or so I thought), when all of a sudden, there was Ethan in the garage telling me this story of how he got out of his crib:

Peter to Ethan: "Show me how you 'fly'
out of your crib."

Then the next morning he showed up in my room unannounced bright and early like it was no big deal. He'd just woken up and happily climbed out of his crib again. So I admitted that Peter was right (grr) and that we needed to move him now. I am so so sad to retire the crib to the basement for the first time ever without another baby in line to use it. But Ethan is so so happy about his new bed. Can't beat that big boy smile!

~ ~ ~

That's all for now, hope summer is treating you well! But just in case, you might want to pick up some bear mace...

A {Belated} Birthday Surprise

SO THREE MONTHS AGO... (or maybe four--and I can write that because life has been that crazy), we surprised my mom with a plane ticket to come visit the grandkids for her birthday. It also happened to be the kids' spring break, so we had a lot of time to hang out and work in a bunch of Colorado activities. The timing ended up being a little tough as it was just a really busy, tiring month for everyone involved leading up to the trip, but I'm so glad we still got to spend the time together that we had. (We all learned our lesson, and in the future we will forego the surprise and get pecific input from the giftee on such a big trip so we can maximize relaxation and quality time!).

My poor mom spent the majority of her actual birthday traveling, but got to relax a bit the next day and hang out with some very excited grandkids:

The kids had plenty of ideas about what they wanted to do with Grandma--go to the park, read books, and of course, play pretend.

Getting roped into a butterfly fairy princess
tea party with Marie!

Grandma is also from the pre-Pinterest era in which women had all sorts of super-entertaining kid activities in secret stores of their brains and could whip them out at any moment to save the day instead of having to Google/Pinterest "crafts for two year old." Exhibit A: construction paper mosaics, with mosaic 'tiles' organized by color in a muffin tin. They loved it--and in true Erik form, he designed a big elaborate mosaic chocolate chip cookie.

Later that week my mom got to see Marie ride her bike for the first time without training wheels and tag along with us to a dental appointment (such FUN!).  We then made a trip to the nearby Littleton Historical Museum which is set up as a really neat historical working village. There are live animals, an ice house, a one-room school house, a blacksmith shop, and barn, a full vegetable garden, and a working farmhouse with a chicken coup. The reenactors, if you could call them that, walk around in 18th centrury clothing and explain everything they're doing to the kids, but the cool thing is that they actually have a daily routine they kind of stick to in order to take care of the place; they're not just doing demonstrations over and over. We got to watch the cow get milked, and when we went into the farmhouse they had just made something delicious-smelling on the old iron stove. On a prvious trip we also got to see the blacksmith at work hammering some glowing hot metal and explaining the whole process to the kids. It's one of my favorite (free!!) places to take the kids now.

Little kids. Big tree.

Peter's mom also joined us for a day at the "dinosaur museum," aka the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Although it's got some really cool exhibits (like the space one), that place always drains me. And though I should have known better, I didn't consider the fact that it was spring break and every other mother in the Denver metro area would think it was a good idea to spend the day there occupying her kids. Plus there were the million school groups who weren't on spring break who thought it was a great day for a field trip. It was beyond claustrophobic and a total sensory overload for our sensory-sensitive Ookie. Never again, I tell you. But the kids loved it, as usual.

For my mom's birthday celebration the next weekend, we spent Friday night at Canvas and Corkscrews, where we scored by painting a très Colorado painting called "Looking Up." I still like my artsy mom's version of the aspens far better! We'd been looking for some aspen artwork to put above the kids reading corner anyway, so mine has a place until we find something slightly more appealing!

Then the next day the two of us had High Tea together at  The Denver Tea House while Peter and his brother took the kids to a Rockies game...it happened to be the last day the tea house was serving guests before moving to a brand new location, so we were lucky to even get a reservation! Our tea date made for some of the best moments of the trip--we had some exciting times navigating downtown public transportation, but once we got there it was delightful. We sampled a few different types of tea from their huge selection (I, of course, tried the Valentine's Day blend that tasted like chocolate) while they made us gluten and dairy-free tea sandwiches and hummus and scones from scratch. We enjoyed some some really nice conversation without interruption, too, which was a true luxury! On the way back we stopped by the beautiful cathedral, and saw that some of the confessionals were open, so we snuck in for some spiritual cleansing before heading on to the 16th Street Mall and ducking into the original Tattered Cover bookstore. (The Tattered Cover is both heaven and haven for local bookworms!) Overall it was just a really fun day.

The next day (because Saturday wasn't full enough!) we decided to go skiing. My mom has skied plenty of rough terrain in the Alps before, but it had been a good 20 years since her last jaunt, so the altitude unfortunately caught her a little off guard when we got up to the mountains. She had been fighting the altitude and dryness at our already-mile-high house pretty much the entire visit, and going up a few more thousand feet wasn't too kind on her system. So we had a bit of fun and some lunch before realizing that we needed to call it and pay a visit to the slopside urgent care. After some IV fluids and sweet oxygen she was doing better and we made it home for a good long rest before her return flight!

My favorite view driving into the
mountains on I-70, Ethan loving the gondola,
and transporting little ski bums the easy way.

Pre and post altitude sickness. We bought her a little gift
at the gas station on the way home.

Despite all of the (literal!) headaches, we loved getting to see Ma/Grandma, and we hope the next visit is both much less eventful and even more fun!

Awake bright and early, waiting and waiting and waiting
(im)patiently for grandma to emerge from the guest room!

This Mother's Day...

This Mother’s Day, there are so many things I could take for granted. I could complain about the fact that there’s an actual blizzard happening outside right now halfway through May (no really, I couldn’t joke about something so painful), or that I’m feeling under the weather, or that my toddler spent his whole “nap” screaming from his crib that he wanted to eat chips. I could gloss over (as I too often do) the reality that though the days are filled with lots of needs and wants, I’m blessed with every intangible I could ever wish for, both this Mother’s Day and every other day. I have so, so much to be thankful for. I get to spend each day with my beautiful children; my own loving, supportive mom is just a phone call away; my doting husband has spent this day and so many others spoiling me to no end.

So today, I am doing my best to cherish those things that others do not get to take for granted, and trying to lift up in prayer those who are living a very different reality. Just yesterday we learned that Peter’s young cousin passed away; I can’t help but think of his sweet mother who a day later is having to face her first Mother’s Day without her son. Our hearts are just aching for her, for her husband, and for their daughters who--instead of celebrating today--are utterly crippled with the grief of a lost son and brother.

I am thinking of all of the other mothers who, like her, are aching to spend Mother’s Day a child who is no longer here. I am thinking of all the daughters and sons who wish they could send a card or have brunch, but their mothers are aren’t on this earth. I’m thinking of those whose mothers are still living, but instead of a joyous celebration, they carry the grief and stress of strained relationships or deep hurt or failing health.

I’m thinking of all the mothers who don’t have the incredible support of a family or husband that they deserve. The moms who would give anything to spend the day with their children instead of driving off to work. The single moms who wake up alone every day and work to be everything and more for their kids and get little or no recognition in return. The mothers and children separated by distance and tragedy, the girls from Nigeria and their mothers who with every beat of their heart ache to be reunited.

As I consider all the heartache that for some will overshadow the joy of this day, I’m thankful we have the example of a heavenly mother who has been there in every way. She is a mother who personally and intimately embraced the indescribable joy of motherhood—a mother who has felt the burn of all-consuming love for the child God gave her, then just as intimately lived the heart-rending grief of holding the body of the son she carried and raised and poured her soul into—only to let him go. And through it all, she clung to the promise that God’s truth and love would win in the end. So I’m thankful that even in the raw realness of suffering and injustice of this world, even on this day that should be joyful for all but is agony for some, we can rely on the example of our Savior’s mom; we can cling to that same promise, we can lean on the same hope—that God’s love and everlasting happiness will win in the end. I’m thankful that God made motherhood such a pivotal role in the human experience; so important, in fact, that he wanted his own son to experience it in the midst of His plan to save the world. And I’m thankful that—when aligned with His will—motherhood can still be one of the most meaningful and redemptive experiences for women and children alike.

So today, though my heart is heavy for others, I am reveling in the little blessings and happy and funny moments that should always matter so much: Our little saints who are always praying for us even when I’m too busy to think of them. My Erik who said he wants to marry me when he grows up (a dream quickly and pitifully crushed by his Daddy who revealed that I’m already taken). My Marie who spent all week sneaking around making Mother’s Day projects for me. And who wrote about the day I was so weary that I put on a movie and made oatmeal for dinner as one of her favorite memories.

My Ethan who still asks to snuggle with me, and who made the observation earlier (after asking if he could pee and toot and poop on the potty) that the words “poop” and “toot” rhyme (boys and their potty humor).  My incredible husband who was not only influential in giving me the gift of my motherhood, but who supports me in word and deed every step of the way. My own mother, who has given me so many gifts and experiences that I could write a book (or ten). 

Many days and in many ways it is a hard life. Many days it is an unbelievably wonderful life. But above all, it is always, always a blessed life!