Back Dating...
June 3rd... Dinner was great. The day ended in smiles.
Dawn flew in that night & helped decorate a bit. Wendy came in the next night.
June 5th... we headed to St. Louis for Aaron's Dental School graduation. We had called everyone to see how many of us could make it... 10 of 12 showed up! We surprised him Friday night at the hotel with most everyone there. After a miserable day in the clinic it was wonderful to see him smiling. We attended the graduation the next morning then packed everyone up plus a truck & trailer of Aaron's belongings. Then headed to KC for a fun filled weekend. The kids swam & rode 4-wheelers & dirt bikes. We celebrated Adam's birthday. Eileen gave some fabulous massages. We all talked, laughed & stayed up way to late. All in all, it was a great weekend.
June 8th... Sam left for girls camp here in KC. She returned Saturday... EXHAUSTED! She had stayed up all night the last night. She quickly unpacked and repacked for girls camp in OH! It was a bit of an emotional night.
June 13th... Sam & I get a late start to the airport. When we arrive the lines are EXTREMELY LONG! There's no way we are going to make her flight checking her bag. I actually ask an agent & she tells me, "We've already had people miss flights, she can't but in line but we will rebook her on another flight." O.K. Sam is exhausted & begins to cry. I am pulling all her liquids out of the bag stuffing them in her pillow case. She doesn't want to go. I keep telling her it's ok & that she can do this. We get everything out & she's physically ready to go through security. Emotionally she's not going anywhere!
It goes a little like this, "Sam, you can do this."
"No, I can't. I don't want to go"
"Sam, you'll miss not going to camp. You'll have so much fun with Emma & Emily."
"I don't want to go."
"Yes, you do. You can do this. I'll stay right here. You can see me through the glass. I won't leave until you are on the plane."
"I don't want to."
"Sweetheart, you'll regret it if you don't. You CAN do this."
I walk her as far as they'll let me go, give her a last kiss & "you can do this." She goes through security & I see her getting her items. I call her cell phone. It must be off. I keep saying in my mind, "Sam, look at me!" I'm waving at her trying to get her attention. She finally looks up & I point to my phone. She gets her phone & calls. She begins to cry again. She gets to her gate & lines up. I tell her to ask the stewardess to help put her bag in the overhead bin. She's nervous. I reassure her someone will help her, just ask when you board. She can still see me, we stay on the phone until she boards. She'll call when she's in her seat. A few minutes later she calls. She calls again in Chicago & then when she lands in Columbus. It was a very stressful morning. I am proud to say I made it keeping my cool & all the while reassuring a scared little girl. It reminds me of my loving Heavenly Father. He's always right there. Always waiting for my "call". I often loose sight of Him & I imagine Him saying, "Look at me, focus on me, I'm right here." Always encouraging & reassuring. There are so many hard things in this life. Things that we "don't want to do" in the moment but after are always glad we did. It's trusting in a Heavenly Father that really does know. It's trusting that His plan is best, His timeline is accurate. So, I head home & Porter can't find his shoe. We run upstairs & start tidying his room. He looks up at me & asks, "Can't we just say a prayer & ask Heavenly Father to help us find it?" "That's a great idea!" We kneel by his bed and he prays. We get up & I ask him to crawl under his bed & get the toys. He immediately obeys & while under his bed calls out, "I found my shoe!" It was a great teaching moment. I stopped & we talked. I asked him why he thought he had found his shoe. He answered, "Because we prayed." I went on to explain how he was also obedient. When you are obedient Heavenly Father is able to bless you. If you had kept looking for your shoe & not obeyed you wouldn't have found it. It was a great reminder to me.
June 14 - 19... Tressa & the girls as well as Julie's kids stayed for another week. Aaron joined us for the fun & was gracious enough to extend his stay for 1 week. Andy was going to drive Sam & Casey to UT but Casey's scout camp was conflicting with the timeline. Aaron offered to stay a little longer & take Casey. Samantha after a week at camp & NO sleep was a little emotional about driving to UT without Casey. So, plans were changed & Andy drove Sam from OH to KC (THANK-YOU!). It worked out well. Sam had an extra day to recuperate & repack for the 2nd time!
June 17... Casey, Nicolas & Ryan go to Scout Camp for 11 yr. old's. Isabelle gets a dog! Actually the entire family gets a dog. Isabelle is a natural & Cache already loves her. He's Julie's dog. They moved to a new house & she is so busy. She was looking for a good home for him & offered to bring him out when she picked up her kids. It's been a great fit. He's a really good dog, black lab/German Shepard mix.
June 19th... Porter's Birthday! We celebrated before Casey left. However, Saturday we celebrated again by seeing Toy Story 3 & dropping by ToysRus.
June 20th... Father's day! This will go down as the worst Father's day ever... Ryan cooked breakfast for himself as well as everyone else. Nothing too exciting for lunch... left over taco's. We did go for a walk. However, he ended up carrying Porter on his shoulders & Victoria in his arms. No gifts... he's hoping to at least sleep in our bed together without any children!
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