long overdue

On the Saturday night before Easter as I put together the baskets I realized I had the makings of the lamest Easter ever. No fake grass. No toys or even books. Just candy. And to top it all off I had bought the dark chocolate version of my favorite Easter treat; the Mini-Eggs.

I know dark chocolate is supposed to be better for you. But when it comes to chocolate I am not interested in anti-oxidants. I am interested in creamy milk-chocolate goodness.

So I was pretty disappointed with the way things were looking for Easter morning. But then a thought occurred to me that caused me to breath a colossal sigh of relief.

Easter isn't even about candy or toys!

Our Easter turned out to be great. Cameron learned about the resurrection of Jesus Christ at church and told us all about it at home. The boys are typically easy to please and were content with their candy. Although it took some serious persuasion to convince Cameron to take some of his candy to our neighbor across the street. And the fact that it was so difficult for him made me all the more glad we did it. I had no idea he was so greedy. Maybe it's just the egocentric nature of the four year old.

Forget the dark chocolate, I wanted to eat up my adorable little boys.

Rafiki

The big birthday party was the day before Cameron's birthday so on the actual day of his birth my sister Adri and I took the boys to a place in Boise called Rafiki. It's a little on the expensive side but it was great sister-bonding time. While the boys played we sat on a couch and read magazines.

We did talk too. And tried this dance game.

Terrible picture, but it was cute.
Talk about cute... Charlie totally gets this expression from Adri.

Good times. Sisters are great. Cousins are great.

mac n cheese

The other day at Fred Meyer Cameron totally surprised me by asking for Macaroni & Cheese for dinner. I was shocked because we never eat that. We don't eat it because I never buy it. I never buy it because when I am at the grocery store I don't think to buy it. And I don't think to buy it because we never eat it. It is a cycle I have never been too keen on breaking.

Because it is, afterall, macaroni and cheese.

Under normal circumstances I would have been happy to oblige, it is practically the cheapest meal out there, second only to Ramen noodles, and it is also practically the easiest thing to make. Second only to Ramen noodles.

But since I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and I am currently reading In Defense of Food these were not normal circumstances. I'm being brainwashed you see, so when my child requested an "edible foodlike substance" for dinner I panicked.

I had already been planning to plant seeds to start my garden but I thought it would be best to include my boys. I want them to understand that food does in fact come from plants. Even if that bean seed Cameron brought home from church never grew into something we actually wanted to eat.

the root of all that kills

We had a delightful week in Spokane. We even had a special opportunity. Richard is such a frequent dweller at the Davenport Inn that he earned a free night's stay in the Presidential Suite. Ooh, ahh! 3,000 square feet of luxury. By the way, that is twice the size of our house.

The bellboy informed us that the last guest he settled into the suite was Tony Bennet. Huh. Richard was sure that his tip was terribly inferior to that of Mr. Bennet. Oh well.

We don't have cable at home and I rarely keep up on the news. But with lots of free time and no meals or laundry I was able to get my fair share of FoxNews, MSNBC, and CNN. It was enough news to last the rest of the year. But there were three big stories that were sort of a dark cloud over my glamorous hotel stay.

#1. Amidst SEC investigations and company failure, the CFO of Freddie Mac commits suicide leaving behind a wife a young daughter.

#2. Drowning in debt and accountable to investors whose money he poorly managed, a New York lawyer kills himself, his wife and his two teen daughters in a Baltimore hotel room.

#3. An all-american medical student, engaged to be married this summer is arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery and murder.

As I lay in that ridiculously large bed I couldn't help but think over and over "How can I teach my children that money doesn't matter?" I don't mean to be naive, I know that it matters. But not that much.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the dual shower heads and victorian motif. But I couldn't help feeling that it was all... empty. Unfulfilling was the word Richard used.

I know that money doesn't buy happiness. I know that logically speaking. I especially know that after pondering endlessly these terrible tragedies. Yet, it is

so.

hard.

for me to not want wealth. Most of the time I want to be rich. I won't deny it.

I wish I could say that my trip to Peru cured me of materialism and greed. Sadly, I am not cured. It did make me very grateful for what I have. But I pray that I will be able to conquer what remains of my gluttony before something terrible happens as Heaven's way of really teaching me a lesson.

and then what?

I feel like I have been able to do and blog about two amazing things within the last month. Anything I blog about now will just seem ordinary. I'm okay with ordinary.

This week we are in Spokane with Richard. We are enjoying the pool, the cable, and the maid.

Race to Robie Creek

I don't really know what to say about this. It was my first half-marathon and it has a repuation as the toughest half-marathon in the northwest. I'll be honest, I was dreading it. But I surprised myself and came within a few minutes of my goal. My goal was 2hrs 15 mins and my official time was 2:18. I was 311th out of 1057 women. I'll take that. It was quite a thrill and it was great to have Richard there at the finish. I want to sincerely thank everyone who promised to cheer for me from afar. Your support and Sean's power-gel got me through.

there was a birthday, and another

The day after I got home from Peru was Eli's birthday. Cameron's birthday is two days later so we sandwiched a party in between. It was a "Curious George" birthday party and I went all out on the cake. And by that I mean I bought it at Pastry Perfection which not only gauranteed it would look good but that it would taste good too. Neither of those were a given if I had tried to make it myself.

I had no candles. I think next time I will ask P.P. to provide them. That is what I am paying for afterall, for them to do all the work. Leaving the country for 10 days had me a little scattered at birthday time. You can see from the mayhem though, that the boys had nothing to complain about.

My sister Adri drove up from Las Vegas and both Cameron and Eli were thrilled to have their cousin Charlie there. A birthday party with only adults is okay but really great with another kid.

My mom made these capes, and they were a big hit with the little guys.

Here is birthday boy Cameron, 4 years ago.

Here is Eli, 2 years ago.

You know what I am going to say... it goes by so fast.

superherios

I suppose it was only a matter of time. But I have no complaints about Superman. He is a superhero for the ages. Or a superHERIO that is. (Cameron pronounces Herio like Cheerio.)

The boots I guess are the closest thing Cameron could find to whatever you might call the red slipper-like footware Superman sports. By the way, I found this information about Superman on Wikipedia fascinating. It turns out there is so much more to him than strength, integrity, power, kindness, and unashamed love for his dear mother. Hard to imagine, I know.

Much has happened since I returned from Peru. But I have no desire to blog chronologically, so forgive my randomness.

introspection

I sense the novelty of my experiences in Peru has worn off. I hate to judge my posts by the response I get, but it's hard not to. Maybe I need to ban the comments again, 0 is just such a heartbreaking number.

So this will be my last, but dearest to my heart, Peru post. I have enjoyed writing my thoughts and I appreciate all who read this and justify me in sharing.

What most affected me this trip was the way I saw my weaknesses raw and exposed. This was in part because of the maturity and caliber of the people around me; but also in part due to circumstances. I realized how much I lack and felt a tremendous desire to be better. Let me share an example.

The group I traveled to Peru with and spent the majority of my time with was the medical group. The group I had originally intended to be with was the dental group and they were more than willing to take me with them to the clinics each day. I was torn because I had bonded with the medical group and I felt like a part of them. But I knew my skills would be better utilized with the dental group who all knew eachother well, and I felt very out of place. The groups were going separate ways and I had to decide who to go with.

I called Richard from my hotel room in a panic the first morning. I am totally incapable of making decisions and I desperately needed his advice. He said this. "Just remember who you are there for. It's not about you, it's about them. Make a choice, make it the right choice and put a smile on your face."

There is amazing power in the Serenity Prayer. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

I can't say enough about acceptance. What stuck with me about Richard's advice was that my time there was so short. I couldn't waste it away in anxious turmoil about being here or there, with these people or those. I really needed to stop worrying about what I would miss or how I would feel around strangers. I also learned that I couldn't waste away the days being annoyed with people or irritated with a change of plans. The people around me were my best examples of this and as I observed their flexibility and forgiveness I knew I needed to be more easy going and charitable.

I needed courage. There were moments where I was completely out of my comfort zone but I knew that if I didn't take action, step forward or set aside my inhibitions I would regret it later.

There is something Richard always says that used to drive me crazy. He says "It is what it is." I've always wanted to shout back at him "It isn't what it should be!" But that is the whole point. Even though it isn't what it should be, it is what it is. There are so many things that I desperately want to control or change that are beyond my power. God grant me the wisdom to know the difference.

Being in Peru put me in a situation where I wanted to capitalize on a short opportunity without getting frustrated, hurt or angry. Richard's phrase came into my mind over and over while I was there and it was great practice for me to set aside the problems where I could not intervene and have a good time in spite of them.

What I want most after returning is to carry that same attitude with me. To let go of the injustice in the world and the faults of others that occupy my thoughts far too frequently.
I want to enjoy all life's experiences with the same urgency that I felt in Peru, focusing on the positive always and letting go of the negative immediately.

gratitude

I feel like this post will just state the obvious. But let it be stated. Of course it won't be all inclusive, but I'll do my best. I am grateful for:


- Toilets, flushing toilets and best of all toilets where you can throw your toilet paper in them rather than in a garbage can full of others used toilet paper.

- Paved roads, sidewalks, streets, etc.

- Modern technology.
- Easy access to healthcare for myself and my children, and especially the ability to get freedom from pain almost immediately. (I don't want to get political here, and I know that our healthcare system is broken, but we are lightyears ahead of these people.)

- Disposable diapers and other disposable personal hygiene products. (The women get my drift.)

- Clean water and safe-to-eat produce.

- Sheets and beds with nothing living in them.

- Primary education available to everyone regardless of money and social class, and higher education available to many.
- Last but certainly not least, I am grateful to live in the United States of America. This covers a great many individual things I am thankful for that include good public safety, great scientific knowledge, good welfare, opportunity, many freedoms, government programs that look out for my well-being, city governments that are motivated to keep communities clean and beautiful, and so forth.

your donations

I promised pictures of the children that were the recipients of all the clothing, blankets and shoes that people contributed. I am sad to say I wasn't able to take a picture each time of every gift. The clothing in particular and the larger shoe sizes were distributed by someone else when I was doing something else so I apologize. I also left some blankets with a group who stayed after most of us left because they were going to a hospital and orphanage. So some of the pictures weren't taken by me.

Shoes from Chandra and Abby.

The mock-crocks were sponsored by my mother-in-law Julie, and my sister Adri. Close-toed shoes were a real blessing for these kids in the muddy rainy villages.


I'm not sure who contributed this hat and these purple socks...

This hat was made on a loom by my ambitious mother.

A blanket from Lori.

A blanket from Krista.


Thank you again everyone!