Happy

Good good things happening with Adam.  He had a GREAT time at Scout Camp and strengthened his friendships with the rest of his quorum.  There was one slight issue when he tried to go off a jump in a wheelbarrow and had a spectacular wipe-out...I still haven't seen the video of that but have been told by multiple people how brutal it was.  Heh heh heh, stupid kid.  He has some bruises, and deserves them. (A wheelbarrow, really?!)  But otherwise, it was a great week for both Sam and Adam and that was an answer to prayers.
Anyway, I think we finally have the meds evened out.  It has been 10 months and 5 different meds, but we are finally here, I think.  I say I think because with the changing hormones of a teenage boy, the meds have to change a lot too but where we are right now is GREAT!!
We are so blessed.  Megan says that one of the main reasons she decided to serve a mission was so our family, and Adam specifically, would be blessed.  I love her!  What an amazing young woman!  Also, we have been exercising our faith - I have been going to the temple as often as I can, sometimes weekly, and putting Adam's name on the prayer roll.  We have been fasting, praying, and in general, laying our faith at the Lord's feet.  I know He has been hearing and answering our prayers.  I am so incredibly grateful. There will still be hiccups and life can't be perfect, but for now, we are so happy!

Have I mentioned how much I love my kids?  And how thankful I am for them?  So blessed.
  

Girls week

This morning at 4:00, I sent both boys off to Zion's camp...which I think is just a glorified version of scout camp only with some religious stuff thrown in.  I could be wrong.  I haven't ever participated in Zion's camp before.  Anyway, there was a lot of preparation that went into this week.  I'm not talking about packing clothes or buying of supplies, although there was that too.  I'm talking about all the pep-talks and prayers.  This week will be the first time Adam has been away from home since his stint in Aurora Vista.  He will be in charge of taking his own meds.  He will be on his own to deal with his social anxiety.  In a way it is good practice for his mission (yes, he still plans on serving a mission...might be a little later than other boys but I'm ok with that).  He was excited to go until he walked in on us talking on the phone with the leader going with them.  We felt that we needed to give him the head's up about Adam's bipolar and see if he could just check in with Adam to make sure he was taking his meds.  It wasn't that long ago that Adam was threatening to quit taking them, so I didn't want him to look at this week as a great opportunity to try that!  Also, we got him special permission to take his phone in case he gets hard core anxiety and needs to be talked through it.  He didn't want someone checking up on him - said he didn't need a babysitter.  I understand him feeling uncomfortable with that but the bottom line is, he needs someone right now.  Plus, if I was the leader, I would want to know what I was dealing with.
And then there is Sam.  Sam gets homesick.  He is so socially awkward that it is painful.  So he misses the unconditional love and acceptance that he gets at home and wants it when he feels like he doesn't fit in.  He has been treated badly, but really no more than other boys.  We had to pep-talk the heck out of him - and even then it almost wasn't enough.  Frankly, the kid is 13 years old.  He needs to man up.  I am getting pretty sick of the clinginess!  I am hoping that he makes some friends, strengthens friendships that he already has, and sees that he doesn't need mom and dad to be happy.  There has been a certain amount of enabling here, I am trying to counter that.
So, Chad gave them both blessings.  Say what you want about it, it is just scout camp, right?  But don't judge.  It was a sweet family moment, and afterward, they seemed calm and happy.  Sophie had some questions about the Priesthood.  It was a learning experience for all of us.  And then I had to get the boys out of bed at 3:25 am to get them to the church on time to catch their rides.  I'm feeling hung over!  But they were fine, even excited, so I'm not too worried.  They're going to have a great week.

So its just me and Sophie this week, and she is certain to get bored.  But I am REALLY enjoying the girl time with her.  We went on a walk this morning, very good for me, and had a good talk.  I  am taking advantage of this girl time to talk to her about who she is and what she stands for.  I am sneaking in little comments about the gospel every time I can, without seeming preachy.  We have all kinds of activities planned, from crafts to movies to play dates and special lunches.  I love that girlie and I want her to grow up as strong and faithful as her older sister.  I also want her to know that I love her so much and I want us to be besties just like me and Meg.  No taking a break this week, it will be packed with Sophie specialness.  She deserves it, she is a GREAT kid!  

There's a hole in my heart.

Last Saturday, Meg left the MTC for Fiji.  Missionaries are allowed to call home from the airport and are given a 15 minute phone card...so I was one super excited Mama!  She told us that she would call around 5:00pm.  That came and went.  So did 6:30pm.  At 7:00, Chad called the MTC to see if she had really left.  She had.  Finally, at 7:15pm, we got the phone call.  It was so sweet to hear her voice!  After she used up the 15minutes, she called us back again with another card she had purchased from the bookstore...and when she used that one up, she used her ATM card.  Haha, we talked for 3 HOURS!!!  It was the best phone call of my life.  She spoke Fijian to us and wow, is it a funny-sounding language!  We talked about the MTC, and who she saw there, and her calling there, and then we talked about all the news from home, and she talked to each of the kids, and she was so spiritual.  And so excited!  After 3 hours (most of which was monopolized by ME), we kind of ran out of things to talk about, and it was getting close to her boarding time, so we said goodbye.  I got a little teary but I tried to hold it in until we got off the phone.  And then she flew for 15 hours, then caught a shuttle and rode it for 4 hours to get to Suva and the mission home.  She completely missed Sunday, since Fiji is 19 hrs ahead of us.  And my heart was aching.  And every day I get slammed in the pit of my stomach with the knowledge that my best friend is far far away and I won't get to see her for 17 months.  Oh, it is bittersweet!  But I am trying to focus on the missionary miracles that we are seeing here and there.  Here and there.  At least I'm not crying anymore.

We're boycotting Pickles Deli

Last Thursday, Adam went around to all of the places he applied asking if they had received his applications and also if they were hiring.  It was amazing, but he got asked in for an interview at Pickles (one of our very favorite deli restaurants because you can get just about any food you want, prepared any way you want.  They even threw chocolate chips in Sophie's waffles when she requested it.  You don't find that in a restaurant very often.).  The interview went well, and about two hrs later, they called him to say that he was hired!  We were all dancing and very happy.  But then a thought came to me...did Adam make it very clear that he would not be able to work Sundays?  He called back and told them that, and they said no problem, he didn't have to work Sundays and could he please start at 9:30 Monday morning?  Again, we were so excited (me more than anybody else).  But then, 15 minutes later, the Pickles manager called and fired Adam, saying that they had talked to the boss and he told them that they specifically needed someone who could work Sundays.  I think Adam is the first person in history to be hired and fired in 15 minutes.  Truly, that was SO unprofessional of Pickles.  Why didn't they read on his application that he wouldn't be available on Sundays.  And why did they say its ok when he called to confirm it?  I was and am actually pretty crushed.  That boy is taking up so much of my time and mental/emotional energy that I was enjoying the idea of spending more time with Sam and Sophie while he was at work.  Stupid Pickles.  Also, when being faithful about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, there are blessings, right?  I thought that the blessing would be getting a job that was good and right for Adam.  But Chad pointed out that maybe the blessing is that Adam shouldn't have a job right now.  He will have a lot of things on his plate in the fall - he tried out for and made the school choir, and there's cross country, and a full schedule of classwork.  And there is only 1 2/3 months left until school starts...so I am trying to have faith.  My faith is tested every single day.

Working hard to find work.

I spent three hours this afternoon driving around Newbury and T.O. looking for a job for Adam.  It was exhausting.  We must have applied at 10 different places, and if you've ever filled out job applications, you know how long that takes, and what a pain it is.  My arm aches, and I only actually filled out 4 of them (Adam's writing is pathetic).  Sheesh.  Now I am praying as hard as I can that he will find a job.  We will be back out there tomorrow.  And it is a lucky thing I went with him - he was exhausted after two hours.  Go, Adam, Go!
(Also, anyone know of a job opening for a high school student who can't/won't work on Sundays?)

A new calling

Today I got a new calling.  I was called and sustained within 15 minutes...my head is still spinning.  But I am so excited!  I get to serve with women that I admire and like, and I get to work with 12-13 year old girls.  The calling?  2nd counselor in the YW presidency.  It has been 10 years since I served in YW, and I have wanted back in for years.  I wanted to serve while Meg was in YW but it wasn't to be.  Which was fine, because if I had been in there, she wouldn't have become the awesome woman that she is - the Lord knows what is best.  

A calling in YW is super busy but really rewarding!  I look forward to getting to know those 15 Beehives and learning all that they have to teach me.  They'll think it is the other way around, but I know the truth.  The truth is that the learning has already begun. :o)

Sophie was so upset when they released me from my calling as Activity Day leader.  She thought, for some reason, that I had chosen to be released and asked for this new calling.  She pushed me away in tears and wouldn't speak to me all of Sac. meeting.  But I explained to her that callings come from the Lord.  I didn't make the choice, but the Heavenly Father did.  And I explained that she could come to our activities (since Chad is involved in YM, and obviously, Adam and Sam are there too).  When I was set apart, the Bishop mentioned that Sophie would be able to come to the activities and learn from the older girls.  I peeked and Sophie was smiling big.  Our bishop is so great.  

I love this ward.  It is a pleasure to serve here.  I've had three callings in the past year that we've lived here, and every one has been great.      

Why is my power bill so high and it isn't even July yet?

Everybody who lives in Ventura County CA knows, June is a gloomy month.  We call it June Gloom, and it is in the lower 70's (there is steam rising off my pool in the mornings!), and overcast almost the entire month.  It is not summer weather at all.  And yet, the schools let out for the summer between June 7-15.  WHAT is the point, I ask you?  Nobody wants to go swimming or to the beach when it is so dang cold.  My suggestion is that the last day of school should be the very end of June, and the first day of school should be the last day of September, when it is so hot and the kids come home hot and sticky and want to swim.  Where is the logic of the current schedule?!
You may be wondering why I am whining about this since most of my kids are homeschooled.  Well, we do our homeschooling through a great charter school and of course, their programs start on August 23rd, and end on June 7.  I need to talk to them about that.
Anyway, I got the power bill yesterday and about passed out.  I don't even want to say how much it was, you would all pass out too.  The pool is probably the biggest offender, but it wasn't this expensive in the winter, and we run the filter about the same amount of time every day.  Also, think about all the extra power that is used at Christmas when we run all those decorative lights?  Is it possible that the power company is jacking up the cost of electricity on the same schedule as the school year?  Sounds logical.  And lame.  So it really scares me what that bill will be in August and September when it is REALLY summer!