A Mountain Getaway

We’ve been hoping and planning to build on to our house for my mom and Bill, and the buildings plans have now been submitted to the city and we are awaiting approval.  We needed to tent the house before construction to get rid of termites and other pests.  It was a big process of bagging all food, including what was in the fridge and freezer, and sealing it in the special bags provided for this.  We had to board our pets at our local veterinary hospital and leave the premises for a few days.

Because of Covid-19, most hotels are closed to vacationers.  Thankfully, our friends the Baimas have a beautiful home in the mountains, at Green Valley Lake, and we were able to stay there for 3 nights.  

Ken, Brad and Lila did some fishing at the lake.  It was so calm and peaceful!  

We went on a hike.  The Baima’s backyard is up against the national forest so there is a great view with hiking trails.  

Ken was very proud of himself for climbing the rocks and reaching the top. He has lost a lot of weight and muscle tone due to cancer treatments, and he is winded and fatigued easily.  So, this was a big accomplishment.

Brad led the way because he has been to the Baima’s cabin for other events like Peter’s birthday party and our church’s winter camp.  

The Baimas allowed us to shoot their BB guns, a fist for the girls and I.  

Since we are technically still in school (distance learning), we still had our work to do and our zooms to attend.  We also watched movies and made s’mores at the fireplace every night.

It was a very nice getaway especially since we are at the 1 year mark of Ken’s leukemia diagnosis.  It felt good to be somewhere else together, enjoying nature.  

Mother’s Day Weekend

This has been quite a special weekend!  Lots of really special events...

On Saturday Sky found out that she made the Sonora Drill Team.  She’s been working very hard on her audition routine, which had to be pre-recorded and submitted virtually because of Covid-19.  The coach and team captains drove to our house with a huge sign and Sonora face mask to welcome her to the team.  She is so excited.

I was able to spend Mother’s Day with my mom for the first time in 9 years.  It was very nice.  We watched the church service together and then had Panera delivered for lunch.  

The kids and Ken showered me with gifts including a new book, homemade salt scrub, gum, coffee gift card, flowers, candles, new popsicle makers (Brad), and a hammock.  I’ve already been enjoying lying on the hammock while reading.  The kids like it too.  

Ken preached his first church message since his cancer diagnosis almost a year ago.  It was pre-recorded also but it felt like a significant accomplishment.  He then spent Monday in the recording studio at BIOLA, as it was his first day back from disability.  So much to be thankful for! 

Lila’s piano performances

Because of Covid-19, Lila’s piano guild had to be recorded and sent to the judge, rather than her sitting with a judge in person.  She learned 10 songs by memory (no notes to look at) and played them all in one day.  Awards and acknowledgments are usually done at a recital at the end of May, which will most likely also be virtual.  The links below are her recordings:

Lila piano

Lila piano 

Lila piano

8 years later

I just re-discovered my old blog from 8 years ago.  Why did I stop blogging?  I think facebook updates substituted for the more labor-intensive blog.  A lot has happened since 2012! 
About a year ago, on May 23, Ken was diagnosed with AML, an aggressive form of leukemia.  He spent much of 2019 battling this terrible cancer and ultimately ended up at City of Hope in October, receiving a bone marrow transplant from his brother Brian, who was a perfect match.  I did blog through much of that journey on a site called caring bridge.
Starting in mid-March it was determined by the CDC that a nationwide quarantine must happen to stop the pervasive spread of a deadly disease, Covid-19.  So, just as Ken was getting strong enough to come back to society, he was put back in quarantine and all of us with him.  For most people in our country, this has been a time of distress and upheaval, but after battling cancer last year, I just don't see it that way.  It feels to me like a gift to be able to be home together, to catch our breath, so to speak.  There is concern, of course, about Ken's frail immune system and his survival possibility should he be exposed to Covid-19, but overall, it feels like a time of rest and re-connection. 
We will see what the future holds now.  But, as I liked to say in high school, we don't know what the future holds, but we know WHO holds the future. 

Children's Museum

 We recently went to the children's museum with our friends, the Francis'.  Our kids have loved this museum since day one and for the past few years Mimi (Ken's mom) and Grandpa Gene have paid for a membership for our family.

 Sky has always enjoyed the dress up area where you can sing and dance on a small stage.

 There were lots of shows...

 with multiple outfits...

 It was very entertaining!

They had a new exhibit of science and I thought these stuffed animal germs were very clever.

They even went on a road trip...

Summertime Fun

 At the beginning of the summer, we made a list of places we'd like to go during this summer.  One of them was the Irvine Regional Park/Orange County Zoo.  Sky is getting very interested in horses and they have horse back riding there.  Even Brad and Lila got in on the fun!

 Sky was grinning from ear to ear!

 We met some church friends there and had a fun day hanging out with them.  Below some of the kids were measuring their "wingspan" compared to that of certain birds.

 They have a petting zoo there and they even had a goat named Dora.  Lila really enjoyed the goats!

 We fed the goats too.

Another item on our to-do list was to go out for shaved ice.  Shave It! is a really cool shaved ice place and the kids were so happy to go there.

 Soooo yummy!

 And then there's our sweet cat Peanut.  There have been some recent coyote sitings around here so we hope that she can stay safe!  She is such a great cat for the kids!

What else have we been up to lately?  My days tend to blur together but I'll do my best to try and remember some of the recent happenings.
My brother and his wife Michelle had their second baby, a boy named Nate, a couple of weeks ago.  He is such a cutie and I am so excited to go and visit them and meet him in October!
We started homeschooling again on Monday, with Brad in kindergarten, Sky in 3rd grade, and Lila doing some preschool activities.
Brad was recently evaluated for speech and, thankfully, they gave me some take-home activities to do with him (no future appointments) and said that his speech development is withing the range of normal.
Ken has had orientation this week and starts teaching again on Wednesday.  He will be teaching an overload this semester.
We hosted a BBQ for our home group last Friday.  We will start meeting again every Friday starting in Sept.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the Lord will work in our group this year!
One of my students from MVCA in Cincinnati will be a freshman at BIOLA this year so I'm hoping to connect with her sometime soon.
I will be speaking on a panel for MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) on the topic of organization this fall.  Not sure I'm qualified but maybe I'll learn some new stuff in the process.
I am still on my weight loss journey although I seem to have hit a plateau and am a bit frustrated.  I started wearing a pedometer so hopefully that will inspire me to move more and be more active.
We (meaning Ken) repainted the kids' rooms this summer.  I'll probably blog about that at some point and include some pictures of the new colors.  They turned out really well.
I guess that's all for this side of the country.  Hope everyone is staying cool (it's been brutally hot here) and enjoying their last bits of summer.

More Summer Blessings

 Sky has wanted to take harp lessons for about 2 years now and a girl from our church offered to do some introductory stuff with her this summer.  Sky LOVED it!

 We recently hosted a MOPS water/bubble day.  It was lots of fun!

 Ken had built that white PVC pipe sprinkler thing last year and he hooked it all up again and it still works!

 The water might LOOK clean but by the end of the day, I think there was more grass than water in the pool.

 This picture is hard to see but some baby birds were hatched in a nest on a beam on our patio.  They were very cute!