My Girl

This past week and a half has been pretty difficult in our house. I received notice that J will not be going to see her dad this summer. Since this is the 3rd time she had been planning to come and then been told she wasn't, it was devastating for her. My girl is angry and hurt and confused about what is happening. Since she is 12 now she is much more aware and less easy to distract from the pain. She doesn't understand why her father doesn't want to fight for her and sacrifice for her. And this comes after her other father figure did not meet her needs and hurt her heart. A girl gets her pattern for the men in her life from her father, so what is my girl going to do when that time comes? My girl is also a very independent, introverted person. She has some friends but doesn't actively seek out social time with them. If people aren't doing exactly what she wants, she's not interested in hanging out with them. My girl could probably use some counseling, but she hates the idea of sharing her thoughts with a stranger. She even shuts down when I try to talk to her and it takes some work to get her to share what she's feeling or to let me try to comfort her.

So all of this means that my responsibility for my girl is huge. I am her mother and all that entails. I am her father figure and totally ill equipped for that job. I am her social life and social secretary if she's going to do anything without me. I am her counselor and adviser without any of the training that comes with that. Please pray for my girl and pray for me. She's so wonderful and has so much potential but her life has not been easy.

Hollywood!

If you couldn't tell, I've decided to be more visual with my posts. I've also decided that I would include some more of the fun things we're doing. Since J is done with school, I'm trying to make sure we get out of the house to do something fun at least once every day - since we are both very comfortable sitting around reading, watching TV, and being on the computer, this is a necessary step. So far, we've gotten to do a lot of great things. We have an annual pass for Six Flags and the adjacent water park, so we've gone there. We've gone to the park or the mall or the movies. We've played softball, gone on hikes, and played at the beach. Last week we got to do something J has been wanting to do for a very long time.

 I remember going when I was around her age and just being disappointed at the squalor of the town, but she was fascinated and loved every minute of it.
 

She took pictures of the stars of everybody she recognized. And even some she didn't - for some reason Ozzy Osbourne's star is on our camera.

 Of course we went to Grauman's Chinese theater to look at the footprints and handprints. She wasn't as fascinated with those, but the nearby mall was definitely a highlight - she has decided we're going to come and see a movie at the theater there. We also had to stop for some refreshment - I got a cupcake at Sprinkle's (one of the first cupcake shops in the U.S.)

 And she got some fudge before we headed for our next destination - Huntington Beach and a campfire with friends from church.

It was a fabulous day.

6th Grade Promotion

On June 3rd, J was promoted from elementary school - which means that I am now the parent of a junior higher. Her promotion was very nice - one of the mothers loves doing balloon displays and her daughter was promoted, so guess what the decorations were! It was very interesting to see the different outfits the kids wore - they definitely didn't look like they belonged in elementary school anymore. J looked gorgeous, of course, and was very proud and excited to move on the the next chapter in her life.

 I think we're ready for the next chapter of our education.

Camping

Over Memorial Day weekend, J and I went camping with a bunch of people from our church. This is the 4th time we've gone - either Memorial Day or Labor Day. We go to a rustic campground in the mountains (pit toilets only, no showers) and spend the day hanging out, hiking, playing the freezing mountain water, making S'mores (we used the gigantic marshmallows this time which are much more fun). We chat, play with fire, play games, get dirty, and try to stay warm. We planned to stay from Friday night to Monday afternoon, but Sunday got just a little too cold for us. The sun was out, but we were in our ski jackets, standing a few feet from the fire, and still feeling a bit chilly. So we came home early. It was a great weekend, though.

 It's amazing how gourmet the meals can get in the mountains. We tend to just bring basics that we can toast over the campfire or eat cold, but other people have whole kitchen setups they bring (we often "borrow" their gear and eat their leftover food, yummy!)

Michigan

A couple weeks ago, we had the chance to go to Michigan to celebrate the life of my grandma and to spend time with family we haven't seen in almost four years. It was an amazing time. We got to spend some time in Holland, MI right after the Tulip Festival, so the gorgeous tulips (one of my favorite flowers) were in abundance.

My grandmother's funeral was beautiful and touching. It's so great knowing that each one of my grandparents were so loved and appreciated for who they were. They each made a difference in the lives of the people around them, and those are pretty big shoes to fill.