Weird title, I know….but that’s just how I’m feelin’ on this extremely cold evening.  Today’s been an emotional roller coaster from the very beginning.  I really just need sleep, but sleep is something that’s easy to put on the back burner these days.  Today’s thrilling ride started when I went to pick up Jaden from his class at church this morning.  He goes to said class while we’re in church/choir and small group.  Apparently, he had done something (I’m still not sure what because I was met at the door by his teacher who just let out a big, long story, and in the rush of things, I kinda heard Charlie Brown’s teacher talking, as Jaden ran to me, of course, still sobbing….).

First, let me get one thing straight.  My kids are not perfect; in fact, they can be downright bratty.  I will tell you that, not afraid to say it, not afraid to admit it.  It’s just a fact of life.  However, I was NOT happy to hear that Jaden had been sitting in a sort of time out for most of that second classtime (still not sure how long, I just know it was a very long time) because he wouldn’t apologize???  We still have yet to find out the whole story.

Secondly, he is 3.  I am working with him consistently on saying he’s sorry when he does something, and he’s learning.  He still doesn’t quite understand all the way, though.  I just don’t get it….if he was being that bad, why did they not come to get us?  That’s what we are there for….that’s what we want them to do if he’s acting up….we are his parents, after all.  In fact, Dan was working with the littles close by this morning and could have easily been there in a flash.  Apparently, they’ve also been letting Jaden go potty (we aren’t potty training yet because he hasn’t been ready), and he, of course, takes his diaper off and runs out to let them know he went.  This was news to us this morning when Dan dropped him off.  His teacher wasn’t happy, but if he still wears a diaper….hmmm….LOL.

So, both before and after, we had news about our child….we felt like parents of the year, of course….and I’m writing this mostly to get it out.  It’s so hard being a parent, isn’t it?   I just kindly thanked his teacher, as I tried to get him together and deal with picking him up, so I never even had the chance to truly find out what exactly happened today.  However, I will find out, and maybe it’s not a big deal.  Maybe it’s another area we need to work with him on.  I can see this post is becoming just pure rambling, so maybe I should stop….it’s the lack of sleep talking.:)

I guess I’m just trying to say….if you’re feeling like things are spiraling out of control, they probably are.  You’re not alone, though.  If you feel like mother of the year right now….well, join my ranks.:):)  This week, my one goal as a parent is to try to be even more consistent with discipline, plus get to the bottom of exactly what happened in his class.  I am frustrated, mostly at myself, but also with my child and a teensy bit with his teacher.  Probably more so with myself, though, because I’ve noticed that Jaden’s becoming more and more unruly lately….it’s as if he skipped the terrible twos and went straight into the horrible threes.  He’s the type of child that when he does something he shouldn’t, he really needs an adult to get down on eye level and make him look you in the eye, so that he “gets it.”  He needs that extra one on one time, that attention.  He’s so different from Jacob; Jacob, all we ever had to do was give him the evil eye, and he was instantly apologetic and in tears. LOL  He’s still that way.

I will remember, though, that as moms, we are going through this together.  Not only that, but while in small group this morning, I was encouraged to truly pray for my children; it was a gentle reminder to do something I’ve really not been doing consistently.  My mom also reminded me tonight that even though it’s hard right now….it will pay off, and it will be rewarding later on.  I can’t see it yet, Mom, but I do believe you.  You raised four of us; I think I can safely trust your word.:)  I don’t know how you got through all those years with us….:)

Here’s to a great week, Mamas….persevere.

Mr. Jaden just came up to me after watching out the window, and he was trying to tell me something.  To my ears it sounded like, “Hockapoo…one hockapoo.”  LOL

Finally, after really listening and rearranging it in my brain, I realized, “Oh!  Helicopter?”

Jaden: “Yeah!  One hockapoo!”  LOL

I love when little babes are learning to put their words together.

As parents there are, God forbid, times when our children are sick and need more attention than what they can get at home.  Sometimes children have to be hospitalized, and when they do, Ronald McDonald House is a great resource and support for families going through an illness with a child, especially when it comes to finding a place to stay so far away from home.  My nephew Trey stays at a Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan every time he goes back for scans.  I know it’s been a wonderful way for their family to connect with other parents and families going through similar things and to participate in different projects and events with the kids, just to help get their minds off of the illness, even if just for a little bit.

Ronald McDonald House Charities are one way that you can shine your light to other families who just need all of the encouragement and support that they can get, particularly when going through a dark valley in their lives, such as a diagnosis of neuroblastoma or leukemia.  There are ways to volunteer at your local Ronald McDonald House or even donate.

McDonald’s sent me the following information on a way that you and your family can help, as well….

Right now McDonald’s U.S. restaurants are donating proceeds from Happy Meal and Mighty Kids Meal sales to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). This ongoing donation will help benefit more than 11,000 sick and critically ill children and their families each day. As part of the fundraiser, McDonald’s has brought the new RMHC fundraiser to life online through a sharable “Make Family Time Happy Time” online application, where families are encouraged to pledge minutes of “happy time” together and share their own creative activities with other families via McDonald’s Facebook page or their personal blogs. Here’s how to get involved:

• Visit McDonald’s Facebook page to download the application and participate in the campaign.
• You can select from an existing family time activity provided on the application, or you can submit your own tip and pledge to help RMHC.
• McDonald’s will donate one penny to RMHC for each minute pledged, with a goal of reaching 1 million minutes and $10,000 to use towards family time activities for RMHC guests.

This is a fun, interactive way to get involved, especially if you have young children….I know that it’s not as easy to actually volunteer somewhere when you have littles, but that’s ok.  There are plenty of other ways that you can help and encourage others.  One more way that you can help, is to vote for RMHC on their Members Project.  This could help them to win $200,000 towards helping even more families who are in need.  You can follow RMHC on Facebook and @RMHC on Twitter.

Don’t forget to shine your light!

(Note:  I am working towards making Shine Your Light focused more heavily on the fight against human trafficking.  If you know of organizations or links that might be helpful, I would love to know about them.  Thanks for reading!)

Just to continue my journal of our recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado….Saturday, August 21, 2010

We just about froze to death last night; I knew I needed to bring extra blankets, but we’re questioning whether we brought enough.  Finally, this morning, I woke Jaden up and had him come snuggle with Mommy, since he was cold too; he always manages to get out from under his blankets no matter what.  Those sleeping bags we have definitely don’t make the cut.

When we were brave enough to climb out from the covers, it really wasn’t that bad outside; it gets down in the 40′s at night, but the sun was shining right on our campsite, so it was warm this morning.  There were mountains all around us, and we were basically on the side of a wooded hill with tent sites up in the cliffs and rocks.  The boys have actually made a little fort up in the woods; I think they’ve just added on to what other kids have done.:) Jacob was feeling sick from eating greasy food the day before (he gets tummy aches like this after eating certain foods) and ended up losing his breakfast….but now he’s fine, having munched on some biscuits. After making sure he was ok, we left out, plastic cup in hand, just in case.  He ended up fine as a whistle, though, so we’re thinking it was a combination of greasy food and a long trip the day before.

We decided that we’d take the Trail Ridge Road this morning.  This road is supposed to be a highway to the sky, and it definitely was.I found myself covering my eyes at times, but to tell the truth, this road was nothing compared to what we’d find climbing Mount Evans in a few days.  However, the views were sensational; this park is just so beautiful.  We stopped at several places just to take pictures, as we climbed ever higher into the tundra.

This road wraps around the mountains from Estes Park over to the west side of the park at Grand Lake.  We were up over 12,000 feet when we reached the Alpine Visitor Center and store, where we took in the view and grabbed a few souvenirs.  The ice and snow were up at this point, and we could see lakes both close and off in the distance….mountaintop lakes.As you cross the treeline, it seems as if you’re crossing the point between Heaven and earth; the trees stop, and the tundra starts, as up in the tundra, there are no trees.  It almost looks as if you could touch the clouds, as the shadows form the clouds are so much closer.

We noticed both on the road and around the builings, these tall wooden poles that looked like branches.  They were just in the ground, sticking straight up into the air several feet.  We finally figured out that they must be markers for when the snow hits.  This way, they can tell where the road is and where buildings are?  Can you imagine being a construction worker on this two-lane road to the sky?  In the wintertime, this road is closed, as can be expected.

We ended up going over to where we could view the Continental Divide and the Colorado River.  It was neat to stand in the Continental Divide at Milner Pass (pictured below) and realize where we were….that water flows both east and west from that point.We took one little hiking trail, but we decided to come back down, as it was basically all uphill, and we had no idea where we were going.  The drive back was gorgeous, and even Dan was freaking out a bit by the drop off the road and no guard rails in places, not that guard rails would have done much good at that point.  If you went off, well, you were going to meet your Maker for sure.

We spent the better part of the day just exploring this road and finally went back down into town for ice (the local grocery store, Safeway, is awesome…) and ended up riding back to the campground.  On the way into our campground, we noticed several cars stopped alongside the road, and down in the pasture was a herd of elk. We ended up going out, sitting on a boulder, and just watching them.  They were so beautiful and peaceful.

There was a stream flowing through the field, so there were fly fishermen around; Dan wants to learn how to fly fish.  As we sat and watched the elk, there was one mama who had lost her baby; we could see her baby looking for her across the stream, but she hadn’t found him yet, and she kept running back and forth, trying to find him or get to him. It was a sight to see….even animals feel that adrenaline when they know their child could be in danger.  It’s just built in by a Divine Creator.  I don’t know how anyone could see all of this and not feel a Divine handprint on all of it.  I was dying to see some bighorn sheep or moose or even a bear with the boys, but we’ll have to wait and see.After getting back to our campsite, Dan and the boys got a fire started; I actually got some reading in; it was just peaceful to watch the other kids and families around the campground….our site is very private, but we have two other families who are close by, and the boys actually played with their kids some tonight. They had a great time.  I guess Jaden got hit in the head with the frisbee at one point, and I heard one kid say, “Man, he’s tough; he got hit in the nose with a frisbee and didn’t even cry!”  LOL  Oh, he has no idea how stubbornly tough that little guy is.  LOL  He has his moments, but he’s definitely mule-headed, as my dad would say.:)  Another set of campers (two guys) came into the park, set to camp at the next campsite over from us, but for some reason, the rangers chased them out of the park; they were searching their vehicle and bags, doing sobriety tests, etc.  To tell the truth, when they left, we weren’t disappointed….the rangers are so diligent and on top of things.  They are so nice too, always ready to talk or visit.  If there ever was a dream job for me, this would be it.  Yeah, I know the winters would be extremely tough, but to be in this beautiful place through all the seasons….well, that would be a true gift.

As we rearranged sleeping bags and blankets, and I put my 3-5 layers on, including knit hat and woolly socks with blanket literally wrapped around my feet, we drifted off to sleep in this peaceful place we now call paradise….this truly must be what Heaven is like.

To be continued….