Hawaii Bound

Hawaii Bound

 

Woke up this morning at 4:30 am to say goodbye to my 13 year old as he got ready to leave for Hawaii today.  This trip has been long in the making and I am so happy for him to have this wonderful opportunity.  I can't wait to hear how his adventure goes and discover all he has learned from his trip.  

I keep thinking back to when his interest in travel first came about.  Back in 5th grade he was invited to join a group called the Ambassador program.  These are students who are selected to travel across county with teachers and chaperones for educational experiences.  He was so excited, we were very apprehensive due to his age, but he wouldn't stop asking about it.  The more we looked into it, we knew what an awesome experience it would be for him.  So we went to a large meeting for the trip planned to England, Scotland and Ireland.  He was so eager to join this trip.  I admit it the trips look amazing, and are done top notch with many educational benefits to those going.  But then we found out the cost.  Trips cost anywhere from $6,000 to 10,000 or more depending.  They talked a lot about fund raisers and how you can get raise the money.  But I just had a little baby (Zeke) and knew that I would have to do most of the work, and if we didn't raise the money Ross and I could just not afford to pay for this.  So we sat Xavier down later and talked to him about it.  I know he was disappointed but he understood our financial state.  

Then at the end of 6th grade, he brings home paperwork for a Travel club offered at Rushe Middle school.  The trip was planned for Hawaii and he was so geeked up over this trip.  He talked about it non stop.  So we said we would look into it.  We discovered this was to be another educational trip, (meaning they have tours and learn about things every day) and the price to go was a fraction of the trips for the Ambassador Club.  SO we consented.  We told him very clearly that he had to raise the money or work for all the cost himself, because we could not afford it ourselves.  He agreed to the conditions and got to work.  We asked him to write letters first explaining his trip and to see if anyone would be willing to donate money for his trip.  He got some money, but not much.  It turns out that in our families, if you are not going on a "mission trip" and going to a place called Hawaii, that is not a cause even close family want to support.  I get it, don't like it, but I get it.  So he only raised about 20 to 35 percent of his total.  Then he worked every week with his dad mowing lawns to raise his money for over a year.  Ross gave X all the profits of the lawn mowing funds and he went to work.  He also put all Christmas money, birthday money and extra money that came his way towards the trip.  We had great friends and neighbors that let him work by weeding their yards, scrubbing patio's, and dog sitting and cat sitting and used every cent towards the trip.  I can't be more proud of his efforts.  I don't know if I was 12/13 if I would have worked so hard for so long.  But it has been his goal/dream to travel and we let him work for it.  

As I gave him my "mom" speech last night and this morning, I just kept reminding him how proud we are of him and how hard he worked for this.  I highly doubt we will do this again or he would even have the opportunity again with more sports and other things taking precedent.  We are also thankful that he is not truly alone in this endeavor.  As I found out during one of the meeting's that friends and family were welcome to come along.  My mom had jokingly told me that she wished her and dad could go with him.  I told her they could actually, if they wanted to and from there it started.  So he will meet his grandparents in Hawaii and I'll have a peace of mind someone I trust fully will keep their eyes on him.  

So that about sums up the how and why Xavier is on this trip and the why this mom is feeling proud, sad, nervous and emotional thinking about her oldest and all that he has waiting in store for him.  

We love you Xavier and are so thankful you are our son!

God bless!

 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday, well actually it is tomorrow, kind of. Her birthday is technically February 29th, but we have to wait till next year to have a true birthday. I love my mom, but don't do enough for her. I was a bad daughter this year and did not get a card out. At least I made a phone call though! I am glad my mom is understanding and does not get upset at these faults of mine. This is just one of the many things I love about her.

I did spend quite a bit of time this morning reflecting on the things I admire most about my mom and love about her. I could go on and on about how caring she is and how self sacrificing she is and how gracious she is to me and all those who don't deserve it. She gives and gives and then gives some more. So many great qualities that I wish I can inherit from her. I wish I knew how awesome she was while I was growing up. I miss her so much!

Another trait that I most admire in my mom is her level of commitment and dedication she has to many things, but most importantly to God and to church. My mom once shared with me that when she was in nurses training at Grand View Hospital, she did not have a car and had to walk everywhere. My mom told me that she walked every Sunday morning, Sunday nights and Wednesday night prayer service, to go to church. It was about a 4-5 mile walk one way. She did this all the time, until some church people eventually picked her up and took her home. My mom would have walked though even if no one offered a ride. Why? She had a level of commitment, I don't see anymore, anywhere. She was determined to do the right thing even if it was hard. Maybe it was cause my mom grew up poor and always had to walk where she wanted to go and learned to be a dedicated person. Whatever the case, I am so proud of her. Most people I know are not like that. The littlest things get them distracted. There are excuses for everything. I am not trying to cut down anyone but just brag on my mom who is an example for us all.

Thank you mom for all you have shown me in life about how to be a committed and dedicated person. Thanks, for you have not just talked the talk but actually walked the walk! Thank you for all the wonderful things that you are and the wonderful things you do!

Happy Birthday!

Are We Rich?

Yesterday, during lunch, I asked my middle son Zephaniah a question to see what he would say. I asked him if we were rich? He quickly answered, "No." Then I went on to ask him how many blankets we have in this house. He answered with a crazy number like, 578,000. So I then asked him, how many does he really need to have? He said, one. So I told him then we must be rich. I explained to him that children in Haiti do not even have one blanket to lay on at night and how friends of ours are making blankets to send them so they don't have to sleep on the dirt. Then I asked him how many pillows we have in the house. Again, a crazy number like, 875,437. I asked him how many he sleeps with. He said, two. I asked him if he knew that there are children all over the world who do not even have one pillow for their head. I could tell he was surprised and couldn't really imagine that. I continued with this line of questioning, a little bit more. I could tell he was then getting the point. So I asked him again, "Are we rich?" This time he said, "This is like where the word rich has two meanings." "The first meaning is that you have lots of money." " The second meaning for rich is that you have enough of things."

He surprised me with his reasoning. I really liked how he answered the question. I hope that I can keep this in mind each day, as I struggle with the battle of needs vs. wants. Yes, like Zeph says, I am rich.......I have enough things! Are you rich?

Beach days

This morning Zeke and I were watching a DVD together and there was a scene from the beach. Right away, Zeke started to sign the word "water" for me and then when I asked him if he wanted to go to the beach again he said, yes, and headed to our front door. Some days I wish it were that easy. Anyone want to take a beach trip with me and Zeke? I think I am going to put one on the calendar.

Homemade Laundry Soap

My sister in law, Joleen, had introduced me to an amazing home made laundry detergent. Before I tried it, I was a bit skeptical and doubted that it could really clean my clothes as well as the name brands. Something about the old saying, you get what you pay for, kept me from being a true believer. But because I trust her opinion and she said I could save a lot of money I decided to try it.

I went down to my local grocery store and bought the items needed for about 8 dollars. I actually bought 2 bars of the Fels Napta soap so I could have enough for two batches. I did have a hard time finding the ingredients but it was basically cause I was not use to looking for these items. But it was there and I am so glad I decided to try this out. My first time making the soap was easy and it has lasted me almost 3 months. I just made this weekend my second batch of the soap and did not need to spend anymore money cause I still had all the supplies I needed to buy it. In another 3 months all I will need to buy is a .99 cent bar of the Fel's napta soap. I figured out that in 9 months it will have cost me less then a dollar to wash my clothes for each month. I would say that is a remarkable savings. Wow! The only drawbacks that I can see is that it does not have the perfume smells like other detergents have and the clothes dry kinda fast so if you don't get it in the dryer soon it can turn musty sooner. Still overall I really love it and thanks so much Joleen for giving me the recipe.

Now you can make it too! Here is what you need to make your first batch.
1 bar Fels Napta soap. - found in laundry section of grocery store
Borax
Washing Soda - I used Arm and Hammer. Not Baking Soda
5 gallon bucket

Directions:
Grate the Fels Napta soap. I used a cheese grater. Melt it in a pot of boiling water. Then add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing soda in the hot water. Stir it all till dissolved. Pour in the 5 gallon bucket. Add enough hot water to fill the 5 gallon bucket. I have other pots on the stove with hot water boiling to make it go faster. Then put a lid on the bucket and let it sit for 24 hours. The soap will come out really slimey like or like goop. Use one cup in every load of laundry.

Happy washing! (if one can be happy doing laundry)

STUCK!

Sometimes, I feel like this picture. Stuck! I look at my life and my circumstances and feel like life is passing me by. I tend to envy all those who get to go out and do things and in my imagination enjoy all the things that I can't right now. Having a new baby is one of the most challenging things a woman can go through. It gets especially complicated and smothering the more children you have. I'm sure not every mom feels like me and I applaud them. But this type of thinking is very easy for me being at home, changing diapers, rocking babies, making meals, cleaning up a thousand messes only to have more messes made, trying to be so many things at once only to feel like a fail at them all, trying to be that super mom and all the while feeling like the walls are caving in. I wonder what it is like to have the freedom to come and go as you please, to clean a room and have it stay cleaned, to have time to do your nails, shave properly,fix your hair, what is make-up, organize closets,read a book, get caught up on projects, and for me to be able to go and visit with friends and meet new ones. I really want to do more for our church. I want to reach out to so many people and all I have time for is the mundane jobs around the house that never get done anyhow. I could go on and on about how trapped I feel. I know that this is selfish thinking. I wonder how many others fall into this way of thinking. I bet I am not the only one.

Yesterday, Ross and I and Zeke went to a memorial service for a friend of ours, father. We were all given a little pamplet of the service along with some verses and a picture of the loved one. The Scripture that they had on the inside was one of my favorite passages. It was from Ecclesiastes chapter 3. This chapter talks all about how there is a time for everything. A season for everything. I thought about that for a while. I thought about the season of life that I am in. And reminded myself that with every season, it passes and then you are onto a new season in life. It definitely gives me hope. I know I need not to dwell on the negatives with the season of life I am in. I know I need to embrace it and love it and cherish it. Before long I bet I will miss many things about these baby years. Soon I will break free from this feeling of being trapped and be bursting onto another season in my life.

OK, Let's try this again!

Well, let's see it's been a few years since I have last been in the blog world. I can't believe how fast time gets past you. I never meant to be away from it this long. So I have decided to get back into it.

It is amazing to think about all the things that have transpired since I last posted a blog. Zeph's eye is all better now. He finally has a haircut! We have a new addition to our family. Ezekiel Lavern Johnson. He was born July 10, 2008. We have been so blessed to have him in our family. We all are crazy in love with him. I can't believe we have been so blessed. Xavier is now in the 4th grade, 10 years old and getting so big. Zeph is about to graduate from VPK. Gathering Pointe Church had it's official launch in March 2009. That has been and still is an amazing journey.

I look forward to all that God has planned for me and our family in the days ahead. I am excited to share them here in the blog. I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings here in this blog as well. I promise not to go so long between blogs. Well, I will try to promise!! :)