it is well

Hmmm, so where to begin? It's been more than a week since I blogged a post!

Things here have been pretty crazy. This past weekend, I cleaned house in preparation for the unattended open house we had here on Sunday. I did not expect anyone to show, but you just never know; it doesn't hurt to try. We visited my sister's family Sunday evening, and brought home two nieces, who we returned this evening. All of us girls stayed very busy today, making crafts, taking a hike, having a picnic, making homemade waffles, etc.
Sarah is my oldest niece and she is almost 8. My, how she is growing up! Very independent, on a level very much not on that of dressing oneself by oneself. She knows what "cool" is and what it isn't, and is developing the first signs of her own confident attitude. Sadly, "cool" is not hanging with your little 4yr old cousin. :-( I struggled with it a little bit during the visit, the snubbing and cold shoulder that Sarah kept giving to Lara, who was beyond excited for Sarah's visit. I kept reminding myself of the age difference and the normalacy of what I was seeing. However, I hated seeing Lara get snubbed-Sarah would not even make eye contact with Lara. I was going to let it go, but I brought it up when just Sarah and I were sitting and talking together. She was honest with me, and explained that she only wanted to play with kids her age. I encouraged her to have a fun time no matter where she may be or who she may be playing with. I tried to leave Lara out of it, and rather explained to Sarah how you have to find that common denominator in your relationships with people, and build off of that (okay, I used different words). After talking about what we could all do together that we would all enjoy, we played a game of hide-and-seek.

You see, when I was growing up, I had some cousins who did not like me, and they snubbed me. I hated when we visited because I knew I would have to deal with that. I guess I am projecting those emotions on the relationship I see between Sarah and Lara, because there is really nothing specific that I need to be concerned about with the girls. Lara is too young to understand she is being snubbed; if her feelings were being hurt, that would be another story.

This week Dustin is working during the day for some training. This was required of him, though they refused to pay him his normal wages (1st shift does not pay as much as 3rd shift). Nonetheless, it means he is home, sleeping normally, every night, and that is in and of itself a break. I will be getting up early every morning to hit the pavement, because this is really the only time that works for me to exercise. I will have to think of something when Dustin goes back to his normal hours. Boo.

I am preparing Lara's old braces and her walker for a trip to China. I found an organization called "An Orphan's Wish," which is dedicated to caring for special needs children in China. Specifically, they run an orphanage where all the children have special needs, and there is a CP unit. I have such a heart for these children and wish I could go there and hug on all of them. But until I get that chance, I will instead send our unused items to them. Also, some of my photography earnings go there. Obviously, it is going to cost a lot of money to ship the items over there. That is not my responsibility; the organization will do it, but I have told them that I would like to raise the money for shipping which costs in the hundreds; it basically costs as much as the walker is worth. So now I have Fundraiser to add to my list.
This picture was taken after a birthday dinner we had for Dustin's mom. Lara decorated and Dustin made a chocolate raspberry cake, and we had dancing to follow. ;)

So, anyway, the girls are doing great. All here is well. time for bed. ;)