Showing posts with label Lighthouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lighthouse. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Hanging at the Beach ....
(and no, this was not the day we cheated and actually got in despite the red flag ... more on that later. And I promise, I'm almost done with the photos and will put up a real update soon, with words, and thoughts, and typing letters to make sentences that hopefully make sense ...)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Hanging with Lighthouse Founder (and one of the most fabulous people on earth) Melinda
{ack, the sun is in our eyes!}
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
A Beach Retreat in Numbers
Number of suitcases required to pack for week at the beach: 4
Number of bags packed and carried by the children containing all of their “essential” items for beach vacation (ie, toys, books, stuffed animals): 5
Number of hours spent in the van driving 110 miles to Atlanta to get on the Lighthouse chartered bus, thanks to the major accident on northbound I-75: 4
Number of minutes it took us to travel 3 miles after that major accident: 92
Number of people pulled over at first gas station after accident getting fuel, snacks, and using the potty: 3196
Number of kids that Blaine took into the men’s restroom never mind that there’s no toilet paper they can use a paper towel did you see how many women were in line for the ladies restroom? : 3
Once on the bus, number of minutes I was able to enjoy wireless internet connection before the computer battery went dead: 35
Number of positions I tried to sleep in, on the bus: 5
Number of those positions that were comfortable: 0
Number of children under the age of 7 we had in the beach-house we were sharing with two other Lighthouse families: 7
Number of times the noise level was out of control: surprisingly, 0
Number of times I cursed the aesthetic beauty of Seaside which prohibits cell towers of any kind, rendering my cell phone and wireless internet connection useless: 374
Number of miles we rode to and from the beach and Lighthouse activities on our rental bikes: approximately 100
Number of times I wished either the humidity was less, I was in better physical condition, or both: approximately 100
Number of times I told myself to shut up with the complaining because it sure beat walking: approximately 100
Number of times I rewarded myself for the strenuous bicycling activity with ice cream, therefore cancelling out any kind of physical benefits of exercising: 2
Number of times I thought I would die from lack of Diet Dr. Pepper: 796
Number of times I regretted not packing my anti-frizz hair cream: 27
Number of days the “no getting in the water” red flag was flying at the beach: 5
Number of days we gave up and swam in the pool: 4
Number of days we cheated and got in the ocean anyway: 1
Number of times I thought that might have been a bad idea: Only 1, when a big wave knocked me over and I fell on top of Kendrie and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get up and almost drowned the poor kid.
Number of pairs of goggles I had to buy at the beach because I am a terrible mom who forgot to pack them from home: 3
Number of sweatshirts I bought so we wouldn’t freeze to death on the bus ride home: 5
Number of times we have been lucky enough to attend The Lighthouse Retreat: 3
Number of times we would go back if they would have us: 1,000,000,000
Number of grains of sand we brought back from Florida in our clothes, suitcases, towels, shoes, shorts, and on our skin, in our hair, and even the cracks and wrinkles of our bodies: Google. Infinity.
Number of bags packed and carried by the children containing all of their “essential” items for beach vacation (ie, toys, books, stuffed animals): 5
Number of hours spent in the van driving 110 miles to Atlanta to get on the Lighthouse chartered bus, thanks to the major accident on northbound I-75: 4
Number of minutes it took us to travel 3 miles after that major accident: 92
Number of people pulled over at first gas station after accident getting fuel, snacks, and using the potty: 3196
Number of kids that Blaine took into the men’s restroom never mind that there’s no toilet paper they can use a paper towel did you see how many women were in line for the ladies restroom? : 3
Once on the bus, number of minutes I was able to enjoy wireless internet connection before the computer battery went dead: 35
Number of positions I tried to sleep in, on the bus: 5
Number of those positions that were comfortable: 0
Number of children under the age of 7 we had in the beach-house we were sharing with two other Lighthouse families: 7
Number of times the noise level was out of control: surprisingly, 0
Number of times I cursed the aesthetic beauty of Seaside which prohibits cell towers of any kind, rendering my cell phone and wireless internet connection useless: 374
Number of miles we rode to and from the beach and Lighthouse activities on our rental bikes: approximately 100
Number of times I wished either the humidity was less, I was in better physical condition, or both: approximately 100
Number of times I told myself to shut up with the complaining because it sure beat walking: approximately 100
Number of times I rewarded myself for the strenuous bicycling activity with ice cream, therefore cancelling out any kind of physical benefits of exercising: 2
Number of times I thought I would die from lack of Diet Dr. Pepper: 796
Number of times I regretted not packing my anti-frizz hair cream: 27
Number of days the “no getting in the water” red flag was flying at the beach: 5
Number of days we gave up and swam in the pool: 4
Number of days we cheated and got in the ocean anyway: 1
Number of times I thought that might have been a bad idea: Only 1, when a big wave knocked me over and I fell on top of Kendrie and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get up and almost drowned the poor kid.
Number of pairs of goggles I had to buy at the beach because I am a terrible mom who forgot to pack them from home: 3
Number of sweatshirts I bought so we wouldn’t freeze to death on the bus ride home: 5
Number of times we have been lucky enough to attend The Lighthouse Retreat: 3
Number of times we would go back if they would have us: 1,000,000,000
Number of grains of sand we brought back from Florida in our clothes, suitcases, towels, shoes, shorts, and on our skin, in our hair, and even the cracks and wrinkles of our bodies: Google. Infinity.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Red
When Red is Good:
When a teacher uses a red pen to write a big, fat "A" on your paper.
When you bite into a juicy, ripe tomato.
When somebody buys me ruby jewelry, which granted, hasn't ever happened but maybe it will someday don't ever give up the dream.
When those slippers worked for Dorothy.
When Red is NOT good:
When the flag at the beach has been red EVERY SINGLE DAY of this retreat, and the kids haven't been able to get in the ocean for four days in a row due to the current and undertow, so please cross your fingers for a green or even a yellow flag today because honestly, if they can't get in the water on today, the last day, I think they might pretty much boycott the ocean and Florida and family vacations from now on.
When a teacher uses a red pen to write a big, fat "A" on your paper.
When you bite into a juicy, ripe tomato.
When somebody buys me ruby jewelry, which granted, hasn't ever happened but maybe it will someday don't ever give up the dream.
When those slippers worked for Dorothy.
When Red is NOT good:
When the flag at the beach has been red EVERY SINGLE DAY of this retreat, and the kids haven't been able to get in the ocean for four days in a row due to the current and undertow, so please cross your fingers for a green or even a yellow flag today because honestly, if they can't get in the water on today, the last day, I think they might pretty much boycott the ocean and Florida and family vacations from now on.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Pedal to the Max
Universally Well-Known Factoid: You never, ever, ever, forget how to ride a bike. Even a rental bike with a big-butt seat and a big metal basket on the front.
Less Universally Well-Known Factoid: While admiring your pedaling prowess, if you load your basket down with beach towels, new sweatshirts (because I'll be damned if we freeze on that bus on the way back home) flip-flops, the camcorder, goggles, and a bag from the local market with a loaf of bread, a jar of jelly and bananas .... AND you have your camera bag slung across your shoulders with your expensive telephoto lens and external flash inside, you will be so pre-occupied with not biffing it going over any curbs and trashing your camera that you won't even give a second thought to the fact you are riding all over the resort in your bathing suit with your flab bounching and jiggling everywhere. Seriously. Not a thought. Not until you reach your house, safe and sound, camera intact, will the gravity of the situation cross your mind.
Then, you will be mortified to realize the horror and trauma your fat white thighs have unleashed on this innocent seaside community.
Less Universally Well-Known Factoid: While admiring your pedaling prowess, if you load your basket down with beach towels, new sweatshirts (because I'll be damned if we freeze on that bus on the way back home) flip-flops, the camcorder, goggles, and a bag from the local market with a loaf of bread, a jar of jelly and bananas .... AND you have your camera bag slung across your shoulders with your expensive telephoto lens and external flash inside, you will be so pre-occupied with not biffing it going over any curbs and trashing your camera that you won't even give a second thought to the fact you are riding all over the resort in your bathing suit with your flab bounching and jiggling everywhere. Seriously. Not a thought. Not until you reach your house, safe and sound, camera intact, will the gravity of the situation cross your mind.
Then, you will be mortified to realize the horror and trauma your fat white thighs have unleashed on this innocent seaside community.
Monday, June 04, 2007
On the Road Again
I'm typing this on a wireless laptop, from a bus, on 1-20 between Atlanta and Alabama. Isn't technology fucking fabulous???
Our family is on its way to spend a week at the beach with The Lighthouse Family Retreat. {I have no idea if that link will work, as my cheat sheet for entering links is on my computer at home, which is someplace I am not, because did I mention I'm typing this on a wireless laptop on a BUS?!?!?} Lighthouse chartered a bus for all the families to ride to Florida together. Part of me loves this, considering I don't have to drive and they've got movies and snacks for the kids and it frees me up to type on a WIRELESS LAPTOP .... but part of me hates it, the part of me that's sitting in the last row by the bathroom and freezing to death because I swear it must only be 50 degrees on this bus. Actually, sitting in the back row by the bathroom doesn't bother me at all because I don't get car sick and I've got the entire row to myself .... plenty of room for the WIRELESS LAPTOP .... but seriously, it's like a damn ice cave on here.
I'll be able to update throughout the week, but wanted to pop on now and say hi ... mainly because I can, thanks to technology. Now, about the time we hit a speedbump and I accidentally hit the delete button and lose this journal enty before I post it, I'll be cussing technology ... but for now, let me just repeat it, in case you didn't notice --- I'm typing on a BUS, on a WIRELESS LAPTOP!! I love technology. And I love going to the beach with the Lighthouse.
I'd say pretty much it's a win/win situation. Or at least it would be if a sweatshirt or fleece blanket would fall from the sky.
Our family is on its way to spend a week at the beach with The Lighthouse Family Retreat. {I have no idea if that link will work, as my cheat sheet for entering links is on my computer at home, which is someplace I am not, because did I mention I'm typing this on a wireless laptop on a BUS?!?!?} Lighthouse chartered a bus for all the families to ride to Florida together. Part of me loves this, considering I don't have to drive and they've got movies and snacks for the kids and it frees me up to type on a WIRELESS LAPTOP .... but part of me hates it, the part of me that's sitting in the last row by the bathroom and freezing to death because I swear it must only be 50 degrees on this bus. Actually, sitting in the back row by the bathroom doesn't bother me at all because I don't get car sick and I've got the entire row to myself .... plenty of room for the WIRELESS LAPTOP .... but seriously, it's like a damn ice cave on here.
I'll be able to update throughout the week, but wanted to pop on now and say hi ... mainly because I can, thanks to technology. Now, about the time we hit a speedbump and I accidentally hit the delete button and lose this journal enty before I post it, I'll be cussing technology ... but for now, let me just repeat it, in case you didn't notice --- I'm typing on a BUS, on a WIRELESS LAPTOP!! I love technology. And I love going to the beach with the Lighthouse.
I'd say pretty much it's a win/win situation. Or at least it would be if a sweatshirt or fleece blanket would fall from the sky.
Monday, October 17, 2005
LIGHTHOUSE FAMILY RETREAT, 2005
60 Days to Go
After attending our first-ever Lighthouse Family Retreat last summer in Gulf Trace, Florida, and having what was basically one of our best vacations EVER, we were beyond disappointed when this year’s retreat was cancelled due to the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis. Actually, to be correct, I should explain that only two of the retreats were cancelled …. Lighthouse runs six-ten retreats a year, we just happened to have scheduled ourselves for the retreat following the hurricane (impeccable timing on our part, as always!) We were fortunate that the Lighthouse was able to schedule an additional retreat at the end of the season for many of the families who got hurricane’d out earlier in the summer --- needless to say, we were thrilled for another opportunity to attend.
Just like last year, it was a relaxing, inspiring, fun-filled stay at a beautiful beach -- this time, the location was Watercolor, Florida. Watercolor is a really neat resort-community, with dozens of rental properties, three community pools, a spa (which believe it or not, I actually used) a workout center (didn’t use that, no surprise there) a fabulous restaurant, bike rentals, walking trails, etc., and of course, the beach at your fingertips. If you are considering a Florida panhandle vacation, you would be well-done to consider staying at Watercolor. We loved it! Five stars!!
But better than all that was the time spent with the other Lighthouse families, family volunteers, and Lighthouse workers. Once again I find myself unable to express proper gratitude for all these people do … not only during the retreats, but year-round. Their mission is to serve children with cancer and their families at a seaside retreat and help them to laugh, restore family relationships, and find hope in God. If you visit the Lighthouse website and browse around, you’ll find several photos of Kendrie, and other Caringbridge kids that you’ll most likely recognize, on their site. And one embarrassing photo of Blaine in a coconut bra, but I promised him I wouldn't mention that.
Lighthouse is a truly deserving organization. I’ll write my formal thank-you this week, and include a donation. But Blaine and I talked about it, and our long-term goal is for our family to return to the Lighthouse in a few years in a volunteer capacity, helping another family to benefit from their time at the ocean just like ours has benefitted these past two trips.
So, thank-you’s and praise for this wonderful organization and the people who run it aside, I thought I would share with you some of the photos and wisdom we gained on this long weekend. You know that Escoe family ---- always learning, they are. Here are a few of the things we learned this time:
1. There is nothing quite as neat as an early morning, just-off-the-shore greeting from a family of dolphins. (No photo, darn it, I wasn’t quick enough with the camera! But trust me, it was really cool!)
2. It doesn’t matter if it IS Florida, unheated pools and the ocean are a little cool in October.
3. It doesn’t matter if it IS October, playing Beach Olympics in the middle of the day is still hot and sticky. But fun. And that’s what matters. That, and hanging your tongue out of your mouth to make you run faster.
4. Did we mention that Watercolor is a really cool resort?
5. We discovered the secret to a successful rock climb is to wear goggles on the top of your head. Something to do with reverse gravity and polarizing the sun. Or something. Maybe just looking cool.
6. It doesn’t matter if you think the fountains are lame. Your mom thinks they look like fun, and you will pose for a picture until she is happy or she will not let you rest.
7. Sometimes, kids honestly are willing to pose for a picture. There is no sweeter moment for a scrapbooking, camera-wielding, photo-obsessed mom.
8. Oh, look, here’s another one. They must have all been on sugar highs to be so cooperative.
9. The whole point of a beach-trip is the beach. Too bad there weren’t any minnows to be found, after Blaine made a last-minute trip to Wal-Mart at midnight to buy nets for the kids this year. That, of course, follows our trip last year, where there were minnows by the thousands, and not enough nets for all the kids. They did use their nets to catch lots of hermit crabs at night, though. No pictures there …. Those things give me the heebie jeebies.
10. When all else fails, and you don’t want to admit that the ocean is too cold, and your steroid personality makes you unspeakably rude to those around you, just pretend you are digging in the sand. You don’t have to talk, and no-one will be the wiser.
I mentioned Hurricane Kendrie in the last journal entry; thankfully, she was down-graded to a Category Annoying this past weekend in Florida. No blatant tantrums or meltdowns, but lots of whining, pouting, and my personal least-favorite, refusing to talk to other people. I mean, here these volunteer families are, spending their own perfectly good time and money to VOLUNTEER to serve in this caring, kind way for our family, and my child won’t look them in the eye. Or answer their questions. Or recognize their presence in any manner. Little brat. You know how, when you ask a two-year old their name, or their age, and they bury their face in their mother’s shoulder, it’s kind of cute? Well, when a six year old does it? Not so much.
Oh, and I forgot the most important thing we learned this weekend, the one lesson above all lessons to which we will stay true, no matter what:
11. The Escoe family will not be traveling more than one hundred miles from our home in any direction. Ever. Again. Ever.
Granted, that’s going to make our life-long dream of visiting Alaska rather difficult. In fact, we won’t be able to leave the state of Georgia, but it’s a small price to pay to avoid the travel-nasties that seem to afflict my children every time we are in the car longer than two hours.
The drive down actually wasn’t so bad. We made it all the way to I-10 in Florida before I whirled around and launched into my “Oh, no it is NOT too late for your father to turn this van around and drive all the way back to Georgia and you can just miss the whole weekend for all I care if you don’t start behaving” diatribe. The threat of going back home without dipping their toes in the ocean seemed to work pretty well, and they kept things under control the rest of the way. And the actual three days we spent at the beach? They were in reality, fairly pleasant, with only a few over-stimulated, under-rested “moments” taking place. (Any family who doesn’t experience at least one or two of those moments on vacation, well, I don’t want to hear from you. You’ll just make me feel lousy. Plus you’ll be lying and we’ll all know it.)
It was the drive home that made me consider building a time machine and traveling back in time about ten years to have my tubes tied. I understand you’re tired! I understand you’re feeing cranky! I understand you don’t want to leave the beach! It’s when they launched into “you’re stupid you’re stupider this is a dumb family he’s touching me make them stop I can’t hear the movie get off my side how much longer my butt hurts are we ever going to get there I’m hungry I’m thirsty” rants that I wanted to puncture my own eardrums just so I could stop listening to them. And how is it that the drive home is always twice as long??? Five unsynchronized bladders, Blaine’s never-ending need for coffee, his never-ending quest to find a gas station that makes decent coffee, us fighting over the a/c controls in the front of the van, the kids arguing …. and the ugly battle of wills over whether to watch Little Rascals or Home Alone 3 on the dvd player about pushed me over the edge. I was never so happy to see the sign at the front of our housing addition in my whole life, is all I can say.
But I’m still glad we went. Given the opportunity, we’d jump at the chance to go again next year. Even if it does mean breaking our “no travel more than 100 miles from home” rule. I’ll just invest in a really HUGE pair of ear muffs for the drive. For me. Blaine and the kids are on their own.
Thanks for checking in,
Kristie
********************************************
KENDRIE’S PERSPECTIVE:
WORST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: Hmmm. Today I am feeling pretty good; well-rested and refreshed from hanging out at the beach. Did mom tell you that I took part in a karate exhibition for the Talent Show? I wasn’t really very talented, but it sure was fun! And I was way cooler than Brayden and her lame hula-hooping, that’s for sure. Mom is going to have to buy us Escoe kids some actual talent, if we go back next year!
BEST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: Well, if you ask *me*, it’s that we spent the weekend at the beach. But the best part about today specifically is that it’s my first day off steroids and hopefully the “good cop” part of my personality will begin to return!
After attending our first-ever Lighthouse Family Retreat last summer in Gulf Trace, Florida, and having what was basically one of our best vacations EVER, we were beyond disappointed when this year’s retreat was cancelled due to the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis. Actually, to be correct, I should explain that only two of the retreats were cancelled …. Lighthouse runs six-ten retreats a year, we just happened to have scheduled ourselves for the retreat following the hurricane (impeccable timing on our part, as always!) We were fortunate that the Lighthouse was able to schedule an additional retreat at the end of the season for many of the families who got hurricane’d out earlier in the summer --- needless to say, we were thrilled for another opportunity to attend.
Just like last year, it was a relaxing, inspiring, fun-filled stay at a beautiful beach -- this time, the location was Watercolor, Florida. Watercolor is a really neat resort-community, with dozens of rental properties, three community pools, a spa (which believe it or not, I actually used) a workout center (didn’t use that, no surprise there) a fabulous restaurant, bike rentals, walking trails, etc., and of course, the beach at your fingertips. If you are considering a Florida panhandle vacation, you would be well-done to consider staying at Watercolor. We loved it! Five stars!!
But better than all that was the time spent with the other Lighthouse families, family volunteers, and Lighthouse workers. Once again I find myself unable to express proper gratitude for all these people do … not only during the retreats, but year-round. Their mission is to serve children with cancer and their families at a seaside retreat and help them to laugh, restore family relationships, and find hope in God. If you visit the Lighthouse website and browse around, you’ll find several photos of Kendrie, and other Caringbridge kids that you’ll most likely recognize, on their site. And one embarrassing photo of Blaine in a coconut bra, but I promised him I wouldn't mention that.
Lighthouse is a truly deserving organization. I’ll write my formal thank-you this week, and include a donation. But Blaine and I talked about it, and our long-term goal is for our family to return to the Lighthouse in a few years in a volunteer capacity, helping another family to benefit from their time at the ocean just like ours has benefitted these past two trips.
So, thank-you’s and praise for this wonderful organization and the people who run it aside, I thought I would share with you some of the photos and wisdom we gained on this long weekend. You know that Escoe family ---- always learning, they are. Here are a few of the things we learned this time:
1. There is nothing quite as neat as an early morning, just-off-the-shore greeting from a family of dolphins. (No photo, darn it, I wasn’t quick enough with the camera! But trust me, it was really cool!)
2. It doesn’t matter if it IS Florida, unheated pools and the ocean are a little cool in October.
3. It doesn’t matter if it IS October, playing Beach Olympics in the middle of the day is still hot and sticky. But fun. And that’s what matters. That, and hanging your tongue out of your mouth to make you run faster.
4. Did we mention that Watercolor is a really cool resort?
5. We discovered the secret to a successful rock climb is to wear goggles on the top of your head. Something to do with reverse gravity and polarizing the sun. Or something. Maybe just looking cool.
6. It doesn’t matter if you think the fountains are lame. Your mom thinks they look like fun, and you will pose for a picture until she is happy or she will not let you rest.
7. Sometimes, kids honestly are willing to pose for a picture. There is no sweeter moment for a scrapbooking, camera-wielding, photo-obsessed mom.
8. Oh, look, here’s another one. They must have all been on sugar highs to be so cooperative.
9. The whole point of a beach-trip is the beach. Too bad there weren’t any minnows to be found, after Blaine made a last-minute trip to Wal-Mart at midnight to buy nets for the kids this year. That, of course, follows our trip last year, where there were minnows by the thousands, and not enough nets for all the kids. They did use their nets to catch lots of hermit crabs at night, though. No pictures there …. Those things give me the heebie jeebies.
10. When all else fails, and you don’t want to admit that the ocean is too cold, and your steroid personality makes you unspeakably rude to those around you, just pretend you are digging in the sand. You don’t have to talk, and no-one will be the wiser.
I mentioned Hurricane Kendrie in the last journal entry; thankfully, she was down-graded to a Category Annoying this past weekend in Florida. No blatant tantrums or meltdowns, but lots of whining, pouting, and my personal least-favorite, refusing to talk to other people. I mean, here these volunteer families are, spending their own perfectly good time and money to VOLUNTEER to serve in this caring, kind way for our family, and my child won’t look them in the eye. Or answer their questions. Or recognize their presence in any manner. Little brat. You know how, when you ask a two-year old their name, or their age, and they bury their face in their mother’s shoulder, it’s kind of cute? Well, when a six year old does it? Not so much.
Oh, and I forgot the most important thing we learned this weekend, the one lesson above all lessons to which we will stay true, no matter what:
11. The Escoe family will not be traveling more than one hundred miles from our home in any direction. Ever. Again. Ever.
Granted, that’s going to make our life-long dream of visiting Alaska rather difficult. In fact, we won’t be able to leave the state of Georgia, but it’s a small price to pay to avoid the travel-nasties that seem to afflict my children every time we are in the car longer than two hours.
The drive down actually wasn’t so bad. We made it all the way to I-10 in Florida before I whirled around and launched into my “Oh, no it is NOT too late for your father to turn this van around and drive all the way back to Georgia and you can just miss the whole weekend for all I care if you don’t start behaving” diatribe. The threat of going back home without dipping their toes in the ocean seemed to work pretty well, and they kept things under control the rest of the way. And the actual three days we spent at the beach? They were in reality, fairly pleasant, with only a few over-stimulated, under-rested “moments” taking place. (Any family who doesn’t experience at least one or two of those moments on vacation, well, I don’t want to hear from you. You’ll just make me feel lousy. Plus you’ll be lying and we’ll all know it.)
It was the drive home that made me consider building a time machine and traveling back in time about ten years to have my tubes tied. I understand you’re tired! I understand you’re feeing cranky! I understand you don’t want to leave the beach! It’s when they launched into “you’re stupid you’re stupider this is a dumb family he’s touching me make them stop I can’t hear the movie get off my side how much longer my butt hurts are we ever going to get there I’m hungry I’m thirsty” rants that I wanted to puncture my own eardrums just so I could stop listening to them. And how is it that the drive home is always twice as long??? Five unsynchronized bladders, Blaine’s never-ending need for coffee, his never-ending quest to find a gas station that makes decent coffee, us fighting over the a/c controls in the front of the van, the kids arguing …. and the ugly battle of wills over whether to watch Little Rascals or Home Alone 3 on the dvd player about pushed me over the edge. I was never so happy to see the sign at the front of our housing addition in my whole life, is all I can say.
But I’m still glad we went. Given the opportunity, we’d jump at the chance to go again next year. Even if it does mean breaking our “no travel more than 100 miles from home” rule. I’ll just invest in a really HUGE pair of ear muffs for the drive. For me. Blaine and the kids are on their own.
Thanks for checking in,
Kristie
********************************************
KENDRIE’S PERSPECTIVE:
WORST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: Hmmm. Today I am feeling pretty good; well-rested and refreshed from hanging out at the beach. Did mom tell you that I took part in a karate exhibition for the Talent Show? I wasn’t really very talented, but it sure was fun! And I was way cooler than Brayden and her lame hula-hooping, that’s for sure. Mom is going to have to buy us Escoe kids some actual talent, if we go back next year!
BEST PART ABOUT HAVING CANCER TODAY: Well, if you ask *me*, it’s that we spent the weekend at the beach. But the best part about today specifically is that it’s my first day off steroids and hopefully the “good cop” part of my personality will begin to return!
Sunday, August 01, 2004
“THERE ARE BEACH PEOPLE…………………………”
(and/or) “WHY YOU NOW HATE ME IF YOU HAVE A DIAL-UP CONNECTION”
End of Week #8 of DI #2, CCG 1991, Arm D
OK, here’s pretty much the way I see the world:
There are dog people, and there are cat people.
There are sock people, and there are barefoot people.
There are beer people, and there are martini people.
There are city people, and there are rural people.
There are beach people, and there are lake people.
Blaine and I have always been, without a doubt, sock-wearing, beer-swilling (well, him, not me) canine-loving, rural-living, LAKE people. The beach has just never “done it” for us. The sand is gritty, the water tastes nasty, my skin gets sticky, the seaweed is slimy, you have to watch out for creepy crawlies in the water, and did I mention that the gritty sand gets EVERYWHERE????? Plus, it’s just not as easy to water-ski in the ocean!
However, if ANYTHING or ANY VACATION was enough to change our minds, and swing us over to the Beach-People side of the equation, it would be this past week at The Lighthouse Family Retreat in Gulf Trace, Florida. I simply cannot remember a time when our family had so much fun, and felt so cared about by others.
A brief history: Melinda, the founder of The Lighthouse Family Retreat, worked as a pediatric oncology nurse for eight years, but felt God had a vision for her to create a seaside family retreat for children with cancer. In 1999 she resigned from her job as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and started working full-time to develop this ministry. The first week-long retreat was held in 2000 through the hard work of Melinda and the *amazing* dedication of volunteers. Although land has been donated for the Lighthouse to build their own permanent seaside facility, for now they rent facilities, offering seven to 10 retreats a year, helping 80-100 families. And for us to have been one of those families this summer …. Well, I don’t think it gets much better than this past week!
I’m not exactly sure I can find the words (now THAT’S a first!) to describe the kindness and generosity shown to my family this past week. First of all, the retreat is just plain FUN! Arts & crafts, swimming, movies on the beach, singing, Beach Olympics, a luau, a talent show; it seems like the activities just go on and on. But we also had plenty of time to simply hang out on the beach, soak up some sun (which equates to slathering sunscreen on our kids twelve times a day!) or relax in our condominium, getting to know the other families.
One of the families we had a chance to become acquainted with is a family I had met online, through Caringbridge; Jenny, Tre’ and Catie. They are such fun and it was a real treat for us to get to know them in person ….. and of course now we’re rooting harder than ever for Catie to win her battle with medulloblastoma, a brain tumor. Kendrie was pretty much OBSESSED with Catie, so it’s good they only live a few hours from us, as I have a feeling that upcoming visits will be in store.
Tre', Jenny, and Catie, with her face painted like a kitty-cat!
But back to the retreat. Not only did Melinda and her crew provide plenty of opportunity to keep us as busy as we wanted to be, laughing, playing, and spending time as a family, they also worked incredibly hard to make this week a time of relaxation and restoration.
Upon arrival, we were assigned “Family Helpers”, a wonderful young couple named Brooke and Preston, whose goal it was to do everything in their power to make the week easier for our family. They helped with basics like laundry, getting us drinks at meals, folding down our beds at night and putting fresh-baked cookies and hand-written notes on our pillows (of course, the cookies were my personal favorite part!) and taking our kids under their wing in a way I just can’t explain. Any time Blaine and I had a parent group or outing to attend, Brooke and Preston were right there, taking our kids on activities and keeping them involved and comfortable. They hung out with us on the beach, took the kids crabbing at night, and tolerated (with amazingly good humor) the kids climbing all over them for six straight days. They’ve been married less than a year, and I’m a little worried they might decide never to have children of their own, after spending so much time with ours!
Blaine and I have been on vacations before where people waited on us hand and foot, but it seemed normal because we were paying them to do so. In this instance, though, Brooke and Preston took on this challenge, as did all the volunteers from Woodstock Baptist Church, who sponsored the retreat, as a missions trip and a ministry to help families like ours who simply needed a break after dealing with the day-to-day struggle of living a life with childhood cancer. They gave up a week’s vacation and paid to come to the beach, not to be waited on themselves, but so they could help others. Like George Bailey says, if every time a bell rings you know an angel just earned his wings, then the Mormon Tabernacle Handbell Choir was busy this past week in Gulf Trace! Thank you, Preston and Brooke! And thank you to Woodstock Baptist Church for sponsoring the retreat and helping Melinda realize her dream for families!
Like I said, lots of fun activities, like the Beach Olympics where all the families and volunteers were split into teams for some friendly competition in categories like Building the Best Pyramid, Obstacle Course, Ring Toss, Egg Toss (which I managed to lose spectacularly …. Does anyone know how to get egg white out of a swimsuit?) Kite Flying, Sponge Race, etc.
Notice how much faster you run when your tongue is sticking out?
Kendrie proudly displays her ring tossing abilities.
Our Team Cheer:
“We’re the Great White
And We Know How to Fight!
Come Near Us
And We’ll Bite, Bite, Bite!”
(maybe you have to hear it in person and see the hand movements to be properly impressed, ha!)
One night we had a luau and hula-hoop competition, which Brayden worked really hard at. Considering she had rarely hula-hooped before, I thought she did a great job and it was so much fun to see her working so hard to figure it out!
One night we had a Talent Show, and all I have to say about this is that no coconuts were harmed in the taking of this picture.
Lots of swimming in the ocean, although the kids’ enthusiasm was dampened when one of the boys in our group got stung by a jellyfish. It took a little longer each day to coax them into the water after that, but once they got in they had a ball, and Brayden proclaimed herself the “Queen of the Jelly-Fish Spotters”. You would have thought she had spotted Jaws, each time she pointed to one floating in the water. And while I’m sure the kids will say the highlight of the week for them was going hunting for crabs each night, can I just say that my son is SUCH a girl?!?! He was so funny, walking along the beach with his flashlight and net, eagerly pointing out the crabs for Preston to scoop into the bucket. But just let one of the crabs (about the size of a nickel, just to give you a mental picture) turn and start running towards him, and he would drop that net and run, SCREAMING, in the other direction! Seriously, these crabs weren’t much bigger than houseflies, and you would have thought it was Attack of the 30-Foot Arachnids! When I wasn’t so busy laughing at him, I was laughing at him.
And for Blaine and me, besides the rejuvenation of simply “getting away from it all”, the highlight was meeting the other families, all of them understanding exactly how we feel and what we’ve gone through. Blaine and I have been blessed to have family and friends help us through this ordeal, but only another family, who has undergone the exact same challenges …. Who has had a doctor look them in the eye and say those words, “I’m sorry, your child has cancer” can truly understand the fears, the frustrations, the joys and the struggles.
I mentioned Jenny and Tre’ earlier, and another family we were able to become better acquainted with, were Mike and Kristin, and their sons Ryan and Brandon. We had previously met them in April at the Camp Sunshine Family Weekend, but got a chance to visit more in Florida. All four of them are such neat people, but Kristin especially is an inspiration. The work she has done, and continues to do, to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer is so encouraging!
Mike, Kristin, Ryan and Brandon
And of course the best news for us all week is that Kendrie felt well and was able to keep up (for the most part!) with everyone else. You can tell by this picture she was getting a little tired at the end, but shoot, so were all of us!
It was a vivid reminder to us of how lucky we are, when one of the teenage boys at our retreat had to be airlifted back to Atlanta when he began having trouble breathing. To give you an indication of how much fun we were all having, the reports came back that the boy was most upset at not being allowed to return to the retreat! But our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as his condition improves and he can hopefully return home soon.
Anyway, I hope that gives you some indication of how much fun we had, and a glimpse into the hearts of the wonderful people who worked so hard to make it all possible. It is definitely humbling to be on the receiving end of such kindness. And even more humbling when I realize I’ve never been on the giving end, either. Of course it’s a couple of years down the road, but Blaine and I are discussing the possibility of volunteering as Family Helpers ourselves in a few years and hopefully “paying back” the kindness that was shown to us.
If you happen to be walking along this week and stumble across a large bag full of money, and aren’t quite sure what to do with it, let me assure you that The Lighthouse Family Retreat is a wonderful organization, worthy of your donations. I know I keep repeating myself, when I say how great it was, and that I wish I could explain it better. But it was. And I do.
Love, Kristie, who now has one sock-clad foot on the Beach People side of the map!
Don't hate me if you have dial up. I took over 200 pictures this week ..... believe me when I say I held back from how many I *wanted* to share!!!
ps. Looking at our family picture above, I can understand how you might want to congratulate me on my pregnancy, as one parent did at the "See Ya Later" ceremony on our final morning at the retreat. Let me reassure you that it's 30 extra pounds and bad posture, not any upcoming blessing. On second thought, maybe all those fresh-baked cookies from Preston and Brooke weren't such a good idea!!!
End of Week #8 of DI #2, CCG 1991, Arm D
OK, here’s pretty much the way I see the world:
There are dog people, and there are cat people.
There are sock people, and there are barefoot people.
There are beer people, and there are martini people.
There are city people, and there are rural people.
There are beach people, and there are lake people.
Blaine and I have always been, without a doubt, sock-wearing, beer-swilling (well, him, not me) canine-loving, rural-living, LAKE people. The beach has just never “done it” for us. The sand is gritty, the water tastes nasty, my skin gets sticky, the seaweed is slimy, you have to watch out for creepy crawlies in the water, and did I mention that the gritty sand gets EVERYWHERE????? Plus, it’s just not as easy to water-ski in the ocean!
However, if ANYTHING or ANY VACATION was enough to change our minds, and swing us over to the Beach-People side of the equation, it would be this past week at The Lighthouse Family Retreat in Gulf Trace, Florida. I simply cannot remember a time when our family had so much fun, and felt so cared about by others.
A brief history: Melinda, the founder of The Lighthouse Family Retreat, worked as a pediatric oncology nurse for eight years, but felt God had a vision for her to create a seaside family retreat for children with cancer. In 1999 she resigned from her job as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and started working full-time to develop this ministry. The first week-long retreat was held in 2000 through the hard work of Melinda and the *amazing* dedication of volunteers. Although land has been donated for the Lighthouse to build their own permanent seaside facility, for now they rent facilities, offering seven to 10 retreats a year, helping 80-100 families. And for us to have been one of those families this summer …. Well, I don’t think it gets much better than this past week!
I’m not exactly sure I can find the words (now THAT’S a first!) to describe the kindness and generosity shown to my family this past week. First of all, the retreat is just plain FUN! Arts & crafts, swimming, movies on the beach, singing, Beach Olympics, a luau, a talent show; it seems like the activities just go on and on. But we also had plenty of time to simply hang out on the beach, soak up some sun (which equates to slathering sunscreen on our kids twelve times a day!) or relax in our condominium, getting to know the other families.
One of the families we had a chance to become acquainted with is a family I had met online, through Caringbridge; Jenny, Tre’ and Catie. They are such fun and it was a real treat for us to get to know them in person ….. and of course now we’re rooting harder than ever for Catie to win her battle with medulloblastoma, a brain tumor. Kendrie was pretty much OBSESSED with Catie, so it’s good they only live a few hours from us, as I have a feeling that upcoming visits will be in store.
Tre', Jenny, and Catie, with her face painted like a kitty-cat!
But back to the retreat. Not only did Melinda and her crew provide plenty of opportunity to keep us as busy as we wanted to be, laughing, playing, and spending time as a family, they also worked incredibly hard to make this week a time of relaxation and restoration.
Upon arrival, we were assigned “Family Helpers”, a wonderful young couple named Brooke and Preston, whose goal it was to do everything in their power to make the week easier for our family. They helped with basics like laundry, getting us drinks at meals, folding down our beds at night and putting fresh-baked cookies and hand-written notes on our pillows (of course, the cookies were my personal favorite part!) and taking our kids under their wing in a way I just can’t explain. Any time Blaine and I had a parent group or outing to attend, Brooke and Preston were right there, taking our kids on activities and keeping them involved and comfortable. They hung out with us on the beach, took the kids crabbing at night, and tolerated (with amazingly good humor) the kids climbing all over them for six straight days. They’ve been married less than a year, and I’m a little worried they might decide never to have children of their own, after spending so much time with ours!
Blaine and I have been on vacations before where people waited on us hand and foot, but it seemed normal because we were paying them to do so. In this instance, though, Brooke and Preston took on this challenge, as did all the volunteers from Woodstock Baptist Church, who sponsored the retreat, as a missions trip and a ministry to help families like ours who simply needed a break after dealing with the day-to-day struggle of living a life with childhood cancer. They gave up a week’s vacation and paid to come to the beach, not to be waited on themselves, but so they could help others. Like George Bailey says, if every time a bell rings you know an angel just earned his wings, then the Mormon Tabernacle Handbell Choir was busy this past week in Gulf Trace! Thank you, Preston and Brooke! And thank you to Woodstock Baptist Church for sponsoring the retreat and helping Melinda realize her dream for families!
Like I said, lots of fun activities, like the Beach Olympics where all the families and volunteers were split into teams for some friendly competition in categories like Building the Best Pyramid, Obstacle Course, Ring Toss, Egg Toss (which I managed to lose spectacularly …. Does anyone know how to get egg white out of a swimsuit?) Kite Flying, Sponge Race, etc.
Notice how much faster you run when your tongue is sticking out?
Kendrie proudly displays her ring tossing abilities.
Our Team Cheer:
“We’re the Great White
And We Know How to Fight!
Come Near Us
And We’ll Bite, Bite, Bite!”
(maybe you have to hear it in person and see the hand movements to be properly impressed, ha!)
One night we had a luau and hula-hoop competition, which Brayden worked really hard at. Considering she had rarely hula-hooped before, I thought she did a great job and it was so much fun to see her working so hard to figure it out!
One night we had a Talent Show, and all I have to say about this is that no coconuts were harmed in the taking of this picture.
Lots of swimming in the ocean, although the kids’ enthusiasm was dampened when one of the boys in our group got stung by a jellyfish. It took a little longer each day to coax them into the water after that, but once they got in they had a ball, and Brayden proclaimed herself the “Queen of the Jelly-Fish Spotters”. You would have thought she had spotted Jaws, each time she pointed to one floating in the water. And while I’m sure the kids will say the highlight of the week for them was going hunting for crabs each night, can I just say that my son is SUCH a girl?!?! He was so funny, walking along the beach with his flashlight and net, eagerly pointing out the crabs for Preston to scoop into the bucket. But just let one of the crabs (about the size of a nickel, just to give you a mental picture) turn and start running towards him, and he would drop that net and run, SCREAMING, in the other direction! Seriously, these crabs weren’t much bigger than houseflies, and you would have thought it was Attack of the 30-Foot Arachnids! When I wasn’t so busy laughing at him, I was laughing at him.
And for Blaine and me, besides the rejuvenation of simply “getting away from it all”, the highlight was meeting the other families, all of them understanding exactly how we feel and what we’ve gone through. Blaine and I have been blessed to have family and friends help us through this ordeal, but only another family, who has undergone the exact same challenges …. Who has had a doctor look them in the eye and say those words, “I’m sorry, your child has cancer” can truly understand the fears, the frustrations, the joys and the struggles.
I mentioned Jenny and Tre’ earlier, and another family we were able to become better acquainted with, were Mike and Kristin, and their sons Ryan and Brandon. We had previously met them in April at the Camp Sunshine Family Weekend, but got a chance to visit more in Florida. All four of them are such neat people, but Kristin especially is an inspiration. The work she has done, and continues to do, to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer is so encouraging!
Mike, Kristin, Ryan and Brandon
And of course the best news for us all week is that Kendrie felt well and was able to keep up (for the most part!) with everyone else. You can tell by this picture she was getting a little tired at the end, but shoot, so were all of us!
It was a vivid reminder to us of how lucky we are, when one of the teenage boys at our retreat had to be airlifted back to Atlanta when he began having trouble breathing. To give you an indication of how much fun we were all having, the reports came back that the boy was most upset at not being allowed to return to the retreat! But our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as his condition improves and he can hopefully return home soon.
Anyway, I hope that gives you some indication of how much fun we had, and a glimpse into the hearts of the wonderful people who worked so hard to make it all possible. It is definitely humbling to be on the receiving end of such kindness. And even more humbling when I realize I’ve never been on the giving end, either. Of course it’s a couple of years down the road, but Blaine and I are discussing the possibility of volunteering as Family Helpers ourselves in a few years and hopefully “paying back” the kindness that was shown to us.
If you happen to be walking along this week and stumble across a large bag full of money, and aren’t quite sure what to do with it, let me assure you that The Lighthouse Family Retreat is a wonderful organization, worthy of your donations. I know I keep repeating myself, when I say how great it was, and that I wish I could explain it better. But it was. And I do.
Love, Kristie, who now has one sock-clad foot on the Beach People side of the map!
Don't hate me if you have dial up. I took over 200 pictures this week ..... believe me when I say I held back from how many I *wanted* to share!!!
ps. Looking at our family picture above, I can understand how you might want to congratulate me on my pregnancy, as one parent did at the "See Ya Later" ceremony on our final morning at the retreat. Let me reassure you that it's 30 extra pounds and bad posture, not any upcoming blessing. On second thought, maybe all those fresh-baked cookies from Preston and Brooke weren't such a good idea!!!
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