Tent Camping With Little People - Part 2

I'm not sure I can adequately describe some of the hilarity that occured during the camping trip.  Although this group text does a pretty good job of it!

Messages through music

 

Tonight when I normally would have been giving the boys a bath, I was instead grabbing towels for them while they took a shower with Dave.  He had the radio on and the song You Gotta Be was on.  I've never listened to it really, but the announcer said something about playing this song for mothers and daughters who are struggling right now, so that caught my ear.  The lyrics are below:

Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears, stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry

You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Herald what your mother said
Read the books your father read
Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time
Some may have more cash than you
Others take a different view, my oh my, heh, hey

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Don't ask no questions, it goes on without you
Leaving you behind if you can't stand the pace
The world keeps on spinning
You can't stop it, if you try to
This time it's danger staring you in the face

Remember, listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears, my oh my heh, hey, hey

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

It's funny because my post yesterday was about puzzles and putting the pieces back together.  And as I sit here, I have a pile of books that belonged to my dad that I have been planning to read.  I'm sure people could say it's all coincidence that this song happened to be on the radio and I randomly happened to hear it.  Although if you know much about me, you probably know what I think about coincidences!   

It wouldn't be the first time I felt like my dad was talking to me through music.  A few nights after he passed, I was rocking Sam to sleep.  The song he walked me down the aisle to at my wedding came on on Pandora.  I thought to myself, Ha! That's funny, Dad.  The next song was whatever song is playing in Lion King when Simba sees Mufasa in the stars.  The boys had just watched Lion King the week before dad died, and Dave explained his death to Henry by talking about Lion King.  Go figure.  Guess I'll keep working on that puzzle.

Puzzle Pieces

I feel like my entire world has been shattered into a million pieces in the last six weeks.  I keep trying to pick up the pieces and put them back together, but it's like a puzzle.  I can't put the pieces back together because one very big important piece is missing and I can't even tell what the picture is supposed to look like without it.  

Livin' the Dream - HyVee Triathlon

Three months ago my dad signed up to swim in the Hyvee Triathlon hoping two other people would join him to form a relay team.   My sister and I agreed to be his other teammates and started off on a journey that definitely brought my family closer together in ways we never imagined.   8 weeks ago I didn't even have a bike.  Who knew I could actually bike 25 miles over hills, passed dead skunks and a guy dressed up like Gumby in less than 2 hours.   I'm so thankful for my cousin who drove all the way from Colorado so that we could carry out the dream my dad had, to compete in this triathlon. 

 A journalist happened to come up to my mom before the race and we ended up making the local news.  It's nice to have a little video to remember the day ... even if our names are wrong :)


http://whotv.com/2013/09/01/stooper-stars-relay-team-competes-in-hy-vee-triathlon-for-father/


Next year our goal is to be skinnier and cuter in our outfits.  Clearly we are some serious athletes. 

Thanks to everyone for their prayers, well wishes, and support through this adventure.  Special thanks to my judge who lent me his bike, taught me that I know absolutely nothing about biking (including how to shift!), and then fixed the bike after I broke it and taught me how to change a tire in the eleventh hour and saved me from a panic attack!    We truly have amazing friends and family.  Love you all!

Tent camping with little people.

Warning:  Only trained professionals should attempt camping with anyone under the age of 5.  The following pictures in no way, shape, or form are an accurate portrayal of the events which actually occurred.

 

We're just going to remember all the fun moments so that we actually forget the crying, whining, ouchies, and scary stuff and hopefully we will attempt camping again next summer!

Memorial Reading

My dad had an amazing heart.

He could Light up a room with his smile, make the most horrific situation comfortable with his silly jokes, and he made friends everywhere he went with everyone he met.

He built a playground at my elementary school and helped with the carnival every year. He drove me to dance lessons, horseback riding lessons, suffered through countless dance recitals, went on a mission trip to Appalachia with my youth group when I didn't even go. He made us French toast and macaroni and cheese with hotdogs, watched cartoons with us, took care of us when we were sick. He cleaned the house and did laundry. He taught me to swim and took me on my first roller coaster ride. He let me cover his car with grateful dead stickers in my hippy phase. He drove me to Minnesota to spend time with my high school sweetheart. He held my hand at my wedding and told me to have fun, his motto in life. He took care of my mom when she got cancer, he took care of his own mother through her dementia and his dad through all of the crazy, all while smiling, selflessly giving himself to others.

He loved stupid movies like Napoleon Dynomite and probably asked at least 100 waitresses to bring him a "dang quesadilla" or some cool whip for dessert.

My Dad did with his heart more things in 56 years than most people who live to 100 could ever accomplish. I will miss him every day and truly hope I can be the kind of amazing role model to my children that he was to me.

You find out who your friends are ...

Funny how life works.  Shortly before my dad passed away, I found this quote.   It summed up perfectly the pain I was feeling for a friend who had lost her baby boy.

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

I'll never understand why people react the way they do when tragedy occurs.  You certainly find out who your true friends are.   Acting "normal" like nothing is wrong certainly doesn't help the person experiencing tragedy -- unless they are sitting at work trying to hold it together!  Then by all means, acting normal rocks.   There's nothing worse than feeling terribly heartbroken and sad while watching the world zip by like nothing has changed.   So many people say, Oh, I've been thinking of you.  The thing is, if you don't let that person know you've been thinking about them, it certainly doesn't do them much good.   Taking two seconds out of your day to text or email or pick up a phone can make all the difference in the world.

I guess I'm lucky that I've got some amazing friends who have taken the time the last three weeks to sit with me in the darkness while I struggle to find grace and light in all the sorrow and pain.  I hate to think how much worse I'd be doing without them.