Monday, July 26, 2010

First Day!!

We have made it through the first day of camp! I can't say that was a particularly HARD thing for me, as I was in the house the majority of the time, just responsible for keeping water jugs full at two sites, and keeping a Koolaid one and another water jug full at all times at the tents, where the kids meet to eat, do crafts, whatever. While they have snacks twice a day, the jugs are ALWAYS full for them at all times.

ShaoXi was a jr. counselor for the group of fifth and sixth graders. She is whooped, and in her room...not sure if I will see her again tonight! :) Hope so, as we need to eat dinner, which is halfway cooked.

It was such a blessing...104 kids, all having a blast. They moved from activity to activity, loving them all...we start out with awesome worship in the morning, then they begin their rotations...kayaking, swimming, arts & crafts, fishing, bible time, story telling, games. These kids are kept BUSY! :) Somewhere in all of that we fit in 2 snack times, and lunch! :) What a blessing to serve at Dustin's Place! I am loving it! :)

Blessings...Nancy

Sunday, July 25, 2010

All done!!!

Shao is home, and I don't have to give her back! She's here to stay! :) This weekend was amazing!


I left for Nutmeg at 7:30 AM Sat. morning. Arrived JUST in time for the observation class at 9AM. Here's a Picture (or two!)

Aren't these neat? Bad lighting, but still!


Then we moved her out of her room, except for the clothes she was going to change into after the performance. We then ran to Mc Donald's for a quick bite to eat, back to Nutmeg, and she had just a few minutes to get ready and go to the theatre. Then I had to go run to the florist, since her Gramma Donna was running late, so I picked up her flowers for her to give Shao.

We finally all got to the theatre, I picked up the tickets, etc., and we settled in for the show. It was wonderful, but no photography allowed, so I could not take pics. Afterwards, Gramma & Grampa went to check into their hotel across the street. Shao & I went for ice cream with her friend Megan, Meg's mom Martha, and Shao's Gramma Bonnie (we are blessed with lots of special "grammas" in our lives!!!) Afterward they left, Shao changed, and we went across the street to have dinner with Gramma Donna & Grampa Ron. Yummy dinner...in fact we are having it tonight, since we had lots of leftovers! :)

We came home, got in before dark...I always love THAT! :) and unloaded the car. I ran to Wal*Mart for oil....light came on....oops! Must keep better care of my car! It's gotta last me awhile! Put oil in the car, carried in the rest (mostly) of Shao's stuff, and went up to take a shower. Oh, joy! Love me those cool showers on a hot sweaty day!!!

Today...precious!!! How do I find the words for this day?!?!? My precious child got baptized, proclaiming to the world that she wanted to follow Jesus, and that she loved Him with all her heart. Precious, I tell you! Here's a few pix of that! :)














Two of Shao's best friends came to the baptism, which made her SOOOO happy. Afterwards, they went swimming, and then came home with us, and are still here at almost 9PM...which is okay with me, although I think Shao will be exhausted by the time they leave!



And tomorrow...we begin at Dustin's Place....can't wait! Here's some pix from there...we had an orientation meeting there last Sunday...oh, my! Glorious views!! :)













This week I need to see God do a miracle...please keep our finances in prayer. August rent is coming up...and I am way short, nor have I paid any utilities since the end of June. Go, God! :)
Blessings...Nancy




Thursday, July 22, 2010

Been WAY too long!

Oh, my! Let's see...I'll have to do this in bullet points!
Lenai (SP?!?) came home with ShaoXi...sweet little girl, but she sure was homesick!
They went back to Nutmeg on Sunday night.
Tuesday I sent an email to let the dorm mother know Shao would be coming home again on Sat., and I mentioned that things were pretty rough in room 208, that I had received a phone call two nights in a row from a sobbing child, begging me to come get her.
Dorm mother went and spoke to girls, who promptly decided it was Shao who had been complaining, and ostracized her even more.
Principal of school called Shao into his office and talked to her, told her she needed to grow up, that these things were all part of life, and if she had a problem not to bother me, but to talk to an RA or the dorm mother.
Shao called me about her mtg w/principal, and I promised I wouldn't send any more emails! :)
ANOTHER girl's mother called/emailed, and asked for her daughter (Shao's only friend!) to be removed from that room!!! At that point, the principal went and talked to ALL the girls.
Girls sat down once he left and had a real heart-to-heart, deep discussion...this was a week ago. Upshot...things have been SOOOO much better in the room...too bad it took 3 of the 4 weeks to
get there!!!!

Shao came home by herself this past weekend. Thankfully, my bro-in-law, Kenny works near Nutmeg, and he brought her home for me...saved me 3 hours of driving! WAHOO!

We just spent the night sitting on the couch cuddling and talking, watching some tv. It was nice. On Sun. we went to church, then to a picnic at a conference center where we are both volunteering next week, for a kid's camp. It is on the water, very, very gorgeous grounds. My job? I have to have pre-packaged snacks and drinks ready for the campers at 10:30 and 2:30. In between? I sit and look at the water. I am NOT kidding you! Shao is a jr. counselor,, of the kids in grades 5 & 6, so she will be busy as a bee. This is gonna be one amazing camp!!!

Tomorrow night at 8PM and Sat. at 2 the Nutmeg students are performing in the Warner Theatre, next door to the Conservatory. There is an observation class at 9AM on Sat. for parents, so I will go to that. Then we will pack up her room, just leaving an outfit to change into for dinner after the show. Then it's off to the show. Her godparents are coming down from New Hampshire and are renting a room directly across the street from the theatre, so we will have dinner with them. One of her best friends is coming up with her mom to Sat.'s show, so that will be fun. Maybe we'll go have an icecream with them afterwards...gramma and grampa made the reservations for 6PM, so I think ShaoXi will be mighty hungry before 6 rolls around!!!!

And then I get to bring my girl home. Sunday morning we have church, and then it's the annual church picnic, at Hammonasset State Park, which is a beach. And my precious girl is getting water baptized! Praise the Lord! I am so thrilled!!!!! Of course, as usual, no one in my family is coming, just as no one is coming to the show. But I will be there...I pledge to ALWAYS be there for my girl!!!! I should say that it's not that they are around, and just don't want to come. Nope, they have all made vacation plans, and everyone of them is going to be gone. So be it.

And Monday morning we begin at the camp, Dustin's Place. Can't wait. Gonna be a blessing and a blast!

Blessings...Nancy

Saturday, July 10, 2010

My girl is coming home for the night!

My girl is coming home for the night, and bringing a friend with her. She called me this morning to ask if she could bring Linnae home. And then she told me that she had a friend sleep in her bed with her last night because she was terribly sad. And what was she sad about? Linnae had been telling her about her life in Washington DC, and about the prejudice she endures, and the physical abuse from caucasions. Linnae is African-American, and it sounds like life is pretty tough for her where she lives. And she is very, very homesick. So my sweet compassionate girl wanted to bring her home and love on her for awhile! How sweet is that? Oh, I love that girl of mine!!!!

So I am straightening up the house as much as I can, and planning a nice supper. Hopefully the weather will be nice tomorrow and maybe we can go to the beach. I need to remind ShaoXi to bring home her bathing suit and have Linnae do the same. We are expecting BIG thunder storms to roll through here tonight, but it is supposed to put an end to the AWFUL humidity we have had for 2 weeks now, and tomorrow and into next week are supposed to be stellar! YAY!

Gotta go back to work! Hope everyone has a great weekend...I know I will, with my girly in my arms! :) And hey, as a bonus, my brother in law is bringing her home today (he works a block away from Nutmeg!) so I don't have to drive all the way up there TWICE in 2 days (It's a 3hour round trip!!!) YAHOO!!!

Blessings...Nancy

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Even Keel

So...they had a big confrontation in room 208, (Shao did NOT go to an RA) and all agreed that by 10:30 they would at least quiet down, that anyone not from 208 would leave. So sleep is a little better. However, it has left a divided room. Shao has one girl, Sarah, who hangs with her. The other four are a clique to themselves, and it breaks Shao's heart. I encouraged her on the phone last night that no matter what, she needed to be a light to these girls, that she needed to heap good works upon their heads, and turn the other cheek, no matter how hard it is. She agreed, and we both agreed it is a very hard thing to do. Considering the stress, Shao wants to come home again for Saturday night, especially since her one friend is having a visit from her mom, so will be gone on Saturday night. It will be good to have her home again. And as far as I know there are no plans for Sunday afternoon, so I will keep her until the last moment (Curfew!)

Keep my girl in prayer. She is LOVING the classes, and has made friends with lots of other girls from other rooms, so that is good.

Blessings...Nancy

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

AWWWW!!!!

ShaoXi called me this morning to say "Good morning!" Except what she said was, "Mama, I am sad today!" This breaks my heart. She has repeatedly, over the last 10 days, asked her roommates to PLEASE quiet down after 10PM, to no avail. Their replies range from "You can't expect us to be quiet!" to just totally ignoring her. She is desperate for sleep. They are up at 7:15AM, and their last class ends at 8:15PM. She needs at least 9 or 10 hours of sleep, considering the grueling schedule. She had huge bags under her eyes all weekend. She cried herself to sleep last night. Please pray for my little girl. This is tough.

Considering she has been struggling with this for 10 days, I told her enough was enough, she needed to talk to the dorm mom about it...not to tattle as much as to find a solution...whatever that might be! Poor kid. You know her roommates will be ticked at her for "tattling." But I really don't care, except that this might make her time there more difficult, if they are cold toward her, or not nice. She is the sweetest, most tender hearted kid, and that would kill her. I feel helpless to change this for her. Please pray.

Blessings...Nancy

Sunday, July 4, 2010

24 Hours!

I had my baby with me for 24.5 hours! I picked her up at 3:30 yesterday, and dropped her off at 4PM today. It was wonderful to have her here, even if it wasn't for long. It was NOT wonderful to have to take her back. I cried on the way home. I miss her so much, and this week I do NOT have Vacation Bible School to keep me busy. It's gonna be a LOOOOONG 3 weeks until she comes home!!!

But...she is doing beautifully. They love her there. She is growing and changing, and all in good ways. She is learning what it is to be truly responsible for her own self. Good life lessons, for sure! And I will go up to visit once a week, even if she is not coming home. But reality...I don't think she IS coming home this coming up weekend, and I DO think she is coming home (with a roommate or two) the following, and then the one after that? VOILA, she will be DONE!!!

I will persevere and get through. I WILL! :) Please keep us both in your prayers, and also pray that some work comes my way.

Blessings...Nancy

Friday, July 2, 2010

Joy Unspeakable!

So this week has been a wild one! I was a "crew leader" for our Vacation Bible School at church. I had 2 assistants under me, and we had a total of about 15 kids. Let me tell you, as annoying as some of the boys were, I came to love those kids. They were all 10, headed into the 5th grade in the fall. Cool age, if a bit antsy! :)

Anyhow...the biggest joy came today. Today I had the privilege of leading one to Jesus in prayer! And then later, at the end of the day, another came up to me and said quietly "I asked Jesus into MY heart a few minutes ago!" Oh, the angels are rejoicing today! What a privilege and blessing! I am SOOOO gonna miss these kids. A few of them go to my church, but most were from the community. I will be praying for Jonathan, Connor, Tristan, Tanner, Emily, Abi, Katie, Austin, J.D., Lee, Samantha, Eli, Chris....oh, man, I think I'm forgetting a few names...but GOD knows who was there! Tristan and Emily are our new little brother/sister in the Lord! :)

Blessings...Nancy

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Prayers are being answered!

The joy is back in my girl's voice! Oh, how I rejoice in that! She called yesterday afternoon and said she LOVED her "partnering" class. That is dancing with a male dancer...something she doesn't get to do much, since there are only one or two of them at New Haven Ballet. Makes me wonder what I SHOULD be doing with her, dance-wise. Maybe New Haven doesn't have what she needs? I dunno. The problem is, there is generally a lack of male dancers in almost any school...except Nutmeg. And at her level? It would require her to attend their boarding school during the school year, to get what she really needs. OR for me to drive her to Torrington every afternoon. An hour and a half each way. And many hours of classes each day. I don't think that is a possibility, eh?

But she is happier, and says her feet are getting more used to it. And she really wants to come home for Saturday night, but she wants to be back in Torrington Sunday afternoon for the picnic and fireworks they have planned for the kids. So it will be a short visit home, but well worth it! :) We miss one another terribly! People have always remarked on the unusually tight connection we have. I am definitely MOM, but still...we are buddies, and we "get" it, and we have the same sense of humor, and we laugh at the same things...and we have DONE all of this since she was really, really young...she really GOT it when she was about 5...amazing. Comes from having an old mama and no siblings, I guess! :)

So...keep on praying. Today is the first, and I am waiting to see what my paycheck (direct deposited) from last week will be...but I KNOW I won't have enough to pay the rent, as I only worked 15 hours last week. Go, God! I am excited to see His provision...I am confident He will provide!

Blessings...Nancy