Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Fine Men

Kyle at the Statehouse - May 2011

Today is all about Kyle. It's not his birthday. Not any sort of significant day regarding Kyle but he is on my mind. Probably because he never ceases to amaze me with what an incredible person he is.

I had  the joy of attending a memorial service with him Sunday afternoon. Most might not think that is something to be joyful about but it was a Celebration of Life for Mr. Richard Wheeler, a WWII veteran friend of Kyle's. Mr. Wheeler wanted a celebration and his wife honored those wishes.

He was an amazing man who has had a huge influence on Kyle. They have spent many hours together talking and having lunch at meetings. We  visited Mr. Wheeler's home which Kyle said is like a museum! He got the special tour while I was meeting with Mr.Wheeler's wife. There were books and military medals galore. Kyle had a ball and Mr. Wheeler did too. Packages with DVD's, articles, and notes arrived frequently in the mail. Along with many veterans, Mr. Wheeler would bring Kyle books to read. He has so much to read he doesn't need to go to the library since the library comes to him! So many of these men want to pass along things to Kyle to help teach him and preserve their stories. This has become a passion for Kyle and the men in the Veteran's Chapter he belongs to have taken him under their wing.

When we were at the Veterans Meeting last Wednesday, Mrs. Wheeler asked me if Kyle could say a few words at the memorial service. When I told him about the request his first words were he needed to do it.

Before he left for his Boy Scout camp Friday he sat down and wrote his memorial speech. When he asked me to come read it I had tears. He wrote straight from the heart. Took him no time at all, he knew what he wanted to say.

If you have never heard Kyle deliver a presentation, you are missing out on a wonderful speaker. It is truly a gift, one that he gets from his Dad. He has such a presence when he is up in front of people and it comes across as sincere and confident. You can tell he enjoys doing it and in this case he was so honored and proud to do this for Mr. Wheeler.

But what I love most about my son, he comes back to sit next to me in the pew (of course my tears are flowing) and he puts his arm around me, hugs me, and pats my shoulder. He always does this whenever we are at something that makes me emotional. He always has that hug, comforting arm, and sweet words. Always asks if I'm OK.

From the time he was very little we always thought he had such a deep soul that really felt for other people unlike many other kids his age. He is so empathetic, so genuine and sincere. He is more than I ever dreamed of what he would become and he is not quite 15 years old.

So yes, attending a memorial service with my son was a joy. I was beaming with pride as the line formed afterward to talk to him and hear about his relationship with Mr. Wheeler. He was so proud to be there and honor such a great man. Much like I am honored to be Kyle's mom.

Below is Kyle's eulogy for Mr. Wheeler:

The hardest part of preparing this speech for today was trying to think of a way to describe Richard Wheeler. He was a kind, thoughtful, and dedicated man, dedicated to his faith, dedicated to his family, dedicated to his fellow veterans of the Second World War and preserving their stories.




My name is Kyle Miller; I first met Richard Wheeler at a meeting of the Litsinberger chapter for Veterans of Battle of the Bulge in November 2008. Because of my interest in military history, particularly World War 2 I wanted to meet some of the men who had lived and fought in this greatest of wars and hear their personal stories. Mr. Wheeler was one of the first to share his experiences with me, but of course when you have as many incredible stories as he did no one could ever hear it all in one meeting. Whenever I saw Mr. Wheeler at a veteran’s chapter meeting he would always have a story about World War 2, whether about his own experiences, his paratrooper unit, or anything else involving the war he always had something I wanted to hear. I often received large envelopes in the mail that would have magazines, photos, and DVDs related to World War 2 that Mr. Wheeler knew I would like. I learned a lot of a critical time in human history because of Mr. Wheeler and from a perspective I could never have gotten on my own or in a book or in a movie. It was a human perspective from a human who lived through it. But more than a history lesson, I got something significantly greater. I gained a very good friend, one who was kind and supportive, one who was fun and smart, and one whom I will miss very much. Mr. Wheeler always said the true heroes are in the cemeteries, but I always saw him as hero in life, and I know that now and for all eternity Richard Wheeler will reside with the greatest of men.


Thank you.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Happy 4th!


Busy 4th! Mulitple parades, lunch at Whitney and BJ's (yum!), fireworks, and lots of fun!

 








 Live entertainment since everyone is just back from camps we get lots of camp songs and skits.

Lots of silly play!

 Can you tell Bill has a migraine? He was a good sport about getting pictures taken but he really didn't feel well.



 Lindy painted flags on her nails!
 Evening Parade, all the girls wanted to be a part of the dance float.


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pandamania!


Another hit at VBS this year! Pandamania was a blast, over 350 kids which in itself makes things a blast. There is so much energy and enthusiasm all over the building. It is a true joy to be a part of!
This was Ethan's final year, he graduates to being a leader if he does not have Boy Scout camp the same week. He had such a great time doing service projects and tie dying shirts, many great memories!

Father's Day


A belated Father's Day post to the best husband and father ever! There is no one I would rather spend my days with than my sweet husband. He makes everything for our family possible with all of his hard work and dedication.
I am so grateful to be able to stay home and homeschool the kids and he makes sure that can happen. He spoils all of us so much with his time and energy. His sense of humor and big heart and his dedication to our family is so appreciated. I look at Kyle and Ethan and what wonderful young men they are becoming and know it is from his influence and love for them.
We are off later to have a family day at the park, Bill's favorite thing to do. Thank you for being the best daddy ever!


Farewell


Trying to get caught up on my pictures, feel like I'm always saying that, but some things I don't want to skip just to get caught up! On Father's Day we said good bye to Pastor Jim and his family. They have been moved to another church about 90 minutes away so we won't see them as often.
We will miss Sunday mornings with Jim's sermons and I have already missed VBS with Phyllis. It just wasn't the same without her there to work with in the Preschool. I know we are not the only family who feel this way, the farewell party had hundreds of people there to say good bye.
Bill and Jim have become great friends enjoying weekday lunches over Rubens and we have enjoyed our dinners with our families.
We will see them soon once they get settled. Until then best wishes on their new home. Their congregations are lucky to have them!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Awesome Leaders


I can't say enough good things about Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts when it comes to teaching kids to become leaders. The week at camp really proved the point.
Cynthia and Kyle are awesome teens in many ways. Cynthia was an advanced program leader which meant she was responsible for writing her own lesson plan and creating an activity to do with each of the camp units all week. Her nature training with Mrs. Slone paid off huge with her running an animal tracking station. Not only did the girls love the activity and being able to make their own animal track and take it home but they loved Cindy Loo Hoo. She made things fun, exciting, and she is full of enthusiasm. It was so fun to hang out with her at Head Quarters and help her get her project together. She is a really bright girl who is going to be very successful someday.
Back in May the other leaders asked me if Kyle might be willing to volunteer at camp since we had two leaders who were bringing siblings, both boys ages 6 and 9. I almost didn't ask him since I thought NO WAY will he be willing to spend a week at camp with all those girls running around. Well, he thought it over and knowing that he could earn some service hours was too enticing to pass up. (Of course I think he now has enough service hours to cover him until her makes Eagle!)
Two boys ended up having the best week ever with Kyle. He planned activities for them, brought things from home that he thought they would like, taught them great skits for Friday, set up their own personal tent to use all week, and basically did anything they wanted to do. And guess what? He had a great time! He loved the kids and had fun hanging out with some of the girls too. What teenage boy wouldn't?? One boy in a camp loaded with teenage girls?? He had fun!
Great kids made for a great week!



Camp is Friends!

Erin and Megan

 Camp is fun, the activities, songs, flag ceremony, is all great but the thing that makes camp really fun are the friends. There are some girls that my  girls only see at Girl Scout Camp. It is really cute too, they pick up where they left off the year before. They remember little things about them so they have plenty to talk about. Each year girls from their troop go also and that makes it even better!
Erin being an experienced camper this year was so excited to join her friends. Last year we bumped her into a unit instead of being in the sibs unit which had toddlers in it. She was excited last year but didn't really know anyone in her Unit. This year though she had tons of friends with her.
Being a new Camp Director definitely allowed me to get around to more units to get pictures but it also kept me pretty busy so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. You had to be ready and smiling when I came by if you wanted to pose. Luckily there were plenty of participants!

 Lindy and Mackenzie

 Erin and Greer, I don't know what is going on with Erin and her eyes but this is her new look! It was lovely to see her in a picture at VBS this week with our lovable youth pastor that she recruited to be her personal lounge chair. There she sat with eyes just like these!




Troop 120 girls!

Camp Papinashuash Begins!

Lindy loving camp!


Day One was a HUGE success! Thankfully the rain held off and we had a great start to the week.
The PALS (Program Assistant Leaders) have been working on planning camp for months. They have worked hard to design a theme that would appeal to all ages of girls and they have really done a great job.

Each day this week the girls will be playing a Girl Scout version of Clue and also trying to solve a mystery. Each unit has 3 Clue Cards with a person, place at camp, and an item that represents the topic of the day. Day One's Clue game was "Who Broke the Camp Rules". All the units had to travel around to the other units and ask what cards they had. Girls keep track, through process of elimination, in their "Spy Notebooks" that were the craft for the first day. At flag down the big reveal was that the Jazzy Juniors were running at Singing Trees. Those Juniors always pushing the limits and running through the camp song time! As the girls start getting the hang of the routine flag down should become a little bit more exciting!




The second game involves the girls getting mystery letters to keep track of in their notebooks. Two are hidden at camp and with the direction of the PAL they "discover" the letters. One is at Headquarters and the other is in a daily card they are given to read about a famous women. Yesterday girls learned about Clara Barton the founder of the Red Cross. Hidden in her biography was a highlighted letter to write down. At the end of the week the PALS will help the girls unscramble the letters to reveal a word.

Lots going on! Crafts, games, camp songs, creeking, and other special projects with our APL's (Advanced Program Leaders). Cindy Loo Hoo is teaching girls about animal tracks and each girl is making their own track to take home. Patches has a nice shady spot set up for a mystery reading and discussion she is leading the girls through. Girls are getting ready to cook on Wednesday and put on skits Friday.


Lots of new leaders joined camp this year but we've got great experienced PALS leading the way. Girls just love hanging out with the older girls and the PALS make the week so fun for them.

Those new to camp are coming up with their camp names and busy making new friends! Its looking like a great week hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate!

My sweet girls made my lunch, marked it with my camp name and wrote me a note!