Week #24 & #25 @ The Dahlhouse

Weeks #24 and #25 were a blur of activities.  The beginning of week #24 had all the Dahl kids saying goodbye to their classmates as school came to an end.  The three of them each had an amazing year!  We are proud of the growth they all experienced and look forward to next year at Cornerstone. 

Blessings come in all shapes an sizes, and this one is no exception.  Bella has been so sad about leaving our big play structure behind when we moved in January 2016.  Many tears have been shed over that play structure (especially when we found out that the new home owners chopped it up and dragged it out).  It, however, was too large for our new backyard.  One of my friends, Kim, posted on Facebook that they were giving this structure away for free if we took it apart.  Thankfully Mark is very handy.  Bella is thrilled with the new play structure, and it is the perfect size for our little backyard.  I especially like the covered rooms underneath and up top. With all the rain we get in the Pacific Northwest, it still means Bella can venture outside in rain boots.  I am certain Matthew will be following her shortly as we have discovered he is an outside kind of guy.  Thank you Kim! 

The middle of the week, I took all four kiddos to Luke's Casey Eye Appointment.  It is always an adventure with my bunch!!!  Good news is Luke's eyes remain stable.  The doctor actually allowed me to view what his glaucoma looked liked.  I also got to compare his eye photographs from years past too.  It is very interesting.  We all rode the tram up the hill, viewed the fish in the tank, and watched Cars in the exam room while waiting.  Matthew was pretty good up until the doctor came in.  He decided to have a blow out!  I took him to the bathroom that resembled one you would find on an airplane (seriously people it is a children's hospital) and used 10,000 wipes on a kiddo that needed a serious bath.  I couldn't find the plastic bags and the only spare outfit I had was a one piece sleeveless number. It was 60 degrees outside. I was laughing in the bathroom...because what else can you do?  We all survived the traffic home.  Memories.

VIPKID continues to go very well for me.  I love working out of my closet.  I sometimes have to remind myself that this whole thing is REAL!  I have an online job where I teach the sweetest kids in Beijing, China.  I have even built up a steady clientele of regular students.  One thing is for sure...we have FUN! 

I continue to heal after my bout with skin cancer.  I have a nice scar that will be a reminder for the rest of my life.  I have decided though that the scar means I survived.  I will proudly wear it as a reminder that God has things in control.  I won't leave this earth one minute before I am supposed to.  At times my shoulder is tender, but I am able to do more thing with my right arm now. 

I am soaking up every moment I can of his babyhood.  I love that he still lets me rock him to sleep.  I cherish the time. 

We celebrated Father's Day even though I ended up sick and I was the one that took the nap.  LOL.  We are all so thankful for Mark and the wonderful father he is.  We love you babe.

Mark transitioned back to traveling with the trains.  It means we are all in a period of adjustment.  Some of us are doing better with the change than others.  This first week back was rough (not.going.to.lie.)!  I have declared Monday's library day.  I finally found our adorable little library in Battle Ground.  The kids love to go and pick out books.  I am teaching Luke and Grace how to use the Library catalog, and how to search and put books on hold that they want to read.  I think they are getting the hang of it.

Still searching for the perfect laptop.   Suggestions?

Longest day of the year.  This is the view from Matthew's bedroom at 9:30pm. 

This boy LOVES outside!

Our newest rabbit addition...Pixie!

And finally...our favorite photographer took my kiddos 4th of July pictures!  We love you Brienne!  You are amazing.

A sneak peak! 

Father's Day Without My Dad...

 

 

Every June, when the Father's day cards fill the store shelves, like Target and Walmart and even Safeway, I purposefully find myself avoiding them.  I pick up the cards we need, but usually I use the kiddos as a buffer between me and the cards.  "Which one do you think grandpa will like?  What about daddy?" I find myself saying these things.  I try not to let my mind "go there" and remember that it is once again another father's day that I can't tell "mine" all the things I want to... or even just once more how much I loved him, appreciated him, and valued him. 

This year I found myself walking down the aisle of father's day cards by myself.  I was looking at all the titles and choices and decided that this year I was going to buy my father a card.  I stood there for a while trying to decide which would be the best for him, fully knowing I couldn't give it to him.  Yes, I stood there in the middle of Safeway with tears streaming down my cheeks thinking of another Father's Day without him.  Yep...I bought my father whose been dead for almost 10 years a father's day card filled it out and wrote his name across the top.  I have no grave to lay it at because his ashes are scattered off the shores of a Maui beach, so it is in my top drawer of my night stand where I keep some pictures of him. 

                                                                (Letting dad go...at sunset off the

                                                                  beach at the Royal Lahina).

 



I miss him. Almost 10 years ago, I said one final good-bye to my dad.  He hugged me at the bottom of the stairs, told me he loved me and kissed me on my cheek.  As he ascended the stair case, I watched unknowingly the last time I would ever see my dad. He was young, at the age of 52, still a lifetime to live, places to go, babies to hold...but it was not meant to be. 

I really miss what a good friend he was.  Not only to everyone he met, but to me and my brother David.  He always made time for us, loved to chat and talk to us on the phone and was always up for an adventure.  I loved that he appreciated our individual interests and supported us.  I know he would have done the same for his grandchildren.  I feel much of my grief is surrounded by the fact that my kiddos never knew him.  He had so much to offer and he gave to so many.  I know his legacy lives on in David and I. 

 

 

This year on Father's Day weekend, we were able to spend it with my family celebrating my grandfather's 80th birthday.  I was so happy to give my kids a family experience that reminded me of the ones that I had as child.  Aunts and uncles and cousins and grandma's and grandpa's.  It is truly a great legacy to have.  My only wish was that my father was there to share it too.  His shoes remain unfilled (as they will always be). 

 

 

                      (Papa and his great-grandkids at his 80th birthday)

 



So Happy Father's Day Dad!  Thank you for living an incredible life, for leaving a legacy and for loving me.  Thank you for loving people more than stuff, having a FAITH that was real, and encouraging me to follow the plan in life that God had for me.  I'm passing that on to my 3 babies here, while I know you are watching my 3 babies in heaven.  XOXO

 

Love,

Me