I'm Five!

Lolo Hot Springs

Last Saturday the family woke up with great anticipation and began the half day process of packing for our little vacation. Packing is usually the part I hate, and when we are finally ready I usually am so frustrated I do not want to go on vacation any more. But.... this time was so different. Everyone helped pack and get ready to go. Kaly and Ayla ran back and forth and grabbed diapers, towels, clothes and anything I asked of them. Jeromy worked hard at getting the van ready and we all left in a very pleasant mood.

Gavin asked every 5 minutes where we were going and talked most of the way. We arrived in Lolo around 4pm and spent the evening playing in the water. I can't say that the pools were all I dreamed them to be but, we all had a wonderful time. It was so fun to have something to do that was really perfect for everyone. All of the kids love being in the water and it was perfect for Eli and Gavin's bodies to have so much time in warm mineral water.

Our first fun person encounter was "the goat lady" She was fun and she told me about 10 times that she made soap from goats milk and sold it in all the local hot springs. She asked a lot of questions about Eli and she asked if he had grandparents. I said yes and she said no I mean someone like me. Someone that could send him a card and money. Very nice of her but, I thought to myself, not a chance am I giving you my address. She eventually departed and we continued a quiet evening in the water.





We had a great little cabin and Gavin kept saying "this is our home now". We loved having the camping experience without the camping experience. I love a soft warm bed even when camping. lol

Then Sunday we hiked up the mountain a little ways. Gavin in the backpack and Eli strapped to my front. It didn't work as well as it did for the 4 mile hike a couple of weeks ago, but we still had fun. Jeromy with Gavin on his back ran around the rocks with the girls. We managed to get a good bit of fun in before it started to rain again. Out in the great outdoors we also managed to find us a great lunch at the lodge. The food was great and we had the place almost to ourselves. This is always nice because we enjoy eating out, but with two boys with very noticeable disabilities sometimes it feels like we are the evening entertainment. This time not so much. We were able to make Eli a little quiet bed near our table and I enjoyed a meal hands free.

We hit the water again for the evening and this time we really did become the center of attention. We visited with a couple of ladies that both are nurses and we were able to share a little of our stories with them. Then another lady came and sat a couple of feet from me and stared at Eli forever. I didn't know what to do. Usually people say something. She just stared. Finally a few words were spoken then she stared. Then I tried to break the silence and she barely responded and just stared. Then after I started to just look away from her she finally moved on, only to find Jeromy. She did actually talk to him and told him about a therapy that she uses. It is one our therapist uses on both of the boys and he thanked her and she moved on. We did have a wonderful relaxing time and we thoroughly enjoyed the water. I was told in had Lithium in it. Maybe that is why everyone was so pleasant to be around.


We enjoyed another evening meal and this time I held Eli for more of it and much to our surprise he kept reaching up and putting his hand in my salad. It really was fun to watch him. Every time I moved his hand away he would manage to get it back up there. I finally moved my plate out of his reach. This is a first of what I pray will be many things I will have to move out of his reach. I pray someday I can say Eli quit getting into things, but for now I am just so glad he is beginning to move outside of himself without someone else tugging him along.



We had to do the traditional stop at the Missoula Cracker Barrel for lunch. We shopped in the gift/candy store and the kids spent their money on a little treat. It was a wonderful time and Jeromy even surprised me and bought me a beautiful wall hanging. I love it so much. The verse fits perfectly with what God has been teaching me this summer. "Be Still and Know that I am God."

This was a simple vacation and I think my favorite of all of our family vacations. We really had time together, we really relaxed and we really had fun. When we got home we felt refreshed and I am excited to put summer to bed and wake up fall and the school year ahead.

What's Cooking?

I do not normally blog about food given that cooking and taking pictures of my cooking are not my gift, but it seems to be gifts God has given Kali and Ayla.

Kali and Ayla love to cook, bake and be creative with food. And Ayla is picking up on the photography, she loves to take pictures and she is quietly and closely watching our photographer friends and their work.

It started a couple of years ago when the girls started their own family restaurant. They set up a little outside sitting area and made menu's. As they seated the family under the trees they began taking orders. With their little aprons on they would run back and forth to the house and bring us our order. They never failed to bring the bill at the end.

Then the real cooking began. We made Ratatouille. Once we found a complicated recipe and did the shopping we began the 3 hour process of making it. It took a long time but the girls were so engaged and they really began to love cooking.

At ages 10 and 9, Kali and Ayla have become really adept at working in the kitchen. They often make their own lunches. Some of their favorites are cooking eggs with onions, mushrooms and rosemary, or frying a tortilla covered with onions, mushrooms and garlic powder with a bit of Parmesan cheese melted on top.

(I know your getting hungry, but at least I am not making you cry:)

The other day around dinner time Kali and Ayla asked if they could cook dinner!

I, of course, said yes.

For dinner they, with no help from mom, made crepes and set the table with all of the goodies we love to fill them with.

This last year they have mastered sugar cookies. Yeah for mom!
They have made sugar cookies from scratch with a friend and a couple of weeks ago Kali made them herself. If you have ever made sugar cookies from scratch you know it is a big job.

They have also helped make one of our favorite desserts,a raspberry danish, for me on Mother's Day.


This year for Christmas we gave them American Girl cooking books. These are full of great history and recipes and cooking tips related to the time era of the American girls.

Since then they have created numerous desserts. Mixing chocolate and peanut butter, making dog chow, creating a chocolate marshmallow delicacy. It seems the mixtures and creativity never ends. They even made us the most amazing chocolate milkshakes. They have made chocolate chip cookies and their own recipe of raspberry sherbet. Some of Kali's other favorites are her homemade salsa and her pizza roll ups.

Recently, they have become very interested in baking and decorating cakes. They have been learning from aunt Jamie about cake making. They have learned all about fondant and have had some great opportunities to make some wonderful things.

Their new favorite hobby, along with cousin Sadie, is to design cakes. We have a huge file filled with cake designs that they have come up with.



Kali with the cake she decorated. She made the flowers out of fondant and she did the flowers on her own.

Ayla with the cake she decorated. The decorations were also made by Ayla with fondant.

So, just a little tip, keep your eyes open for a future restaurant and or bakery I can assure you, you will be in for a treat. They have a plan, a name, a logo and a passion that won't stop!

It is fun and exciting to see what God may be doing.

Yeah, cry again! It seems to be my theme. Sorry!

"I can't walk"

At almost age 5 Gavin is really starting to notice the world around him and has figured out he is not like other kids. He can't walk.

It really started to become apparent a few months ago when the kids were playing the Wii. The girls were making Gavin his own Mii, and his cousin said, in her really excited voice, "Gavin on the Wii you can walk." At the time, Gavin didn't seem phased, but that night in his sleep he started yelling, "I can't walk, I can't walk". Oh, how I cried.

Many times out of the blue, he would say, "I can't walk". Sometimes, I would say, "no you can't walk, but you are a great driver and you get to drive your cool bike all over". This didn't seem to make him very happy and a while later he said out of the blue, "my mom said I can't walk". Stab right to the heart. I think he was beginning to think it was my fault.

At an appointment the other day Gavin was being very fidgety and seemed frustrated, I asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to get big. I had been praying for an opportunity to talk to him a little more and I felt this was it. I said, "why, so you can walk?" He said "yeah". I told him "remember we need to help your legs get straighter and do exercises to help your legs get strong then we will see if you can walk, but we don't know yet". He was so mad at me and he stuck his tongue out and said "No". I said, "Gavin does it make you mad that you can't walk?" He said "yeah". "Gavin it makes mommy sad that you can't walk and if you can walk someday I will be very happy!" "No, mommy you will cry," he said. I told him "no Gavin, Mommy would be very happy if you could walk". He didn't say anything else and he hasn't mentioned it all week. I don't know if that is what he needed to hear or if I just missed it all together and he doesn't want to talk about it, but he seems to be much less frustrated and I think he just needed to know that it is OK to be sad about it.

I just want to say, "Gavin it stinks that you can't walk and I would give anything to make it so, but ..........what else do I say? I love you the way you are, you are so special, you can drive a cool wheelchair". Right now it is hard to look past the fact that no matter how everyone includes him and no matter what we do to give him independence, the fact is he can't walk and run. He hasn't said it yet, but someday he will be saying I can't use my hands. He can't pick things up. He can't use a spoon to feed himself without some complicated gadget. Yeah, it stinks! It stinks! It stinks! and I need to give him the freedom to grieve over that fact, but I will not allow him to stay there. He is a trooper and he will find the good in it all. He will do like he does most of the time and he will live life to the fullest without concern about what he can't do and he will move forward doing what he can.

Please pray for us as we will be starting counseling next week. We are hoping to learn how we can help him deal with all of the life issues he will be facing. Finding ways to help him deal with his grief of not being able to walk and not being able to do a lot of things he will want to do, but to help him find joy in being who God made him to be.

Scheel's Summer Camp

After waiting for 1 whole year, off to Cocolalla Bible Camp they were supposed to go....

but Ayla's 102.2 fever meant they got to stay home.
(Kaly chose to stay home with Ayla, even after Ayla told her she could go. It was really a special time to see them more concerned about the other, than themselves. )

We knew hearts would be breaking, so Jeromy and I devised a plan, CAMP AT HOME.

The cousins were also plagued with the sickness, so we figured no harm in letting them hang out together.

So after a long shopping trip collecting supplies for the week, the fun began......

The winning team in water games dumped the bucket on Dean Scheel's head!

Campfire and Bible study time in the evenings, the kids seemed to really enjoy this time. Kaly really soaks it up. I love to hear their insight into spiritual things.

A morning at the lake for some swim time, but they played more in the sand.

A quick stop into Hello Cupcake for ice cream.

It was a short camp, we all fizzled out by Tuesday but finished off the night with an ice cream party with the grandparents.

More than I can handle?

Recently on Facebook a friend of mine shared a tidbit of how she was facing a lot, but she was holding onto the statement that God would not give us more than we can handle.

Later, another friend of mine posted that the verse she was referring to was about God not giving us more temptation than we can handle, but yes He often gives us more life than we can handle. He does this so we learn to trust in Him.

I have been pondering this all week and I have found THE VERSE that we often point to when we want to reassure ourselves that we can handle life. It is 1 Corinthians 10: 13, and it says: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." So, Yes, it is about temptation not about life circumstances.

I have come to the conclusion that we cannot handle life. We truly need to be on our knees allowing God to handle it for us.

I found a great blog post by Keith Plummer on his blog The Christian Mind that brought up this point. "If Paul really intended to make a general statement about God never giving Christians more than they could handle, then we'd have a hard time explaining his own testimony in 2 Corinthians 1:8.9:"

"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself...But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."

God does give us more than we can handle, anything can be more than we can handle with out Him. It is in those times that we are beyond ourselves that we can really see the power of God.

What are we facing today that is too much to bear?

Let's give it to God; let's allow Him to carry it for us.