We made it!

I need to apologize for not writing sooner, but the internet here is not very consistent.  I have tried to write this about 5 times, so hopefully it will work this time!  I also need to figure out a better way to share pictures, I have so many incredible pictures but they take about 10 min each to download.  The pictures say it better than I ever could, so I will work on that.
Well as I write it is 3 am and I am having trouble sleeping.  I am sleeping on a hard mat with Matt, Charlotte, and Ashton.  Sam, Brandon, Cole, Tyler, Marcus, and Brandon are on mats upstairs and sleep under a mosquito net.  It is so cute to see them all sleeping under this massive net.  The girls are all together in another room, and the Cleggs have a room as well.  Botevy, the angel that runs the orphanage, has been so kind to open her home to us.  I am very aware that having 15 extra people stay with you for 3 weeks is extremely charitable.  We have had wonderful food.  Adults are loving it, the kids not so much :)  We go to the market everyday, sometimes twice, to get the food to prepare for that meal.  The markets are amazing.  A complete polar opposite of Costco :)  They have endless rows of fruits and vegetables.  There are a couple of fruits that I have never seen before that are delicious.  One of them is a round red ball with spikes coming out from it everywhere.  Inside is a clear fruit that has a pit in the middle.  It is juicy and so good.  I love trying all the new food, as long as it has never walked around before.  I have a hard time with meat anyway, so here I just had to laugh inside as I walked around the "wet" market.  That means there is blood on the floor from the meat.  We wondered the rows of shrimp, stingrays, octopus, pig head, feet, and tongue.  Fish that has been smoked, salted, skewered, or dried.  There was every different kind of meat hanging from a hook. Sandra and I brought Cole and Tyler ( both 8) to have them experience it.  What an eye opener.  Cole buried his cute little face in Sandra's shirt and started to cry a bit- it is a little overwhelming at first.  He perked right up when he was handed a coconut to drink from.  Fresh coconut milk.  It was very good-they use that here a lot when people are sick.
As we were standing in the market Tyler had children come up to him and beg for money.  You can imagine what they were dressed in with dirt all over their sweet little faces as they would take their hand and put it in their mouth showing him that they were very hungry.  He just stared.  Couldn't move or say a word.  Here was a child his same height looking straight into his eyes.  There was a moment at that market today that Tyler will never forget.  That experience will forever be imprinted on his heart and mind.  Last night he got his journal out and drew a picture of it and wrote about how it made him feel.  I can't find it, or I would quote him. I'll attach it later.  I am sure he will have many more experiences like this on the trip.  There is nothing that can tear at a heart more than a child in need.  I want to scoop them all up and take them home with me.  IT IS SO HARD TO SEE A CHILD NEGLECTED AND HUNGRY. 

The orphanage has been just like our experience in Thailand.  The children are so happy and full of life.  The minute you walk in they run and hug every single one of us.  Today we brought clothes, shoes, school supplies, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, crafts and the ever popular nail polish.  They were so grateful as they lined up and waited to be given something.  They would hug you every time they were given something.  It wasn't an ipod, or an X-box game. It wasn't even anything new, but they were pleased as punch and so so grateful.  The Thai people, as well as the Cambodians, have a different kind of heart than we do.  I do understand that we have been born into 2 completely different worlds, but watching these children hold onto their "new" shirt, a pair of flip flops, and some nail polish like it was the greatest thing that has ever happened to them is so good for all of us to be reminded of.  Very few wants, a lot of need. 

There are 4 ladies that help here at the orphanage.  They do not get paid, but they do get a place to sleep and food to eat. They are sweet, humble and happy.  They are probably in their 40's and 50's and were they ever excited to have their nails painted.  It was so cute to see them pick out the color and sticker they wanted on each nail.  Girls are the same everywhere--we all love to feel pampered and pretty every now and then :)

It is always a joy to see the children interact so well.  They speak very little English, but no words are necessary for them.  They play soccer, chase each other, do hair, teach them songs, make bracelets, and arm wrestle.  I on the other hand,  do curse the tower of Babel every now and again as I would love to be able to sit down and hear every one of their stories.  I love to learn about people and where their life has led them.  Maybe I should order the Rosetta Stone language lessons :)
We are taking all the children in the orphanage to Angkor Wat today at 6:30 am.  It is an ancient temple that is very famous in Cambodia.  The children have never been as it is 3 hours away.  We are taking 4 vans for 4 days with 40 people.  I am sure we are going to have quite the experience.  We are staying in a guest house that is $5 a person.  I just keep taking deep breaths as I am not particularly sure what that will entail.  It is all about the adventure though! I have to take my hat off to our children.  There have been no complaints, and they have been very understanding of our new surroundings.  I took a picture last night of Charlotte lying on a mat with a sweaty little head just sleeping away.  For a 3 year old, she deserves a medal.  As long as she has her blanket, she'll be fine.
When we get back we are going to help the orphanage build a chicken coop.  They will use the eggs and eat the chickens.  They will also use the fertilizer for their garden.  Now is when I am really grateful that Matt and Doug are these incredible Idaho boys who can pretty much do anything.  Chicken coops here we come.  I love doing things that will help them long term.  Worth every ounce of effort and cost.
As far as our life here, all of you would have sat back and laughed at us yesterday as we tried to start a "routine." It started off with the little ones waking up at oh, 4 am ready to go.  We are on a no TV, ipod, ipad, computer or nintendo ds diet right now, unless we are traveling and the distance is over 2 hours--that  is what we all voted on before we left.  With that said, entertaining 7 kids at 4 am is no easy task especially when the majority of the house is still sleeping. So by 8 am we were ready to call it a day :)  Matt taught the older kids seminary at 7am while Sandra, Doug, and I started school with the little ones.  Boy did we fail.   There were tears and fits and some thought they were doing more work than the other one.  When the older kids needed to start their home study not all the computers were charged because we only have 1 adapter that is working for all of our 7 laptops/ipads.  It was really quite comical, but we made it through the first day and we know what we need to do better on. 
I was never expecting any of this to be easy, so it came as no surprise and I got a good laugh out of all the mishaps.  I have to hand it to Doug and Matt because there are no secretaries across the hall to do whatever is needed.  Sandra and I are used to it, we are our own secretaries/assistants, but Matt and Doug were troopers yesterday as they turned from business men into pre-school and kindergarten teachers as well as high-school tutors. 
We are tired, but it is a good tired.  We are doing exactly what was planned out in good old Eagle, Idaho.  It sure feels far away right now.  But yesterday as I rode through the streets of Phnom Penh on a Tuk Tuk with my children with mosquitos all around, sweat dripping down my back, the sounds of the street blaring,  sleep deprived, and hungry for Kneaders, I sat back and soaked it all in.  I love it.  I love every bit of it. 

On the road again...

I decided to give an updated picture since I have not blogged in so long.  This last photo is a more accurate picture of the process of getting one photo where everyone is looking. 

Some of you may have heard  that our family has decided to hit the road again.  It was quite the process to get to where we are today.  It came with sleepless nights, moments of pure joy, comments from people who think we are crazy, lots of organizing, PRAYER, tender mercies, a nervous stomach, peace, and some great conversations.  Once we got through the "deciding" it has been so neat to see the hand of the Lord in this humanitarian trip.  We are very, very grateful.


When I have a little more time I will get into the details of it all.  We have had some really neat experiences that have directed us to the places we are going.  I still stand in awe at how it has all come together.

We start out in Cambodia on Jan 22 where we will stay with a wonderful lady named Botevy who has run this orphanage for many years.  Her story is not to be missed.  www.cicfo.org/index/Orphanage_Story.html
A women of great faith and hope.  I have never met her, but feel like she is already a great friend.  We will spend 3 1/2 weeks there helping them and setting up new gardens for them.  They used to grow mushrooms to sell, but their ground is so depleted that nothing will grow anymore.  We are going to bring in fertilizer and get their ground ready to plant again.  We will also help people in the local surrounding area with housing and food needs.  I am a people person.  One of my favorite parts of adventures like this is meeting the people and really being submersed into local life.  What a treat.

We will finish there with a weekend field trip to a historical site that is a few hours away called Angkor Wat.  The children have never been there, or anywhere, for that matter.   Botevy said that when she told them they were going they all sent out a load cheer.  It warmed my heart. 

I've got to run, but I will write tonight and tell how we came into contact with this orphanage.

XOXO, Ally

Israel Study Abroad Reunion :)

Don't you just want to be there with all these amazing women!

Needless to say we had a blast.  I find myself thinking of all of them randomly throughout my week.  I even laugh out loud at some memories that will forever go down in history.

"That guy right there? That guy right there in that picture is actually me."

We never went to bed before 4 or 5 am.  We would finish breakfast around 3.  We laughed till it hurt and ate yummy food, made jewelry, went on a Rhino ride, never stopped talking catching up on the last 15 years.

It was a little piece of heaven and it was like no time had passed at all.  I loved these women 15 years ago for their complete goodness, goofy sense of humor, advice, examples, and non-judgemental hearts.   I couldn't ask for better friends.  It actually has been harder to be away from them now because it just renewed and increased our friendships.

We had a lot of girls that we missed as well-don't worry though ladies these reunions aren't going anywhere :)

Life- Happy and Humerous or Heavy and Hard?

I just got home from a trip to CA to be a part of the Heritage Music Festival.  My daughter's choir competed in it and it was so wonderful to be a part of.  When they sang we all got goosebumps and tears in our eyes.  What is it with me and hearing children sing? I could listen all day long.  They were fantastic.

The other bonus of the trip were the ladies I was able to be with.  We had so much fun together.  I love learning from them and picking their brains.  But, what I appreciated so much on this trip was the amount of laughter we shared.  It was like I was suddenly 14 again and laughed until tears were streaming down my face.  So, this post is a tribute to my friend Michelle who is now the person I am paying to accompany me on every trip to ensure I get tighter abs through incessant laughter. 

Those of you who know me know I love to laugh, tease, and play practical jokes on people.  I have mellowed out as I have gotten older, but after being around Michelle for 4 days straight I realized I have really let my game go.  I think it is mostly because I know that a majority of adults don't appreciate my jokes and I am worried that somehow it will go south and I will wish I would have thought through it more carefully... and, I don't ever want to hurt someone's feelings.  I really do worry about that.

So, do you know how great it was to be with someone who I could just let loose on?  Because she can really dish it.   I got her so good.  The whole trip we were all doing things back and forth--they were just dumb little things that made us laugh.  After watching Michelle with all the different people on our trip from the guy she was winking at in the Hillbilly show, to the man at the check out desk at our hotel, to the flight attendant, to all the little girls, the bus driver, the tram driver, etc. she made everyone laugh.  Just a little giggle, but still, she made them forget their boring jobs for minute and smile.  She even went up to this boy who had just ordered a huge ice cream sundae and asked if she could just have a bite to see if she liked it.  The boy just stared at her and then pushed it toward her.  Hysterical.

Anyway, she is not acting or showing off. She just finds the humor in things. She can take a heavy moment and make it light-- a not so ideal situation and make fun of it.  It really reset me this weekend.

Do you know why? Because we think too much.  We as adults analyze too much. We worry too much.  We google too much.  We make such a big deal out of little things.  We read every parenting book on the planet.  We think our life is so hard.  We don't think we get enough time to ourselves.  We don't get enough sleep. Our house is always messy.  The laundry is never done.  There are extended family problems. The carpools never stop.  The baby never stops crying.  We get offended.  We take too long to forgive.  We think it is so hard to be a mom.  We think we are sacrificing so much.

Believe me, these are things that go through my mind.  These are things I hear from others.
BUT, and those are capital letters for a reason, are we acting like the teenagers we are all so worried about?  The ones who feel "entitled" to things?

Do we feel "entitled" to a life with spare time, relationships without issues, clothes that never have to be washed, a baby that sleeps 12 hours every day and never cries, kids who don't fight, 8 hours of sleep no matter what, time to read, time to work -out, time to fulfill our own dreams, kids who are good at sports or music but never need to be driven to their practices, straight A students who never need us to stay up late with them helping with homework?

Are we different from any other generation in time?  Every generation has had their issues.  Pioneer women didn't have to race their kids around all over town but do you think they had spare time?  I'm not thinking there was much time left after washing clothes in a river and hanging them to dry, making all their food from scratch, feeding animals, gardening,  and curling little Emma's hair with pieces of fabric. 

Sometimes I think we all need to just buck up.  Life is work.  We are going to be tired.  We are going to feel spent and out of enthusiasm sometimes.  But, when we are expecting too many rosy days without some thorns here and there-when we imagine in our mind all these things that we want in our family but forget about the 5,000 hours it takes to get there, when we want to have even just one day a certain way and it doesn't happen, then guess what?  We need to just buck up and change our thinking. I think sometimes we feel "entitled" to an easier life than what we have. 

We are all worried about our teenagers, but I think we also need to worry about ourselves becoming too soft as well.

Michelle reminded me that adding that laughter, that silliness, that fun back into every day life really does make you forget about all the stuff that can drive you nuts.

When was the last time you had a really good belly laugh?  I mean a laugh where afterward you had to sit back, stretch your stomach, wipe the tears away and catch your breath.  It is so good for the soul.

So, my new goal is to buck up and add more humor and fun into my everyday life.  I didn't realize how much I thrive on that.  I have always known this, but application is that hardest part sometimes-- we need to stop feeling "entitled" to an easier life and just accept that there are hard and tiring things.  Accept all the different phases of life. Accept that we are all given a certain deck of cards to play with and move on from there.

There are very few people who naturally will never complain, who always look on the bright side, and don't let things get to them.  For the rest of us, we have to train ourselves.  Everyday.  Every situation we have to talk ourselves into ignoring what really doesn't matter and lighten things up.  Please don't think I am not being compassionate-- there are  things that can not be ignored and need to be addressed.  There are terrible tragedies and really, really hard trials, but that is not what I am talking about.  I am talking about the daily life.  The ordinary life.

I am talking about living an everyday life-happy and humor filled instead of hard and heavy.

I would love to hear your thoughts...do parents feel entitled too?  Is it harder in our time to make things light and be happy?




                          

Eagle Boys Service Group --First Service Project!

 Service Activity number one down!  The boys helped the Treasure Valley Down Syndrome organization with an Easter Egg hunt for the children.  There were over 500 eggs to hide-the kids LOVED it!  They helped hide the eggs and do some setting up for the event.

 It made my heart so happy to see these boys so at ease with these precious children.

 We also brought a couple of different activities to do with the children-there was a bean bag toss, bubbles, balloons, and a great game of kickball.

 The 4H group brought chicks and bunnies for the children to play with.

 This sweet Bailey struck the cutest pose when I took this picture! 

It was a great day.  I was crossing my fingers that everything would work out and it did.  What a great group of boys!!  The parents were all asking who these boys were.  They commented on how good they were with the children and how helpful and polite they were.  You go boys :)

"Serve Now, Play Later"

Well, with life as busy as it is, it leaves no time for blogging :)  We find ourselves thinking of our experience hourly.  It really is so hard to get those sweet children out of my mind.  I am constantly thinking about them and missing them.  It is so wonderful to know however, that they are all happy and in good hands.  They could not have better people to love and take care of them.
We have really tried to keep up with our family theme of service this year.  I am realizing more and more that you have to plan for it and schedule it in your week.  Even if you don't know what service you are going to do yet, it is important to block out the time because the service will open up.  There are opportunities literally EVERYWHERE.
We had a young man speak in church a few weeks ago before leaving on his mission.  This young man is one of those kids you can't help but fall in love with.  So naturally happy and good.  Matt hired him and his brother to work  at our house last summer on little projects he needed done.  Matt could have done them himself, but he really wanted these amazing brothers to rub off on our boys.  Sam was to work with one, and Brandon with the other. My kids had to report to them and turn in their hours to them.  I love that Matt thinks outside the box.  I of course was wondering why we were going to spend the money on that when Matt could just do it.  But, Matt with that cute little look he has, said, "Having our boys be around these young men is priceless."  Good role models are so important in life.  Our kids will learn from us, but they need others to mentor them as well.
Anyway, in his farewell speech he said, "I don't know that I would have been able to stay so true to my faith, had the happiness I enjoyed, or made it on my mission unless I had done as much service as I did."
When he said that sirens went off in my mind.  Something just clicked.  That was it.  Service. Service. Service.  That is what made him this incredible kid--happy, selfless, fun, energetic, positive, optimistic, friendly, and faithful.  I immediately knew what I was going to do.
I needed to help Samuel start a service club with his buddies.  I came home and emailed all his friends' mothers to see if this is something they wanted to be a part of.  Every single one of them (except one) not only said yes, but were super excited about it.
Needless to say, the boys grumbled and grumbled about it.  Sam did get some flack at school for my brilliant idea.  We were going to have a kick off party to discuss names and come up with a motto. 14 Boys and their mothers.  I told Sam, "Just give me until friday night.  Let me introduce what we are doing and then you can decide if you want to do this or not."  He just grunted and walked away.
I thought I would not make it until Friday and almost decided to forget it on Thurs. night because of the torment I was receiving from my son which was coming from the kids at school.  Bottom line--moms ecstatic, boys not so excited.
My sweet husband gave me a pep talk, told me to ignore the "background noise" as he calls it, and reminded me that there is always opposition when you are trying to do something good. So I took his advice and prepared for Friday night.
I went online and found some stories on you tube about youth that had made a difference.  We showed them on a projector and talked a little bit about what and why we wanted to do this.  They saw that they could really make a difference in somebody's life.  I asked who was in--I explained very carefully that if they wanted to do this, there would be no more complaining.  They were in or they were out. I told them that this would be something that would bond them together for a very long time.  (I also as a mother knew that if these boys were regularly doing good things together, they were less likely to compromise their standards together.) We also talked about how this was something for THEM to plan.  The moms were not going to plan it and have the boys just show up. They needed to take ownership of it.  They needed to come up with the ideas and make the phone calls, set up appointments, figure out rides etc.  They all said they wanted to do it --it was half hearted, so I made them give me a real shout, full of conviction one more time.  It was great.
After brain storming the boys decided on Sons of Service for the name so they could use the acronym S.O.S. and the motto is "SERVE NOW, PLAY LATER."--which I just LOVE.  We are getting T-shirts made for the boys and little necklaces for the moms.  The idea is that 2 boys and their mothers will take a month and be in charge of the service activity for that month.  That way, most everyone could have a chance twice a year to plan it.
I am so excited.  I also feel SO incredibly blessed to be surrounded by other mothers with such great vision.
I found this great quote "By the time a person has achieved years adequate for choosing a direction, the die is cast and the moment has long since passed which determined the future." -Zelda Fitzgerald

Love that.  So, that is why I am starting now.  Sam called a local group here that is involved with Down Syndrome children.  He wanted to do an activity with them.  They told him they had an Easter Egg Hunt coming up that they needed help with.  BAM!  It was that easy.  So, all the boys are going to fill 500 Easter Eggs, hide them, and help the kids find them.  They are also going to have bunnies there for the kids to play with and we are going to plan a little activity.  They boys were all excited about helping with this event.

 

I know this group of amazing kids, all from different faiths and backgrounds, will look back at these experiences with a happy heart.  It will mold them into people who are outward looking.  Can hardly wait to check in in four and a half years and see if they were glad we ignored all the grumbling....

Elle's Bunny

My very best friend since I can remember emailed me the sweetest story while we were in Thailand about her daughter Elle.  Amy had been showing Elle and Gwen the pictures of the orphans.  Elle said, "Mom, we need to send them some of our old clothes that we don't wear anymore.  That would really help them."  An hour later Amy heard crying from Elle and Gwen in their room.  She went in there and they were crying because they felt so sad for them.  She told her mom that she wanted to send them her bunny.  This is a bunny that she has had since she was tiny, sleeps with, and is basically her little bit of comfort that she carries with her.  Amy said that somewhere in Elle's little heart she knew that sending them "her old clothes that she didn't wear anymore" was not enough.  She wanted to give something more.  She wanted to give something to them that would give them as much joy as bunny had brought to her.  www.mcgeelife.blogspot.com (you can see the pictures of Elle before she sent it off)
That is the reason right there we are supposed to "become as a little child."  Their hearts are so sincere and giving.  Life has not made them sarcastic, sceptical, judgemental, or selfish yet.  With a few exceptions, children have happy, carefree spirits--love anyone and will forgive a tired mom in an instant.
Just before we left "bunny" arrived.  I was so happy when it arrived!  I wanted so badly for Elle to have a picture with Beam holding her bunny.  I am going to frame the picture and send it to her as a keepsake of her giving heart.

Is there anything more precious than that?

My heart was so heavy as I knew the time was approaching to say goodbye to these children that I wanted so desperately to bring home with me.  Liv and I walked over to Beam and gave her the bunny.  Beam had pure delight in her eyes.  Something just for her.  I know that the love that was behind that bunny landing in her arms was felt by Beam.

Whenever the children get anything they, without even thinking, put their hands together like this and courtsey while they say "sawadeekah" (absolutely not how they spell it, this is just what it sounds like.)  It is my very favorite thing about their culture.

Sweet Elle, thank you for sharing something so dear to you to make someone else happy :)