It's camp time again!

It's that time of year again... Camp!  All year long Nicolas talks about camp, asks to go to camp and reminisces about camp.

This year his first camp was at Wisconsin Lions Camp near Stevens Point, WI.

It was great to walk up to the sign in tent and have everyone remember Nic and have them comment on NO CAST this year!  Yeah! 

This year I got a phone call from camp for the first time in four years.  On Wednesday night the phone rang and the nurse from camp informed me that Nicolas was sick and couldn't keep any food down.  They were asking me for ideas to help him but they didn't ask me to come get him because he didn't have a fever.  It took him a while to feel better even after he came home so his first camp of the year wasn't as successful as we would have hoped.

It was a great week for Sophie and I.  We've quickly navigated back to our old selves and I know we feel comfortable together again.  We had a quiet week without Nicolas but it was good to see him again on Friday when we picked him up.  Life just isn't the same without Nicolas.

Sophie and I watched movies and I even got some scrapbooking done.

Our summer is already slipping away... tomorrow is July 1st already.  This weekend is the Monona Festival and the fireworks.  No party this year... its so hard when friends are divided up.

Life with the kids is settling in.  I'm grateful that the kids were returned to me permanently.  We are a family and we work well together.

The next two months are full of uncertainties - the possibility of having to move, the finalizing of the divorce and preparing for a new chapter in life.  The one thing we can count on is CAMP!  Nic has two more weeks in Iowa - and he can't wait!

Time marches on...

Today I'm contemplating blessings in disguise.  Those trials that Heavenly Father sends you that turn into great blessings that change your life forever. 
Recently Sophie came back home to live with me... the circumstances that brought her back to me were painful for her, and thus for me as her mom.  However, I have been so glad to have her home, to have her close to me where I can cook for her, hug her and talk with her about all her middle school drama.  My daughter is such a good person.  She is sensitive and worries about what others think of her, even people who don't like her or treat her well.  She is honest and tries so hard to be good.  She is in tune with the Spirit and has let it guide her in her life recently to make some difficult choices that were ultimately good for her.
While I seem to be going through this eternal divorce and the negative surprises from Jim keep popping up my faith and endurance and steadfastness have finally led to some rewards.  Sophie and Nic have been placed with me permanently.  After 10 months of fighting, I have finally gotten the placement of Nic and Sophie that I originally asked for when the divorce was started.

Several of the trials and painful experiences I've dealt with lately, including not having my daughter for several months while she lived with Jim, have all led to this great blessing of having the courts and the people in charge acknowledge that I am a good mother, that I do take very good care of my kids and that they are happiest and best cared for when they are with me.  If events hadn't happened the way they had, even the most painful betrayals by people I know, then circumstances wouldn't have come to light that allowed my children to live with me.

Heavenly Father is so good to me.  He sees me and my heart.  He knows my outrage at broken commandments and covenants is pure even though people don't always see it that way.  He knows how HURT I am, and that it often comes out as anger and defensiveness.  He knows I love my children completely.  He knows I want to be better, and he knows I am trying.  He blesses me with knowledge and comfort.  I am so grateful for my loving Heavenly Father and am glad he has revealed to me the purpose of the last 3 weeks of pain for me and Sophie.  It was all for the best.  The truth was revealed and at least one part of my life was set right by the revelation of that truth.