Higher ground: day four and five

We ended day three with a pizza party where we played blind dodgeball. It was slightly hilarious and made the night that much better! I love the practical application they have used to make this experience sooooo worthwhile. Day four was a relax day an break from all of the skiing to give our bodies a break. Joey and I participated in the morning stretch with Oliver, (who is amazing!) and then ate breakfast with the group at bluebird. After this, the boys played sled hockey and had small group while us girls had small group, ate lunch at the cutest cafe, and got massages at synergy. My massage therapist was super cool and really allows me to enjoy myself. It was an amazing experience. Kiersten, the girls leader, and I also had some amazing conversations and she has been an amazing supporter throughout this experience. I toughed out my nose accessory as long as possible for an evening sleigh ride to a cabin dinner, which was soooooo beautiful, with an accordion player. :) we ended the night in the ER getting my nose ring removed! Lol

Day five started off again with stretching and breakfast. Then, Denise and mike, my ski instructors, took me on some beautiful runs. I felt like I did a fantastic job, and they taught me little skills for improvement along the way. The last run was not ratherly pretty, as I spent a good bit belly down spread eagle, but hey it was a great memory :) after skiing, we rode the gondola and ski lift up to 10,000 ft for lunch. We took some great pics I hope to post soon. The view was so indescribable and only can be experienced. Denise also baked me some cookies!!-- love her! After lunch on bald mtn, Joey and I did a lil shopping before dinner, which was combined with board members and volunteers. It was an awesome night, the one I enjoyed the most. We ended the night hanging out with all the couples though out most of the evening, talking over the week and what happens next.

I am truly thankful for this amazing experience. The last picture is on our flight home :) Eli was super excited to see us and would not let go of Joey the whole time in the airport. He's adorable :)

Higher ground: day three

Well, I absolutely did not plan for an ER visit on this trip, but alas, that is just what happened. After update yesterday, we had a great dinner separated from the guys at Erin's house (one of the staff members.) She is definitely an entertainer and us women had great discussions over the dinner table. Then we headed back to the resort and went to bed. I woke up this morning to speak to my little man (hulk kept him safe overnight!!!) and then got in the shower, only to have a great nosebleed that lasted over two hours. Now I have a lovely accessory for a couple of days (yay, Not!) I still managed to have lunch in resort with Joey and our ski instructors, and a great conversation with sue at the bottom of the slopes. The best part of this trip has definitely been the amount if great support the higher ground staff have shown us. They are beyond accommodating and supportive which is making for an amazing experience. I am trying not to let the morning get me down, and looking forward to a pizza party this evening. Enjoy the picture :)

Higher Ground: day one and two

Joey and I were lucky enough to be invited to a wounded warrior project in Idaho with an organization called higher ground military. It is a group of camps centered around therapeutic recreation for military veterans and spouses with an emphasis on operation Iraqi and Afghanistan freedom. Per discussion with the staff they have had about 450 applications, with 250 participants. How lucky are we???? I found this organization on twitter through so PTSD accounts I follow, and it was so exciting when we were selected. We arrived yesterday after a very long day of travel. There are five other couples, three from Texas, one from Indiana, and another from Tennessee, Bert and Jaimee, staff members, piled us up with the other couples, took us to grab a bite to eat, then we got fitted for our ski gear. We relaxed and got settled in our room, then had a great dinner with all the staff. Each night they have a break out sessions, males/females, with discussion surrounding what we want to get out of. Week, etc, it was a great experience. Today, we started off with morning stretch, which made me super hungry, then met our ski instructors and headed to the slopes. Joey is paired with two other veterans, John and Jason who is also from Lebanon. I am with Denise and mike who are so motivating! I psyched myself out a little bit, but survived with their support. We are totally missing Eli, but are super thankful for this experience. Pray for our mental and physical strength as we go through this amazing journey.

"i'm a fish!"

Sometimes I am stil in shock that Eli is my son. My son. I created him. I've taught him, and made him the adorable little man he is. I am so shocked by how well he has progressed and grown as well as how independent he thinks he is. I love when he gives me a hug and tells me how much he missed me, as well as that adorable little grin he has when he knows he's done something wrong. I love how candid his personality is and how is so very often captures any audience. I love him for being him, and I can't imagine my life any different.

Preparation

As I started to prepare for our trip to Idaho today, I realized I am having to prep myself more than anything. I have been talking up our trip to Eli for weeks I guess to prepare his heart to feel safe as Joey and I are out of town for a week. I shopped today, and literally bought everything I could think of that Eli would like while we are gone. Through this I realized its not about the Stuff but the experience for us all! I am nervous to leave him for so long, but excited to share this time with Joey, as I hope it's strengthens our relationship. I hope you guys will support us all in prayer and less anxiety as we prepare for this lil adventure.

Crafting

When I was in college, I was a craftaholic, working for a small online scrapbooking company, scrapsupply, and learning from the fabulous jenni bowlin, while I worked for her in grad school. I got away from crafting on a regular basis probably the second half of the first year of Eli's life, probably because I was working night shift, missing a night a week of sleep, and getting adjusted to my little man. Lets just say I miss its tremendously and was really inspired the last couple of weeks, especially planning for Eli's party. I ended up following a lot of designers on Instagram who attended CHA and it made me want to go back soooooooo bad! Hence, I crafted up a storm for Eli's party, and have decided to def get back to those little crafts that makes me and others smile!!! I found the cutest little valentines project on the blog in honor of design , and plan on making these before we go out of town the week of valentines day. Check out the project here: http://inhonorofdesign.blogspot.com/2013/01/make-mini-package-valentines.html?m=1 Happy Wednesday!

Health

I think my focus on five blog slapped me a big fat reality check. The first week of January, I went to work although I was getting over an ear infection. I started to feel crappier throughout the week, and went to the doc on Saturday where I learned I was sick yet again. So I did what I said I was going to do, and really focused on getting better this weekend. It was a big reality check, and made me realize I need to stick to my priorities!!! I was thankful, however, to get some light birthday shopping done, thank you iPad and online shopping :) and get his invitations completed, thank you staples online printing. Needless to say, those four days of couch and bed really paid off and I feel better. So, I am proud of myself but def planning on catching those illnesses before they creep up in the future!