New Mural for the New Church

I am painting murals for the new church in the kids rooms. I am not doing them all but a good portion of them. I started with the kindergarden room, the first room on the left that has windows for light since there is no electricity yet. I decided to do a jungle room with lots of bugs, frogs, dragonflies, birds and monkeys and I think the scripture will be "God created all things" I have to look it up. I am so sick of seeing Noah's Ark at every church so I want to do some different things. The church is very open and as long as I am not painting scenes from Hell I guess it all good. LOL I told my husband, dont think I didn't think about it, just a good threat for misbehaving kids. Just kidding. Anyway, it is not finished but I have a pretty good start. I got a bit to realistic so I am adding some fun wild colored bushes and stuff to liven it up a bit, after all this is Kindergarten!!! I wanted the whole background to just fade into the distance and all the fun animals to pop off of it. Here is my WIP (work in progress) more to come after I return from Tennessee! It is hard to see but this is a fairly good size wall, maybe 20'x9'. I have 11 hours into it so far.

The Vacation

Ok, tommorrow is the big day. For 6 years, my husband and I have not had a vacation alone of more than an overnight thing. Since Jennifer got hurt we haven't been able to find anyone to stay with her for any length of time. We tried her siblings and that just didn't work out, they are unable to grasp the fact that she can't do the things she used to do and she would call me at midnight and say " I am so tired and they still haven't put me to bed". Well it ended up just causing fights among all of us so we don't ask anymore. But my quest to find good care so that I could spend some time with my husband was still in the works. It ends up that the hospital where she has therapy is going to take her and work on some issues we have been having with her prothstetic leg and braces. I was so excited because its a perfect fit, its like her second home, she knows everyone. But even the best hospitals have their flaws and it still makes me a bit nervous not being there with her. The wonderful thing about this hospital visit is that it will allow us to go on vacation and I am going to the Nashville show to see my quilt that is a semifinalist. I have been so excited planning the travel arrangements etc and then last night I couldn't sleep. I think I am just worried about leaving her, its hard to understand if you're not a caregiver or maybe a mom with an infant. I was never the overprotective mother that couldn't stand the thought of her kids leaving. I looked forward to them starting their own lives. They were all gone except one, full time college student. But now, when I do everything for her and we spend everyday together, its so hard. My husband said, "We don't have to go, we can just stay home" but we can't. Inside I know that, I have to do this, she will be fine, and once I am there I probably will be too. We have all these things planned for Nashville and I have to go. I want to sketch too while I am there. So I will be gone for a week starting Tuesday. I hope to return, refreshed, renewed and with lots of fabric, and sketches.

pictures

One of the most amazing parts of the program, to me, is all of the trained volunteers that are needed to allow one quadriplegic person to water ski. I watch the total trust that this paralyzed person has to have in the team around them. They get strapped into a cage like apparatus that is mounted onto a single water ski. There are two people in the boat, one to drive and one to hold the flag, two sea doos with two people each that follow along side and one person the is on the back of the ski as it gets up and they make sure the person is stable and then fall off and swim back to the dock. All those people, to bring a smile and make a paralyzed person feel like a million bucks for 10 minutes. Its so incredible, such a great group of positive people.

More picts of Land meets Sea

I am posting some pictures of our week of activities. I want to share some of the amazing stories of some amazing people. As most of you know, if you read my blog, my daughter, Jennifer was hit by a drunk driver and almost did not survive. She was in the hospital for 8 months, in a coma for 4 1/2 months, she lost her vision, her leg, her voice and the use of her right side. Since then, 2000, she has improved, her voice is soft but we can understand her, her vision is better although she is still legally blind. She is smart and happy and dealing with her new life. Some of the other people we meet this year included a 17 year old girl that was shot by gang members in LA, another 18 year old was paralyzed by her father who was driving drunk when he crashed the motorcycle which she was an 8 year old passenger. Some are born with the handicap, others are hurt as a result of some sort of accident or crash. This program is so wonderful, I can't say it enough. It gives these people an opportunity to be normal for a week. To enjoy some of the things that the rest of us can do if we choose to that they could not do otherwise. The volunteers are all trained and the equipment is all adapted for the different handicaps. The moto is "you can" they never give up trying to make it work for everyone. It is a huge undertaking and I am so grateful. Jennifer thought she would never be able to enjoy some of the activities she participates in during this week. Also Long Beach, shuts down the Marina for us so that we don't have to compete with the able bodied boaters etc. Here are some pictures, I hope you enjoy and if you want to donate to a worthy cause please think about this organization, you will change a persons whole attitude towards their disability. To donate: Casa Colina Centers for Rehab, Outdoor Adventures program. 909/596-7733.

 

Land Meets Sea

Well we just returned from our week long adventure in Long Beach with Casa Colina the Rehab hospital that Jennifer goes to for therapy. They have this program called Outdoor Adventures which allow handicapped people the opportunity to enjoy activities that would otherwise be unavailable to them. It is such an awesome program and it lets Jennifer feel a little bit normal for a week. I will post pictures and share some of the things we experienced. Our first night we arrived on Monday and the activities didn't start until the following morning so we got to relax and unpack. The hotel where we stayed was wonderful, it looked like an Italian Villa. Out on in the courtyard by the pool was a wonderful sitting area and at 5:30 they served wine and hors d'oeuvres. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm breeze and talked about the week ahead. It was a great start for our week.