See the Gifts Summer 2024

"Gratitude is liberation. We are all mortals, called into this narrative in this timestream without our consent. And we will all reach an end. See the gifts. And if they seem sparse, start counting. Omit nothing." ~N.D. Wilson, Death by Living

-Morning bike rides with my best friend

 

-Birthday parties for little Schalchlin cousins

-Tours of the USS Razorback and USS Hoga and a teenaged daughter who is falling in love with all things maritime in WWII

-the thoughtful and inspirational book, "Death by Living" written by N.D. Wilson

-a bountiful farmers market, representing many friends who work hard for this beautiful, delicious, nourishing, local food

-Saturday brunch on the back patio: waffles loaded with fresh fruit and shared with friends.

-Watching Grandma's first experience with a Rubik's Cube

Spontaneous Summer

One of my cello students recommended the trails in the Rattlesnake Ridge Natural Area, so on a sticky Saturday we decided to test my stamina on the Cliffbrake Trail.

We splurged on a sushi picnic from the grocery store, and drove our way around the curves while listening to Secure Love by Julie Menanno. Sooooo many good things to talk about, we often found ourselves pausing the recording to discuss what we had heard.

At this rate, it may take us all year to work our way through the book, but there is no race, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities to thoughtfully process what we are learning. Julie's social media account, @thesecurerelationship, has been a wellspring of information and a spark to kindle personal growth.

As we hiked, I learned that I have about an hour and a half in my energy tank before I crumple, so my stamina is continuing to slowly grow as my body recovers from the cancer treatments. If this trend keeps moving upwards, I have some hiking goals to conquer next spring!

June 2024 in Dallas

The kids (can I still call them that?) are changing like time-lapse videos, the ones where a seed sprouts, climbs, and fruits, all in under 30 seconds. Meanwhile, I'm in slow motion, doing my best to pull an "all-dayer" without a cat nap to get me through. ~Shannon Martin

The last weekend in June, our whole crew met in Dallas to see Sarah perform in the Family Music Theater's "Hunchback of Notre Dame".

A year ago, we were in Dallas to see her perform in Footloose and to cut my hair before it all fell out. What a year it has been! In a way, this trip felt like yet another celebration of the family God has given us and the things He has recently brought us through.

With the addition of Connor, we needed a bigger house for this trip. Our Air BnB was right next to a cute little park.

So I met my favorite walking buddy for walks followed by coffee at Gahwena. Gebauer Power for the win!

The show was stellar, as always. Not only did we get to see several of the Gebauers exercise their creativity with the show,

we also got to hear Sarah sing a solo at the end. Many people expressed how much they love Sarah and enjoy working on the shows with her.

When our crew gets together, we play games and go on walks and laugh and sometimes we talk about deep things, too. What a joy it is to see these young adults sprout, climb, and bear fruit.

June Rasperries

The raspberry bushes from my former math teacher produced bountifully in June.

Katherine faithfully picked, counted, and charted the raspberry production, and we enjoyed eating the vibrant, tart fruit. One of my favorite ways to eat raspberries is in berry blintzes.

Berry Blintzes

4 egg whites

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp sugar, divided

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup all-purpose

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

3/4 cup light sour cream, divided

4 oz light cream cheese

1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp toasted wheat germ

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp butter, melted 

2 cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

In a bowl, whisk egg whites, milk, 1 Tbsp sugar, and salt. Add flour, beat until smooth. Let stand for 30 minutes. Heat an 8 inch nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray over medium heat For each blintz, pour 1/4 cup of batter in the center of skillet, lift and turn pan to cover the bottom. Cook until lightly browned, turn and lightly brown the other side. Remove to a wire rack. When cool, stack on waxed paper or towels in between.

For the filling, mix ricotta, cream cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp wheat germ and vanilla until bended. Spoon 1/4 cup onto each blintz and fold ends and sides over filling. Arrange folded side down in a 13x9 baking dish, brush with melted butter. Cover and bake 350 F for 10-15 minutes. Top with berries and sour cream. Sprinkle with remaining wheat germ.

Things Bringing Me Joy in June 2024

In the midst of attending continuing ed classes to keep my teaching license, June held so many beautiful things to enjoy:

-Making the weekly trip through the hills of north central Arkansas to pick up raw milk 

-Reading and listening to books that were recommended by the speakers at the educational co-op, like "Relationship, Responsibility, and Regulation: Trauma-Invested Practices for Fostering Resilient Learners"

-Going on a date with my sweetie because I had a coupon AND a gift card. We tried a fancy affogato flight with four different types of locally made ice cream. Delicious!

-Making thumbprint cookies with a new generation of kiddos

-Pivoting and making sandwich cookies when things didn't turn out as anticipated

-The ability to track my food again with My Fitness Pal, including the delicious chocolate peppermint protein powder, coffee, and raw milk I take to the gym. I'm still working to rebuild my strength and energy after cancer.

June Wedding Showers

We were so grateful for the abundance of people that circled around Olivia and Connor in preparation for their wedding and marriage.

Ladies from our church hosted a community shower

and people from so many arenas of our lives showed up and/or brought gifts to help the new couple get started well on their journey.

Great food and sweet conversations with friends from our neighborhood, gym, homeschool, church, and community created a rich environment for the couple's first wedding shower.

A few weeks later, my mom and I organized a family wedding shower.

My mom organized fun games and made sure things ran smoothly. She's so good at thinking through the details.

I'm appreciating extended family more and more as I observe how we encourage each other through different seasons of life.

Time with Olivia always makes my heart happy.

I was getting really spoiled to seeing our young adults often because we had more opportunities and availability to gather during the summer months!

 

Sweet Sabbath June 2024

"A regular Sabbath helps to counteract the relentless and ruthless drumbeat of the ither narratives that would seek to enslave me."

Justin McRoberts, "Sacred Strides"

June is magnolia season, and I can't get
enough of their intoxicating fragrance

 

June Health Update

In June, I had another round of scans of all types. Thankfully, they all came back NED (no evidence of disease). 

One of the chemo nurses, Katie, ordered this beautiful mug for me as a gift for finishing the year of chemo treatments. She knew I liked coffee and that I also played the cello, so this is the perfect combination!

Watching my FitBit record my resting heart rate during chemo has been fascinating. With each of the big, mean, early treatments, my resting heart rate skyrocketed. Now that chemo is complete, my active heart rate and my resting heart rate are both slowly coming down, down, down, and I'm beginning to feel better.  

 

June 2024 Outside

"The fast pace of society has thrown our internal timer out of balance. It creates expectations that can't be rewarded fast enough - or rewarded at all.

When things move more slowly than we expect, our internal timer even plays tricks on us, 

stretching out the wait, summoning anger out of proportion to the delay."

~Chelsea Wald, "Why Your Brain Hates Slowpokes"

One of the things I love about tending my little garden? I can't make the plants hurry. Spending time outside has a way of slowing me down. Like that morning on the porch swing with coffee in hand when a local possum decided to visit me.

"No matter how lousy a day starts out, we can almost always turn it around by going outside and enjoying nature together." ~Linda Akeson McGurk, "There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather"

Watching the slow, daily growth of tomatoes and beans and melons gives me insight into my own slow, (hopefully) daily growth. And sometimes I'm saddened to find food snatched away by a hungry critter, which reminds me once again, that I'm not in control.

My hubby has always appreciated the outdoors. Maybe it's because of his Eagle Scout background? If I can't find him working inside at his desk, I know to look on the shaded back patio. 

Last Chemo Treatment May 2024

"When we realize that the development of secure attachment includes the activation and mobilization of healthy, dynamic empathy...we offer our attuned presence to someone else who is in distress, and their attunement to our attunement - our collective withness - is the most effective interpersonal, neurobiological regulator." 

~Curt Thompson, "The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope"

The last day all of our young adults were home, Aaron dropped me off at CARTI for my final chemo treatment. I didn't have to take a family picture this time, because my biggest cheerleaders would be arriving as the last few drops made their way into my body.

What I DID take was a massive strawberry trifle as a thank you. We made three angel food cakes with our favorite farmer's egg whites, vanilla pudding with the egg yolks, and we used the last of the local strawberries we had been saving for this very occasion. I knew of no better way to somehow voice appreciation for the many people at CARTI who serve the cancer community.

As the last milliliter flowed through the machine and into me, I snapped a picture and texted the family chat that it was finally time to celebrate.

The nurses, who have admired my picture for an entire year, finally got to meet my amazing team of "collective withness" who have carried me through rough times and brought me much joy.

My parents came, too! 

When we returned home, I had one last surprise in store: silly string I found on the sale rack at the grocery store. A fitting way to celebrate this stage of the journey.