I have been a real slacker lately with the blog scene but determined to get caught up today with what's been going on. I have this real fear of losing my memory someday and therefore believe in journaling with a passion yet lately I've just gotten really behind. I think it has to do with a quote I heard in a talk today at church given by Brother Miller which says, "LIFE is what happens to us when we are planning something else." How true, how true. Sorry if I bore anyone with minor details but since I use this as part of my personal journal I'm going to do some catching up with the month with details about what LIFE has been like at our home...
June has been a good month, just hot, hot, hot the past week! Temperatures in the triple digits is just a bit too warm for me but I tried to make the best of it by hanging out at the neighbor's pool at few times (thanks Shane and Michelle!) and spending some time with family and friends. Addi and Kayla enjoyed the slip-n-slide one hot afternoon while I was in the pool. They were playing so silly and laughing so hard! It was great watching them have such fun and to hear their giggling!
Addison has had a busy month and a very fun one. She spent the 9th through the 13th of June at Girls' Camp with the Young Women as a YCL (youth leader) and had a blast! She and Kelsey were a part of some pranks that were pretty mischievous but I guess it wouldn't be camp without those moments! (I'm kinda glad I was NOT there this year -- especially since one prank involved a snake by Kelsey and I would've been a prime target since I'm pretty scaredy!) They had lots of fun and Addison came home very, very tired. Now Addison has just spent the last full week at BYU-Idaho at EFY (Especially for Youth) and had a blast! She flew out last Sunday, the 21st and spent the night with Erika upon arrival. She got to meet Leighton in person the first time and really loves her. Erika took her to the university the next morning and Addison had a fabulous time for the week. Now she is spending about a week with Erika, Jack, and Leighton and will be home Thursday night. I can hardly wait to see all the pics she's taken and looking forward to "talking" to them tonight on Skype and seeing them all! (This is just the coolest thing in a long time!!! I LOVE SKYPE!!!)
Joey and I have had a wonderful month. We've worked alot but our days off have matched up really well this month and we've done lots of fishing and had some fun time together. We love taking the boat out on Wateree and fishing all the little coves Joey knows so well. I hadn't had much luck catching much the first few times but we took the bream busters this past Thursday and I finally caught just about as much as him. (He always catches more bass than me when we go bass fishing!) It's so fun, though, and something we have a great time doing. We also love eating lunch at Dutchman's Creek - they have the absolute best french fries ever and I'm not even a french fry person! They are so good! (Anything tastes better, too, on the water when you're fishing in my opinion! ha!) Also, we took a mini-vacation for Father's Day to Isle of Palms, one of my most favorite places. I've always enjoyed visiting the IOP County Park and spending the day there - especially when the kids were younger since Ethan's always loved surfing so much. Joey and I had a really amazing time on the beach for the day
so much that we decided to make a 2-day vacation of it. We stayed overnight and spent the next day shopping down at the market and had a fabulous lunch at TBonz before driving back to Lugoff. We have so much fun together! Joey can make anything fun -- he is just such a great husband and truly is my best buddy in the world! We laugh so much when we're together and just over the silliest things at times but the important thing is that we truly have fun and that's what counts. I think it was a pretty neat Father's Day getaway for him, too! :) He has surprised me with a trip to the mountains next weekend for our first anniversary and I'm looking way forward to it. We're staying in the same place we spent our honeymoon and he even made all the arrangements -- thanks, Joseph, you're so sweet! I can hardly believe it's been a year already but at times it seems we've always been together...I love him so much!!!
so much that we decided to make a 2-day vacation of it. We stayed overnight and spent the next day shopping down at the market and had a fabulous lunch at TBonz before driving back to Lugoff. We have so much fun together! Joey can make anything fun -- he is just such a great husband and truly is my best buddy in the world! We laugh so much when we're together and just over the silliest things at times but the important thing is that we truly have fun and that's what counts. I think it was a pretty neat Father's Day getaway for him, too! :) He has surprised me with a trip to the mountains next weekend for our first anniversary and I'm looking way forward to it. We're staying in the same place we spent our honeymoon and he even made all the arrangements -- thanks, Joseph, you're so sweet! I can hardly believe it's been a year already but at times it seems we've always been together...I love him so much!!!Erika, Jack, and Leighton are doing well and we are just so excited that they're coming here to visit in August and having the baby blessed here at Camden Ward! It will be a wonderful and special celebration and such a homecoming for everyone to meet Leighton. She is so beautiful and I miss her more that I could have ever imagined. It's amazing watching her on the webcam but I want to hold her in person so much I can hardly stand it! I may or may not make it until August 26th -- I just may have to take another trip between now and then if I find a cheap-enough flight! Oh how I love that little baby girl!!!
Ethan is busy working at Redbone Alley and making some decisions about school and stuff for the fall. I am really praying hard that he will make the right decisions and that he will have a desire to attend church regularly and that I can see him more often. I miss him so much, too. We were able to spend some really nice time together last Sunday when I took Addison to Florence to catch her flight and I realize more and more how much I miss him and wand so much for him to do the right thing. He knows right from wrong and has such a great heart. He is so kind and humble, much like my daddy, but right now he's working so many Sundays and is just not attending church or having much connection with family except by phone. I will continue to pray that he will have a change of heart and that he will feel of the Savior's love for him. He is such a good son with so many outstanding qualities and so many talents...
This about sums up the past month. Life is good. Sundays are my favorite days of the year, every year! It's a time to reflect and study and to spend time with those we love, whether in person or in heart. My family is planning to visit later today so that Mom and Dad can see Leighton via the webcam and I look forward to their visit since I didn't go there for lunch today. I missed everyone but I took advantage of the quietness since Joey is working today and it was just Chloe and me. It's been a nice day but now I'm looking forward to Joey coming home soon and a nice evening with him and the family.
Yes, LIFE is GOOD.
Leighton was in the NICU for the first few days due to some fluid in her lungs inhaled during her delivery caused by the hiccups. She came home late on Saturday night, May 16 and I arrived in Idaho on the 18th meeting Leighton for the first time. Yes, it was truly more than love at first sight! She is just beautiful.
I had a 4-hour shuttle ride to Salt Lake City, rented a car there for a few hours to do some shopping before leaving, and then boarded the plane headed for home. My heart ached to leave even though I'd missed Joey terribly and had so much going on here at home. Addison was graduating in a couple days, I had to get back to work, and Joey and I had not been apart this long since marrying. Even so, a special piece of my heart remained there in Idaho with my precious daughter, son-in-law and beautiful new grandaughter whom I absolutely adore. It seemed like such a long, long way home...I missed you, Leighton, the second I walked out the door of your home and I will be looking forward every day until the next time we are together again. Until then I will be missing you and keeping you in my thoughts and prayer every day. Always know that you are a child of God. You are a precious daughter blessed with parents who love you so much and will teach you things that will help you to become the princess you were born to be. You have been born into a forever family. I love you, Leighton Valencia Maxfield, and I am honored that you have my name. I will not let you down - I will always be here for you no matter how many miles separate us, my heart is with you.