Beach Magic

If you know us at all, you KNOW we LOVE the beach. It is part of the fiber of who our family is. Also, you probably know about out "other" family... our Project Surf Camp family, which is also part of the fiber of who we are.

 

 

With Nathaniel's recent health struggles and surgery I was very worried that we wouldn't get to experience the magic of Project Surf Camp this summer, and my heart was breaking over that. I think Nathaniel's was too, as it was ALL he talked about while in Rehab. You can't possible imagine the excitement and relief I felt when Dr. Sun told us he was released to surf. I actually did cry tears of relief and joy. Our family was able to join PSC for the opening day of surf camps season this year, yet I have been remiss in blogging it because the emotions were just too raw. I am going to take a stab at it today, and hope the tears stay where they belong!

 

To us, Project Surf Camp is:

 

 

Family that welcomes us home with open arms and love in their hearts.

 

 

Accessibility to one of God's greatest gifts for ALL!

 

 

A chance for siblings so differently abled to do something magical together.

 

 

It's a time for personal victories.

 

 

And a time to share the blessings with treasured friends.

 

 

To me personally, this day was

 

 

About contagious JOY! From a boy who had MAJOR, life altering spinal surgery just 38 days before this!

 

It was about personal victories and finding out that no matter how changed his body is, he can still fight back and be victorious!

 

It was about our family finding normal again.

 

And it was about PRAISING the Lord for His GREATNESS!

 

On this special day at Project Surf Camp, I hung up my hat as Board of Directors member, I didn't even take many pictures (and if you know me then you KNOW that is a miracle),

 

 I just BASKED in His glory.

 

I let Him wash all around me as I prayed and worshiped Him for His GREATNESS.

 

I wept tears unending.

 

And I TOTALLY enjoyed the precious gift of my children SURFING TOGETHER!

 

If you wonder why we say that Project Surf Camp CHANGES LIVES, this is just one small story of the HUGE greatness this camp does.

 

If you want to experience TRUE magic, and God's blessing, let me know, I would LOVE to take you down to the beach with us, get you hooked up to volunteer.... I GUARANTEE you will walk away a changed person.

 

I am excited to say, we are heading down to the beach today... and I can't tell you how much my heart needs a little magic today!

 

I also want to mention a quick THANK YOU to Breann Hollon of Breann Hollon Photography for the AMAZING images of this special day that she captured. My dear, sweet friend volunteers her time and talent to come out and take fabulous pictures that she provides to PSC families free of cost. What a sweetheart! But she also does great work here locally too, so if you need so fabulous photographs, make sure you look her up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Take THAT Spina Bifida!

Some things take YEARS of work....

But are TOTALLY worth it!

ESPECIALLY when the person doing it has been told that he will most likely NEVER walk due to his Spina Bifida!

Please take a few minutes and watch HOW AMAZING our God is!

And if this doesn't show you why I LOVE my God, and I LOVE PSC, nothing will!

The first year we surfed with PSC was 2009.

It had been a ROUGH summer with services, and disability related things. People who were supposed to be trained in interacting with children like mine dropped the ball big time, several times throughout the summer. Then there was this surfer guy at church trying to get me to bring Nathaniel to a surf camp for special needs kids. I  would see him and go the other way! In my mind he just DIDN'T GET my kid. There finally came a time that I caved, and I agreed to bring Nathaniel to camp to check it out.

And it was LOVE at first sight.

Nathaniel LOVED surfing.

I was in TEARS on the beach watching my child get supported the RIGHT way in doing something special.

And the girls LOVED participating with Nathaniel.

This is a video clip from the first day Nathaniel ever did Project Surf Camp in August of 2009.

Notice the shallow water.

Notice the GREAT volunteers.

Notice the HUGE smiles.

In 2010 Nathaniel COULDN'T wait to get back to surf camp. And I was praying for a way to make his surf camp dreams come true. This was the first summer I was a single mom, and money was TIGHT to say the least. But God had a plan....

 In June I got a phone call that would CHANGE our summer that year. John Taylor, the director of PSC was in a TIGHT spot. He had producers from NBC coming to film the camp the NEXT DAY, and the group that was going to be at the camp that day had to pull out for confidentiality reasons (it was a group of foster kids, and they couldn't be on national television!)  Now I KNOW special needs people, and I have connections in that community. With a few phone calls we were able to have a camp full of kids for John the next day!

Check out what happened that day HERE!

Thus began the 2010 Pepsi Refresh ride for our family with Project Surf Camp. It was a summer I could NEVER have dreamed giving my kids and we had a BLAST riding the wave with PSC. John was so grateful for my help getting kids to his big day that he let my kids surf often that summer. And we were always invited to NBC/Pepsi Refresh events.

Through countless adventures with PSC in the summer of 2010, Nathaniel became more confident, more daring and more in love with surfing! 

He even won his very own surf board!

This is 2 video clips from Nathaniel surfing in 2010

6.25.2010

Notice the independence.

Notice the confidence.

Notice the joy.

6.25.2010 With assistance....

Notice the dedicated support to bring about victory.

Notice the little boy who was not supposed to walk....

Surfing has become a passion for my kids. They LOVE it. In 2011, I was generously invited to join the board of directors for Project Surf Camp. As a board member, one perk was that my kids got to surf OFTEN in camp! We spent countless hours on the beach, me shooting pictures, Nat and Audrey surfing in camp and Brianna volunteering with other campers. It was a family event, and for those five weeks we lived PSC.

7.29.2011

Through the tears in this mommy's eyes there are not words to describe that clip.

My boy. Born with Spina Bifida. Getting himself to a standing position on a moving surf board unassisted.

PRICELESS!!!!

This is why I LOVE our PSC family.

And this is why you will ALWAYS see me doing anything in my power to keep the funding rolling in for PSC so other families can experience this joy, this astonishment and this unforgettable feel good!

Our God KNEW what he was doing when he place the dream of PSC in the hearts of many fabulous people and brought this dream to reality!

Project Surf Camp 7.16.2011

Our summer is in FULL swing and let me tell you, the magic is HAPPENING around here!!

Our summer doesn't really start until Project Surf Camp starts...

This IS our summer family.

And oh how I LOVE these people!

Summer flings abound!

(Audrey SWEARS she and Ian are getting married... every summer!)

Happy kids that will comply so that they get to surf!

And lasting friendships that get renewed each time we hit ht beach!

Project Surf Camp is about empowering, about broadening horizons, and about breaking down boundaries.

But mostly.... Mostly it is all about the MAGIC.

Can't you SEE the magic in those smiles??

Water breaks down the boundaries, and equalizes these special kids in so many ways...

But really... it's all about that smile to me!

My fearless little man!

Standing up again!!!

Take THAT Spina Bifida!

And Audrey is not sloucher either... she is AMAZING out there!

So I am going to over kill the pictures...

But I can't just choose one!

They all make my heart SING!

And bring a tear or two to my eye!

But mostly....

This kids are just....

Too danged CUTE!!! not to post the pictures!

I don't think Nat and Annette are new friends...

I mean friends don't smile like that do they????

We are SO BLESSED that PSC is back under way, and now that I am on the Board of Directors my kids get to surf like daily!!! How blessed am I? I get the honor of serving an organization that I LOVE and by serving my kids get to surf whenever they want??? Is there any loosing here? Because I don't see it!

You HAVE to take a minute and check out these video clips.

Don't forget, Nathaniel has Spina Bifida!

And Audrey?? WOW!! She is killing it out there!

If you want to see all 100+ edited pictures check them out HERE!

PSC 7.15

It is that ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL time of year again....

It's time for Project Surf Camp!!!!

We were signed up to surf Wednesday, but there was a shark sighting, so camp got canceled that day. BIG boo hoo to that silly shark for being in OUR surf spot! Ha.

But this morning I got a text from the director saying that there was an opening and would my kids like to come surf. Audrey had a FULL day of dance rehearsals for the recital tonight, but Matt was scheduled to work with Nat and Matt is a life guard... so I decided to let Matt take Nat surfing. Now if you know me you know that this is a HUGE deal for me. To let my special man in the ocean without me there watching??? BIG DEAL. But I LOVE and TRUST the PSC staff, and I totally trust Matt, so I said a prayer and sent the boys on their way. Thankfully my dear Traci was around to send me some pictures of the day!

One of the new things we had at PSC this summer, is use of the beach chair from the city! What a blessing. Would would LOVE to build some beach chairs for PSC to always use, but in the name of economy, we were able to borrow the city of Morro Bay's beach chair for almost all of our camps this year. What a HUGE savings on this mamma's back since my boy is now over 80 pounds!

Nat and Matt surfing together for the first time... looks like they got it all figured out fast!

Such a strong boy! It might LOOK easy, but really this takes a LOT of coordination and strength!

LOVE this shot!

And of course, nothing better than summer buds hanging out after surfing!

That Nat and Matt could go surfing turned out to be such a blessing. I was able to hang with Audrey all day at dance, and Nat wasn't there. So that night, at the recital, he had not already seen it all day long and he sat and watched the WHOLE show without complaining once! I love it when things work out this well!

Calling ALL Special Needs Families....

I am SO EXCITED....

We have been offered the opportunity to extend an invitation to some of the families that are our Special Needs Friends... especially the out of the area ones (which is like EVERYONE..)

Have you heard me RAVING about our FAVORITE summer time activity, Project Surf Camp???

No????

Then go check out some of my old PSC posts.... HERE! then hurry back...

Because I want to tell you about a fun opportunity I get to offer YOU...

We have been asked to invite ANY special needs family that wants to come here to SURF at Project Surf Camp on the afternoon of Saturday July 23rd!

Yes, that means YOU can come join us... and we REALLY want you to!

If you would like to join us shoot me an email or leave me a comment here and lets get YOU hooked up to come play with US!!!

Wait... you need to know what PSC is???

Well.... direct from PSC

"Project Surf Camp is a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational, nonprofit organization designed specifically for individuals with special needs.

Project Surf Camp uses surfing, the beach, and other ocean activities as an educational modality to build self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in individuals with special needs. We further provide opportunities to build social skills, improve physical fitness, develop healthy outlets for stress reduction, and foster independence."

One thing we LOVE about PSC is that it is for the WHOLE family... special kids AND their siblings ALL get to participate!

Another thing that we LOVE about PSC is the PEOPLE there... everyone has a heart for and a passion for these kids, so all of the kids come away with great memories and have a blast!

Finally, PSC is INDIVIDUALIZED so ANYONE can participate... the volunteers always work in the campers capability and there is a way for ANYONE to participate!

PSC is SERIOUSLY our favorite time of year... won't you come try it with us???

Okay, to write this post I had to go back and look at PCS post from last year.... and now I m cry tears of joy or what we get BLESSED to do in a few short weeks.... I love life, even life with a Special!

Raising funds for PSC

One of the things I am very passionate about is Project Surf Camp!

I LOVE this organization and have decided to step up and help them out, this weekend my kids and I did a hot dog sale fundraiser for PSC... and had so much fun!

Faline and I baked up a storm, and added those yummies to the regular hot dog stuff we do and we were able to make some much needed $$$ for PSC.

While I was slaving away selling hot dogs, my little helpers had some other ideas of what would be fun....

Thankfully there were helpers around...

To entertain the munchkins....

And play ball.....

And be tortured....

And giggle lots....

All day long!

Until the kids exhausted them!

Overall, it was a very fun day, but I am so thankful that I had my helpers to keep the kids busy!!

PSC on the news!!!

I am so far behind the 8 ball right now....

I have so much to share and so little time...

And tons of fabulous pictures too...

But for now I am just going to share this AWESOME news and clip...

THIS

Check it out... Nat and Audrey all all through it :)

We are SO EXCITED to be part such an amazing group as Project Surf Camp, such a blessing to our lives and I am so excited that this award will allow PSC to bless so many more families!

As far as that 8 ball goes.... I HOPE to sprinkle some blogging into the canning, cooking, cleaning, sorting and unpacking that I have to do today... I miss sharing our lives and my heart with you!

Project Surf Camp 7-16-2010

I think that it is so great that they do this large group shot EVERY TIME. I enjoy looking at it and seeing who comes back, who the new folks are and how the kids grow.

Little bit was very skeptical this day..
Not sure why, once she gets going she always loves it, but still had to get over that initial "WHAT"????

Nat on the other hand was right out there, no hesitation at all!

He is getting daring and stronger too :)

Love seeing my boy that happy!
It's not often that he gets this animated in a good way about things!

Brianna has really started to love to volunteer with the kids and she is GREAT with the younger ones.

She can get just about anyone on a board, no matter how much they are not sure about it!

Teamwork makes for great accomplishments!
Remember this is the child that doctors said would never stand or walk...

but God had different plans!
He stands,

He walks (with braces),

He loves sports of all kinds,

and now he surfs too!!!

This is something that is really interesting to me. Matt (Nat's helper here) likes to show Nat things in nature and teach him about his surroundings too. I think it's totally cool! So a few weeks ago Matt showed Nat some sand crabs. Now Nat doesn't like anything living, he gose completely obsessive in a bad way over living creatures (dogs, cats, bugs... anything!) The first time Matt showed Nat sand crabs Nat scooted right away, and Matt reading the signs let it go. The next time Nat surfed with Matt he ASKED Matt to show him a sand crab. Then the next time they surfed together Nat HELD a sand crab (could have knocked me over with a feather!!!) And today Nat sat right down and started DIGGING for his own sand crabs to hold. Amazing. Simply Amazing.

Brianna's camper wanted a break and Audrey was still being a pill...

So Bri helped out with Audrey some...

NOW we have smiles :)

All around!

Ok, now my fearless surf loving girl has come back to us!

This shot just melts my heart. I can't even put words to all of the emotions it brings out in me.

I am so sad that PSC is over for us for this summer.... we miss our friends there already!

As usual, I olny put my favorite shots up here. If you want to see the whole albumn check it out HERE