life with Miss Camille....

Camille Anaya, the youngest child, the baby of the family, #16. She was one of life's greatest blessings, I've told this story so many times, but it's my blog, so ha, I can tell it again, unlike when I launch one of my oldie-but-goody stories, and one of my kids rudely interrupts to tell me they've already heard it. HARRUMPH. I just might tell it more interestingly this time, mister. Anyway.

When I was pregnant for Camille, I started spotting, bleeding, cramping. I specifically remember cramping so badly I thought I was going to die. I was 42 years old, and thought maybe miscarriages were harder when you're an old lady. I don't know. But this went on for a few weeks on and off, and I won't get too graphic, but it was rough. Then I stopped bleeding, healed up, and thought it was over. I went into the dr.'s office several weeks later, just too check and see if everything was okay. Now, during these weeks, I felt awful. I thought I was depressed from the loss, I was tired, and sick and just blah. So, I went in for my check up, and the dr did a urine test, still showed pregnancy hormones. He sent me next door to do a blood test, just to see what was going on. The next morning, I still remember exactly where I was standing, the midwife called and said to come in right away, my hcg numbers were really high. Now, this was a little before the Google-The-Heck-Out-Of-Everything time, so I thought right away, "I have ovarian cancer."

So, I went into that dr.'s office with a feeling of dread. The midwife. met me in the hallway and said, "Let's do a quick sono to see what's going on..." As soon as that wand hit my mushy white tummy, there she was, waving at us. I could. not. believe. it. I simply couldn't. 16 weeks pregnant. She was in there all along. A lost twin? Subchorionic bleeding? I don't know. But it didn't matter any more. And I didn't know yet that she was a girl, the little stinker was turned the other way at each sonogram, so we didn't know until she was born that she was Camille Anaya.

Anaya means, "God answered."

So I started this blog the summer before Cam was born, 12 years ago. She was such a gift, still is. But when all the kids are here, the youngest tends to be treated...well, like the youngest. Teased a little, spoiled a little.

Now it's only the two of us here all day, then Paul in the evenings, and it's we're enjoying it! At least I am, she might be sighing with boredom, but I really don't think so. We've libraried and Targeted, and visited Grandma. We went to the dollar store...

Russell Stover chocolates for a dollar, and yes I bought one. Only one. Cam has always loved picking out a piece of a box of chocolates, now she has this huge one and there are no other kids here to fight over the caramel with.

We also went to Walmart, where I let her get that gel nail-polish protector. And a new beach towel, and a pair of the cutest pink sandals. You should see the ugly sneakers I bought for Norway. It hurts my pride, but I don't care because I hate pride anyway, if that makes sense. They are pretty hideous, but they don't hurt my wide feet, so...

Here's something random, I want a new camper. Our poor camper has suffered from leaking, and I think is irreparable. It's as old as Aaron, a 1992 model. It's too old and big to tow anymore anyway, because we don't have that swanky 15 passenger van anymore. So I've been looking at those hybrid campers, the ones that have just a few beds that fold out of them. Some of them are pretty sweet, and for around five thousand you can get a nice used one. I am picturing us using it while we go camping, because let's face it, tents are the devil. And I am picturing just Paul and me going camping with it in the years to come, as the kids go on their youth things, ect. I like to go camping, but I really don't like roughing it. I like a refrigerator run on propane, and a little stove that you just turn on. A bathroom in the camper is much nicer than a trip through the woods in the dark (or shh, a trip TO the woods in the dark). And rainy nights, I can just picture Paul and I sitting at the table in the lantern light, playing gin rummy. It'll be like going full circle, we started in tents, bought a pop-up camper, then got the huge-0 35 footer, now we use tents and blah, I would like to upgrade.

This isn't going to happen this year, the Norway trip is pricey, to put it mildly, but some day, that's on my list...along with the new kitchen floor and a few new windows, they've not all be replaced. Then there's the minivan with closer to 200 thousand miles than 100 thousand, ugh. I would like a Mitsubishi Outlander with seven seats, all wheel drive. Our minivan doesn't stand a chance when it's really snowy.

It's nice to have goals, but also to remember that this life is temporary, and our purpose here isn't to amass the best and the latest, but to get oil in our lamps and gain wisdom, things of eternal value. "Remember to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Heb 13.16).

And now I'm going to vacuum the floors, shedding summertime Labradors...:)