OLYMPIC SIZED FAMILY BONDING

we've decided to take full advantage of this streak of wellness i am experiencing and head out of town for a little holiday.
we are in need of a little family bonding
this has been a tough summer

my last streak of wellness was back at the end of june when we attended the YFC National Ministry Conference in Edmonton, AB.


Graham, Parker and Avery embarked on an epic 13 hour road trip to Edmonton.

parker and "pretend mom" somewhere in the wilds of alberta

parker, avery, "pretend mom" and our good friend joan -
who graciously opened her home to my crew and put them up (or put up with them) for several nights

parker takes "pretend mom" canoeing

"real mom" would have loved to join my family on their epic road trip however doing so would have come at great physical cost to me. thanks to the generosity of friends, i was able to fly to Edmonton. we were so grateful for this gift as it allowed me to spend my limited energy on being and doing rather than traveling. and do we did!



Our National Ministry Conference was awesome. Tony Campolo was one of the speakers (need i say more?) it was a great time of encouragement, building, refreshment and renewal and re-connecting with friends from around the country.

we were incredibly grateful that i was able to attend the conference at all, let alone take in as much and do as much as i did. i made it to morning and evening sessions by taking marathon naps of 4-5 hours in between. this was the most functional i had been in quite awhile

we spent a few extra days "holidaying" in the Edmonton area after the conference ended, visiting with some dear friends and spending a day at the world famous West Edmonton Mall Water Park



thanks to MY DRY PRO PICC LINE COVER
i was able to even go for 2 water slide rides with Parker and Avery



all in all, it was a terrific holiday
and
a much needed time of family bonding
however
taylor was not with us
(he was in costa rica on a 2 week missions trip with our church youth group)

welcoming taylor home! so very happy to have him back!

his presence was immensely missed and it left a huge crater sized hole in our family
we all missed him terribly

upon our return from Edmonton, i had a HUGE crash
and aside from a handful of 'functional days' that included an outing to our local aquarium, a trip to the beach, and a sprinkling of visits with friends and family, i have spent the majority of the rest of this summer fairly home bound and unable to participate in many activities with the kids

one of my greatest fears is that the most prominent memory my kids will have of their childhood is mom being sick, mom lying on the couch and mom herxing...it is a fear i am learning to surrender and trust our heavenly father with...

and i guess in part, it is that fear that motivates me to make the most of life when i am able and create meaningful memories for my kids to carry with them

so, as you can imagine, after spending my 3rd summer in a row of seeing more couch than beach,
i have had a huge need to spend some intensive, concentrated family bonding where the 5 of us could just BE together...with no expectation of 'doing' other than just being together -
and being away from the distractions of everyday life...

xbox
cell phones
texting
TV
email
snail mail and the bills and invoices it delivers
basically i wanted a place to nest with my family away from the distractions of modern living,

yes, in a moment of insanity,
i was envisioning a remote (preferrably ocean front) locale where we could light a fire, gather round and all sing kum by yah
one small problem
i don't camp
and
remote ocean front cabin get-aways are not cheap (seriously!)

and the kids were less than thrilled with the idea of doing without modern convenience...family bonding is enough torture for them.

amazingly enough, they were so opposed to the idea that they had an immediate meeting of the minds and ALL agreed there was one place where they ALL wanted to go.

their chosen destination?

WHISTLER, BC
official alpine skiing venue for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
and
official site for the 2009 Olympic-sized Goertzen family bonding

really it is rare for the kids to all be in agreement
they presented a very unified front on Whistler being "the place to go"

initially i was less than thrilled...
the thought of navigating Whistler in wheelchair conjured up all sorts of death defying yet horribly hilarious scenarios

whistler 2006

and it was on a holiday in Whistler 3 LONG years ago (above photo), when i had one of my first inklings that something was really wrong with me. all i can remember from that trip was being in an incredible amount of pain, experiencing monumental fatigue and feeling as though i was being poisoned and electrocuted.
but you know prior to that,
we had been going to whistler for a number of years (my folks have a time share there)
and we have some pretty fond and wonderful memories
so pretty quickly i warmed to the idea

2 OLD FAVORITES

taylor & parker
whistler 2001

taylor, parker & avery
whistler 2006

and now
i just have to trust that i will remain well enough to be able-bodied for this trip
and
if not
well, i will just "roll" with the punches if they come

at any rate,
the kids are in for some olympic-sized family bonding...whether they like it or not!

"expect the best, prepare for the worst, plan to be surprised...
and capitalize on what comes."