My Heroes- Heart Camp

Camp Taylor- the happiest place on Earth! In all honesty it really is!

Camp Taylor is a camp for kids with congenital heart disease. Congenital heart disease is the number one birth defect of all children. It kills more children than all childhood cancers combined. Camp Taylor was started 11 years ago by Kim Gamino after her son Taylor was born with heart disease. She wanted to create a place for him where he could show his scar and talk about the many difficulties that accompany living with heart disease. It has grown into one of the most magical places on Earth and has changed so many lives. Including mine.
I watched camp change my sister and wanted to be part of that. But after the first year volunteering at camp I realized I wasnt helping these kids- they were helping me! I can't thank Camp Taylor enough. It literally saves lives.
Now go donate everything you have to it! :) www.kidsheartcamp.org

Emily a couple weeks after her sixth open heart surgery

 This year's camp theme was "Superheroes". So fitting for these kids. They are all my heroes! Many of these kids have spent way too much of their lives in hospitals getting poked, tested and having their chests cut open too many times. They endure teasing, stares and cruelty at school. They deal with stresses that the rest of us cant even imagine. And they smile and laugh and love with an unconditional love and acceptance that cant be matched.
Camp has a way of just enveloping you in love from the very first moment. It is filled with amazing counselors, doctors, nurses, golf cart drivers, cooks, directors and campers! The love is so apparent and beautiful it is hard to keep from crying the whole week. It's hard to express- just go and see for yourself!

This is Emily (my sister) a month old on the top and five years old on the bottom. 

Challenges and stress over heart conditions do not end after surgeries or when you leave the hospital. That is just the beginning. The emotional challenges that come after are hard to deal with- but Camp Taylor makes it so much easier! 

This is Shon. Quite the ladies man and a stellar dancer! 

Our poor campers had some sick counselors. They were angels and went on missions to bring us granola bars and water . I think they enjoyed the independence. :)
Also isn't that an extremely creative room layout? 

Jocelyn and her date Shon. :) I was so blessed to be co-counselors with Jocelyn! She has been with Camp Taylor from the very beginning and started S.I.B.S.- a group for siblings of heart campers. She is another hero of mine who works tirelessly and unselfishly for all around her! I already miss my time with her! 

Fantastic 8! Such a wonderful and sweet group of girls! Miss them all already! 

Faith- our cute boy crazy girl with endless energy! 

Friendliest cabin award!

Beauties before the dance! 

So much excitement! 

A wonderful week full of wobbling, coughing and laughing that I wished lasted all year long! I will miss next years camp because I will be in Chile- but hopefully that is the last camp I will ever have to miss! It is such a blessing to be part of the Camp Taylor family. Please find some way to help Camp Taylor! These kids need it- we all do! It is like Christmas morning for these campers when they arrive. They literally wait all year for these five days. There is no place like this in the world!

I could go on forever about how amazing Camp Taylor is- but you will just have to go see it for yourself!

Also, shout out to the amazing Alissa who some how was able to create a painting of me swinging five days before she leaves for Brazil!

Merry land**Mara-lyn**Mer-a-lyn

  

This is Alissa. Alissa lives on the opposite side of the country as me...in a tiny little state called Maryland. Alissa talked about Maryland a lot over the last 6 months. She made it sound like the greatest place on Earth. I knew it couldn't be since everyone knows Carlsbad is the greatest place on Earth. BUT I wanted to see this land Alissa loves so very much. So I went and visited.

 **Really it was just an excuse to see Alissa. 

In a nutshell it was wonderful. Dreamy really. 

THIS frazzled picture is inside the Library of Congress. A new favorite place of mine. I could easily spend my entire life here. I even got a library card--it's only good for two years though so I'll have to go back soon.
A place that holds pretty much every book ever written--heaven! 

I could lay on this floor and stare in awe at this wonder all day. Luckily Alissa promised to work her magic and paint my bedroom walls to look like this.....it made leaving a tad bit easier. 

A random fountain. I'm sure it has a name or something. 

Modern Art. One day I will understand it. This one really struck a chord with me. Black on black--who would have thought? There is so much depth here. I just know it....

This my friends is the CAPITOL. Not the White House. It happens...
WHY do they have a capitol and White House in the same place? It's just confusing!! For the record this is the one I wanted to see anyways....

Rain. Lots and lots of beautiful heavy rain. Luckily we had an umbrella to wait it out underneath. 

Mmmm.....so much wetness. Squishy squishy

My own little ray of sunshine!! 

After the storm.
You can just feel the history pulsing out of this place! It's a delight. A true true true delight! 

Gettysburg. I think a battle happened here. But once again....not sure. So many unanswered questions. 

Luke- He's pretty great as well. 

This place brings out happiness!! History=happiness

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain is a hero of mine.
 He was a general in the Battle of Gettysburg. He was given orders to hold Little Round Top. Him and his regiment held off the impending attackers as long as they could. Eventually they ran out of all food, supplies and ammunition. They had no way to keep off the coming foes and it was of the utmost importance that they not surrender Little Round Top. Practically the whole battle depended on it (and this battle ended up playing a large part in the outcome of the whole Civil War). 
When all hope seemed lost and their attackers were charging up the hill to them Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain yelled "Bayonets" and charged down the hill himself- right into the line of attackers. They were so startled by him and his accompanying regiment that were so fearlessly running to meet their death- they all surrendered immediately. 

Such a courageous man. America's history is filled with stalwart astonishing people like this. We are so blessed! 

A new friend of mine

This Temple is comparable to the San Diego Temple. It is SO beautiful! I love it so much.

                                                           

Cute little children observing the little fishies

Old Ellicott City. An adorable, precious little piece of heaven! 

Alissa's happy place. 

I followed the sunset from Maryland all the way home to California. It was breathtaking and magical.  This sight (almost) made me forget that I was in a heavy medal structure thousands of feet above ground. 

Someone said this was Mt. Saint Helens. I'm not sure if it actually is--but its a big mountain! 

The cutest little train station ever to grace our planet. It felt like walking into a place from Anne of Green Gables. I would have been happy just staying on these wooden benches all day. This place is called Dorsey. Is that not the most precious? Precious. 

California's not lookin so great anymore. 
I am trying to convince my parents to move to the East Coast now- we'll see what happens. 

Alissa leaves for her mission in 10 short days. To say I am going to miss her is a vast understatement. This girl is the sweetest. The kindest. The most thoughtful-generous-wondeful et cetera, et cetera. She is going to be one AMAZING missionary to the people of Campinas Brazil. It's going to be hard to find another person who is willing to go paleo with me or on midnight swinging trips. She's a little bundle of sunshine and I am so so blessed to be able to know her. 

A day with her is like a day at Disneyland! Thats about as good of a compliment as I can give. 
Can't wait for the reunion in two years! :)

Seems far but its actually only 11 weeks away!! :) :) :)

AMERICA!

Our fathers' God to Thee,

Author of Liberty,

To thee we sing,

Long may our land be bright

With Freedom's holy light,

Protect us by thy might

Great God, our King.

This is a day late but oh well.
America deserves to be celebrated everyday
I love America so much. So very very much. I think I've always been a pretty patriotic person.

America is just the greatest. It really is. If you look at how our Nation was created--it really is incredible and so inspiring. We don't appreciate it a one millionth of how we should.
Just think of it-
Thousands of people leaving their homes in the middle of the night. Leaving behind friends, family, jobs, churches--everything they know-- being tossed and turned through the ocean to reach this land. Building up a Nation from nothing. Creating all that we have now. So many people have sacrificed so much for what we take for granted today.
Patrick Henry gave his life for America and her freedom.  Seconds away from death he stood on a chair with a noose around his neck--
"I regret that I have but one life to loose for my country"
If only we had an ounce of his dedication and appreciation for this land. Our freedom is a gift to us. We didn't earn it. We were born into it. And it can be taken away oh so easily.
Our founding fathers were amazing people. They were inspired and lead by God. I hope that they are not dissapinted in the way that I am treating the country they made me. I hope I honor it as I should. I hope we all honor America for what it is- an amazing gift that we should cherish and protect with all our might.
I love this country so much. It is so beautiful, so inspired and so precious. Let us all make a renewed effort this year to appreciate and honor it- to always strive to protect it and to honor those who are still giving their lives to protect it.   God Bless America!

I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.  ~Abraham Lincoln

How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy.  ~Paul Sweeney

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.  ~Elmer Davis

The cement of this union is the heart-blood of every American.  ~Thomas Jefferson

America is much more than a geographical fact.  It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality.  ~Adlai Stevenson

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all!
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
~John Dickenson

 My God!  How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!  ~Thomas Jefferson

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance.  It is also owed to justice and to humanity.  Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.  ~James Bryce