Our attention toward and various celebrations of Wilson in recent weeks culminated at his commissioning into the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant Infantry Officer on Saturday.  It was beautiful, sobering, full of hope & promise and overwhelming all at the same time…

“Wilson Geyling is from Goleta, California. He is graduating with a Bachelors of Arts in History and Humanities. He is branching Active Duty Infantry. He is being pinned by his parents, Rolf and Trish Geyling, his siblings, Max and Olivia Geyling, and, in spirit, by his youngest brother, Rudy Geyling, who sure would have been happy to be here today. May he rest in peace. CPL(R) Joe Zombrano, U.S. Marine Corps will now render 2LT Geyling his first salute.”

 

The following day, the veterans in our church prayed over Wilson.  It was rich and sacred.

 

Will you join us in their prayer?

As if we hadn’t packed in enough goodness for one weekend, we tacked on a performance of Les Miserables at the Pantages in Hollywood.  I’m so glad we got to see this together as a family…it’s one of my favorite productions.

I remember when I first saw Les Mis, I was deeply moved by the theme of redemption and love throughout the whole story but this time around, as I watched young Marius and his peers battle for freedom and reform, I cried the tears of a mother of a young soldier and sobbed at Jean Valjean’s prayer…

Click here to take a listen…

Oh! So moving!  Almost too much for this tender heart of mine.

Here’s another link to the whole 10th anniversary concert performance online…by far my favorite cast.

Sandwiched in between all that was Rolf’s birthday…it seems fitting he spent his birthday investing in his family.  I’m most grateful for the thousands of ways he invests in the children and influences their lives…critical thinking and humor are at the top of a very long list of attributes he is passing down.  Happy Birthday Rolfi!

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My heart is deeply touched by Rolf’s dear colleagues who launched a precious tribute today for our little boy!  (I know, that’s a lot of descriptive verbiage but I’m excited.)

It is such an honor, I wanted to share it with you…

Naming rights are typically reserved for $100,000+ pledges.  What a generous gesture for our Rudy.  Oh, how he loved the time he spent at the rescue mission…especially the courtyard.  We have asked you to participate in fundraisers for organizations like the American Heart Association and Camp del Corazon in Rudy’s honor over the years and our collective effort has raised over $60,000 for kids living with heart defects!!  Amazing. We have one more opportunity to honor Rudy benefitting others in crisis.  No obligation but if you feel moved to be a part of this tribute, you can click the link below OR print out the pledge card photo, fill it out and send it to 535 E. Yanonali St., SB, CA 93103!  🙂

Click here to donate

Keep your eyes out for photos of the renovated facility and new Rudy courtyard next month!!   So special!  Thank you.

Our family had another special evening out last night ;)…Olivia was honored at the SBART annual awards ceremony as athlete of the year for girls lacrosse.  ‘Such a sweet affirmation and I’m so grateful for the positive year she’s having.  I pray all this goodness is seared into her heart (all the kids’ hearts frankly) and buoys that precious heart for a long while!  After a string of evening commitments, however, I’m glad we’re staying in tonight, I need to rest up before tomorrow’s big game!!  Ha, ha

The past couple of weeks have not only been an exercise in pacing myself physically, they’ve been an exercise in us pacing ourselves in midst of this disease as well.  I say “us” because, as you know, this is a team effort and the continual adjustments impact all involved in my care.  We’ve had a lot coming at us…more dr. appts than usual, the delivery of my breathing machine and not-so-smooth learning curve, the boys’ return and their adjustment to my greater dependency, my first cortisone shot to combat the tweaks that come with my continual loss of muscle, an increase in choking incidents, a brand new issue with pressure points and my losing the ability to lift a cup to take a drink depending on the time of day.  Frustration and irritability on my part seem to be on the rise too…understandable, no doubt, but certainly not optimal for all involved.  I so want to endure this journey with grace and dignity and patience…but sometimes that requires more energy than I can muster.  My frustration came to a head last night when I wanted to engage in a discussion with the kids about general life stuff and I just couldn’t…the brilliant insights 😉 are all there, what I lack is the ability to express them and that breaks my heart.  ‘Thousands of thoughts but only a few words.  Today I’m grieving all the things I feel I haven’t taught the kids yet…oh, I know, they’re smart and will figure life out beautifully, it’s just that we do life so well together and a big part of that for me has been the processing of life we’ve done together.  It’s one thing to fade from public life, it’s entirely different to feel like you’re fading from personal life.   How foreign it all is!

Ok, boo hoo, that’s enough.  I’m still praying for healing or a plateau or, better yet, Jesus’ second coming…join me?  Thanks friends!!!

This week has had so many fun thrills and it’s not over yet! The DP lady laxers pulled out a great win over Thatcher last Thursday to advance to the playoff semi finals!!!

After a late night of celebrating…well, late for a school night…Rolf hit the road by 5am the following morning to get to San Diego, get Max and his stuff loaded and back up to Azusa in time for Wilson’s baccalaureate.  It was a long day I couldn’t do but I’m grateful Rolf and Max managed to make it all happen seamlessly.

Saturday was graduation and we all headed down together that day!  Wilson graduated with a double major in History and Honors College.  He had a full plate the past four years with ROTC and his on campus involvement (ie chapel band)…his determination served him well and it was a gift to celebrate him…

Tuesday night was the semi finals game back at home against Valencia and, again, the girls emerged winners…

Greg captured a sweet shovel shot on goal by Olivia that left the Valencia defense scratching their heads a bit 😉

And Brooke had some amazing one-armed face-off saves like this one..so pretty to watch!

Another solid goal pic (thanks Greg).

A win so much sweeter with brothers home to cheer and share in the celebration!

The championship game is THIS Friday!!  Win or lose the season will be over and that makes my heart hurt.  I wish it weren’t ending but I guess it’s time to move past the spring season and on to whatever summer has in store.  Go get ’em girls!  Finish strong!!!

 

There is a lot of life being lived by the Geylings these days.  Max has a full week of finals, music juries, auditions for next year and packing during this last week on campus before summer break, Wilson finished up all his coursework and is reveling in all the senior fun to be had these last couple of days before his graduation and Olivia is play-off bound!  We’re hoping the girls advance on Thursday so the boys can come to the semi-finals next Tuesday :).  Olivia was given a special honor by the SB Athletic Round Table yesterday voting her as the female athlete of the week.

Again, her success is a reflection of her amazing team as a whole and we look forward to cheering on the DP Lady Laxers in the first play-off round at DP this Thursday, 6pm.

Wilson has had a full calendar of events including the Veterans’ Graduation Banquet and annual military ball…

Veterans’ Graduation Ceremony Comments

…and playing with kids on campus!  Ha, Ha

 

Awww, that warms my heart!

As for me and Rolf, we sit back and gleefully observe all the goings on.  Rolf works doubly hard to make sure I’m able to participate as I’m physically able and I’m forever grateful.  The weakness in my arms and trunk is growing as is my dependency on others.  😦   A trip to the pulmonologist last week revealed my need for some breathing support.  I’ll wait to share more once I receive the machine and am trained on how to use it.  It’s a disappointing development but there is far too much fun happening to be too melancholy about it.  We’ve got to strike while the iron is hot and embrace all there is to celebrate right now…so much to celebrate!

 

That’s right folks!  Yesterday’s game against Thatcher went into QUADRUPLE OVERTIME!!  It was another heart-stopping, nail-biting game…Thatcher started the game strong scoring two goals right off the bat.  DP fought back to tie it 2-2 and then the two engaged in a back and forth battle with DP pulling ahead at the end of the second half.  Thatcher got a shot on goal with 2.6 SECONDS left on the clock to tie it up 5-5 sending the game into  4 overtimes until Brooke Essig’s sudden death, game winning goal!  (PC Greg Lawler)

One thing that amazes me is the girls’ ability to keep their cool in tough games like this one…not something I seem to be able to do and I’m just sitting there!!!  😉  Well done League Champs!