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Quotable Quote #10

It's not often I have a quotable quote from the Good-Looking One, but yesterday's conversation had me in stitches!

I invited him to come along to the movies with us. The following conversation took place:

Him, "Sorry, can't make the movie, going to *** beach today."

Me, "Are you going alone?"

Him, "No, gonna go with J…pray for us that she doesn't make us crash the boat."

Me, "Oh, man! I will pray!"

Him, "Pray hard. Do hail Mary's…whatever helps."

Him, "When I am with J, I pray to everyone associated with Him, to make sure He knows I survive by His grace!"

Later, I asked him if was dead. His reply?

"Almost. She almost tipped the canoe."

 

 

Camp, Day 2

Day 2 of camp was probably one of , my favorite days. It was our first official full day, so we really didn't know what to expect. There were however, two things, that would happen this day. The first was that it was one of our girl's birthday; the second was it was water day at rec…and we were told to be prepared to get soaked.

Ok then!

At breakfast, birthday girl needed a little glamour to get the day going. In order to get her day started out the right way, we announced her birthday to the dining room and had a combined effort of singing, "Happy Birthday!" We also made sure her birthday was announced in front of the 1900 teens attending worship, although they did say her last name wrong. (I'm sorry for laughing, dear.)

And then there was recreation. Not sure what to expect, we threw on some shorts and t-shirts and headed over.

Our youth group was split into two family groups. We still did everything together, but for recreation, we were on opposite teams. It'd probably be a good thing to know that we are all pretty competitive. I'll also state, that as a leader, I have the option of not participating, (instead delegating) if I don't want to. Yeah, well, ok.

Our first game was holding a thick pvc pipe full of holes over a bucket. We had to work as a team to cover the holes while other's poured cups of water down the pipe. First one to fill the bucket wins. We didn't do too bad and I managed to stay completely dry.

I may get them a bit jumbled as we went quickly from one game to the next. I'll say this: for the first two or three games, I stayed dry. And then it happened.

We came to a game where we had to run to a trash can and fill our hair with water, then run to our bucket and ring it out. The first team to fill their bucket wins. Ah ha! Birthday Girl has long, thick, hair! She'd also just stubbed her toe and wasn't really up to running back and forth. (She did anyway!) We had another girl who had long hair, so she was up for the challenge, too. Our other family group's team was a bunch of shorter hair, so I thought we had it in the bag. But then, things started to really become well, um, competitive…and before I knew it, I was ducking my long hair into the trash and rining it into the bucket, too! And I was, um, well, rather wet. And laughing.

And we headed to the next game. Which involved a trash can full of water, a bowl, a sponge, and a bucket. Rules: line up up in an assembly. One at bucket, one with sponge, one with bowl. Person with bowl runs to trash can, fills up bowl. Throws bowl of water from designated spot to person with sponge at designated spot. Person with sponge catches water from bowl with sponge. Sponge person then throws sponge at person with bucket. If sponge lands in bucket, person with bucket rings out sponge and they all move forward a spot. If sponge misses, person with bucket rings sponge over head, then moves on. Object: fill the bucket.

I'm sure it all started innocently enough. Our two family groups were standing on the same side, next to each other. In order to get to the trash can of water, we had to pass by each other. And it was a race, after all. And we were wet. And hot. And did I mention competitive?

Somehow, someone's bowl of water was, I'm sure of it, mistakenly bumped into. And then, somehow as we were running back and forth, we just kept spilling each other's water. And then somehow, we all ended up soaked and lost track of what we were supposed to be doing. And then somehow, we were in the absolute best waterfight that we've ever been in! (I felt sorry for the poor referee who gave up on us.) And somehow, we were in fits of hysterical laughter. And boy, did we have fun!

We moved on to the other games and followed the rules. We played water dodge ball and other stuff, and then it ended. And we headed over to the tree to listen to our Red Rumble leader share the Word with us.

And I won't say who, but one of those trouble making teens of ours thought it was funny to toss a bucket of water unexpectly over my head!

Later, we talked about our fun and agreed while it was a great bonding moment, we definately would set the example and follow all the rules the rest of the week.

And much later, we ended the day with hostess cupcakes, hearts, and laughter to celebrate the birthday. And we laughed and laughed at pillows and popping cupcakes and a near food fight.

Yeah, these types of days are just a little part of what makes camp so fun!

 

 

 

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Camp Day 1

This week's blog is for the parents of the wonderful teens I went to camp with! I know as a parent, there is nothing greater than your teen coming home from camp and sharing their wonderful stories of the past week. But let's face it, they don't always tell you everything. Ha ha

I thought it might be nice to share some of the things from a leader perspective. So…

On Monday, we finally arrived after driving all night on the charter bus. We were tired, but the weather was beaufitul. I'll have to say, personally I loved the registration process because they were so organized! Anyway, it was a huge blessing to find out our dorms were only a few steps away rather than a trek across the college! We spent the first few hours unpacking and hanging, waiting for dinner and worship.

I tried to take notes during the week of things that stood out to me so I'd remember when I came home. Monday night we were singing in worship. I'm not one that usually looks around while we are singing and praising the Lord, but I happened to have been…well, sneezing.  When I was in control again, I looked beside me. What  I saw really blessed me. It was a room full of teens just singing and praising in full worship; one in particular struck me. He was standing there, eyes closed, face lifted up, just singing to our Lord. Honestly, he reminded me of an angel at that moment.

I quickly looked away, not wanting to interrupt his moment, and went back to my own singing. I remember thinking later, "What a great way to start the week."

And what a great week I had to look forward to.

My Kids

There is just nothing better than having children. Really. And a day spent with them is especially fun! We started off with the Smart One getting his long hair cut. What a shock! He looks older, and we can see his beautiful eyes again! He was at camp all week, so it was really nice to have him back and listen to him as he talked about his week; what he liked, what moved him, etc.

I spent this evening with B-boo at her dance pool party. We took along a couple of her friends and the Drama Queen. I got a kick out of watching them tumble in the grass. It brought back memories of when they used to compete together in gymnastics.

After, we went home and the Drama Queen put on a concert of us. My dearest friend was there to share it with me. It brought tears when she sang, "The Climb." When she was finished and her voice could sing no more, the Talented One lowered the lights and graced us with his music. I cannot tell you how much his music moves me. When he plays, a peace just comes over you. It is beautiful. Sitting there in silence while he played is about the best way to end a day. Even more, watching his younger brother sitting there beside him, just listening, while he plays, and his sister on the other side, again, sitting and listening.

I love how supportive my kids are of each other and their talents. We are so blessed with wonderful children!

Tomorrow I leave for camp and my blog will be shut down for a week. I love spending a week at camp with my favorite teens, but I also miss my family while I am gone.

I'll see them in a week though, for a much needed vacation with my older brother, all of my kids, and my parents.

It doesn't get much better than that, either!