June 8, 2008

Did you miss me?

It's been a week since my last post, and I'm not really sure where to start. I haven't gone that long without writing since last year at this time when Jack was new in the world. The summer has hit like a ton of bricks and I'm already finding myself counting down the weeks until it's over. Is that bad? I think once camps actually begin, I'll be fine. Here's the week in review . . .

MONDAY was Jack's birthday. Our friends Aaron and Alisha (I went to college with them) came to visit and we met their son Micah for the first time. Alisha and I had the same due date, but Micah is about a week and a half older than Jack. We hadn't seen each other since we were about 18 weeks pregnant. We only got to spend about two hours with them, but it was good to catch up. The rest of the day was spent group building and training our staff.

All day, I was a little emotional thinking back about what I was doing a year ago. I know it hurt a lot at the time, but all I remember is how wonderful the whole experience was. At dinner, Kyle's parents and the Williams gave Jack a birthday gift . . . his very own 4-wheeler. It has a single button that makes it move, and I think he got whiplash because he pressed it so much but didn't understand to hold it down. Nevertheless, it's a gift he'll grow to love!


On TUESDAY we left bright and early on our campout. Jack was a trooper and did pretty well for the 4 1/2 hours he was in the car. I was dealing with severe upper back pain and neck pain. I took an obscene amount of pain killers. We unpacked and set-up camp once we got there. We spent the evening exploring the beach and trails and praying and singing around the campfire. We also found out that the modest bathhouse (with a toilet and a sink) was closed until next weekend. Fantastic. We had to use the outhouses near the beach . . . which was fun. Jack slept pretty well Tuesday night, but ended up in bed with us by morning.


On WEDNESDAY morning, our staff had solo time. Before we sent them out, we talked about prayer and how it's about talking to God, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's just listening. Sometimes things are too wonderful or too horrible to know what to pray. We talked about how we read in Daniel and Romans that prayer is sometimes about being speechless before God. The rest of the day was spent training in conflict resolution, playing new games and getting to know each other better.

Jack liked camping, but it was so muddy! We pulled him around in the wagon he got for his birthday and he got a kick out of that.


On THURSDAY I woke up sick to my stomach (probably from all the pain killers) but thanks to our stellar staff, we managed to get everything packed up before the rain hit. About 2 minutes before the rain hit. We opted to wait and eat a late lunch so that we could get back to camp without stopping to eat. About 40 minutes from camp, this happened:


Do you see the tread on that tire? No? That's because it's not there. We blew a tire. While Kyle, Nate and JD fixed it, the rest of the group waited at the closest rest area . . . wishing we had stopped for lunch.

When we got home that day, I had 1 1/2 hours to shower, give Jack a bath and get ready for the wedding I was taking pictures for that night. The wedding was beautiful but it was HOT outside. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have used my new camera because I was still a little unsure of it. But I think I got some good shots and I hope they're pleased with them.

On FRIDAY it was back to training. When I got home that day, I had a package on my doorstep labeled "Summer Survival Kit." Joy sent me a kit full of supplies she deemed necessary for making it through the summer . . . root beer, pop corn, laffy taffy, a water balloon launcher,
chap stick, gum and the best snack mix ever. She took Cheddar Chex Mix, Doritos Munchies Mix and combined them and took out all the pretzels and then added Combos. It was perfect.

On SATURDAY, we had so much to do . . . the house was a mess, I had e-mail to answer . . . but instead we decided to take Jack for his first trip to the zoo. I guess we just needed some family time. There aren't any great zoos around here, but the Africa exhibit at the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek is really nice. The best part is that the giraffes are at eye level and you can feed them but Jack squirmed every time they came near, so I didn't get any good pictures of it!


That brings us up to today. I've had a stressful week, and I don't anticipate this week being much easier. I'm enjoying it, but it's hectic. Actually, if I can make it through tomorrow, I think I'll be able to get things set up for the week that will make the rest of it more enjoyable. Honestly, once staff training is over, I'll be much more relaxed. Thanks for reading . . . and thanks to all of you who left messages over the last week wondering how the campout went!

1 comment:

Elisa said...

Of course we missed you!! I'm glad you survived the campout with Jack, I thought of you often! Hopefully we'll see you soon!