Week at the Creek!

I'm just giddy about the week ahead!  One of my passions is serving the youth.

For the 14th year in a row (except 2 years ago following Kasidi's spine surgery) I'm headed to camp!

And this year, for the first time in 10 years...I'm going without a Pack N' Play!

That's right, my babies are divvied up among relatives and friends.

I miss them already!

But I'm looking forward to serving the youth with both hands this year.

Four of my Treasures are having a blast with their aunt, uncle and cousins!

And the littlest three are staying home with Daddy, spending their days with friends, because...

...just a few days after camp, we'll be rising to that 2 a.m. alarm and starting to harvest the Lord's crop!

I'm really looking forward to a week of quiet moments with the Lord and loud moments with the youth.

We truly appreciate your prayers for the week ahead.

TO HIM BE GLORY!

Home and on the Fast Track

What a week at the Creek!
My prayers were answered.  The girls couldn't have been any better.  
Right after Sunday's report service we drove to Missouri to pick up the rest of the Treasures.  Thank you, Miss Kim and Mr. Brad, for taking such good care of our Treasures!!!
And now it's Monday...and it's a little crazy.
The corn is growing, and we may be harvesting by this time next week!

At least twice a day we trekked down this hill for church.  It is not stroller friendly, so I just carried the girls.

We went on an icee date Friday afternoon.  They loved it!

Sisters getting ready for church.

Going into the Tabernacle

On Thursday, Kasidi and I went to the therapist for re-casting.  She's such a trooper!

So big!

We had to leave church early Tuesday night because these two were full of themselves :)

My oldest girl!

Thank You, Jesus, for a great week at the Creek!!!

Falls Creek, Here We Come!

It's what we've been preparing for all month...

the day Mama leaves for camp with two Treasures in tow.

To tell the truth, I'm suddenly scared to death.  I'm afraid I won't be able to get the girls up and down the hill from our cabin; I'm afraid they will get really cranky; I'm afraid they won't sleep.  

I know it's the enemy.  He's feeding my fears.  Perspective!  The rest of the Littles are safely with the Smiths; Mr. Greenthumb will be home, just hours away, preparing for the abundant crop; my teenagers will be at camp with me, and I have a sitter to help out.  It's just so out-of-the-routine, and lately we really really need routine.

Kasidi is doing fantastic in her first set of casts!  They haven't slowed her down a bit.  Thursday afternoon we will go to the therapist for her second casting and then return to camp.  The therapist is contemplating hard casts for the second round.

I know God has great things in store for this week, and it's really all about HIM!
To Him be glory!!!

Falls Creek '11 in Pictures

Rowdy group :)

My Joy
My social butterfly and her pastor
My teen gal
My teen guy (errrr, one of them)
How many people will this bed hold? We successfully turned this 2" mattress into a pancake!
Dream Team?
Tony Nolan and some of the guys
Goin' to church
Rockin' girl sponsors
Our 2 graduated students :) :(


And finally...if I can't laugh at myself, then who can I laugh at?
Thank you, April, for sending me the pix!

Growth

We're seeing it!

In more ways than one.

The corn crop is looking awesome. Harvest should start around July 10 and run till mid August. (that's a lot of hard quality family time!)

Severe storms with hail are projected for this week ~ that always gets us praying in the middle of the night!

You can kinda see the various stages of the corn here...

Tassels! That means less than 22 days till sweet corn!
And then there's these two, growing like crazy!
Kennah has gained 4 ounces! Hey, it's something, right?!?
We made the decision yesterday that I WILL go to Falls Creek next week (*squeal*)! After much prayer, the Lord spoke.

I know neither the Lord nor the sponsors need me there, and I know it won't be easy with two little girls...but growth occurs in the hard places!

Our Week at the Creek!

Praying before we leave

Chillaxin' on the bus
Modeling our camp tee, designed by Kenzie and Kaylee
Waiting for the shuttle to take us to the volleyball courts
We came, we played...
...and played. It was hot!
We worshiped
We ate ~ a lot!
We learned a new game ~ Ninja Assassin! We played it everywhere...waiting in line at the Tabernacle, waiting at the ropes course, waiting for supper...

April is the Belay Queen! You wanna climb; she will belay!




Thank you, Tracy and Abby, for cooking for us and babysitting during Bible study and devos!
God is so very good! We saw Him do amazing things amongst our group. He called some to salvation, others to rededicate their lives to Him, some to missions, some to ministry, others to share the Message boldly, He reminded us of His sovereignty and the hope that we have, not only for an eternal life spent with Him but in the circumstances of our daily lives!