Is it Summer?
Summer is delicious. rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
-- John Ruskin
(I keep trying to think of this quote this Summer while I imagine myself seated in one of these chairs!)
I've done my east coast tour, been involved in a heapload of camps, had a mini vacation with my husband, and I even turned on the A/C once or twice in this very non-summer like weather we've had in the Pacific NW. Finally, in the middle of August, I take a breather (in the sunshine!) before the Fall schedule grabs hold and I start to run at a spirited pace once again. So what really has captured my attention and energy since April?? SO MUCH!
The season began with a very hectic, yet successful ending to the inaugural year of
Woodinville Whiz Kids. Wow! It's amazing to think how much God and handful of really faithful people have done to make this after-school program so awesome. I haven't always had the luxury of seeing the vision God has placed in my head actually get planted, grow, and mature before my eyes like Whiz Kids has done in the past year. I'm just in awe! Usually, I have lots of visions, dreams, and ideas and a few of the seeds are planted, some cultivated, but I rarely get to see the fruit of the harvest until long after I have moved on. I guess that is the case for a lot of dreamers and visionaries. I am thankful for the blessing of seeing this vision become reality and am currently working toward what our second year will hold for us. Here's a
short summary of our first year. I am looking forward to another wonderful year with some great kids and leaders!
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| The Blushing Bride |
The last day of school literally sent me packing! I headed out at 4am to catch a flight to NYC to celebrate the wedding of my college roommate, Christine. I was "blessed" with 5 hours of "quality time" in the Denver airport, but tried to appreciate the goodness of it all. It gave me an opportunity to practice singing at the higher altitude since I plan to return again in October 2012 for the
Sweet Adelines a cappella competition! I had to rehearse my song for the wedding anyway. I really wish I could figure out where the stage fright comes from when it comes to singing a solo or duet. I can deliver a speech, a sermon, or even a magic routine in front of hundreds and a few times in front of a thousand, but singing is a whole other matter! *sigh* Someday, it will be easier...someday.
Actually, I was rather pleased with the delivery of the Irish Blessing I gave at Christine's wedding, so someday arrived faster than I expected.
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| Virginia and her Daddy |
After Christine and Steve's wedding, I took the train to central New Jersey to meet up with my Duke roommate, Anna Kate, her husband Will and their darling daughter, Virginia. What a joy it was to spend some quality time with friends if only for a few days. Will is the Presbyterian minister in the town of Titusville and they live in the cutest little manse right on the Delaware river where George Washington once made his famous crossing. It's very Norman Rockwell there and I loved it! Will and A.K. dropped me at the airport for yet another flight for my east coast tour down to North Carolina. Of course, weather caused another delay, this time in Baltimore. I got into Raleigh at some ungodly hour, but my baby brother, Corey, is a night owl and still picked me up! What a guy! He even picked me up from the hotel in the morning for breakfast with dad and grandma. Then it was on the road for 2 1/2 hours to the tiny town of Conway with Dad and Grandma (Corey stayed in Raleigh for work).
Conway is where I used to live before I moved to Washington state. It's one of those towns most people never visit because it isn't on the way to anywhere...except maybe the beach, but then you really are on a Sunday-drive kind of tour to get to the beach. It's a sweet town with good people who always have a hug waiting for you and probably some sweet tea and a good story as well. I always go to Conway when I return to North Carolina because if I didn't, Helen would harass me until I returned to visit her. She hates that I left, even though she understands why I did move.
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| Helen |
Helen is my 95 year old friend. She is probably one of the most amazing, faithful people I know. She also keeps my dog, Juniper who couldn't come to live with me since Scott and I have a condo with no yard. Helen and Juniper love each other and the both kind of jump up and down and in circles when I come to see them--as much as an overweight 8 year old dog and 95 year old woman can anyway. I kind of think of Helen like the female version of the father in the story of the
Prodigal Son from Luke 15. When the young son returns home, the father throws a huge party for him; he just loves him so intensely and is so glad for his return. Every time I return to Helen, she wants to throw a party and just completely surrounds me with her love. It's incredible and overwhelming sometimes. Helen loves like God loves--unconditionally and overwhelmingly. It's a very powerful thing.
After our too-short visit with Helen and other friends in Conway, Dad, Grandma and I went on our way south to Goldsboro to take Grandma home. We met Aunt Karen and cousin Hillary there and Aunt Karen also handed off my completed wedding scrapbook! Woohoo! It looks awesome, and so much work was put into it. I love looking at it and remembering the day Scott and I were married two years ago. Now, as Hillary plans her wedding with Jeshua, I am just thankful I'm doing planning mine! That's a lot of work.
After we said our goodbyes to family, Dad and I were headed back to Wilmington so I could finally sleep after several long days of travel!
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| Adalyn modeling (Aunt Lindsey's dress) |
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| How can you resist this face?? |
I got a couple of days of rest in before my sister, niece, and mom arrived which brought a flurry of excitement and energy. Mom had been on a business trip and my sister, Shelby, drove in from the Charlotte area with Adalyn just to see me! It was so great to see how much Adalyn had grown since I was last there to see her back in November. She is now crawling and babbling and such a complete joy to watch as she explores the world around her. Shelby is a great mom and I am longing for the day when Scott and I can bring a cousin or two to visit with Adalyn. I was sad to say goodbye to them on July 4th, but it was time to return home to Washington and it was a treat to receive the birdseye view of fireworks from the plane.
I had just one week of time between my trip and the start of Vacation Bible School. We had a ton of work to do, but thankfully the prep work before the trip and the work of faithful volunteers while I was away allowed Vacation Bible School to be the best one we've had since I started at WCUMC.
I was very concerned during that week of VBS that my next camp would not happen. I needed 35 kids in order for it to happen. Usually, we have well over that number for our camps, but for some reason, this new one was not catching on. Plus, I needed kids who were entering grades 3-8 and I didn't have a lot in that age group to draw from. God was stretching me. On Thursday, July 14 I had 19 children and would need to call to let them know on July 15 whether or not to cancel. Over night (after numerous prayers and phone calls) God delivered 35 to our list and we had 38 by Saturday.
GOD IS FAITHFUL. KidShine camp was AMAZING. There were so many God moments during that week. Kids who had never heard the Gospel, heard it for the first time. Kids who had never acted, or danced in front of others, did on Friday night for the first time. Other kids who have been honing their talents and gifts for some time were able to share as well. It was not just another kids play--it was truly impressive art and God's work in action.
Following KidShine, Scott and I fled the country to Canada as has become our tradition. We went to Victoria last year. This year we were in Whistler, British Columbia. WOW the scenery is simply breathtaking. It was only for two days, but it was a nice little escape and a definitely a necessary one in order to reconnect with my husband.
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| Whistler: Home of the 2010 Winter Olympics |
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| Lots of snow up that high! |
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| Peak 2 Peak Gondola (yes, they really use the "2" in the name!) |
The final camp of the summer was Epoch. This is our youth camp that is done every year at Camp David, Jr. just outside Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. The scenery here is also amazing. I can see why it is a coveted place to camp. I usually do not attend this camp because it is for 7-12 graders and is run by our Youth Pastor. Kim has always been great about helping me with VBS and other things in Children's ministry so when she needed help, it was only right that I volunteer. What was I thinking??? After the crazy travel and camp season I'd already had--wow! I was exhausted upon arrival which would not bode well when I needed to sleep on plywood beds in the Jr. High girls cabin! Yep, well they do have these thin cushion things, but they really aren't supportive at all. Well I counted it all joy and did just fine for most of the week even though I had to take naps during free time and go to bed at 9:30 like an old lady. What is even more amusing is that my job was in the kitchen. I'm not a cook. I mean, I can cook and sometimes enjoy it, but I will definitely take the short cuts in cooking. Mary, our head cook, does not. This is NOT typical camp food. This is gourmet, fresh, organic, good-for-you, slap your momma GOOOD eatin. I'm serious! I learned to cook for a large crowd this past week and it was fun. With the exception of mice, a burn from the holey hot pad, and being a bit stressed when Mary left us midweek for a wedding...it was good. But wow...I'm tired! Upon my return, I made a reservation and received a most excellent, well deserved massage, then my trainer kicked my butt, and I am trying to reorganize and clean the house after being away so much. It's recovery time, but the sun is shining and it's still SUMMER (sorta).
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| the deer are very tame |
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| freezing cold water didn't stop the swimmers! |
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| lunch by the lake |
So...that's what has happened this Summer. And in with regards to the adoption process. We're still working on it. We are just about ready to send in our first application. We got a little delayed after we received news back in late April that we might be moving ( long story, but we aren't moving after all), then the festivities of Lent and Easter swallowed my time, and then all-of-thee above took place. Needless to say, our paperwork was just kind of sitting there waiting (begging) for attention. I pulled it out of the file box and am working on it this week! Hopefully, things will begin to progress again, soon.
I had just one week of time between my trip and the start of Vacation Bible School. We had a ton of work to do, but thankfully the prep work before the trip and the work of faithful volunteers while I was away allowed Vacation Bible School to be the best one we've had since I started at WCUMC.
I was very concerned during that week of VBS that my next camp would not happen. I needed 35 kids in order for it to happen. Usually, we have well over that number for our camps, but for some reason, this new one was not catching on. Plus, I needed kids who were entering grades 3-8 and I didn't have a lot in that age group to draw from. God was stretching me. On Thursday, July 14 I had 19 children and would need to call to let them know on July 15 whether or not to cancel. Over night (after numerous prayers and phone calls) God delivered 35 to our list and we had 38 by Saturday.
Following KidShine, Scott and I fled the country to Canada as has become our tradition. We went to Victoria last year. This year we were in Whistler, British Columbia. WOW the scenery is simply breathtaking. It was only for two days, but it was a nice little escape and a definitely a necessary one in order to reconnect with my husband.
The final camp of the summer was Epoch. This is our youth camp that is done every year at Camp David, Jr. just outside Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. The scenery here is also amazing. I can see why it is a coveted place to camp. I usually do not attend this camp because it is for 7-12 graders and is run by our Youth Pastor. Kim has always been great about helping me with VBS and other things in Children's ministry so when she needed help, it was only right that I volunteer. What was I thinking??? After the crazy travel and camp season I'd already had--wow! I was exhausted upon arrival which would not bode well when I needed to sleep on plywood beds in the Jr. High girls cabin! Yep, well they do have these thin cushion things, but they really aren't supportive at all. Well I counted it all joy and did just fine for most of the week even though I had to take naps during free time and go to bed at 9:30 like an old lady. What is even more amusing is that my job was in the kitchen. I'm not a cook. I mean, I can cook and sometimes enjoy it, but I will definitely take the short cuts in cooking. Mary, our head cook, does not. This is NOT typical camp food. This is gourmet, fresh, organic, good-for-you, slap your momma GOOOD eatin. I'm serious! I learned to cook for a large crowd this past week and it was fun. With the exception of mice, a burn from the holey hot pad, and being a bit stressed when Mary left us midweek for a wedding...it was good. But wow...I'm tired! Upon my return, I made a reservation and received a most excellent, well deserved massage, then my trainer kicked my butt, and I am trying to reorganize and clean the house after being away so much. It's recovery time, but the sun is shining and it's still SUMMER (sorta).
