Camp Week

 There were so many emotions going into camp week. Aliza was SO excited. She could hardly wait for the day to come when she could finally go. Josiah decided at the last minute to go and was so nervous about being away from home for 5 nights. There were lots of tears and my heart walked away from me when we said good bye. Anna was irritable because she would have loved to go and some of her friends were going but she has one more year to wait. And Isaiah was so sad for Josiah to be leaving because he "would have no one to play with." He had a night of the saddest crying over Josiah leaving. With all of that, I was sortof relieved that the day finally arrived and the countdown to them coming home could begin.

 

It was such a great group of kids and leaders. I had no hesitation in sending Josiah for the first time with the adults that would be around him. Ultimately, Monday morning I got a message that he was really debating coming home. He struggled that morning but camp Mom Melinda had a heart to heart with him and he decided that he would focus on what God had for him at camp. By Tuesday he had turned the corner and never looked back. Josiah and Aliza had such a great time. They came home happy and had lots of stories to tell.

Meanwhile at home, Isaiah had made an agenda of something special to do every day. Day 1 was "go to the store and buy candy." He and Anna greatly enjoyed going grocery shopping with me and picking out some candy and snacks for the week.

I got a picture of a very happy Josiah and my week got a lot better!

On Day 2 we went to Lowe's. Isaiah had my camera and I found a gem.

Isaiah caught a handful of fireflies...

...and "chillaxed" on the porch while I did some BJU work. The weather was so lovely last week. I was loving the porch!

Day 2 on the list was making s'mores.

Day 3 was buying lunch in a way I have never agreed to! Isaiah wanted McDonald's and a CookOut shake. Anna was Subway and Tropical Smoothie. I decided to say YES and they thought it was amazing that I would go to 4 different drive throughs for lunch.

Day 4 was for having friends over and playing.

Josiah is usually the one who takes the trash out and takes the can to and from the road. Isaiah was very willing to fill in for Josiah. It was raining hard so he grabbed the golf umbrella and headed out. The umbrella and the trash can are as big as he his. His head is staying dry but he didn't put shoes on.

I was definitely the Mom who was waiting outside the car for the kids to pull in to the church parking lot. As much as I was ready to hug my kiddos, I was also feeling extremely grateful for the experience they had and the adults who were with them to speak into their lives and encourage them to grow closer to God and to grow up into healthy adults.