Road trips aren’t quite what they used to be…

It was almost 7 years ago (at the end of a Redberry Bible Camp summer camping season) that Sarah Jane and I packed up my old ’86 Honda Accord and drove south; WAY south, to Florida. It was the perfect way to end a summer that had been full of highs and lows, triumphs and frustrations. We had “won” a couple nights stay in Daytona Beach and Orlando Florida. When I say, “won” I mean, we pressed the button online that told us we were the millionth visitor to a site and were entitled to a big prize. Of course, it was a timeshare scam, but we got to stay in some sweet hotels for cheap and we only had to sit through a short timeshare schpeel one morning.

We drove long days. I know for sure we pulled at least one 16 hour driving day. We loved it. It was so much fun as we drove with our windows down, the music loud, and our worries at our back. It was a really great trip and, praise the Lord, we had no breakdowns or issues as we put 10,000 km on my car in less than 2 weeks. We even had the experience of leaving Florida as it was being evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.

Jane and I were great road-trip buddies and I know that we will cherish our memories of that trip, the drive and our time in Florida, forever.

Now, seven years later, life is a little bit different. We have both been blessed to find and marry amazing men, and now, we are both mommies. It is an incredible time in our lives as we plunge through our newly acquired roles as parents, but sometimes we can still get the “itch” to hit the open road…

This week on Wednesday, Jane, Olivia, Jett and I headed out on the road… to Candle Lake. It may not be as far as Florida, but it’s amazing how long a few short hours can feel when you have to babes that are egging each other on in their shrieks and crying! Jett is going through this faze where he loves to scream in this high-pitched squeal when he’s happy, mad, frustrated, and even hungry. It’s so awesome I want to rip my own hair out. Olivia wasn’t prepared for Jett’s shrill tones and I really can understand why.

When we got to Candle Lake, it was raining and it continued to rain ALL DAY & NIGHT! It maybe stopped for 10 minutes at a time a few times during the day, but it was REALLY wet. Jane and I like to think we’re still pretty hardcore, so we still went for a walk in the rain, and I actually even let Jett go into the lake a little bit. Don’t judge me too harshly. It wasn’t cold and there were other kids in the water. He also wears a long sleeved swim shirt and board shorts that almost reach his ankles. I had to let him have a little fun. The space inside our trailer and covered deck is not big enough for my independent little playing machine and it was exhausting to continually have to squash his escape efforts. Olivia, for the record, was a trooper. She is such a sweet baby girl!

We made dinner on the BBQ (yes, it was still raining) and then we watched the clock move painfully slowly towards bedtime for our cooped up babes. To get out of the trailer, we went for a drive with the kidlets and even got some ice cream from the nearby ice cream stand called, Quincy’s Corner. Needless to say, there was no long line to wait in, and yet I still got soaked as I placed our order. Ice cream still tastes the same though, rain or shine it still pleases the palate.

Jett and Olivia went down for bed really well and Jane and I were very pleased. We curled up and watched a couple of subpar romantic comedies, which was fun in spite of the terribly cliché plots.

We were nearly though the second movie when the unthinkable happened. My usually good sleeper woke up!!! Shrieking, of course! I don’t know WHY he woke up, but I do know that we ended up having the worst sleep (or LACK of sleep) that we’ve had in at least 6 months. I have been fighting a cold and as I spent HOURS rubbing my little angel’s back to keep him calm and quiet so that he wouldn’t wake Olivia, I struggled with the strong urge I had to just keel over.  You know when your body really wants to cough, but it’s a really inopportune time so you just try to quietly will the cough away??? Yeah, I HATE that feeling.

Jett had awoke at around 11:30, and it was at least 2am before he and I could successfully enter slumberland. I did eventually let him cry through it for a bit, and Olivia slept through it all like a champ. At 5:45am, Jett was up again and ready for the day. It was STILL raining.

Jane and Olivia emerged sometime after six and it was then that we decided our hardcore-ness only goes so far. We ate breakfast, packed up, and headed out by 8 in the morning. It was annoying that it continually got brighter and sunnier as we drove away from the lake.  I guess we just picked the wrong day to go to the lake, but since when has the weather network been right about the forecast?

The kiddos slept for the first leg of our journey home, and Jane and I enjoy visiting and laughing together in spite of our less than ideal outing. When Jett woke up, I think I must have sang, “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly…” at least a dozen times. He has a favorite book of that song and it is one of the few weapons I have to combat his shrieks. He loves it. Me??? Well, I love the EFFECT of it.

We made it home safe and sound, surprising our husbands with how early we were back from our “retreat”. I am glad we went, even if it was challenging and not as relaxing as we would have liked. Jane and I laughed about how different our lives have become. We may not be as well rested, relaxed, tanned or carefree as we once were, but life is good. We are blessed. I am so thankful to have such a good friend.

Funny, that we don't have any pictures of Jane and I to commemorate this awesome trip, but I think we'd all rather look at our little cuties anyway!

Have I told you about my garden??? ...and my sweet farmboy???

So, it's been about 7 weeks since I put my garden in and, I must say, I'm pretty dang proud of what I see out my back window. In this tropical summer climate we've been experiencing, everything is growing well... including the weeds! I am glad to be able to roto-till between most of my rows, or I think I would wring my hands in despair and let it all go. (how do you like my dramatic flair?)

View from the front

View from the side

I just "hilled" my potatoes.

We ate this zucchini for dinner last night.

I should probably start doing something with my massive cabbage!

I have seen a few tomatoes already starting to grow on my plants! I can almost taste the salsa...

My peas have become a bit of a mass of bush... Should be interesting picking the pods when they come!

Beans, beans, beans... I love fresh beans boiled with butter and salt on them.

Mitch is jealous of my corn. He would love to grow a field of corn for cow feed.

Now, for my sweet farm-boy. Jett loves living on the farm. He runs to the barn every chance he gets, he feeds the calves fists-ful of feed, he wants to climb into every piece of machinery or tractor we have for a ride, he loves to open and close gates repeatedly, and already, he is starting to follow his daddy around as he works. I told Mitch that he had better start praying for patience now because before we know it, he will have an ever-present shadow wanting to "help" him and asking unceasing questions of "why???"... We are so blessed.

Familiar Yet Different.... I Love Redberry

Summer camps hold a special place in my heart, and probably none more than Redberry Bible Camp. Love it. I spent 8 summers there as CIT, Camp Counsellor, Advanced Team, Program Director, and then Associate Director. I have so many memories of those summers that are fun to think back on.

I had the privilege of being the camp speaker at Redberry this past week. I have done some camp speaking a few times over the past few years, but not since having my sweet little bundle of,,,,, energy!!! It was a 3-day camp with 120 campers in attendance and I did have Jett at camp with me. Mitch dropped us off and helped us move in, and then he was able to come back to Redberry for the last night and day.

When I walked into the opening staff meeting, I was surprised to see how few faces were there that I recognized. I tried to picture some of them 10 years younger; I thought it might help. There was an unofficial reunion there, though. A former Associate Director and his wife (Bryant and Lynette) were volunteering at camp while their two girls were campers. It was great to see Tim and Kelsie (Site Manager) along with their three girls, too.  There were a few campers at camp who are children of former staff members. It’s crazy to think how things are coming full circle!

Sarah Jane even made it out on Thursday with her sweet girl, Olivia. That was a funny experience as she and I reminisced about our time at Redberry. I couldn’t look back on camp memories without thinking of Jane! She and I spent much time together working there and we even shared the job of Associate Director. It was funny because, there we were looking out at a very familiar place, yet we have grown up and changed so much. We were both holding our babies, feeling much older than the last time we would have stood in that same spot together.

Jane had come along as a chaperone for a group from Appleby Drive that came out for the day to use the facilities and experience camp. Dana (another good  friend who worked out at camp for at least one summer) was leading the group.  She was busy keeping them organized, but it was fun to see her there, too.

It was great to spend time with Jeff and Jenn (the Camp Director and his wife) and Jetty had fun playing with their sweet little Maelle. Jenn and I enjoyed taking our kiddos in the pool after lunch each day.

It was a great week to be at camp. Every day was around 30 degrees and the rain only came at night or early morning. Aside from the gazillions of feasting mosquitoes and relentless horse flies, it was near paradise.

When I have thought about the role of a camp speaker, it’s difficult to not feel overwhelmed. I believe that it is my responsibility to share a clear gospel message in a way that these kids can connect with; and I don’t take that lightly. I believe that God has gifted me in the area of teaching and I love connecting with a group of kids. Truthfully, though, I don’t always feel that I have the gift of evangelism and when it comes to sharing the “meat and potatoes” of the gospel, the crucifixion and resurrection, I get nervous. I am SOOO thankful that I am not responsible for changing the heart of anyone. I leave that up to the Big Guy.

Only about 40% of the kids that come to camp are from church homes, so many of them know nothing or very little about God and the bible. I really felt like I needed to start at the very beginning of the bible, Creation and the Fall, so that kids could hopefully come to understand WHY we need saving. I emphasized that sin is a major problem because it separates us from God. We talked about what sin is and why separation from God is bad. 

Later, we also went over the fact that there is NO possible way that we can get to God, solve our sin problem, on our own. We talked about who Jesus is, what He stood for, how He was different from others, what He taught, how He NEVER sinned, and how He was the key ingredient to God’s master plan to save us from our sin. When it came time to share about how Jesus died to take away our sin, I believe God gave me the words to say, because I was very nervous about that talk. It was around the campfire, and I was blown away at the focused attention the kids gave me. I believe that’s not to MY credit. My prayer is that they really “got it”. I know some "seeds" were planted, some for the first time, and I praise God for that.

For our last chapel session, I focused on what it looks like to live a life that honors God. We talked about changes that happen in your heart, and how even though we’ll always wrestle with sin, our desire will be to live as Jesus did.

During the closing program, I gave a short overview of the things I talked about during each chapel session. It was interesting to see the faces of the kids’ parents. I could see in their eyes and I could sense that this Gospel message was foreign to some of them. My prayer is that God may grab a hold of them through their children.

Many things change as time passes at Redberry Bible Camp. The faces in leadership are definitely different (and younger), but I am thankful that the passion remains the same. There was, there is, and I pray that there always will be a desire and a passion to see young people grow closer to God, whether it’s hearing the Gospel for the first time, making a first-time decision to follow Christ, or deepening a previously established relationship with Jesus. 

***I realize that there is not much scenery shown in these pictures, but I was trying to avoid taking pictures of other people's kids. I do not feel at liberty to display photos of the campers.

kəˌmyo͞oniˈkāSHən

com·mu·ni·ca·tion/kəˌmyo͞oniˈkāSHən/- Noun

 - "The imparting or exchanging of information or news."

      A fun, frustrating, and often-hilarious aspect of life in our home lately, is communicating with our 14-month-old boy, Jett. He has become a chatterbox and I love the way he’ll give you a serious look, like he’s about to tell you something really important, then a speech of pure gibberish will pour from his mouth. Then, of course, he’ll wait for your response. Hah!  He can get very frustrated when you don’t know what he’s trying to tell you or get you to do for him. Daily, it seems, he does use more and more sounds and gestures to let us know what he wants.

      Here is a list of Jett’s “vocabulary” (we use that term loosely) with their intended meanings.

      1.     “Dada” 

-                    As you may have guessed, this usually means “dad”. However, when said repeatedly, with a range of intonation, it can become an entire conversation, complete with facial expressions and gestures. “Dada-dada-dada-dada-dada-da-da, dada?

      2.     “Mama” 

-                    Yes, sometimes this does actually mean, “mom”. However, we have many meanings here, (depending on context, tone, etc.) so we will have to resort to the a-b method.

a.     When a somewhat desperate tone is applied to “mama” it can mean “help me” or “pick me up”.

b.     When Jett’s sitting in his high chair for a meal and his tray is looking increasingly empty, “mama” can be interpreted as “more, more” (that is, only IF there is not a pile of food on the floor)

c.      Probably the most commonly applied interpretation of “mama” is when Jett is trying to let you know that he wants “milk”. Nothing but straight-from-the-cow whole milk for this little hombre, and he LOVES his milk. He drinks at least a litre a day!

      3.     “Boo”

-                    This is how we say “moo”. Cows are actually referred to as “boos” and Jett loves to run towards the barn whenever he can. He’s not afraid of them at all!

    

      4.     “Baaa”

-                    Yes, this does refer to the sound a sheep makes. We have several books with sheep protagonists. Thank you, Sandra Boynton.

      5.     “Oooof” (apply a husky bass sound to your voice while pronouncing)

-                    This is our dog sound and we hear it several times a day. When Jett sees our dogs, Captain and Hurricane, he greets them with an “Ooof!” He will also make the sound when he hears any dog barking. He must have a keen sense of hearing because Jett will react to barking that is coming from quite far away.

      6.     “Eeeee” (In a high-pitched squeal)

-                    Cat noise. I actually love this one. He made it on his own because he has interacted with the cats in our barn and I guess this is the sound he thinks they make.

      7.     “Duck”

-                    Duck sound. I’ll bet you didn’t know that ducks say, “duck” :)

      8.     “Duh”

-                    “Done!” When Jett is sitting in his chair and seems to be done eating , I will ask him, “Are you all done?” and if he is, he responds with a strong, “Duhhh!” (Like, “Duh, mom”.)

      9.     “Bah”

-                    Not to be confused with the sheep sound :) this one actually refers to a ball. Jett will say “Bah, bah” as he chases and throws balls, which is one of his favorite pass-times.

      10. “Urghhhh” (low, and husky bass sound)

-                    This is the sound that we apply to trucks and tractors. Jett LOVES big machines. When we’re driving on the highway, Mitch and I get a kick out of how Jett will notice the semis we drive by and make his “Urghhhh” sound.

      11. The one hand salute

-                    I realize that this isn’t a sound, but it’s Jett’s greeting. He understands that it is appropriate to wave as a greeting to someone who is coming or going, and it is awesome.

      12. The forward hand-cross

-                    While he may not say, “NO”, yet. He can express it very well. He will shake his head cross his arms in a waving motion and maybe even throw something if he doesn’t want it.

      13. Kisses (again, not a sound... although he does make a "mwaa" sound when he blows kisses)

-                    For all of the energy my son exhumes, he can also be very affectionate ( I love this). He often gives “kisses” (a juicy open-mouthed lean in your direction). He can also blow kisses. He puts the back of his hand in his mouth, then pops it out and grins in your direction.

      Jett makes many more noises through out each day, but many have yet to be properly interpreted. He also giggles for most of the day as he runs, jumps, dances, and now climbs everything. If his chatter now is any indication of how he will converse with me in the future, I may be in trouble!