Seriously

Matt is watching the NBA Draft on tv. He left the house for thirty minutes, came back and checked the internet for what he had missed-MISSED???? during those thirty minutes.

I can not believe that we are watching this over the Office Marathon that is on NBC. ugh.

This video scares the crap out of me

In a little under three weeks, Matt and I are flying to Colorado to go on assignment at a Young Life camp. I have been extraordinarily anxious about flying with both kids, being away from home for a month and everything that comes along with being at a camp for a month...but this video just sent me over the edge with anxiety. God help the airline company if they ever do this to me.

Home Again Home Again

Jiggity Jig....we are home but only for the night. Tomorrow we are driving to Albany, GA to pick up the kidlings from Grandparents Camp.

I know that my kids have had a great time down there, but I am going to be so glad to see them!

We drove all night last night from Saranac and arrived in Asheville at 9am. Needless to say, we are energized and exhausted all at the same time.

So I am not going to spend any more time blogging and instead go get some sleep.

I will leave you with some fun pictures from the week:

oh sweet saranac

Here we are at camp. It is now Day 2. Last night we ran the Obstacle Course (stealth style-due to sound ordinance issues) after club and then we had cabin time and off to bed.

This morning we had the Volleyball Tournament and our girls kicked tail. We find out tonight if we won, I will be so surprised if we did not. This afternoon, our cabin got to go tubing and the girls had a blast! I opted to be the designated photgrapher-surprise surprise!


And yes that is Matt and Brad with their boys in blue body paint wearing Depends (like the Smurfs)



It is crazy to be here after I met Christ at this camp 11 years ago. So much has changed within me, and yet I feel like very little has changed. I struggle with many of the same issues and personality defects. It is a bit disheartening to look around this camp and remember all of the baggage and jut plain depressing things that I brought here as an 18-year old. The really sad thing, is that it is NOTHING compared to some of the stuff that the girls in our cabin are dealing with.

But, I find myself getting sad and reflective over some painful memories from that time of life. And joy over the miracle that happened in the midst of it. I clearly remember the speaker saying that week, "Your life is a pit that you have dug yourself into, You can not get yourself out of it because you are so deep, you are over your head." I heard that and just said, "Yep, you are right!"

He also went on to say that our only hope is in Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can lift us out the hole and we never have to go back.

Praise God he was right. My new life started right then and there and nothing has been the same since.

Since that summer, I have many friends who have had similar experiences at this particular Young Life camp. It is really exciting and fun to be here with high school girls that are going through the same thing-THIS WEEK. Feel free to pray for all of us. We have 13 girls here who are all over the place. Pray for them. Please.



Thanks!

On the Road Again

Matt and I left with a busload full of high schoolers at midnight last night and headed north.

We stopped for breakfast outside of Baltimore, MD and then on to Philadelphia by lunchtime. We arrived in downtown Philly to take a quick run up the steps that Rocky made famous in one or all of the Rocky movies.



Then we went to a downtown market to eat lunch. I stood in a line for over an hour to get a Philly Cheesesteak.I mean it was good and all, but seriously, does it really take an hour to make cheesesteaks?





Then we checked into the hotel and ran off to the Philly/Tigers baseball game. Matt and the boys all took off their shirts and painted themselves with ketchup all in hopes of getting on the giant video screen, they never did. But it was hilarious and all of these serious Philly fans were not very excited to have a group of guys standing up and singing for the last four innings. But the Philly's won and so all ended well. We just got in and you know that this trip has made high schoolers tired because, it is 10:40 and all of the girls in my room are getting ready for bed!



We leave at 6:30am tomorrow and drive for seven-to-eight hours tomorrow to get up to Lake Placid to go to YL camp on Saranac Lake!

We are tired, but fired up to get there. To see more pictures so far, check out the flickr link!

A Turn of Events

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Things got topsy turvey on Sunday night when our friends Matt and Hannah Williams called and told us that Matt's dad had a sudden heart attack and died on Sunday evening. Matt and I both were so sad for our friends and for his family as Matt's dad was a wonderful man and his was a life that was cut short. So we began to make plans to attend the visitation and funeral this week.
So yesterday, Matt and I drove down to Raleigh to the visitation. I drove back with a bunch of the Windy Gap staff and Matt stayed down to go to the funeral today. We had a babysitter cover the kids until Ben (the college guy who is living with us) got off of work and then he took care of the kids (i.e. listening to the monitor) until I got home at midnight.
Matt and Hannah are both YL leaders at North Buncombe High School and were preparing to take kids to camp this Friday with Matt and the rest of Asheville/Buncombe County Young Life. Well, they obviously were not going to leave Matt's mom to go to camp. It wasn't a problem figuring out who would take the guys to camp because Matt has been one of their leaders all year. But the girls was another story because Hannah has been the only girl leader there all year. Last year, Beth Williams was a leader at NB, but she is a baker at Windy Gap and can't get time off, in addition to the fact that she had a major accident at camp this spring and couldn't physically make the trip on the bus this summer. So, I was the last leader that these girls had that was still around. I called my parents and they said that they can take Asher and Lucy while I take girls to YL camp!
I am excited, but sad because I had been planning on taking Asher and Lucy to the beach with my sister, her two kids and my parents. I had to cancel that trip and it sucked because we had been planning on doing it for so long. But I am crazy nervous about going to YL camp with these girls because I haven't been a leader with high school girls in awhile. Also, this is the camp where I met Jesus 11 years ago. REALLY? It was 11 years ago? Crap I am OLD.
Anyway, I am excited to see the place that I have such fond memories of. And I am really excited to see how kids from Asheville receive a place that I already love! It will be really fun too to go with Matt there and share those memories with him since we didn't know each other at such a milestone in my life.
Anyway, I have had to cram in about two weeks worth of work into three days and I am overwhelmed with packing the kids, me, Slappy, finishing projects with work, I have a year-long audit tomorrow afternoon and Matt has been gone in Raleigh all day long. So, if I don't get back on here in a few days, you know why.

Also, here are some pictures that my sister sent me of her kids. I am so sad to not be with them and for Asher and Lucy to play with them all week!



The second picture is one of all the "kids" cell phones that they have bought or been given in the last three years. It is quite a statement on how important cell phones have gotten for adults that kids don't have just one or two cell phones-but Shellie owns nine-NINE play cell phones. I know that there are only eight in the picture. But the nineth is at her in-laws house and it speaks in Italian to the kids. I know that we have at least three play cell phones, a play ipod and if I gave Asher a little computer to play, he would be on the thing all of the time. Just a little future reference for us all...no more cell phone gifts kay? Thanks!

Aww hugs

Yesterday Asher gave me an impromptu hug. He just came up behind me and hugged my legs and said "mmmmmm." It was amazing. I can not even describe how loved I felt. It was the first time that he had really showed any kind of affection without being prompted. It was lovely.

Then he stopped hugging me and went over to the oven and gave it a hug too. He even said, "mmmmmm."

Do you feel the love?

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Yeah, that is a brand new MacBook on my dining room table-and it's MINE! MINE ALL MINE! I love it! Really love is not too strong of a word for it either. I mean, programs open automatically...not ten minutes after I clicked on them. The blue screen of death doesn't happen on my mac. And, the most important bit of information...it's a Mac. 'Nuff said.

What I have learned at the beach

Since we have spent a lot of time at the beach already this summer, I have learned several lessons. One of the most important ones? That LOTS of moms have some ugly stretched out and beat up tatoos...and many of them are my age and I feel badly for them, I mean I am sure that it seemed like a great idea at the time!
Who am I kidding? I have a tatoo too, but it is hidden from sight and it has made it through two pregnancies remarkably well. All the same, when you see this video, you have to laugh because you know that a whole generation of women is going to recognize that something that is cute at 20 (like a belly ring) is going to be a MAJOR regret later in life. Proof? Watch this video from SNL:


Tatoo Remover - video powered by Metacafe

What the World Eats

I saw this photo essay on Time.com about what the world eats. Click on the photos to see them in focus...it is unbelieveable! Kodaira City (I have no idea where that is...perhaps in Asia?)

Sicily, Italy (check out all the bread and pasta-eat your heart out Atkins!)
Thank you North Carolina family for the only fresh food you eat is grapes and tomatoes ALL WEEK LONG
Bredjing Camp? I have no idea where that is, but it does not look like fun. So now I just feel like crap...it says their favorite food is "soup with sheep meat"
And the family from Mexico City whose favorite food is apparently COKE. Jeez.

There are more pictures on Time's website.

another day, another bunch of pictures

I am sure that all of you are sick and tired of pictures of my kids, but I am feeling very good these days about the quality of the pictures that I am taking. It has become (due to my 365 project) pretty much the only hobby that I am sticking with (apart from blogging!) these days. And it is really fun! And I am capturing sweet memories that I am sure that we will treasure years from now! So with that being said, here are some pictures that I captured of the kids when we were playing after dinner.

The End of the Chip Clip

Watch this video and find out how to NEVER need a chip clip again! AMAZING! I promise, you won't be disappointed!

Turn on Your Hot Light

It's National Free Doughnut Day at Krispy Kreme!

Which is akin to Christmas to me...so be assured that I will be making a visit today. You should too!

This is from the great KK:
"National Doughnut Day was established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to raise much-needed funds during the Great Depression and to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army volunteers who prepared doughnuts for thousands of soldiers. National Doughnut Day is celebrated annually on the first Friday in June."

Well, that's just nice--and a free yummy for me!