Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Today!


Since this week, Youth For Christ is renting out Crooked Creek; most of the assigned team has no job! So the agreement is that the A-Team will take on other jobs around camp for three days of the week and have the rest of the week off. So today, Matt and I traded. He took the kids and I went and worked in the laundry for half of the day and led the mountain bike trips for the rest of the afternoon. We folded over 300 fitted and flat sheets, along with towels, pillowcases and the work crew's personal laundry-all this morning. But it was so much fun to learn HOW to fold a fitted sheet with precision. I will give a tutorial tomorrow. Then we took over the bikes. It was so much fun! About ten minutes into the ride, we saw a moose with two calves out in the middle of the field. Moose sightings are much sought after around camp and I was one of the few who got to see one. And with twin calves! They were about 500 yards away. After about five minutes of staring, we realized that we might be in charging territory and should probably be on our way. About that time, the moose realized the same thing and moved on her way. It was incredible. Almost as incredible as spending the whole day away from my kids and loving every single minute of it.

BTW: this is not my picture. I was not brave enough to bring my camera on the ride.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

She's the Fergie of Yo-Del

For those of you that have wanted to see some of what Matt is up to...

Saturday, July 28, 2007

One more


Click on the picture to see it in all its glory..

Saturday Photo Essay

We just got back from the pool before the afternoon freezing rain storm blew in, here are the lovely pictures:




Friday, July 27, 2007

Fun days



These last few days at camp have been fun as Asher is as equal if not a more well-known celebrity than Matt is. I am pretty sure that every girl in camp would take a picture with him if they could. Every guy in camp can not believe his athletic prowess as he dribbles a basketball, soccer ball and throws a frisbee 20 yards now. You would think that all we do it play sports with the kid...oh wait-that is true. I mean, he has to pay his own way through college since we clearly can not afford it!


Thursday, July 26, 2007

I forgot to mention

So, I am on a posting tear today. Can you tell that it is Day 5 and program has slowed down??? Anyway, I saved a kid from drowning at the pool today. A mom (I have no idea who she is) showed up with her crap-load of kids under age 5 without floaties, life vests, nothing. She got in the pool with ONE of the kids and told the rest to "Stay on the stairs". Now, I was on the side of the pool, because Asher actually does only stay on the stairs; going up and down them in mind-numbing repetition. I was getting stressed out because now Asher was not the only kid on the stairs, there were now five kids on the stairs and NONE of them knew how to swim. And only Asher looked like he was comfortable in the water. So I am watching these kids, while their mom has her back turned to them and is playing with her one freakin' kid and lo and behold, her son just falls off of the stairs into the water and is under the water, struggling-BAD. I had to jump in and pull him out of the water and get him onto the pool deck. He was freaked out, crying, water, snot and tears were everywhere. I was ticked cause 1) I didn't plan on getting into the pool today. 2) the mom didn't even thank me 3) one hour later, another mom had to rescue another one of this ladies kids from drowning.

Every heard of arm floaties???

Did you see this?



Yes, that is the bulls horn all the way up the guys shin and into his knee. This dude and his brother, both American idiots were gored by the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. The picture is from the AP.

Quote of the Day

My dear friend Jenn Wisecarver sent me an email last night that had the following quote from Brennan Manning; "May all your expectations be frustrated, may all your plans be thwarted, may all your desires be withered into nothingness. That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child."


Sounds like a downer. But truly to be in the position of nothingness is exactly where Christ would have us. Then everything that we receive, comes from the Father and not from our hands. Everything, does in fact come from the Father, but we believe that we have provided for ourselves by our own gifts, abilities and determination. This is where we have missed out on what He actually has for us, because we are not in the position of being grateful children. Instead, we cry out, "MORE" rather than "I am not worthy!"

wanna know what a great feeling is?


When you have $44.04 in your checking account and not a bank that you bank at in over 100 miles. That's called REMOTE people! I am feeling really smart that we keep our saving account at a different bank than our checking account. We might have to rectify that when we get home.

This isn't a pity party cause it will be solved and we have literally NO NEEDS here. But--wooooh. Not feeling good about the old checking account balance!!! Guess it wasn't such a good idea to pay off all of our bills before we left-I cut it a little close this month!

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

How old does Drew Carey look?


There is nothing in the world relevant about this post. I could care less about the Price Is Right and who their next host will be. But I saw this picture in USA Today and the man does not look good. He looks old...and weird.

Ow, my BACK!

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days. Lucy's fever finally went away this morning; just as I was recovering from throwing up all night last night. I threw up so hard, I strained all of the muscles in my back. I am feeling better today, but dealing with a migraine due to the muscle strain and dehydration. So if you hav emailed, called or sent a package to us and have not heard from me...it is because these last few days have been a lot to handle. Sorry!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Mama's baby is sick

Well Lucy has been running a 102 degree fever since last night. I don't know if she has caught the stomach bug that running through camp right now or if she has something else going on. We hope that she will come out of it today. PRAY! We are finishing up week 1 and 400 new high school students arrive at camp tomorrow. I really hope that Asher doesn't get sick too. He is acting fine and so we are hopeful that he might have dodged a bullet. We are so excited because tomorrow groups from Columbia, SC, Greenville, SC and Western North Carolina all arrive tomorrow. FRIENDS!!! It will be a nice change to see familiar faces all the way out here!

The pictures below are from Banquet night last night. If I could just tell you how many high school girls wanted to take pictures with Asher because he has made them laugh all week long with his dancing in club...It was hilarious. Almost as hilarious as the fact that he flatly refused to take a single picture with any of them.




Friday, July 20, 2007

Complete Turnaround

We have a complete turnaround and things are starting to really click this week. We got through the opera, carnival and square dance without any major problems...in fact many of the property staff said that it was the best opera that they have seen in years! It was really fun! During the Opera, the bad guys tie up Matt and Josh to let Matt pull a switcheroo and appear as one of his other characters. When Matt got tied up, Asher started yelling, "Daddy! DADDY!" He was definitely ready to put the smack down on the bad guys. It was very funny!
Yesterday, Matt had the day off because all of camp went on the hike and so we got to play and go into town for lunch. It was nice except that Matt started to feel sick. There is a stomach virus going around camp. I think that it passed over him, but he was in really bad shape for a few hours. The virus was completely contained in the other staff house, but this morning; one of the kids in our house started throwing up. Please pray that Asher and Lucy don't get it. Asher played with this particular boy for HOURS yesterday. yikes.

But here are some new pictures from Tableau and Matt and Josh as the "Swiss Mista" and "Ricola"




Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Crooked Creek Update

So, yesterday was a benchmark day because there was no crying and we actually had fun! I took Asher to club last night and he danced so hard; he was a sweaty ball of a boy by 9pm! It was really fun. We already went swimming twice this morning, once in the pool and once in the lake. And Matt and Josh were really funny in their walk-on at lunch! Just in time for the Opera, Carnival and Square Dance tonight! Hooray! So here are some pictures from the last few days. Enjoy!








Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Nine Words Women Use

My friend Jessica just sent this to me and well...it couldn't have come at better time.

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time
standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8. Whatever: Is a women's way of saying F@!K YOU!

9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later
result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response
refer to #3.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Did I mention...



That I am so sad that I am missing nearly every day of the Tour de France while I am here? Arghhh!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

We are here!

We are in camp and all moved into our rooms. It is so great to be out of a single hotel room for the four of us. At one point yesterday, three out of the four of us were crying at the same time. Yes, it was THAT hard.
We had two pack and plays, nine bags, four people and a hotel that has not heard of the invention called "soundproofing."

It sucked.

Lucy was still not feeling well and so she needed to take a nap. Which meant that Asher and I couldn't leave the hotel, but we also didn't have anywhere else to go. So we sat in the hallway and colored and watched the Wiggles on my laptop. For two hours.

Then we went to the playground down the street and Asher had lots of fun playing with the older kids on our assignment. They saved me. Seriously.

We went to lunch at another park and I just about lost it there. Both kids were exhausted. I mean, we are two hours behind what they are used to and so noon lunch is really 2pm to their body clocks. I am not exactly rigid about my kids schedules, but they are used to some semblance of a routine and we have not been in one for days. Also, I was nearly out of formula, diapers and baby food and we have NO CAR. So I had to ask someone else to pick up all of these essentials, which is really frustrating when you are used to being able to do everything yourself.

So we left the lunch and went right back to the hotel where Asher laid down to take a nap, but Lucy didn't want to. So she cried for two hours straight. In the hallway. Because otherwise she would have woken Asher. Finally, I had enough. I made her lay down in her pack and play and she cried until she woke him up. Then I picked him up, picked her up. Put them both in my bed. Asher kept saying, "Wiggles, Wiggles!" so I went to put the video on. But I left my laptop in the hall, I went to retrieve it and my hotel room door slammed behind me. I heard Asher crying and get out of the bed, which then knocked Lucy over crying. I was standing outside of the room crying because I was so TIRED and because I was now locked out of the hotel room, with both of my babies being locked in a hotel room and everyone crying. Good times.

After about a minute, another mom walked by and she ran to get me another key and I managed to get in and lay Lucy down. She fell asleep immediately, of course. And Asher was now awake for the rest of the afternoon. So I made him watch the frickin' Wiggles, Little Einsteins and Mary Poppins from 3pm to 5pm while I just laid in bed next to him trying to recover from this wretched afternoon.

At 5, we got to go to camp to welcome all of the Summer Staff and Work Crew. I had sufficiently recovered to take both kids up there but I was battling a migraine from all of the crying. But, it soon went away and we had a great time there. Unbelieveable.

It is hard that a day that went so poorly had to lead into our time getting to camp. You never want to feel this tired, worn out and angry before you have done a single thing on property. But I sure was.

So today was a great relief to move into our suite. Asher has his own room and Lucy is sleeping in our room in a closet. Camp looks beautiful. We welcomed 300 kids to camp today from Texas, Alabama, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida and Minnesota. About 70 kids have never been to YL club before, much less camp. 15 kids are here in a juvenile detention program. This is a tough week of camp and we have had kind of a rough start. Program hasn't quite meshed yet, music struggled a bit and kids aren't as into it as anybody is used to. Feel free to pray for us because I think everybody is feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Also, feel free to pray for me as I am definitely on edge after these last few days that have been so hard and draining. I have noticed that any little hiccup along the way is setting me on fire. I hate that within myself and I know that it can be contagious to those around me. Pray for me to be content here.

I will keep you updated!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Well we made it...so far

We are in Winter Park, Colorado. We left Asheville yesterday at noon and drove to Columbia, SC. Then we left Columbia by plane at 6:30am, flew to Houston and then onto Denver. In Denver, we boarded a bus with the assigned team and drove up to Winter Park. We are in a hotel until Sunday when we get to move into camp. So here is how it went:

Phase I: Asheville to Columbia.
We left right when we wanted to at noon. Asher and us all ate in the car and both of the kids took a nap. Asher watched some Wiggles on the ipod and we got into Columbia, pretty much without incident. It was great. We arrived at the Sloan's where Matt's sister Buffy and her twin girls were waiting on us! It was the first time that we got to meet Zoe and Tori and my oh my are they cute!

We put Asher down for a real nap in the pack and play and all of the girls played. Well Lucy played and Zoe and Tori grunted and ate.
About 5pm the barrage began when Nate, Watts and Maggie all arrived to play. Linda and Mark got home from work, David and Mary Lane came over and it was a zoo! But it was so great to be around family and all of the kids playing together. Then we ordered pizza and celebrated Asher's birthday! Asher's great grandparents even arrived for the celebration. It was great fun!



Then, Matt introduced his family to the camera on my laptop and how it can distort your face so you look ridiculous. Here are a few of the favorites:






I am not lying when I say...EVERYONE took pictures. It was one of the funniest things that I have seen in a long time.

Then everyone left, we put the kids to bed and stayed up too late getting ready for today.

PHASE II: Columbia to Houston
Matt ended up going to bed around 2am. Then Orbitz kindly placed a complimentary phone call to Matt at 3:15am to let us know that our planes were ON TIME. uggh. Then Asher decided he wanted to get up at 3:45 for the day. So Matt got up with him. Lucy and I got up at 4:30am, got dressed and into the car. Matt was not especially fun during this phase of the trip. But he gets a pass on that since he only got one hour of sleep.
We got the airport and the guy checking us in was not happy to be there either. So that was fun. We managed to get the kids through security and to the gate. But we kind of lost track of time and had to be paged because the plane was close to leaving us! We boarded the plane and Asher played and Lucy slept. It rocked.

PHASE III: Houston to Denver
Asher was so tired from being awake since 3:45am that as soon as the plane left the gate, he was sound asleep. Lucy, on the other hand decided that was a good time to play the role of classic screaming baby on the plane. I am not kidding when I say, SCREAMING HER BLOODY HEAD OFF. She wanted a bottle and I messed the bottle up and it was leaking all over the place. I coudn't get it fixed without standing over a sink and no flight attendants were very helpful. Finally after ten minutes of cursing and sweating and unbelieveably dirty looks from other passengers, a flight attendant approached and offered to help. He took the bottle and dumped it out and brought it back full of the perfect temperature water. Lucy took her bottle and was asleep within minutes. Glory. Everyone slept-except me for most of the flight.

PHASE IV: Denver
We arrived in Denver at noon. Our bus was not coming the airport unti 2:30. So we had two and half hours to kill. Which wasn't that bad because both kids needed to burn off energy. So Asher ran around like a maniac until he was literally falling down he was so tired. He hit his head hard twice on the floor of the Denver airport and has two magic eggs on his forehead. We got on the bus, very tired and very worn down by whining and just general crankiness. The addict needed a fix from the Wiggles and we caved to his demands. He fell asleep in about thirty seconds and so did Lucy. They both made it for about an hour and with one hour left, they both decided that they had "had enough of traveling. thank you very much." And so they just fussed and were crankpots for about an hour. Then we made it to the hote;.

PHASE V: We are in the hotel.
We have made it. But both kids are sleeping in pack and plays about three feet from each other. I am pretty sure that Lucy is getting sick and might have an ear infection. So we'll see how this plays out for the next three days.

I am sitting in the hallway typing this because I am downloading 30 Rock off of itunes so that I can watch a little something before I go to bed. Sorry for the giant recap, but I am simply amazed at how well this trip went. A little complaining and whining I can handle. Giant meltdowns and getting kicked off of planes...I can't deal with that and I am so relieved that did not happen to us today.

By the way, best parent hack travel tip so far. Buying black felt for helping to make the room dark. We aren't using it for that purpose, instead I draped it around Lucy's pack and play so that she can't see us and wake up, Asher can't see her and wake her up. Also, it blocks out light from getting in her face as I get ready for bed. I am POSITIVE that I will be traveling with black felt for years to come.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Pictures for your Wednesday

Yes, we are getting ready to leave for our assignment at Young Life's Crooked Creek. If you wanted to (and I am not saying you do!), you can send us mail, packages, sweet little nothings to:
Crooked Creek Ranch
P.O. Box 250
3000 County Rd 517
Fraser, CO 80442-0250

So on that note, here are the kids getting ready to watch Daddy do his thing:








I took a bunch of pictures of this kids this morning after I bought three yards of black felt in order to create a black out window at camp. I realized that it would make a great backdrop until I was ready to pack it!

Ahhh this makes me feel better about flying

From consumerist.com:

TSA CONFISCATES WATER BOTTLE, MISSES BOMB

Federal inspectors were able to slip a bomb past the TSA 5 out of 7 times, according to the Albany Times-Union. Here's the best part: One fake bomb was placed in the same bag as a bottle of water. The TSA opened the bag, took the water, and let the bomb on the plane.

The TSA spokesperson responded:

"We don't discuss the results because they tend to paint an inaccurate picture of the competency of our work force," she said. "The tests are designed to be incredibly difficult and TSA does anticipate a fair level of failure."

They seem pretty good at detecting Evian, though, don't they?

Monday, July 9, 2007

Happy Birthday Pictures






Here are some pictures of Asher from his second birthday!