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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
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| From Boating! |
6.28.2010
Floatin' and Boatin'
Today's adventures with the Discovery gals:
6.20.2010
You Know You're a Camp-a-Holic When...
For dessert you make "mini" s'mores over a burner on your electric stove after scrounging for ingredients and tabulating the Weight Watchers points (dark chocolate fares waaaay better than Hershey's, BTW). Because, well, it's just too darn hot to go start a campfire, and even so who would listen in case the baby wakes ?!
Photo Credit: Colin Purrington on Flickr
Our s'mores didn't look this delectable, but my taste buds couldn't tell the difference.
6.16.2010
Convoy of Hope
These photos tell the story of 25 pallets of kits donated by the Missouri Ingathering and processed at the Disaster Assistance Center by a mission team from Washington, IA. Just goes to show: It takes help from every corner to make recovery a success.
6.15.2010
Dirty Work
Don't you just hate it when your kids get dirty right before church? Well, something along those lines happened just before Vespers this evening...
And for later this week:
Yep.
That's a mud pit.
And many of Ferncliff's own are mud-pit-bound.
Quite an innovation, wouldn't you say?
But, of course, we promise to help clean them up:
After all, I mean...we aren't totally irresponsible.
And for later this week:
Yep.
That's a mud pit.
And many of Ferncliff's own are mud-pit-bound.
Quite an innovation, wouldn't you say?
But, of course, we promise to help clean them up:
After all, I mean...we aren't totally irresponsible.
6.11.2010
The End of the Beginning
Today Margie (my little one) got to spend the afternoon with her Daddy. In case you don't know how adorable they are:
So, anyway, they were going on a short drive to Nana's house, and when they pulled up to the office to pick-up the diaper bag my Marge-mallow was in her big girl car seat for the first time! Joel and I bought it last weekend, but we hadn't yet gone to the trouble of installing it, safety-checking it and all. While I was working Joel did it all by himself, and when I saw her it was such a shock to me how big (and sweet) she looked in it. Ah, how the months have passed. I just know I'll be saying the same thing about "the years" before I know it.
All of these sentimental feelings got me thinking about the bazillion other firsts we have coming up. For instance, the first time we drop Margie off at summer camp and say goodbye to her for a whole week. And...shortly thereafter...the first time we come to pick her up. Joel and I dropped-in on the closing ceremony of this (the first bona fide) week of summer camp this evening. What an exciting time. The most amazing thing about it is the energy of the campers as they struggle to translate to their parents the intensity of their camp lives: intense fun, intense play, intense new friendships, intense spiritual growth. And, try as they may, they can't do it. There's just too much. So they can only hint at it and relax in the familiarity of their parents' presence. But I'm sure the parents see the little changes in them that camp has made as they transition back into their daily lives. Tonight's little closing bash was fun-filled for sure. At one point, the campers got the parents on their feet to join-in an energizer:
See how energizing camp can be?
So just like it's the end of the beginning of the summer camp season, it's also the end of the beginning of my firsts with Margie. But that's just a way of saying that there's so much more to come.
So, anyway, they were going on a short drive to Nana's house, and when they pulled up to the office to pick-up the diaper bag my Marge-mallow was in her big girl car seat for the first time! Joel and I bought it last weekend, but we hadn't yet gone to the trouble of installing it, safety-checking it and all. While I was working Joel did it all by himself, and when I saw her it was such a shock to me how big (and sweet) she looked in it. Ah, how the months have passed. I just know I'll be saying the same thing about "the years" before I know it.
All of these sentimental feelings got me thinking about the bazillion other firsts we have coming up. For instance, the first time we drop Margie off at summer camp and say goodbye to her for a whole week. And...shortly thereafter...the first time we come to pick her up. Joel and I dropped-in on the closing ceremony of this (the first bona fide) week of summer camp this evening. What an exciting time. The most amazing thing about it is the energy of the campers as they struggle to translate to their parents the intensity of their camp lives: intense fun, intense play, intense new friendships, intense spiritual growth. And, try as they may, they can't do it. There's just too much. So they can only hint at it and relax in the familiarity of their parents' presence. But I'm sure the parents see the little changes in them that camp has made as they transition back into their daily lives. Tonight's little closing bash was fun-filled for sure. At one point, the campers got the parents on their feet to join-in an energizer:
See how energizing camp can be?
So just like it's the end of the beginning of the summer camp season, it's also the end of the beginning of my firsts with Margie. But that's just a way of saying that there's so much more to come.
6.08.2010
The Troops
Summer camp season requires a lot of planning and preparation. Activities must be selected and tailored to our campers; fire pits have to be built and repaired; cabins are aired out and scrubbed clean; poison ivy, ticks, and snakes should be discouraged from showing up; online registrations have to be uploaded and sifted-through for camper details. Because camp preparations can be so work-intensive, they can sometimes make us groan. "Arrrgh," we are tempted to say, "here comes camp." But then we remember that camp is also the most rewarding time of year at Ferncliff, so we prepare for it with joyful anticipation.
And one of the most exciting aspects of the start of the season is getting to know the summer staff. Their arrival infuses the year-round staff with new energy, enthusiasm, and youth. I mean, who wouldn't be cheered by someone who is psyched to be spending the summer walking up and down a hill, herding kids and keeping up with them in the devastating heat? I suspect they also do it because it's the only summer job that forces you to sing and scream with abandon multiple times a day, stipulates that you always take a nap after lunch (yay F.O.B!), and invites you to show your campers the love of God through your every gesture, word, and even by your very presence.
I have only begun to get to know this year's summer staff, but so far I like what I see. Do you? C'mon. Just look at these sunshiney faces!
And one of the most exciting aspects of the start of the season is getting to know the summer staff. Their arrival infuses the year-round staff with new energy, enthusiasm, and youth. I mean, who wouldn't be cheered by someone who is psyched to be spending the summer walking up and down a hill, herding kids and keeping up with them in the devastating heat? I suspect they also do it because it's the only summer job that forces you to sing and scream with abandon multiple times a day, stipulates that you always take a nap after lunch (yay F.O.B!), and invites you to show your campers the love of God through your every gesture, word, and even by your very presence.
I have only begun to get to know this year's summer staff, but so far I like what I see. Do you? C'mon. Just look at these sunshiney faces!
To see this one better, click on it.
6.02.2010
Got APD?
So I recently told you how hard Abby Cain works, didn't I? In case you missed it, she works hard. But one of the reasons she gets so much done is that she has three right hands: the one attached to her arm, and the ones attached to the arms of Emily and Ryan, her Assistant Program Directors for the summer. They're her right-hand-man and -woman. That's just my very awkward way of saying, "Meet Ryan and Emily! They're our super-cool, hard-working APDs!"
One might think that being an APD would come with some perks. Perhaps so. They remain unknown to me. But it also seems to come (as so many high-powered jobs do) with a little getting your hands dirty. In these photos, Emily and Ryan are preparing to "clean" the Dutch ovens by burning the food remnants out of them. Over a campfire. On a 95 degree day. And they don't even stop to smile for the camera. Yow, they're tough. But, hey, that's what it takes to be APDs. Apparently it also takes cool hair, because Emily has cherry-red dread-ish locks (100% adorable) and Ryan shaved his into a mohawk. Maybe the cool hair keeps them from feeling the stress of camp season. Well, whatever it is (the perks? the cool hair?) they sure are keeping it together. I've never heard anything other than a positive and upbeat word from either of them, and they are really keeping the summer staff motivated throughout their training. Keep it up, APDs! And keep on making Abby's job a little easier.
One might think that being an APD would come with some perks. Perhaps so. They remain unknown to me. But it also seems to come (as so many high-powered jobs do) with a little getting your hands dirty. In these photos, Emily and Ryan are preparing to "clean" the Dutch ovens by burning the food remnants out of them. Over a campfire. On a 95 degree day. And they don't even stop to smile for the camera. Yow, they're tough. But, hey, that's what it takes to be APDs. Apparently it also takes cool hair, because Emily has cherry-red dread-ish locks (100% adorable) and Ryan shaved his into a mohawk. Maybe the cool hair keeps them from feeling the stress of camp season. Well, whatever it is (the perks? the cool hair?) they sure are keeping it together. I've never heard anything other than a positive and upbeat word from either of them, and they are really keeping the summer staff motivated throughout their training. Keep it up, APDs! And keep on making Abby's job a little easier.
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