Camp

This past Sunday,
all across the country,
buses of high school kids rolled into Young Life camps to begin summer,

as I was reading a blog of a staff spouse on assignment at Crooked Creek,
I couldn't help but get a lump in my throat and a little teary eyed,
this summer will be my first summer in 10 years not going to YL camp.
Trip will take kids to Frontier for a week,
but these days assignments are my ticket to summer camp,
and we don't have one this summer.
While it's nice to have a slower summer,
I am sad,
sad that I don't get to witness the miracle of camp,
it is truly a miracle,
all the volunteers and staff it takes to pull off a session of camp is remarkable,
the work that goes into it all will blow you away,
and there is no way it can be done without Christ,
my memories of summer staff and work crew are so sweet,
the hard and exhaustion of it all seems to leave my memory,
and the moments of God's incredible love remain,
and that's what I still treasure,
the ability to be the hands and feet and to witness the fruits of your labor week after week,
it can't be matched,
to have a front row seat,
at watching kids experience the radical love of Christ,
nothing sweeter my friends,
nothing sweeter,
nothing more life giving,
and so I will sit and pray and know that tonight is the night that never ends at camp week 1,
and tomorrow kids get to hear about redemption on the cross.
There is so much more I want to say, but will save it for another day.
Thank you God for another summer of using Young Life as a platform to bring lost teenagers to your feet.

Welcome Home!

Welcome home William and Henry!
Henry came home yesterday to complete their family of 4!
Now the real fun begins!
I can not even imagine two babies at once but I know they will get through these first few months beautifully!

believe it or not they are not identical! I think they look like their daddy.

Sweet Time

Last week Brooks and I went to my parents house in Elijay while Trip was at work week at Sharptop so that he could drive over and spend the night with us and we wouldn't miss seeing him all week.
It is so so relaxing up there.
I realized how sweet my time with the little man was,
because I had no distractions,
no errands to run,
no cleaning around the house,
just time to spend with Brooks,
just him and me,
he got my full attention,
and I decided that I needed to really treasure it,
we won't ever get this time back,
just me and him,

strollin' through the garden

picking strawberries, he LOVES strawberries

Loving

Lately I feel like I have been smacked in the face with this verse,
"a new command I give you, love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciple, if you love one another" John 13:34-35
That's it,
that's what God wants from us,
greater than any other command,
 It was sparked by an incredible series at our church but this theme of loving one another seems to keep popping up in my mind,
It's so simple,
yet why is it so hard?
I have been convicted to love others,
not just when it makes sense,
when it's easy,
and the natural thing to do
but,
when it's not convenient,
when I don't receive any love in return,
when nobody else knows,
when it's family who can often be the hardest to love,
because it's safe, and they aren't going anywhere,
when it's somebody that makes me uncomfortable,
when it's somebody so different from me,
when it's somebody that nobody else loves,
when the world says don't,
when it may look radical to everyone else around me,
this is when I have to stop and ask myself,
am I loving well?
Am I loving this person the way God has commanded,
You see he doesn't ask us,
he commands us,
I want people to see my family as people who just love well,
who love radically,
who love with no strings attached,
I want that because I want people to know that we are disciples of Christ,
not just Christians,
but disciples.
Now the tricky part is,
as a human being,
I will fail 99% of the time,
but God can equip me to do it,
he can equip my family to do it,
to love well,
I pray now everyday that he would help me to love others,
to show me opportunities to love others.

to go along with this theme....
Good ole' Tim Keller speaking some truth about homosexuals,

And on a lighter note,

We took the kiddos to the Children's museum for the first time last week,

it was awesome!

My favorite, Daye sporting her scientist goggles

the po' po'

Spring Time

We have been enjoying the spring weather.
It's fun to play outside.
All he wants to do is walk everywhere,
especially outside,
he is loads of fun these days,
he is so curious,
and he is learning more and more every day,
he is babbling all the time,
so busy,
loves playing with other kids,
loves any kind of ball,
loves playing with his daddy,
I am so thankful I get to be the one to spend my days with this kiddo,
I am so thankful that I get to take him to the pool during the day,
I get to be the one to take him to the Braves game,
I get to be the one that feeds him his lunch,
I get to be the one to wake him up in the morning,
I get to be the one that takes him for a walk,
I am so very very thankful
I am trying to treasure this time,
it really is so so sweet,
Some pics .....

playing at Aunt Lauren's 

lunch at Verde with his 2nd cousin (they were born just a minute apart!)

eating a delicious cupcake to celebrate d-daddy's birthday

just playing in the backyard, 

checking out his water table

loves the hose!

pooped after a morning at the pool with Daye

terrible pic but another Braves game with the gf, 

these two are logging some time!

watching daddy fish in the mountains

he caught one!