Tacky? Me?

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy. You’re not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

OK – I have to admit, this was fun and it just cracked me up !

Worn Out Cleats and Blistered Toes

Chelsea came home with blisters on the BOTTOMS of her toes. Very interesting. She told me they ran 24/7 and had to hurry to do everything. High lights of the week included scoring a goal, dorm life and the dance party on the last night. Some lows of the week were not having enough time, eating slower than everyone else and screaming girls in the dorm. She insists she did not like the coach and I think she developed that opinion after she read her evaluation from him. It was a good eval and that was the problem. She strives for excellent. I wish they would have mailed it, because I would have kept it to myself. It shed a negative light on everything immediately. I have to find some way to let her know that the eval is not a report card; it’s a goal setting tool. I might have to wait a few weeks for that though. She’s not ready. She will be in camp next week in BR with her team. I am hoping last week prepared her for the heat and the work. Six hours a day should be a breeze compared to last week’s twelve. Sleeping at home and having Mom wash clothes and cook will help too.

Soccer Camp

Well, Chelsea and I spent the better part of the day Saturday packing and preparing for soccer camp. We dropped her off yesterday and will pick her up on Thursday. It was different for me to leave her there. Every year at church camp, parents leave their kids with me. I am always confident that Scotty has a great staff and that the kids will have a good time. I spent some time thinking about what it must be like for people to leave their kids at CSA and decided we do a good job making parents and kids feel comfortable.

The soccer camp seems to be well organized and all of the coach’s are highly skilled. Most of them have played professional soccer in their own country. Chelsea’s coach is from Holland. I am looking forward to hearing all about it on Thursday. In the meantime, I will try to fill my days as much as possible and try not to dwell on the fact that she is not here. I know she will do fine. She is rooming with Hannah and her days will be filled with soccer. She has circuit training for one hour before breakfast! I hope she learns a lot and has fun.

I hope I make it through the next 3 1/2 days!

1,564 Plus

That is how many plates we served this past week at camp. It was wonderful! I have so much to say about camp, but since I started with the number of plates served, I will stay on the food for a while. The thing that surprised me most was how many of the kids raved about the lasagna! I did not make it; it was frozen! My best guess is that it tasted more like ravioli than lasagna. The hamburgers this year were great! Well, as great as they could be for pre-formed, frozen patties. George grilled them for us and I’m sure that is what made the difference.

Cafe Smiley was a hit. We did a Christmas theme complete with a visit from Santa Scott. I saved McDonald’s toys and other little things all year and “wrapped” them in Christmas bags. The kids all drew numbers and then played a version of “dirty santa” or “chinese christmas”. I didn’t like either of those names, but I couldn’t think of a better one.

I was so very happy with the counselors this year. We had a record number of campers (72! – our previous record was 58) and every counselor stepped up to do his or her part. I am extra proud (can you be “extra proud”?) of the CaryAnne/Rebekah team. These two ladies had some difficult issues to handle and faced them head on by going to the scriptures and teaching in love. The guy counselors had to spread out this year and some had to “go it alone”. They also had some challenges to deal with. I’m a little out of the loop when it comes to dealing with boys. I’m glad they were there to take care of that.

Camp always makes me weepy. I have no words to explain the love I have for that place. There are so many lives touched by camp. I have no desire to travel to Africa or South America to be a missionary, but I understand the calling missionaries feel because I sincerely believe camp is my mission field. I know that the decisions Scotty and I make may not always be popular ones, but they are done with the kids in mind. We go into our week every year knowing that this may be the only glimpse of Jesus some of these kids get. With that in mind we pray, plan and chose staff.

I extend a heartfelt thanks to those that had a vision 38-40 years ago and to those who haved worked at camp from then until now. Thanks Bob & Marilyn, Bob & Pat, Hugh & Elaine, Richard & Melanie, Tom & Claudia, Ray & Sam, Bill & Ritz, Steele & Dean, Pat & Shelley, Jimmie & Janie, Ronnie & Cheryl, David & Nancy, Steve and Julie, and to Scotty for sharing it with me. Thanks to the many who come out to work day, who work the concession stands, who donate money, and who work behind the scenes. Thanks to the many for their prayers and their love for kids.

Some of my very best memories of friendships, love, and life lessons came from camp. From July 4, 1982, when I was baptized on the first day of first session (my own independence day) until now, I have laughed, I have cried, I have rejoiced!

This past week I had a great time with Cindy and Christi and we laughed until our faces hurt. WOW! What a great week – what great memories. My heart is so full.

Best Friends Forever

This picture of Hannah and Chelsea was taken last week at camp. I thought it was a good follow up to my last post.

I will post about our week at camp within the next couple of days.