music

music is a wonderful tool. it can be make you feel up when you felt down. it can make you feel down when you were up. (although, i usually skip those tracks when they come on) God made music, and i'm so thankful. Satan can use it to make you doubt, make you angry, make you depressed. but don't listen. skip the track. even the most innocent of country song can make you sad. some make me doubt God. isn't that crazy? but tehn again you'd have to understand how my 100,000 mph brain works. it's very tiring. but that is besides the point.
i'm being tested in my faith and hope and trust in the Lord. i want to listen to sappy, pitiful songs. but what good would that do? nothing. i'm just thankful for bands like switchfoot, dc talk and jars (hey, oldies but goodies! don't knock'em!) but especially for switchfoot. God uses that music to minister to me. there is a song that goes something like this... does it have to start/ with a broken heart/ and broken dreams/ etc. does it have to start there? why? then i realized, God humbles us so that we have no where else to go. only to Him. the song continues to lift you up and remind you to burn out bright for Christ. when your hopes and dreams seemed crushed, don't despair, God has a plan for you to do great things. hang on. cling to His word. strive to burn bright. another one is the beautiful letdown. there are so many things and people that will let us down in this life. it hurts. but it is beautiful because it only causes us to dig deeper, to hold tighter, to pray harder, to grow closer to the Almighty. thank you to hannah for showing me isaiah 43. the almighty called you by name. he will give nations for your ransom. he will give nations for your life. pray for me as i dig deeper, pray harder, cling tighter to the cross and our Father Almighty. i will pray for you to do the same.

and the stories just keep comin!

so this pudgy, awkward kid named storm (no he doesn't have a sister named sunshine) has the hardest time keepin up his pants. we counslers are always laughing because they are so droopy on his awkward little body.

oh yea, he runs like a penguin with his head just a wobblin.

anyway, we were playing with clay today and storm went to the little sink to wash his hands.  jonathan, a junior counsler said, rachel, look!

there's storm washing away with his drawers around his ankles and his "Cars" underwear smiling  back at us. 

i ran over to cover him up almost tripping over my own feet cecause of the tears coming out of my eyes from laughing so hard.

ah. you just never know what will happen next.

paper clips and six year old boys

what is with boys and there dying curiousity of any and all things dangerous?

so, today was counsler switch day at camp horizon. i was NOT excited that i was leaving my safe little groups of eleven 5 year olds. i was being thrown into the den of lions, otherwise known as twenty four, yes twenty four, 6 year olds. 

yay for me.

thankfully i was working with another counsler, bobby.

p.s. how do you spell counsler?

back to the story...

so we are playing musical dots (same idea as musical chairs but with plastic dots) and i'm running the game, and bobby is discplining a kid. garrett decides that he needs to get this paper into the little holes in the wall, ie., the outlet. how he manages to get the paper clip unwound and in not one but TWO outlets and not shocked is beyond me. he said post-shock that he was just trying to get it out. OK...

so bobby says to me rachel, i think this kid just shocked himself.

no way. what?

yea! he just shocked himself.

are you okay? let me see?

 at this point he starts to cry. he is holding his finger sin his mouth because the air burns his fingers.

i take him to the office and explain the situation. their answer was the same as mine. what?!

so we place his hand in a cold cup of water. jenn, the director contacts the vice principal over in her office. they both come into our room and look at the outlet. the VP decides that the FIRE DEPARTMENT needs to be called in. yeah.

so then we all, as in the entire camp has to go outside for a fire evacuation. that's like 110 kids.

did i mention that there was also summer academy at the school at hte same time? oh, i didn't? well, yes, the was summer school in the building too. so they had to evacuate. oh the look on the teachers faces.

so we stood outside for fifteen minutes waiting for the word that it is okay for us to go back in.

bobby and i looked at each other and said, well nice knowing ya. guess we'll be getting those pink slips . 

but good news the kid is fine. he should be a camp tomorrow and bobby and i did not get in trouble.

yay.

 

Charlie

charlie is such a cutie! he wanted my camera so i'm glad i quick got this shot before he got a hold of it!
adalynn was loving that ice cream and cupcake at baby sisters shower!

he he he he! emma wanted to try cousin kyleigh's tiara on charlie. poor unsuspecting kid. we thought daddy would be SO pleased to see these pictures.. HA!

gabriel

this is gabriel. isn't he a cutie? mommy said to feed him cereal, and he really liked it but he got a little messy.

he's so cute, those big brown eyes! he's a much happier baby now that they are feeding him cereal:)

memorial day

memorial day at hannie and pat-rick's house!it was a great visit with tha gang! and special treat was to have pat and matt eubanks with us! patrick is quite the griller! those burgers were very good. there was so much yummy food, we could feed an army!

kiddies cont'd

aahh, i thought my back may break but it iwas fun. so, kayla sent me a text message (yes, a twelve year old has a cell phone, not to mention a better phone then me!) here was our "conversation"..

Kayla:hey when am i going to see you again?

me: well, i'm free saturday or monday!

Kayla: monday... well i am out of school so i guess. i wish you were still baby sitting us cause our new babysitter is ... well.. boring.

me: aw what's wrong? she is a good babysitter! what does she do?

kayla: she doesn't do anything!!

me: give her a chance. she is trying to figure out the flow your home.

so, i'm taking the kids to lunch and a movie monday since they are sunburned.. and i might be burned too:)

kiddies cont'd

here is the ham! CHEEEEZZE! and kayla and i, she looks so much older then is..., and she thinks she is older then she really is:) but she is really a good girl. i'm so proud of her!

kiddies!

haven't they grown? this was my second to last thursday watching the kids. i have been watching them for 3 + years, almost once every week, sometimes more, sometimes less. they are near and dear to my heart. i love this top picture of the three of them, kayla, ali and evan. so cute! evan would not smile, bless his soul. and ali is just hamming it up!