Adventure Awaits

I'll never forget the Thursday in November 2015 when we got the call. We had just arrived in Louisville, KY for a youth conference and were settling in for a lunch at the hotel when our doctor's office's phone number popped up on my phone. Finally! The test was really just a formality for the information I already knew - 

It's a girl boy!

Hold up, what?!

I couldn't even get the words out before the tears started coming - "I get to be a boy mom." (I wish I could put half an exclamation point there because I tried to be enthusiastic when I told Cody,  but failed miserably.)  Everything about our second pregnancy was so different, so we knew without question: it was a girl. While it definitely hit me harder than Cody, we both spent the next few days (and weeks and maybe months if I'm honest) mourning the life that we had pictured. My mom is my best friend and her mom is her best friend. It really shook me up to think that I might not ever have the chance to carry my best friend.  All of a sudden I was starting fresh to "know" this baby I thought I already knew.

It did take Cody and I a while to come up with a name that we both liked. Grayson, to be called Gray, was actually on the top of our list, but it was rising on the charts and just too popular for our tastes. Camp was one that kept coming up, but we weren't quite ready to make a commitment. At this point people were asking and offering suggestions and it was funny to hear what other people liked. The more we talked about it though, Campbell was the clear winner.  While I never would be disciplined enough to wait until delivery day to have the ultimate surprise, it began to be a game to tell others - "No, we haven't decided yet." while knowing we had a secret just between us. There were actually a handful of people that I told the name too, but I knew that Camp would get a few "hummms" and I didn't want anyone to change how we felt about out. I have no doubt that Camp was and will forever be the adventure we weren't expecting. 

I'll never forget on the delivery day hearing my doctor say - "oh he's a big size!" (6 lbs 11 oz is a great size for almost 3 weeks early!) Hearing his first cries, seeing the underbite we worried about from sonograms, taking in every bit of our healthy boy and breathing a deep sigh of relief. I had a lot of fears and anxieties leading up to the delivery and I am grateful we were both healthy. 

My heart was not prepared to be completely wrecked by a second boy. It’s true. Don’t take this as a “he’s my favorite” kinda thing (though the smells of a cuddly newborn sure do beat the smells of his brother’s summer feet!) It’s more about the fact that the picture of my life always held a family of four - Dad, Mom, Son, Daughter. And then this sweet, happy, chubby, brown hair, blue eyed, dimple cheeked boy shows up and changed every plan or picture I ever had for my life. The adventure he has had us on from the beginning of the thought of a second child has been one we will never forget and has changed our future for the better. 

Cody and I love the church. It’s not perfect, but we love working there and serving families. There are things about us and how we live our life that we be different than some of our friends because we have said yes to God’s calling to ministry. (I know Griff, sometimes I want to sleep in on Sundays too!)  I worry and I fret that someday, our boys might resent that which we love because of how it makes our lives different than others. Standing in front of our church committing Camp to the Lord comes with no guarantees or promises that he will believe in Jesus and live a safe life. It is our statement though, that we will parent him with open hands and bowed knees, dependent on the One who gave him to us.  I know the dreams I have for him cannot even compare to what God has planned for his life. I can't wait to see it unfold.  

It will wreck your heart in ways you never expect, but may you always be open to His adventure Camp! 

#BestCampEver

It is heart warming when your son wants to be rocked to sleep because he's missed you the past 7 days and yet so heart breaking because he is so clingy in fear that you're going to leave him again! We just got back from a great week with our high school youth camp. It was such a great week with our students and even though we are so tired, we are so thankful for the time we got to spend with them.

 Here are some of the highlights in pictures:
 
teaching our californian about free refills

 every day ended with a "block party" that had a theme for the night. our group actually did pretty good with getting into each theme night.

we had grannies and grandpas:
 
(how do you work this blasted phone?!)
 neon night:
 
 showing off our dance moves:



there's an app for that:

 
(ok, so we didn't do that great on this one! we were supposed to be ghosts for snap chat, but most of us backed out because the sheets were hot! ha! in case you're not on the up and up with youth, this is what they call the fierce face. we don't get it but we do like to poke fun at them for it!)

 90's night. cody and I rocked some awesome outfits but some how I missed out on a pic. bummer!

 we played some fun games:
 

(in honor of grannie night, cavity helped me put on a diaper then i had to feed her applesauce blind folded. luckily i only spilled some on the diaper!)
 
(trying to stick lifesavers on cassidy's face)
 
(the leap of faith - climbing up an electricity pole and then jumping off in hopes of grabbing the trapeze bar. i'll be honest i tried this one... but i only made it up a couple of steps before climbing back down. this picture doesn't show it, but that pole wobbles like crazy at the top. gives me the willies just thinking about it!)

 

(this would be evan drinking a breakfast suicide drink through a sausage straw. we play a game with our kids called what are the odds, where you throw out a ridiculous challenge (drinking a mix of every drink on the fountain tap, then challengee then gives the odds 1 in a number up to 100 and then tells a number between those odds and tells a friend. the person who offered the challenge guesses a number and if they get it right, the person has to do it, which is how i have this picture. it's a fun way to get your kids interacting with each other and doing silly stuff in the process. such as all of the boys cramming into one bunk)
  

rec games:

and lake time:
 
 (i did actually blob which was scary enough for me and should have been a warning sign that i wouldn't be able to make it through the leap of faith!)

 

and some randoms from the week:



the weather was unbelievably perfect. normally june in texas is 100+ every day. most days at camp it was only 88, which makes a huge difference and all around makes life so much better. we even had a light breeze a few days that required a light jacket!



#crazyhairdontcare #day10ofcamp






our kids had great things to say about the camp and what they learned. we're praying we continue to see the fruits in the coming weeks and months of what all God spoke to them while we were there.

griff had a great week seeing both sets of grandparents while we were at camp, but you can definitely tell he's going to have a detox period to go through now that he's back with mom and dad. here's to a week of resting and relaxing and getting back to our normal!