More Camp Photos

Well I have heard from Emily. She says "Camp is a blast!!!" Her favorite activity so far? Horseback riding. That was always my favorite too. No letter yet from Will. I made the kids promise to write home at least twice. He could possibly wait and do both of them the last day. I have at least seen him in a few pics now. Below he is climbing up on the docks out in the lake.

He is wearing his green rash guard so I know it's him.

Here he is with his team playing

a live version of the board game Clue

and Finally the shot that lets me know he's having fun...

Notice the boy with the mouth hanging open being goofy.

That's our Will!

Here are Emily and Laura headed to

the Council of Progress

Camp Photos

Every day the kids camps post pictures of the campers participating in activities and having fun. I thought I would share a few.

First up: Just a couple of the pictures I've seen of Emily

Jumping off the dock with her cabin mates

She's the one in the middle with the light blue bathing suit

Climbing out on the "blob"

Wish there was one of her being popped off into the water

Archery!

In 3 days of pictures, Will has been in exactly 2 pictures. One was him during the swim test that I put in the last blog. The other is below.

He's the one in the gray shirt with his head down. I hope this isn't indicative of the time he's having. I am going to think positively and say it's because he is worn out from too much fun.

Ahh, Silence!

Swimming, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, chiggers, sleeping under the stars, leather crafts, cabin cheers, archery, riflery, bonfires....these things stir up such fond memories for me. When I was a girl, each summer I went away to summer camp. The old fashioned kind where you slept in unairconditioned cabins and each day was crammed so full of activities that you fell instantly asleep at night. Each year I begged to go for as many weeks as my parents would send me. When I was old enough, I spent all summer long there working as a counselor and a lifeguard. I have always wanted my kids to have this same experience. Unfortunately, med school, residency, and living overseas have kept us from sending them.

Back in February, I had looked into it for this summer, but with a church youth retreat in June and plans to leave the US in mid-July, it would have made things too crazy. In June, with the summer still stretching long before us, it dawned on me that camp might actually work for this summer. After discussing this with Allan, I quickly signed Emily up at Camp Crestridge for Girls. Her cousin, Laura, decided she wanted to go and also signed up. Sadly, Will had to be placed on a waiting list at Camp Ridgecrest for boys. It seems 12 is a really popular age for boys to go to camp. Over the last few weeks, the camp has called with possibilities like a kid missing camp for a play-off game, but these didn't seem to pan out. The wonderful camp registrar told us last Thursday to pack his stuff just in case. She just felt good about him getting in. There was always the possibility of a no-show and since we would be dropping Em off at the sister camp down the road, we could easily bring him at the last minute. This morning as we were backing out of the driveway to head up to North Carolina, the call came. Will was in!! What a good lessonfor all of the family on God answering prayers .

Will was beyond ecstatic. He had wanted to go so bad and it was hard to put a trunk in the car that he knew might come out back at home at the end of the day. For the next 2 weeks, the kids will be romping and playing and worshiping in the North Carolina mountains. They will both ride a horse for the first time and learn to play the guitar. Bonfires, campouts, canoeing, ziplines, crafts, archery, paintball, riflery, and too many activities to name await them. I hope they love it as much as I did! It is quiet in the Gilmer house tonight. It's just me and the dog. Allan is off working 24 hours in the ER. The TV is off...no Disney channel, video games, Jonas Brothers, or Adventures in Odyssey fill the space. In a few days, the quiet may seem too loud, but right now silence is golden. It's time to refresh and renew before we begin the crazy months ahead. (By the way, isn't this more exciting than new pillows??)

I am sure I will have more pictures to share in coming days, but these are the only ones I found my kids in on the camp website today.

Emily's Cabin Mates

Emily is in the blue shirt on the end

and Laura is in the green shirt next to her

Will during the swim test

Pillows

Ok I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but my children have never had a new pillow that belonged to them alone. When they were little I gave them old pillows that were somewhat flat because they were so small. Since that time they have just had hand-me-downs from Allan and I. When we returned from the Philippines last August, we each got a pillow that we had left at my parents house 3 years before. The kids each thought they could remeber the one they had left behind and were thrilled with tha little bit of the past. Back in May after our decision to remain in the US, I decided that I needed to ditch the sorry pillow Allan and I were using and buy new ones for us. Since that time, I have felt a little guilty that my kids do not also have new pillows. So yesterday the kids and I went out and I let them pick their own new one (within a reasonable $$). They have been so excited and funny about it. We had to try everyone at JC Pennys. I thought at any moment Will was going to start trying them out on the sample beds. I tried to take their pictures, but being 14 and 12 they wouldn't cooperate. I guess it was a little bizarre. So here are the 2 pictures I tried to snap. Were they pleased with their purchase? The morning after verdict was that the pillows were soft and they slept wonderfully.

Isn't this a pathetic way to begin blogging again?? Maybe I should post some pictures from our recent trip to DC

Beginning again

It has been a long time since I have blogged and I'm not sure anybody even checks this anymore. Since our decision not to return to the Philippines, I haven't had any words to say. It has been a tough time for our family as we have grieved the death of a dream and a vision. Last week I was talking to a dear friend on the phone and she asked me if I had been journaling the things we are going through. In the past 14 years, I have kept a record of this journey and the path God has led us on. But recently, I have not been able to write down any of my experiences or feelings or even blog about our daily happenings. Maybe it is time to begin blogging again. Life continues and we struggle to see God's purpose in our remaining in the US. We have big decisions and job interviews in the coming months and would appreciate any prayers for those decisions.