mountain top...

Um, why yes, I'm still here.  As you can tell by the lack of posting, we are enjoying our summer.  As I sit here ready to start posting again, I realize that I am going to need to go back and post about our activities these past 4 weeks.  This blog has become our family scrapbook and a sweet way for me to chronicle what is going on during these busy days of having young kids.  It also reminds me of what we have done, seen, experienced, lived and enjoyed as a family.  Keeping this blog has blessed me with so many sweet reminders of what life has been like, I'm so happy I started this blog way back in 2007...

Our family spent last week at Spruce Lake Retreat Center being blessed by attending a Joni and Friends Family Retreat.  This was our second JAF Family Retreat and it was just as good if not better than when we went in 2010.  Actually I don't think I can compare the two weeks in any way because God used both weeks to bless our family equally but differently.  Truthfully, I'm still processing some of the blessings and revelations I experienced there.  So until I can put together a post that will remind me why I loved it so much and encourage me to sign up for next year's camp in January when they open up the spots, here are some of the almost 300 pictures I took last week.

Again this year, our family was incredibly blessed by the volunteers who came to JAF Camp to serve us.  We were matched with a mom, Laurie, and her two boys, Seth and Caleb.  It was an incredible match for our family.  They befriended us and served us in ways that made us all sad when we had to say good-bye.  Thankfully, they live about an hour away and we hope to be able to see them again.

As you may be able to tell from the above photo, I was crying right before this picture was taken.  But trust me, it wasn't my fault.  You would have cried too.  On the last morning, we had an amazing worship service and then they brought the kids back into the room and showed a video from the Camp Photographer, who took over 1600 pictures and gifted a CD with all the pictures to everyone who attended camp.  After the video all the volunteers made a circle around the outside of the room, while the family's stayed in the middle of the room, and then they prayed over us and for us.  Commissioning us to go back to 'real life'.  As I was loosing it crying, Luke came over to me and dried my eyes with his shirt.  It was just so amazing to be surrounded by that many people who loved us and our families and were praying for us.  I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it. 

Joni and Friends Family Retreat was certainly a mountain top experience for our family.  Please share this link with any family that you know who could benefit from going to camp.  Trust me, any family affected by a disability needs to go and will thank you for thinking of them...