I am officially a stay-at-home mom! I am so incredibly grateful for the chance to stay home with my sons, to better steward my home, to more fully support my husband’s ministry, and more! It has been a sweet blessing to start off the new (not so new anymore) year with settling into new routines. I think we are getting the hang of things, though I’m sure I will continue to tweak as seasons change (and so do the boys).
It’s been about three months since I wrote an update, so this update is pretty packed. I told Brad it’s hard to get an update written when things keep changing so quickly!
I am still involved on the camp side, maybe even more so than I was when I was teaching! In the past few months, the boys and I have:
- made cookies for three different work crews (one of which had over 80 people! IF you want a glimpse of what it was like, here is the Facebook album of their trip)
- celebrated Pi(e) Day on 3/14 with a lemon pie, St. Patrick’s Day with shepherd’s pie and Irish soda bread, and Easter with resurrection rolls (I read Memory-Making Mom by Jessica Smartt and would love to hear your favorite traditions!)
- stripped linens from a cabin
- visited and talked with campers from several different camps
- shopped camp’s lost and found 10-cent sale
- gone to Worth It meetings and Romko breaks
We also have enjoyed weekday playdates, a visit from Brad’s parents (which is why we stripped linens from a cabin), many hours outside, walks around the lake crafts, and visits to Pygmy Post for movie day and play time with friends.
Lest you think Brad has just been sitting back and relaxing all this time… think again! Who do you think ran those work crews?! Of course, Brad wasn’t the only one running crews, but he did have lots of projects for people to work on. We were blessed to have two missions teams come and work on staff homes, frame interior walls, install windows, siding, plumbing, electrical, painting 9 buildings, and replace carpet in one of our camp dining rooms.
Fun facts from the two missions teams:
- Ran 2500 feet of wire
- framed the interior of two homes
- plumbed two homes
- painted over 110 gallons of paint
- labor equivalent of 93.5 weeks of work
- ate around 1550 meals
Here are some of the things Brad’s been working on at camp, home, and church:
- voted in for his second term as a deacon
- built a swing set and play structure in the backyard
- planted and irrigated three Lady Banks climbing rose bushes
- built an awning for our front porch (on his vacation, no less)
- four staff home projects in various stages. Brad hopes to have one ready for move-in within the next two weeks! He will be working on the others throughout the summer with hopes to have one more finished by early August.
- Tweakage (think camp conference for camp people; this year it was in Michigan!)
- all his normal camp responsibilities, including airsoft, director’s meetings, and Friday night kitchen
As you can see, God has been keeping us busy here at camp. We are excited about what He has done, and we’re looking forward to seeing what He does in the future!
PRAISES
- Six salvations that we know of this spring!
- Great missions teams and work crews
- Many good Gospel conversations with our oldest son
- Many new visitors at our church and a packed-out Easter service!
- Thank you to who ever sent Brad a care package of painting supplies! There was no note with the Amazon box but it will keep his team well supplied for several projects to come!
PRAYER REQUESTS
- Summer staff (we need to fill 30 spots before June)
- Support for our family – even $20 a month makes a big difference!
- Salvation for our children and wisdom in parenting
KIDS CORNER:
We think our kids are part of our mission while they’re here in our home. Here’s what they wanted to tell you!
The oldest said, “Thank you for making our house!” (I told him this was to the people who make it possible for us to live here) The baby said, “Ba ba ba” as he pretended to blow his trumpet.
