On Infinite Truth, Babies and Their Wisdom, Wedding Planning and Beautiful People in My Life

GROW old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, ``A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!'' 

 

When I was searching for quotes to include in our wedding invitation, I immediately googled Robert Browning. I love his poetry and his attitude towards life. It is always poignant and full of double meanings. My search revealed the first two lines of this poem... Jesse and I both liked it, so we used it. But I never read the rest of the poem. It is a selection from his: Rabbi Ben Ezra. I just skimmed the rest of the poem and found it very thought provoking. He asks such hard questions about life and death, the meaning of it. Should he have faith in The Infinite Truth (God)? 

The days are passing so quickly. Yesterday we had our garage sale for the last time. Now it's time to just get rid of all of the stuff that is left. We made well over $200, if my calculations are correct. And, what's even better, we got rid of a lot of things we didn't need. We found out something: Jesse drives a harder bargain than I do. That's pretty scary considering that Jesse doesn't drive a hard bargain at all. Lol!

My sister-in-law-to-be Samantha and I sat down yesterday and discussed wedding all afternoon. We hammered one million different things out. I threw ideas at her and she considered them then proceeded to tell me why they would or would not work. Haha! It's so good to have her in my life. Between her, Lindsey, my sister Lydia, Michele and Jesse, the wedding should be a success. 

We thought of several different ideas that really thrill the socks off of me. One is to have my dad and brother make an square garden arch, like the one we had in Melville. The other is to have an old weathered garden table and chairs sitting on stage with all of the flowers and candles... I'm not sure how much I should divulge right now so I'm going to stop.. but you get the idea of what the wedding is going to be like. :-) 

This month I am going to be working 16 days, going to music camp for five, going to Saskatoon, Regina and Swan River... all the while, planning like crazy. To top this all off, I need to get my teaching schedule figured out for October. But that will have to wait for a little bit.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. I hope you are having a beautiful weekend and a worshipful Sunday. I have been learning so much about God lately. It's so true that He never ends. We cannot ever learn enough about Him. People ask me questions that I can't answer... why would God create people who will always be dependant upon others for care? I don't know. But sometimes I glimpsed truths in their difficult to understand words that astounded me. Perhaps these are the babes who know more about God than we 'normal' folks could ever comprehend. Food for thought.

Week 3 of Camp

July 19^th, 2011

It has been awhile since I've found the time to write! It has been really, really busy here... time actually passes really fast. I can't believe we're actually into the third week. I can't seem to keep my mind off of the wedding planning. Lol. The time is coming up. :-)

Important things I have discovered:

There will always be something happening at camp to make me miserable. Whether it's a dramatic child or heat or rain or having to haul my keyboard (that gets heavier and heavier each time) to and from the chapel twice a day, it's up to me to choose whether or not I am actually miserable. Lol.

There is always something something to be happy about. Kids who come up to you and hold your hand, just because they want to. Little voices and big voices blending together during mass, praising God. Watching an older child help a younger child. Eating great food three times a day.

“You know why I look happy? Because I get to go mini-golfing today.” -- Keira (7)

July 20^th, 2011

Today was so good. The weather was cool, which was a relief from yesterday and the day before. I have never felt heat like that before. We had kids having water fights and going into the pool all day long yesterday. Wow. But today was much more bearable. We didn't have to use the air conditioner and music sessions had everyone singing their hearts out. When people are miserable, they get ornery.

Today, Stirling and I went with six kids to mini-golfing for an hour or so. We split the kids up into two groups and went to different parts of the course. Stirling took Coty, Kyle and Baron. I took Andrew, Brynn and Rykele. I don't know if Stirling had fun but I sure did. Brynn is the most adorable 5 year old girl you've ever seen. She has long blonde hair and she's really tiny. She and Rykele are sisters (Rykele being eldest). I have only gone golfing once before this so perhaps I am easily impressed. However, Brynn got half of the holes within a couple shots. She simply knew how to hit the ball. Rykele wasn't bad either but Brynn really surprised all of us. :-)

Andrew (7?) was hilarious. He and Kyle are twins. Andrew is a brunette and Kyle is blond but other than that, they are identical. They look so much alike and sound so much alike that I often mistake one for the other. I really enjoy being around them. Anyways, ever before we got to hole 1,  Andrew insisted that we call him “Tiger Woods” because he was so very good at golf. He had, according to him, been to this course about 8 times and had been playing golf most of his life. In fact, he would be waiting for us every time he won against us. Within five minutes, he was almost moaning in pain because he had missed several shots. He began to say what a horrible golfer he was and he really should just leave the game because he was only hurting the other players (us). Over the next hour, depending on how he did, he was at one of these two extremes. Never in the middle. As Miss Cornelia (Anne's House of Dreams) would say, “So like a man!” ;-) I only laughed a couple times. I promise. :-)

 After one music session, we had some extra time to kill, as usual. So I asked some of the kids about their favorite things regarding camp life. It was interesting to get some of their replies. I told them I would blog what they said so here it is. My personal favorite is Mason's. :-) 

Justin (11): I liked the waterslides the best and canteen and activities and being in an awesome cabin, the games in the evening and canoeing. Having friends here.

Colby (13): I liked the waterslides and canoeing best. Having Justin as my friend. I like my cabin members as friends. I like the food. The food is good.

Michael (12): Counselors and canoeing. Waterslides and games. Friends. Pool. Paddle boating. Food! Sleeping. Having friends. Making friends. Learning stuff. Having fun.

Jasmine (11): I am excited for horseback riding and waterslides. The counselors are really nice. I like canoeing.

Mattesyn (12): It's like a Bible camp but they have a bunch of fun stuff too. I love this camp! I love almost everything except that there is a puddle in front of our cabin.

Grace (10): I like everything about camp, especially the food.

Jada (13): Canoeing. I really enjoy being with friends. I've made lots of new ones this year.

Jack (10): I like horse back riding. I like canoeing. I also like the food. My favorite meal so far was the turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. I like wood working and the water fight we had in sports today.

Mason (11): I like that I figured out how to get these two water balloons on my fingers! One thing I didn't like how the horse peed while I was getting on it. It went on my foot. I like how I know how I'm going to pass on my swimming.

Joshua (11): I like how the people in this camp spell my name right. And I like my cabin and the people in it.

Levi (10): I like how my cousins can come to this camp and that you get so hot here that you get thrown into the pool.

Noah (8): I like the food, especially the meatballs. I like going swimming the pool.

Jaimie (10): I like doing the art and the music. I probably will enjoy the waterslides too, since I was there once before and really liked it. I like hanging out with my friends in my cabin and starting to make a song for the end of the week.

July 23rd, 2011

For several days I had been really worried about how we were going to pay for certain things for the wedding. One of the biggest ones was the cake. I wanted to make 3 big cheesecakes and 400 cheesecake cupcakes so everyone who came would have some but I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for this. Cream cheese is expensive and so is sour cream. Then  you add things like oreo cookies and fruit to the mix and there goes another $50 or so. Anyways, Gisele and Tylene both grabbed me and sat me down and asked me what I was so worried about and I told them. They helped me figure out how much I really needed to make: 3 cheesecakes and 150 cheesecake cupcakes will feed 200 people. Plus, we're doing potluck dinner so people will bring dessert. Add that to the factor and that cuts down on $$. I was really relieved to think of this and also, where to get the ingredients cheaply... then, the evening of the 20th, Jesse had come out for a visit and Emma grabbed us both to go out and hug with the cabins. They were calling it an early night because it had been so very hot the past couple of days and people were just exhausted. We were at cabin 7 and had just started hugging when Emma suddenly said, "It's prayer time at the MTC [where the counselors all sleep,etc] so we should go do prayers." Neither of us thought anything of it. Jesse didn't even say anything when he saw people hiding behind the couches when we walked up to the door of the MTC. In fact, we still didn't think it was for us when they all leaped up shouting "SURPRISE!!!!" when we walked through the door. ;-) But it was a bridal shower and what a wonderful bridal shower it was. :-) They had made all sorts of delightful goodies, including pizza and chocolate dipped strawberries. Everyone had worked so hard to get it all together and to keep it a secret. I was so shocked. I had not even gotten a hint in the wind that anything was up. Lol. They were really good. :-D 

But the part where I cried was the best, if not the most embarrassing moment of all. I unwrapped the gifts: cream cheese and graham cracker crumbs wrapped in tea towels. The explanation was that they were buying the ingredients for the cake. Yes. I started crying. I had been so worried about how we were going to be paying for all of these things and God just took care of it through the generosity of people I love. I wish I could express how touched we are. There are simply no words for it. 

And yes. This past week was so good. It wasn't just the bridal shower, though that was a big part of it. :-) The kids behaved well for the most part and people really participated in the music. Molly and I were really happy about that. Now I am looking forward to the next and final week. After this, I will have a few days of music camp and then, I will be able to spend time trying to plan wedding. Life is good and life is really busy. 

Positive: I am feeling much more rested than I have in a very long time. Negative: Stirling got injured badly this past week. He will be fine as long as he takes it easy but I am so worried about him. Positive: I have really awesome friends surrounding me. Negative: Some of the big boys really misbehaved on Friday and scared us. Positive: I have had two really amazing bridal showers. Positive: I love teaching music with Molly! Positive: I love Jesse. Positive: I love watching M. Night Shymalan movies. ;-) Positive: God and I. That's awesome.

Week 2 of Camp

July 11^th, 2011. Can you believe it's actually the 11^th? Time is passing so quickly! It seems like we should still be in the first week of camp. :-) But no, we have a brand-new group of kids and I have a different person with me in music. Yes, I'm not alone as I had feared. Molly Fogarty was assigned to music and we are having a blast. Molly and I met last year when she was still a camper and immediately liked each other. Not only does she had the most awesome talent as a guitarist and singer/songwriter, she is also an amazing person. The kids like her. I like her. :-) :-) Can you tell I'm thrilled??

Yesterday when I got back to camp, Seth mentioned that he wasn't feeling well. Sore throat and all that. I gave him some oregano oil, ginseng and zinc. It doesn't seem to be helping. He woke up still feeling really sick and had to spend a good portion of the morning resting. The oregano oil I gave him is usually really strong and costs $20 for a small jar. I tasted some of the new bottle I got and was a little disgusted because it was so weak. Honestly. When you pay money like that, you really would like it to be good quality. ::sigh:: If it was as strong as it usually is, perhaps it would actually be helping. Blah. Anyways, Seth, Brianna and Daniele are all coughing and not feeling well. I have just a touch of a sore throat but I'm trying to dose myself. I really hope to avoid getting sick this year. Last year I got something and it hung on for about two weeks. I completely lost my voice and the girls had to sing for me. Lol. Ah, the joys of camp.

And it is fun. :-) So far, all of the groups have basically cooperated and, more importantly, enjoyed themselves to a certain extent. We have three rules for Castle Musick: 1 – Have fun. 2 – Participate. 3 – Stand while singing. Our schedule ran like this today: 9:00 – group 1. 9:45 – group 7. 10:30 – group 6. 11:15: group 5. Lunch at Noon. 1:00 – group 4. 1:45 – group 3. 2:30 – group 2. The first day, you really do sing for 45 minutes for each group because everyone is learning about the songs, what you expect from them and about each other. The firs day is definitely hardest in some ways. They like to test you and see if you're a liar or not. They like to see how far they can push their group buddies. Lol. The girls like to flirt with the boys and be all shy. ;-)

The activities this year are: art, music, swimming, catechism, survivor, sports and woodworking. Added to that are three meals, canteen, cabin clean-up, horse back riding, golf, waterslides, mass, free time, canoeing, etc, etc. As counselors, we try to keep the kids busy all day long, from 7:45 am to 10:00 pm. Usually we are up an hour later than that with prayers and winding down.

Highlights from the evening of the 10^th and so far today:

     meeting the kids when they arrived at camp. Familiar faces! New faces! Really exciting.

           going into the pool for the first time: yes!!

       Listening to Morgan (10) play Fur Elise, which he taught to himself. Impressive. 

          Hearing how one of the boys threw up, then went back into the Mess Hall and asked for cake.

     Eating the best birthday cake I've ever had.

     Listening to my boys regale us with tales about the camp director made them behave last night when they were being wild and boy-like.

     Playing music and singing with Molly.

July 12^th, 2011

Me: Jordan, you need to sing.
Jordan (12 yr. Old boy): I was singing.

Me: Nope. You were talking.

Jordan: Johnny Cash talked sang and he was famous.

Molly: And Johnny Cash... is dead.

Lol!

I feel like a new person. :-) Yesterday, I spent most of the day feeling sick. It seems that I had gotten a flu/cold combination. I dosed up really well and never threw up but I had no energy. Even with a rest between sessions and supper, by the time 8 pm had rolled around, I went to my room and crashed. Today, I woke up before my alarm rang and have been full of energy for most of the day. Tonight, I went in the pool with the kids and had lots of fun for a little over an hour, then went and had my shower. I still feel like I have lots of energy so I can join the hug crew tonight.

Seth and Daniele are both feeling much better, as well. It's good to have everyone back. :-) Stirling is sick now but he seems to not be feeling so badly. A couple of my boys have been sick (they probably picked something up from me!) but they both seem to be on the mend as well.

Today, the singing went so well. The kids sang and had fun and asked for extra songs to sing. I am so happy. :-) Molly and I make a good team. We both love music and we both sing our hearts out. We're both adore kids and at the same time, are firm with them. It makes for a great partnership. Doing music class feels really natural with Molly involved.

Some valuable lessons have been thrown into my lap the past couple of days. The most important one is that no act of love ever goes without notice. Someone sees, someone feels, someone appreciates, someone thinks. So, dear self, whenever you are feeling anxious and perhaps irritated at a child who seems to think his sole purpose in life is to make your existence miserable, don't give in to the pressure. The easy path is to snap at him or her and try to make them feel as annoyed as you feel. Lol. The hard path... well, it is referred to as the hard path for a reason. ;-)

Well, it's time for campfire, I think. Goodnight. I hope you're having as great of a month as I am having! Remind me to tell you about the other lesson .... namely, the one in which I have to take to heart the words of a song... “please swallow your pride... if I have something you need to borrow... lean on me...”

Focus -- Week 1 of the Kenosee Boys and Girls Camp

“That's the nice boy with glasses who's name you cannot ever remember. But I'm the nicer boy with glasses.” --Braeden M.

Children are wonderful. They are so uninhibited and express themselves without qualm. I find such honesty in them and it makes me feel humbled and amazed all at once. This week has been one of great learning, teaching and discovering. The children have been really testing me and forcing me to search out who I am as a person. I really miss my sisters... but at the same time, I am so thankful for a chance to learn more of who I am.

Right now, I'm sitting in the MTC typing on my computer, randomly scratching the mosquito bites on my right ankle with my left foot. Tonight at the church service, my feet got bitten three times in that many seconds. Blah. I hate mosquito bites. They burn for a very long time and swell up. But I have been having a pretty good time otherwise. ;-) Anyways, I'm sitting on a couch, listening to music, watching one of my guys lay on the couch (his tummy has really been hurting all afternoon) and enjoying the company of my fellow counselors. There were only 24 kids this week and 21 counselors, so we're almost one to one with the kids. Lol. They got lots of love this week.

My job is music again. :-)  I thought I was going to have Tylene to help me but it turned out that she is in kitchen. Then, they said that Jesse S. was going to be on music. I was so relieved because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to handle all of the kids on my own. I can't really play and keep them all in line at once. It was hard enough with Hannah and Lydia and myself! Anyways. Jesse S. has been amazing and it has been a really great week working with him. He is really great with kids and plays the piano well. We take turns playing and working with the kids.

Most of the children have been really great. They are so obedient and they cooperate very well. I really enjoy them. But there are always the odd men out... we have two who especially cause us no end of grief. Yesterday (Wednesday) was our worst day, by far. We couldn't get either boy to cooperate; they wouldn't sing, they wouldn't stand still, they wouldn't do the motions, they wouldn't do anything but run around and yell or say inappropriate things. Lol. I lost my patience and got a little snappish with them. I also made them do push-ups. ::sigh:: So today I was going to take a different approach. I told the guys that I wanted to be their friend and yes, I would like them to sing! But if they didn't want to, I wouldn't make them. One of the guys actually sat up and sang and did the motions. Jesse and I were so thrilled. :-) The other guy alternated between sitting and standing, singing and not singing but his face wasn't sullen. He seemed much happier. :-)   

Next week we are not sure how many kids we're having because of the postal strike but we're thinking around 60 -70. It was nice this week to be able to ease into the job and not have that many kids right off the bat. Also, this coming week, I'm not sure I am going to have any help. I am slightly nervous about this. Lol. Hopefully I will be able to think creatively and remember that praying for wisdom is never without answers. 

Cheers! May the coming week be glorious and full of joy. I am rejoicing in the goodness of God and looking forward to the challenges of the coming week.... who knows? Maybe we'll all come down with the flu, like last year! ;-)

Happy Summer

June was not over

Though past the fall,

And the best of her roses

Had yet to blow... 

--Robert Browning 

(Another Way Of Love)

I love old poetry... listening to the Nasby brothers sing and play... watching fireworks whirl and spin through the night sky... feeling raw emotion.... dancing in the bright sunlight... laughing with children...

These things I have been doing; thinking about; feeling. I am really tired. :-) Thus, my thoughts are scattered right now. Today we had our garage sale again and sold a lot of things. Hurrah! I guess the right people needed the things we had yesterday. I have also been addressing wedding invitations for two days and still have quite a few to go. I wanted to be done before I leave for camp tomorrow but I don't think that's going to happen. However, I can work on them at camp in the evenings...

I probably won't be online much this coming month and maybe not in August either. But there is no telling what the months will bring! I am really looking forward to working with the kids at camp. I intend on having a good time. :-D  However, perhaps this is good. I am resting in the grace of God.

Some exciting news: my sister Hannah is dating a very nice young man she met in Bible College. Love you guys. :-) 

May you all have a beautiful, full Summer. Enjoy the sun and the rain...

More pictures

Conor and Riley were tickling Lydia. :)

Singing for the final program

Week 3 kids

Rykele and Misty... two of my girls

Stirling loves chocolate. :) Hehe

Boys will be boys :P

Canada Day fireworks

I loved this boy so much. He was such a little gentleman. :)

July 18th

July 18^th, 2010

Happy birthday, Lindsey! :-) I hope it is wonderful and full of joy. Much love and hugs.

I can't believe it's actually been two weeks since we have been doing music here at camp. It's been an amazingly time... I have learned so much, gained so many new friends and discovered that the impossible is not as impossible as I thought...

The days have their problems but they are never more than I can bear. The stress is there but it is much less when I remember to place it on God. There have been so many opportunities to share God's love and joy with those around me. The counselors are all in their teens, therefore eager to talk about the supernatural and the wonders of the unknown. God is all of that and more, so He often enters the conversation. Some of the people I'm around all week have a better understanding of God than I do... I have learned so much from them.

Teaching music has been an amazing experience. We have found that we girls work very well together... Hannah is our disciplinarian (meaning, she enforces the rules; i.e. tickling or asking one of the older boy students for the loan of muscles), Lydia helps a little there, gives us ideas, plays and sings and loves on the kids and I'm the organizer who helps with the other areas somewhat. We really balance each other out and it seems to be working because by the end of the week, kids are asking to skip woodworking (session after ours) and spend another 45 minutes in music.

The first week was much better than the second in many ways. Week one was boys only and we had a wonderful group of them. There was little or no bullying; lots of respect and willing to do as asked, etc. It was really difficult to choose which group to award!

My cabin was the best. I kid you not. I was referred to as the “cabin mother” and did you know that I'm a “very commanding person”? Lol! I had Justin, Stirling, Cordell and Colton. The first two came back last week as CITs (i.e. Counselors in training). I was pretty thrilled with that and would have loved it if Cordell could have come, as well. It's interesting how all the boys, at almost the same ages, are so different. Justin loves being in command and wants to grow up very quickly... he acts very sure of himself. Stirling is really tall... he's 13 years old and 5'10. :-) He's all boy and likes where he's at. He's wonderful with the kids and is becoming one of my best friends. Cordell and Colton are brothers and are exact opposites. I had to laugh at them because even though Cordell complained about how Colton made the cabin messy and loud, etc, etc, etc, you could tell how much he adored Colton and vice-versa. They were really close. Cordell is more quiet and shy... unsure of who he is and where life is leading him. I spent a lot of time talking to him and we got to know each other pretty well. The best compliment he gave me was that he didn't think of me as a girl/female but as a friend. Colton was hilarious. The last day, there is a skit/songs etc, that the kids do for the benefit of the parents/grandparents/whoever comes to pick them up and Colton was one of the MC's. We found out that he's a natural comedian. I mean, really, really funny. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was Justin and Cordell's act of Justin and his dummy (Cordell). The latter can go completely limp and when stressed out, his voice goes squeaky. It was so funny I had tears in my eyes from laughing. :-)

The past week was not nearly has wonderful, though some of the best kids from the week before came back... and I had another really good cabin. This time I was with Caitlyn and Breanna in Cabin 4 ½ and had 13 girls ages 6 to 10. They were the sweetest girls and we decided to award them the Sweety-Pie Cabin award. :-) :-)

The difficulties began on Sunday afternoon when a kid tried to strangle Stirling under water in the pool. After that, it was only more and more difficult. Same boys were bullying, playing knock-knock ginger (run up to a cabin at night, knock on the door/shutter and run away), causing night disturbances, etc.

Then, there was the homesickness. One of the girls in Cabin 5 was extremely homesick... I stayed up until 1:30 am the first night, trying to get her calmed down enough to sleep. She was so tense that her feet were twitching and her stomach was killing her. Finally, Tala took her to the nurse to get some medicine to calm down. The good thing about the situation is that Cameron and I got to know each other really well and I was able to talk to her about Jesus like I've never been able to do with anyone else before. The really good thing about it was that she stayed the entire week, even though she was homesick at night.

Then, the flu arrived at camp. The week before, some of the kids had had it but it was really bad this week. 6 of my girls had it! That's almost half of the cabin. It was really interesting. Lol! Pretty soon, we had kids gathered in the music room laying all over the couches and floor... sleeping, listening to me play the keyboard or watching films on my laptop.

I am so thankful there is a nurse at camp. His name is Clinton and I hereby declare him to be one of the most patient men on the planet. A couple of nights he had people in the nursing cabin until 1 in the morning... and most of it was stuff that didn't need a nurse. Personally, I know I got him a couple times for one of my girls when (looking back I realize) I didn't need to. But he didn't seem to mind and I appreciate the fact that he encourages me to be there with the child when being treated.. allows me to try to be helpful and never acts hurried or upset. I know very little about first-aid or anything medical except for what we've gone through as a family so this has been a very good experience for me.

Music class went really well again. It was like kids left their problems outside the music room door and became better people with the music. I feel so blessed. We are still praying before every session and the kids seem to be fine with it... in fact, they wait for it. I appreciate the fact. :-) We teach them about 10 songs a week... maybe one or two more. We try to do fun ones like I've Got the Joy, Awesome God, I'm in the Lord's Army, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, etc. You can tell which ones are the biggest hits when you hear kids singing songs while they walk around camp. The first week, we taught them I Saw the Light and it was so funny listening to the kids sing it outside of session. They were so enthusiastic about the song... everyone loved it. We sing the songs each night at the church service so they have to know the songs at least a little bit by the end of the first day.

We usually have about 10 to 15 minutes of spare time at the end of each session so we let the kids play the instruments or talk or, if the trampoline is available, let them play a game on it (1 kid at a time).

Probably the best thing about teaching music is that you get to know each child. Their personality, how well they behave, where they are in life, how much they enjoy life. :-) Some of it is good, some of it is sad. I wish I could help all of the kids onto a better life.

We really have gotten to know a trio of siblings the past two weeks. The boys came two weeks and the girl only came the past week... we're hoping she will be able to come the coming week, as well. We sort of fell in love with all of them and adopted them as our 'own' kids. They come from a difficult home situation so it was really sad when they left on Friday.

I have been pretty sick the past week. I only felt really sick for a couple days but my voice has left me and yesterday, I was basically whispering all day. Lol! I felt wonderful though. The only problems have been the coughing... sometimes I can't stop and I get so tired. This morning I feel like I had the flu... my stomach is really sore. But I think I'm getting better so I'm happy about that. I really want my voice back this week though. :-)

Anyways, I'm off and going to eat my lunch. :-) I love the people I work with.

July 5th

July 5^th, 2009

Our first day of teaching. Wow.

First let me say this: the kids are great. In fact, they were more than great today; they were wonderful. Session One was interesting. The kids were all... hm. How shall we say this? Energetic. Hehe. We made some rules up right away: You must stand while singing. If you do not stand when we issue the command, you have exactly until the count of three before you get tickled to death. Unfortunately, that only works with 80% of the campers as some children enjoy being tickled to death. Session Two was better but we still had trouble with the songs. I don't know if we were trying too hard or what. But the kids were patient. :-)

Session Three and Four were probably the best. They were so funny. They knew the songs. They did the motions... in fact, they really got into them! Lol. Of course, two of the boys in both those groups were from my cabin (therefore, I'm one of their special counselors) so they did their best. But they were really, really funny. Making jokes about each other and singing their hearts out...

I am signed up for Cabin 6. Basically, it's James (age 17) and myself with four oldest boys ( ages 10-14). They are so well behaved and gentlemanly. We won first place today in the cabin clean-up. We were all so surprised because we didn't know how clean the other cabins were. James kept saying, “We'll probably get last place or something or maybe tie for fifth...” and Stirling (one of our boys) would reply, “Shut up!” :-P :-) Anyways, the judges went from 5^th place on up and we started thinking maybe we had gotten even 3^rd or 2^nd. But it was still a great surprise when they announced that Cabin 6 was the winner. :-)

I am amazed at the change in young people when they receive a load of responsibility. They become adults. The children look up to the counselors... it's an awesome feeling. I was frightened by it yesterday even though I was loving having the boys around. Camp is so lonesome without the children! But today I think my feet are finding some firm ground... it's going to be ok.

We decided that some things are going to happen:

1: To the best (meaning, tries the hardest) group, we will give prizes to at the end of the week.

2: When we finish early, the kids are allowed to play the instruments until Session time is over.

3: And the rules of our classroom will be followed with the only exceptions due to ill health.

4: We will begin every session with prayer.

My brain has quit working. So until later. Lol. :-)

July 3rd

July 3^rd, 2010

I know! It's been forever since I have written. It seems like I've been too busy with everything else to even turn on my computer. But today I decided that regardless, I was going to try to find some time. Hence this entry. ;-)

Last weekend was marvelous. Peter and Gabi picked us up in the morning of the 22^nd and took us to Regina, as planned. We spent the rest of the morning getting there, dropping Peter off at their home, then shopping our little hearts out. Hehe. It was great. We bought a lot of essentials... and a lot of non-essentials. Like chocolate from Czechoslovakia and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. You get the idea.

Peter and Gabi are very hospitable folks. They fixed the most delicious food... the first night, Peter made this chicken pasta dish that was heavenly. Not only was it amazing to eat, it looked great, too. We even took pictures. Peter says we're crazy. Lol.

During the shopping excursion, we happened to discover that Peter and Gabi don't live very far from Ray, our adopted “brother”. So that night, Gabi and we girls walked part way over while Peter rented a couple of movies. When we got to Ray's place, it didn't look like anyone was home so Peter and Gabi waited in the vehicle while we girls went to the door. It was so funny when Ray opened the door. He thought it was his neighbor and wasn't terribly thrilled with the thought of helping said neighbor pump water out of his basement. Then, he saw us. :-) His eyes got very round and he yelled so loudly that Peter and Gabi heard him out in the car.

The next day, we went to Peter and Gabi's church and met Peter's brother's family. Nice folks. Peter's brother is funny. But not as funny as Peter. ;-)

I miss Gabi.

At any rate, the entire visit was great and I am so glad it happened. It was a welcome break. We needed to get away for a few hours.

The rest of the week has been one thing after another. Little, last minute things. Well, Monday was a big job. We got the outdoor chapel in order... pressure washed, benches and chair cleaned and set up, things crowding the front of the chapel were removed and sent somewhere else. Tuesday – we moved from the Kome 'n' See to the Mother Teresa Centre. That felt a little sad. I love the Kome 'n' See and the smell of cedar that permeates it.

Each room in the MTC has three beds in it: bunk beds (twin) and a double bed. Lydia is on the double (because her thing is so not top bunk ;-)), Hannah gets the bottom of the bunk bed and I got the top. I volunteered as I was quite sure I could handle staying in bed the entire night and I wasn't sure about the other girls. :-) At any rate, I hardly slept the first night. You know how long it's been since I've slept on the top bunk? Years. Like 10... or maybe more. I kept thinking I was far too close to the edge for comfort. Yes, indeed.

I made Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies and by evening, there were only four left. :-P

Wednesday – Spent the morning cleaning cabins out back of Kome 'n' See. It's mosquito city out there. We got all bit up just working with the vacuum cleaner and hot water. You try to shut the door quickly but it's never fast enough. Muddy boots to be left on the doorstep, cleaning supplies to be hauled in, etc. While working, I realized how dirty the windows were so when we were finished, I asked Fr. Banga if he wanted me to wash the insides of them. He said yes, and that one of us should wash the outsides. I told him I didn't think so. That's the first and probably last, time I/we have told him no. The mosquitoes were simply too plenteous. We would have gotten carried away, died in the woods or simply gone insane. Lol! Wednesday was a red letter day for more reasons than one: we met Tylene! :-) She and Fr. Banga are like best friends. They've known each other for years. Ever since Tylene was very small (I won't tell you how old she is now... except that she laughed when we told her how old Fr. Banga had told us she was. :-))... she is very gifted musically and has this amazing voice. She teaches school in the Middle East... the past two years has been in Qatar and she is going to Syria this year. Because of this, she won't be able to attend very much of camp. It makes us very sad indeed. And as she was going over the music with us, it made us realize how much is involved with this job. We will be able to do it but we are not as prepared as we had thought. I think she saw that we were feeling a little overwhelmed because she asked. Lol. Bless her. :-) Anyways. That was a fun day. I am so glad we had a chance to meet her because she is a wonderful person. I know that she is a wonderful teacher.

Thursday – Tried to get the sound system working. Basically, it was a no-go. It sounded awful. And the mosquitoes love the outdoor chapel, too. It's like torture trying to play or stand still doing anything in there. We spent the evening doing very little until it came time to watch the White Bear fireworks.

Friday – People arrived. Adrian and two workers were first. Adrian is unique. We like him. That's about all I can say to describe him to you; you'll have to meet him yourself. Unfortunately, he is attending university this year and won't be able to attend much of camp. Another sob story. But he has left the camp in capable hands so it shouldn't be too bad. :-) Almost everyone went to the Powwow that evening and I took a lot of pictures. I couldn't get over all the costumes and colors and traditions... there were natives from all over the place. Many had come up from the States to participate. There were three individuals that caught my attention:

1: An old Grandmother who stood impassively watching. Her attire was very authentic and her stance so ancient that I could envision her 200 years ago watching over a similar celebration.

2: There was this little kid dressed in buckskins and furs and whenever there was music, he would leap up and dance. I think he danced for hours... he never seemed to tire out. So cute.

3: This one was a man. I don't know how old he was... probably not past 40. Everything about him... the very aura about him was ancient and full of traditions that have been practiced for many years. Even his facial expressions. It was like he possessed wisdom beyond his years.

Saturday – (Today!) Everyone is preparing for tomorrow afternoon. It was nice that Fr. Banga had us girls do a lot before even the counselors arrived because now there isn't such a rush to get things done. :-) We got the sound system sort of working this morning (yay!!) and the music room is basically ready. After dinner, Hannah and I cleaned the bunkhouses the rest of the way. The beds needed a bleach wipe down. Do you know that it's impossible for me to gracefully clamber up on the top bunk? Hannah is just tall enough to reach the beds from standing on the bottom bunk but me... ::sighs:: ;-) I didn't kill myself. That's what counts, eh?

Meeting with more and more people. Everyone seems nice. And there is actually someone here who is shorter than I am. She's 4'11. :-)

June 24th

June 24^th, 2010

This morning I woke up to thunder. Then, it started pouring. I am beginning to think this wet will never stop! The other day, I was talking to a friend via phone and, in my innocence, said that I didn't think there were mosquitoes in this neck of the woods, because in all the time I had been here, I hadn't seen one. The next day was warm and... guess what? Lol. We're being eaten alive. Fr. Banga has some bug spray but I hesitate to use it as it's not supposed to be good to breathe. I'll live. :-P

And now the sun shines. I can't believe how quickly it goes from being sunny out to pouring buckets to being sunny again. Last night, it rained very hard... hailed a bit, too. It was a little interesting because, firstly, Fr. Banga had to go shut the van windows. When the rain let up just a bit, he held a board over his head and went out. But he abandoned the board on the way in and just as he did, it decided to rain sheets. I've never seen him move so fast. Lol! Then, the wind changed and water started coming in at the end of the hall. The doors was open because Hannah had painted the one corner again and we wanted it to dry. However, the water wasn't helping anything dry so Fr. Banga bade me shut them. The doors open out and they had been blocked open so the wind wouldn't close them. Imagine how wet I got. Soaked. To the skin. In 5 seconds. Lol!

Last Saturday, we got a phone call from Peter and Gabi. They're picking us up on Saturday morning to spend the weekend in Regina. I am happy. :-) :-) :-)

Sunday the 20^th: After church, we went to Michele's house. Talk about fun. :-) :-) We had a glorious jam with her and Emily Klatt. And while we were having fun, Will was doing a computer job for Fr. Banga that would have been a nightmare if it hadn't been for him. Thank God for computer people. :-) After the “party” at Michele's, we picked up Sister Lucille and went to supper at Al and Loretta's (remember the story of the bull and the “badge”). I think it was the humidity and the heat and the fact that we'd played so hard at Michele's... the jam with Al was the deadest jam I've ever played in my entire life. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Lol! :-P

Monday the 21^st: Painted Mess Hall floor (dark gray) in morning; ate quick lunch; went to Moosomin for our dentist/orthodontist appointment. Anyone seen Gettysburg? I picked it up for $5 at The Bargain Shop. Haven't watched it yet.

Fr. Banga put the heat pump for the pool out into the lake. I'm not positive how it works but using the concept of geo-thermal, they heat the pool with this pump. John came as well as another friend of Fr. Banga's... whose name also is David. Except this David got the string bean gene. ;-) They got in the boat together and it was hysterical watching them. We laughed so hard. But both Davids are clowns and they encouraged the fun.

Our teeth are moving. The first two days were spent on pain killer, as usual. We ate yogurt and Fettuccine with white sauce. Hehe. But they're doing better now. Last night, I actually didn't take painkiller and I slept like a log.

Sorry... the pictures are backwards! Here the pump is being dumped out of the boat. Fr. Banga...

Dear John! He doesn't wear his teeth unless he's eating because he claims he can't get enough oxygen while wearing them. Lol. I'm so glad to have all of my own teeth. I need all the oxygen I can get. :D

Lydia with the cable. Hannah and John with the pipe.

Tuesday the 22^nd : Gave the Mess Hall floor another coat of paint. Prayed that it sticks. We had tried to paint a corner of the floor a couple weeks ago and even walking on it, the paint would come off. I had visions of a gray floor with red peaking through at intervals... anyways, I prayed. Really hard. Lol. If there is anything I dislike, it's having to re-do a job.

After the painting was complete, we worked in Music Room #2 with the chesterfields. Fr. Banga and Hannah screwed the stands onto the bottoms of the chesterfields and I sorted screws. Lydia painted the green on the front of the stage and hauled garbage. After I finished with the sorting of the screws, I gave the front of the stage a second white coat of paint. We did about 10 other odd jobs that aren't horribly big but make such a difference when they're all done. :-)

Wednesday the 23^rd: I had been dreading painting the mural. Lydia and Hannah did all the “inside” colors but it needed a black outline to be completed. I am no artist. I wasn't sure if I could do it well enough because if the paintbrush slips just a little, well... anyways. But I began at it right away. My idea is to try to get the worst over with as soon as possible. :-P It went ok. I'll try to post some pictures with this blog entry so you can see what we did with it. I am not entirely pleased with the finished product... mainly because of Jesus' facial features. Blah. (again, I am so not an artist! :-P) Fr. Banga said that it looks like someone gave Jesus a black eye. ::snort:: But it's ok. I feel such a sense of relief to have that done. :-)

Lydia cut all of the grass. Hannah did a million and one odd jobs. Fr. Banga fixed stuff that only he could fix. Life is ok. :-)

Working on the mural...

The finished product.

June 26th: We're in Regina at Peter and Gabi's... having a wonderful time. :) The fellowship is so refreshing. I feel like I'm resting. :) Talk to ya'll later.

Camp Diary -- May 26th - 28th

John and Mr. Banga

Lydia and Hannah

May 26th, 2010

Happy birthday to Jesse! Hard to believe he's 16 already. How time flies! (That last thought seems to have become my motto lately!)

We left at 7:10 (give or take) this morning. Ellie had a chiropractor appointment at 8:15 and we wanted to be at Kenosee by 2 pm so she could be home in time for milking.

Yorkton seems huge. Surprise, surprise. Superstore was duly explored and goggled by yours truly; as was the majority of Wal-mart... which has become a monster in my absence. Whether or not it's a friendly is still being decided. On one hand, I love the variety of things now available. But what a city feel. 'Old' Yorkton, for all of it's faults, still felt like Saskatchewan. Compared to Endeavour, 'New' Yorkton reminds me of the states.

Anyway, we got to Kenosee at the time hoped and of all surprises, Michele A. had “happened” to stop in! Hehe! I love that gal. :-) So we shared dinner with her and Fr. Banga and enjoyed much glorious conversation. One thing I love about Michele is her ability to make everyone like she is speaking to directly to them. I wish I could emulate that.

But my adventures have not left me and, although I remembered everything else, I forgot my skirts and dresses. Yes, they are still hanging in my closet at home in that dandy handy clothing bag. And yes again, I nearly freaked out and almost as nearly threw up my entire stomach content. Lol! But several things happened that helped the situation. 1: I had prayed specifically that God would help me to NOT forget, and furthermore, to not let me leave anything I needed behind. So, He must have answered no and allowed this to happen for some very good reason. Perhaps to remind me some other (more important?) time to remember my dresses. ;-) Or maybe for some other mysterious circumstance that I'll never know. 2: Just as I was thinking this, we walked into our quarters (Kome “N” See) and there, at my eye level on the wall, was this plaque bearing the words, “Relax – God's in Charge”. With my mind being in the state it was (that would actually be 'province' wouldn't it? :-P), it seemed like I was receiving a command directly from God.

Amazingly, my stomach immediately calmed down and the situation... the comments from my dear family, both joking and non,... feeling ridiculous... didn't matter anymore. I vas a duck in de rain. :-)

After getting partially settled in our prospective rooms at Kome “N” See, we said goodbye to the folks and changed into work clothes (Hannah kindly lent me a skirt). The rest of the afternoon and early evening were spent working in the Mess Hall. Lydia is painting the cooler while Hannah and I wash dishes and clean cabinets. It's pretty filthy in there. They had to repair 10 feet of wall that was rotten... so the floor is covered in sawdust and all sorts of equipment/hand tools/etc. We begin painting tomorrow. Hannah and I would really like to finish the kitchen but I am kinda thinking it will be impossible to really finish until the dust and tools are rounded up and out.

I am tired and a little chilled... but I feel like I accomplished a lot and I enjoy working with my sisters. Plus the food is really good (Fr. Banga is quite the chef)... the sun is shining... Lydia is serenading us with guitar music... the power came on earlier than they predicted (SaskPower had to cut down a tree that was slowly uprooting itself over the power line... quite a nasty job)... thus, supper dishes are done... I can take a quick shower and use my brand-new, gorgeous smelling body wash... read my Bible and Victorian Poetry (yes, K, it's here with me. Slipped it in with my pillows. ;-)) before heading to bed.

I can't wait to mop the Mess Room floor. Lol!

Someone want to come help me?

Last conversation with Ellie:

The forgotten music books (see slight cardiac arrest update) were brought up and I said I thought forgetting my clothes was a worse blooper than my memory lapse with the books. Ellie disagreed. She said the books were definitely worse. Lydia said nope, the clothes were worse. Her reasoning? “You can play music from memory but you can't get away with wearing your clothes from memory.” Ellie had to concede.

May 27th, 2010

What a day. :-) Again, I feel like we accomplished a lot. But this time, it's more noticeable. :-) Our chef told us breakfast was served at 7:45 am but when we arrived on the dot in the Mother Teresa Centre, he was already seated at the table, waiting patiently for us. When we expressed our apologies, he said that we were going to get fired on our first day. Lol! After eating a good meal complete with lots of brown sugar, we set to work once again...

[Hm. My hands smell like bleach. I guess it's better than chicken innards.]

Lydia finished with the primer in the cooler, while Hannah cleaned two of their heavy duty stoves in the kitchen. Since the Mother Teresa Centre is being rented out to a family, we can't eat in that kitchen any longer... at least not until they leave. So Fr. Banga had me clean a range that was sitting in the Mess Hall. I have never cleaned a stove that needed it so badly. Lol! It was filthy. My water was like mud twice before I was finished.

And when I had completed that task, I was told to clean the floor. It was pretty mud corroded and had all sorts of garbage on it. I tried to vacuum but managed to suck up a piece of cardboard and had to get someone (namely, Fr. Banga) to do repair work. He told me that I should probably just forget about the vacuum... sweeping was safer. :-P :-D Anyways, the kitchen floor is linoleum and it cleaned beautifully. I couldn't believe how nice it looked even before I was finished. Very rewarding for the Clean-ess. :-)

We ate our last meal at the MTC at dinner and cleaned out all of Fr. Banga's cooking utensils, food, pans, etc. He parked his car (think 5'4 man, huge 70's car... so hilarious because it really does fit his personality) with a small trailer outside so we didn't have to carry it far. I loaded almost everything ...and had another interesting situation. The skirt I'm wearing of Hannah's doesn't have a button at the top of the zipper, so it has to be pinned with a safety pin. When I bent down and picked up a particularly heavy container, the strain popped open the pin! Lol! It was a little shocking. No blood, thank goodness. :-)

And in the afternoon... we did dishes (still have a few more to go) and painted. The Mess Hall has ¾ painted walls! It went fast with all of us girls working. Hannah and Lydia running the rollers; me working around the windows and doors. I have never painted before (that I can remember) so this is a very new experience. At first I was nervous because I want to do it perfectly and I couldn't control where the paint went to the extent I wished to. ;-) Thankfully, even though he insists he doesn't do any of that 'fancy stuff', Fr. Banga did buy masking tape so all of the edges of the screens and the window handles are not a solid gray. Lol.

I didn't feel tired, hungry or cold until we decided to stop for supper. When I set down my brush, I was suddenly all three and shaking all over. But we had hot tomato soup, sandwiches on sourdough and lots of chocolate cookies (I think I ate too many!!)... Hannah also started a fire in the stove. Afterwards, I took a very hot shower and washed the paint right out of my hair... and cleaned my braces... thus, shaking eliminated. ;-)

So it was a good day. I must say I enjoyed myself. :-) It's really funny watching Fr. Banga laugh. He's somewhat deaf (wears a hearing aid) so he gets into a world of his own quite often. But sometimes I look up and catch him watching us with an amused grin on his face and his shoulders jiggling. We particularly take delight in making him laugh at meal times. At home we have a little custom of looking at the #s on the bottom of our cups/glasses: the single or double number is your 'age' for the meal. Anyways, Lydia and Hannah decided to carry on the practice away from home and every time they do it, Fr. Banga completely loses it. Hehe! It's quite amusing. “What are you, fortune tellers?” “I'm five?! .... I wish.”

I must say I keep getting surprised at how much he accomplishes. When you look at him, you don't think much; he's short, round, in his upper 60's at least. I didn't realize how mechanically minded he is. I'll bet he can fix anything. He also lifted a range and moved a refrigerator by himself today. I am amazed at his strength. During dinner, he mentioned that he met Mother Teresa several times before her death. I am always curious about people who are spiritually renown, so I asked a lot of questions. He said he would bring over some books about her. I wish I could have met her because I wish to discerne for myself whether she was merely religious or a lover of Truth. At any rate, she's dead and unless she was the latter, meeting her is out of the question. But the conversation lent itself as food for thought so I am happy about that. :-)

Am I happy with the rest of life? Oh yes. I feel useful and blessed. :-) I am glad for the opportunity. Once again, my prayer is that God will shine through me and bless everyone I am around. Sometimes it seems rather impossible. Lol. I mean, look at me: I trip over my own toes. :-) But those blessed promises of God... all things are possible through Him. I am so thankful.

May 28th, 2010

Today we basically finished painting the Mess Hall. Fr. Banga said that he was completely amazed with the progress we'd made in two days. He also said he had been having nightmares about not getting all that needed to be accomplished before camp started... but I think he thinks we'll make it now.

Last night I woke up twice after sweating big time. It happens when something 'breaks' in my system. When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't feeling the greatest and was dreading putting in another day like yesterday. So I was praying for the strength to do what I needed to do as I was waking up, getting dressed and going out the door to breakfast. God's answer met me at the Mess Hall door... Lydia and Hannah were coming out as I stepped in the doorway. “Fr. Banga says it's too cold to work this morning. We're to have a break until 11.” I was pretty thankful. :-)

So over the course of the morning, I ate and rested and read... our host arrived around 10 bearing the books he'd promised me and explained some details about content. At 11 we went to work and didn't stop for lunch until an hour or so later. By that time, I was hungry!!! Hehe. :-) Soup with lots of barley and cabbage went down very well... as did the ham sandwiches.

The conversations keep getting better. This time, Fr. Banga 'warned' us about his friend John who was coming to help out. They have known each other for 28 years and Fr. Banga said that although a very good man, John can “drive you bananas!” (Fr. Banga is 67. John is about that age.) When the man walked through the door, I understood. His first words? “Oh. Sorry I'm late. I got lost.” Fr. Banga asks, “Where did you wind up, John?” “At the fishing hole!” He has a voice I thought only existed on animated movies. His energy and attention span remind me of my brother Zeke (whom we refer to as “Tigger”), he looks like no one you've ever seen and his heart is pure gold. In other words, he is bigger than life.

Anyways, these two guys carried on almost ceaselessly and the entire conversation was banter, sarcasm and camaraderie that only comes when you know someone better than yourself. After we all worked for several hours, Fr. Banga called a snack-time and we gathered around to break bread (which he had just baked this morning... it smelled soooo good. I was painting to the aroma. Honestly.) and John grumped that he didn't have his teeth in. Apparently they were out in his truck and he didn't want to walk that far to get them (which is ridiculous because he had only made 10 other trips out there to get various tools). But when he heard Fr. Banga tell Hannah to put the butter, jam and peanut butter on the table, he yelped, “You bought peanut butter?!” Fr. Banga looked at him (you have to know Fr. Banga to understand what I mean by 'looked') and said, “My girls are peanut butter freaks.” John was already at the door. “Well, if there's peanut butter I'm going for my teeth.”

Supper was leftovers again (“we don't waste food” is Fr. Banga's motto) and for dessert there was ice-cream (with chocolate! I had to have a little taste) (well, slightly more than a taste) and cake with orange frosting (which I refrained from). After supper, we girls congregated to our 'house' and relaxed. Lydia wrote, I read from one of Fr. Banga's books (which, btw, has some wonderful nuggets of truth. I'll have to share...) and Hannah read some Reader's Digest.

But just as I was thinking about heading to the shower, who should arrive but Fr. Banga with a deck of cards and a snack? We didn't understand the game at first but it started coming, thanks to his coaching, and pretty soon, we were playing just like pros (or Fr. Banga, in other words). Lol. And I, who never win on games, won by a long shot. I think it might have been an accident.... But we shall see. ;-) Afterwards, we drank (cranberry juice mixed with ginger ale) to myself and played and sang and made plans for the morrow. ;-)

Which, hopefully... maybe... will include a visit to the library and an internet connection. Whether or not it worked out as planned you will know when you're reading this. :-)

So, my eyes are beginning to close on me and it's 10:30. Tomorrow is no work, a trip to town and maybe more rain. Sunday it's supposed to snow. As Lydia says, “What else is June about besides snow?”