Fresh mountain air.
Quiet breeze rustling through the trees.
Birds chirping.
Ahhh...summer camp!!

Actually, this last week it was...kids screaming and laughing, gaga balls flying, bees stinging, lake jumping, and of course...more kids screaming and laughing!!!

What would a high school summer be without church camp?

Climbing the "Iceberg" in record time...

Crazy Minute-to-Win It competitions...

Rock wall climbing...

Rope swinging...

Actually taking the "Leap of Faith"...

Craft time...

A little team competition...

Trying DESPERATELY not to tip the canoe over...

"Experiencing" camp food...

Making sure all ninety students are accounted for at all times...

And...just being...crazy!!!

Camp is always such a highlight to our summer. It jump starts the students in their summer Bible reading. Leaders emerge. Friendships are made and become stronger. Convictions are solidified. Hearts are softened.

Our theme for this summer was LOVE 3 - Love God, Love the Word, and Love Others. Jason, and several other pastors, did an amazing job challenging the students with the Truth. Over and over again...during each session...we watched as the Word penetrated the hearts of our students. Dividing between soul and spirit...joint and marrow. There was no sin too "trivial" or "small"...anything in life that had become a distraction to whole-hearted devotion to God was called out. God spoke His Word and our students responded to Him!!

And now that we have come down from our mountain...we are praying that His Word will produce fruits of righteousness in their lives. That they will stand strong when the apathy sets in...the complacent tide starts to turn. We are praying that His Word will go down deep in their hearts and regenerate their lives!

Last week we met our sweet friends, the Robinsons, for a WHOLE day at Concord Mills mall.
Yes, an entire day at the mall with six children!
And we all had a super fun time!!!

We started off at the Lego store...and stayed there for a LONG time!
Tyler built some new Lego guys...while the girls "built" doll-houses on the computers.

Jackson followed everyone around...pretending to be a "big kid"!

Then we headed over to the picnic tables to eat our lunch...and Miss Juli got her "baby-fix"!

Next up, The Bass Pro Shop...
The kids were amazed at the HUGE fish tank!
And the fish swimming around were quite unusual...
obviously we stayed here for quite some time as well!

While we were there, we tried out the Family Summer Camp in the back of the store.
The kids practiced casting their fishing rods, shooting BB guns, and archery.

This was Tyler's FIRST (and last :-) time shooting a gun!
He took it very seriously!

Jackson spent his time charming ANYONE that would look his way!

Such a cutie!

Micah and Amy waiting patiently for their turn!

Watch out...Amy is definitely a crack-shot with the bow and arrow!
She hit a bulls-eye each time!!!

With all that hard work...of course it was time for ice cream!
Who knew we could have so much fun...at the MALL! :-)

Little Hailey Anne...

I do not know what the future will hold for you...
But one thing I know for sure...
YOU ARE LOVED!!!

From the moment you were born...

You were in your Daddy's arms...

Brothers and sister fighting over who gets "a turn" with you...

Laugh with you..

Talk with you...(or at you)

And DEFINITELY kiss on you...

Even when you are fast asleep...you are loved!

Our precious, sweet little girl...

May you ever know how much you are loved...
by us and by your heavenly Father!!

What kind of mother lets her daughter walk around
with a bag of flour..."dusting" everyone she sees?

Or allows her son to squirt his sister (and anyone who gets close enough!!!)
with bbq sauce?

The type of mother that looks like THIS after "Messy Night 2011"!!!

If you drove past Calvary Church on Wednesday night...with the windows down...you would have caught the very strong aroma of over seventy high school students covered in MESS! :-)
Mustard, vinegar, kool-aid, mayonnaise, syrup, eggs...the list goes on and on.

Freshman and Juniors

vs

Seniors and Sophomores...

Let the games begin!
We played Hoopla and Capture the Flag...but really we just PLAYED!!! :-)

I'm not really sure who won...
but my poor husband definitely got "loved" on by his students!!!

But the fun didn't end there...a local fire truck came out and "hosed" us off!

Obviously, this was my FAVORITE part of the night!
I felt like I was five years old...it was so fun running around in the water and splashing in the puddles! I'm sure you can tell by the picture that I was singing at the top of my lungs!! :-)

Amy wasn't too sure about the water...

or her crazy momma!

So, while it might not be your average "family-night" outing...
we did have a blast!!
And we even managed to get our Christmas card picture done early this year...
we just need to photo-shop Jackson and Hailey in!!! :-)