And another camp

We just got home from another camp. This one was our own church's youth camp and it was in Lindale, TX. Jackson is going to be a camp pro by the time the summer is over. We have one more to go. For now we have a two week breather. One fun thing about this camp was that two of my cousins came with us. John is 9 and he attended children's camp. Joe is 16 and he attended youth camp. I was so proud to have them there. Janelle and Ella came to camp along with Melissa and her new baby, Joshua. We had our own baby camp going on.

So I was really, really bored for the first couple of days. Curt was too busy getting things going to hang out with us or to babysit so I could hang out with the kids. (Yes, you can hang out with students with your baby, but it's hard to do at camp.) Our room had no TV, Internet, or cell phone connectivity. Jackson was not about to go to sleep and let me nap, so what could we do? Thankfully, there was a Wal-Mart in town and in front of it gleamed the Southern Oasis known as Sonic. Everyday we made the pilgrimage for a strawberry limeade, which I have found to be a nice break from your ordinary cherry variety.

I found this book called Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog in Wal-Mart and it's really been a joy to read. It's about a man's young family and his neurotic dog. I can identify on so many levels! A couple of sentences really spoke to me the other day:

"...while parts of us missed the leisurely vacations, lazy Saturdays reading novels, and romantic dinners that lingered late into the night, we had come to find our pleasures in new ways - in spilled applesauce and tiny nose prints on the windowpanes and the soft symphony of bare feet padding down the hallway at dawn. Even on the worst days, we usually managed to find something to smile over, knowing by now what every parent sooner or later figures out, that these wondrous days of early parenthood - of diapered bottoms and first teeth and incomprehensible jabber - are but a brilliant, brief flash in the vastness of an otherwise ordinary lifetime."
(Marley and Me, by John Grogan, page 185-186. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.)

Let me be clear. I don't think that Curtis and I have or will ever have a boring, ordinary life. Anyone who lets God map out his or her life will have plenty of excitement. But I was encouraged to remember that in years to come I will look at this peculiar season of life with intense fondness. I so want to treasure it like I should!

Jackson is getting bigger every minute and looking more and more like his dad. I've said that so many times, but it's true! His hair is growing longer and thicker. It covers his little head with a soft brown shadow. For now his eyes are still elecrtic blue and he doesn't hesitate to use his long lashes and expressive eyebrows to woo the young ladies who fuss over him wherever we go. I think he caught Ella's eye at camp. Heath wasn't too happy about that, but Janelle and I thought it was hilarious. He finally rolled over a second time. Yesterday I stood him up and wrapped his little hands around something to see if he would hold himself up. He did! That's about all for new physical achievements.

One of the joys of camp was seeing our teenagers interact with Jackson. He has lots of big brothers and sisters who like to hold and play with him. We hope he will grow up loving and being loved by our church family.