First Day of School!

This year, the first day of school did not include waking up early, getting dressed in new uniforms and taking brand new backpacks off to school before the sun even comes up. No, this is what the first day of school looked like (notice the "uniforms", haha):



Overall it was a great day! We are all on a learning curve as we figure out how to work virtual classes, pace the self-paced classes, and just generally figure out how each girl learns best. So far we have discovered that Linda and Bonita do not like reading. :) I'm keep reminding the girls that we are still figuring this whole thing out, just give it time!

They seemed to like their first day and while they are nervous about the amount of work they have (I am actually going to make them do their homework AND schoolwork! gasp!), they so enjoy having a lot of free time during the day and only being in "class" for an hour at a time. They are actually excited about tomorrow!

I am VERY pleased with how the day went. All of the girls worked hard and did all of their work with no complaining. I think Linda is going to need more help and attention than Bonita, but I kind of expected that. Both girls have just kind of coasted through school barely passing, so they have some catching up to do. I know they can do it though!!

We also discovered today that Linda and Cupcake are taking the same Health class!! So, they worked together for a while today, which was fun for both of them! Unfortunately, Linda misunderstood an assignment and turned it in and got a low grade. It was only a 10 point assignment (out of 900 points for the whole semester, so its not really a big deal at all), but its amazing how defeated she already feels!! (At least I know she didn't cheat off of Cupcake's quiz, haha). I'm praying that she will shake that off quickly.

The self-paced courses will take some getting used to, mainly because the girls are used to being told what to do instead of figuring it our themselves. You can definitely pray for me as I learn the balance of helping them but also letting them learn on their own. I don't have any idea what I am doing!

(This pic of Bonita working on her self-paced science class makes me laugh. She is reading the end of the book, making the pic look staged, haha. Its not! Her class is apparently starting at the end and working backwards...).

We are still having a lot of fun in NC and none of us want to go back to Philly (Bonita says it at least 10 times a day!). The girls are enjoying the backyard; wrestling and laughing a lot.


My parents' neighbor has a trampoline and she invited the girls over whenever they wanted to. They used it as a stress reliever all day and would go jump for a while to get energy out between classes. It seemed to work well!

Its been pretty hot most days, so we have stayed inside a lot, although we did go out for a nice dinner by the water last night.

(I know this isn't a great pic with the sun right in the background. However, a storm was coming and the sky was literally BLACK had they stood opposite of the sun. So, I went with the annoying glare...the water and the boats are cool though!)

As wonderful as each day has been, the highlight of the trip came on Saturday night when we all went to see my dad perform in Washington, NC's "Dancing with Our Stars". It was SO fun, and my dad was AWESOME! Seriously!!

The Washington, NC version is a little different from the TV version. You can do any style of dance and it doesn't have to be just partners. So, my dad performed with several of his officers to a medley of songs from cop shows. It was GREAT! The girls and I were shocked by how good he was, and how much fun he had!

The whole evening was a fund-raiser for a local charity called Eagles Wings that provides food for the people of Washington. I have no idea how much money they raised, but this is what the line looked like an hour before the show started:
I'm pretty sure the whole town was there!

The winner was not based on dancing but on how much money each performer raised. Since my dad and his officers were not allowed to raise money while on duty (which makes sense...a little intimidating, haha), they didn't raise as much as many of the local businessmen and women. The girls and I agree, however, that my dad was the best dancer. (I am being totally serious too. The girls are still in shock over how good he really was!).

Tomorrow is our last full day in NC, although we don't fly out until Wednesday night; so we still have 2 school days here. We are trying not to focus on having to go back to Philly and instead enjoy the next few days of space, peace and fun!

Still Loving It Here!

Today was a very laid back, very fun day. This is where we spent most of it:

So relaxing and fun!!

I did stay up pretty late last night getting my AIM work finished, so I slept in a little this morning (although I'm still pretty tired and will be going to sleep as soon as I finish this post!).

We had a lazy morning; eating breakfast and hanging around the house until around noon. We actually contemplated not going anywhere today, but we weren't sure how hurricane Dan was going to affect the beaches and he is supposed to hit tomorrow. It isn't very strong, so it will most likely just bring rain, but we didn't want to miss a day at the beach because we are lazy. :)

So, we packed up the car and headed to Goose Creek State Park. Its technically not the beach, but has a free swimming area right on the Pamlico Sound (a river; we were near where it meets the Atlantic Ocean), which was perfect because we didn't really want to drive far and its only 15 minutes from my parents house.

It turned out to be EXACTLY what we wanted!! There was not a single other person there, so we had a blast being ridiculous together. The water was incredibly warm, so we spent hours playing and not getting cold. Plus, the winds from hurricane Dan started coming through, which brought fun waves for us to play in. They had an area roped off where you can swim, and it was a pretty big area. The best part, though, was that even when we went out as far as they would let us, we could all still stand up! And we were far from shore!!

I stood on the shore and took a picture of the girls. They are standing up, as far out as we were allowed to go. Can you see them?


Can you see them now??

This is as close as I can zoom the picture in:

It was SO far away!!

The state park is on a camp ground, which none of us were too excited about, especially with all the bugs. They weren't a problem when we were in the water, but out of the water...we started to have flashbacks of all the bugs in NY and the bees at staff retreat so we ran to and from the car, haha. I asked the girls if they wanted to try and borrow a tent and go camping there (I was joking), and I thought they were going to kill me. After a week at camp in NY and then heading straight into 3 more days at a camp for staff retreat, we are all VERY much enjoying comfy beds, air conditioning and no bugs!

We got home from the beach around dinner and took turns taking showers. It went a lot faster with 2 showers, which got me even more excited about possibly moving to a house with two bathrooms!!

After showering we all ate dinner and then the girls spent hours running around the house and the backyard laughing, wrestling, and doing I'm not sure what else. They seem to really be enjoying all the space! I just hung out with my parents, which was fun for me!

Not a very exciting day, but a really good one for all of us. Right now the girls are spread into different rooms doing all different things. Linda is on the phone in one room, Bonita is in another room downloading worship songs (and singing along to them), and Cupcake is in a third room writing and (in her words) "enjoying the quiet. I like quiet and I never get quiet".

Peace is the word I would use to describe our lives right now. And we are all loving it.

We love NC!

I know I owe you an update on the Cornerstone Block Party AND our staff retreat, and I will get to that really soon. But, right now I'm too tired to think back that far, haha. For now, I will go with what's going on now. I have to prepare you though, this begins with a really gross story.

The girls and I came home from staff retreat yesterday around 5 and immediately had to wash clothes, repack and get the house ready for us to leave at 9:30 this morning. I also had A TON of AIM work to catch up on, so we were in high gear as soon as we got home. The girls also wanted to see their mom before we left, so after they went to her house for a little while I started to cleaning up our stuff from staff retreat, with Ashley's help. As I went to put the cereal away, I discovered that a mouse had chewed through one of the bags of cereal (most of my cereal is kept in plastic containers, but we had one bag that didn't fit, so we just put it in the cabinet. Bad idea..). There was raisin bran everywhere, which was frustrating but not a big deal. Well, until I started to clean up the raisin bran and a tiny mouse fell out!!! It looked like a little mouse fetus! It was TINY (smaller than my pinkie) and squeaking and GROSSING me out!! I screamed, Ashley screamed and we immediately started asking Jesus to send our husbands quickly! (We also had a very unfortunate run in with some disgusting, and extremely heavy trash earlier in the week).

After running through the house screaming I realized that the mess still needed to be cleaned up, so I took care of the baby mouse and started cleaning the rest of the cereal, only to discover another squeaking baby mouse. SICK!!!! I was almost at a breaking point, but pushed through the clean up the rest. Unfortunately, it got worse. I looked at the electric socket at the back of the cabinet (where the microwave is plugged in) and discovered a smelly, rotting mouse carcass. A mouse had been electrocuted and was rotting away in my cabinet.

AHHHHH!!! I was completely grossed out at this point and just closed the cabinet. I then called/facebook messaged/twitterred several of my guy friends until I found one willing to come and remove the mouse for me. I cleaned up all the rest of the mess, made sure the baby mice were no longer alive, and then my friend came and scraped the mouse out of the socket (it was SO SO gross!). He also discovered another mouse baby and a bunch of maggots. I didn't mind cleaning up the maggots, that was nothing compared to the rest of the disgustingness.

Finally, around 10:00 p.m. it was all cleaned up and Gizmo was on guard in the kitchen to make sure no other mice showed up. If I wasn't ready to get to my parents' house before....

I was up pretty late cleaning, packing, and catching up on AIM stuff, but I managed to get it all finished. (Well, at least get to a good point with AIM...its a REALLY busy time for me right now!!). I think I finally went to bed around 3 or 4, and was up at 8:30 to be ready to leave by 9:30. I was SO excited!!

It is SO wonderful, sometimes, to have teenage girls around. They did their own laundry, packed all their own clothes and even made sure they had all the stuff they needed for school (they start on Monday!). We left on time, picked Cupcake up on time and got to the airport by 10:15 (our flight left at 11:50). Going through security was hilarious with all 4 of us having laptops to take out of our bags, belts, sneakers, cell phones, and on and on. Thankfully it wasn't too busy, otherwise we might have had some mad travelers behind us! We made it through pretty quickly (and very organized actually!) and were sitting at the gate by 10:30. We were all SO excited!!!

The flight is only about an hour long, and it wasn't a full flight, so it was great. My dad was at the airport to pick us up and drove us the 2 hours home. We actually slept most of the car ride, haha, which was nice. Then, we were HOME!! :)

I was so excited to see my parents and the girls immediately fell in love with their house. We all love it SO MUCH here!! The girls are all sleeping in one room together, but have another room to store their stuff. We have 2.5 bathrooms, and we have all already commented on how nice it is to have another bathroom (please sell my house soon, Jesus!).

We arrived at my parents around 4, and about an hour later all the girls were bored, haha. In fact, they were so bored they ALL decided to take the scantron tests that PA Cyber requires them to take. They knew they had to do it and decided to get it out of the way so we can just enjoy the long weekend before school starts. I was proud of that decisions, that is a really good sign!!!! :)

Each girl found her own space to work, and they all worked SO well! The tests took almost 3 hours total (including a stop for dinner) and there was no complaining at all. That is a really good sign!!!





After the tests were finished we went to the grocery store to get food for the week. By the time we got home (around 10), we were all actually pretty tired. So, the girls got ready for bed and are in their room laughing and talking.

Linda and Cupcake's pajamas are just too cute!!

I will be up pretty late tonight because I want to get ALL of my AIM work for the week finished. We are going to the beach for the day tomorrow (hopefully before Hurricane Dan shows up) and I don't want to have anything on my mind while we are there. Hopefully I can do it!!

We only left Philly 12 hours ago, but we have already decided we want to stay here. Tomorrow we will drive about 30 minutes, hop on a ferry and then spend the day at the beach!!!! I can't wait!

Finishing Up Camp

Well, we have been home from camp for a few days but this is the first chance I have had to actually sit and take the time to write about it. Things are pretty busy right now!!

I don't remember a whole lot about Thursday, so this party will be short, haha. I spent the morning working and then the afternoon on the Island. Most of my Island time was spent watching several of our girls (including Bonita and Cupcake) on the high ropes course. That thing looks hard!! They all finished it and were rewarded with a fun trip down the zip line. :)


After their free time I went back to the Inn for dinner and then all the leaders came over to the Island for the final night of devotions. We were invited to lead our teens in it, and we were excited to hear all that they were learning.

We also had a mini celebration for one of the teens, J, who turned 18 that day!!! Since we do the mission trip every year on the same week, and this year camp fell on that week, we have spent the last 3 years celebrating his birthday with him!! We thought he would really enjoy a pink cake. :)
After enjoying some cake, we all got together to share what God has been doing in us all week. That went pretty well, although many of our teens were exhausted by this point (it was about 11 p.m.), so some just sat trying to stay awake. Still, it was nice to connect with them and hear a little about their week.

Friday was our last day at camp and for the most part we definitely ended on a high note. E was able to return to the Island on Thursday night, just in time for the all you can eat Ice Cream Party. So, she had all day Friday to enjoy as well, which was really nice.

Friday morning I, of course, had to work, but I was able to get a lot accomplished. After lunch A and I decided to rent jet skis and have some fun on the lake. I really love jet skis! They are actually pretty cheap at the Inn, and I decided to splurge a little. It was really fun!!

After jet skiing we met up with D and J and got on a boat to watch them go tubing. At the Inn they have the tubes that you sit in instead of lay on...so much easier to hold on!! It was hilarious watching J and D try to not flip over. J managed to stay on his tube, D did not, haha. They finally convinced me to go as well and it was pretty fun.

During this time our teens were on the Island competing on the Dodge ball competition. They made it to the finals!!! Unfortunately, they lost to another team (one that had several counselors on it), but they still had a lot of fun. All 18 of our teens either played in the game, or cheered the team on. It was so awesome to hear all about it when we went to pick them up! They came together as ONE team...all on their own!!!

After tubing we had about an hour and a half before we needed to get on the boat to go to the island to get the teens' luggage and start the process of heading home. I went and packed and was at the boat on time. There was some sort of mis-communication and the guys weren't there. They came on the next boat, though.

It took several hours to get everything taken care of...loading and unloading luggage, getting all the teens on boats off the island, getting the luggage loaded on the buses, getting the teens and leaders loaded on the buses. I have to admit I was easily frustrated through this process (one leader, not many people listening to her), but we pulled away from the camp at 7:04 (our goal was 7). We were on our way!

Most of the teens had a hard time saying goodbye, which was actually pretty cool. Most (although not all) really had an amazing week and are really hoping we will go back next year. I had some concerns about some things, so I wasn't sure at first. However, I talked with our more mature teens to get their thoughts and they all thought it was great spiritually as well as fun. So, hopefully we will have the chance to go back next year!!

The bus ride home was pretty miserable, and I am SO proud of how our teens handled it. We were on a school bus for 6 hours and the bus driver refused to stop, at all. Finally, one of the girls begged him because she had to go to the bathroom so bad, so he let us have 5 minutes to use the restroom. We were not allowed to get anything to eat or drink, and were on the road within 5 minutes of stopping. We were cramped, hot, tired...it wasn't fun. However, none of the teens complained (at least not out loud), which was amazing.

We also had several teens on our bus that were from Philly, but not our church. They didn't have a leader with them, which I will never do again. I had to take leadership over them when they weren't doing what they were supposed to (like trying to buy food at McDonalds at our 5 minute rest stop when we very clearly stated several times that they were not allowed to buy food). In fact, the only problems we had the entire trip home came from teens that we were not really in charge of.

The final challenge for us came when we actually arrived at the church. A massive downpour started as soon as we pulled in and we have to unload all of our luggage in the rain. We were trying to get everyone to go in the church and form an assembly line to get the luggage inside as quickly as possible, but several people were only concerned with getting their stuff and getting home, which made the process much more complicated. The visiting teens ended up grabbing their bags and leaving before we were finished unloading and we ended up with several of our bags missing. We are hoping they took them by accident and we can get them back soon. We'll see!

Finally, around 2:30 a.m. we were all soaked from head to toe, but heading home. We had an amazing week, but were exhausted and ready to sleep in our own beds. Plus, the Cornerstone Block Party was that day, so we had to get some sleep before coming back to the church for that.

Only time will tell how lasting the impact of the camp really was. Everyone was still talking about it at church on Sunday. For some of our teens, it was life changing. It was a challenge that they struggled through, but overcame, proving to themselves that maybe they aren't as "hopeless" as they thought. For some, it was the realization that they have just been coasting along spiritually but they really want so much more. For others, it was all about the girls they could meet. And still for some, it was just too hot to really focus on anything. (And for one, the swim test will haunt them for a long time and unfortunately overshadow an otherwise good week). I guess that's about what I would expect from 18 very different people.

When we were loading up to head home I was very unsure what I thought of the whole week. Like I said, some things were amazing, and some things weren't. However, after talking with many of our teens about their experiences I definitely think this week was worth ALL the effort and I am praying that we will have the opportunity to go back. And, I am praying that we will see amazing fruit from this week in each teen's life, even the ones that only remember being hot and tired for 7 days. :)

Day 4: The Challenge!

I again don't have any pictures for you, sorry about that! I forgot to get the camera today, I'll try and remember tomorrow! Here is an overview of the day though!

I did not sleep well AT ALL last night. E snores, haha, and I don't sleep well with that. Plus for some reason it was really hot in our room, so if I wasn't awakened by the snoring, then I was awakened by the heat. I've been so tired all day!!

After breakfast I went to the front desk to see if there was another room available so that E and I wouldn't have to share one. She is still pretty sick and is actually quarantined, which means that I have to wear a mask when I'm around her. That's kind of a pain when sleeping. Thankfully, the Inn had rooms available so they allowed me to move across the hall. I can still check in on E as often as I need to, but I also have my own space to go to...and a quiet bed to sleep in!!

After getting myself settled into my new room I worked for several hours on AIM stuff. When I just couldn't take any more of the computer, I went over to the Island to hang out with the teens. Cupcake and I signed up for tubing (riding behind a boat on tubes while the driver tries to make us flip off) and we had SO MUCH FUN!! I fell off 3 times, haha, but even that part was fun. My arms were SO sore after, but it was totally worth it!

After tubing I went and watched the basketball tournament that many of our guys were participating in. I arrived just in time to see our team win their first game 17-0. Unfortunately, they lost the 2nd game and were eliminated from the tournament. They were okay with it, the team that they lost to ended up winning the entire tournament. And, they were a team of all 19 year olds that have been at the camp all summer and apparently win every week. Not really fair, but the guys handled it really well, they just enjoyed playing. 2 of our players, J and N, were invited to participate in the All-Star game tomorrow night. N hurt his ankle and can't play, but J will be playing, so we are all going to cheer him on!

Most of the teens are getting pretty worn out at this point, so a lot of them spend their free time resting. I can't blame them, they do a lot every day!! Bonita continued to try taking the swim test, and unfortunately has not passed it yet. She is so frustrated!! I am learning a lot about perseverance from her, and she doesn't even know it.

After the basketball tournament was over I took Linda back to the Inn with me. She had a placement test to take on line for her math class, and it needed to be completed today. She wasn't too happy about having to take a math test in the middle of camp, but she still did it. It took her about 2 hours to complete so then she just ate dinner with us at the Inn. That seemed to be a good reward for her willingness to take the placement test without complaining. She even got ice cream for dessert!!

Linda and I went back over to the Island after dinner and met up with the rest of the camp at the campfire. The campfire was AMAZING! Several counselors shared their testimonies and we had some good worship underneath a sky full of stars. Then the speaker got up and really challenged us all to count the cost of following Christ. He encouraged us to follow God with our whole hearts and not be divided or seeking our own ways. It really spoke to a lot of us. At the end of his talk they gave us all the opportunity to come to the fire with a stick. The stick represented our own lives and desires and we were to throw it into the fire to symbolize giving all of ourselves to Christ, counting the cost and choosing Him. Many of our teens threw sticks in the fire and I am praying that it was sincere and just a first step toward incredible godliness!!

After the campfire I got on the boat and came back to the Inn. E's fever finally broke today, yay! So, I made sure she had everything she needs, gave her medicine and then went to my room. And now I am so tired!

J, D and A are spending a lot of time at the Inn and participating in the activities here, and seem to be having a really great time. I am really enjoying seeing how God is taking care of each of us in such awesome ways. I am thoroughly enjoying my time with the teens and the guys are enjoying some R and R as well as great times with the teens. This has just been a good week for all of us.

Sorry this is another short update. It seems that the days are getting longer and my sleep times are getting shorter! So, I am off to bed for now!

**Oh, one more thing! Tonight my friend E asked me to be in her wedding!!!! I'm SO SO excited!! She is marrying J and I am so excited for both of them. I have known J longer, but I feel like God has brought be an amazing friend in E. I am so honored that they want me as a part of their wedding!! They are both awesome individuals and an amazing couple, I can't wait to see what God has in store for their marriage!!!!

Day 3: Illness

I don't have any pictures from today because I was all over the place and left the camera with one of the teens and I haven't gotten it back yet. Today was crazy!

I started the morning like usual, getting some AIM work finished so I could go over to the Island in the afternoon. Then, around 10 a.m. I got a phone call from the infirmary on the Island; another one of our teens was sick. Actually, it wasn't a teen that we brought, she came with another church. However, that church didn't have a leader around so thankfully they were able to call me. If they couldn't call me, her mom would have had to drive 7 hours to come pick her up!!

We are pretty sure this girl, E, has the flu. She was running a fever of 102 last night, and it was up to 103 today. The rule at the camp is that she has to go 24 hours without a fever (and without medicine to reduce the fever) before she can return. In fact, she has to wear a mask so she won't get anyone else sick!

It was kind of crazy when I first got the call. We had to wait for E's mom to call and give permission for me to take her out of the camp. Then, the infirmary called in a prescription for Tamiflu that I had to go pick up. However, it wasn't ready when I got there (thankfully its within walking distance!), so I left there to get on the boat to go pick E up from the Island. It was almost 1 by the time we got back and I got her settled into my room. I then went back to the pharmacy, picked up her prescription, got some food for her and then went back to the Inn. Thankfully, she didn't have a fever at this point and was feeling pretty good.

After giving her the medicine, I left to go back to the Island to hang out while she got some rest. PLEASE pray for her mom!!!! E's sister is Cupcake, who was sick when we first got here. I also found out that their mom spent all last night in the emergency room with her other daughter who has appendicitis. Needless to say, their mom is a bit overwhelmed!!

I spent most of the afternoon on the Island hanging out with Cupcake, Linda and Bonita. Poor Bonita STILL hasn't passed the swim test, although she has tried at least 15 times. She is SO discouraged, but keeps trying. I am SO SO proud of her perseverance, but that won't get her on the blob. I'm praying that she will pass it soon!!

I came back to the Inn around 4 to check on E and she still seemed to be feeling alright. I didn't want to give her Tylenol unless she actually had a fever so we could start counting the 24 hours as soon as possible. (Since she is contagious she isn't even allowed out of the room! And, there are no TVs in the room, so she is getting BORED!). I went to dinner and then was able to bring her a plate as well. She's at least eating better on this side of the lake! :)

Unfortunately, after dinner her fever came back and I had to give her some Tylenol. That means that she will be with me all day tomorrow and at least through tomorrow night. Hopefully this will pass soon!!

During this time, all of our guy teens along with D and A played paintball, and the report I got was that it was amazing! They were all able to be on the same team and apparently dominated everyone else. They really came together and could NOT stop talking about how much fun it was. I am SO excited that they worked together so well and had so much fun!!

After dinner and medicine, I left again to go back to the Island while E slept. Tonight was really great on the Island!! The speaker was actually really good and the drama was amazing too. Tonight the talk was on purity and they did a good job of really relating it to the teens...at least for the most part. I really don't know what the teens thought, I have been feeling so much lately that everything I say just goes in one ear and out the other. I am just praying and trusting that God's word is falling on good soil!

During the talk, Cupcake started feeling sick again and she went to the infirmary and they discovered that she too had a fever. They really think hers was from the sun, though, so they let her stay on the Island as long as she drinks a lot of fluids. She has to go back first thing in the morning to get her temperature taken again. If she still has a fever, I guess she will be joining me and E. I hope that doesn't happen!!

After the worship/talk time the camp had a beach party that seemed pretty fun. I didn't stay long, but it looked like everyone was having fun. I said goodnight to everyone and then went back to the Inn to check on E. Thankfully, her fever is gone and hasn't returned. I gave her some more Tylenol just in case and she is now sleeping soundly (and loudly, haha).

I know plenty of pictures were taken today, so I will try and post them tomorrow.

Oh, and someone came by to see my house today! Ashley got to talk with her for a little while and it turns out she is a Christian! I have no idea what she thought of the house, but I would love to have a believer living there, so I'm praying that she really wants it!!! I'll keep you updated.

For now, I must sleep. I am really praying that NO ONE will get sick tomorrow!!

(Please pray that I don't get sick! E is supposedly very contagious and I have been around her A LOT. She has been wearing a mask most of the time, but I don't have the heart to make her wear it while she sleeps. I'm going to wear one tonight, but its still no guarantee (especially since the germs will just be hanging out in our room). I would really rather NOT get sick!)