Camp Barnabas 2014: Ladies Man

Every night at Camp Barnabas, there is a party or a dance...and each night has a theme. The campers are encouraged to bring props and costumes and dress up for each night. Joshua never does. He doesn't see the need when his jeans and v-neck, or shorts and v-neck, are just fiiiiiiinnnnnneee for every.single.day of his life.

Joshua's girlfriend, Jenni, didn't get to go to camp this year, and he was pretty sad about it. BUT, he had a few FRIENDS from home who were at camp with him last week: Julia, Stephanie, Kelly (Jenni's arch-nemesis)...and Nathan, who was actually in the same cabin with Joshua.

And Joshua had some FRIENDS from previous years who were in other cabins. One of them was Matt P., who runs up on the stage the SECOND the "amen" is said in the prayer, and proceeds to do the pledge of allegiance and sing "How Great Thou Art." Three times a day.

I think it goes without saying that Joshua was frustrated with Matt P., because he said, "I love my country and all...but I'm ready to EAT."

Well, Matt P., has a girlfriend named "Katherine," and on the 2nd day of Camp, Katherine asked Joshua to be her date to the dance that night. Since Jenni wasn't there, Joshua agreed to go with Katherine...even tho she was Matt P's girlfriend. Do you SEE what I'm dealing with here? Joshua said, "I knew she was just using me to make Matt P jealous." And yes, I did try to have the talk about how if you realize it, then it's probably not the right thing to do, but...well...look around  your home. If you have a random board hanging around in your garage or wherever, use it to bang yourself in the head several times, and you will get about the same result as trying to talk logic to Joshua.

A headache.

At least Joshua didn't take any late-night hikes this year!

Anyway, on the same day, Julia-from-home asked Joshua to be HER date to the dance that night, and Joshua said, "okay." And then thought he was quite the stud because he had TWO dates to the SAME dance on the SAME night.

This can't go well.

What was interesting about Julia and the dance is that when Joshua saw her on the 2nd day, she was in a wheelchair. And, not to make fun of anyone who actually needs a wheelchair, or who actually may have gotten hurt at camp...or anywhere else...but I chuckled when he told us about Julia. Because, I remembered that last year, on Day 2...Jenni "hurt" her knee and they put her in a wheelchair and her CIA rolled her all over the camp while everyone else had to walk..and...just sayin'. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that these FRIENDS ARE SMART! And hey...not judging. I don't know that I'm above faking an injury to get special treatment when it's hot. Or when you want an extra brownie. Or if you want to get out of going on the hike through the woods in the middle of the day.

I'M KIDDING.

I would never do that.

I'm not saying Julia was faking...but she was busting the moves on the dance floor that night. Maybe it was all the rest she got by sitting around all day.

When I mentioned this possibility to Joshua, he said his famous quote: "I'm not talking about that right now."

We listened to him tell how Julia "hogged" him the whole night, so he couldn't really dance with anyone else. And then later, we listened to him tell Jenni, when he called her on the phone, that he "had her on his mind all week."

Even when he was dancing the night away with two girls.

Things like this help to remind me not to react to all of Joshua's experiences like I would if it was it was me. Because him telling Jenni, "I might possibly love you," well, that would be heartbreaking to hear from my husband. But Jenni just says, "okay. Thank you." And when Joshua signs his letters to her, "from your acquaintance, Joshua," and they've been dating for 10 years...well, not a good sign, am I right? And the latest thing he does is that he intentionally misspells her name. Instead of typing "Jenni," he will type, "Jenny." What in the world? He said that sometimes he likes to do things to aggravate her.

Make a card for THAT, Hallmark.

Fortunately, Jenni has a short attention span, and doesn't really take any of it to heart. Most of the time she will say, "thank you, Joshua. I love you."

He did call her on our way home yesterday, and said that the "ONLY THING he wanted to do was to hold her in his arms."

Awwww...

And he told her that he loved her.

But that was last night, and today is a new day...so who knows?

"...I have put my hope in Your word." Psalm 119:114

Camp Barnabas 2014

I am tired.

TRIED, even.

Holly and I left town at 5:30 THIS MORNING, and headed up to Missouri to pick up Joshua. He had been at Camp Barnabas all week. Jim and I took him the morning after Logan's wedding, and today is the day we were picking him up!

Joshua has been going to this camp for 11 years! I've written about it before, here, here, here, here, and here.

I had been watching a line of severe weather yesterday. It looked like it was going to pass right over Camp. You cannot imagine the intense worry and fear over storms until you've been around a group of FRIENDS like the ones who attend Camp Barnabas. Just the ones who go to Therapeutic Recreation with Joshua get beside themselves when there's a storm.

I got up at 4 a.m. because I couldn't sleep. The first thing I did was check the weather. Didn't look good. I packed rain gear and a large towel and a blanket...and a life-jacket. The town where Camp Barnabas is located was under a flood warning. I didn't know if that meant the roads to get there were impassable or if it was just that the lakes and rivers were high. The life-jacket was for Joshua...just in case we got into a situation. I meant to grab a bike helmet for him to wear, just in case, but I forgot.

I'm weird, I know.

About an hour into the drive, Holly said, "I keep looking for the dark storm clouds, but I just don't see any." It was a beautiful day. Beautiful sky...beautiful sunrise.

We arrived at Camp and found Joshua's cabin. All of the FRIENDS in his cabin were waiting on their parents outside. He broke into a HUGE grin when he saw Holly and I walk up. He didn't want to stay for the little assembly they have before everyone leaves. He said that he was just ready to be HOME. And, honestly, that beautiful sky we were talking about a few minutes ago? Well, it wasn't looking so beautiful anymore...so we bought some t-shirts and piled in the car and headed home. After one wrong turn, we were headed in the right direction.

The weather was awful. Seriously, it is amazing how drastically things can change in an hour. I was wanting to stop for gas and to get the kids a quick lunch...and then try to beat the storm. It just seemed like the more I hurried, the more behind I got. Took the wrong exit and had to get back on the Interstate again. Finally got the right exit...got lunch...got gas...got on the road.

The weather was so scary. We saw a couple of wrecks and the traffic was backed up and going slowly for MILES. Then, just when I thought I could make some time, this 18 wheeler wouldn't get out of the fast lane. And it seemed like there was always a car in the right lane that made it impossible for me to go around him. This went on forever. Seriously. MILES AND MILES. I started feeling like maybe I shouldn't pass this truck. Like, maybe God was protecting us.

We ran into terrible weather and the wind was so strong. I had heard something on the radio about straight-line winds and possible tornadoes. I wondered what straight-line winds looked like because I could barely keep my car on the road.

As God would have it, for many miles I followed behind that big truck...and not only that, but God placed another 18 wheeler on my right side...in the slow-lane. I was trapped.

Or, WAS I?

About an hour from home, the truck in front of me pulled over to the right lane, and we finally drove out of the scary stuff.

Jim called and talked to Holly about what all was going on. Holly told me, "I've been thinking...if we hadn't gotten held up...taking the wrong turn, in the wreck traffic, behind that truck...we might've been in the middle of the storms" that toppled trees and cars and tore the roofs off of buildings in towns just ahead of us on the road.

So thankful for God's protection every day...but it was truly evident on our trip today.

Joshua has a couple of stories from Camp this year, and I will try to post them at a later date because I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes open tonight.

"He will cover you with His feathers..." Psalm 91:4

Cuttin' It Close...

I'm sure the random people who happen upon this blog might be reeeeeeeeal tired of all the wedding posts. I'd like to say, "I'm sorry," but...MY BABY GOT MARRIED...and I just have to record all the sights and sounds and ALL THE FEELINGS in case anyone in our family ever wants to read about it. I think this is the last one...maybe.

The other day we went to Little Rock to do some last minute wedding shopping...me, Joshua, Holly and Logan.

We drove by this hotel, and I said, "Logan, this is where you are staying on your wedding night. Look around. This area is familiar to you, so even if it's dark, you can find your way." I pointed out all the restaurants near-by and talked about other places they could go if they needed anything.

Holly said, "hey...isn't that the hotel where..."

I held up my hand and stopped her right there. I knew where she was going.

We have some sweet friends who have 4 children. Three girls and a young son. When one of the daughters reaches a certain age (I don't know the age), the Mom will take her and they will spend the weekend in LR, shopping, eating out and talking. They have some other special things planned for the weekend, but mainly it is the weekend when they have the "sex talk." The Mom talks to them about purity and God's plan for her daughter's life, and about guarding her heart and body and all of that. And they stay in this particular hotel.

Logan didn't know the story, so Holly was only too happy to fill him in.

WITH EMBELLISHMENT AND ADDED DRAMATIC EFFECT.

Holly said, "hey, Logan...are you going to have the "sex talk" with Morgan on Saturday night?"

Logan laughed and said, "as a matter of fact I am!"

And I'm driving...trying not to veer off the road.

Holly said, "well, I guess by your wedding night, it will kind-of be too late."

And Logan replied, "no...it won't be too late, but it will be cutting it close!"

"...rejoice in the wife of your youth." Proverbs 5:18

Leavin' On a Jet Plane (with $20 in his pocket)!

When Logan and Morgan were trying to decide where to go on their honeymoon, they had a lot of ideas. I, of course, wanted them to stay in the US...just because neither one of them have had a ton of experience flying. And I thought that IF there was a problem and IF we had to get to them, how much easier it would be if they were in Florida. Or Colorado. Or even Hawaii.

They were so excited when they told us they found this great deal on GROUPON.

To the Dominican Republic.

I told Jim and that's how Jim died.

But, Logan paid for it himself and it was already a done deal, and they were beside themselves with excitement.

Because of this "great deal," they had to fly out of Nashville...which is about a 6 hour drive from Little Rock. And, because of this "great deal," their flight out of Nashville would be leaving at the crack of dark-thirty...which is great for young couples on their honeymoons. Except not.

Last week, I started asking Logan about this trip...was it "all-inclusive?" He said, "yes, ma'am!" So I asked him how much money he was planning to take. He looked at me and said, SLOWLY, "it's all inclusive...we don't need to bring any money."

Bless it.

My baby is going to a foreign country with no money.

All of a sudden he says, "OH YEAH! Morgan and I each need to bring $10. We have to get a special card to get into the country, and we each have to have a $10 bill."

My baby is going to a foreign country with twenty bucks.

I said, "Logan, I really think you need to bring some money." He was all, like, "why?" And I proceeded to list everything from trinkets...to a flight home...to an emergency. He just looked at me. I asked, "Logan, can you access your debit card while you're over there?" He shrugged and said, "I think." I asked, "okay...how much money is in your checking account."

"$109.00."

And that's how Jim died again.

My baby is going to a foreign country with twenty bucks and $109 in his checking account.

I again listed reasons he might need more money, so he agreed to transfer some from his savings. How much did he transfer, you ask? $300.

My baby is going to a foreign country with twenty bucks and $409 in his checking account.

Bless it.

We did help with their honeymoon and gave Logan some money and a Visa card...but everyone at the wedding who had heard this story...was giving him money right and left.

We know they made it to the DR safely. Probably won't hear from them all week. I know that God is there with them, just as He is here with me. I just want them home safe and sound...with great memories to treasure.

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place..." Proverbs 15:3

First Dance and the Wedding Ring

After the wedding, we drove over to the reception, and it was beautiful. Seriously gorgeous. I felt happy. Relieved. Thankful.

Seeing all the ones who came to witness Logan and Morgan's Two-Become-One day was almost more than I could take. I looked around the room, and was overwhelmed by the graciousness of God.

We had friends there from college; a guy who was in OUR wedding; friends from when we lived in Little Rock...friends from when we lived in Searcy...friends from Bryant. Our family came from Texas and Oklahoma and Tennessee. All of them love us and love Logan.

Jim and I set out to try and speak to as many people as we could at the reception. The next thing I knew, Logan was standing beside me...reaching for my hand.

He had just danced with Morgan, and now he wanted to dance with me, while Morgan danced with her dad.

We had not talked about doing this. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS!

And even tho I was pretty much a hot mess the entire time, it seemed like everyone wanted to take pictures of us.

And even tho I was so, so, so happy for Logan and Morgan, the dance about put me over the edge. Even the band members had their "bless her HEART" faces on, as they watched me while they sang.

I never wanted it to be about me, and yet...here I was...being the biggest cry-baby ever as I pressed my face into Logan's shoulder.

I looked down at Logan's hand in mine. I looked at the gold wedding band on his finger. It was Jim's. He wore it for the first 30 years of our marriage...getting it stretched out and re-sized periodically as his fingers changed. A few years ago, his Mom asked him if he might want to wear his Dad's ring. It was just sitting in the jewelry box. Jim's Dad's fingers have gotten huge over the years, and he just didn't see the need to wear his ring. He and Jim's mom are pretty much together all the time, and when people think of him...they think of her. They are like a "set."

Jim tried on his Dad's ring and it fit perfectly, and he's been wearing it ever since.

So, Logan mentioned that he might want to wear Jim's old wedding band. He tried it on and it fit perfectly.

As we danced, I looked at the ring. I remember the day I bought it. I remember where I bought it. It was not an expensive ring, even at the time...just a simple gold band. No engraving. No detail. No diamonds. Just what a college girl could afford.

We hadn't thought to have it polished for Logan before the wedding. It looked a little worse for wear. I could faintly see a few scratches on it. I thought...it's a lot like our lives...a little battered, a little scratched up...but it's still gold. It's still worth something to us.

I love that ring. I love the man I gave that ring to...34 years ago. And I love the son who is wearing it now.

"...they are no longer two but one..." Matthew 19:6