The calm before the storm...of campers, that is.

Ahh...Sunday. I love the weekends. The one thing that's sucked since I got here is that I haven't been able to go to church. Without having a car, I pretty much have to catch rides or walk places. That doesn't really bother me, it just makes me feel like an inconvenience to people. I haven't been reading the Word as much as I would've like these past few days, but the cool thing about God is that you can always start over and CHOOSE to start your day off with him. I always get caught in the trap of not having enough time, when, in all actuality, I don't make the time. Sure, I'm pretty busy here between my kids and class and dozens of other random duties I'm called upon to do daily, but there's always time. The plans to go to church today didn't get solidified yesterday, so instead I listened to my pastor from Mississippi's online sermon. I've downloaded the podcasts to his "Sex Talk" series, and let me tell you, they're AWESOME. I'd highly recommend them. You can go to pinelake.org and listen to them there or go to the iTunes store, look up Pinelake Church and all of the latest sermons are there. (There's my shameless plug for the day!) I can't even tell you how convicting they are...basically I'm more assured than ever that to pursue Christ above all else is the key to lasting happiness and fulfillment. Like my pastor said, instead of searching for "Mr. Right", I want to BE Mr. (Mrs., really) Right! Be the woman who's spirit is so lost in Christ that nothing else matters. As I'm realizing in this secular world, this is so important. I don't really have people coming along side me here encouraging me in my walk with Christ. It's a full on spiritual battle/ministry field, and I'm working on sharing who I am and the love I have with people I encounter. I've already touched on this a little in my last entry so I won't get back on my soap box....

Despite not being able to go to church, this day has been wonderful. Another sunny day greeted me this morning and John fixed pancakes for breakfast-have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE pancakes and breakfast food in general? Well, if I haven't, I just really love it. Especially with mini blueberries, a little bit of yogurt and walnuts on top. Mmmmm...

I really wanted to finish this while I was in town this afternoon at my favorite bookstore/coffee shop called Off the Beaten Path because it was just the perfect location to be blogging (AND it started raining!) but sadly my ride was leaving just as I was getting into the blog. Basically here's how the past few days have gone:

-All of my babies left their mama with an empty nest Saturday morning. I'll say that I definitely had a few tears in my eyes as my last 2 girls left and I was faced with an empty cabin. It's AMAZING how much life these girls poured into our rustic little place-someone was always laughing, playing the piano, painting nails, reading a book...often all of those things were going on at once. I'd just go into my room and smile, only to be dragged out of my moment of a solitude a second later by several cries of "DANIELLLLE!!!" Just as this next group of girls probably won't be quieted by my lullaby, they also probably won't line up to get their hair french braided. Since I don't have a sister, I missed out on that opportunity growing up but made up for that completely by doing countless french braids during these past two weeks. Oh, and I got a manicure! Hot pink nails with white french tips...ohhh yeah. (You know you're jealous!)

-After the girls left, a few other counselors and I went into town to do laundry. This time it'd only been probably a week and a half, maybe 2, but I still had a lot to wash. That's where I wrote my last blog. Yay for laundry mats with Wi-fi but boo because they charge so much! After that I went back to the cabin and continued to read "My Sister's Keeper." The movie tore at my soul, and this book does the same. SHEESH.

-Today was the perfect ending to a lovely weekend. Despite me being a heathen this morning and not going to church, I did get the chance to go on a great run. I remembered seeing a sign for a Bible Church really close to camp, so I ran the opposite way of town and sure enough, there was the sign! I know the service times now so I'll definitely be there next week. I turned down a little country road and just had to smile at the beauty I encountered as I ran...gorgeous log homes, tall Aspen trees, random rock formations, and MOUNTAINS! I felt like I was getting closer and closer to the mountains in the distance when really, I probably wasn't at all. It's nice to feel small and insignificant sometimes, and at the same time still feel worthy to be able to be in the presence of such an amazing creation. On my way back down the road I saw this slanted rock, probably only 6 feet high and after my recent climbing endeavors I decided to climb it. It wasn't too much of a feat, but I still made it to the top a few times going a few different ways. It was nice to just sit up there and observe. A few cars drove by and at first I felt a little odd to be sitting on this small rock...but then again, this is climbing country so I'm sure people are used to seeing random people on rocks.

-To finish off this fine day, I went to the bookstore and just sat and rested. I'm not fully recovered from these past 2 weeks and any chance I can sit still and just BE is a blessing. I Skyped with my family for about an hour, read an amazing Edward Monkton book and crocheted. I can't tell you how much I love this bookstore. The smell of the books and smell of brewing coffee and all of the sounds that go along with such a business are some of my favorite in the world. It was nice to not have plans...to do what I wanted and not have to keep track of anyone. I'm hoping I can find a few moments like that in these last few weeks of camp...

I look back on today and can honestly say that I loved it. I was met with another beautiful, sunny morning and spent the day in peace, but also feeling a sense of accomplishment, thanks to the running. At this point, our newly cleaned cabin is probably more ready for the girls than I am. I don't even know what to expect with this next bunch except probably a good dose of attitude and sass. Ay yi yi...Lord Jesus, help me to be loving and connect with these girls in some way. That's just my prayer for these next few days, which are probably going to be rough and awkward and but hopefully uneventful...aka no one falling out of bunks or puking or getting homesick. That would be nice. Oh, and after dinner tonight I finished "My Sister's Keeper" and let me just tell you, I shed a few tears. It was beautiful and horrible all at the same time. I'm about ready to start "Chocolat" and I hear it's good. I've never seen the movie but I'll probably end up watching it someday, when I return to the "real" world.

For now, I'm going to rest some more. And hopefully Skype. Do you ever feel like you absolutely love the place you're in, but you'd like to transfer a few key people to that place in order to make it just perfect? I'm feeling that right now for sure. I'm not necessarily homesick, just people sick a little. Thank goodness for Skype and old fashioned letter writing. :)

COLORADO.

After much waiting and anticipation, I finally made it to Steamboat Springs! The flight from Columbus to Denver was a little more turbulent than I expected and, as always, that freaks me out. Surprisingly the flight over the mountains (from Denver to Hayden, the airport 30 minutes away from camp) was LESS turbulent. I was thankful for that...we JUST missed the storms! It was still pretty rainy though and cold. This adopted Southerner no longer has the ability to stand 50 degree or below temps for long periods of time. Very sad fact, but true.

I've only been here since Sunday, but I feel like it's been much longer than that...maybe a month? Or two? I've adjusted pretty well to the altitude without the aid of any drugs, just tons and tons of water...which makes me pee quite a lot. But I feel super healthy and cleansed all the time, so that's a wonderful benefit. The mud and rain that was present the first 2 days of camp has now pretty much dried up and I'm staring at slightly cloudy (but sunny skies)...it's probably in the lower 70s. Much better than hailing, rainy 50s! The nights are still pretty cold. One large reason would be because the screen on my door leading to the outside doesn't have a glass in front of it so I had to "ghetto rig" it, as I like to say. Basically that consists of a thin cloth tacked in front of the screen, most of my hanging clothes, and then a towel strung over that. I haven't noticed much help from that...I'm sleeping in a sweatshirt, multiple shirts and pairs of socks, and sweatpants. Sadly my parents are in North Carolina right now and can't send me any of my warm clothes from home. Only a few more weeks and then I won't have to wear my same old Belhaven College sweatshirt all the time!

Like I said, so much has happened in these past few days and it's really hard to wrap my mind around it all. I've met tons of new people and continue to meet new ones daily. The Technical Director here is from Ohio-I knew I had to meet him when I saw he was wearing a Buckeyes sweatshirt! I've also had the immense pleasure of meeting my fellow counselors...we come from ALL over and all walks of life and backgrounds and such. It's eye opening, beautiful, difficult (at times) and crazy, all at the same time! I was a little lonely a few nights ago but now we're all meshing and blending more, and I can honestly say I love each one of them. We laugh and laugh and laugh until we're practically crying and peeing our pants. Belly laughter is my favorite! We have inside jokes all over the place and I bought a pair of $5 "State Trooper" aviators...I call them my authority glasses. Basically I look REALLY authoritative and official in them...those kids won't know what's coming to them!

We've done a few different counselor activities each night, which are totally necessary after all of the meetings we have all day. We got to go to the hot springs the other night, which was super awesome! It's basically natural hot baths in the earth...kinda like an earthen hot tub. We went to a place where clothing is optional after dark but we left before then. Someday when I'm old, I WILL return there and partake of that! Last night we went into Steamboat and walked around and got coffee. I LOVE developed downtowns, and that is certainly one of them. It's adorable, and there are a lot of fun shops. We're going to be taking the kids there once a week, so it was good to be familiar with the town. I don't know how that's going to work exactly, but they've been doing it for years so I'm sure it'll all flow once we get the hang of everything.

Another interesting experience I've had is learning how to drive a 15 passenger van! It's not as scary as I initially thought and it makes me feel like I own the road, which I love. Combine that with my Statie sunglasses and I'm basically unstoppable!

(Sooo I started this many days ago but I haven't been able to get on the internet lately...so now I'm going to finish it!)

I also rode a horse the other day for the first time in a long while and I forgot how relaxing that is. Sometimes it's just nice to sit on a horse and not really have to do anything, except move the reins occasionally. Plus it's a really beautiful way to observe nature and breathe in the fresh air. I can't get OVER how clean the air is here. It's unbelievable.

The 11th, 12th, and college age kids arrived the other day so that's been interesting and fun. Except at the same time, I'm feel a bit useless because the counselors for the older kids are taking care of their kids and I'm just doing random office work and such. Or crocheting...quite a lot. I'm on my third hat so far and it's REALLY fun. I'm trying new patterns and making them for people here. Inspiration is just FLOWING!

I got placed in Jazz I and Tap I and those classes start tomorrow...yippee! I've taken tap before but never Jazz-it's going to be great.

This post has taken me far too long to write, so I think I'm just going to end this. Basically I love life, nature, the out of doors, and people. And Jesus. I think this whole experience is going to bring me closer to him. I'm happy to be alive!