Camp Buckner!

I think church camp is just about the best thing ever! I loved it when I first brought kids to Camp Dry Gulch WAY back in the day, and I loved it even more when I could bring my own kids and drop them off, and see them come home changed, but this year, I was honored to be the 3rd grade girls camp counselor at Camp Buckner!

Riley left for camp on Sunday and came home Wednesday afternoon, and he really didn't want to go. He thinks he is too old and he's gone every year, but I have my spies out and they all said he had a great time and was a big help, so I know he enjoyed it!

Regan and I left Wednesday morning and came home on Saturday afternoon. This is Regan's last year for Kid's Camp, she was a "Purple Peep" and I was with the "Pink Polkadots!" It was so much fun. We had night services with games and contests, and we learned all about the armor of God, what each item was, the sign language for it, what it meant, etc. Worship was awesome, and I just love seeing all those little 2nd through 5th graders jumping up and down with their hands in the air praising God!

We would get up in the morning, head to breakfast, then chapel (after a little game of Ga Ga Ball) and then we had activities like swimming, water slides, crafts, concessions and movie, the kids were worn out by the time it was light's out at 10:30! The camp is really nice and peaceful and the cabins were clean (and cold!) and it was a blast.

I have to say though, the absolute best part of camp for me was when a little girl in our cabin, 8 years old, tells me she heard God speak to her for the first time, we had 5 girls give their lives to Jesus for the first time. We had awesome prayer time, praying for parents who are Muslim to get saved, and questions about why parents have to get divorced, and why did Jesus have to die on the cross. 8 year olds! I was amazed at their faith, and some of the things that they are going through at only 8 years old and I know that these kids are gonna be great leaders for Jesus, really, they already are! I just stood in worship at nights and cried watching these girls with their hands up, tears running down their little faces as they praised Jesus. What a sight! I know some people don't understand why I would want to go to camp or work with kids but when you see that, how can you not want to be a part of that?

And then, the next day at church, we had a baptism day, and I got to watch one of my little Pink Polkadots get baptized! I took pictures and cried, again. Another life changed by something as seemingly inconsequential as church camp.

Camp Buckner

Elise Brielle Aldridge

Kenzie was scheduled to have a c-section on Monday, July 9th, so Regan and I met Grandpa Don and Cathy (Khaki) at the hospital for the birth. I got to go in with her again, so I had to "scrub in"! Good thing there's that big blue sheet separating me from all the blood! And her doctor was nice and funny, so it was a little weird sitting there making jokes while he was cutting her open. Eeeww. Anyway, Elise Brielle was born at 1:00 in the afternoon, and up until that morning, she didn't have a name! I am proud to say I got to have a little hand in naming her! As we were checking in, I saw the name Elise in a baby book and we were like, hmm, that's it! She's precious, and she was perfect!

Southwest Believer's Convention

David and I decided to attend the Southwest Believer's Convention this year, or as much of it as we could. We had talked about going for years but was never able to make it work but this year, we knew we had to be there. And it was awesome! We heard Jesse Duplantis (one of our personal favorites) Jerry Savelle, Kenneth Coupland, Keith Moore, Bill Winston, and Creflo Dollar. David bought the entire thing on USB and has been listening to it all again, it was that good!

Well, we brought the kids and kind of combined it into a mini-family vacation as well. It was in downtown Ft. Worth, so we got a nice hotel room with a pool so the kids got to swim and we took them on the 4th to the Ft. Worth Stockyards and watched the cattle drive, and let them get lost in the maze! That was fun, but it was so hot that day that Regan started getting a little overheated before she could find her way out of the maze.

We got to have our first (well, first for Regan and me) In and Out Burger! We liked it (but I'm partial to Austin's own P. Terry's). and we got to meet up with my dad and Cathy, and we had dinner with them one night with the kids, and went to Southlake to watch a fireworks display! It was fun, we walked around this little outdoor shopping center, with live bands and games for the kids, we watched the fireworks and listened to the music! Then the next night, we let the kids hang at the hotel and order Disney shows (unbeknown to us, $8 worth of Disney shows they could watch at home for free!) and we went to IHOP with Dad and Cathy and got to spend some time with them. It was a nice trip, and a welcome little mini-vacation!

Fort Worth