This is the third year in a row the boys and I have packed up and headed south to a little place called God's Mountain Camp over spring break week. Our church takes a group there every spring break and I have found a good nitch working in the kitchen to feed their hungry tummy's during the week while they serve! One of the things Dave and I did a lot of before we had kids was go on mission trips. I love this season, but I have missed being able to go and serve in such a way that a mission trip allows you to. I really want my kids to have experiences on such trips and serving opportunities and I am SO blessed this trip has worked out the last few years. I love to feed people well and take that burden off the main leaders on the trip, I love to have my kids with me, I love cooking, and I love going on mission trips! This has been perfect for us! This year we packed up and left on Jaxon's 7th birthday and drove with my awesome cooking partner this year, Marla, and stayed for the week. God's Mountain is a great place serving at risk kids and their community through their camp and different outreach they do. You've got to have a lot of flexibility going here and be ready for lots of changes :) It's good for my heart and my kids LOVE it here. I hope to keep this tradition alive as the years come... we've made new friends, found peace here, and grown in our own relationships. It's always a good trip each year!
Jaxon helping peel potatoes in the kitchen. The plastic "wall" separates where we were cooking from the new kitchen where future cooks will get to work their magic! Nothing like cooking in the middle of a construction site :)
Dining hall is front building, new kitchen is back edition. It is going to be SO nice!
We had lots of space to run and fly kites! Austin's first flight...
They have chickens and if you know my middle son, you know he loves animals. Every morning he awoke with "can we go see the chickens"? Here he is chasing them in the trees. There is one peeking right behind him!
Rule #1 when going on mission trip with your kids: take your amazing baby-sitter!!!! Natalie was what helped me juggle a busy week of cooking 3 meals a day for over 60 people! She was available to hang out with Austin when I had to be in the kitchen. Austin LOVES his buddy, Natalie and we are so, so, so thankful for her!!! If I ever had a daughter I would want 10 of these!
Collecting eggs with little friend, Wil. It was a different year with so many little one's tagging along... Austin loved making new friends and having so many to play with during the day :)
And Jaxon had plenty of friends too! These girls come every year from Minnesota and they have such a blast together.
Puzzles during a chilly morning in our "apartment". Marla in the back untangling kites :) I still owe her an ice cram for some how accomplishing that!
Something else new this year... our living space was surrounded by dirt, literally, and big huge trucks! They are moving mountains at camp and the truck and tractor activity was enough to prove it! Jaxon is getting a ride here!
Star searching... one of the roof tops is very easy to access and the night we lost electricity we found our way to the top to do some star gazing. It is a beautiful view from here!
And totally wiped out by the end of the day... they didn't even make it to their own bed! Austin liked sneaking into Marla's bed and Jaxon usually crashed anywhere. We all managed to get sick with really bad colds/coughs and each night we doped up on cold meds and fell asleep in 2 minutes. What's a mission trip without getting sick? :)
Jaxon doing a little dancing... he was a riot to watch with all the teenagers!
Sigh.... what a great week we had despite getting sick and bringing it home :) The boys were a great age to take this year and I can't be more proud of them for how well they did!!! They were so well behaved and so fun and so funny and so great to have along. I couldn't have asked for a better week with my boys! Kind of sad to take a year off with the new babe coming, but we may have to sneak down for a visit at least!! I can't thank the people that helped make the week go so well enough and feel very blessed to be part of such a great church family!! Spring Break 2011 is in the books!
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