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If you can get my madgab before you read the post, good job. Well last week we added a new twist to a long-standing family tradition. We joined our church for the annual trek to Hartstone, but instead of kicking back and savoring the most relaxing week of the entire year, Scott & I followed our girls lead and decided to volunteer for the "week". (It wasn't really a week this year -- rather a long weekend). Though he lobbied to let the rest of the family experience a working "vacation" while he relaxed as a guest, in the end Johnny also asked to volunteer making it an entire family affair.
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It is delightful to see what can happen when a beautiful piece of God's creation is under the care of people with vision and a willingness to work. Stan and Valerie Walker have been such a blessing at Hartstone. It is evident as you walk the camp, especially if you've been coming a few years and have a basis for comparison, how much they have done to make Hartstone a real charmer. In staff devotions each morning, we also got a less-obvious glimpse into the miracles God has provided for Hartstone and the way he has continued to build Stan & Valerie's faith as they trust Him. All that to say, it was very satisfying serving alongside capable people with a vision for what God can do.

A little background on the pictures I included: 1) Scott & I slept in the trailer but all of the kids stayed in staff housing. The first picture is of the three girls, Catie, Michelle & their friend Kayla, carrying their stuff to their cabin. I got such a kick out of all the pillows Michelle brought along -- the purple one is a full body pillow -- the picture does not do it justice but as you can see from their facial expressions, I was not going to get a second chance to get a better shot!







2) When Johnny wasn't doing dishes or other tasks, his main Hartstone activity was playing games with Sam Boyd. (I'm not sure why Sam had his name tag on his forehead -- maybe when you're a member of a large family its helpful to keep things very obvious!) Johnny and Sam played chess, Stratego, Life, Monopoly, poker, spoons ... and sometimes Johnny even won.





3) All of us girls worked very hard in the kitchen. Here Catie & Kayla are diligently cutting strawberries for the pie that evening. Yummy!! BTW, we ate sooooooo well. I had to come home and begin a two week diet after all the good cooking I enjoyed, but it was worth it. And, one of the perks of volunteering was access to all the leftovers. That pie was enjoyed more than once, as well as the delicious carmelitas.


4) Scott's official volunteer position was evening host which meant he did it all -- except the cooking. He got his hands wet with dishes, dirty cleaning bathrooms, smoky building fires, and possibly a little greasy with all the fix-it jobs he took on. He is very handy and was able to be a big help -- boy did he go to bed tired each night!





5) I got a kick out of my sweet little great-niece, Bekah. She was so cute with her little baby doll and looked like she was going to make such a tender mommy in most of the pictures. In this one though, I think the baby was getting a little tiresome.
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It was a very satisfying, though not necessarily relaxing, visit to Hartstone. I'm really glad we did it and would not be surprised to do it someday again.
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One of the fun things that came out our time at Hartstone, was an opportunity to join the Kuhners and their fellowship group on a camping trip next month. More opportunities to spend time with family are always a good thing (at least usually) AND the added bonus is Sarah's sister, Megan, will also be camping with us. She and her sweetie, Taeya, will be flying out from Colorado for a visit so we will really enjoy some extra time with them. It will be our first time meeting Taeya so we are very excited!!
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The only draw back is that we can't bring our trailer and have to tent camp.
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We have tent camped many times throughout our lives and loved it, but for the last three years we have thoroughly enjoyed upgrading the experience in our trailer. If Kludge gets a chance to read this, he will probably take great satisfaction knowing we will be leaving behind our comfortable queen size bed, our freezer with the ice cream, our refrigerator with the classic Coke, and our air conditioning. (Apparently we gloated over the perks of trailer life quite a bit at last year's family camp!) Bottom line -- the company has to be pretty good to lure us away from our beloved trailer and into a tent. I guess it could make for another post: If am uh leek amp in nut ant...