Do You Want the Good News First or the Bad News?

In our family, this is a frequent question.  And we just about always start with the bad news, so we can finish (and dwell on) the good news.  :0)

The bad news: While Andy drove from Old Forge to Boonville, the alternator belt (or something) broke, fell off, and everything electrical and vital for driving quit.  And his phone was dead. 

The good news: he was in the Pitts' driveway, and Brandon was home.  So he could plug in his phone to call me, and do Kingdom Creations work all afternoon as he intended.  And a mechanic friend from church should be able to make repairs tomorrow morning.   

The bad news: Half the (carpeted) floor in our downstairs bathroom is wet, and it turns out the leak is coming from that pipe that travels from the tank to the floor.  And there's no shut-off valve I've yet found.  The good news: I found the leak.  And our plumber friend from church should be able to come tomorrow morning to try to get it all fixed up. 

The bad news: The specialty smart-TV remote, which Lewis tossed into the dish water a few days ago, seems to have decided to give up the ghost for good.  So the TV is half-way to Netflix, and I'm unable to change the channel, the volume, or even turn it off.  The good news: It's stuck on PBS.  Of course, that currently means BBC World News America...pretty sure the boys won't be fans of this. 

The bad news: The chili in the crock pot didn't get plugged in for the first 3 hours it was "cooking."  And "high" for 3 plugged-in hours isn't enough to soften those beans at all. The good news: There's warm crusty bread, anyway!  

When it rains, it pours.  Except it's currently sunshiny.  Here's to a good evening, friends!

Camping Accounts

From July 18 to 22,  our family traveled to the Meacham Lake DEC Campground for our "first annual campout."  Each morning I spent time by the fire writing in my journal; here are the adventures I recorded.

July 19, 2014 

And we are camping.  The birds wake up in full force a little before 5am--but even by 6:00 now they have calmed down (except the crows), and the noises are mostly from chipmunks and other little ground creatures. 

I tried to get firewood this morning, but they keep the woodbox locked overnight, and I can't find any indication of what time it will be opened.  
Lincoln just said, "Mommy, I'm so aware that there's a spider who likes the hot, hot charcoal."  (There's a daddy-long-legs huddled up against a still-black brick of charcoal.)  And, "I love seeing Chippy so up close."  (We have a very fearless resident chipmunk who likes to come right up close for a better view of us--and his potential meals, I'm sure!) 

A charcoal fire isn't too bad; not quite as charming, or warm from a distance, but it certainly will cook our breakfast well. 

And speaking of good cooking: last night we ate like camping kings!  We marinated a London broil steak--just lager beer and montreal seasoning--and for once we didn't overcook it.  My word, that was the most delicious meat I've had in quite a time!  And jet-boil instant mashed potatoes, salad, s'mores.  Setting up camp yesterday went with only a few hiccups that needed time outs.  But our site has a wonderful little trail out the back of it, and the boys LOVED spending their time exploring it.  In one spot you can scoot down the bank pretty easily to a little mud "beach" of the creek, and there are clam shells all over it, and even a few clams still closed.  I found one footprint in the mud that looked like a raccoon or something similar, and one from probably a crow.   

And Lewis LOVED helping with the tent poles, both putting them together and then through the sleeves.  He was so delighted by it!   

The boys' "chore" while we camp will be dishes.  Andy supervised supper cleanup, so I don't know exactly how thoroughly the boys were.  But Andy said they did pretty well for this first time.  

July 20, 2014 

It's Sunday morning.  I slept so much better last night than the past few, even getting up a couple of times for a crying Lewis.  Thank you for that gift, Father!   

And this morning I get to sit here next to a roaring fire, and will have coffee soon thanks to my wonderful hubby.   

Yesterday we simply spent at the campground. They get kudos for showers and a sandy swim area.  Opposite for lifeguards.  And who should I meet in the bathhouse but Lauren Premo, Mike's wife, and to find that they camp here every year and are right across from that bathhouse this weekend! 

The squirrels or chipmunks gnawed several places around the edge of our Pantry rubbermaid tote while we were away at the showers, and so we know they don't waste any time around here and we must put all food and garbage in the van when we've finished eating.   

During nap time I first had a lovely read and a little nap in the hammock.  THANK YOU, Will, for sending that hammock!  And then, while everyone else slept, I left to go exploring.  And I followed to the end of the main campground road, and there found a little secret-feeling footpath that follows the edge of the lake.  It was full of magic: the tallest cedar trees I've ever seen; huge shore-line boulders wrapped around with intricate tree root-works; the sound of little waves; a mother wood duck? loon? swimming with her 6 chicks all lined up behind her.  That was a good explore.  

July 21, 2014 

We made it to church yesterday, Father!  Without remembering (from 8 years ago) what time [Lake Placid Baptist] church starts, we feared we were pretty late; turns out we arrived about 10 minutes early, with a perfect amount of time to settle in before the service.  I got to see Morgan and Charlie, Jeff, Cameron, Tree, Tom and his family--and meet Mark, Vivian and Bob, Dave, and Pastor Jim.  They didn't have any Sunday School [this week] for the boys to go to, which was rough...but they do have these great entertainment bags: canvas totes with crayons, coloring books, Bible story books, old copies of Clubhouse magazine.  I want to do that through the library for our church. 

Lunch at Tail O' The Pup, with their playground; riding the Adirondack Carousel, with their playground; ice cream stop at Donnelly's, with good conversation with the people in line while I waited.  All of this would have been more fun without the boys' temper tantrums, but anyway... 

While Andy and the boys napped I read and then napped in the hammock again.  I like this pattern.  I also like the part of the pattern where I leave to go exploring after the birds wake me up.  Yesterday I explored several of our neighbor campsites (because it's true: by Sunday afternoon the campground is substantially emptier, and by afternoon only one other site at the far end of our little back road was still occupied; late last evening, we gained just one more resident a few sites down.)  And so I compared other sites along our creek, and then followed the footpath in the other direction from the "narrow bridge."  That's another wonderful little trail, and as I explored I felt like Gene Stratton Porter, whose biography about her writing and nature-study life I read in the long introduction to her books on my Kindle.  She was wonderful, to the extent I'd like to be rather like her! 

Chili out of a can for supper, finally something Lincoln enjoyed all the way around.  A bike ride down to the beach playground at dusk.  Flow sticks (a delight and a curse).  Bedtime stories, kisses, and a toad hopping along the tarp at the base of the tent (yes, sounding much bigger in the dark than his little inch-long frame.  

July 22, 2014 

It's our last morning here, and I feel like soaking everything in: an extra hot fire to burn my legs, all the birdsong and creature sounds, the opportunity later for pancakes, canoeing, packing up camp, hopefully bathing these boys, hitting the road.   

I stirred at 5:06, and when I looked at my watch I thought, "The crows should start anytime now."  And literally a moment after that thought the crow chorus began.  I've wished many times that I had a better view of these birds and a pair of binoculars, because it's about the best opportunity I could ask for to study crows in their own rookery.  

The chipmunks and squirrels are all around on their reconnaissance missions, our boys have been groaning and are now beginning to talk sleepily to each other, Andy and I are reading scripture and he pauses to said things like, "I have a trivia question for you: what was Eve's maiden name?" 

And Amos is saying things like "Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.  Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."  (Amos 5:14-15)

July 23, 2014

We're home!  We took our time traveling, stopping to pick up lunch, then to play a long time at Arrowhead Park in Inlet.  We got ice cream, and stopped to clean Lewis up and then to get gas.  But even so we got home at 4:00 and had a leisurely (hot) evening after unloading the van.  

I slept great.  Andy slept horribly because of his sunburn.  Fred slept great--I let her stay up with us instead of going to the basement, and I don't think she ever left the foot of the bed.  

Thank you, Father, for such a great camping trip.  It did set us up well to want to camp next year, to be lovers of camping.  

And now, as we tackle the second half of summer, I really desire, Father, to have a fresh wind of motivation and diligence in running my home, caring for my family, being an excellent co-manager of Huntress Hollow :0) Help me to be mentally organized and on top of things, ready to take on challenges, ready to prepare for life!

Every Little Thing

I am excited by the littlest things as I prepare for our first family camping trip.  

Teeny beading baggies filled with 1 fry pan-worth of bacon grease.  Awesome flapjacks and eggs, here we come!

Nature "I Spy" cards, and a Hide-A-Bee!  The boys are already playing Hide A Bee at home...how much cuter in a campsite?!

First of all, I've been mentally preparing now for weeks: just thinking about tents and s'mores and hikes and bikes; exploring Saranac Lake's awesome website of area attractions and hikes to make a Huntress-friendly list; Pinning all sorts of camping-with-preschoolers tips, games and camp crafts.   

Then, as we delved into our pre-kid camping supplies, we have made too many trips to WalMart and Amazon Prime--but of course, we're preparing not only for this camping trip, but for many camping adventures to come, right?!

Last summer, we did a couple of nights of "practice camping" in our back woods (because I realized that I wasn't up for a 24-hour gear overhaul between a separate family trip and heading to the Tent).  We made a campsite and fire circle out there, and had a delightful couple of days, which were also low-stress because it didn't matter that most things we "forgot" and just went inside for.  

So this year, instead of 24 hours, I've stretched this process out over 3 or 4 weeks.  And along with my extreme mental excitement, I've experienced this oxymoronic mental sluggishness.  The symptoms mostly consist of procrastination, which drives me either to my latest good book or, more often, to the internet for some more mindless Facebooking (or kid-craft inspiration).  

Pretty sure it will be good for me to have a four-day Facebook Fast. 

And now, it really is TIME to pack up some food or something!  Tomorrow's the big day!  Happy trails to you and yours!

Listening

In my living room, right now, there's a wonderful sound: the voice of a boy becoming a good read-alouder, entertaining my son with a story before naptime.  

First, they chose stories, then built a blanket fort.  Add flashlights to the mix and Fred the Cat figuring out what this creation might be, and you have a recipe for delight.  

A recipe for friendship.  

Well-Earned Siestas

I googled "at home bike tune up," discovered how dreadfully I care for my bicycle (I add air to the tires about once a year...), and decided to at least wash it a little with the "gentle dish soap suds" described.  I swept and washed all the super-webby spiders off the bike trailer and hooked it up behind my bike.  I adjusted helmets for the past year's growth and fitting over ball caps.

And we were off :0)

It's Farmers' Market season again in Lyons Falls, and we made the most of it with playground, firemen's lunch, running around with sticks, making a new friend, choosing our purchases, and tucking it all into the back of the trailer for the ride home.

Lincoln was given the task of holding the sunbrella, with a reminder to hold on tightly so last year's episode of "it flew away when we were on the bridge" wasn't repeated.  He did a great job :0)

Lewis fell asleep about 4 minutes into the ride home, and Lincoln put up with his brother's wayward bobbing head like a champ.

And now they'll siesta the afternoon away.  What a day!

Oh, and my boy is going to be 4 years old tomorrow.  What the hey?! <3

Circling the Issue

It's a season of introspection.  You know the feeling: when all sorts of outside influences, intentionally or not, speak to your spirit about a particular issue.  You may want to ignore it, but it will not be ignored.  

I've been reading The Circle Maker, which has come highly recommended from every person in my social circle who's read it.  Its subtitle is "Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears."  Now, I have some pretty big dreams--and some pretty great fears.  So ushering in dreams and conquering fears seems like a worthwhile pursuit, don't you think?  

But here's the thing: I thought the book was going to focus on the dreams and fears we have for ourselves.  And yes, these are worth praying circles around.  But what's actually been standing out to me is the Miraculous that God wants to work because we're praying circles around 

GOD'S GREATEST DREAMS. 

And that's a scary thing.  So it becomes true, for me, that my spirit perceives at some level that the mirror-dim dreams that float around in the back of my mind--those exhilarating, mysterious, generation- and region-transforming dreams that the Holy Spirit resurrects in my heart every year or so--those dreams also are wrapped up inside my biggest fears.  

I like my comfortable life.  I don't really want my life to be radically different, turned upside-down for the purpose of investing in this generation of children.  But I know, too, that as long as I hold on to being comfortable, my influence will not extend outside my comfortable walls.  The Lord's work will go undone by me.  

There is no way for me to know What May Be, or What Could Have Been.  I love control, love knowing what to expect.  But the only thing I really have any control over is how I spend this moment.  How will my Present Tense be spent?  And I know that more than any other pursuit, what God desires of me, what He's compelling me to do, is to Pray.  I have to learn to pray.  I so desperately want to be able to learn it by reading a book, by learning from someone else's experience.  But that just won't do.  The only "trick" for getting the hang of being a prayer warrior of any clout at all is to 

just pray. 

So maybe the first circle I need to pray through is 

EXTEND MY WALLS.  Less of me, and more of You, God!

And those of you who are already decent pray-ers?  Would you lift me up?  That I would just pray, and see at a profoundly deeper level what the Lord has for me to put my hands to?  Thank you, friends!

What Friendship Does to Us

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

  “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves 

 “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”
― C.S. Lewis

I have a long history of friends.  And I am very slowly coming to understand what sort of friend I am, what sort of friendship my spirit craves.  From the beginning of time God has declared to us, "It is not good for man to be alone," and because we are made in His image--the three-in-one, perfect-fellowship God--we are never whole while we hold ourselves back from loving and being loved.

I tend to think of my life as laid out around groups of friends: my St. Al's friends, my high school friends, my Mansfield friends, my Paul Smith's friends, my Beaver Camp friends, my current friends, with whom I'm doing life and raising my family.  And for the most part, each group is distinct from the others, and so I organize and interpret my life and growth by them.  But every now and then--actually, way more often than I'd expect--members of different groups mingle and know each other and cross boundaries and connect my circles.  Such delightful connections happen most frequently among friends who are part of the family of God, and I recognize what C. S. Lewis spoke of:  “What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”

It occurs to me that as social beings, we must commemorate significant changes, the beginnings and endings of any season.  When the ceremony, so to speak, does not happen, we feel the lack of closure very deeply, and seem to never quite have peace about the change.

For example, when I was in middle school my great-grandmother died.  And do you know what stuck with me most about her passing?  It was sometime after Christmas, and my mother had nagged me over and over again to send Granny Bill a thank you note for her gift to me.  And I never did.  And then she was dead, and I never could.  It doesn't seem like a big thing, but I knew that I had failed to show her honor when it was in my power to do so, and it sat heavy on my conscience for a long time.

When we celebrate our personal beginnings and endings, we acknowledge that our lives are significant.  When we celebrate the milestones of others, we acknowledge that their lives are significant, and that who they are matters to us.

For summer staff, Beaver Camp is a microcosm of Life: for two months, we do life together in very intense ways.   We all set our watches to the Camp Clock, we dine together, sleep together under the stars and in crowded cabins, shower and poop together.  We train together, brainstorm together, fail and succeed together.   We pray together, study together, laugh and cry together.  We build each other up.  We wear each other down.  We come alongside each other and lay aside our differences for the common goal of transformed lives; we think we're there to transform the lives of campers, but almost without realizing it, we are transformed ourselves.  The Lord does a mighty work, because we have determined that what matters most is Love, and we watch Him pour it out for us in remarkable ways.

And we mark the milestones throughout the summer.  We have a welcome and introduction to kick off training.  We have a test and then a commissioning service to end training and begin Summer.  For the next seven weeks, we have ceremonies, for campers and for staff, to mark the beginnings and the ends, and we have ceremonies to celebrate what happens in the middle.

It is so intense.  It is exhausting.  It is WONDERFUL.  And around week 4, everybody secretly begins dreading the End.  For a couple of weeks, it looms in the future as something we don't really want to face.  Then we realize we're tired, and begin to look forward to the comparative rest of college life and other pursuits.  And suddenly, the End arrives, and we're almost surprised.

Sticky Church: we are like legos, with a finite number of friend connectors.  When a dear friend moves away, it frees a peg to connect with someone else with whom you could share a beautiful friendship.