Mother/Son Retreat at Pine Cove

Posting has taken a major backseat in my life lately!  But, as I was reading a friend's blog today, I remembered (again) that this is my only photo album.  As much as I'd like to think I'm going to somehow make yearly Shutterfly albums for each of my children, it's just not going to happen.  I don't want to forget all the sweet memories, saying, and little things my kids are doing right now, so I'm going to attempt to record more of our life on our blog.  Here goes!

Last weekend, Isaac and I went to Pine Cove Camp near Tyler for an amazing Mother/Son Retreat.  Honestly, it was so hard for me to get ready to go.  I didn't want to leave Josiah at all (*sob*), and it was so much work to get everything ready for Dave for a weekend at home along with packing for Isaac and me.  Leaving home is a lot of work at this stage of life!  On the day of our retreat, my friend texted me, "Remember that all the work to leave home will be completely worth it once you get to camp!"  She was completely right!  We had such a wonderful weekend.

Dave read the entire Narnia series to Isaac earlier this year.  Isaac was ECSTATIC when we got to camp and were assigned to the "Reepacheep" cabin!

This was an amazing playground!  I texted Dave a picture of the playground and told him I'd like for a playground like this to be added to our project list.  :)

The Pine Cove staff were so incredible!  One of my very favorite parts of growing up was attending Bible camp both as a camper and then a staffer.  I remember how staff members were always so energetic and enthusiastic, and the campers just went crazy over them!  Of course, it doesn't matter if you're at camp in Minnesota or Texas--kids love crazy camp staffers!  At chapel the first night, there was a group of boys (including Isaac) at the very front of the room.  All of the camp staff lined the front of the chapel and faced the moms and sons to add energy to the worship and show the actions of the songs.  The camp director got right in front of Isaac and his friend and showed them how to do all the actions.  Isaac got SO into it, and--of course--I cried.  I just loved seeing a staff member invest into Isaac right away and Isaac get so into the songs!  

One of my favorite parts of camp was zip lining on Saturday with Isaac!  I am a little afraid of heights, but I didn't think this zip line looked high at all when I saw it.  No biggie, or so I thought!  Once I got to the top, it was a whole new story!  I totally froze, but then I looked at Isaac getting harnessed to the line and thought, "I will do anything for this boy!"  I bit my tongue and am so glad I didn't chicken out!  

As soon as our feet were back on the ground, Isaac said, "I trusted in the Lord that I wouldn't fall!"  I asked him if he had been scared at all, and he said, "Oh no, not at all!"  I started to tell him how scared I got when I got to the top of the platform.  He looked at me with huge eyes and said, "Were you so scared you had a potty accident?!?"  Haha!  I'll never forget that!

Isaac loved this cake we had for dessert on Saturday night.  I hadn't even started mine, and he kept telling me, "If you decide not to eat all of your piece, I'll be happy to eat yours!"  

The boys thought it was SO FUN to help clear tables after each meal.

The camp staff did hilarious skits after the meals.  Again, it reminded of when I was a staffer...the staff could put on any combination of costumes, pour gross food out on stage, say some funny jokes, and the kids would just love it!  I'd say that's exactly what happened this weekend, too.  

Two of the staff girls put on one HUGE skirt and shirt and each of them put one arm out of the shirt.  Then, one would say, "I'm Mary!" and the other would say, "And I'm Ann!" They'd both then say, "And, we're MARY ANN!"   The kids loved this!  When we got home, Isaac found one of Dave's safety vests, and he convinced Emma to put it on with him.  Then, he'd say, "I'm Isaac," and Emma would say, "I'm Emma!" Together, they'd then yell, "And we're RINNS!"  

Isaac just couldn't get enough of running around the woods and playing with sticks. 

On Saturday night, there was a huge night game!   Moms and sons were supposed to come up with a reason to convince the staffers ("posse") that we weren't campers and why they shouldn't send us to jail.  I screamed so loud and accidentally pulled Isaac to the ground in an attempt to run away the first time we ran into the posse!  He started bawling, and I felt awful.  Once I explained that the posse really was just staffers dressed up in ridiculous costumes, he got really into the game.  Our team was called the Big Red Beaver Team, and the boys decided we would convince the posse that we were pirates looking for buried treasure at camp.  One of the posse members asked us, "Oh, you say you're pirates?  What sea did you sail?"  Isaac said, "The Caribbean Ocean!"  We definitely didn't win the game, but it was a ton of fun!

During chapel on Sunday morning, the speaker had each mom tell her son what qualities she sees in his life that God will develop for His glory!  I cried as I told Isaac that I love how he's so gentle with Josiah, how he is so smart, and how he is so quick to obey--and how I truly believe God is going to use those qualities in Isaac's life to further His kingdom and glory.    

I love this boy so much and am so privileged to be his mom.