Blueberry Thunder Muffins

So for 3 years I've heard about this blueberry farm that you can pick your own blueberries at, this year we finally went!!! And I was so excited, it actually exceeded my expectations. The blueberries were huge, the blackberries as big as my thumb, and delicious, and the rules: to eat as many as you could! We filled up with these magical muffins and pancakes and cobbler also...it seemed unavoidable! Try them, you'll be forever grateful you did!


Here is the recipe for

Blueberry Thunder Muffins
Persimmon Hill Farm’s jumbo muffins, they affectionately call Thunder Muffins. Made in extra-large muffin pans, they offer big flavor to your morning breakfast.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen can be substituted)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Line six 3 1/2-inch (jumbo) muffin cups with paper baking cups; set aside. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In large mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla (mixture will look curdled.) Stir in flour mixture until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Gently stir in berries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each nearly full. In small bowl, combine the 1 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar mixture over batter.

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers come out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Makes 6 jumbo muffins

Make a wish Magic

So I finally made myself sit down and write thank-you's for Monte's make a wish. I know, it's terrible that I put it off so long, but how do you thank someone for something so marvelous? I know, I've hardly even talked or blogged about it, it was all just so miraculous and amazing to have this entire team work together to do something special for my kid. My amazing, wonderful, tough, superman son.

So, here's the gist of what I wrote, I though you should all know how wonderful these people are!!
If you get a chance, use them for your business needs, they're so generous and giving, I want them to be rewarded!
Conco Concrete, Wyndham Resorts, Branson Hot Tub and Spas, K&R Electric, Make-a-wish Foundation of Missouri.
"It has taken us a long time to write this thank-you because our hearts are so full it's difficult to articulate it. Thank-you for granting Monte's wish. It has been pure joy to see how much he loves it. For a sweet spirit like his to be the recipient of so much love in giving, we are blessed beyond anything. I know we will never know all the efforts that went into this process...but we do know that many people made great sacrifices. Please help us convey our gratitude to each of them. As I write this, Monte is in the hospital recovering from a major, painful, back surgery. We're so grateful that most of the days in the last few months have been filled with swimming in his awesome hot tub. He has leaned back into the soothing jets, splashed around in the waterfall, loved the lights at midnight when he's still awake and playing!!, and rocked out to the music in the speakers. It has brought him such comfort and joy, and will the the instrument that will help him heal faster. It has been, and will continue to be a blessing in our lives."

Here's some pictures from the party, thanks to our friends, family, teachers, and classmates that come to celebrate with us! It was a lot of fun, and did I mention that Mayor Presley came and gave Monte a key to the city? It was presented with a certificate that said, among other things, "Monte is a citizen that of whom Branson may be proud." Cool. Never got that in Utah!

4th of July

So Monte and I ended up having a not so terrible night! We had a window view of the Missouri River, and watched fireworks lit off from dozens of sights along the river, as we listened to patriotic music on the tv...he slept through most of it, but appreciated the break, I think! Here's some cute pictures of Piper last year...missing them!

The Other Barnabas Pictures

Camp Barnabas, Heaven on Earth!

So we had an easier time dropping Monte off this year, a few less tears, and lots of enthusiasm! All summer, anytime Monte heard the words, "Camp Barnabas!" he'd burst into smiles and start laughing. So this week as we started the countdown he got so happy!! As we lined up with the other wheelchair vans prepared to drop him off to a cheering audience of counselors, Piper kept taking pictures of Monte and saying, "Are you excited to go to Camp Barabas??!!" It was a happy car!
We were thrilled to be partnered with one of the world's special spirits, Blake, an adorable 16 year old boy who has volunteered for 2 years and drove up in 2 busloads of kids from Dallas Texas. He loved Monte so much from the get-go, and the bond got stronger everyday, as you can see from the pictures! At the end of camp, I thanked him with these words, "Not very many people take the time to get to know the true Monte, and you really did. We will be forever grateful to you, and you will always be a special friend to him. Thank-you."
He told me that through the week he was so concerned about Monte that he found that he forgot to take care of himself! "There were days I forgot to take a shower or brush my teeth, or eat or go to the bathroom, but I always make sure he did!" He also was devastated when I asked about Monte's superman trip off the bunkbed..."I'm so sorry, it was inexcusable...I was on my break...I'm so sorry..." I though he was going to cry, he was so upset!
Anyway, he reported that Monte LOVED the shooting range and shooting the guns, he "slept in till almost 6, then just jumped into the party going on in the cabin with the campers that woke up even earlier!" He enjoyed smelling lemon leaves in the gardens, making pretzels, fishing, making Indian noises and drums in the "new world," swimming almost every day, and flying in the parachute tents.
What a perfect week.
His cabin 'dad' was an amazing man in his late 20's who had a sister with a similar condition that passed away a few years ago, at 25. He is a youth pastor who drove 19 youth from Ohio to volunteer with them. He said, "If only my sister could have been a part of this when she was on this earth...but it doesn't matter now, she's in a perfect body in Heaven, doing all of this and more now. I just want to be with these kids to help them have a wonderful week and be able to do anything they want without being told 'no'"
Anyway...
Here's some pictures!

Camp Barnabas, Theme Background!

But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them,

just as he WANTED them to be." I Corinthians 12:18

The Theme for Camp Barnabas this week...wow.
And this is from their newsletter:
Dear "first_name":



Do you get doubt? Like really, get what doubt is, what it means, what it does to your perspective? When you doubt something, you regard it as unlikely. Like when you're in a difficult position financially and you don't think you'll ever see daylight. Or when you hear the words, "You have cancer" or "Your child has Down syndrome." And you don't think your life will ever be normal again.

Those perspectives can be devastating. But what if we understood that everything about our lives is arranged just as God wants it to be? What if we knew we are truly wanted by God and that is why He has this life for us? You might even say, what if we really trusted God?

Each day this summer our campers are discussing aspects of what it means to dispel doubt by embracing trust. But it is those of us here with them that are learning the real lessons. Because their approach to life sets aside doubt. Their faith in the God who created them challenges us all to accept that we are exactly where He wants us to be.

And one more thing!
This summer marks the 15th year of camp. In looking for ways to share with you what these years have meant, we decided to capture camp through the eyes of someone with a fresh perspective. Sam Avery is a cabin counselor this summer...the first time he's ever been to Camp Barnabas. Each edition this summer he will share how God is shaping him....



At the end of staff week, Sam shared:



My first week at Camp Barnabas can be summarized in one word: overwhelming! It has been a week full of training, hard work and a lot of learning. The Barnabas community is one filled with passion, sacrifice and love for the kids and most importantly God...I was asked how I felt after being here a week and this was the most accurate response I could think of. I felt like a little kid who is super thirsty and is trying to drink water out of an open fire hydrant.



Then, following Term 1:



I can't believe how alive camp became when the campers arrived. It was a week full of much learning. I was challenged to trust God and know that He was going to carry me through. Living life with the campers was very exciting. I was able to serve at all hours of the day and night and know that I was an encouragement. The campers showed me what true joy is life. I was blessed to be a part of their lives. I was exhausted at the end of every day, but didn't regret it. The week could be summarized with one word...grace. God bestowed much grace upon my co (cabin staff partner) and I as He allowed this week to be great! We didn't know how it would turn out, but I don't think we could have asked for a better start of camp.