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.

New Family Pictures!

My favorite pictures!

How wonderful are these!!? We felt and looked like princesses...or does that make me a queen now? Thanks Lucinda!
Me and my sisters and mom, and me and my special princess.

Allison's Wedding Pictures Take 2

One of the best parts of Allison's wedding was getting the entire family together..except for Karl! Oh, well, maybe the next wedding we'll have everyone! Here's my family, all 7 kids, and their spouses and kids. (again, except for Lindsay's husband of one year, Karl). I loved the pictures of all the girls, dressed in blue and silver, the Cinderella theme that Allison picked. What a cute family, right? The group picture is hilarious, none of us are looking, someone is screaming, some are caring for their kids...ect. What a typical family moment!

Fun Family Pictures...

Our talented and patient sister-in-law Lucinda took these for us! Everyone cooperated, it was fun, and look at the results! Thanks so much Aunt Cinda!!!

The Soup that You Want to Make For Dinner

So Doug served a mission in Argentina and LOVES Gnocchi's. I spent an evening in the grocery stores, trying to find them in Missouri, (Hint, they're in the international food section in the dry goods, not refrigerated like I assumed!) to make this special soup for his birthday. Which is tomorrow, but I made it sunday, to celebrate a week of Doug turning 35.
Here's the recipe, I wholeheartedly endorse it! (Note, I did increase the vegetable amounts, 1/2 a carrot seemed ridiculous, and I waited to add the half and half very last. I did the cornstarch/water at the same time as the broth, then the spinach, then the half and half. The fresh spinach tasted great!)

Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Recipe #348802
This is very close to the Olive Garden soup. There's another recipe on the web which was the basis of this recipe, however I have changed it to use less cream. Still tastes good! I did end up using a little cornstarch to thicken. I guess you could sub heavy cream for the half and half to make it a little thicker without using cornstarch. The gnocchi is usually in the spaghetti section of the grocery store.
by Anne G.

35 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 8 -10

* 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
* 4 cups chicken stock
* 2 cups half-and-half
* 1 stalk celery, diced
* 1 garlic clove, chopped
* 1/2 carrot, shredded
* 1/2 onion, diced
* 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 teaspoon thyme
* salt and pepper
* 16 ounces potato gnocchi
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

1. Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
2. Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
4. (Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup.).
5. Ladle into bowls and serve!