iPhone pics

These are just a few random pics from the last few weeks that I just uploaded from my iPhone. Enjoy!


Dax & Gabby waiting for Hays & Maggie to get out of school yesterday.


Gabby "playing" soccer at the "big" kids' soccer clinic.


Soccer with a view!!! This sure beats the cow field on Hillbilly Lane!!!


Hays & Maggie at school. . .first day. . .the new kids!!!


All of the kids on the first day of school!


Dax trying to master chop sticks at our favorite: East by Southwest!!! Yummy!


The moving truck packing up our house in Missouri!


Rae, Gabby & Tred at the K-Kaua'i pool.


Gabby at K-Kaua'i!

Durango: A Good Dream

So, Hays woke up yesterday morning and told me he had a nightmare! He said that he woke up crying. When I asked him what he dreamed about, he said that in his dream I told him that we were moving back to Branson. Wow! Needless to say, we LOVE it here! We love the school and we love the people! I feel so at home. THANK YOU, GOD! What an answer to many prayers!

Andy is home! Another answered prayer!

Ready or Not. . .

Well, school started today! Wow! I have a 5th grader, a 3rd grader (a 1st greader on the way), a pre schooler (call it PreK or he won't go) and a 2 year old. I can't believe it. As I was trying to go to sleep last night, I just kept thinking, "ready or not. . . ." I wasn't this morning. I dropped the kids off and had myself a good cry. Crazy the way life goes. (I tried uploading first day pictures, but I cannot find my cord. . .somewhere in the mess of boxes in our new house!)

Adoption news: Andy said that we got our Act of Adoption today and that our court date is a week from today! I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I'll take it! Once we pass court on Monday, the travel letter should come that week and I should leave (with Hays). So, maybe we'll take off around Labor Day! I would love for that to be the case!

What's Next?!?

WOW!!! My life is never dull. . .I always find myself wondering (often out loud), when will life settle down? Maybe it never does. . .maybe this is normal. Normal is often exhausting and overwhelming!

So, I've moved across the country (to a place I love). I've changed jobs. My kids have changed schools. We've had the Swine Flu this summer, we've had the chicken pox and now not only do we have Impetigo, but we have the Whooping Cough!!! What in the world?!?!?!? The Whooping Cough???? I thought it became "extinct" in 1920 or something. We do. We have it. I've been on the phone with the Health Department and the National CDC (they called me) for the past three days. They have put all of us on antibiotics as a preventative measure (only one of us has actually been diagnosed with it). They have also had me call everyone we have been in contact with and have them start a Z-pack. Sometimes my life is surreal.


(This is the plush toy version of the Whooping Cough germ!)

On top of that. . .Andy did not meet Ruk and won't be able to. That is so unfathomable to me. . .to be in the same country and not have met him. I can't believe that. (What is God up to?)

And we have locked our keys in the car and OF COURSE, our subscription to OnStar has expired (unknown to us until now. . .at least I'm not in a ditch bleeding, I guess).

All of that to say, my life is crazy. . .but I've come to grips with the fact that this is "real" life and we are living it. I love my crazy life. But yesterday was a shake my head and throw my hands in the air (and probably say some not very nice things) day! :)

Prayer Requests:

1. School starts for the kids tomorrow. New school. New town. New teachers. New kids. New pick up and drop off. Please pray that all goes well for them tomorrow. I don't think I'll be able to bear it if they come home sad and crying.

2. Adoption: We need a court date so that I can go pick up my boy. Enough already!

3. Andy flies home tomorrow. He hasn't seen Hays and Maggie in seven weeks, Dax in three weeks and Gabby in two weeks. We all miss him so much!

4. Unpacking. YUCK!!! Please pray that all of my boxes will start dancing and everything will unpack itself and put itself away neatly! That is my prayer because I just flat out don't want to do it!! (Where is Mary Poppins when you need her?)

Baker's Bridge

Yesterday was our last day with Pops and we had a great time! I showed him Baker's Bridge. . .my favorite place in Durango!

WE LOVE YOU, POPS!!!

Adoption news. . .Andy did not get to meet Ruk, but I am praying with my whole heart that he can before he comes home. We did not get to go to court and we don't have set court date that we know of. It is hard not to be very discouraged, but I'm going to remain upbeat and believe that God's timing is the best and that He has something in mind. . .some wonderfully divine reason why next month is better than now.

From Jude 1 (the Message version): Relax, everything is going to be all right; rest, everything is coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!

Fun Time With Pops

My dad drove back to Colorado with us after kamp was over and we have had the best time ever! He took us to Durango Mountain Resort to ride the alpine slides and the kids had a blast!!! Having him out here has been better than I could have imagined!!! I have loved having him see our new world. We have taken him everywhere! I love it that he has seen the new house and I love it that he has seen the kids' school and our favorite places to eat and everything! Having him here with us has probably been the highlight of my summer!

P.S. On the adoption front. . .I think Andy may be meeting Ruk today! He is in Rwanda and prayerfully he is going to court and getting everything moving again! Please pray for that process! Pray that Andy can get MANY steps finished! The more he gets done, the less time I'll have to spend there. Also pray that it keeps moving because all of our paperwork is about to expire! Yikes! Pray that we can bring Ruk home SO SOON!!!!!!

(Also, I have a new entry right below this one, too. I'm playing catch up. So, don't miss BOTH of my new slide shows!!!!!)

Picking The Kids Up From K1

=


I'm a little behind in my posting. . .I've taken a small vacation from technology while I've been enjoying my kids again!!!

Picking the big kids up from K1 was so much fun! I missed them SO MUCH! My favorite part (every year) is seeing how much the little two missed the big two!

Who all is in the slide show? Hally Blackwell was a kamper at K1 and her mom, Kelly, and brother, Brady, are in the show. Also, my cousin, Lori, and her three girls, Ashlynn, Kathryn and Lauren. My other cousin, Chelsea, was there with her kids, but they didn't make the show because their pictures were too many MB or something for the rockyou.com slide show.

You'll also notice on the picture of Dax and "little Brady". . .Dax was SO HAPPY to see him that he literally could not stop smiling! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

A Post I Never Dreamed I'd Ever Write

Today is a day I never dreamed would happen. Never in my wildest imagination from childhood until last Fall did I ever think I would have to say (or experience) this: Today is my last day working for Kanakuk. I never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever thought this day would come. My whole life I only dreamed of working for Kanakuk. I never thought about doing anything else (except for a couple of weeks in 6th grade when I wanted to be a fighter pilot). All I've ever wanted to do is work for Kanakuk. All of my life plans were made around working for Kanakuk. I never thought about a creative college major because I knew I'd spend my life working for Kanakuk.

I bleed Kanakomo blue. I do. I love Kanakuk more than any single person on the earth. I think I can say that as a fact. No one loves Kanakuk more than I do. No one is more concerned about the reputation of Kanakuk than I am. Growing up, every good choice I made was because of Kanakuk. Why didn't I drink in college. . .because I didn't want to hurt Kanakuk's name (and so on). Kanakuk has been my life! This is my 35th summer at Kankauk. . .and my last.

As I write this I am sad. Don't get me wrong. . .I am SO HOPEFUL for Camp Kivu and what the Lord has in store for the Braner family and for Kivu. I know that we are doing the right thing. I am super excited and I cannot wait to get Kivu up and running. However, at the same time, I feel like I am in mourning for the end of my Kanakuk era. My heart is breaking. I feel like a piece of me has died. I know that sounds dramatic, but that is how I feel.

At the end of "You've Got Mail," Meg Ryan is standing in her shop. She owned a children's book store that her mother owned before her. It was a darling and personal store. She knew her customers and they loved her. It had been in her family for 42 years and she had to close because a big "Fox Books" moved in across the street. Anyway, she is standing in her empty store just looking around and she said that a piece of her has died. That is how I feel.

I feel like as I close this chapter a huge piece of me has died. So much of who I am has been wrapped up in Kanakuk for so long. My entire Kanakuk identity and everything that goes with it is finished after today. It is really hard to explain these feelings I am having. I'm not really even sure what to do with these feelings I am having. So I'm writing.

Today is my last day at Kanakuk.

Thanks for the memories. . .memories stretching back my ENTIRE life. Memories of a five year old sitting in my sand box watching basketball specialty. Memories of a kamper in cabin one. . .every morning waking up early and waiting for Pardner, my great grandmother, come to water the flowers--I would get SO excited to see her every morning. Memories of a little girl "working" with my Gran'ma in her office. . .pressing flowers and watching all of the kampers walk by. Sitting by my dad while he drove the bus for many Super Deal trips. Waiting for Pappy to drive into kamp in his red truck so that I could ride home with him and spend several days with he and Gran'ma. Fun babysitters and terrible babysitters. . .one so bad we wished the chicken pox on her and SHE GOT IT!!! Fun times at the dock with dock daddies who made me feel so special. Memories of me and my best kamp friend, Libby, every summer at K1 and K2. . ."I don't need anything but Lib. . ." T and Jerry. . .the cute chiefs at K1 during the summer of 1987. Mini princess at K1 and "How The Grinch Stole Kanakomo." The optional Wild trip for girls at K2 with Lynda. Princess at K2 with Kirtty and "At The Hop With The Kiowas." K1 kameper for 9 years (4 years in cabin one) and then three more years at K2. Great kamp crushes that I will laugh about for many more years to come. Being a counselor with one amazing cabin for a month followed by the most challenging cabin ever in kamp history (maybe, maybe not). My first summer married. . .living in a tent for 74 days while we tried to start KCO. The first summer of K-Extreme and the excitement of a new kamp. 2001. . .the summer KCO had a home and then 2002 the Fire Summer! I feel like I could go on forever. I was a kamp kid. Now I'm a kamp mom. Crazy.

Today is my last. I have no regrets. Kanakuk (Kanakomo) will always hold a very dear and special place in my heart. . .it is so much of who I am. But today is the last and my heart is broken. How I can I explain it? I can't. . . . . .

Fun Pics

My WONDERFUL leadership team! I love you all! Thanks for the best summer ever!!!


Me and Kelly at Mesa Verde!


Mommy & Gabby at Mesa Verde.


Gabby dressed up for the Pirate Party!


Mommy & Gabby at the Pirate Party!

Flip Mino Camcorder

"I'm obsessed with designing my own FLIP video camera!!! Here is my most recent!!!"

Flip Mino Camcorder with Personalized Design - Available only at www.theflip.com. Check out this unique Flip Mino design. The Flip Mino camcorder combines remarkable video quality in a pocket-sized package. Now personalizable - create yours

View >>

Nate, thanks for the fun pics of Dax!!!

You can check out more of Nate Friend's photos and stuff on his blog (click on his name for the link).