windy gap – week 3…this is it…and it’s a lot

 
Volleyball Tourney.
 
Some of the Work Crew.
 
Wyatt catching a lift.

The oh-so-beautiful-Windy Gap.

Friends helping one another out.

Crazy boys, always entertaining.

T-Ralph, Wyatt’s favorite.


Best little buddies.

The boys of the month.

Tableau.

We kept Boone up for the last carnival of the month. He loved it.
 
An attempt for a family picture, the usual. But that’s ok. :)

I can’t handle how much I love this picture. Love the boots. The lighting. The imperfections. Love it.
   
Worked on some swimming.

Windy Gap added a wiffle ball court. It’s cool. Wyatt got stung by Yellow jackets shortly after this picture.

Summer Staff who loved on our kids and our kids loved them!

These guys were hilarious.
 
I got to go on a horse ride with the older staff kids, the last day. So good for my heart.

The Stable and such.

The Rodeo Ring. Love the stillness of this picture.


Kids Opera. So cute. Wyatt and Tyson were the “cool guys”. So proud of my little man for getting on stage in front of the assigned team to show off some dance moves. Confidence builder.
I’ve had some time to process our time at camp. It was a tough assignment mainly because the age of our kids {Boone}. I know it’s hard. It’s going to be hard. It won’t last forever. It is a phase. Still...it’s hard. I failed every expectation I had for myself and didn’t know I had for myself. I didn’t open my bible. Didn’t journal. And prayed mainly when I needed help. I am reminded though of a pursuit. A beautiful pursuit, for me.
There was a girl there who had Down Syndrome. Her name was Emma. Her mom was there with her, it was her first time at Windy Gap. We met her at the pool. She was a great swimmer. We talked some and then she splashed Wyatt…not lightly, but hard. He didn’t like that, of course, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to talk to her. A few days later we saw her again and she told him to “shut up”. Ha ha, you would think that was it, that he was through wanting to talk to her. But he wasn’t. Every day he wanted to find Emma. The third time we saw her was from a distance. The campers had done the hike that morning and at dinner they go through a huge “high-five” line, slapping hands with their leaders, Work Crew and Summer Staff. Wyatt spotted Emma and really wanted to go talk to her. So I stood with him while we waited for everyone to go through the line. He didn’t take his eyes off her. When there was a clearing, he was gone. When I caught up to Wyatt I found Emma with her arm around him letting her mom take a picture of them together {I’m so bummed I didn’t have my camera}. It’s the pursuit. Wyatt wouldn’t stop until he had found her. Until he could talk to her. Get to know her. He loved being around Emma. Even though she was not accepting of him in the beginning and could care less about a 4 year old wanting to talk to her…he didn’t stop.
I love how God uses people, children, to communicate his love for us. I gave God the “cold shoulder” all month. I could not see past myself and was in survival mode, yet I was not depending on God to carry me through. This I do know, He loves me. He cares about me. He doesn’t take his eyes off me. And even though I fail myself and others, He does not fail me, but continues to pursue me.