creations

Here's a couple of pictures of the card that I made for my friend, Jenny, when she "joined the club." We didn't do presents cause we did our fun tubing trip, so she asked for a special card. This is what she got. I used lots of Elise's new fun Love, Elsie lines. I LOVE them! The adhesive paper is my favorite. I used it to hold everything together. Such a fun project!

art journal

Been working on my little art journal every now and again. It came from the Red Velvet Kit Club (June project kit). It was full of fun new stuff to get my creative juices flowing. I'm really excited to work on it some more after camp ends and I actually have free time.

I miss them...

8 weeks went by way to fast. Tonight, they are home many states away and somehow my day wasn't complete without eating at least one meal with them (and my bro-in-law too). Darn this goodbye stuff.

happy sigh

This picture is in my favorites on Flickr. I have 4 pages of favorites. Shots that inspire me. Colors that give me a little thrill. Shadows and light that dance on the screen. This one is in a set of several of my favorites that I put as the backdrop on my computer screen. This particular pictures has made me smile for several days now. Just the emotion in the grandpa's posture. And I love the glimpse into the story that they wrote below it.

Just wanted to share!

Also, the song Forever and Ever Etc (click on the song title to hear it) by David Crowder has been getting me so excited about God today. On Friday, a friend came into the office and we were lamenting the leaving of so many of our summer staff. Not happy about it all. Sad that our 8 weeks of fun are almost over. Then she said that times like this make her homesick for heaven. Heaven, where we won't be separated from those we love to serve with. We can have great big camp dinners with everyone we meet and love here. FOREVER.....no more goodbyes. I had to thank her for that little encouragement right on the spot!
Plus, I just love that I'm His forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. How cool is that?!!

fun Yahoo find

Watch this fun video that I found on Yahoo today. I SO want to do this!

in other news

So I have actually done a few other things besides read. Let's be honest, if I could have, I would have locked myself away in my room never to come out until it was over, but, alas, life was still going on around me, beckoning me to come and join in.

I did a photo shoot of the peanut. The above photo is an example. He's just so darn cute. There are several others on my Flickr page.

This past Saturday, I went sailing with my brother in a Sunfish. He was the experience. I was the "hold the rope and pull on it when he tells me to." SO FUN! We had perfect wind and the waves at the mouth of the river were incredible! Such a fun memory.

I went and picked up my copy of Harry Potter with the 8.3 million other people in the USA on Friday at midnight. I went with the same 3 people that had gone with me that last time, 2 years ago when book #6 came out. We didn't get out of Barnes and Noble until 1:15am, but, man, was it worth it. So glad I did it one more time.

Found the magazine Ready Made a couple weeks ago. A new love.

I LOVE this article by Stephen Kind a couple weeks ago in my Entertainment Weekly. LOVE.

I've been treasuring each moment with summer camp friends. We only have 2 weeks left (after this one). Oh, the horror of saying goodbye once again!

I had a visit from a good, good friend whom I haven't seen in person for over a year. I LOVE her to pieces. She means so very much to the sanity of my soul. I love that she asks the questions that I have to answer with the whole truth and not just the "yeah, I'm okay" answer. We had some good talks. I feel about 10 pounds lighter. It's great to have someone to swap prayer requests with. I'm so very thankful that God moved her here for a year and let us become so close. Good times!

And my sister, the peanut and brother-in-law are leaving at the end of this week. I can't really put it into words cause I just don't like it at all. I can't believe they won't be here to sit with at meals and have randomly walk into my house. Don't like it one bit.

with a tear soaked handkerchief in hand....

.....I finished it tonight. Can't ruin it for others, so I won't say anything. Will return to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow after I have recovered.

and to you, J.K., I cannot say thank you enough. Harry is second only behind my beloved Anne Shirley. The magic lives in you, indeed.

okay, okay....

You caught me. I haven't posted cause I have been doing this....not the only thing, but pretty much. And a friend has been in town too. Will post more soon.

me.today.all.day.

Morning, noon and night. This is what I did. And I was pulling this. I LOVE it! It was such a fun day. Yes, we did have a storm blow up and I was forced to drive in the rain for an hour, but even that was fun. I got to pull a cabin of little guys with their L(leader)I(in)T(training). So, cool! Their LIT had been coming here for years and it was amazing to see him with the kids. He was so kind and compassionate with them and also made sure they had a ton of fun too.
Today, I loved my job. God and I talked a lot and most of it was me saying thanks so much for this job. I love camp. I love the ministry that it is. I love that tonight, as I was working snack shop, I heard from the counselors that several kids "met" Jesus for the first time.
So, for all of you that read my blog to know what I'm thinking...ahem, ahem....you know who you are....I am saying once again "I am not leaving." I do love it here. I need days like this to remind me of that!
Now, I'm off to a much needed shower and to bed, all the while still feeling like I'm on the water being rocked back and forth. Mmmm.....night, night!

follow along

My favorite recording artistof the Christian genre did an Asia tour this summer. His family went with him and his wife kept a blog. You can read all about it here.... Be sure to start from back in June when they left.
SCC has always been HUGE favorite of mine since way back in junior high. His ministry has grown into something so much more than music in the last few years. He adopted a little girl from China (and went back 2 more times to make it 3 little girls) and began a whole new journey into the ministry of adoption. There is a link to Shaohannah's Hope on the right side of my blog. It's an amazing ministry (which I support each month) that is doing amazing things in the lives of orphans across the globe.
This blog that they kept was such a cool way to see their family and their hearts. I've always wondered what it would be like to hang out with their family and see what they were like. This was a taste. And how adorable are their kids?!! I'm so thankful for people like them who want nothing more than to follow God with every ounce of their being. Super excited for his new CD that's coming out and the tour that's to follow!

hi

another week begins today. a whole new passel of kids. new, fun, additions to our staff. friends coming to play for the week. crafts to be made. snack shop to be eaten. family to spend time with. pictures to take. new things to learn.

Brilliant

it
was
absolutely
brilliant

I want to see it again, right now. I want to read the book again, right now. If you love this story, if you love the books, go.see.it.now..... The two and a half hours FLEW by. This director was fantastic. The colors, the mood and tone he set were perfect for how dark this particular book was. I loved every minute. I loved that the same kids play the same characters each time. I love the special effects in the end at the Ministry. And I loved that 2 of my favorite actors Alan Rickman (Snape) and Jason Isaacs (Mr. Malfoy) had plenty of screen time in this one. I just plain loved it.

Now the count down begins for midnight on Friday. Yes, I will be there picking up my pre-ordered copy with the rest of the 12 year olds dressed up in their costumes. And, man, oh, man, I can not wait!

and now...

...in honor of my viewing of Harry Potter 5 tomorrow afternoon, I give you one of my favorite youtube videos. Enjoy. Beware: you may find yourself singing this song for a couple hours after watching it!

BTW, I'm super excited about this movie! I saw the last one while I was in England 2 years ago. And the book comes out next week?!!! How much better can it get!!

You have to see these...

Just another reason that Tara Whitney is my favorite photographer hands down.

The first 2 pictures may be my favorites of her's ever, but it's hard to choose.

A favorite read

"Some books are so familiar reading them is like being home." -Jo March

I've been watching Little Women in 10 minute increments while I'm getting ready for bed at night. I LOVE this movie. It was my favorite for many, many years. (still love it, but had to take a break cause I watched too much. I know it by heart.) The book is still one of my favorites. My copy is so tattered from all the constant re-reads. I'm one of those weird people who loves Amy and Laurie together. I still cry buckets every time Beth dies. It's such an amazing book. It does feel like home when I read (or watch) it.

Flickr fav's....

favorites july07
Originally uploaded by cottagegirl1.

These are the ones I have to look at over and over. The top left corner and the bottom right corner are probably #1 and #2.
This year, I WILL practice my photography and get better. Seeing stuff like this is just the inspiration I need.

7 randoms....

....about me.

1. I LOVE sci-fi. I would much rather go see Transformers than the new romantic comedy. (BTW...Transformers was so fun! loved it! Shia is a favorite from the Even Stevens days. And good gracious he's hot now!) Battlestar Galactica is my favorite TV show right now.

2. I can't go to sleep at night if my room is a mess. It drives me CRAZY! I will get up out of bed to straighten it because it bothers me so much.

3. I've never had a manicure or a pedicure.

4. I've never broken a bone, but I have had stitches.

5. My neighbor (at the house where I grew up) was in the movie The Sixth Sense. I tutored her in 5th grade math.

6. I took 5 years of piano lessons in high school and haven't played since.

7. I hate playing games. Board games, outside games, mind games, you name it...yuck-o.

Fun stuff

Found some cool stuff today on my continual hunt for craft/art inspiration.

This fun journal to create. Definately want to try this out! I love journals.

And this site that I found a while ago. I love the ideas they come up with. Simple things that spark my imagination.

Then Flickr....I'm hooked. I can spend hours on this site.

I was blown away by these today....Elsie is incredible. I love just about anything she does.

And Tara's new post....she created masterpieces in 15 minutes!

Cool, fun stuff. Good escape!

Week 3

This week has been a hard one for our staff. We have lots of kids at camp this week that have really rough home lives, which means we get lots of discipline problems and attitude. This morning was really bad and it just breaks my heart for these kids. I was able to sit and talk to some of the kids for a little while this morning. One boy was telling me about his family. I wanted to cry and hug him and tell him that he is loved. Another one was just so sweet and kind that I wanted to instantly keep him for the rest of the summer just so he didn't have to go back home.

I'm so thankful for the opportunities I have here. I love that we don't shy away from the rough kids, the ones that most people don't want to deal with. It's hard, so hard. But at least these kids know for one week that they are loved, and will forever know that there is a God who loves them.

Our counselors are amazing. Seriously. They deserve gold medals. And our head counselors....unbelievable. They are Jesus in the tough situations and that's never an easy job. It's just incredible to see God work through our staff, each and every one of them whether they are in the kitchen or lifeguarding or on the beachfront.

Ministry is so exahausting at times. We will end this week completely spent and ready for a break. It's hard in camp ministry too because we may never see these kids again so we have no idea if all our work meant anything. But then again, it's so cool because it completely takes the focus off of us and places it where it should be...on Jesus. He is the only thing we want them to remember. His love for them. His extreme love for them. If they forget our names and faces and never even remember the name of our camp, that's fine. But may they never forget that God's love is for them too.

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

The last of the birthday wishes this week goes out to one of my bestest friends. I LOVE this girl. I hope all of you have someone like her in your life. She is so very kind and generous and caring and compassionate and beautiful inside and out. We met going on 13 years ago (good gracious, we're old, Steph!) at college. She was "placed" in the dorm room next to mine. I know for certain that God meant us to become friends. I spent many a happy hour with her talking the nights away, laughing (oh my, there was much laughter!), listening to her tell stories (I have never met anyone who can spin a tale like her), talking her down from the window ledge while she screamed "Moby Dick will be the end of me!", at late night hockey games, watching her in plays, eating meals in Marriott, going to Movies 10, doing stupid things with her and Audrey like making her eye looked like someone had hit her and going around to other people's rooms making up a story about it, reading British teen magazines, and simply enjoying one another's company.
She's always there when I need her, even if it is just through email since we live SO VERY far apart. She always lets me know that I'm loved and cared about and thought of. She let me play with her kids and get to to know them. She sends me super long emails (volumes, right?!) that I can soak up and be encouraged through. And she lets me send super long ones back and I know she will read every word and hear what I'm saying in between the lines.
Steph, I love you so much and I am truly blessed by having you in my life. Please know that you are so very special to me and I love you dearly.
Oh....and welcome to the club!!!

Happy Birthday, Mikey...

Man, oh man, I miss you being here. Hope you are enjoying your first summer without all this craziness. And Linds...I miss you too, lots and lots!

Holiday, what holiday?

I forget that the 4th of July is a holiday. I haven't really celebrated it in about 9 years. We still have camp today and there are still over 200 kids to entertain. But hey, when your job means doing stuff like this, who can complain?!! Signing off to get back to "work."

Just because

This picture popped up on my screensaver while I was at work today. It made me smile. This is my daddy-o and I in Prince Edward Island a couple years ago. Did I mention that I love it there?!!

This was the spot where L.M. Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables. A little house used to sit here and she would gaze out the window at the apple tree covered in white blossoms (the Snow Queen as Anne called it in the books) while she wrote. The old tree is still there.

PEI is a magical place. It really does look like what you imagine when you read any of L.M.'s books. Very low key. Very few paved roads. Little houses with little flower gardens and the ocean calling in the distance. Friendly people. I (and my mom) drug my poor dad to just about every spot that L.M. lived, worked, taught or walked. It was a dream come true for me since L.M.'s books have always been my favorites. It was like walking through her world and seeing everything she detailed in her books in real life. We (the parents and I) loved it there and are ready to go back.

Happy Birthday, Leah!

It has been a true joy to get to know you better. I love that God surprised me with your friendship out of the blue. I'm praying that this year holds great things and that God will bless you in new fun ways! Love you!

me, right now

Okay, so has this ever happened to any of you? I have been praying about something very specific for a long, long time now. I truly believe that God has been speaking back. He's been letting me know exactly what His will is. Now, I'm the type of person that needs to be reassured a thousand times, so I keep asking Him if this is what He wants. Am I following what He has planned? Over and over I feel a resounding "yes." Over and over I have peace that I am following His will right now.
Then very recently, something happened that completely negates everything. It was like God was doing a complete turn around and I'm left standing in complete disillusionment. Have I heard Him wrong? Have I been following my own agenda and not even knowing it? And amidst all of these questions, I still have complete peace about what He originally promised me. But that seems so silly cause in my eyes it's completely impossible.
I know all of this sounds very cryptic and all over the place, but that's the way my brain works. And I didn't want to go into specifics here cause it really doesn't matter what they are. It's more the fact that I am struggling with trusting God right now. I feel so blindsided, yet still so at peace with Him at the same time. Battle of flesh and the spirit, I guess.
Every summer, my prayer is that God will teach me more about Him and that I will see him in new ways. I guess I just never expect it to be so big and in my face.
So there you go... that's me right now. Completely messy and broken and vulnerable. But I'm not depressed or crying or hiding in my house. Just the opposite. I want more than ever to throw myself into this ministry that is going on right now and dive into the lives of these kids that are here this week. I WANT to be in the Word constantly. I want to talk to Him all the time, and I have been. It's driving me closer to Him and even though it's so hard, there is no where else I want to be.
Is it possible to be completely confused and comforted in that confusion at the same time?
Guess so....

love you, Momma

So, a couple months ago I did a little post about some stuff that I was drooling over at Urban Outfitters. Stuff I really wanted but couldn't afford.
Well, today I got a package in the mail. This little beauty was inside. My sweet Momma ordered it for me before she left for the cruise she and my dad are now on. How incredibly thoughtful... It was the perfect day for a little pick me up.
Thanks so much, Momma! I needed some love from you today. It's an honor to be your daughter. I hope I can one day be as thoughtful as you are!

Happy Birthday, Jenny!

I'm so blessed and humbled to have you as a friend.

This week, I have 4 dear friends who have birthdays. Two are close, 2 live far. But all are so very special in my heart. (Linds, if you could tell Mike that for me since I know you read this and he doesn't!)