We spent ten days at Lake Geneva Christian Center family camp. The kids had a blast and I've never seen AJ enjoy a trip more. He loved the children's classes and made new friends. It was great. The speakers were great and AJ did so well that I was able to leave him in his classroom and actually attend some of the services.
The added bonus was that our son, Sahr, his girlfriend and sweet baby girl (aka..my granddaughter) live in the area and we were able to spend some time with them.
Grandma and Mara
Our son, Sahr and his beautiful daughter; what a great Daddy!
Katie, Mara and AJ
AJ even thought she was Ok to play with
Katie and Mara; what a blessing
Julia had so much fun with her
She was so comfortable with Andy that she fell asleep
(probably due to being passed around for everyone to hold but she did so great)
In an earlier post I had promised pictures of AJ in his cooling vest. Wow the vest helped a lot. It was really hot and did a great job of keeping AJ cool. He had very few blisters as a result of the heat and he didn't look sick or exhausted from the time outdoors. I would highly recommend the vest if you have a child that struggles with heat. Thanks again to The Butterfly Fund for their gift of the vest to AJ.
We found that the vest worked best if he wore it backwards
- it didn't rub on his skin or cause blisters.
Our good friends came to visit and stayed a few days with us
Gabby was our night staff when AJ was a baby. I'm so glad we have been able to stay in contact with them. Unfortunately we didn't get a picture with her little boy - next time.
AJ fell off of a wagon before we left for camp and tore up his head.There came a point at camp where he really needed to have his head bandaged. He was so embarrassed to have his head in a bandage - he is so used to having his body bandaged but was not happy about his head. Katie came up with the perfect answer -
We had lots of fun at camp.
It was sad to say goodbye until next year.
Don't forget I promised you good news at the end of this blog post - the best news yet (no, we are not adopting again for those of you that have a one track mind)
The good news is the gospel that AJ embraced while at camp. Here is AJ's story, about God's grace in his life while at camp. We were doing bandages one day and AJ was really afraid of the upcoming pain associated with having his leg wounds exposed. He kept saying, "I am a scaredy cat!" I told him that he could ask God to help him with his pain and that God wants to live in his heart and be in charge of his life - he wouldn't be a scaredy cat, alone, anymore - God's power would live in him like a Super Hero and give him strength for everyday and every bandage change. AJ wanted to know if God was a ghost that would live in him (thank you Scooby Doo). We talked about God being real and that his spirit could live in him. We talked about sin, the things we have done wrong, and that the death of Jesus on the cross took away our punishment. AJ and I prayed together so that he could have forgiveness of sin and be adopted into God's family. Now when AJ is afraid, I remind him that even if he feels like a scaredy cat; God lives in him and is bigger than any problem or pain that he has. What a great event and a new beginning for AJ and his personal walk with Jesus.
Thanks for being so patient with my blog posts. Blessings to each of you today and I pray you too may know the good news of Jesus Christ. If you have not heard that you can live a new life in Jesus Christ, please ask and I would love to share with you what the Bible teaches about God's love, his death on the cross and what that means for you.
Barbara and AJ
Love this post! Especially the "best for last" part! Thanks for sharing!
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