A day at the lake

Well, I am not so sure that you would still call a drained lake, a lake. The retreat is held at Palmetto Bible Camp in the mountains of upstate South Carolina. There is a man-made lake there that they had drained this year, for whatever reasons that you drain a man-made lake.

We went to the family retreat even though Alora had been a little bit sick. Some of the other children heading up there had been a bit sick too, so we just all decided to make the best of it. It was warmer than it usually is, so there was much more time to spend outdoors with the children and in the sun than we usually have. Usually with small children it is just too cold to stay outside all the time that you are up there, but this year it was unseasonably warm, so it was great to spend some time in the great outdoors.

Aralyn loves to be held and talked to, and that is what she got all weekend. She was very good, just happy the whole time. She really is the most laid back child. She had gotten a little stuffy on Saturday night. There was a bonfire, and after we roasted some marshmellows and ate a few smores we put the kids in the bed. Sharing the cabin with just one other family made it easy to put the kids in bed and then head back out to sit on a deck of another cabin or by the fire. Saturday night I went back to check on Aralyn, who was a bit stuffy and Alora who had been coughing a good bit. Aralyn was struggling for breathe and gagging and threw up just as I got there. I felt really bad for having left her. Other than that incident, she did really well there.

Alora loved walking through the leaves and making them crunch. She had the best time playing in the sand, which was really just the volley ball court. Someone had thought to bring some sand toys and so the little kids had a great time building castles and getting dirty! She loved looking for different colored leaves, pine cones and sticks. She even loved looking at some poor captured salamanders that the older kids had found and placed in cups and bowls.

Aidan and his best little friend had tons of fun running around camp and finding sticks and things. They also went on a hike with their dads and had some great bonding time together. This was the first year that he was really able to just tell us where he was headed and run off to play. He had a great time and loved every minute.

Adam did the Saturday morning class. I was so proud of him and he did a great job, even though he was terribly nervous about doing a class type setting instead of just a sermon. He got some good guy time in with some of his friends and had fun spending some quality time with the family too.

I got some great pictures at a waterfall/holding pond that runs down to the lake and all around camp. I always enjoy being up there...Adam and I met there and got married there, lots of other great memories from my youth are related to this camp; I even got baptized there! It is a special place to me. The retreat is like going home. This year especially since we have been attending the small congregation that Adam preaches at for over a year now. It seems like it was time to get to know all our firends from the previous congregation again. We truly love them all and love the time we get to spend with them. The only bad thing is that the time passes much too quickly.

There was even a baptism...praise God! It was just a great time with our friends and family and we are so glad that we got to go!

editted by me on Oct. 27th, I had to fix some things and add the pictures. enjoy!