Camp Don Lee

Last Saturday, I went to Camp Don Lee with the AWANA Trekkies (middle schoolers) from our church. It was such a fun day, but I was extremely exhausted by the end of the night! We met at the church at 7:30am and returned around 10pm. My friend Lucy and her husband Robby were kind enough to watch Angel for the day and luckily, Angel behaved very well for them (I am one proud mama!). Here's a picture she sent me on her phone of her: 

 

Camp was a day spent canoeing, kayaking, swimming in a pond with turtles and minnows, jumping off the high dive, team challenge games, archery, sailing, lots of great food, a campfire with s'mores, worship led by the kids, and a great message by our co-lead Josh. Camp Don Lee was awesome, so I just want to share the awesomeness that took place that day with ya'll: 

On our way to Don Lee, bright and early! 

Two of the Trek leaders, Eric and Judd. 

Jen and me, setting  up the drinks and snack area.

I don't have any pictures of us canoeing, but here is a picture of the pond with the rope and high dive. I want to proudly say that I also jumped off the high dive! The kids really encouraged me to do it, so I faced my fears and took the plunge. (I don't have any pictures of my jump, but my friend Jen did take pictures on her camera, so I'll have to get it from her!)

Tori swinging off the rope! 

Holden and Luke practicing their Frisbee skills. 

Coming back from the swim in the pond, Josh and some of the kids.

The best time to eat is after a swim!  

Kelly and Helen, trying to find some shade in the 95 degree weather! 

Game time! 

During free time, I decided to try sailing! 

Quite relaxing. We even saw the Blue Angels flying overhead since the air show was that day as well. What a great afternoon, huh? 

Calling in all the swimmers left in the pond as we're about to head to dinner. 

Great couple. 

Me and Holden during dinner. 

Josh took my camera and started snapping pictures of everyone! Here's me, telling him NOT to take a picture of me. Didn't work! 

Nicole was another victim of his! 

I retaliated! 

Sweet Michala and me. 

Some of the girls. <3 

Team building challenge #3. We had to have everyone on the deck without letting any of the sides touch the ground. Communication and teamwork is the key to success! 

Archery was A LOT of fun!!! I never knew how hard it was to shoot a bow and arrow. The girls were ecstatic to try it out because of the Hunger Games and kept on telling each other to "bring out their inner Katniss!" haha! 

I have to say that God has been filling me up so much with peace, comfort, and happiness. It's amazing how much He can provide for my every need. Thank you all for your wonderful and thoughtful messages and prayers. It definitely means a lot to me to know that I have such wonderful friends and family who are supporting and praying for both Caleb and I throughout the deployment. 

Last Sunday was teacher appreciation night at AWANA. I was planning on not going since I was BEAT tired from the camping trip plus I had to play piano the next morning for church, but somehow, God really put it on my heart to go. Plus, they needed me to lead worship for AWANA that night as well as the worship leader wasn't able to make it. What a lovely night it turned out to be. The kids pitched in and bought a cake for all the teachers and I had lots of my kiddos give me the best presents I could ever ask for. 

I just want to end by sharing one of the letters I got from one of our kids. He wrote: 

"Dear Mrs. Nancy and Caleb,
Thanks for being my Trek leaders. I appreciate you so much. You've both helped me become a better Christian. I look forward to having you as Trek leaders again next year. I am praying for Caleb's safety in Afghanistan. Thanks again." 

Feeling so very blessed and happy that I have a God who loves me and shows His love to me in so many ways. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far. I miss you all and love you! 

family love

I just wanted to post some of our favorite pictures from our family photo shoot! I got the CD of the images last week, but just haven't had the time to post the pictures up, so here they are =)

XOXO,
Nancy

Family pics teasers

Hi fam!

The week before Caleb left, we decided to take some family pictures. We called a local photographer and here are some sneak peaks of what she shared with me!

News

Found an article on Caleb's unit in the papers today. I'm really proud of him and what he, and all of the Marines in the squadron, have contributed to the war effort. 

Here's the link to it: http://www.wcti12.com/news/30980270/detail.html

Drone Unit Deploys To Afghanistan For Last Time

By Mike Valerio | Reporter

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UPDATED: 6:49 pm EDT April 30, 2012

CRAVEN COUNTY -- More than 50 Cherry Point Marines left for Afghanistan Monday, deployed to fly surveillance drones over the country for the last time.
The VMU-2 Marines operate unmanned drones over the skies of Afghanistan, and were notified this will be their final deployment as the war winds down.
"Marines who go in and kick in doors, they've personally thanked me for saving their lives," Cpl. Joshua Garcia said. "It's a great feeling to be their eyes in the sky."
VMU-2 flies the RQ-7B Shadow drone, a plane that can spot targets from an altitude of 18,000 feet. The Cherry Point unit is now needed to fight a new spring offensive announced three weeks ago by the Taliban and the insurgent Haqqani network.
Flying the unarmed surveillance drones takes teamwork - at least one person to pilot, and at least one person to watch the streaming video feed.
"You have to look if they're carrying any objects, things that are really heavy," LCpl. David Chick said. "Two or three people carrying something wrapped up in a blanket or a tarp or anything."
After months of training to spot insurgents from above, LCpl. Chelsea Melber said the pressure is intense.
"If you make the wrong call, then you could just potentially ruin everything," LCpl. Melber said. "It comes down to the very last second before you can call anything."
Their deployment will last for seven months, on a mission to help a long war draw to a close.