Hi to all! The kids and I were only gone for a week or so, but it seems like longer. Could it be that we did so many things while we were gone that it felt like longer?? I'll try to fill you guys in on what we did, day by day.
We went to Colorado Springs the first day, spent the night, then the next morning, we went to the Garden of the Gods on our way to Spring Canyon, the site of our retreat. The Garden of the Gods was beautiful and gave us a chance to get out and walk for awhile in the middle of our long journey. We met some of our fellow Fort Riley retreaters there and we went the rest of the way to Spring Canyon.
We arrived at Spring Canyon and immediately checked in with help from some of the male camp workers. Wow!! They unloaded everything!! The kids and I shared a two bedroom cabin with another family, Shauna Gossenaur and her kids, Elizabeth (5, next week) and Andrew, 2 1/2. The girls slept in the loft and Shauna and I each took a room with our boys. It was nice to be with another family, although we were packed in like sardines! That's the kids in front of our cabin, Antero.
We had three meals everyday at the Lodge, complete with more help from the staff. Without a doubt, I can say the Spring Canyon staffers have the biggest servants' hearts I have ever seen. They were quick to get up and get us moms a salad, or refill something. It was amazing to be served in that way.
Our kids had activites everyday, like VBS, while we had our praise and worship and Bible studies. Man, I learned so much about myself and what God has called me (and Jasen) to. This military life is really a calling for us; God has us here for this time, for this place, and we need to be faithful to Him. God met me on that mountaintop at Spring Canyon and it's my job to be faithful to His calling. I was uplifted, renewed, rejuvenated, you name it. One of the best sessions we had was when a LTC came to talk to us about what our soldiers are going through and what we could do to help them when they return. We talked about the fear we felt as spouses, how to handle that fear, what we can do for our kids, how we can prepare for reintegration, how we should be reaching out to other spouses to tell them about the hope we have, etc. Add on top of it that we had daily devotion and prayer time and it added up to a great meeting with God.
Now, we had a great deal of playtime, too! Grace and I went kayaking, horseback riding and shopping! Today, Grace told her dad that the horseback riding was her favorite thing. That's Grace on "her" horse, Spook. We took Davis to the hot spring to go swimming and he screamed the entire time, until I got in the hottest pool and got his feet really warm. He loves his bath, but I have decided he wants to be in the water by himself!
The most fun thing I did was white water rafting. Oh man! It was awesome! I think I learned this week that I am also more outdoorsy than I give myself credit for. We rafted down the Arkansas River, the most rafted stretch of water in Colorado. We had a great guide who talked to us, watched the other boats and navigated us through the rapids with ease. We had a great time. That's me on the front right of the boat.
The week was great and I was prepared for a real letdown when we got home. That was not to be because last night, I got a phone call from Greg and Kim Gadson! You cannot imagine the joy I felt when I saw Kim's cellphone on our caller ID! I talked to Kim for a few minutes, then she handed the phone to Greg. They both sounded tired, but their attitudes were great. Greg shared some really personal things with me and I was uplifted by his attitude. More than anything, it was just so good to hear their voices. Keep praying for them!!
We were able to webcam with Jasen today. The lines were busy, so we were only able to see him, not talk to him, but that was okay. He looked so good!! His hair is growing, so he looks more like my Jasen!f
No comments:
Post a Comment