honey camp meets November

So this is the last of the missing posts. I had partly put this one together before the news of Seth's death came and thought today was as good a time as any to finish it.

You guys know what Honey Camp is, right? If not, you can be brought up to speed by reading here. Every year is fun...they make so much great stuff. Last year they made ceramic Christmas trees one day and this year, they made pumpkins. How sweet. Remember the pumpkins? And now, they don our mantle for fall along with some of my favorite fall pictures from when they were littler. Love these pumpkins. I also love that our kids will have tangible treasures from their childhood memories with their grandparents. If they don't break in the meantime!

They also made these sweet turkeys out of straw hats. It may be silly, but I thought they belonged in the kitchen window. They make me smile. :)

So there you have it, Honey Camp meets November. Quite fitting...and quite fleeting I might add. Though they were only out for a few weeks, Christmas decorations have taken their place and these pumpkins are turkeys are safely stored for another year.

I'm grateful that as I sit here in a different state with family, getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, that my clean and completely decorated home awaits our return. I'm tired, though I've done nothing for the last few days. Exhaustion has taken hold of me both physically and emotionally. I'm sleeping so much. But as strange as it sounds, I'm excited to move through this season and all it has to offer. As healing has taken the place of sickness for Seth and contentment in His plan is slowly taking the place of anger and questioning for me. I've got so far to go. But today, this day before Thanksgiving, I'm pondering the greatest gift ever given and how we are undeserving recipients. This Gift continues to sustain me especially and though my thoughts consistently drift to our missing boy, Jesus is meeting me in my grief and showing Himself faithful and true.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. May we worship the giver of all good things. And may we continue to rest in His steadfast love.

Honey Camp Twenty Ten part 2~

So I'm just going to pack this post full 'o pictures and be done with it. Time is marching away from me and I need to get crankin' on some other posts....{I will back date this to closer to actual time it happened! But for now, I'm so far behind! 8.1.10}

Tuesday through Friday of HC Twenty Ten was much like Day 1...stellar! The kids were so good and got along really well. We just had the best time. We missed daddy of course, but it's such a good distraction to go to my parents' when Jase is away. We were busy, busy! And that's a good thing during the summer!

The kids painted little flower pots green, then glued them all together to make mini Christmas trees! They each also had a canvas and made their own work of art to hang in their home. They painted wooden tissue holders, personalized a clear paint can to hold all of their little treasures, and tons of other stuff. You can see each of their HC projects in the last picture {minus their ceramic Christmas trees which were being fired at the time.}

Just like other days, after crafts, the kids would go play on the water slide outside. Then we'd start lunch {you can see below that Syd had trouble waiting for lunch! lol!}. Maybe it was because she knew that the faster lunch came, the faster snow cones would follow! And yes, maybe even another round of smores! It's HC afterall! Joel decided one day while he was waiting, to share a book about our trip to Disney with my grandmother Nan. He loves Nan! And she loved hearing him name everyone in the book! He's such a part of our family and he really knows it! One afternoon, all of the cousins ended up in the guest bed watching a movie together. So sweet~

One night, Joel was in a particularly great mood and just decided to climb on Kevin's shoulders out of the blue. It was hysterical. Again, he's right at home with his family...just like he should be. It's a beautiful thing, watching this boy come alive. That sounds cheesy to say. But it's so true. Every month, it's like he settles more. And just when I think it couldn't get better, it does. Such a blessing God has given us in this son. In all three of our kids and family. This week and the memories tied up in it, make me so grateful~

Wordless {Honey Camp} Wednesday~

Honey Camp Twenty Ten part 1~

So the first day of HCTT was superb and well. I've got this looong post to prove it. After a fantastic 4th of July the day before, we came home exhausted and soon after, fell into bed in preparation for the busy morning that was coming. Mom did manage to cover her kitchen table before bed though...she's so good to use butcher paper to protect her table as well as welcome the kiddies to HC. This year there were SIX kids! Of course my three {Joel's first of many HC's!}, my cousin Jamie's kids {Kenzie and Owen} and my aunt, Stacy's, little girl Madeline. {Stacy and I are only four years apart in age...my mom is the oldest of her siblings and Stacy is the youngest. So we really grew up together. Syd is a year older than Maddie.} So we got started around 9am on Monday and hit it hard till around 4!

This is sure to be the longest HC post because it was just a great day with lots of pics! The theme of this year's HC {if there was one} was paint. Because these kiddies painted something everyday! Mom had each of them a huge t-shirt to wear each day to protect their clothes...they painted a ton! And because of the required time to complete these, we started straight away with ceramic Christmas trees. We have a lady in our church who offers ceramics classes...the girls have both been through her class and have made beautiful trees before. So the ones they made at HC are being given to my mom and Jason's mom. Joel gets to keep his...so each of my kiddies has their own to have as adults. How cool is that?

It takes THREE coats of glaze to cover these trees that stand about a foot tall I guess. You also paint the base {where the light kit is attached}. It's so weird to me. The glaze for deep green is a dark gray color as it goes on. Then as it dries, it is a really light gray. When it is fired though, it becomes a perfect green with lighter accents throughout. Joel painted the top four inches of his tree six times I think! So funny. I of course helped him with the rest. But he was doing a bang up job on his own too! Here are the fruits of our labor.

We took the trees to a friend for firing and here is the finished product. This one is Joel's. I've put the lights in it but still need a star for the top...you get the idea though!

The kids also began painting their lap boards/lap desks today. Prior to HC, each child decided on a theme for their board. Kennedy just wanted her initial with paisley fabric, Sydney chose Tinkerbell, and Joel chose Buzz Lightyear {shocker!}. So they began with the task of painting the boards the solid color of their choosing and mom and I sanded them so they'd be nice and smooth. The next night, Keith and I painted their design on the boards for them. But here they are on day one of painting~

After painting the lap boards , the kids headed out to play on mom's water slide. I wondered if Joel would even like it...but oh my. He couldn't get enough!

I made up some yummy chicken salad and we had lunch around noon. Then the kiddies made smores. Yep, with a lighter. Oh the fun they have at HC!

Each afternoon following lunch, we headed a few miles down the road to my Uncle Al's home where he has the perfect in-ground pool. The kids would swim and swim and wear themselves out! My mom's sisters, Jill and Stacy, and I enjoyed some laughs and great conversation. Kev got to come with us this first day and I think us ladies educated him a bit seeing how he's still a newlywed and all! lol!

My sweet Joel, he fell fast asleep {actually he did this everyday at the pool!}. But on this Monday, he climbed up on the float with me, and said, "night night mama." He nestled himself down and slept like this for about 25-30 minutes. I was afraid he was getting too much sun so my aunt Jill lifted him out of the pool and laid him on a lounge chair. He never woke up. How beautiful is he?

We just had a fantastic day!