New Experiences & The Return of Mousie and Bunny

My three older girls are going to camp this summer.  Hanson Ellis is the only one who has actually ever been, and she's only been once, so this is very exciting for them.  To make it more exciting, they were chosen to go.  The military has special camps for children of deployed parents.  The YMCA camp that Hanson Ellis attended several years ago is going to be the site of one and it just so happened that all three of the older girls fell into the age group there.  So, I took a deep breath, applied and prayed they'd all get accepted.  Well, because I'm writing this, you know they did.  I was apprehensive once they were chosen, worrying that this would somehow be a bad experience for them.  I wondered if they'd return from a week at camp with all sorts of new worries for their Daddy while he is gone and for when he returned.  Some friends of mine assured me that they'd have a positive experience, so with my anxieties relieved, we moved forward with preparations.

The girls filled out their questionnaire this afternoon.  Hanson Ellis and Parker filled out theirs on their own.  I made Patterson fill hers out by me.  Oh my!  Can I tell you how much I soaked up that very brief moment?   It was so precious to witness her reading and carefully thinking about her answers.  So absolutely priceless!  One of those moments in motherhood that sort of melts away all the bad moments:).  Just a seven year old, being a seven year old.  So innocent, yet a moment where she felt of the utmost importance.

"My name is ... Patterson."
"My favorite subject in school is ... english."
"My best friends are people who ... I like most."
"Most of my friends would say that I am ... nice."
"As my counselor, I would like you to know ... me."

I don't know.  Maybe your children attend camp regularly so you're used to these little moments. But for mine camp is a new experience and for me witnessing their anticipation is a super sweet.  It was also fun to see how each of the girls answered the questions differently.  Such a testimony of how different people interpret the same thing differently!

And finally, we have the return of Mousie and Bunny.  Mousie is Olivia's lovey.  But Mousie was lost for a couple of weeks.  Then Bunny (number 2 on her list of important things in life) turned up missing.  She really wasn't too concerned, or so I thought, until one night when she said her bedtime prayer.  "Father God, thank you for my sisters and for my Mousie (then she paused) he's not here, and for my Bunny (another pause) who's lost, ..." it was such a sad and sweet prayer.  I knew she really missed her Mousie and Bunny at that point.  We devoted the next morning to look for them, but were without success.  Tonight, however, Kate found both Mousie and Bunny under my bed!  Yeah!!  Olivia was so thrilled and Kate was very pleased to be the one who found them:).

Looking forward to informing the LTC that all is in good order on the homefront!