Mountaintop Experience

It was the best idea EVER. My dad came up with it, and it was brilliant. My Nana, who lives far too far away, was going to be in Gatlinburg, TN all this week. We had planned on camping this month anyway, so he thought it would be a great idea to surprise her by camping there so we could see her for a few days.

Great idea?! BEST IDEA EVER!

I love surprising people, and this was no exception. We even decided to keep it a secret from the kids.

So, after many long weeks of preparation and trying not to blow the lid off our diabolical plot, it was time to leave.  We woke the kids at 5:45 on Saturday morning. We had mostly packed the night before and had made the finishing touches before waking them up. We bid them "Good Morning" and told them to grab their blankets, pillows, flip flops, and sneakers and hop into the van.

Little Ryan was confused because it was "still night outside." Destiny asked if there was a fire. Emily asked if the war had started and we were fleeing to the woods to live off the land.

I eased their minds and told them we were going on an adventure.  They begged to know where we were going, but we kept the lid on tight.  Josiah created wonderful, personalized scavenger hunts for each of them which really helped keep them occupied on the eight hour trip.

Finally, we pulled up to Jellystone Park...and it was raining.  "Oh...we're going camping," the girls said with a marked lack of enthusiasm, but seeing Pawpaw putting the tent up at the site made it all better. "OH!! This actually makes sense now!" Destiny exclaimed.

"I don't go camping without The Master," I said.

After a bit it stopped raining, and getting the site together got a bit easier. Josiah and Destiny hopped in the car to go get some condiments, and an hour or so later my dad got the call...

They were on the side of the road. It sounded like the transmission was out.

*INSERT OMINOUS DOOM MUSIC HERE*

I won't bore you with all the details - we needed to have the transmission rebuilt. Sounds like a crappy vacation huh?

Nope.  It was awesome.

As soon as Dad left to go get Josiah and Des off the side of the road, I turned to God in prayer. I can't always say that has been my first response to apparent tragedy, but it was in this case, and God is SO faithful.

Not more than 5 seconds after I lifted my head from praying Emily said, "This must be a Christian campground.  There's a big cross on the playground equipment."  I told her I thought the owners were indeed Christians because I had seen a scripture in the pamphlet they gave us.  I pulled it back out to show her, and the verse I saw (but hadn't paid enough attention to the first time) almost brought me to tears:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

 the Maker of heaven and earth.

~Psalm 121:1-2~

And then, I thought of one of my favorite verses: Philippians 4:6-8, and just as that verse promises, as I handed my burdens over to God, He gave me the peace that passes all understanding.

My help came from the Lord.

We saw His mighty hands time and time again during the trip:

• When Josiah broke down, he pulled over into a parking lot...an auto repair parking lot...the only one for a 10-20 mile stretch. 
• We got to spend some wonderful time with my Nana, her sisters Janie and Lorene, my dad, and even a couple relatives I hadn't met before.  We even got an extra day!
• My dad's air compressor wouldn't blow up our air mattress because the coupling didn't fit, but our neighboring camper helped us out, and it was exactly the pump we needed.
• My kids snuggled with one another to keep warm at night in the cold mountain air...it's the closest they've ever been.
• We were very blessed that one of our relatives could help us pay for the repairs (we'll be paying them back, of course).
• He made us stop.  Instead of going, going, going, we were forced to stay. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over the camp fire, sang while my dad played guitar, went on walks, and simply enjoyed one another's company and God's beautiful outdoors. 
• When we needed to stay an extra night, but Dad had to get back (and most of the camping gear was his), the wonderful people at Jellystone Park gave us a cabin for the price of a tent site (which means they gave us just about half off the cabin rate).
• We woke up Wednesday morning to rain...so we snuggled in the cabin and ate leftover pizza in bed (we ordered it the night before - which was picked up with the help of more wonderful neighboring campers.).  We played cards and got ice cream in the game room, and the sweet lady who works in the office put on Smurfs for the kids.

We were well taken care of each and every step of the way.

As my Aunt Janie would say, "It's a 'God thing.'"

We're home now, safe and sound. The van is all fixed, and we had a camping trip none of us will ever forget...one that could have been miserable had we not turned our eyes to God and trusted in His provision.

We lifted our eyes to the mountains. Our help came from the Lord.

Fanning smoke

Phinehas likes camping!

Somehow I managed to NOT get a picture of my dad!! :( However, most of this stuff is his.  

See the cross next to Ryan?

                         

 

Great Nana FINALLY got her hands on this baby!

My Nana and her sisters, Janie and Lorene.  Three beautiful ladies!!

We roasted dogs...ya know...hot dogs. :)

People were indeed shorter just over a century ago...or they ducked a lot.

Pizza in bed

Cabin #3 :)

Back to Me

I don't know how to start this, except to say that I haven't been myself lately.  Those who know me best know I am almost perpetually sunshiny...really, it's almost disgusting.  My friend and co-worker Krystyn often volunteers to work out with me, but I'm not exactly sure why...I think it makes her want to shove me down a flight of steps.  It can't be easy huffing and puffing and being miserably with Rainbow Bright in your ear talking about how "if we keep doing it then it will just get easier!!" and "I know it's hard but you can totally do this!!" 

But the last few days, I just haven't been me.  My car broke down Thursday afternoon.  I went to Josiah's parents' to pick up Destiny, and it just wouldn't start back up.  So...GREAT.  Not only is my inspection expired because the clock spring beneath the airbag is broken and the ABS light is on (because I pinched a dang sensor that now needs to be replaced), but my car won't start...and wouldn't jump!!  Oh, and I need a new serpentine belt, too.  Like icing on the cake. *sigh*

I'm going to try not to go into any more boring car details, but it was a stressful weekend.  Today, I was able to get in touch with a great mechanic who cleaned the battery terminals and TA DA...running minivan.  But until then...craziness.  And not only was there a bunch of confusion, but when I was at home, I was totally grounded without transportation. Not to mention the stress of trying to figure out how I was going to fund the major auto repair I thought I was going to have to deal with.

When I was stuck in the house, I just wanted to read. I didn't want to clean my house. I didn't want to play with my kids.  I didn't want to talk to anyone.  I didn't want to go online.  I just didn't want to do anything.  With my state of mind, I think all that stuff just felt like pretending.  It's hard for me to interact like that.  I feel like I'm passing my "blah" onto everyone else like some nasty ooze, and I just don't like spreading it.

In talking to my dad, I acknowledged how silly it was.  God has provided for me so well.  I'm fine.  My children are fine.  I'm pretty broke, but my bills are paid and there's a roof over our heads, and we're not starving anytime soon.  I'm surrounded by people who love me and are tyring to help me and have really gone out of their way to make sure I could function (Susan, Mike, Justin, Jessica, & Dwayne...this definitely means you).  I have beautiful children and a Josiah that loves me...but I still couldn't help feeling sad.  I even prayed about how silly I felt being sad.

Even tonight after I found out the van was running...I was still not "me."  Josiah came over and looked at me and said "still pouty?"  Um...yes.  Still pouty.  Luckily, he happens to be completely silly and know how to cheer me up.  So after some silly faces, a special green tea frappuccino, and some couch cuddling, I feel SO much more like myself.

I wish I had more of a lesson in this.  I still feel foggy, but I also feel like I should get this all out.  I feel like I should be quoting scripture and telling you all how I really dug in and the Word pulled me out of my funk...but I totally didn't.  I prayed about it, but I didn't even feel as connected as I normally do in that.

I do know that I'm a very lucky girl.  I feel very blessed to have the people in my life that I do.  And I truly hope to have something more inspiring to say later this week!