WHAT A CAMP OUT!

JOJO AND ANNA AND THEIR BIG GIRL BUDDY KELLY

HEADING TO CHECK OUT THE DUCKS

CALEB AND JACK


LOUIS KNEE BOARDING


LOUIS, CALEB AND ANNA ON OUR HIKE


THE HINTZ AND STOCKTON CREW AT INKS LAKE

We are back safe and sound from our trip to Inks Lake. No blown tires this trip... Yeah! But that doesn't mean it wasn't with out adventure. Would you call being 2 feet away from a skunk with its tail raised in the dark an adventure? Really, I think it was a miracle that Anna and I didn't sprayed especially when we had to high tail it because I couldn't get her to stop screaming. She was so scared, by the time we made it to the bathroom, her lip was bleeding she bit down on it so hard. I felt so bad for her. Anyways, it was kind of a whirlwind trip, but so worth it and so much fun. We left Sunday after church, and headed back Wednesday morning.

The neat part about it was that our sweet friends the Stocktons invited us to go with their small group from church. We had known most of them when we were at Salem 10 years ago. But a couple of them were new to us. They were incredibly sweet to welcome us with open arms. They are all home school families, hence the reason we could all be there during the week this time of the year. One of the neatest things was that most of the other families besides the Stocktons and us had older kids. These were the neatest older kids. The first morning we were there we went hiking with everyone. These older kids were so incredibly helpful. They took such great care of the littler ones, just scooping them up or giving them a hand when needed. And the really cool thing was that they did it so joyfully. All week they were taking the little ones under their wings, teaching the how to knee board, sitting on the beach, drying them off, helping them get food, no matter what it was, they were there to do it. What neat examples of great young Christian teenagers. They helped the little ones and accepted the bigger ones right away to hang out with them.

The first morning we were there we hiked. The Texas Hill Country is really beautiful. We hiked to this area called Devil's watering hole. Louis, Caleb, Anna, and Greg all did some jumping off of of the cliffs. The kids were pretty brave... braver than I would have been. Then we hung out by the beach at the lake and just swam, floated around, watched the kids play. Some one brought a huge water trampoline that was loads of fun for the kids. They had a blast and were completely worn out by the end of each day.

The kids were also amazed with all of the creatures we saw. We had a baby armadillo living under a tree outside of our cabin. We saw many deer. And yes, we saw at least 5 skunks. The crazy thing was on way down to Inks Lake we were slowed because of an accident caused by a car hitting a cow.... a HUGE, enormous bull cow, big, dark and black.... not to easy to see in the dark. Thankfully the driver was ok, but wooh, that was strange to see.

We did lots of visiting and sharing about what is going on in our lives. It was nice to be with all of them knowing that they have been praying for us this year. One of the moms, specifically said that she feels so close to me because she has commited to pray for me everyday. When you pray for someone everyday, they are on your mind and heart. It was so sweet of her. We had lost of great late night talks with the Stocktons. It was so nice to share our hearts with them. We all remember very clearly sharing with them our fertility struggles before we ever conceived any of our children. They were supportive then and they are supportive now with the journey of losing Samuel and then Joel. They are great listeners. We still miss the fact that we don't live closer to them.

But I do have to mention that regardless of how great they are... we still weren't going to let them beat us in spades:) (Who knows I am sure they will probably get us next time... we have a long standing competition with them... it used to be tennis when we lived right by them.:)

They are some of the funniest people I know. Really, I know they are funny, but I think it is the combination of all of our goofiness that when put together for any amount of time leads to lots of belly laughing. And it felt so good. I love the comfort level with old friends, just picking up where you left off the last time. It was a precious gift to spend a few days with them and their friends.

Beautiful weather...

Beautiful, cabins... (well not really beautiful, but it sure beat the tent camping we usually do:)

Beautiful creation...

Beautiful conversations...

Beautiful laughter...

Beautiful friends...

God has been gracious this week and we are so thankful.