We have gotten to do some fun things with the kids since it is summer time. Last Saturday we got to take our girl's cottage to the annual Cypress Historical Society Picnic. They had all sorts of booths with crafters offering free lessons in everything from wool spinning, stamp collecting, knitting, quilting, calligraphy, cross stitch and painting. The girls had a great time and they were especially proud (as was I as their teacher) to be able to tell the ladies at the knitters station that they were learning this fun hobby at home. They also had a bouncy house so
Bug was in heaven!
After we finished up with the girls in cottage 2 we had some much needed days off after our 12 day long shift. We slept in, we did some shopping and we enjoyed some much needed family time. It was especially nice because since our cottage 11 family is on vacation this week we got to spend our days off in the quiet, empty house instead of just our smaller apartment. It was definitely good to feel like we could stretch our legs a bit and be a little more free to relax than we sometimes feel that we can otherwise.
On one of our days off we went to eat with some of the other teaching parents. We went with a young couple who has a baby a boy who is just under a year and with the wife's parents who are also a teaching couple at BGC. It was so good to get away from campus and be able to talk and to share a meal with them. I think we all walked away feeling like that was much needed and that we would for sure do it again in the near future.
After we finished up with the girls in cottage 2 we had some much needed days off after our 12 day long shift. We slept in, we did some shopping and we enjoyed some much needed family time. It was especially nice because since our cottage 11 family is on vacation this week we got to spend our days off in the quiet, empty house instead of just our smaller apartment. It was definitely good to feel like we could stretch our legs a bit and be a little more free to relax than we sometimes feel that we can otherwise.
On one of our days off we went to eat with some of the other teaching parents. We went with a young couple who has a baby a boy who is just under a year and with the wife's parents who are also a teaching couple at BGC. It was so good to get away from campus and be able to talk and to share a meal with them. I think we all walked away feeling like that was much needed and that we would for sure do it again in the near future.
It was good, too, to hear that they had read and strangely enjoyed my blog from a couple weeks ago where I opened up and was very honest about how hard this job can sometimes be. They all said that it was good to read and know that they were not alone in how they sometimes felt. It was good for me to hear that it had meant something to them and for me to also be reminded that I was not alone in my feelings.
It also gave Mommy some good opportunities for taking some cute Bug-togrophy at the restaurant.
Since coming back on shift we have actually been in a new cottage. Our boys in 11 are still on vacation so we are in cottage 7 with some of the house parents we had dinner with the other night.
It's been fun to get to know this new group of boys. They are a younger cottage; the youngest in the house is seven and the oldest is about fourteen. The house parent couple that we are staying with in this cottage is actually the couple that we visited with when we first came to boys and girls country when we were checking it out to see if it was a place where we wanted to serve. It's been really nice to reconnect with them over the last couple of days and to be able to learn from them more about what it's like to really be a house parent. We are getting lots of good tips and advice, as well as getting the opportunity to see how other cottages manage their household.
The boys at this cottage have been really sweet to Campbell. It's been fun for him to have some younger boys who are interested in some of the same things that he likes to play.
Today a church group came out to help the boys in this cottage with a good, deep clean.
They washed all of the baseboards, all of the windows, gave the bathrooms a good scrub down, and cleaned up outside really well.
It was nice for the boys to have some help with some of these bigger chores and good to see a youth group out here who wanted to help and wanted also to see how the boys live in order to connect to a ministry that they can hopefully be a part of in the future as well.
It reminded me a lot of the youth trips we took as young adults to the Round Rock Children's Village when I first felt this type of ministry calling upon my heart.
All in all its been a good week. As I sit here now typing in the office Cliff is watching a soccer game with the boys. I love to hear them laughing and cheering on the USA team together. It is a prime example of how well equipped he is for a ministry of this nature. He is such a good daddy, both to our own son who sits in his lap, and to this cottage full of surrogate sons who we get to impact today.
I am reminded of what the dog trainer/evangelist we met last fall said about how we ought to start training our hearts and minds to think not, "I have to do_______" whatever, fill in the blanks.
"I have to
work as a single until I get my own cottage",
"fill in with this cottage I do not know",
"work 12 days in a row",
but instead, he said, we should think
"I GET TO".
I get to be a part of the lives of a whole campus full of kids in 11 different cottages.
I get to watch and learn from different house parents who are great examples of what we want to one day be.
I get to wait and trust God that in His time He will bring us exactly what we need.
I know that He did this week.
Rest. Relaxation. Fellowship. Perspective.
He has brought us this far, and we trust Him to get us to where He wants us to go next.
Prayer Requests:
The precious boys in cottage 7 we met this week who have newly captured our hearts and for the teaching parent friends of ours who care for them daily.
Our boys in cottage 11 as they return home from cottage vacation in FL.
Our girls in cottage 2 as they will begin to transition as a cottage this fall adding more girls.
Us as we pray and trust and wait on the Lord for all that He will bring our way.
It also gave Mommy some good opportunities for taking some cute Bug-togrophy at the restaurant.
Since coming back on shift we have actually been in a new cottage. Our boys in 11 are still on vacation so we are in cottage 7 with some of the house parents we had dinner with the other night.
It's been fun to get to know this new group of boys. They are a younger cottage; the youngest in the house is seven and the oldest is about fourteen. The house parent couple that we are staying with in this cottage is actually the couple that we visited with when we first came to boys and girls country when we were checking it out to see if it was a place where we wanted to serve. It's been really nice to reconnect with them over the last couple of days and to be able to learn from them more about what it's like to really be a house parent. We are getting lots of good tips and advice, as well as getting the opportunity to see how other cottages manage their household.
The boys at this cottage have been really sweet to Campbell. It's been fun for him to have some younger boys who are interested in some of the same things that he likes to play.
Today a church group came out to help the boys in this cottage with a good, deep clean.
They washed all of the baseboards, all of the windows, gave the bathrooms a good scrub down, and cleaned up outside really well.
It was nice for the boys to have some help with some of these bigger chores and good to see a youth group out here who wanted to help and wanted also to see how the boys live in order to connect to a ministry that they can hopefully be a part of in the future as well.
It reminded me a lot of the youth trips we took as young adults to the Round Rock Children's Village when I first felt this type of ministry calling upon my heart.
All in all its been a good week. As I sit here now typing in the office Cliff is watching a soccer game with the boys. I love to hear them laughing and cheering on the USA team together. It is a prime example of how well equipped he is for a ministry of this nature. He is such a good daddy, both to our own son who sits in his lap, and to this cottage full of surrogate sons who we get to impact today.
I am reminded of what the dog trainer/evangelist we met last fall said about how we ought to start training our hearts and minds to think not, "I have to do_______" whatever, fill in the blanks.
"I have to
work as a single until I get my own cottage",
"fill in with this cottage I do not know",
"work 12 days in a row",
but instead, he said, we should think
"I GET TO".
I get to be a part of the lives of a whole campus full of kids in 11 different cottages.
I get to watch and learn from different house parents who are great examples of what we want to one day be.
I get to wait and trust God that in His time He will bring us exactly what we need.
I know that He did this week.
Rest. Relaxation. Fellowship. Perspective.
He has brought us this far, and we trust Him to get us to where He wants us to go next.
Prayer Requests:
The precious boys in cottage 7 we met this week who have newly captured our hearts and for the teaching parent friends of ours who care for them daily.
Our boys in cottage 11 as they return home from cottage vacation in FL.
Our girls in cottage 2 as they will begin to transition as a cottage this fall adding more girls.
Us as we pray and trust and wait on the Lord for all that He will bring our way.
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