Pine Cove Family Camp

We just got back from our 3rd summer at Pine Cove Family Camp! We had a total blast! During the week, they have several "theme nights" and this first one was Western night. Here are our cowboy and cowgirls getting ready to go to the rodeo! Yee-haw...

The whole Burton family got into character that night. It was a ton of fun!

One of everyone's favorite pastimes at camp this year was playing foosball...

Here are our dear friends, the Hotchkiss family. This is Molly, holding Taylor who is 2, Ken- Luke's longtime buddy since high school, Haley-9, Jacob-6, and Abby-4. Jacob and Logan are big buddies...they had so much fun hanging out together! And Abby and Faith Anna had a lot of fun playing together this year. We also usually go with Ken's brother's family, Mike and Diane Hotchkiss, who are also good friends of ours. But this year, they had the privilege of staying home with their precious 2-week old daughter, Hope Louise. Hope has 2 big sisters, Susannah-6 and Bethany-2 and a big brother, Will who is 4. They are all doing great...but we missed them very much! Looking forward to all being back together next summer...

Faith Anna and Abby

Faith Anna and Beth were enthralled at the rodeo (or "radio" as Beth called it!)

Another favorite at Pine Cove is the Ropes Course. Here is Logan getting harnessed in for the Superman swing!

Flying high like Buzz Lightyear.

Luke's turn was next...

Another Buzz Lightyear? Luke and Logan had so much fun doing this!

Beth even asked if she could do the Superman swing. Hmmm... maybe in a few years. That girl is brave!

Logan and Jacob getting ready to do the zip line together.

Hanging out before dinner in our PJs for the next theme night "Pajama Karaoke Slam"...

Jacob, Faith Anna, and Logan.

Did I mention that Logan and Jacob had a blast together this week?





Swimming....it never seems to get old for our bunch! Here is Logan on the high dive.

Logan and Luke up on the water slide. This thing is very high...and very fast!

Shooting out into the pool. Logan must have done the slide more than half a dozen times!

Logan loved this counselor named Sully. Sully led the boys group in Wild Kids (5-6 year olds) and was just awesome with them! Thank you Sully.

Logan's group worked hard to win the Spirit stick. Here he is showing it off with the awsome girl counselors for Wild Kids, Fave and Hippity Hop. (Have I said that the Counselors all have silly names that they use all week? Then on the last day of camp, they reveal their real names. Ooh-aah! It is actually a lot of fun for everyone!)

So we talked about swimming, but what about the Blob? Oh yes, this was Logan's first year to do the Blob...and he loved it! His counselor Sully told us that the first day they took the Wild Kids out to do this activity, they were all too scared and no one wanted to climb up. Then he said that Logan stepped forward and volunteered to try it. Once Logan went, of course all the other kids saw how much fun it was, and tried it! Sully said that Logan was very brave and a great leader... so fun for us to hear about our son!

Getting ready to jump...

Can I do this about 100 more times?

No way was Faith Anna going to do the Blob this summer....but swimming with Logan was a lot fun!

The last theme night was "Put Me in Coach". Here are Faith Anna, Abby, Jacob and Logan sporting their Texas A&M and Houston Astros garb...

Just the girls.... Go Aggies!

Beth loved this fun counselor named Fave, who is also a fightin Texas Aggie...

And My Fair Lady was another one Beth's favorites. These counselors were just amazing with our kids!

Faith Anna and Diamond Darlin. This sweet counselor hung out with us everyday and did our Family Devo with us each morning after breakfast. Such a great girl...

Being silly...

I probably haven't talked about Logan and Jacob yet...

Anytime we couldn't find them, we just went to one of the foosball tables....

Faith Anna and Haley Hotchkiss with our new friend in the middle, Brooks Claire. She is the oldest of 4 girls in a sweet family from Baton Rouge. Our girls all loved hanging out together.

Beth and Hippity Hop. Every meal time, Beth would look for Hippity and run up to her with a big hug. She was awesome!

On the last day of camp, the counselors gave the bigger kids (5 years and up) certificates called "CQs"...these are Character Qualities that they had seen in the kids all week. I know I've already said it, but these counselors are just incredible! I truly believe that God hand-picked each of them for our kids. They shine the light of Jesus in every single thing that they do...and they are just plain fun! After camp, our kids get letters from them throughout the year just encouraging them and telling them hello. They are college kids that each of us parents want our kids to be like one day! Needless to say, Logan was so proud to receive his CQ from Sully.

Saying goodbye to 4 of our girl counselors- Cereal Number, Demolition Derby, Impress Me Much and Sugar & Spice.

Three of my girl friends- Wendy Lambert, Holland Nader, and Molly Hotchkiss. Rarely do the moms get in a picture!

The girls and I getting ready to head home on the last day of camp. We had such a fun time this summer. Pine Cove is an incredible place! If you haven't heard of it, check it out at pinecove.org

You won't regret it!

Little things

It's late and Logan is up with an earache. He came downstairs a little while ago just crying that his ear hurt so badly! Probably too much swimming...
So now after some medicine and some hair-scratches, he's laying on the couch beside me and it just makes me think of all the little things I am thankful for. And all the things in this world that are spinning out of control around me at the same time.

I'm so thankful for this family God has given me. For Logan's wide-front tooth grin and those sweet freckles across his nose. I love how he tries to make jokes and be funny in that silly 6 year old way. He is so cute.

For the way Faith Anna loves to dress-up and perform...yet in certain situations, she is one of the most shy little girls I've ever known. When she hides behind me or clings to my leg for dear life...it reminds me that we all have that God-given need to feel safe. She is learning to have new confidence daily and how to feel safe even in the unknown things. But anyway, today she sat me down to play "beauty shop"...and she had thought of everything. She put water in a little medicine cup and used a cotton swab to "paint my fingernails". She brushed my hair and put more barrettes and ribbons in it than should be legal. But just her cute mannerisms and imagination crack me up. And she has this silly, crooked smile that she does...

For Beth's dimple. She smiles and it just lights up the room. I love how she plays make-believe and uses all her stuffed animals and anything else that she can find! She has such a fun, spunky personality. And Luke and I are just watching her grow up before our very eyes. She changes daily...and we are really beginning to see the fruits of our labor! She is learning to mind the first time, come when she's called, and how to be kind and really care for others. These are big things in the life of a 2 year old!

For this baby who is jumping around right now in my belly. Even as I sit here and type, I can visibly see my belly moving. What a miracle! God is so amazing the way he creates and gives life. I can't wait to meet this baby boy. What will he be like? What will he grow to be? What plans does God have for him already?

For my sweet husband. He has loved me so well for over 11 years. How did I ever deserve him? I married way out of my league. I love how he gets me when no one else does. I love how in sync we are on everything. And I love how he chooses to be with us instead of doing lots of other things that beckon him at times. He is wonderful. His blue eyes still move me... and now he has given me three more sets of those same exact blue eyes. Funny. Wonder if this last babe will break the trend and be brown-eyed like his mama...

For all of our amazing extended family....and wonderful friends....and on and on.

And all of this in the midst of a hurting world. In the midst of fear and suffering and pain. There is such irony and contradiction in it all. My heart aches for all of those people that are hurting so badly right now. For Julie Pritchett and Laine Scott who's moms are both struggling in a fight against cancer...for the Sheets who are all missing Tyler so much...for the Akeman's who have endured a 2-year struggle with sweet Avery that none of us can even imagine...for Terah who is separated from Nate in Iraq...for Thi and her family in Vietnam...for Sharon and the Moyo family in Zimbabwe...for the Hellings who just lost their new baby after only 45 minutes of life in this world....for Stacy, Sarah Grace and Cammy who miss their Daddy so much....for the Otte's who have gone thru so much to have sweet baby Kate....for all the lonely people out there...for the orphans and broken families...for the desperate, the abused, the enslaved...and on and on.

But God is sovereign. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Please put some salve on this world Lord. We need it so badly.

I am praying for the PAPA Mission trip right now. Thank you Sheets and Browns for going over tp Africa and so faithfully serving in such a hurting place. What a difference you are making. And thank you Andy for your talk on "Less is more" and getting rid of the extra. Using the money from the extra to fund things like "Water is basic". Check it out at waterisbasic.org
These are the little things that make a difference.
These are the little things that I'm pondering way after midnight now...way too late when I should be sleeping.
peace to you all

Fun in Bay View, Michigan!

This past June, we spent a fun 2 weeks up in Northern Michigan. Each summer we have the privilege of visiting Luke's wonderful grandmother at her charming little cottage in Bay View, Michigan. The cottage was built in 1879 and has much rich history behind it! Luke and his family came up to this same cottage every summer when he was a boy....so now we are taking our turn at making the same memories with our three kids. Nanny is probably not quite 5 feet in stature....Logan is quickly gaining on her in height as you can see! But her wisdom and kindness measure far above and beyond the norm. She is such a spunky and fun grandmother...a ton of fun to spend time with and be around! We had a delightful time together this summer. Thank you for having us, Nan!

One of our favorite things to do in Bay View is just hang out on the porch. Here are Luke and Nan enjoying some porch time.

We spent Father's Day in Michigan this year. The morning started out at The Pancake House and just got better as the day went on...

Luke and Faith Anna



Luke is such a great Daddy...just look at these happy faces!

The evening ended with this unbelievable sunset. This is the view from the front porch looking out over the bay. Nothing like a Michigan sunset.

We spent lots of time on the Bay View beach. The kids just loved the sand...and actually enjoyed the water, despite it being about 60 degrees! Chilly....

I love this picture of Faith Anna...

Logan trying to get his nerve up to get out in the water and swim!

Beth loved the beach!

Logan got brave...and he and Luke actually swam out to the floating dock! He was so proud.

So of course if Logan did it, Faith Anna had to try it. So here are she and Luke taking their turn at swimming in the frigid bay water. I couldn't believe it. Swimming in the bay at 4 1/2 years old!

Building sandcastles was a favorite....

...as was watching Faith Anna perform her "sand ballet". Ha!

The pool water was quite chilly too...

...so Faith Anna just hung out by the side posing in my sunglasses.

More sand play. Beth is such a little love.





Another one of our favorite places is the "Waterfall park" as the kids call it. It is actually called Sunset park, I think, down on the Petoskey bayfront. The girls loved posing by the waterfall...

What cuties!

While the girls were busy posing, look where Logan climbed up to!

Beth loved playing in the stream...

...while Logan and Faith Anna loved jumping over it!

They were very proud of themselves for climbing to the top of these stairs. There's Beth at the bottom heading up as well. She couldn't be left out of the fun...and yes, she made it all the way to the top too!

Being silly back down at the bottom.

Another favorite activity was playing in the sprinkler...

Logan got it all started...

....and Faith Anna joined right in.

Goofing off with Papa Dude

Logan decided that just riding a scooter wasn't exciting enough...so he created a new activity that he called "scooter skiing"!

This was a common evening pastime...watching the girls perform ballet and curtsey on the front porch.

Logan and Faith Anna with their good Bay View friend, Suzie Parker.

One evening we had a picnic in downtown Petoskey at the "Gazebo park" as the kids refer to it. It was such a nice night playing frisbee golf, eating ice cream after dinner, and playing with the kids.

Beth is posing by "her garden".

Faith Anna and Granny Boo put on a ballet show for us in the gazebo.

And Logan had fun playing on this vintage war-time cannon.





Pirate's Cove putt-putt park is another favorite place for us to go. Logan and Faith Anna had a blast here! Faith Anna wouldn't wash off her pirate tattoo for a couple of weeks afterward! ha.

Future Tiger?

Future Annika?

This was a fun memory with my two big kids.

One afternoon we drove a few miles over to the darling city of Charlevoix to watch the drawbridge open. Every half hour, the siren would go off signalling that the bridge was about to open and let the tall sailboats and yahts pass through. We had such a fun time there that day with Granny Boo.

Faith Anna accomplished something quite significant this year...she successfully swung across an entire set of monkey bars! She's been working at this for some time now...and she was so proud of herself.

I think we played on a playground nearly everyday! The weather was magnificent and we just thoroughly enjoyed being outside all the time. What a fun trip. Thanks again to Nanny, Boo and Chris, for a such a fun time.

This is on the plane trip home. Luke had to go home and get back to work a week earlier than us, so I braved the plane trip by myself...5 months pregnant with our three kids. Ha! Some thought we were crazy, but wouldn't you know? The kids did great and we had a fabulous trip. I couldn't believe that all three of them slept during most of the 2 hour second plane trip. Here are Faith Anna (never without her tiara) and Logan completely under his yoda blanket.

And our sweet Beth, completely sacked out. I knew Luke wouldn't believe it, so I had to document it. I actually got to read several chapters in my book that evening on the plane...pretty nice.

We had such a fun time! Can't wait until next year...