Camera Fun

I am really getting into this picture taking thing.

It's dangerous, though.  There is some serious money to be spent on photography.  This week I caved and finally invested in some software (called "Muvee Reveal") which makes throwing pictures into a video super easy.
Here's a link to a video produced after I photographed a wedding this month:
Glacier Point Wedding

and here's the link to one I produced after volunteering a week at Joni and Friends camp last April.
Joni and Friends 2010

These last two are the least "polished", as I was just learning, but they are the most meaningful.  They were made as Christmas gifts for my dad last December, and now they have become gifts to me.  It was his very last Christmas with us.

Merry Christmas, Dad

For Dad

The Delinquent Blogger

I am a delinquent blogger.  I admit it.  And to make it worse, I am surrounded by eloquent friends who turn a phrase as easily as I can turn a seam.  Today I decided I was going to sit down and update you all on what we're doing.  Instead, I keep staring out the window.  I love our window.  But it has a habit of distracting me.  And because of my husband's foresight, the view through it today is especially breathtaking.  The pistachio leaves haven't started to turn color yet.  In a week they will.  So we have a canopy of green hanging like an umbrella over the front of the house.  Because our neighbors across the way saw fit to plant bamboo sometime in the mid 50's we have the sound of ocean waves breaking on the shore coming through our open window as the wind blows.  So, as usual, I'm drawn outside.

I think the irises are confused.  The unseasonably warm weather brought them to life for one last fall flourish.  All I want to do is look at them.

So ... I'll compromise.  I'll blog from the hammock.

What are we doing?

Rebekah is working through her 8th grade curriculum.  She is my last home schooler...

She played volleyball this fall, sings in the home school choir, and is still playing her violin.

I love listening to her practice in the early morning.

Josiah now attends Kings Canyon Middle School, and is involved with Young Life.

He's taking Algebra this year, and brought home a fantastic report card.  Wrestling season starts next week.

Luke is in his senior year at Sunnyside High.  He is the captain of the water polo team, and thinks math is fun. (Really.  He just told me that today while he was working on calculus.) He's applying to colleges, and has Skull Candy headphones surgically attached to his head...we think.

Rachel is in her senior year at Cal Baptist and is applying to grad school.  She's buried in papers this week, and not pleased.  She's excited to be home for Thanksgiving.  Water polo practice starts the Monday after New Years.  She is head-over-heels in love with a wonderful young man, Gabriel, whom she met at school two years ago.

Jessie is working and attending Fresno Pacific University. Right now she's stretched out on the couch watching "How to Train Your Dragon" with some college girls, and trying not to fall asleep.  Jessie has a million friends and loves them all.

Ben is a sophomore at Cal Baptist.  He has 5 roommates and says he's having a blast and that the food is great.  He has the important things figured out.  He can be found at swim practice at the wee hours of the morning, not always fully awake.

Jordan has moved out with friends and comes home for the occasional meal, to do laundry, and to get a haircut.  He's still singing in the choir at church and is on the worship team for the college group.  He works for Fresno Unified School District as a teacher's aide.

And...Theron and I?  Well we're getting younger every day, of course!  Aren't you?  Theron has been teaching the 3-year-olds at church again, which would keep anyone young.  I've been working with college students, teaching Bekah at home, keeping up with my job, and cycling as much as I can.  I wish I could say I've been working on quilts.  But the weather has been too nice.  

But I DID write a blog today.  So there you go.

Hume

I’ve made two separate trips to Hume in the last month.  I’ve been up before, either to drop off the occasional camper, or to chaperone a senior class trip; but these last two trips have been unique.  I’ve been able to roam as I please and drink the place in.

I have a confession to make.  We purposely did not send our oldest kids to Hume Lake Christian Camp when they were younger.  It seemed to be the camp for the “rich kids”.  We were decidedly NOT in that category.  So, for years, we focused on AWANA Scholarship Camp, sent a few to Hartland, and did more family camping than organized group camping.  Hume seemed beyond our reach, and generally not a fit for our family.

Then last spring, God basically hit me across the forehead with a 2 x 4.  He told me that Luke was supposed to attend Hume that summer.  No audible voice of God, but close.  He provided the way, too.  We got a partial scholarship, and Luke (who really had no interest in going to camp at all) was given opportunities to work for church members to pay the rest of it off.  You need only to sit down with Luke to find out that a major work of God happened in Luke’s heart last year during his camp week.  A year later, we are still seeing its effects.  

Fast-forward.  In mid-July a friend and I decided that it was time for a mom road-trip.  We jumped in the car early in the morning on July 17^th and headed for the Hume home of our mutual friend, who happens to be married to a full-time staffer.  We walked, read our Bibles, wrote letters to summer staff kids, went kayaking, and snooped the place out.  Not for the surface impression that you get when you drop off your kid, and not even the fast-paced image your son or daughter gets when immersed in the program there.  No, we went deep.  We visited kitchens and made pepperoni pizza in Wagon Train Camp.  We chatted with the young people who carry out the trash and deliver groceries from the commissary.  We attended church on Sunday morning in the chapel where, every week, dozens of decisions for Christ are made.  Finally, Diane drove us up to visit the beautiful mountaintop building which houses the Joshua Wilderness Program, and we marveled that the students must walk up and down those hills all winter. 

Yesterday I returned; this time with two of my daughters.  Jessie (19) was able to spend two days with her Jr. High kids from church, and Bekah (11) had a chance to spend the night (and two solid days) with her long-time friend Lizzie.  We rode our bikes all over camp, climbed the waterfall, kayaked to the dam and sat within inches of 7 baby ducks on the lake, ate amazing food (of course, it didn’t hurt that we were STARVED from all the exercise), and smiled at the girls washing the tables in the Ponderosa dining hall while singing very loudly to a Taylor Swift song.  Before leaving, we tried to find all of the summer staff that we know and give them a huge hug.  We also had a chance to touch base with Luke and his friends.  Yep.  He’s there again, and having the time of his life.

Yes.  It is true that Hume is a fancy camp.  It attracts young people from hundreds of miles away – even from Hawaii.  But at the heart of this camp is a core of people who are committed to changing lives of kids, and turning their hearts toward Jesus.  With their high-interest program, Hume grabs them where they are, reels them in, and delivers a strong message of salvation and restoration.  The full-time and seasonal staff members are passionately invested in this mission.  They work for close to nothing as the world would measure it, and are near exhaustion by August.  But they see seeds of eternity planted, watered and bearing fruit.   May God continue to bless Hume Lake.

There are MANY young families at Hume working as full-time staff

School Record Broken (by the little brother)

North Yosemite LeagueSwim Championships 2010

Nearly 17 year old Luke is the fifth in a lineup of Esau swimmers.  Why?  Because, as home educated students, our kids had very few opportunities for sustained, heavy-duty fitness.  The pool offered that.  Luke was less than excited in the beginning.  He'd been dragged poolside as a spectator for years as the "little brother".  He wasn't sure he wanted to swim at all, never mind play water polo.  But God had other plans for Luke:  Godly coaches and teammates who sharpened him in and out of the water; sisters and brothers who were his greatest fans; and just a bit of a competitive spirit.  After all...his older brother held the pool record.

Fast forward.  Friday, May 7, Madera South High School.  Not only do Luke and his friend and team mate Matt Boogaard, along with two more swimmers win the gold in the 200 M Medley Relay, qualifying for Valley Finals in Bakersfield, but Luke goes on to win two more golds and set a new school record - ending his brother's reign. The relay team won a very satisfying silver, as well, in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay.  It's very possible that Luke will be the first Esau to win a Valley medal in a person event.  Valley finals are May 22.  Stay tuned.

Fresno County Peace Officers' Memorial Ceremony

For a number of years, the choir our children are a part of has participated in the Fresno County Peace Officer's Memorial Ceremony.  While concerts are usually joyful, giggly times, this is a somber event.  This year, for example, our children sang as the families and friends of two Reedley officers mourned and remembered their loved ones.  Officer Javier Bejar and Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier were gunned down in a shootout on February 25, 2010 in Minkler, CA.  Scores of officers in dress uniform stood at attention as the fallen officers' names were read, doves were released, and guns were fired.  Similar ceremonies are held around the country at this time of year.  The public is welcome.  

I cannot help but believe that this event has had a lasting impact on the lives of my seven children.  They have, first hand, seen the humanity of officers where they might have otherwise only seen a badge.  They have witnessed the pain of wives, mothers, fathers and children who must somehow go on without them.  We have together heard words reminding us of the daily sacrifices made on our behalf by peace officers and their families.

Do you know a young person at risk?  Plan to invite them to attend with you next year.  You will not regret it.

Motivated by Bread

Hello friends.

It has been exactly one year, 5 months, and 15 days since my last post.

(I feel like I'm nine again, and in the confessional...)

I have been meaning to hop back on the blogging train, but have been distracted by life and (ahem) the simplicity of Facebook vs. the work of blogging. Today, however, I was nudged out of my cave by friend Robynn Reilly and her latest contest. Robynn is quickly becoming famous for her contests, as well as her passion for whole foods and healthy eating. She is offering one lucky winner a $50 certificate to Great Harvest Bread Company! She is also offering Dinner for two at Chipotle, and a Food, Inc. DVD.

Go see her athttp://www.robynnsravings.blogspot.com/