North and South Carolina Trip

We headed up to North Carolina last week for Paul to help with training the MTW interns that left Friday to go all over the world to serve the Lord this summer.  The kids and I went along for the ride...kidding!  No, we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful campus of Ridge Haven, the PCA's camp.  As you can imagine, there are lots of hills...so we got our workouts in everyday, climbing hills, hiking, swimming and canoeing and kayaking on the pond.  We even managed to get some book work done.  Of course, we did a lot of exploring and learning about the bugs, plants and critters of North Carolina.

 Above: PJ and Calvin doing some math worksheets.

 Above: Adele writing in her "journal".  Below: Elizabeth playing with stickers! This kept her entertained for a long while!!!

 Calvin especially enjoyed the Honeysuckle on the walk to the cafeteria and the pond.  He begged me anytime we were near there if we could stop and eat some honeysuckle.

 Another first for the boys was kayaking.  They both really enjoyed the freedom of having their own "vessel" to steer.  I wasn't sure if Calvin could do it, but he proved me wrong!

 As usual, Adele met a friend.  This is Julia.  Her Mamma works at Ridge Haven and so we got to spend an afternoon playing with her.  She and Adele had a good time together.

 I had the super idea of going on a nice, long walk one evening and collecting leaves.  We then rubbed them into Adele's journal.  She really enjoyed this activity, and so did I!

 The above rock was along the roadway and we passed it multiple times a day. I don't know who put it there, but it brought such great encouragement to me every time I passed it.  What a great reminder!

 The above picture is the pond.  It's hard to see but there is a long telephone pole with a rope swing hanging from it.  Would you believe PJ jumped from that swing?!?!  He did!  He wanted to do it, so he and Paul each jumped twice. I was so proud of him. I only have video of it, no pictures!

 Adele was especially fascinated with the Mountain Laurel. It was blooming everywhere at Ridge Haven.  It was so beautiful.

 We found two luna moths...again, a beautiful creature and one we rarely see.

 Paul is in the above picture with all the interns!  This is just before they pulled out to be taken to the airport to fly off to their destinations!  What a blessing to be there and pray with and for them as they departed!

 After Ridge Haven, we had planned to camp at Table Rock, SC.  We had never been there before and it was really a lovely State Park to visit.  Above is PJ helping Paul set up the tent.  We had a meeting with a church on Sunday, so we decided to camp from Friday to Sunday.  As we thought about breaking camp early Sunday morning before our meeting and worship, we were wondering if we should break camp Saturday evening and stay in a hotel.  Well, as you will see below, John Boyte, a dear and long time friend came to visit us and offered us to stay at his in-laws home not far from Greenville.  So, that is what we did..and it was SO much easier!!!

 At Table Rock, we spent some time hiking.  As you can see Elizabeth had the easiest time of it...and even got a nap on our hike.

 Yes, you have seen it correctly, this is a copperhead.  Not far up the trail, PJ, who was in the lead, saw this and immediately identified it as a copperhead.  Of course, it was confirmed. If you know anything about our boy, he was and has been elated since seeing this snake. It was on his list of snakes to see in the wild.  He hasn't stopped talking about it!

Pictured above are Adele, Elizabeth and Calvin in front of Table Rock.  Maybe when they all get older we can do the 4 hour hike (one way) to the top!  But, it wasn't to be this trip!!!

Last, but certainly not least, is John and Paul.  It was such a wonderful blessing to see him.  On Sunday, we got to see him again along with his bride, Cheryl and another college friend and his wife and children.  Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived at their house for lunch and I left the camera in the car!  We headed home Sunday afternoon. It was a packed trip, days were full of the beauty of God's creation (for the kids and me, anyway!) and we had the privilege of seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

RIP Toothless

Well, he almost lasted six months. That's not bad for pets around here.  Toothless, the over-loved reptile of the year died on Tuesday.  PJ received Toothless for his birthday.  Toothless was a Western Hog-nosed Snake...you can see why in the pictures.  PJ loved this little guy because he was harmless but looked fierce...like a rattlesnake.  I grew up in a family of snake haters. I am not talking about just your normal fear of snakes, I am talking about "the only good snake is a dead snake" kind of family...and so Toothless was a labor of love for me.  When all your child can do is eat, sleep, dream and talk about snakes you get the picture, quickly, that he wouldn't mind having one.  So, how could I say no to my precious boy when he wanted a snake for his birthday?  I couldn't. It was pure fear and selfishness on my part. And, so I allowed this reptile to enter our lives.  We all learned to love Toothless...even Elizabeth enjoyed seeing him slither around.  I eventually got used to him...and when the temps dropped here in Florida I even suggested that we bring Toothless in out of the cold so he wouldn't freeze to death.  THIS WAS HUGE PROGRESS!!!  But, I still had never held him.  There is only so far a mama can go!
So, back to Tuesday.  We were sitting in our home office and I was on the computer.  Before I got online, I looked in Toothless's cage and didn't see him. I thought this was strange, but often I don't see him because he's camouflaged really well with the sand.  A few minutes later, PJ entered the room and I asked him about it. He took the lid off the enclosure and quickly put it back on. I turned around and tears where welling in his eyes..."Toothless is dead, Mommy!!!"  Oh, what heartache.  I cried.  I can't believe I cried.  Truly, I was crying for my boy who just lost his first true pet.  We had a proper burial. We placed Toothless in a pickle jar (complete with the pickle juice to thwart his body decaying) and buried him out by Bear.  Bear was Grace's dog who died a couple years ago.
Well, in case you're wondering, we have already replaced Toothless. Not with a pet store snake, oh no, Paul and PJ went to Grampy's yesterday and they found themselves a Black Racer. This snake is probably about 3 feet long...much bigger...and I don't like him as much.  They've named him Black Arrow.  He is living outside on the front porch!  He seems to like PJ alright...and PJ loves it.  All day today I've watched him walk around the property with his new friend dangling around his neck like a necklace...only not.  I'm not sure I can go much bigger with these snakes, but what was that I said earlier? Oh yeah, it's a labor of love.

 Toothless, eating a lizard...very cool to watch, albeit not for the weak stomach!