Younger Every Day: Wonder-FULL Wednesday: How We Roll (down the road)

For those of you who missed last week's "Wonder-FULL Wednesday" post...I apologize for not letting you know that we were going to be out of town. However, on second thought, it's probably not a good idea to announce to the whole world that we will be leaving the homestead unattended!

*Not that I don't trust you guys, of course.*

I have pretty much run out of questions to answer, so until someone asks more...well, I'll just keep giving up some fascinating little tidbits of info on our family's comings & goings. Hold on to your seats...it's riveting stuff! :o)

So---where did we go?

Kentucky.

Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

To many folks this town means absolutely nothing, but to our family (as well as many of our friends), it is a place of heritage & roots. It is where we gather twice a year with like-minded people to learn more about God & how to more successfully become like Him. It is a wonderful place on a hilltop that never fails to bring a tingle to my skin as we come 'round that last turn & see the campus sitting there. I wonder how many thousands of people travel that road & never even glance at the grounds that mean so much to so many.

Anyway, I digress.

So, we packed up (5 suitcases, 4 garment bags, 1 snack bag....oh, forget it...we were stuffed to the gills!!!), and headed down the road. It only takes until the 12th of forever to get there from here. That is fairly managable in 2 stages, but, we drove it all. the. way. through. We finally arrived somewhere around dawn the day after we left. It was painful. I won't lie.

The first full day of being in Kentucky was our 5th child's (aka our 2nd son) BIRTHDAY!!!!

Whoop-whoop!!! We love birthdays around here. :0)

Barrett Paul is now 7, & so stinkin' handsome & pretty much smarter than any other kid alive. Really.

The Birthday Boy just a few weeks before he turned 7

This is our group of sweeties partially rested up & ready for the fun to start.

You may wonder why we load up 8 kids & tons of luggage, drive 13+ hours just to attend church. Well, it's our life! Our whole purpose in this life is to serve God, so we try our best to mingle with other folks from all over the country (world, even) when we get the chance.

Relax ladies...he is VERY taken!
(Envy is a sin...better go pray) LOL

I can imagine that some of you moms may be asking,

"Isn't it hard to take all of those kids on a long trip,

and then sit through several hours of church at a time?"

ANSWER:

Of course it is!!!!

I won't lie to you, I get very stressed out.

I have been found in the restroom crying.

I have chewed out the amazing man I'm married to for not helping more.

I have offered my offspring to the lowest bidder.

However, I cannot stress enough the importance of doing the hard stuff when it comes to doing what is right for your family. In doing so, you are letting your children see what is the most important to you: their well-being. Yes, it would be MUCH easier to stay home most of the time, but to what benefit? I admit that I usually do not take the little ones to both camp meetings...usually only the fall one. However, I really felt that I made a wrong decision this past June when half of my family headed down the road without us, so, we may be there everytime we have the money.

You know, we have teenagers & 'tweens' as well as little kids, and I love that we have an opportunity to introduce them to other godly young people. They usually come home talking about the new friends they have met...some of which have even made the trip to Texas to visit! COOL!

"Can you see all of our faces?"
"Yeah, mom!"
Click

Triple Trouble!!!
I love that my boy (in the middle) is growing up with good young men!

Time spent under the pews can create lasting memories!

I used to think that little kids didn't get much from the services, but, many times over I have been proven wrong by the questions of a little one. They do hear, they do think.

Especially if their name is in the Bible (HA!)

One other wonderful thing about going to camp meeting is the opportunity to serve others. My family loves to work. The older girls wait tables during meals, clean restrooms & play music during services. My younger crowd loves to work at the snack bar at night, carrying trays, washing them & doing trash detail (of course, that free ice cream is a great incentive). My hubby usually has something to do with driving folks around the huge property on golf carts.

I....usually....watch kids.

This year, I told the fam...mom will work too. Our dear friends make pizzas for the snack bar & I volunteered to help. I am almost embarrassed at how excited I was! Seriously. I haven't been able to work in years! I was just thrilled!