We’ve just wrapped up our last Florida weekend of 2021 (or so it appears now), and it was a very fine weekend indeed! In some very special ways it was filled with family – lots of different kinds of family!
It started out on Friday with a casual gathering of about 25 SOWER couples who have either been working in the central Florida area or live in the area. It was pretty low key – bring your own chair and lunch, social distance as you were able, and enjoy each other’s company before folks begin the great northern migration!
As you can see, we were blessed with a picture perfect day!
(and just for fun – here’s a shot a SOWER friend took of somebody being bossy – again!)
Although we started out in that nice round circle, we soon gathered in clusters of conversations – catching up with old friends, meeting some new friends, and generally enjoying the time of connecting with our SOWER family. Such a lovely day!
Saturday morning was filled with our more ‘traditional’ family. We started with being able to live-stream a singing and dancing competition of one of our Ohio granddaughters.
(Full disclosure – this is not a photo from Saturday’s performance, but it is a photo of the dance troupe. Toby circled Maddie for me because between the masks and how fast everyone was moving, I’d had a hard time figuring out last time which sweet thing was our Maddie! I know, bad Gramma – but really! At least this time I was smart enough to watch it on my computer instead of my phone!).
I never thought to take a screen shot because I was just enjoying the performance so much! They were amazing! We both were so glad to be able to be part of the ‘audience’Â even from so very far away! Great job, Maddie!
Later that same morning I spent about an hour on Zoom with young builder Alex. Every month she gets a box with some type of building project from Kiwi Crates, and we work together to assemble it. This month it was a treasure chest!
It can be a little challenging since I don’t have the instruction book and am trying to explain it to her after just watching a video or two of how the project is supposed to go. Thankfully, Mom and Dad are usually close by to help! We somehow muddle through it with lots of giggles and grins – and it’s really something I look forward to doing with her each month!
To make the morning all the more special, I ended it up with some reading time with the Waco Boys.
I confess that this little reading project is a work-in-progress, as we make our way through “Mr. Popper’s Penguins”. We haven’t settled in to a very regular schedule, and our last reading time was several weeks ago. Life happens. The little one in the middle rarely lasts very long, the 6 year old enjoys our time together but I’m not sure he’s really ‘getting’ the story. He politely raised his hand just after I started.
“Yes, T? Do you have a question?”
“What kind of cheese do you have?”
No cheese in the story, but it seemed to be pressing to him! =) Cheddar, by the way.
W, at 10, follows along – but I not sure he’s really ‘into’ the story. I’m not giving up on this “Reading Time with Grams” concept, and I’m determined to finish the book (at least I want to know what happens to all those penguins!), but maybe we’ll have to a bit more research before we start our next book. Suggestions, anyone?
We finished off the day with our ‘family’ here at AIM! Residents and volunteers alike were invited to a Corn Hole Tournament, and we couldn’t resist the challenge.
Somehow we made it to the final round of the consolation players.
And with great concentration on my part…..
We actually WON! So we were officially the champions of the losers. Or something fitting like that!! All in all, a very fun way to spend a chilly Saturday afternoon.
With all those good family vibes going on, we joined our good SOWER friend Bill for worship and one last meal together on Sunday.
Ah….
Oh – I forgot! We had a lovely campfire on Friday night with our SOWER family too!
It was a weekend chock full of all kinds of family deliciousness!
And for that I am so very grateful!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you weekend was filled with some family time too. Virtual or otherwise!
Tag Archives: Camp Horizon
Bad Touristing
I know I’ve said this before, but after 15 years on the road Gary and I have become terrible tourists. An example of that was earlier this month when someone announced that there was an alligator down by the dock.
“Quick, “ I said. “Let’s go down and see it!â€
“Naw, I’ve seen alligators before…..†was his ready reply. (Substitute whatever you’d like (beaches, mountains, … for the alligators and you’ll sense my conundrum.)
Sigh.
But while we didn’t take in many tourist spots here in central Florida (and you know there are a ton of them), we did manage a lovely walk along Lake Eustis.
And then I enjoyed a great boat ride from our camp, across Lake Harris, down the Dead River, through Lake Eustis, then through the Dora Canal into Lake Dora.
When the camp host offered us all a boat ride, I was truly expecting a lovely jaunt around the lake and then back to the dock.
Imagine my delight as we navigated the connecting waterways and were treated to something more like a Disney Riverboat Cruise (without the hippos jumping out at you!)!
It was an outstanding experience and one I’m so thankful that I got to enjoy! Lots of bird sightings, and we even spotted a baby alligator on a log. I took a couple of pictures, but I figured if I couldn’t pick him out of the landscape, you wouldn’t either!
Even though we didn’t do a great deal of touristy things, we still were able to connect with friends and family (before the big #stayhome), have several fun game nights, and even enjoy some SOWER-World famous Waffles and Ice Cream made by two of our favorite SOWER peeps! It was all joy!
(I really need to do better at saying – Hey, look up! I’m taking a picture!, don’t I?)
If you’d like to see more of our working and playing pictures from our time at Camp Horizon, you can check them out HERE!
And since I’ve figured out the whole slide show thing, here are some of the lovely views from around camp.
Lord willing, we will be moving the house (but still #stayinghome) to our next SOWER location today. That being said, it’s time for me walk away from the computer and get out the bungee cords!
Stay well, everyone! We’re on our knees with you!
Mondays are for (recent) memories – Camp Horizon
There goes another one! Our tribe is thinning out! Of our eight SOWER couples working this month, there are only three of us left. Four couples are heading home – some have already arrived (thank you, LORD!), and one couple is working their way to Oklahoma where they will be serving next month. Even though most of the ministries SOWERs has partnered with are closed, many have offered their parking spots to SOWERs who need a safe place to be during these uncertain times. We’ll be heading to one of those later this week. Hopefully we will still be able to serve in some way while following the guidelines for self-isolation and social distancing. We are leaving it in the LORD’s hands (after carefully washing ours, of course!).
But since Mondays are for Memories – how about a little bit of wrap-up from this past month here at Camp Horizon? March 2020 will long be remembered as the Month of the Coronavirus, but it will also be remembered as a great SOWER month for us! While our group was over the current ‘legal limit’ of 10,
since we considered ourselves family, we still were able to accomplish much for the camp and the LORD during our time here!
See what a good job our guys were doing at social distancing? Can you find the 6 SOWERS in this picture?
Their primary job was to rehab (grinding, welding, painting) the steel trusses for a metal building that had been donated (but had sat for too long!). It was a big job, but in the end –
There was quite a pile of shiny red trusses waiting to be assembled.
Here’s a little slide show of the men working….
The ladies did mostly cleaning, with a little organizing thrown in as necessary!
Even when we were enjoying an afternoon dip (man, it got hot here, and we were VERY thankful for that pool), we were practicing staying apart!
Here’s a little glimpse of the ladies working –
Of course, the beauty of our SOWER work that it is never All Work and No Play. This month was no exception, but I figured I’d save something for future posts. I can’t promise another ‘post a day’ spell, but as long as we have internet (and aren’t we thankful for that!!) I’ll probably be a little more diligent with blogging.
Take care, friends! Keep washing those hands and trusting in the God of our yesterdays, today, and tomorrows.
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”
John 14:1
Carrying On and Washing our Hands
Self Isolation. Social Distancing. Exponential. Self-Quarantine. Flattening the Curve. Pandemic. Sanitize. 20 Second Hand Washing.
Words that were rarely spoken just two weeks ago are now part of our everyday vocabulary. Today we are all trying to figure out how all this will work in each of our lives. Thankfully, in our life it’s been a fairly simple transition. Currently we are parked at a rural Christian camp in central Florida. The most guests they have had since we’ve been here has been a group of 15-20 quilters and scrapbookers. Even then, our interaction with them was minimal. All other activities on campus have been cancelled for the next foreseeable future. Our group of 8 SOWER couples (along with the host and a couple of staff members) are all in good health and each night we retire to our own little cocoons. In a sense I feel like we are in an ideal situation – enough community not to feel totally isolated and work to keep our hands busy, but enough real-time distance between us to feel totally safe.
Yes, we venture out occasionally to the grocery store (what for these days, I’m not sure) and maybe to get a bite to eat (if we can find someplace open), but we are vigilant with our hand washing (Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday…..) and sanitizing. Next week we will be moving just about 3 hours to the north (near Jacksonville) where we will continue with our Self-Isolation (we’re the only couple there in April) and social distancing. As for trips to the grocery store, I figure if I don’t care how balanced our meals are, in a pinch we could feed ourselves out of the cupboards and freezer for at least month. Oh, and I feel pretty good about this too –
(All in our possession long before the Great Toilet Paper Caper. Just sayin’.)
These are uncertain times for sure. But there is one thing we CAN be certain about. Our God is still on His Throne, and none of this has caught Him by surprise. In the days ahead, let us rest fully in His Faithfulness!
“Be Still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
The New View
We’re getting settled (along with 7 other couples) at our March SOWER project – Camp Horizon in Leesburg, FL. It was an easy 17 miles from the SOWER Reunion location, so I just drove the truck behind the rig. The last mile was definitely the prettiest!
The camp is located right on a lake (Lake Harris) northwest of Orlando.
And while we don’t have a lakefront parking spot, we do have a lake view one!
Pretty sure this is going to be another great month!
