Our summer travels lasted a grand total of 3 weeks.  That's 3 consecutive weeks.  We saw every part of the Midwest that I could ever care to see.  Mostly.  I nearly had a brain explosion in packing for each leg of our traveling all at one time.  But we had a great time, at each stage of the journey, and I am now back to our routine at home.

Of course we packed the computer.  And of course I initially intended to post all these flowering, beautiful, eloquent blogs while we were gone, chronicling each step of our experiences.  Yeah right!  By the time I hit the sack after midnight each night, there was nothing left in me.

So, instead, I'll give you the hindsight view of our 2010 Summer Adventures.

Step one began in Kansas.  But before I can even get to that part, I have to back up and give you the Prelude.  The Kansas trip was Tim, Phoebe, and me.  So...where does that leave Sophia and Noah?  In South Dakota.  And then Minnesota.  The day before we left for Kansas, Tim drove to Kearney, Nebraska to meet his mom, who then graciously took Sophia and Noah to the farm in South Dakota.  Prior to finalizing all these arrangements, I had been praying about what the best plan for our family was.  I was hesitant to leave the kids for so long (nearly 10 days in all).  I asked them how they would feel about being at Grandma and Grandpa's house without us.  Sophia's response, "Yoo-hoo!  When will it be?"  I wasn't sure she understood the part about Tim and I not being there.  So I reiterated that part to clarify for her.  "Yoo-hoo.  Can we go tomorrow?"  (This was back in April.)  Silly me for thinking I needed to worry about it!

Tim drove the 5 hours back to Colorado (for a total of 10 hours roundtrip) to pack up and get ready for the 9 hour drive to Kansas the next day.  Yes, this is the crazy life we live!

So we took 18 high schoolers, Phoebe, and one other adult chaperone to Wichita and Florence, Kansas.  We had an AMAZING time!  What you may, or may not, know is that I was much more involved in this trip than I have been for a long time.  This trip was right in my area of expertise in many ways.  Pretty much all my former lives came colliding together for one grand event.  Teaching.  Working at an inner city camp.  Working with high schoolers.  It was spectacular.  I had a ton of fun, and it was so neat to see how God used our roles on this trip to totally suit our giftings.  I got to do the things I am good at: organize, administrate, teach and lead.  Tim got to do the things he is good at: hang out, build relationships, shepherd and disciple.  We would both be thrilled to do it again.

Plus it was such a treat to have some special time with Phoebe!

If there's anything about that trip that sticks out to me, it would have to be "Bam-Bam."  Bam Bam was a second gradish deaf boy who came to camp.  We first met him in Witchita at our outreach events, and then he reappeared the first day of camp.  We were told that his two cousins who came with him could communicate with him.  It turns out that that "communicating" really meant pointing.  Which made me think about things that had never occurred to me before.  When you're an 8 year old inner city boy, how do you learn sign language?  Who around you has time to learn sign language?  Who will make the effort to learn it with you?  How do you communicate beyond pointing?  Who can understand you?  Who has any idea what is happening inside of you?  How do you function?  I know that we were at camp for just a few days, but I sure do hope that Bam Bam felt the love and peace of Jesus in that short time!

Trey (in the middle) is one of our high schoolers.  With campers Mason and Bam Bam.

Jacob "Bo Bo" with his craft for the day.