Fall Retreat Weekend

First, thank you all for your prayers. This week has been SO much better homework wise and balancing all our responsibilities and I can’t help but know thats because so many of you were praying for us. It wasn’t perfect, but its a step in the right direction.

Second, its Fall Retreat weekend. I think this is the very first year that I can remember not loading up our car and kids and heading to Fall Retreat. However, just like our move to NYC, some things change/have changed. This camp we host our Fall Retreat at is really known for bed bugs….and while I would love to take the risk and say we survived…I don’t want to deal with bed bugs potentially carrying back to our place through pack-n-plays and baby toys and a host of other things you can’t clean. Literally, Ed will come back to our door, get a change of clothes in our laundry card, go downstairs, change, put ALL his gear from Fall Retreat in a hot washer and dryer, and then come back upstairs. So, we braved the weekend without dad.

We have eaten out (Chipotle for the win!), watched a movie, traveled with our other Queens staff team family to Roosevelt Island for the kids to play at a playground there, made cinnamon swirl bread for breakfast, did our laundry for the week (which was not easy with 4 kiddos in tow!), done lots of discipline, read lots of books and Bible stories, watched 3 fire trucks storm our apartment complex (aren’t sure exactly why but it was sure fun watching!), and so much more.

In true fashion, when the handyman leaves, things break – the bathroom sink and the closet rod. The stopper broke on the bathroom sink broke, so I just took it out and told the kids dad would fix it when he got home. That night, sure enough, I hear “Mom, Blake put his toothbrush down the sink hole.” Oh, yes he did. And it went way far down. I was able to use a long plungy tool thingy (who needs technical terms?) that Ed had to get it out, along with a whole bunch of other gunk, and it went straight in the trash along with a firm warning never to do that again.

And look what this one has decided to do this week – pull up on everything. We found her in the crib like this one morning and from there, she hasn’t stopped. She is also “crawling” thought its more of a butt scoot that allows her to get wherever she wants…it is seriously one of the craziest things I have seen but it is working for her. So crazy how fast she is growing!

Ed is on his way home from Fall Retreat now and I am excited to see him for many reasons – because we missed him, because we missed his help, because I need an adult to talk to, because he has a few things on his list to fix, and because I am excited to hear how the Lord used this weekend in the lives of our students.

Here are two quotes I know of that show just a little glimpse of how God worked this weekend:

Sarah (NYU) – I’m from Singapore. I’m a sophmore. I’ve felt alone, didn’t know a lot of people. I wasn’t going to come. There’s so many people who are ready to talk to me here. I feel like cancer was my fault, I must’ve done something really bad to make God angry enough to give me cancer. But, listening to the talk during women’s time healed some of my wounds. I’m so glad I came.

Haylety (Fashion Institute) – I wasn’t going to come. I didn’t want to come until my mom said I should come and wow, am I glad I came. This is one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. Being surrounded by people who walk with God has a different presence. I’m changed. When I got back to school, I’ll be a different person. He’s renewed me.

So excited to hear more. Thank you for making this weekend possible through your prayers and support!

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