My oldest child… my first-born, Noah… is away for his first church camp. 5 days of fun in the sun, being with friends and most importantly…. learning about our Lord and Savior.
Heading into the church with his friend Micah. Is he really big enough to pull his own suitcase?
Wasn’t it just yesterday that he was this big:
Five days seems like such a long time. And 4 hours away. I pray he is loving every second of it.
Look at the excitement in Noah’s eyes…. I’m so excited for him.
Best buddies… Noah, Jake and Micah.
Best brothers… my boys… Noah and Easton…
Mom and Dad and the big guy
These the are children “Left Behind”. (hehehe)
Praying over the bus, for the kids, for the driver and for the volunteers. (It’s my favorite picture… but taken off a cell phone and my computer information systems degree is failing me…. I can’t figure out how to resize it.)
Daddy helping Easton to spot his brother inside.
“Is that him right there? “
The bus is leavin’. I think Daddy is wiping a tear from his eye.
Our house is unusually quiet. I feel a little blue. I miss him. I can’t imagine how college will feel one day.
Be blessed baby boy… Momma loves you!
Oh, Mama… you’re such a good one! I haven’t sent my one and only off to camp yet. Thankfully (for me!) he hasn’t shown interest. He does go to Camp Nana & Papa every summer, but it’s easier since it’s family.
Know that he’s with fellow believers and that when he returns he will be stronger in his convictions, stronger in his faith and closer to his Daddy God! How amazing that our children have these opportunities to be with each other and share what God is doing in their lives — even at such a young age!
But I’m with you — I am NOT looking forward to college. {sigh} Thankfully, I have 8 years to go….
Good for you! It takes a lot of courage for a mother to send her little one away for a week. My adult childen would tell you that some of their best summer memories came from church camp. I remember going to church camp as a teenager in North Carolina. About 15 years ago, I took my husband to see the camp. There were not any campers there at the time and we spent the night in the cabins. It was just wonderful. God keep you both in his care.
Charla
He will have a blast and you will miss him again the next time he goes away just as much. But he will want to go….and as for college, it is hard, but they come back and they are changed for the good. So are you. 🙂
Suzanne
Ditto everything already said. Don’t be surprised if, when you open his suitcase, all of those clean boys clothes you sent with him are all wadded up and still slightly damp from creek water and/or sweat. And he might still be wearing that great outfit he left in. He might wear it all week long! But the clothes in the suitcase will still be dirty!
I have twins so I took great comfort in knowing that they could look each other up if they needed to (I have a girl & a boy). I also boarded a plane bound for Spain about 6 hours after they got on the church bus for camp the first time!
It is so bittersweet!
You are a great mom for letting him have the experience on his own! He really did look super excited!
You guys are such a stinkin’ cute family!
GIRL! I didn’t look at your post before I did mine – it’s funny that we put up almost the exact same pictures. Great minds do think alike!
This is a beautiful post. You are an amazing mother and I am so thankful we get to do life together – and that our kids do too!
This is the beginning of many camps and I am glad they have each other. They will come home full of Jesus, excited and next summer they will want to go again!
I miss my boys too. I can’t wait to hear about EVERYTHING!
Love you girl!
I adore that baby pic of him, could his smile be any bigger?! I’ve been praying for Noah & Micah this week. I KNOW they will come back tomorrow with a deeper love of Christ. You will have to post pictures of his HUGE smile when he is getting off the bus. Can’t wait!
I am crying…..don’t know why, but crying! I have issues with this entire kid growing up thing! Who new that there was anything harder than sleepless nights with a new born! Love you, and I too am praying over Noah and your family.
My son went to church camp last week for the first time too! Five nights away from him were so hard! At first, all I did was miss him – but I remembered that I have been training him to grown up all these years and that is exactly what he is doing. I’ve tried my best to teach him well, and give him the skills he needs to navigate life. He had a good, safe time with kids his own age and developed a closer relationship with the Lord. Can you ask for a better week?
Oh – I am so not ready for that stage of life. Why can’t we keep them small forever? He will come home so excited though – it has to be worth it!
I don’t know how you did it! I loved reading yours and Laretha’s blog about this camp. What great wonderful memories your boy will have and he will grow so far in his love for his Savior. You guys are good mommas to provide that for your kids.
i actually saw some of these photos on Laretha’s facebook and i love the praying over the bus picture so much. Something about prayer, faith and a group of believers trusting in that great privilege of prayer makes my heart leap for joy! I know the boys will just come back lit and I pray he’d just bless your socks off with the overflow of what God is abundantly pouring into his heart.
Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
((hugs)) – can’t wait to hear all about it!