Family Retreat '11 - Day 2

The Lord blessed Kempton to be the Camp Pastor again this year. His 1st Session was titled, "TRUE FREEDOM".

The theme verse of the retreat was 2 Corinthians 3:17. Kempton unpacked that verse & the surrounding verses and gave lots of helpful insight on this passage. Here are some of the points that he discussed. (Above photo by Amy Mingo)

Three Enslaving Problems that We Were ALL Born With (Psalm 51:5)

1) the enslaving problem of not keeping the law (the rules--10 Commandments) (2 Corinthians 3:3, 7, 9)

2) the enslaving problem of our hard minds/hearts (2 Corinthians 3:14)

3) the enslaving problem of our blind eyes (2 Corinthians 3:15)

The 5 Most Important Words from Satan..."TO KEEP YOU FROM SEEING!" (2 Cor. 4:4). He desires to keep you from seeing the light of Christ, Jesus, and the Gospel.

That veil that we were all born with can ONLY be taken away through Christ.

When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ~ 2 Cor. 3:16

**Only through Christ can we have lasting freedom! This freedom transcends circumstances & situations.

There was a Friday Fiesta Night & we had tons of fun!!! The pics say it all!

My Unique Carysse wanted the face painting on her knee. :-)

Christian was pretty reserved our whole time at camp.

He actually wanted to stay in his stroller most of the time.

Here he's probably wondering why his buddy Jon has that funny hat on.

Lil Miss Sunshine

Carysse dancing center stage with her new friend, Joe.

Daddy & Son joined the Fiesta Train!

(Photo by Amy Mingo)

Mommy partying with the other ladies.

(Photo by Amy Mingo)

Adios!

(Photo by Jake Preedin)

A Sweet Time Away

We just got back from our 3rd Joni & Friends Family Retreat! Our 1st & 2nd times were so memorable but I think we had the most fun this year! The Lord graciously answered all of our prayers for this retreat. I'll try to give a recap of each day in the next several blog posts. Below is a snapshot of the 1st day

DAY ONE

After driving for almost 4 hrs to Detroit Lakes, MN, we arrived at the Young Life Castaway Camp.

The Short Term Missionaries (STMs) were eagerly awaiting the families arrival.

They took our family picture & then we headed to our room to unpack & unwind.

We had the Introduction & all our meals here.

More Birthday Pics

Kalia was so blessed to have both sets of grandparents come for her 1st birthday celebration. Kempton's parents' trip was planned. However, my parents pleasantly surprised us by driving 10 hrs to be with us. That was icing on the cake! To have everyone together on this special day was such a sweet gift from the Lord.

Kalia has been a mommy's baby from the start.

Wherever mommy is; that's where she wants to be (right on my hip).

So, my parents bought her a Koala book & mommy-baby koalas.

Too Cute!

Big Sister helping out & admiring the great gift from Grandparents T.

"I'm so blessed!"

Kalia's #1 cake

"Kalia, I'll show you how to eat cake!"

"I guess I'll give it a try."

"No Mom & Dad, we prefer to look at you instead."

"All done! My 1st cake was yummy!"

My Baby Girl is One!!!

Kalia Joy

Meaning of Kalia: beauty, beloved, tree

Origin: Hawaiian

We didn't find out our baby's gender before she was born. Even though we thought that we were having a boy throughout my whole pregnancy, we had a girl name just in case. Little did we know that "her" name was going to describe her so well. As we all know, the colors green & brown are associated with trees. So, how fitting it was for the Lord to give us a beautiful, joyful girl with hazel eyes!

Life Blessing: Jeremiah 17:7-8

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit."

As her daddy & I are longing & hoping that she will belong wholly to the Lord, we constantly pray for her salvation and that she will be a beautiful tree for Jesus and bear much fruit for Him!

Oh How One Year Has Flown By!

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

1 Year!