The Jaderston Travels

Home.

Home.

Have you ever had a really long and crazy summer? I have, and I am happy to report that ours is finally over.

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August 8th was our finish line and I honestly never thought we would make it. It felt like decades away. And then last week it was just two days away and we were packing our bags for one last trip. Home.

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Our two weeks at Northern Pines were so great. We got to serve alongside some of our best friends and we got to reunite with so many people that we love.

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It was so much fun. But also exhausting, weird, challenging, and filled with laughter (and tears). Mike does such a great job teaching the wilderness program about Jesus. I love being able to serve alongside him.

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But now we’re home and I am so hopeful for routine, a schedule. I’m hopeful to unpack our bags and put them in the closet for longer than two weeks. I’m hopeful to spend extra time snuggling our dog and more time using the creative side of my brain. I’m hopeful that this blog will get a little more love, some good changes.

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Two of our very best friends moved to Wichita while we were away. I am so excited to see them, to do life with them.

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There is so much hope for the future right now. But first, I go back to work and figure out our new normal. A normal that doesn’t involve traveling or sleeping in a bed that isn’t my own.

Happy Day!

Summer Retreat 2015

Well, I wasn’t able to update the blog like I’d hoped last week, so I am here today with a big recap (mostly photos) of our week at Westminster Woods.

We had approximately 120 students out at camp this week for Mike’s middle school youth group’s summer retreat.That’s a mouthful, but it was a great time. Thank goodness for our 25+ high school leaders who lead our small groups and stay in the cabins with the middle schoolers on retreats.

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My brother in law was one of the Student Ministry interns this summer so he had the opportunity to speak on the summer retreat. I loved watching him come to life in front of the students. He definitely has a gift in speaking and I can’t wait to see where the Lord takes that.

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Mike also did a lot of the speaking – and leading – and explaining. The top photo is during one of his talks. The bottom photo is him announcing who won the golden duster (cleanest cabin) for the day. It’s so fun to see him work at camps, he’s completely in his element.

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By midweek Alfie gets pretty exhausted so we have dedicated nap time for him (and me). He gets so snuggly when he’s tired – I love it.

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Just livin’ the Lou life with a midweek family nap | We take FOB very seriously

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Walking in peace and quiet | Between the trees

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Alfie doesn’t have any fun at camp | No fun at all

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Just your typical hose down post game day

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At this point he was exhausted, dehydrated, and allowing me to hold him like a baby | What a guy

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Socks and sandals | together 4eva

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LAST DAY! | We’re not tired… 

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Within an hour of being home and getting some chipotle in their bellies, I found the men of our house passed out on the couch. I think it’s hilarious that the tallest one is on the smallest couch and the short one is on the biggest couch | Seems logical to me.

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While they slept, I unpacked, went grocery shopping, and gave the pup a bath. He doesn’t like bath time but since he was so tired he was very compliant. 
And that was our week! Weeks out at camp always go by so quickly but we’ll be back out at the Woods before we know it. Now we’re switching gears and prepping for the Wilderness at Northern Pines. Thankfully we have a few days of turn around!
Happy Day!

Group Mission Minnesota!

We are home!

Our week in Minnesota was filled with so many blessings. It was hard being so close to family and not being able to see them, but our time serving the community was so good.

IMG_0758Crossing into Minnesota

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IMG_0764On Tuesday afternoon we had free time so we spent some time playing Kubb at Lake Calhoun.

IMG_0766This is Namaya. She had just woke up from a nap in my arms. #heartmelt

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I didn’t take many photos, because grabbing my phone was thankfully not a priority this week.

Now we’re back to reality. We both go back to work tomorrow and real life has hit me like a train. Sometimes being a grown up isn’t all it’s chalked up to be… Summer is definitely wearing me down but I have hope for a more restful time in our future.

Also we’ve been trying to purge our possessions that we never use/don’t need. It’s so refreshing but also so much work! I get super nostalgic over things that mean nothing (like old pairs of jeans?) but I need to get over that and just let it go. My free time is going towards purging so that my free time in the future can go towards decorating with less clutter everywhere. Yay!

Happy Day!

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