Ahhh. Life.

Life can be so crazy sometimes. Sometimes I have this weird feeling that I am still living my life like I am 16 years old... that's certainly the way I tend to treat my body! I have this tendency to be a very big kid.... but at the same time I live a life and have a job that carries with it a lot of responsibility...

Sometimes I handle that responsibility well... like when I take the kids on mission trips to foreign countries and bring them back all safe and sound... or I organize big events and remember every little detail. Sometimes I am just that kind of person... detail oriented, mature, responsible.

Sometimes I lack a few of those parts... sometimes they escape me for a few seconds or minutes or hours and I make decisions that can only be described in hind-sight as not so bright. That, friends, is the story of my weekend. Here we go...

So. This weekend we had our second annual Winter Retreat. I started this tradition last year because my youthies LOVE to go on retreat. We go to Camp Otterbein, we have an AWESOME weekend together, we have a winter olympics (first lapse of judgement, one event is the downhill ice run. uh, yeah), we do a luge track down the hill from the outdoor chapel and down around some cabins (lapse #2), we eat lots of junk food, do crafts and generally act crazy... all while spending good times in lessons and discussions. It's winter retreat, its organized by me...

that's what you get.

This year I had another lapse of judgement. After an afternoon outside on the big sledding hill, with wet, cold feet (my #1 hate in the world), and snow packed into places I'd rather not discuss, I said to the kiddies "Hey, let's go inside and get warm... we can come back out and sled later."

That evolved into this...

We'll call it... NIGHT SLEDDING.

For the record. This is a BAD IDEA.

BAD in the fact that those nice, snowy hills refroze, our sledding configurations got more crazy.... and I ended up with near heart failure. BUT... lapse #1,000,00 of course was that I went down the hill too... 5 or 20 times... screaming the whole way, bailing out of my little saucer sled at the bottom to avoid taking the ice right into the creek bed... and going head over heels into the snow. Yes. This is a BAD IDEA because... I am 31 not 13.

These girls... they are teenagers. Their cute little selves can handle things that leave me bruised and sore for DAYS.

Any hoo it was a good weekend. These kids proved that Sulphur Grove Youth can play 4 Square ANYWHERE. They shoveled and scraped their way right to the bottom.

And this is all of us. Just before heading home. The snow and ice storm on Friday kept us from leaving as planned and we didn't get to camp until Saturday... but in the end.... it was one of the best retreats on record....

And just for the record...

I'm not getting any younger... my poor battered body can attest to that!

Who ME??

I have been thinking a lot lately. (I KNOW right?) Its not really a new thing, its just something I don't really talk about all that much... you know... CARLY... THINKING. But the reality is that I do it quite a bit... so please, pick your jaw up off the floor and go with me here.

In recent weeks I have encountered this bizarre experience a couple of times that has gotten me really thinking about... change. See, a few weeks ago I had a very odd experience that led me to believe that either I have changed significantly in recent years or the perceptions that are held about me vary by the place they are connected with. Now that may make no sense to you, but try being me!! All of my life I have taken great pride in the fact that no matter what place in life your experience of me started from or what path you walked with me (for whatever time frame) the Carly you got is the authentic one. Some people tell me that I should keep thoughts to myself, others tell me that I should try harder to be on time, others that I need to dress more professionaly for work, and still others that I have a bit of a tendency to be a very big kid (oh, and sometimes a bit of a drama queen, but who's counting?!). The fact is that regardless of where you have encountered me you have probably experienced me as being a bit (hahaha) opinionated, tardy, wearing flip flops, having unbrushed hair, and mostly likely pining away for the beach or looking for an excuse to laugh. That's just me. That's who I am. Whether I was being the kindergarten teacher, the youth director, the camp director, or the tree climber, I have taken great pride for years in the fact that what you see is what you get.

OK. So apparently I have changed.... or who I am in Ohio is much different than who I have been in the past... or something happened to me that I am unaware of! In recent years I have become much more tolerant of loud children all around me, bodily functions being openly discussed, and spaghetti (YUCK!). I have also become more socially conscious, more passionate about life, more passionate about God, and more into loving people than telling them they are wrong. SO... yeah, apparently I have changed somewhat... but really... if you have spent any time with me you already knew those things. You probably already knew that I get a lot more caught up in the "yes"es than the "no"s. You probably already knew that my life and faith are somewhat liberal and I am all about loving people for Jesus, regardless of their life choices or decisions. I am... and I always have been.

Yet in the past few weeks my experiences have led me to believe that some people may have been misled about who "Carly" really is and what "Carly" is really for. So just to clear that up... if I have disappointed you with the person I have become, I can't apologize for anything except that I may have misled you in the past. If I have surprised you with the person I have become, I need to reevaluate the person I have been putting out there in the past. If you have not noticed any difference (save some small amount of maturity and gray hair) than YEAH!! and thanks for loving me in spite of my flaws.

NO worries friends! I am still here... still trying to be passionate every day, still trying to convince my feet to wear shoes, still threatening to shave my head if my hair doesn't get life figured out soon, and still being me... passionately searching for Jesus and loving his people along the way... cause really... that's who Carly is.

THanks!

**BY The way.... I in no way think that change is bad... It just seems that some people think that I am fundamentally a different person than I have been before and while I am always changing and growing... IT'S STILL ME IN HERE. (even if you don't recognize me under the fleece, the mittens, the scarf, the coat, the boots... etc... =))

Goodbye 2007...

It seems appropriate that I should write a little something as I mark the end of 2007 (along with the rest of humanity!!) and look ahead to 2008.

I was riding in the car today with my nephew Nickolas, and he told me that he was glad 2007 was over, surely 2008 would be better... he's 5, I'm sure its been a rough one for him!!

I can't really say the same for how I feel about the end of 2007. It's been an amazing year to be honest. There have been some tough days and frustrations... but 2007 has been marked with amazing things as well.

It was hard to spend an entire year away from Brazil... for the first time in 6 years... but a blessing to spend time with amazing friends in Russia and Costa Rica.. and right here at home. It was hard to face frustrations on a daily basis, but a blessing to see so many new and exciting possibilities unfold. It was hard to see people I love struggle, but it was a blessing to experience the amazing things God brought to their lives.

This year we welcomed Logan to the family. We thought more than once we would be saying goodbye to Lloyd (the family dog) but he is still hanging in there. We said goodbye to the family home in Englewood.

This year I said hello to new friends in Russia, a new home in Vandalia, and new adventures in a variety of places. We started new traditions, like the Easter Prayer vigil and a Winter Retreat.

This year was also about keeping things the same in a lot of ways... I started my 4th year at Sulphur Grove, trained for the 7th year on the Challenge Course at WPW, and returned for a 3rd time to Costa Rica and a 2nd time to Russia.

There were lots of friends that I didn't see enough of this year... and a few people that I was blessed to spend lots of time with.

As I look to 2008, I know that there are amazing things in store... regardless of where this new year takes me... to the Dominican Republic? to Alaska? to Brazil again??

Thank you friends! Thank you for being part of my life and allowing me to be part of yours. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Thank you for putting up with my inability to be on time or answer my cell phone with any kind of consistency. Thank you for your love.

And now... on to 2008... CRAZY!!

Fall Retreat 2007

A few weeks back the youthies and I spent an amazing weekend at camp. Fall Retreat is always such a good time... and finally here are some pictures of our weekend. God bless 'em... I love those kids!!

OH... and I am bad at formatting this kind of thing... so... yeah.

FRUSTRATED.

Phone Conversation with a friend...

This is the phone conversation I had recently with a friend...

Me: HHHEEEEYYYYY....
Her: HHHHEEEYYYY... whatcha doin?
Me: Driving, as usual... and hoping the man in front of me learns to drive in the snow before I have to rear end him...
Her: Oh...
Me: What?
Her: I just figured you were out changing the world again....

And a text from my friend in the south:

Hey. R u in the country right now? I can't keep track. Call me if u get a break today from saving the world.

Hmmmm... why do people think these things about me?? I am 100% sure that I am not living up to these two wonderful friends' expectations of my life... but then... am I living up to MY expectations of my life.. and more importantly am I living up to GOD'S expectations of my life?

I really do want to change the world.... why am I tying yarn to jingle bells all afternoon??

Back

I am back in town...

Back from my time at the NYWC in Atlanta...
Back from visiting Katie in Charlotte...
Back from Chris and Katie's house in Greenville, SC.

Back.

Back with drama and trauma.

Soon I will blog my time at the NYWC which was AMAZING...
For now... I am back.