Dear Graysie:

Daddy and I are at church camp. It is August of 2001 and we have taken Emma, Kaidon, and Mihya to Horn Creek for the first time. We are with our good friends, Randy and Ginger, and a few other couples they have invited too. Although we've never been as a family, daddy grew up going to this camp with his youth group. We are so excited to spend a week as a family and mommy is secretly thrilled that daddy can't get a cell phone signal because that means we will actually get uninterrupted time from his business.

The days spent at church camp are pretty laid back and relaxing. Every family has their own agenda and seem to be enjoying their time here. Some families this is their first time here and others I can tell are regulars. The pool is broken down and is freezing and your brother and sisters are not happy about that at all. We have spent time hiking, climbing trees, bowling, playing with the basketballs, horseback riding and enjoying each others company. We have driven into town a few times and looked at the shops, but for the most part we have just spent time together.

In the evenings all of the families are brought together. We eat dinner in a big room with tables and then we do our evening church service. We have the option of putting your brother and sisters in the nursery, but mommy thinks they will enjoy the worship music so I keep them with us. Afterwards, there are so many evening activities to enjoy and we stay as long as we can, which isn't that long because Mihya is only 5 months old, and then we go back to our cabin for the night.

By the end of the week so many of the faces that were unfamiliar to us in the beginning are now referred to as "friends". We've talked to almost each person at camp and heard their "story" of how they came to know Horn Creek. One person has my attention that I realize I never spoke to though. I don't know why I'm drawn to this beautiful teenage girl, but something inside is telling me I should have connected with her. Why? I wonder to myself, what would we even have in common?

The answer to that question is so much bigger than I can imagine right now.

I love you forever!

Mommy