A very *busy* weekend!

This past weekend was very busy for the camp, with three back-to-back events, each with fifty participants or more!  Luckily the weather was fabulous for all three events, spanning four days.

The first event to kick off the weekend was the Martin/Blair wedding.  They got it started on Thursday, getting the pavilion all set up for the festivities.  The bride wanted a rustic, country look, complete with hay bales!

From the seating, to the table arrangements, the lighting, the gift "table" and even the cake stand, the bride definitely succeeded in pulling off the look she was going for.  

It all made for a lovely and fun Friday evening wedding and reception and even included a post-ceremony hay ride around the camp and hot dog and marshmallow roasting over the bonfire!

We wish Mr. and Mrs. Blair a happy and God-blessed life together!

The next event -- on Saturday -- was a family reunion ... one that's taken place up at the camp every year we've been hosts, and who knows how long before that!  This was the Jack's family reunion and it turns out that this year they had the greatest participation they'd had in a while, with fifty family members showing up!

As always, the food was plentiful and they were gracious enough to share with the camp hosts, so I can say with authority, it was good!

They had a good time and enjoyed each others company into the afternoon.

Finally, Sunday afternoon, the camp hosted the third event of the weekend, Lakewood Baptist Church's annual church picnic!

They had a terrific crowd -- one hundred members turned out to enjoy the food, fun, and festivities!  They even set up a sound system for music and a time of worship/devotion after the meal.

While we ran into quite a few members who had been up here before, there were also a few who were seeing the camp for the first time.  It never fails to impress, especially since our rainy, cool summer and lovely fall temps have really kept the camp looking green and pretty.  Brother Terrell Boyd, Lakewood's pastor, has been a good friend to the camp and we always enjoy hosting their church picnic!

Weekends are thoroughly packed with events through the end of November -- this past weekend was a terrific reminder of how much of a blessing this camp is to so many people, in such a variety of ways!

Reunion

Saturday afternoon we had the pleasure of hosting a mini-reunion of Huntsville Christian Academy's high school classes of 2003-2006.  The rain from earlier in the day had cleared out and the weather was clear and nice.

There were lots of opportunities to chat and catch up ... and eat (of course)!

Before everyone left, they did manage to get a group shot.  First the nice pose:

And then of course, as was tradition, the goofy pose:

Brandon left before the group shots were taken, so he gets a loner shot:

It was a great afternoon!

Toney Family Reunion and New Assets

I called Mrs. Audrey Jacks the day before just to make sure everything was a go for the Toney Family Reunion scheduled for Saturday. The weatherman was a little iffy -- aren't they always --about a chance of rain. She told me last year it rained on them at her brother's house, and they had to move it to the church fellowship hall. The event was still on and her brother was coming up a little early to get things ready.

On Saturday morning Denise and I went to pick up a used golf cart we found for the camp at a great deal. We had borrowed one from a friend to use at the Jamboree, and found out just what an asset it was. Though it's an older model, it's a nice one and has really been taken care of.

We returned from our trip down to south Huntsville the Reunion folks had already begun arriving. After getting everything situated I made my way over there to take care of the paperwork and meet some folks. The smell of the many foods present was mighty fine though I did not hang around long.

Later after lunch I dropped in again to meet some other folks and take a few pictures. There were only a few kids in this bunch though Mrs. Audrey said several from the family did not make it up.

Before the college football games really got cranked up they were all gone and had picked the place up nicely...one could hardly tell anyone had even been up here. Final count was 42.

Denise and I took a ride down to close and lock the gate in the new golf cart. One thing I really love about the electric carts is how quiet they are.

While we were at it we went over to the upper campground to take a closer look at the new bathroom facilities that had been delivered a week before

Sam Kelly and crew had been working on this thing and I have to say it is pretty nice. The inside is close to finished and in a few weeks the lot will be cleaned off. If all goes well it will be hooked up and ready to go. Not sure who all participated in this project, but I want to send them my thanks!

We tooled around for awhile and then made it back in time to have a great cup of hot chocolate and settle in to watch the game

Family Reunion at MACOBA

The Kimbrough family reunion reminded me of the early years of my life when MaMa was still around we had a family reunion every year in August at her house. She had seven kids of which my dad was the youngest. Those were some good memories filled with plenty of food and always meeting a cousin or two I had never seen before. The men would end up pitching horseshoes, telling hunting stories, and discussing where the fish were biting. The women would be in a big group filled with laughter one minute and almost a hush of silence the next. Dad always said they were sharing prayer concerns during those quieter times while other men referred to it as something different. One of the sad things about my grandmother's death was the reunions also seemed to die out as well. Oh they tried to all get together a time or two after that but other things always seemed to come up.

I spent a little while with the Kimbrough family and they seem to be such good folks. I have known Wayne (Pastor of Five Points Baptist) for several years now. He and his wife are such servants of our Lord. I also spent some time talking with Eddie, Wayne's son. Eddie and I share a lot of the same thoughts and beliefs when it comes to the church and ministry. It was good to see a family these days and times to make it a point to get together on a regular basis so as not to lose touch. I hope to see them again.