Thursday, September 28, 2017

"I thought we had a right to fidget."

Two things that make life better when FBC is crazy...

1) 200 Paper Clips-- Easily the best game I've ever created. I hide 200 paper clips around the room. I yell, "Go!" The girls go find 200 paper clips. Everyone is happy. 

2) Reading patterns. Today we all google searched "Friendship Bracelet V Pattern" and looked at the same one. I explained how to read the pattern. Girls tried to make it by following the pattern. Now they can make any bracelet that they want to on their own. 


GREAT NEWS: PORTILLO'S IS OPEN IN FISHERS!!!!
sad news: the line was out the door in the parking lot... so we went across the street to 5 Guys instead

Tonight history was made. 17 pioneers called into a Junior Board Meeting tonight for Camp Tecumseh. We've been invited to help craft and shape more of what it looks like for summer staff alumni to be involved with camp post- counselor days and pre- camper parent days. Ideas are marinating and good stuff is in the works. The best part was just getting to see this Brady Bunch collage of so many Tecumseh friends of years past.


Wednesday, September 27, 2017

"Hey, this could be the year you get a growth spurt. This could be your year Cameron!"

I love early mornings with the Hickory girls talking about life and reading the bible together. Thank you girls for showing up-- I'm proud of you for being intentional about growing in your faith and investing in each other. 


I love cross country meets and having an unofficial reunion of the Week 1 girls. I love that Brookie will be a Wyld Life leader in just a couple years. I love that all four of these little girls will be in Wyld Life next year.


I love greeting kids as they walk up to the Halkyard's for Wyld Life Campaigners. I love that this is their place and their thing. I love that they know their adult and HS leaders by name and that they're excited to see them.


I love that Mal led worship for us for the first time ever tonight. I love that we filled this basement with the words of The Table, Set A Fire and My Lighthouse. I love that Bailey and Grace jumped up to do the "safe to shooooooore" hip swivels without a shy bone in their bodies.


I love that Justin and Brad are leading the Wyld Life boys together. I love the HS guys who are excited about pouring into the Junior High guys this year. I love these Junior High boys who keep showing up and want to know more.


I love this group of silly and sweet and smart girls. Tonight I loved how Wash, Meric, Maddie and Cass got to teach the 7th graders what they've learned about the scripture. I love the connections and friendships they're building. I love that this is just the start of two years in Campaigners together.


Tuesday, September 26, 2017

"I hope you know you're capable & brave & significant. Even when it feels like you're not."

It wasn't just family and friends who thrilled that Justin and I got engaged. The kids at the Clubhouse this week  have been throwing, "Congratulations Miss Wright!" at me in class, in the hall and on the way to buses at the end of the day. Two interactions are going to stick in my memory for years. 

#1
Last Thursday one of the boys in my class had the realization that I'm still MISS Wright...
Boy: You're not married?!?! (with a horrified look on his face)
Me: Are you surprised because I'm so old?
Boy: No! Because you're so... likable!
Me: Thank you-- that is one of the nicest things anyone has told me in so long. 

I couldn't wait to tell him I got engaged. 

He walked into class yesterday...
Me: Look! (I held up my ring)
Boy: YOU GOT MARRIED?!?!
Me: Not yet, but I got engaged! So I'm going to get married!
Boy: WOW! That... Is... So... DELICATE!
(Boy gives me the biggest hug he can muster)

#2
I knew that Ellie girl would freak out when she found out. She saw my post on Instagram Saturday morning when she was eating breakfast and immediately started crying at the table. 
Monday morning she burst into my room with a card for Justin and me and an engagement gift. She is the sweetest. 


Today I finally got to see Ally Reid who has basically moved her from Texas. She's in the Wilderness Guide Girl Gang and just so legit. Smelko and I took her back to Taco & Burrito place, she gave me a Magnolia sticker and we got to hang out for over an hour. This is the stuff dreams are made of.


Anticipation is mounting...
4 days till the YL Summit in Southern Indiana
6 days till the Camp Tecumseh Field Trip for the Clubhouse

Monday, September 25, 2017

"WOW! IT'S... SO... DELICATE!" Bring Your Mom To Club

Tonight was for the moms. We got an overwhelming response on the Twitter poll in favor of Bring Your Mom To Club Club. (Now we have rounded out the whole "Bring Your..." Club series with Grandparents, Siblings, Pets, Dads and Moms.) These moms showed up in droves. 


Many of these moms I have had the honor of getting to know-- either through Young Life or teaching or chaperoning field trips or seeing them in the stands at games-- but there were a handful who were brand-new to the barn. I think it's so cool when parents get a front row seat to see what their kids are so excited about every Monday night.


I was pretty elated when I saw this mom, KCraig, show up with her daughter Alex. We're so excited for KCraig about her transition to Grace Church but we sure do miss her around here. It was such a party tonight to have her here, lighting up the room like she does with her dance moves, her laugh and her commentary.


First we played Name That Mom. To buzz in, mom and their kid switched places and then double high-fived. Who was mom in the Lion King? Who are the mom's in Gilmore Girls? Who plays the mom in The Blind Side?


A crowd favorite at Dad's Club, we brought back the Parent/Child version of the Newlywed Game. What's your mom's signature meal? What does your mom say the most often? What would Mom do with more free time? What's mom's dream vacation spot? What chore does mom wish someone else would take care of? What was the name of Mom's first boyfriend?





Then we called up 14 kids to compete in Mom's Purse Olympics. We shouted out something you might find in a mom's purse and they had to run into the crowd to find it from any mom.


Lipstick
Sunglasses
$1.66
A snack
Grocery Store Card
Picture of child/family



While we sang at the end of the night, kids went to get the mom awards they had created when they arrived tonight. Anna Morgan presented me with the "Best Fill In Mom Award" and put my engaged self on her Insta Happy Days account.


Tonight Joey talked to us about how he has been working on remembering things and the truth that God calls us to remember what he has done for us and in our lives. "Praise the Lord and never forget all that he has done." Psalm 103:2


Tonight I was so excited to not only hang out with my YL girls but to get to spend time with their moms too. These women have raised phenomenal children, but they're so much more than just moms. They are dear friends of mine. They are role models who point me to the kind of woman I want to become. They are fierce cheerleaders of mine. They are essential members of my extended family here in Fishers.


Sunday, September 24, 2017

"My face hurts from smiling. Justin. Wow."

Saturday I woke up with a ring on my finger and remembered every bit of Justin's proposal the night before. We got to spend all of Saturday together which was perfect. We headed back to Indy and then got to go to an engagement party that night at the Halkyard's. They generously insisted that they would throw us a party when Justin first told Todd his plan to propose weeks ago. Little did I know, so many people were in on the plan and knew exactly when we were going to get engaged. 


Saturday night was filled with so many family members and friends-- it was a bit surreal to have all of them in the same place. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such a supportive, encouraging and loving community of people. Thank you so much to everyone who celebrated us-- in person, via text or facebook message or Instagram comment-- your excitement was so felt.


Sunday morning I headed back to Tecumseh with the rookie counselors for our school field trip that is only a week away. We hiked all over camp so that they could have a better idea of where everything is and feel prepared to teach lessons to their study group of kids.



While we were in the Lodge I couldn't help but peak my head into the Party Room and think, "Hey, this is where I just got ENGAGED two days ago." I didn't think it was possible, but this room is even more special to me now.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Happier than I ever thought I could be-- WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!

I've always thought I would get engaged at camp. Weeks ago, Justin asked me to block off a whole weekend on my calendar (because if he didn't I would have filled it up with other plans) so I thought the proposal was going to happen in the time frame of Oct 6th-8th.

I thought we were having dinner with Justin's friends on Friday night in Indy, but they cancelled that morning (which was all fake). I called Justin that morning and suggested we go up to camp to hang out with Elliott's (our good camp friends) rather than going up this coming Thursday as we had planned (which helped Justin that I suggested it so he didn't have to). We got up to camp in time to have dinner with the Elliott's at their house and then just hung out with the whole family.

Around 8:30 Tom mentioned he was hungry and went inside to order Monical's pizza to be delivered.
I was playing bananagrams with Justin, Tom and Katrina when they got a call that the pizza had been delivered to River Village Lodge accidentally. Meanwhile, Katrina asked if I'd heard about the Party Room (my favorite room in camp where CILTs do all of their activities) yet. She said that something had happened with the fireplace and an outdoor education group and there was damage but that it was going to be okay. I was immediately alarmed that something had happened to my favorite room and wanted to see it for myself. Justin and I offered to go get the pizza from the delivery guy in River Village so that I could also see the damage to the Party Room.

We drove down to River and the pizza man is nowhere to be found. While we were waiting for him to show up we walked into the dining room and I could immediately smell the smoke. The Party Room doors were shut with signs that said "Please stay out" (I think the signs were there because of the fire but they were actually so that no one at camp would go into the room since Justin had set up the proposal the day before with the help of Joel and Tom).

I opened the door and almost immediately shut it because I saw candles and heard music and saw rose petals on the ground and thought someone was doing something in there that I didn't want to interrupt. The last thing I saw was a framed picture of the two of us and I realized what was going on. I immediately got tears in my eyes and hugged Justin because I knew what was about to happen.

It was incredible. There were over 100 candles, rose petals all over the floor, a mix of my favorite Ben Rector and Taylor Swift songs playing, dry ice by the fireplace filling the room with fog. He had set up 12 station/podiums around the room-- each one had a framed picture of us and a letter he had written me about our first date, fruits of the spirit, our first facebook message, and forever. He read all of the letters to me as we made our way around the room. We just kept pausing and talking about things he had been keeping a secret for the proposal that he couldn't wait to tell me-- he had been planning this for weeks...months... and was so excited.



After about an hour we got to the main table by the fireplace-- I loved that all of this was such an experience and took so long. Anticipation is my favorite emotion and I got to keep looking forward to so many things during this proposal rather than it just being done in 10 seconds. There was a wooden box that belonged to his grandma Frances and he had three things inside for me.

1) In 7th grade he got a cheap metal/jewel heart for his girlfriend while he was on Spring Break but when he got home she had broken up with him. He was heartbroken but decided that he would keep the heart until he could give it to his wife one day... me!

2) Minglets are an old camp tradition-- you take the plastic ring on a milk carton and fold it into a heart and give it to your friend. I give minglets to him often. Our friend Ricky, who does metal work, hooked him up with some people who made a minglet out of brass and then 24 carat gold plated it. It's so freaking cool and so thoughtful.

3) The ring!!!!! I was part of the process of picking it out but he had sent me a decoy email just a few days ago from the person we'd been working with on the ring. The email said that the ring would still get here in plenty of time... because I thought it was happening in two weeks.



We prayed together and then he got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. I just nodded first and then remembered to actually say, "Yes!"


Justin has a large menu holder/folder that he uses to hold itinerary's for our dates or trips. It was up on the table as well with the plan for our life together.


Justin's parents have a little cafe table in their kitchen that they sit at together. Justin set up our own little cafe table in the Party Room with all my favorites-- strawberries and blueberries, pepperoni pizza (the pizza guy from Monical's eventually did show up and Joel made sure we got the pizza), a vanilla latte, sparkling water, Sprite, Diet Coke-- he thought of everything. The pizza pan was actually from my favorite pizza place in the world, Lui Lui in NH where my grandma lives. While we were there last month he had secretly gotten the pan from the restaurant and snuck it back to Indiana without me seeing. There were two tall candles in wooden candle holders that had held the unity candle at his parents' wedding.


Next we took an intermission from the Party Room to go to our favorite spot in camp and set off paper lanterns over camp.


We went back to the Elliott's to get sweatshirts and told them I SAID YES!!! and laughed with them about the whole plan of getting me down to the Party Room with the pizza delivery guy and the fake story about the Party Room.

Justin's proposal wasn't completely over yet so we went back to the Party Room. Justin had put together a video of our family and friends (including BOB GOFF) congratulating us on our engagement! So many people had been involved with this proposal and I had no idea. I felt so loved and known and celebrated.

Tonight was better than I could have ever thought of in my wildest dreams. The boy hit it out of the park. I am elated that I get to marry him and that we get to spend the rest of our lives together. We can't wait for what is to come.


The love and joy we've received from people excited about our engagement has been incredible. Some of the most memorable comments we received after sharing our news:

"TRIPPERS JUST GOT TIGHTER WITH AN ENGAGED COUPLE ON IT"
"Hooray!!! So happy!!! Boyfriend Justin is now FIANCE JUSTIN"
"I'm going to start saving my hair so we can weave it to make your wedding dress. No need to thank me. My gift to you on this special day."
"Your sweet boy has been planning this since the day he met you! God bless and love you both!"
"Welcome to the family, we're glad that you have come to share you life with us."
"#goodgraciousdavisbodacious #wrightmovejustin"
"Congratulations! We can add you to the family group chat now"