Surprise Birthday Party Club!

7th grade girls are fun. Sometimes people think I'm crazy for teacher Junior High, maybe they're right, but if you got to know all of my students and Wyld Life kids you'd want to hang out with them too.

This morning we started early talking about the next chapters in Love Does. Julia is the expert summarizer and they all have great comments and ideas. Today we talked about putting out the real version of ourselves even if it means we might get damaged along the way. It's so hard in Junior High to not get caught up in being like everyone else, but my prayer is that these girls will be able to see how they're uniquely and beautifully made to be different.

Today is the start of my birthday weekend (my birthday's on Sunday) and a couple of the girls brought gifts this morning. They are always so thoughtful and kind. Julia and Sydney both brought me cupcakes which are my favorite birthday treat. They all gave me sweet notes and Maddy gave me a new friendship bracelet.

KCraig wanted to plan this Wyld Life Club all on her own because she's learning more about the process and wanted to give it a shot. The theme has been Surprise Club and when I showed up I discovered that the surprise was that it's my Miss Wright's Birthday Party Club!

Never in a million years would I have ever expected to have a whole birthday club just for me-- I felt so  celebrated, loved and appreciated right away. I felt so humbled to have this many people think about me and want to make tonight all about me. I know they put so much time and effort into pulling this off.

Natalie, Scotlyn and Julia all ran up to give me a hug right away-- they are precious. Cousins Natty and Maddy are rock stars and I'm so glad they were here to party with us tonight.

KCraig schemed to have Julia and I go to dinner before Club so that I would come to leader set up. We picked up Olivia and both freshmen girls got to come with me tonight. They were beyond pumped to come back to Wyld Life. I loved seeing all of my kids like Audrey and Elyse when I walked through the door.

We sang all Taylor Swift songs tonight because that's how I roll. We belted out all the words and danced in a massive crowd of our Wyld Life friends. Then they brought in dozens of balloons for us to pop. Some of the balloons had candy hidden inside.

There was a birthday cake for me for the next game. Trulock told me that they were trick candles and that if I blew on them hard enough they would light. Of course I thought that as soon as I started blowing on them she would shove the cake in my face or someone would sneak up behind me.

Thankfully there were no tricks, it was just funny to watch me try to light the candles that way. Four kids got to go bobbing for candy bars that were hidden inside the birthday cake.

The crowd cheered on their friends names as they got their faces covered in icing.

I think one of the very coolest parts of the night for me was when they pulled up a special video of pictures, videos and birthday messages from Young Life kids and leaders. If you really know me, you know that words of affirmation is one of my love languages, so reading and hearing messages from these people meant the world to me. There were some from kids in the room and others from YL girls that I haven't seen in a long time that blew me away. It was very, very special.

There is a prayer by Pedro Arrupe that has stuck with me, 

"What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."

I'm in love with Jesus and adventure and working with Jr High and HS kids and Young Life and creating new things and Tecumseh and making sure that love does. Tonight was such affirmation that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to and that the things I love are shaping my life.

The funniest game of the night may have been Tape the Friendship Bracelet On Miss Wright. They got one of the art teachers at the Jr High to create a giant Sarah to hang on the wall. Then kids were blindfolded and spun around before they tried to tape the bracelet on my arm.

After all the kids went they made me play once too. All the HS Wyld Life leaders got to spin me around a dozen times.

Not every day that you get to give yourself a friendship bracelet like this! Kocher gave the club talk tonight about image and who she felt like she was expected to be when she was growing up. She read from Ecclesiastes about their being a time for everything and how God wants us to experience so many different things and emotions. Instead of just following the status quo, we're invited to live life to the full of what he's called for us.

The last fifteen minutes was hilarious and it accounts for the next 21 pictures. We always take a lot of pictures at YL but tonight so many of the girls wanted one with me so that they could post it for my birthday in a couple days. It felt exactly like check out days at Tecumseh when campers all want to take a picture with the counselors in our blue staff polos.

Julia and Olivia were my paparazzi-- Julia took all the pictures on my camera and Olivia took the same picture on each girls' phone. So while I realize the next chunk of pictures may look exactly the same to you if you don't know these kids, they all actually make me so happy. Every one of these girls has a story that I could tell you. They're funny and cute and bold and hyper and real and weird and spunky and making the world around them more awesome.

The dress code for tonight was to wear FUN things. Tu tus most definitely fit into that category. Julia and I were happy to find Elise, Maggie and Soph wearing tu tus too when we showed up.

I don't know if you can beat a picture that has tutus, YL leaders and kids, laughing friends and snapbacks. This is when you know.

 Tonight may have been a birthday party for me, but it's this whole team that made tonight awesome. I'm so incredibly thankful that I get to work at HSJH and Wyld Life with Kocher, KCraig and Trulock. Ryan is such an enthusiastic and passionate staff person. Our HS kids Mariah, Hayley, Natty, Maddy, Jacob, Chad and Max are fantastic. These leaders and all of these Jr High kids are my people. Tonight was amazing and I couldn't imagine a better start to the weekend.

"G is for Gena, J is for Jenna."

Dear FBC Girls,

On days like today I wish that FBC was two hours long. Watching all of you play Running Charades was equally hilarious and entertaining. You're all so good at always being up for anything and never being "too cool" for games. I love that about you. Thanks for making FBC one of my favorite times of the week and proving once again that it's about so much more than just making bracelets. Love, Miss Wright

 

Dear Genna and Alli Sams,
Playing with the two of you today was perfect. So glad that we could go shopping for a bouquet of friendship bracelet string-- next time you two should get some of that neon string. I'm so glad we could share our spontaneous joy and enthusiasm for Olive Garden and then feast together. I don't know the last time I was so excited for a meal. But in all seriousness, I love when we all get to just talk and be real about stuff together. You two rock and God's got such great plans for you, keep letting him shape you into who he made you to be. Love you more than you both love Twitter, Sarah

"I love eating icicles. Especially the ones off of cars. They taste like salt."

Snow storm #3 arrived with over 7 inches of snow and another snow day for HSE. All activities were cancelled Tuesday night and Wednesday morning we got to sleep in without an alarm. We're yet to have a normal week and people are actually hoping to stay in school. We'll now be in the classroom till June 5th. I almost can't believe it.

 

But we're good at making the most of our days off. I played in the snow with Julia, her sister Lucy and their neighbor Livi-- we're all snow day buddies at this point. The sleds were buried under the last Polar Vortex so that limited our options.

 

We climbed under the pine trees where Livi told us, "There's 2 million years of area in here." It was our own snow day tree fort. Livi lost her boot on the way out, but you would've guessed by her screams that she'd lost her whole foot. Lucy came to the rescue and soon Livi was fine again.

Playing with these little girls made Julia and I appreciate the snow that much more. They love just falling into a mound, rolling down the hill and face planting into fresh snow. When we were all a little cold we headed back inside for hot chocolate.

Snow day obsessions: friendship bracelets, Netflix, Diet Coke, snap chat and sitting on the big gray couch

Tonight Kocher and I met up with most of our Wyld Life leaders-- Mariah, Chad, Hayley, Natalie, Maddy, Hannah, Jacob, Brannt and Cefali. Despite Cefali's worries about clogging his arteries, we devoured burgers and bags of french fries. My end of the table told extreme stories of injuries and we almost threw up a couple times because they were so sick. Hanging out with these kids is never dull. Can't wait for Wyld Life Club with them on Friday night.

"Please don't put a ban my life. Pokemon is my life."

At the Winter Res Staff Reunion Bobby filmed a whole crew of counselors. He was helping Joel put together a video for prospective counselors to tell them about why they should work at camp and what it's meant to us. He posted the final product yesterday and I loved watching the final cut. 

Everyone's stories are woven together to create this fabric of funny, emotional, insightful, scary and life-changing conversations. Things like this make me so thankful for where I grow up, proud that I've been able to give this experience to so many campers and excited to come back for another summer. Tecumseh is absolutely the best place on Earth.

 

Julia and I showed up at the girls' basketball games tonight to cheer on our friend Olivia. Julia and I watch sports the same way-- with a friendship bracelet taped to our knee and a Diet Coke right beside us. We not only got to cheer on the team but we saw Maggie shooting yearbook pictures, Rachel before she cheered, and Mariah before her Varsity game. All of these kids are rock stars and it's fun getting to see them in their element.

 

Julia and I left the gym and headed to Young Life for Campaigners. Natty B hugged me right when she walked in the door. This girl is so special and makes my life better whenever I'm around her. She looks for the good in the world, rocks plaid with polka-dots multiple days in a row, and gets even more excited for my birthday than I do.

Kaelyn, Erin and Molly are all regular attenders these days and I love hanging out with all of them. When our lives overlap so often like this we get knit together in this community. Sharing life with them in one of my favorite things.

We finally got to sing worship songs together at the beginning of Campaigners. I have missed that. Jesus Paid It All was one of the hymns we sang tonight at it brought me right back to singing in the long wooden pews at Hope College. I love how music has the ability to do that, to connect you to other times and places. Music has always been such a key in connecting me to Christ and helping me to grow in that relationship. I'm thankful that these kids are having that same experience.

"We're the kind of people you want on your Catch Phrase team."

This weekend was a logistical miracle. Somehow we perfectly aligned the schedules of Maggie, Ellie, Olivia and I so that we had no conflicts. Though there was the possibility of more snow in the Midwest we still made it out of Indy on Friday afternoon. Just 4 hours later, Olivia and I made it to Peoria, IL to spend three days with two of our favorite people in the whole world.

 

Maggie is one of the best friends I've ever had and I love her heart and spirit so much. Odle and Ellie have been best friends since they first met as Pathfinders. I got to be one of their CILT counselors in 2012. Getting to have all four of us together for a whole weekend was almost too good to believe.

We also got to see other Peoria friends like Mia and Katie Dixon. Mags and I went to One World, a Peoria favorite, while Ellie and Odle went to a ND basketball game. We did some crafting, hung out with Bubba and Jane for a little bit, played Perfect Match, visited Mia at Sweet CeCe's, watched Gossip Girl, played Taboo at the Pearl's house, went out to breakfast, sang in the car and just loved being together.

This weekend was such a good dose of being with friends all day every day just like we are at Tecumseh. There's just something so special about having the people you love around all the time. These people are such great examples of what I think are some of the most important rules of friendship: make time for each other, help the other person be the best version of themselves, stay invested even when it's not easy, love them for who they are.

After breakfast Olivia and I hit the road again. Let it be known that Oh la la Olivia is one heck of a road trip partner. We made a pit stop in Champaign to see the one and only Maeve Plunkett. Maeve and I met during 2011 CILTs and she and Olivia lived in the same cabin this past summer. She's one of our favorite people.

It was a quick visit but so great to see Maeve's dorm and to catch up for a little bit. Maeve is one of those people that just shines and you can't help but want to be around her. I'm so thankful for her friendship for the past couple years. She inspires me to be more joyful and to always look for the best in every person and situation.

As we were leaving Champaign we stumbled across S Wright St. You better believe I pulled the car right over so Odle and I could capture the moment. I've found my new favorite place.

During the Super Bowl Julia and Lucy Dewolf were working on friendship bracelets at their house. Julia texted me that Lucy, a 4th grader, just said, "I'm addicted. You got me addicted Julia. And there's no cure. But I don't want a cure. I love it." I feel her pain. The struggle is real.