A First and Final Post From Lee...

To our family, our church family and our friends,

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers you lifted up on our behalf this summer. There was never a doubt along the journey that God was with us and leading us safely from place to place. We were richly blessed by this sabbatical experience. Some of you have asked, how many miles have we traveled? The answer is...13,458! Thank God we had a safe and rewarding experience and that we never had to talk with a policeman except for asking them for directions!!!! I have many stories to pass on which I am sure you will here more about in upcoming sermons...so stay tuned. Thanks to Michele, many of you were able to "go along with us"...Thank you honey! Lastly, I appreciate the Staff-Parish Relations Team and all of those who chipped in this summer around the church in order to make this experience possible for us. You are all a blessing to us!

Love,

Lee (aka: Pastor Lee)

My Final Blog...BooHoo!!

Update on yesterday's activities: Rained out! A storm blew in right when it was time for Ben and Sam to tube and it didn't stop raining all day. Guess we have to wait until next year.

Well everyone, the time has come. Today we will be wrapping things up at Sandy Cove and beginning our travel back to home. It has been quite a journey. Throughout the trip I had a notebook that I jotted some thoughts down. I would like to share them with you now.

Things That I Learned or Had Confirmed on Our Sabbatical:

Ø Sam personifies everything. All things have an identity and personality.
Ø Ben is a worrier for all of us and a bodyguard for his sister.
Ø The hall in our camper is too small for four people getting supper ready.
Ø The bathroom is not conducive to four people getting ready in the morning.
Ø We really do have fun together.
Ø We are each other’s best friends.
Ø Lee is a faithful man with a good heart who loves to surprise us.
Ø Our God is very creative and artistic. He made an amazing world.
Ø My children have great senses of humor.
Ø Personal space is greatly valued.
Ø I miss my pets!
Ø We prayed, worshipped, and did devotions together. Our God is an awesome God!
Ø A truck is a great place for important family discussions.
Ø We don’t appreciate how blessed we truly are.
Ø Godincidences are extra special
Ø My children love to spend time together as a family and in today’s world that is a huge blessing.
Ø This trip was a once in a lifetime chance four our family. An opportunity we will never forget.
Ø Anything over 100 degrees F is HOT whether dry air or humid air!
Ø Praise God for air conditioning!
Ø Laughter bonds a family together.
Ø A family of four can fit on a queen size bed to cuddle and watch TV.
Ø My God and family love and accept me in spite of my imperfections and moods.
Ø Jesus never fails.
Ø Pictures are worth 1,000 words. Thank God for a camera and pictures. They will help us relive our memories.
Ø For 6 weeks, I lived without my stuff, but I still had what was most important – my faith and my family. With that, I lacked nothing.
Ø The most memorable moments for the kids were not when we bought them something, although they liked that. But when we did something with them.

And finally, God is Good all the Time and All the Time God is Good!

Thank you all for your prayers and blessings. We have been so fortunate!
It has certainly been a once in a lifetime opportunity!

God bless and love to all!
The Carlson Cookoos (we changed our name from the Carlson Crew earlier this week) ... If the shoe fits...

Happy, Hot, and Humid...

Thursday, August 09, 2007
Time: 11:38am EST

Happy Thursday! We survived all the daring stunts of yesterday. The biggest stunt was surviving the heat! Lee played softball in a game of staff vs. guests. He and Ben did the “Big Swing”. Sam did the trapeze twice and then was asked to come back at the end of the day to try a “catch” with one of the flyers. Only 6 people were asked to come back to try the stunt. Ben did the trapeze also. It was so cool to watch. (definitely not cool in the literal sense!)

The concert last night with Anthony Evans was awesome. He had Michael Boggs from the group FFH open for him and he was great! At the end of the concert they did several numbers together. They live close to each other in Tennessee and are best friends.

Today is our last day of full programming. We have a banquet tonight in the dining room and 2 sessions with Tony Evans. This afternoon the kids are tubing (Sam’s first time) and Lee and Ben are doing the Zip Line. At 3pm we are competing in the Rocket Launch. On Monday evening we make paper rockets as a family and now we compete to see farthest and hit targets. They use a air compressor to launch them. It would be a cool activity to do at GerberLand or something with the church family. I am including several pics of yesterday's activities for you to check out. Tonight we will do a night swim with the kids since it is the last night. Tomorrow is a 1/2 day of closing activities and then we will enjoy some down time until check out on Saturday morning.

That's all for now.

Love to all,

Michele

Hot and Humid at Sandy Cove

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007
10:49am EST

Good Morning!
We are having an awesome time at Sandy Cove! The kids are busy with activities and the adults are being fed spiritually by two amazing speaker/teachers. Yesterday we each took a child and spent the afternoon with them. Sam and I went to the craft shop and made jewelry. Sam made a bracelet and I made a keychain. Lee and Ben played frisbee golf.

We are signed up for the "Big Swing" (i.e. ride at Darian Lake that they pull you up a million feet and then let you go and swing). I think Ben and Lee are doing that alone. At the top you have to pull your own pin to let yourself go and I don't think I could do it. Sam isn't old enough for this activity. However, she is signed up to do the trapeze at the same time. It is a circus size trapeze that they have trained circus workers run. I think she is going to love it. Ben and Lee are doing that later in the day with an extra slot in case Sam decides to do it again or I get brave enough. Hopefully, I'll get good pictures of all of this.

Two nights ago after all the scheduled stuff, they had a Dive-In theater at the pool. This means that during the night swim there is a large projection screen with big speakers and they showed the movie Cars outside at the pool. It was fun. The kids are loving all the water activities. They have been to the marina, the pool, water games, and Ben's group had a luau last night. Last night was smore night by the bay and then they had a concert with the group "The Wrecking". Tonight after dinner there is a concert with Anthony Evans. The great thing about Sandy Cove is that you can do as much or as little as you want.

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of our trip. We will be picking up the animals in Butler on Saturday and spending the night. We keep talking about how strange it will be to have space and seperate rooms. I've already warned Sam that she will NOT be sleeping on the couch in our bedroom because she is used to having us around. I think she will be fine as long as she has Cookie back to sleep with her. Ben has really missed not having Holly with him at night although she currently wouldn't fit in his bunk. It has been a HUGE blessing to have my Mom and Dad take care of the pets. Thank you both so much! I know they are getting great care.

We are supposed to hit 100 degrees today with a rediculous amount of humidity. It is like walking in a sauna outside. All the buildings are air conditioned though. I'll let you know how the Big Swing and Trapeze go.

Take care and God Bless!
Michele

"...And I will Give You Rest..."

Aug 6, 2007

11:30am EST

Greetings Everyone!

Praise God for Sandy Cove!

If you ever get a chance to come to a week of Camp at Sandy Cove, Do It! It is the most relaxing, family friendly, accomodating resort that I have seen. The whole schedule is set around family time, worship, and down time. The kids have their own schedule in the morning and evening to allow the adults their own time and the kids programs are awesome. In the afternoon there are family activities and free time such as trapeze, zip line, 2 pools, big swing, canoe, kayak, pontoon, tubing, and several others. I think my family is going to force me to do the big swing and trapeze. Hopefully we can get some pictures to prove that I actually had the guts to do it.

We are right on Chesapeake Bay. Today is cloudy, but the weather is supposed to get sunny and really Hot this week. The speaker this week is Tony Evans. He is the author of several books and a pastor to urban areas. The teacher this week is Dr. Ron Cline. We've heard him twice so far and have really enjoyed him.

I think this was an excellent choice for our final week of the trip. It has allowed us to stop and catch our breath. The kids have organized activities so they aren't relying on us constantly for entertainment and we are being ministered to also.

At the moment, Lee is heading to the Chevrolet dealer (again) to have the truck checked out. On our trip back we started hearing a weird noise again. I don't know if it is another bearing or maybe the transmission. Thank God for extended warrenties. The poor Avalanche has been worked awfully hard this summer. It deserves some new parts. Hopefully we can get it taken care of. That is the blessing of having a week in one place. I'll write soon! Sandy Cove has WiFi Hot spots.

Love to all,

Michele

Driving Miss Daisy (or Mrs. Michele)

Friday, August 03, 2007
10:54pm EST

Hi Guys!
We are actually in your time zone. I can’t believe it! The last two days have been spent in the car. We left Colorado Springs, CO at 9am MST on Thurs and at the moment we are in Maryland. Two days of 15 hours in the car gets a little long, but we will be at North East, MD on time.

So, what has happened the past few days, you ask? We enjoyed our time in Colorado Springs. It is a beautiful area. The first day (Tuesday) we drove Pike’s Peak. It was amazing to enter the Pike’s Peak highway with the temp at 98degrees and when we made it to the summit 19 miles later, it was 41degrees. The kids got a kick out of seeing snow on the ground. While we were eating our “high altitude” donuts at the summit, we all experienced a little altitude sickness. After passing out the Advil, we decided that it was time to head back down the mountain.

The next day (Wednesday) we headed out to Focus on the Family Organization in Colorado Springs. If you are ever in Colorado Springs, be sure to check it out. There is a Visitor Center that has a whole area for children. There is a 3 story indoor slide and a lower level that reminded me of Strong Museum. We were able to record an episode of “Adventures in Odyssey” with us as the characters. It was very cool to see how they tape the show that they put on the radio. Lee and I were the Foleys for the show (that means the sound effect men) while Ben and Sam where two of the main characters. We took a tour of the administrative offices and ate in the staff cafeteria. It was a great day. They also have a large bookstore where we had a good time browsing.

After we got done there, we headed to Garden of the Gods. This is right beside our campground. It is a national park that highlights huge red rock formations in the middle of the area. We had a great time climbing through the rocks and posing for pictures. Then we found the Helen Hunt Falls, took a few pictures and ate supper at Cracker Barrel. This was our last meal out west. In the morning we were heading out on our 1,778 mile trip back across the US.

After a day of driving, we stopped in Vidalia, IL at a Wal-mart last night. We will be checking into Sandy Cove Conference Center tomorrow for our week of family camp on the Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully, I’ll have better access to the internet this week.

For those of you who may be wondering, I just spoke with my mom and the animals are doing great. Mom says that Cookie may have forgotten that she had legs because my niece is carrying her everywhere. Holly, Pepper, and Daybreak have adjusted completely also. We will be picking them up when we are done with the week in MD. We really miss them. Every time we see a dog, one of us says, “I miss the dogs!”

As for a medical update, Lee’s ear isn’t bleeding as much although it continues to be clogged and still drains. I am going to call for an appointment with his ENT Dr. for when we get home. He is still on the antibiotic and can’t hear anything with his right ear. Please pray that this can clear up. I know it is frustrating for him.

That is the scoop for now. I’ll try to share more pics as soon as I get a better internet connection. Take care and thank you so much for your support and prayers.

Love,
Michele