time

this week was insane. it's Friday, thank goodness but it came so quickly and it feels like the week isn't over yet...but at the same time it took forever mostly because there were so just so many things that happened this week. am I alone in feeling this way? my to do list at work grows exponentially and the tasks in the accomplished pile aren't so abundant. I think my time management needs to be reassessed but I'm still learning at the same time so I need to give myself grace.... deep breath. relax.

it's a long weekend!!!! yipppeeeee :D hopefully I will have something to report on.

much love,
rachel

Days of hard

I was warned about these times. The days when a client has a rough day and escalates into crisis. I guess having 7 good days prior to this is a blessing. We can't be on the honeymoon forever right?!    

So now, now I do self care. I let it out. I leave it at work. And look to tomorrow as a whole new day, a day for excellence, a day for growth.

Please keep my clients and myself in prayer, the hardships these kids face are so far beyond grammar, and math.....and I fully believe I am in this position with propose and reason far greater than my own.

Much Love,
Rachel

Captain Cook

After all the rain this month, I am glad this weekend was Sunny AND warm add company and BAM! cookout at the Beach :) :) :)

The fam and the in-laws and myself and a fellow camp counselor packed up the cars and hit the road essentially for an hour to take in the evening at the beach, gazing upon miles and miles and miles of the open seas with a back drop of snow capped mountains. Jordan and I exchanged words regarding the reasons behind the user fee. I stated, it's nature - I shouldn't have to pay to see nature. Jordan's rebuttal: yea, but where else can you find the ocean AND mountains that are covered in snow IN AUGUST.

FOOD DEVOURED: 4 bags of potato chips, grilled red peppers and zucchini, hot dogs and sausages, and GRILLED CHEESE!!

Games played: tackle football one on one style. EPIC.

Here are some pictures for you Sir. Enjoy!!
Much Love,
Rachel

"The Dark Side"

Remember how I was going to take pictures of camp and tell ya all about each aspect of this place I now call home? Remember how I said there were 3 different locations to camp that encompass a lake? Well, I finally took pictures of Wagon Train (known as "the dark side" by Lake Side-rs). I personally loved Wagon Train the one week I counseled over here in 2011. Slower pace, fewer competitions that were more for fun than for the sake of winning. The focus for everyone was really centered on furthering the Gospel of Christ and it was noticeable. This camp, due to it's size can only accommodate for 60 people (that number includes staff.) Having the fewer numbers, the smaller space gives this camp a close-knit atmosphere - you aren't on top of each other in a crowded sense but everyone knows everyone by the end of the week. At Lake Side, you can have anywhere to an upwards of 150 campers on any given week...probably more.

So, Wagon Train. What comes to your mind when you hear this????

The Oregon Trail maybe?

Cowboys perhaps on horses?

Rustic (meaning - no plumbing and very little electricity/heat)?

YES YES and YES!!!

Campers sleep in covered wagons (often referred to as "Wabins" derived from the combining of the terms "Wagon" and "Cabin"). Horses are ridden with a rodeo/carnival at the end of each week to show off their horsemanship skills.

The kitchen at Lake Side provides all the meals to Wagon Train (apart from Friday morning breakfast....I'll get to that later...or now). Breakfast on Friday is a spectacle and one that should not be missed. A real camp cook out. Pancakes, Eggs and Bacon cooked over the fire. Man, I'm making myself hungry.

Hmmm, I think that is pretty much all of it. Oh, yea....I didn't get any pictures of the swamp/wooded area - which is one of my favorite parts on this side of the lake. BUT, I will see what I can do for the sake of you all....wouldn't want you missing out on anything. :)

500 days of summer....and 22 days of rain

HOLY COW!!! it's August 24th already - how....? when....? Time has certainly escaped me. So what exactly have I been up to....

well, I went to a birthday party that was pretty rad, the funnest party I have ever been to. 11 people gathered around a table full of food, laughing, talking, mowing down on homemade tortillas stuffed with taco fixin's. I don't know what it was about the atmosphere but it was wonderful. The ability to be loud and crazy was welcomed and encouraged and fulfilled by all.

then there is the Snyder family, my home away from home. I get picked on, a lot, by 4 of my most favorite kids ever to walk this planet :) I love this little family.


Work is going well. Successfully completed the first week of school! Yippee :) I don't know how teachers do it! The patience. The ability to track the activity of 18+ students at any given moment in time. It's almost a spectator sport for me - although it drains me to see all the energy in those kiddos and the energy the teacher has to keep up with all of that. As for my kiddos, my case load is quite odd and always changing - so needing to adapt and almost having a prior knowledge to anticipate those changes is crazy!

August has been mostly rainy here - and when I say mostly rainy...I mean I can count on one hand how many days I have seen the sun and clear skies....being 2, two days...that's it. And I don't even care :D I hope that the sun these few days dries the ground a bit though so running on trails and dirt roads isn't so giving.

coming into my own

all last week was spent in lectures and various other training activities to give me all the information to help make me successful, however, it felt more like being bombarded with terminology, acronyms and...well, pretty much everything went over my head. today was the first day of school, one of my employees is gone on vacation meaning there was a lack of support in one of the classrooms. i stepped in to make sure that the student and class and teacher would all have a positive and fun first day. the day wasn't hard, in any dynamic but i am exhausted. the need to amp up my immune system is pressing. :)

it clicked today that while i have questions on how to handle situations and circumstances and procedures, i can't allow people to talk about them or solve them for me - i need to step up and do it myself, it is the only way i will learn. which for me is quite empowering to be assertive and a problem solver and asking questions all things that i typically struggle with. being a wallflower has always been my forte in my opinion but i am turning over a new leaf.

day 2 tomorrow!!

much love,
rachel

Red Goat Love

Keeping it all natural coconut. Keeping it American-O.   hold the sugar, forget the cream. :) 

much love, rachel

Still Looking Up

my sincere apologies for keeping you waiting - so much has happened in the last week.

since August first we have had maybe one or two days that it hasn't rained for 12 to 24 hours. I LOVE IT - but it has revealed that my wardrobe is lacking in fall clothes - warm sweaters, boots, leggings the whole sha bang. Melissa and I ran to Anchorage to do a little shopping and did we ever have a blast!

I know all of you are dying to know about the job I have and honestly - I can't disclose much. Blogger is way too public to be telling a lot of information. What I will say is that I work for Peninsula Community Health Services in the Behavioral Health Department as a Care Coordinator in an Elementary School. I have my office/classroom in a portable (think mobile home office commonly seen on construction sights) I have business cards, personal phone line, personal email address. My position is a supervisory one - I'M A BOSS! :D  The brokenness of the family settings these kids live in breaks my heart and angers me. This is exactly what I want to do: be an advocate for children who are at risk for being neglected/abused. I still can't believe that I'm actually in this position. If you would, please pray that God will be seen through my work this year, at school and in the main office.

Now that camp is completely over for the summer, there isn't much going on here. I have taken up residency on the other side with the Snyder family and I am loving it.

I guess that's it for now.
Much love, Rachel

Employed!

Two weeks ago I had an interview with Peninsula Community Health Services. One week ago I received a call requesting drug testing and finger printing. This week I was offered the position and in the morning I'm off for orientation!!

I'll try to blog more tomorrow. For now, I sleep.

Much love.

I'm on a different road

Summer is ending, winter is coming. How do I know? The concept of darkness has regained my reality by 11pm. The number of faces around camp dwindles. The sound of school bells can be heard from.....actually school hasn't started quite yet and I'm not in ear shot. :D

Much Love,
Rachel