Camp next year

Friday Dean and I drove to the Wisconsin Dells area to pick up Angela from camp. This is her second year there, and she LOVES this camp!

The first thing she told us was, "This was the THE BEST CAMP EVER!"

The second thing she told us was, "Next year, I'm bringing my new sister Ianna to this camp. I'm helping her get her food, and her clothes. I'm her big sister, and I'm helping her. That my job. I'm the big sister!"

She spent the next four hours talking about her new sister, and bringing her new sister to camp.

We debated about talking to Angela about getting a new sister. You know, things happen with adoption, and kids get disappointed. But part of the homestudy process involves the social worker talking to the kids about how they feel about the adoption, so we really weren't sure at what point we should bring it up to her. When I was still in "that country on the other side of the world" we showed Angela a picture of Ianna. At that time we didn't know we were going to pursue the adoption, we were just showing her a picture of the the girl who was the reason Dean was sitting next to her crying, and why I was on skype crying. Angela looked at Ianna's picture, at her misshaped face, and in a very concerned and compassionate tone of voiced asked, "Oh, what happened?" I explained that just like she (Angela) had needed surgery to fix some things, God had made Ianna a little different too, and needed surgery to help her eyes." That was acceptable to Angela, and all she needed at the moment.

So fast forward to Friday, and camp pick up. For the next several hours, as we drove home from camp, Angela told us of her camp experience, then was quick to add how she would help Ianna swim next year, or help Ianna in the canoe next year, etc. At the end of the day, when it was finally time for bed, Angela suddenly dropped to her knees at the side of her bed, elbows on her bed, and folded her hands in prayer. I had to chuckle, since we usually say our prayers with her tucked in bed and me sitting along side her. She must have seen someone at camp saying their bedtime prayers this way. Anyway, there she knelt by the side of the bed,

"Yord, I yuv you. Fank you for giffing me camp. Fank you for giffing me Dean and mom to bring me home from camp. Yord, pweas bwing Ianna home so she can go to camp wiff me necks year. Fank you yord. Amen."

I said Amen as I wiped away my tears.