Way back in 2007 we took the kids on their first camping trip. Look how little they are, especially Isabel!

It was a couple years before we went camping again and we had every intention of making it a more regular family activity. For some reason though we just never ventured back out.
Until a month ago.
Let me back up a bit and share a little something with you. I’ve shared before that I went back to school in the fall. I was so excited to get back into the classroom again, even though I knew it was going to be hard. Wow. That’s the understatement of the year.
It has been way more difficult than I thought it would be. Not only have I had to adjust to actually thinking again (the horror!), but I’ve had to adjust to juggling an already hectic family schedule. Between school for me, the kids (the girls homeschool three days a week), gymnastics, Scouts, volleyball, work (oh my goodness, I forgot I have a part-time job!), laundry, cooking, shopping…well, I was pretty sure I was going to have a mental breakdown a couple times. And I’m completely serious about that. Toward the end of last semester I was a mess. The day I took my chemistry lab final I came home and I bawled my eyes out. And I just don’t do that.
This semester has been a little better, mostly because I’ve gotten the hang of things a bit, but I’ve still had some super difficult moments. I still think I’m a mess, but by God’s grace I’m dealing. As I got further along into this semester I started to think about ways we could mellow out as a family. I realize that there are families that have way busier schedules than we do, but for us this was just too much. All the rushing around and always being in a frantic hurry was not how I wanted our family to function. It was not for us.
The one thing that kept coming back to me was the idea of getting outside. Not just outside in the yard or even down the street to the park (although that is important too), but outside and away from town. No hustle and bustle. No computers or TVs or cell phones vying for our attention. We desperately needed to get away where it was quiet and where we could see and hear God in His marvelous creation.
It was funny to me that I was becoming so desperate to get out camping because I think I’ve been the main reason we haven’t been out camping much these past few years. Bugs and dirt and wild animals? Not my thing. But trees and flowers and fresh air and QUIET? Yes, please.
So I told David we have to do something. We need to get outside. I need to get outside. I need to breathe.
We’ve been hoping to get an RV for a couple years, and I think in our heads we kept thinking “Well, we’ll go camping when we get the RV.” But that just isn’t going to happen anytime soon, so we went to Academy and bought a nice big tent, some extra sleeping bags, and few other camping essentials and made a reservation for a state park not too far away. It was a quick one-night getaway, but it was so nice. So nice.

This time we are making camping a priority. It’s not always easy for us to find the time to get away, but David and I both feel it is a necessary thing for our family. Nature is full of God’s glory and He reveals Himself to us in it. I don’t want to miss out. I don’t want any of us to miss out. This is God’s way of allowing us just a glimpse of Himself.
For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.
~Romans 1:20 (NET)
We are heading to the Grand Canyon soon and I cannot wait! To watch the sun rise and set over the canyon? Glorious!
How many living things you have made, O LORD!
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
~ Psalm 104:24 (NET)