little radicals

Three days before we left for Orlando Maddox went to Little Radicals Camp all by himself! He went last year with Brandon as his counselor and I believe his first words when he stepped off the church van upon his return were "You don't have to go with me next year..." When "next year" actually rolled around Maddox was a bit nervous about going to camp alone but he was also excited. There were only five boys going from our church with four grown ups! Ha! I knew he would be well taken care of.

Since neither Brandon or I was at camp with Maddox I don't have many pictures of his adventures but here are a few!

I've always known that Maddox will eat just about anything and everything you put in front of him but that was most definitely proven at church camp! When Maddox came home after his three days at camp and told me story after story of all the fun he had had and among those stories were compliments about just how good the food had been! I was a bit shocked that he raved about the food because he went to the same camp grounds as the youth and they all said that the food was actually  not good at all and ended up eating mostly snack and junk food from the concession stand to fill them up. Maddox, though, loved everything they served and so I thought for sure that the menu  had been different from what was served at youth camp. When I talked to my sister, who had also attended Little Radicals Camp as a girls counselor, I brought this up and she was shocked at what I was saying. She went on to tell me that nearly every girl in her room (we're talking 6 and 7 year olds...) refused to eat because the food was so bad! In fact, she had one girl who would drink 3 or 4 cartons of milk to not feel hungry until she could buy nachos later in the afternoon! Ha! That's when it hit me that even though I've always said Maddox isn't a picky eater this most definitely proves it! I think he would have eaten camp food for the entire summer if he had the choice! He's something else! Ha!

My sister, Maddox's Aunt Rae, was at Little Radicals Camp as a counselor with her church the same week our church went and so she saw Maddox quite a bit and sent me some pictures. She said Maddox was "too cool" to take a picture with her during lunch! Ha!

My most prized pictures from Maddox's camp experience this summer are these that my sister sent me from church service one evening. Maddox is most definitely my loud, outgoing, man's man but he also has a tender heart and definitely has a connection with the Lord that is simply beautiful. I have had the great pleasure of seeing (and hearing) Maddox worshiping Jesus unashamed and uninhibited and he was just as exuberant at camp. Melts my heart.

I received one of the greatest compliments a mom could hope for a few weeks after camp when I went into the children's area at church to pick up my boys from Sunday School and one of the men who had attended Little Radicals camp as a counselor stopped me and told me that Maddox had been very easy and well mannered at camp. He said that Maddox fit right in and was a lot of fun to have in his cabin. I was so proud! There's a sense of sadness that comes as a mom when your kids are finally old enough to go away from home for a few days without you but that sadness is intertwined with a feeling of unexplainable pride that you've raised a boy who is capable of going away, having fun and behaving when you are not there to watch his every move. Motherhood is both a confusing and beautiful thing!