PINE COVE

For the last 4 years we have gone to family camp at Pine Cove for our vacation. Some friends of ours told us about it and what convinced us to go was how excited their 17 year old son was about going back. So we tried it out in the summer of 2004 when Sarah was a baby wondering if it could compare to Hawaii and Florida. It far surpassed both! Though the scenery and weather was not quite the same :), it was the first vacation where we felt refreshed when we came home and not utterly exhausted! There are several reasons for this. First of all, the focus of the week is on God and His Word. We have awesome teachings interspersed through out our time there. The adults have a speaker and our kids memorize scripture and go through a devotional with their counselor. Second, it is the perfect balance of time together and time on our own. There is adult teachings, a banquet and a time set apart for you and your spouse. However, there is also family time, a family devotional each day, theme nights and a ton of fun activites to do with your kids. Crafts, horse back riding, and water sports are just a few. Finally, you are totally served by their awesome staff! They welcome you with cheering, unload your car, help with your kids, serve you your meals and won't even let you pour your own drink while you are there! We love getting to know the college-aged counselors that are such amazing men and women of God. Each year, God knits our hearts together with a few of them ! It is so fun to see some of the same counselors the following summer and hear all God has done in their lives. Our family loves this place and we have already pre-paid for next summer. We truly feel like it is an investment in our familiy's spiritual life! Pine Cove's motto is: "Pine Cove exists to be used by God to transform the lives of people for His purposes and His glory." Each time we come home, we see the fruit of this in ourselves and our kids! It is an awesome vacation! Here are a few pics from this summer: