Happy Halloween from Daisy-Rose

My friend Nikki got a Halloween costume for her pup Rocket but he was a little too big for it so she brought it over to see if Daisy could wear it. It is a bit too small though. Daisy is very long so the hat had some issues but I got it to stay on long enough for a picture and that is it. My puppy is growing so fast!

Locks of Love

I have donated my hair to Locks of Love for the second time and it was so much easier this time than the last. For years I have held on to my hair and about 2 years ago the Lord really placed it on my heart to start donating it.

In the summer we have a specialty camp called Camp Alphie and it is a camp for children the age of 14 years and younger who have cancer to attend. My heart has yearned for their healing since. I thought about this head full of hair I have and that it is something I hold on to way too dearly when there are children who need it more than I do. Plus it will grow back which is wonderful. It took about 2 years since the last time I donated it for it to get back to the original length it was. With me working in the kitchen it is good too because it will be short enough to manage and by the time a couple of summers pass by it will be time again.

Here are some before and after pictures:

"Pounding" for Mark and Nikki

We have accomplished our "first pounding" at Ceta Canyon to welcome those who move to camp. When I went to the Home Church in Lubbock we would do poundings for families who would come to our church to welcome them.

What is a pounding? Well it is a pound of this or a pound of that. It is something everyone can participate in from the poorest to the richest of people because the minimum is a pound. The things that you pound them with are general things like pantry items, laundry stuff, bathroom things, if people have pets/kids you can get them something that will help with their pets/kids (diapers, bottles, candy, dog food, dog toys, dog treats), etc... It is just something fun to help build community at camp and relationships. We are sort of playing catch up due to all the change over we have had. We started with Mark and Nikki because they never did have anything happen to welcome them when they first moved here. It has been a year since Mark started working here but just recently they have promoted from the trailer to a house so it was a pounding to help them get settled in. One of the guys did something really creative he went to the produce department and weighed out a pound of Kool-aid. :) Mark and Nikki will have Kool-aid for quite a while. :) There is a picture of Nikki reading a book and one of the kids wanted them to have a Dr. Seuss book so she is reading it to her. Children are so sweet.

Here are a few pictures:

Mark and Nikki

Gary and Juliana (we are planning a going away party for them in November)

Behind Mark is Mike Young, Michael Young, Mark, Nikki, Rochelle, and Juliana around the table

Nikki reading to Cassie and Rochelle is behind Cassie

Fiddler on the Roof

Tonight I went and saw the play "Fiddler on the Roof" at WT in Canyon with my summer roommate Kelsey and it was absolutely wonderful! I love it but I also love the movie. It followed the movie for the most part and the actors and actresses did wonderful as well. I was very impressed. I hope everyone in the area got an opportunity to go. It was well worth it.

Anti-Barking System #2

I have given in and took the first barking system back and returned it and got Wreckless a barking shock collar. It is a winner! He still barks a bit when necessary but he isn't barking anything like he was. One of the concerns with me moving to the Delaney House was him and how much he barked with the house being on camp grounds. Mike Young was the one to bring up the concern. Since getting this collar he has said that he might bark once and then watches him for a while and then gives up and lays down. He said he doesn't hear him hardly at all like he use to. It was funny though Chapel's dog was howling and barking one night and everyone was a bit confused. They didn't think it was Wreckless because it didn't sound like him but they couldn't think what else it could be. I had heard it too and the next day when they asked me if it was Wreckless I told them no that it was actually Lucy instead of Wreckless. That is a first! I am so thankful this is working for him. It sure did take him a little while to figure it out though.

Funny story: When I put the collar on him Wreckless wasn't sure what was happening to him so I decided to bring him inside and tell him no barking every time he barked so he would associate barking with the shock. It was so funny though the first time he barked inside the collar shocked him and he jumped up on the couch on all 4 legs and started smelling himself (once he went to the restroom on the electric fence outside so he was checking to see if that was what was going on) then he jumped down and smelt all up and down the couch. Poor pup I laughed so hard at him. Later that evening when he was barking and getting shocked he thought it was the electric fence and with each shock he kept backing up. He was standing in the middle of the yard before he realized it wasn't the fence. I still don't think he realizes it is the collar but he has learned that it is because he is barking. Whatever works right. :)

Delaney House #2

Bedroom

(door is to the balcony)

View From Balcony

Closet #1

Closet #2

Upstairs Bathroom

Stairs Down to the Livingroom/Kithen

Backyard

Delaney House

My camp director Mike Wentz is going to allow me to move into a new housing unit on camp. I am so excited! It has a lot of work that needs to be done to it but they are going to work on it this off season and hopefully by March I will be able to move into it. It is a one bedroom, 2 bathroom home. It is perfect for a single person or a married couple. After visiting with Mike Young and Bob (my food service director) Mike gave the okay for me to move in when the project is complete. I have taken some before pictures and when it is complete I will take some after pictures.

It is called the Delaney House named after Mrs. T.C. Delaney who founded Ceta Canyon in 1918. This house is I believe the oldest building on camp. It was built in the 1950's. They started working on remodeling it about 2 years ago. Our new maintenance worker Allan is going to be working on it while we are slow is what the plan is. I will probably help out where I can on my time off or when we slow down in the kitchen. I will have to get money together to build a yard for Wreckless and Daisy-Rose. I want a wooden yard since the housing unit is on camp property and campers could be around the home. I am hoping it will help with Wreckless' barking because he tends to bark more when he can see what is happening around him.

Here are the pictures:

The Livingroom

The Kitchen

Downstairs Bathroom/Laundry

There is a walkin shower too but I couldn't get a good picture of that. It is across from the sink.

Upstairs to the Bedroom

Anti-Barking System #1 - Tried and Failed

I have decided to take on the challenge to try to get Wreckless to stop barking so much but so far it isn't working. :)

I bought and anti-barking system that sets out a high pitch tone to make dogs not want to bark and Wreckless has proven stronger than the system. I was trying to find something that wouldn't shock him but this thing didn't work at all! Daisy-Rose wasn't even affected by it. :) They were hearing the noise because it would go off and they would look in the direction it was but then start barking again. Is there hope for him?????

DeLisles & Parents visit Ceta Canyon

My Uncle Alton and Aunt Barbara came to camp to visit me and see where I lived. We walked to the falls and drove around and saw different wildlife animals and I was able to show them different buildings and such. We had a wonderful hike to the Falls. My parents brought them down for a couple of days. Here are a few of the pictures.

Buddy

I have been trying for days to upload pictures of Buddy for yall but it just isn't working.

My parents called and passed on the news that my Dad took my first pup Buddy (that they inherited when I moved here to Texas) to be put down. He was 14 years old and he had gotten very poor in health that he wouldn't have been able to make it through another winter. If you think Wreckless has been a mess I am telling you Buddy was even worse than Wreckless as a puppy. I sure know how to pick them don't I.

He could sit in trouble without even trying. Just ask my poor Mom who had to call out the phone and cable guys many times to fix the wires that Buddy had chewed up. He would torture our older dog Shorty to pure aggravation. I am honestly surprised Buddy didn't give Shorty a heart attack.

Buddy had cancer and arthritis really bad in his hind legs. Where the cancer was the knot had grown so much he couldn't get in and out of his dog house nor through the back door to my parents home. As he grew and my Dad worked with him Buddy turned into a very good pup with a wonderful and playful spirit. He learned to obey and would alert you when necessary to something not right or if he was needing water or his dog dish was on the ground instead of on his stand (he got to where he couldn't bend down to eat and my Dad built him a stand that brought is food off the ground to make it easier on him).

I felt so sorry for my Dad because he said it was like Buddy knew what was happening. He wanted to go with my Dad after he left him. We have been expecting this for over a year now but it is still very hard. I will miss him very much! I am thankful that my parents took him in when I moved here.

Quilting Ministry at First Baptist Canyon

Today I went to the First Baptist Church with my friend Nikki to the Quilting Ministry that we have there. It was so much fun. I was able to help them finish up some quilts by tacking them with yarn. They were so sweet and it was fun getting to know them. I found 2 people who actually knew my great Aunt Vivian who use to go to church there. I can't wait till I can go again. It was wonderful helping them complete their projects. They have given away like 1500 quilts they said. They are the size of a baby quilt but that is a lot of work.

Then the Smoke Alarm Went Off

The other morning I woke up and it was so cold in the trailer. I was worried about Juliana and that she might be cold. Bronc (one of the guys in maintenance) had been over to check the heater and all was good when he left so I turned it on while I got ready in hopes to warm up the trailer before I left for her. Just as I was changing my clothes the smoke alarm went off. Naturally I headed for my bedroom door feeling bad that I had woken her up and was going to try to turn it off. As I hit my bedroom door I realized I didn't have on any pants. I went back to put on my pants and by the time I got them on the smoke alarm was off. The funny thing was that she never even surfaced and slept through it.

I am so glad I realized before I went out of my room about my pants even if she didn't wake up. :)

New Staff

The Lord has provided a couple of new staff members.

We have a new maintenance worker. His name is Allan and he is moving here from Virginia with his wife and 2 children (ages 2 and 4 I think).

We also have a new office worker and her name is Chapel. She has a sweet pup named Lucy. She is living in the trailer next door and she has been a lot of fun to have around. She moved here from Houston.

It has been really neat to see how the Lord is bringing the perfect staff here as well as placing a wonderful group of people together that live on camp. We are still in need of kitchen workers so please keep us in your prayers.

Update on the Life Song Retreat

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Life Song retreat has been postponed due to group numbers and planning. We are going to try to have it in January sometime. I will let everyone know when it is rescheduled for.

Encounter with a Skunk

I got up the other morning and was heading to work in the golf cart I drive at camp. There is a steep hill to go down into camp on. The brakes on the golf cart I drive aren't the best. As I was going down the hill a skunk popped out of the trees and started running down the hill in front of me. Not knowing what to do next I started praying diligently that the Lord would make the golf cart stop on the hill. The skunks tail raised and all the sudden the golf cart stopped mid way on the hill (it has never stopped on the hill ever in the past). I couldn't believe it. A miracle was performed before my eyes. I waited for the skunk to get safely to its destination and then proceeded down the hill to work and managed not to get sprayed. The Lord is truly good!

The funny thing was that a gentleman from one of the groups came up to me and told me there was a skunk running around camp and didn't know if we did anything about it. I smiled and told him I would pass on the information to my boss.

New Food Service Director

I thought I would pass on to everyone that we have a new food service director. This is the 3rd one in the past 5 months. I am hoping this will be a wonderful fit for camp and has seemed to be so far. His name is Bob Duck. He came to camp at the first of the summer as a head cook and was moved up after Ralph left. Him and I get along great and we make a great team. I am excited to see what the Lord has planned! Pray for us though. We are still short a head cook and a part time person. Him and I are working many hours and we are really needing these positions filled.

Fishers of Men

While I was watching my family fish and helping out by taking the fish off the hook to throw them back. My mind kept thinking on Matthew when the Lord was calling out His disciples.

"And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" ~ Matt 4:18-19 (NKJV)

Peter and Andrew were fishermen. As I watched my family fish and saw the patience and determination to catch that fish I thought about what Christ said to the men "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Fishing isn't always easy and sometimes we must patiently wait to catch a fish. We are called to be fishers of men and sometimes you aren't going to catch a fish the first throw out like my precious niece Rachel would have liked it to be that way. As she got frustrated when she didn't catch the fish I wonder if like her we get frustrated or do we patiently endure and never give up on that fish we are trying to get. The thing to remember too is that with every fish they caught there was some pain that the particular fish that was caught endured. As I would unhook them I couldn't help but think that usually when a fish is caught there is always hurt that needs to be addressed, mended, cared for, etc...

My encouragement to you today is to never give up on whatever fish the Lord has placed in your path. Pray for it and keep trying and loving on it and in God's most perfect timing the fish will be caught. And when the fish is caught love on it through the pain it has suffered. The Lord desired to make us great fishers of men both in the catching and in the nurturing!

Stansell Family Ceta Canyon Trip 2009

My Sister's family came down in August to spend a few day with me that were both filled with many activities and we had a lot of fun. I always enjoy it when I have people come to visit and hang out with me. Living out in the middle of no where I miss my family and friends. Chris, Alanna, and the kids keep me very entertained. We took the kids fishing (one of the days my Assistant Camp Directors children came with us their names are Michael and Cassie Young), we went to the waterfall, to the lower falls (the Young children made that trip with us too, played basketball, and went swimming in the pool. Here are a few pictures of our trip.

Fishing

Second Falls

Swimming

Misc. Pictures