Til we meet again.

Tomorrow I leave for my favorite place in the entire world.

Tucked away in the hills of Hubbardsville is Camp Hunt.

Six weeks of laughter, new memories & fellowship.

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for this summer.

I love, love, love, love, love, love getting letters.

And if I get three in one day, I have to sing for them.

Feel free to write me letters, send me pictures, anything really.

It'll bring a lovely smile to my face.

Tracy D

C/O Camp Hunt

7936 Hill Road

Hubbardsville, NY 13355

"Lord make me a servant, make me like you."

I have so much to share. Prepare.

It's been almost two weeks since I've written, and a lot has happened. I could write a page over just a day, so that's like 14 pages I could write. I won't do that to you. But, this will probably be pretty long. I'll only hit on the highlights.

1. Contacts

2. Camping

3. Biggest Loser

4. Camp Hunt

5. L-Bird!

6. Siblings

1. Alright so the little topics. Over the past two weeks, I've been working with my eye doctor to find contacts that I love and that love my overly sensitive eyes. Well, a few brands later, we found them! SO comfortable and I love them. But more importantly, they love my way too sensitive eyes.

2. I went on the 2nd annual "Cayuga Camping Trip". Okay it's not exactly annual, but we went last year and went this year and plan on going next year. So, I guess it's turning into something annual. Well we went camping on Cayuga Lake. Actually I guess it's not camping really because we stay in a cottage. But we cook on a fire, swim in a lake and fight off bugs. So, camping? Well it's so much fun and I did that from Thursday-Saturday before Fathers Day. Reminder of how much I love down time and friends.

3. My mom, sister and I have all made a pact to change our lifestyle. We've got a contract and everything. Healthy eating and working out is the name of the game. 6 months of work and $156 is the prize. It's going to be a long ride, but I've never been more ready for this change. Last time we'll look like this.

4. CAMP HUNT!!!!! Probably the most exciting part of this post. I leave on SUNDAY for 6 fun filled, Christ-centered weeks in podunk Hubbardsville, NY. I literally cannot explain in words how excited I am. For as long as I can remember, these 6 weeks have always been my favorite part of my year. So, that should give you some insight into just how exciting this is for me. I'll definitely be blogging about Camp later this summer. Don't you fret :)

 5. One of my best friends is ENGAGED to a charming young man & she asked me to be a bridesmaid! She's precious and I'm so happy and excited for her :) I remember years ago talking about our weddings and making plans to be in each others, so crazy that her's is finally here!!! Flashback to '08 :)

6. My brother got his first tattoo and my baby sister can now legally drive. They're growing up and it's making me feel an entire world of old. But I'm excited for how our lives are going to change as we get older.

Life hasn't been perfect though. I still worry all the time about finding money for school. I think that it's Satan's favorite way of attacking me and I hate him for it. But I'm confident in my God and my faith is firm. Take that Satan, nobody is scared of you here. I'm living & loving my life, friends & my God.

I should let you know.

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan.

I only recently became, for lack of a better term, obsessed.

I decided it was time, and I bought myself the books for Christmas.

I wish I had made that decision sooner.

But from that point on, there was no going back.

I read all seven books and re-watched all seven movies in a month.

Now I'm currently re-watching and re-reading everything.

It's safe to say I'm nowhere near ready to say goodbye.

In my opinion, everyone needs to experience the wonder of Harry Potter.

Anyone that hasn't read the books, I suggest you do.

If you like the movies, you will LOVE the books.

There are so many little details that make it incredible.

So many things they just couldn't put into the movies.

I can promise you'll have a new appreciation for all things HP.

Maybe I'm bias or maybe I just have a good point.

Give it a shot, you'll thank me later. Promise.

Also, I love Rupert Grint. In and out of character.

Today is never too late.

I've got a lot on my mind today, so this will probably be long...


I've been thinking a lot lately about new beginnings. I'm not even sure why. Maybe because I'm entering a new stage in my life. Or just finally adjusting to this new stage in my life. I turn 21 this summer. 21. The big leagues. I'll be an adult in every aspect of the word. I'm scared. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm anxious. I'm ready. I'm not ready. Mixed emotions barely begins to describe it. But then I have a thought, which often pops into my head during stressful situations. That thought is, you'll survive. 

The first time I vividly remember it happening was in 10th grade. I had my French Regents exam. (most people have no idea what a regents exam is because only NY and CA have them) It's basically just a really important exam that you need to pass in order to graduate. No biggie, right? Yeah, tell that to a 16 year old who already feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. It becomes a big deal. I remember walking down the hallway to my exam and freaking out. But then it happened. I immediately thought (in third person no less), "Tracy, stop freaking out. You are not the first person to ever take this exam and you won't be the last. Others have taken it and look at them, they're fine, they moved on, so will you. This isn't the defining moment of your life. Breathe." And I'm okay. My stress level has significantly decreased and I feel calm. I can do this. I can do anything.

Well now that I'm becoming an adult, the stress has begun to pile itself on. It's like I'm trying to sleep and someone is laying book after book after book on my chest and I'm having more and more trouble breathing. Mostly it comes in the quiet hours, when I'm alone with myself. But then, the best feeling, I have that thought. Usually, instead of just thinking "people have done this and survived" I tend to think "my mom has done this and survived." If I had to try and understand that, I'd say it's because of my relationship with my mom. I'm lucky to have the bond we do and I'm so thankful for it. So when I think about the future, worry and sweat about it, I think about my mom. My mom had us all young. By the time she was 27 she had had three kids, been through a divorce and was still standing. She still is standing. Quite tall in fact. So why worry? I'm not the first person to ever stress about the future, money, a job, and loans. And I won't be the last. To be perfectly honest, I hear God in those thoughts. Clearly. Loudly. Lovingly. I'm going to make it. I'm going to be okay.


It's weird you know? I had this whole idea of what I was going to write about and it all changed once I actually started writing. But I want to share this thought. I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. She's got a song for everything. Well recently, while listening to her CD on repeat, I re-listened to "Innocent". Quite possibly my favorite song on her album. It has a powerful message that touches me in a different way every single time I listen to it. It's main point "Today is never too late to be brand new." The funny thing is, she speaks truth. Every single day we have the opportunity to be brand new with God. How often do we forget that? Honestly. Every day, the opportunity to be sparkly, clean, white and brand new. Don't ever forget that. Ever.

Chimney Bluffs.

I love nature.

I love sunshine.

I love hiking.

I love God.

 We found a mud wall. So cool. Hopefully I'll be there for awhile!

I climbed a mountain.

Okay, it wasn't exactly a mountain. But it was a steep, rock and dirt composed slope. I climbed, shimmied and hiked my way up and then back down. 110% gratifying. Clarks Reservation. We started mid way up the trail and hiked up to the tip top of the cliff. When we got to the top we were 175 feet above the lake. Seriously amazing.

So we get to the top and we start the trek downwards. We climbed over huge rocks, followed trails through the woods and eventually stumbled across an exciting possibility. We could follow the trail down to the lake, or we could get adventurous. With some persuasion, we all agreed to be adventurous. So we shimmied our way, heels dug in the dirt and squatting, down the 90 foot slope. First thought, I'm going to die. Second thought, I cannot wait to get to the bottom. Last thought, oh my word, I just went down that thing?! Mind you, I don't hike or shimmy my way down a mountain or hill...ever. So I was ecstatic I didn't tumble down the slope face first. So, we hiked a little further along and made it to the lake. First off, the weather was around 60 something and the sun peaked out every now and then. Perfect temperature for hiking. Well when we got to the lake we decided to sit down and eat lunch. Personally one of my favorite parts of our hike. It was absolutely gorgeous. The water was calm and clear. The sun and wind created the perfect amount of warm and cool air. It's incredibly hard to ignore God's presence in any nature setting. The trees and their roots are everywhere. They demand your attention. All I hear is God saying "Look at what I've created Tracy. Look what I am capable of doing. Look how big I am. I am everywhere." It's breathtaking. It was the first time since Honduras I felt and saw God that vividly. Now all I want to do is engulf myself in nature. So I'm planning on hiking a lot this summer. I'm so ready to have that burning fire in my heart for God again. If nature is where he speaks so clearly to me, I'm ready and willing to go find him.

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. "

Luke 5:16

I'm pumped. Are you?

 Jillian Michaels

Hiking

Running

 It might be hard recognizing me in the fall.

But don't say I didn't warn you!

 

 

But currently, I feel like this:

Nothing but time.

Thus far, my summer has been eventful. I left school on 13th, spent a week in Maryland, spent a week at home then spent a weekend at camp. My week in Maryland and my week at home were spent with my friend Lauren...

We're basically the same person, so it's always a good time. Well, she's back in Maryland now and I'm home. My sister is still in school and my parents work. So I get to spend all day alone. I'm not used to this though. Every other summer I've worked during the six week limbo before camp. With no complaints on my end, they didn't need me this summer. Don't get me wrong, the first few days are nice. Sleep in until 1pm, lounge on the couch watching TV, read, you know all that jazz. Then that day comes when you've baked everything in the house, you've cleaned your room more times than you thought possible, you've watched every decent thing on TV and you've run out of books. Or you just get bored. I expect that day will be arriving sooner than later. Which will leave me three weeks before Camp starts to do productive things. Luckily I've been given a job to prepare for Camp.

If you go back to my very first post, you can read all about my time spent in Catacamas, Honduras over spring break. I worked in a children's home called Por Los Niños where I found my passion. Showing Gods endless love to his precious Honduran children. Well, anyone that knows me, knows I want to convey to others how blessed we truly are. Living in the U.S. it's so easy to lose sight of how truly blessed we are. We are surrounded by the idea that it's all about us. Bettering ourselves in whatever way we have to. I'm not saying the idea of bettering ourselves is wrong. But desensitizing ourselves to others in order to get there, is wrong. I love America. I hate many aspects of our culture. So Lauren and I (she also went to Honduras, and also works at the same camp), have been asked by the directors to make a 1 to 2 day plan for helping convey to our campers what life in Honduras is like. I'm so excited to bring the Honduran culture to kids in America. It's an eye opening experience that I hope gives insight into their lives that way it did for Lauren and I.

How my heart became theirs.