Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

You know you are getting older when you wake up before your own children on Christmas morning! I am sitting outside Gardner and Turner's room at Laurie's mom and dad's house in L.A. (lower Alabama). There is fog out over the bay...not exactly the weather we are used to (or hoping for) on Christmas morning, but cozy nonetheless. I haven't been downstairs yet, but I am sure that Santa made a visit last night as he did to so many Illahee girls. I hope that many of you saved and lit your candle last night from closing night and remembered all of your good friends from the Heavenly World!

One of my favorite things about camp is meeting new friends from all over the world. I have lots of stories about running in to Illahee girls skiing, or fishing, and almost every time I go to the airport. But last night's candlelight evening service at the Fairhope Methodist Church (which is where Laurie and I got married almost 25 years ago) was particularly neat. It was a service of lessons and carols, and it wasn't until the last carol when the lights dimmed and the candles were being passed that I spotted campers Mary Lou and Laura Hoffacker from St. Simons, GA in the front row. That's really fun when you see friends when neither of you really "belong" where you are! They too are visiting grandparents for the holidays.

Mobile and Fairhope girls will have a special treat on Saturday as they gather for a camp showing. Hopefully, the surprise won't be spoiled by what they (and all of you) receive from camp this week. We hope you love the new video. Every time I watch it, I am reminded of the fun we have together at our dear Camp Illahee! Merry Christmas to all. As we round the corner into the new year, it won't be long before we all meet again in the Heavenly World!

Chili, Cheer and Reindeer!

Chili, Cheer and Reindeer!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Assistant Director Kris Campbell writes: Last Thursday night Gretchen and I went down the mountain to Greenville, SC to visit and spread holiday cheer with some of our favorite Illahee friends. We gathered together at nurse Kendall Huguley's house with her 3 July campers, Townsend, Elise and Hays and also invited our nearby staff. We had Taylor Beard, Roland Mitchener, Megan Milcinovic and Laura Bennett (donning her holiday sweater) join us from Furman, Taylor Tritt came over from Wofford and Elizabeth Tyson came over from Converse! Kendall stirred up a pot of delicious chili, and Gretchen and I brought the dessert...Little Debbie Christmas Tree cakes. For our "evening program," we piled into Kendall's van for a visit to Hollywild-a nearby animal park that hosts a "lights safari."

I didn't know what on earth to expect, but as promised we saw bagillions of Christmas lights. Every tree was outlined in lights. We went through light arches, saw gingerbread houses and manger scenes...there were Christmas bulbs just about everywhere the eye could see. The best part though, was all the animals. We not only fed herds of deer out the window of the car, but we even fed a real Reindeer! Then we came upon "Santa's Village" where you can actually get out and play with all the animals. There were goats, ponies, buffalo, camels, reindeer, donkeys, and even a ZDonk. Any guesses what a ZDonk is? Here's a hint: before we knew the real name, we referred to it as a "zonkey" and a "donkbra...give up? It's a donkey/zebra mix! It looked like a donkey, but its bottom half was striped like a zebra!

We walked around drinking hot chocolate and played/fed the animals for a while. Roland had a grand time feeding a llama a bottle and I kissed (almost) a camel! Santa was there, but we didn't have time to tell him what was on our Christmas lists...he'll just have to go off of our letters. It certainly was a fun and festive way to kick off the Christmas season and to take a break from studying for those pesky exams. Christmas is a time when everyone longs to be with their family and I can't think of a better family to celebrate with than members of the Illahee family! So...even if you don't get to kiss a camel this year, may your Christmas season be merry and bright! Ho Ho Ho to our Illahee family all around the globe.