If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

So, FedEx came to camp today with a package for Gabby.  We were so excited to open it and what was inside blew us away!  Lesley (wonderful Lesley) made Gabby a beautiful book about Cotton Candy's time in Rwanda. I guess I better explain.  Cotton Candy is Gabby's very special stuffed elephant that sleeps with her every night.  Gabby has a "back up" Cotton Candy (just in case) and a "travel" Cotton Candy for trips.  Bottom line:  Gabby LOVES Cotton Candy! Well, without mentioning anything to us, Lesley elephant-napped Cotton Candy when she went to Rwanda two weeks ago.  She took pictures of Cotton Candy all over Rwanda and made Gabby the sweetest book about Cotton Candy's time there--in Gabby's birth-country. I bawled.  It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me (even though it wasn't even for me).  Not only did Lesley make Gabby a beautiful book about her birth-country, but it was a beautiful book about her birth-country t

Well, Hays, Maggie and Tiki made it to K1.  I know they're having a blast (and burning up)!  Below are two pictures sent to me by friends of their first day!  I miss them, but life is so quiet without them! This picture warmed my heart!  Brothers! At drop-off with Jackson Brawner.

Today is Andy's birthday. . . We aren't doing anything special today. . .it is Parents' Day at Kivu, so we are running around like crazy.  Hopefully tomorrow we can go to lunch and have a little bit of down time.  His present is coming late because it is a part of our new kitchen I am putting in.  We had one in our Branson house and he has really been missing it!  So, here's to my coffee lovin' man! This isn't our kitchen, but a picture for your thoughts. . . . Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Yesterday was our last day with BeBe & PaPa (and our last day with Hays, Maggie and Tiki for the rest of the summer) and we had a blast! We headed to Durango Mountain Resort for an afternoon of playing! Hays, Maggie and Tiki are headed to camp.  They will be at K1 for the next month and I am so excited for them!  This house is going to be much more quiet without the three of them here.  I'm going to miss them, but I know they are going to have the time of their lives!

BeBe and PaPa are in town.  The kids were SO excited to see them.  BeBe's only request for this trip was that we go rafting as a family.  So, today Andy loaded up the boat and paddles and life jackets and I loaded up the kids and we headed for the river.  Most of us were not too excited about this family rafting day, but it ended up being the best day!  We had SO much fun!  Andy was a super guide (we didn't tip over) and all of the bad attitudes and scared ones wanted to go a second time.  I am hooked!  Hopefully we will do that again so soon!  (I hate it that I don't have pictures, but since I was actually in the raft doing life, I didn't get to record life.)

I laugh at Andy a lot because he is always checking out his "stats" on his blog and his books and whatever.  Well, last summer he put stats tracking on my blog and now I get it.  I love tracking my stats. . . not so much to know how many, but to know where. I've been tracking my stats for a year now on Braner Party of 7 and here is what I have learned: This blog has had over 123,000 pageviews this year. Team Alexander and Jennafer White are my two top referring sites. My readers are from all over (listed in order):      United States      Canada      United Kingdom (thank you, Bowring family)      Germany (thank you, Carolin)      Dominican Republic      Netherlands (thank you, Claudia)      Russia      Philippines      South Korea      Poland Seriously?!?!  That is so crazy to me!  And my post titled "Stained Glass & Daffodils" has been the most read post this year.  It is so weird to think about all of the people from all over reading my

Today is the 4th. . .today is Independence Day.  But I bet many of you don't know that not only is it our Independence Day, but it is also Independence Day for the people of Rwanda.  I love it that we share this day!  For some reason that makes me happy! I am proud to be an American.  I am thankful that I'm an American. For some reason today, I want to mention freedom. . .but not in the Independence Day sense.  I think we are so happy to be free as a nation, but we don't allow ourselves to be free from whatever is holding us in bondage.  Maybe you are in bondage to electronics or to a bad self-image or whatever.  I know that often I find myself in bondage to fear.  We really need to have freedom and celebrate our freedom from our issues!  Happy Independence Day!  (I realize that often our bondage--my bondage to fear--is a daily battle, but for today, at least. . . .)

Wow.  It has been a while since I posted last.  Camp has been BUSY!!! First of all, HAPPY JULY!  Can you believe it?  Where is this summer going?  I'll be school supply shopping before I know it! So, Maggie has been in Missouri for the last ten days or so.  She has stayed with my parents and has been getting Scuba certified.  I know that she has had the best time ever!  She loves being there and being the only kid.  She LOVES having Pops at her beck and call!  She has also been enjoying her time with GoGo. Maggie has also gotten to see Gran'ma and Uncle Cooper and Aunt Missy and her cousins LuLu and Hayden and Samuel (whom she got to meet for the first time). She got to spend a fun couple of days with her friends Emmy and Haley.  I love seeing the three of them smile together!  My dad said that the day they spent together was one of the most fun days he has had in a while!  The pictures attached are from that day. Maggie comes home tonight and we are all super excite