Camas Days

Camas Days has come rolling around again. It is hard to believe that another year has gone by. I did a post last year on Camas Days and it was during that time that Mommy, Leisel, Lynnae, and Ania were away at Piatt. This time we got to go all together as a family which made it even more fun.

We started the day out with a blueberry pancake breakfast put on at the Methodist church just outside our little downtown Camas. For $20 we were able to get a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice, and coffee for our entire family.

Afterward we headed down to the main street in Camas where they had a big parade which lasted about 45 min. Everyone watched as different floats (the theme this year was Pirates), cars, motorcycles, and even horses went by. The children gathered along the sides of the street while the parade participants threw handfuls of candy at them as they passed by.

They even had a war veteran and army nurse drive by in an army car.

Ania sat safely in her stroller and just took it all in.

Later on in the day they had bathtub races. They are a lot of fun to watch. Groups of three form and one person sits in the freezing cold water and steers the bathtub while two others push it in a zig zag pattern around orange cones.

After every match while they were refilling the tubs one of the firemen would point the hose down the center of the street and all of the children (and some adults) would go running and get themselves soaking wet under the high pressure torrent.

O.K. Yes, Leisel and I did go running out there a couple of times, but the day was very hot and the cold water felt very good.

The day ended the entire family heading home to take showers and eat some leftover lasagna which we heated up for dinner.

New Blogs

After some slight deliberation, I decided to start a new blog. This is my main blog, but I wanted a place where I could record personal reflections on different topics, something that has just never seemed to fit in with a blog on the Spafford Family. So I decided to put my own personal musings elsewhere (http://solo-deo-gloria.blogspot.com/) and keep this blog devoted to the more interesting, newsy items of daily life in our house.

Lynnae also has started her own blog. She wanted a place where she could record some of the poems she has written and write little snippets of news about what she is doing. Her blog address is http://randomnessbylynnae.blogspot.com/. I think you will find her blog very enjoyable; it is very...well...Lynnae (And, if you don't know Lynnae, that means full of personality.)

Taking Boston by Storm

On Independence Day our entire conference group gathered on the Boston Commons at 8:00 in the morning. The morning was crisp and clear without the threatening heat of a Boston summer day and without the previous chill that we had been experiencing for the past couple of days.

Almost everyone showed up in costume, covering eras from Tudor to Regency to Colonial.

I got a chance to meet both Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin. They put together a film several years ago called Return of the Daughters which was a great encouragement to me at that time when I had decided to stay at home and take over the home schooling and meals for our family.

There were so many adorable little children at that parade. It made me miss all of my little siblings. I wished so badly that my whole family could have been there. They would have had so much fun.

Talk about ambitious, some of the costumes were just amazing! I don't know how the mothers and daughters found time to put all that work into the outfits, but the results were beautiful. It made me really want to go home and get out the sewing machine.

I wasn't sure at first whether I would join in the parade, but on that day, everyone, even the adults, became little kids and joined in the fun.

We marched all around the Boston Commons. Certainly a more picturesque and comfortable march than many of the soldiers faced who won our freedom in the Revolutionary War.

Below the picture shows a small section of our parade crossing the bridge.

The young men that led our parade were dressed in (what appeared to me) an almost exact representation of the old American military costume. Their mother had made their entire outfits by hand!

Somewhere near the front marched Mr. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips. (below)

We crossed the streets of Boston singing A Mighty Fortress is Our God, America, and other songs of faith and patriotism. We wanted to bring back to Boston some of the old spirit of patriotism and love for God that burned in the hearts and blood of our forefathers who fought for America. A spirit we have lost as we live on the borrowed resources that were bought for us at the dear price of the blood of our forefathers, but which we receive with little cost to ourselves and which we are far to ready to relinquish without a struggle.

Traffic in Boston was brought to a standstill as queens from the past and patriots in whose heart the spirit of America was burning still crossed the modern street that ran through the ancient heart of Boston.

That evening we went to the large grounds where over half a million people had gathered to view the Boston fireworks display. We heard the Boston Pops play the 1812 overture, the climaxes punctuated by canon shots.

The day ended with a spectacular show of fireworks on the bank of the Charles River.

Boston, Massachusetts

4 o'clock in the morning I rolled out of bed, heavy eyed and half awake, and thus began one of the most special weeks I will ever enjoy. Hurriedly getting ready and looking around to make sure that I had remembered every last important item, Daddy, Mommy, and I left accompanied by a small, brave band of well wishers (i.e. Leisel, Lynnae, and Cosette) who were willing to brave the wee hours of the morning.

The airport was bustling, despite the early hour and we arrived at security behind a line that stretched the entire length of the hallway. Thankfully, they had the early Independence Day crowds down to a science and the line moved fairly quickly. A short wait at the gate, a hurried boarding of the plane, and Daddy and I were off to Boston.

For those of you that don't know, Daddy had planned several months before to take me on a trip to Boston to a conference celebrating the 500th anniversary of John Calvin (the official birthday date is July 10th, but, oh well, when its been 500 years, a few days early doesn't really make that much of a difference). The conference was hosted by Vision Forum and, since the Reformation is one of my favorite times in history, I had looked forward to this time with great anticipation.

After a brief layover (literally one of those land and run to the next gate ones) in Sacramento, we boarded our long flight to Boston. Daddy slept for most of the time and I read. We arrived at 5 o'clock in the evening (Boston time).

Picking up our luggage we hurried out to catch a taxi that would take us to our hotel. Within minutes we had thrown our luggage in the back and climbed into the taxi. If every you have ridden in a big city taxi, you know what it is like. Careening down the road, dodging cars, avoiding imminent collisions, and going full speed ahead through one of the longest tunnels I have ever been in. You just sit still, look calm, and try to remind yourself that these guys drive all day long and they must surely know what they are doing.

The Park Plaza Hotel, where we stayed, far exceeded my expectations in terms of grandeur and style. It is a beautiful and elegant building. Our room was perfect and we had a great view out our window of more hotel rooms a few yards from ours.

Our first evening was spent in finding something to eat for dinner, picking up some bagels for breakfast, and ironing out the clothes that had gotten wrinkled on the journey. We were able to get a good rest that night so that we could start the day fresh.

After the girls came home from Williamsburg and complained about the horrible humidity, we were looking forward with a certain amount of dread to the hot, humid weather of Boston, but as it turned out, it rained for the first 2 days. We even had to buy an umbrella which we haven't owned for years (even though we live in Washington). The rain was perfect, especially if the choice was between that and humid weather. A beautiful hazy fog hovered above the city and the impressive high rises rose and up disappeared in the ethereal mist.



We took a morning walk down to the Boston Commons where the lush green grass was spread like a carpet for several acres, where shade trees lent an inviting protection from well, the rain. Standing beside the large, clear lake that stood in the center of the park, we gazed out at the ducks while a swan with a tall, arched neck floated by almost within reach of my arm. The scene is almost fairylike there. The quiet that reigns is in sharp contrast to the busy street sounds of Boston.

Our first history tour met by the Paul Revere statue. Our speakers were Pastor Brown and Pastor Davies and they spoke about the Calvinistic preachers who spoke in Boston: George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Cotton and Increase Mather. Our tour ended by the gravestones of the Mather family in an old cemetery. It was a very inspiring time.

That afternoon the conference began with an introduction by Doug Philips. It was a delightful beginning for a wonderful few days.