I missed them BEFORE they even left!

Well, 3 of my babies went off to church camp this morning! :( :( :(

It is the first time for my one and only daughter...in fact this is only the 3rd time she has slept somewhere else other than home...once at a friend's house and once at our friend's house when I had our youngest baby, and now...camp...for 5 days and 4 nights!

This is the third year for my 2 middle boys...they really enjoy going, although when they leave, it is always a "bittersweet" feeling. This is most likely their last year too since one boy is moving up and next year will qualify to be in the "youth group" at church, which will mean he'll only be able to attend the "teen week" and no longer the "junior week". And my other boy will more than likely not go since his older brother won't be there (they are 1 year apart and are more like twins than anything!).

So, I'm glad all 3 of them have this opportunity to go, but it is has been tearing me up and just killing me inside! My stomach has been miserable for the last week as I approached this time and now it is doing loopy loops at 100 mph! It is about a 3 hour ride to get there and is in a different state, so those two things don't help make this any easier on me LOL. ;)

It is just myself, my 6 year old, and 17 month old at home (with no car :( ) and my eldest 16 1/2 year old is working full-time hours this summer. I have a lot to do in my house...cleaning, organizing, etc., but this feels so incredibly strange!

Oddly enough, I almost cannot stand the quietness!!!

So, my 6 year old & 17 month old and I got busy right after the kids left and made them some cards with special drawings for each of them and quickly got them in the mailbox for today's mail. Hopefully, the kids will get these pictures/notes by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

We have this ongoing joke in our home...my 11 and 12 year old have a dog they've had for almost a year. His name is Barney and he is a dachshund/basset hound mix and he is a pain in the "you know what"! Well, lucky me, I'm in charge of this demon dog stupid mutt stubborn thing called "a dog" until they get back. He is the most high-maintenance dog I've ever had and truly is a pain in the neck...most everyone agrees as we verbalize this on a daily basis!

Well, as a joke (because my middle son at camp needs to laugh or else he'll do more crying), I wrote him a "Ransom Note" for his dog, LOL. They'll all get a kick out of it LOL. I've included our pictures, drawings, and Ransom note below for your viewing pleasure! (CLICK ON BELOW PICTURE FOR A CLOSE UP)

Here are our "nice" notes to the kids: