Camping, with a baby! Top ten Gear List!

 In November 2013 my husband and I took our then five month old son on his first camping trip. 

I know what you are thinking, November is such a cold month to take a baby for his first overnight in the outdoors. 

That was my thought, until I was able to find a KOA open all year less than two hours from our home. 

The KOA was a perfect setup. The 550 sqft. cabin was preheated upon our arrival and it was squeaky clean. My family is an AAA member so we were given a large discount; the room cost us only $30.00 a night. The baby loved it and my husband and I throughly enjoyed the peace and quite of the Pennsylvania Mountains.

To assist my fellow young outdoorsy families, I have compiled a top ten list of must haves for baby’s first immersion in the wild. 

1. Diapers/wipes. Most important thing for baby is his comfort level. I brought disposable diapers for the sake of convenience.
2. Layers. Be sure to keep baby warm. Remember, it is easier to stay warm than it is to get warm. 
3. Food. I am and was nursing at the time. 
4. Blankets. The cabin supplied mattresses, but you are expected to bring your own blankets. 
5. Bed. We brought our sleep divider. I suggest the most portable sleeper you own.
6. Extra Clothes. My baby has a tendency to soil his clothes abruptly, so I always bring an extra set of clothing.
7. Teethes. My baby’s gums are bothering him and he appreciates any and all teethes. 
8. Soap/ disinfectant.  Keep those little baby fingers clean and wash his and your hands often.
9. Diaper rash cream.  Baby’s sweet little bottom needs to be protected from rashes and that isn’t usually sold in camp stores.
10. Big ol’e Heart. Bring yourself, soak up each precious moment with your child, and be present. 

Being Militant in Your Current Lifestyle

“A dead thing goes with the stream, but only a living thing has the ability to go against it.” – G.K. Chesterton

Where is the stream? And if I’m in it, am I stopping, turning into connecting creeks and swimming upstream as I please?

The purpose of this post is to speak about why I, as a young, active, college-educated woman am blessed to call myself part of the church militant. I am not perfect, nor do I hope that I will ever profess to be. In the phone conversation that Christine and I had today, it was a conversation very much like the conversations that we have had during the past seven years of our friendship: we talked about friends, family, adventures, boys and men, health, inspiring things that we have listened to or seen, venting about different things. . . and today we talked about all of those things plus: government systems, world poverty, modern Christianity, Pope Francis, gay marriage, adoption, contraception, Common Core Standards and being a missionary.

That last one: being a missionary.

That means Africa, right? That is for people who have it all together. For men who constantly look well-groomed carrying a bible at their hip, for women who wear skirts and have perfect straight teeth smiles introducing themselves saying: “Hi I’m Jenn, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?” This is my stereotype every time I hear the word “missionary”.

Yes there are great, educated, amiable, charismatic, intelligent people who respond to the title of missionary. I am proud to call some of my siblings missionaries. Missionaries within a group called the Fellowship Of Catholic University Students.  FOCUS, as it is more commonly known, is a beautiful group of young Catholic men and women who live on multiple college campuses around the United States evangelizing and spreading the love of Christ and the Catholic faith to college students. FOCUS missionaries live here in the states, they look just like you and me and they love The Faith.

There are multiple Catholic missionary groups throughout the world that many awesome human beings are a part of, giving their livelihood to the cause of evangelizing and introducing people to Christ. This is a beautiful thing and very necessary.

Necessary, but, I have a job.

Necessary, but, I have a family.

Necessary, but, I have this, thing.

Necessary, but, I am a busy adult with many important things to do.

I feel you. Jesus understands your concerns. Pope Francis knows and has written his most recent exhortation on this topic: “Evangelii Gaudium” (for you Americans out there this means “The Joy of Evangelization”)

Some of you may be thinking “Evangelii Gaudium”, that is a challenging title to pronounce; I don’t think I would understand it even if I tried to read it.” Others of you may be thinking “Yeah, I started to read it, but it was waaay long and I don’t have the time to read anyway.” Still others of you may be thinking: “I know that Pope Francis is a guy and didn’t he get nominated for Times Magazine person of the year?”

There are many people who have written commentary on Pope Francis’ exhortation and posted their thoughts online, but I don’t mean to do so here. I have *almost* read it all and have really appreciated reading it. It has inspired me in many ways.

It reminds me that within the Catholic Church there are three main parts composing the one body. The three main parts being: The church militant, the church suffering and the church triumphant. The church militant are the foot soldiers; we Catholics who are still kicking it here on earth. The church suffering are those of us who have kicked it here on earth in the past, and are currently working towards living in a more pure union with Christ and those in the church triumphant; these are the souls we believe are in purgatory. The church triumphant is all holy men and women living in eternal celebration of God in heaven, who, during their lives here on earth have fought militantly.

So, you and I are a part of the church militant. It sounds intense, because it is.

There are so many things that I encounter in my daily life that tempt me towards an easier life, a life more in line with “what simply everyone is doing these days”. Let’s talk about that elephant in the room, known as purity.

What is that?

In conversations and writings I like to use popular culture as examples in anecdotes. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to think of a pop-culture reference that embodies purity. . . perhaps you understand what I am saying.

Living a pure life in our culture today is similar to a living thing swimming against the stream. It is difficult. Oh, yes, it is difficult, but it is not impossible.

As Christine and I were talking on the phone earlier and talking about being missionaries, I listened and my mind wavered. It wavered because I know that I have fallen. I have sinned. I have broken many of the commandments. I cannot be a missionary preaching about Christ and His teachings if I am not fully following Him all the time myself!

That’s where that where Mr. buzz-word: “MILITANT” comes shining through. Wikipedia says that "militant is usually used to describe a person engaged in aggressive verbal or physical combat." I would like to add "aggressive spiritual combat" to that definition and we'll be working with something. We are at war. We are constantly fighting in a battle, plagued with poisonous lust, bullets of anger, grenades of envy, fire of gluttony, storms of pride, immobilizing sloth and fists of greed.

These are some pretty strong opponents, and we cannot fight them alone or we will certainly fall. We fight with the grace of God. When we fall in one battle, we need only to come back to God in confession and again be armed with the sword and shield of grace.

I am not Catholic because I am perfect. I am Catholic because I have fallen and have the courage to get back up and seek God’s grace in confession. Therein is the key. When we fall, and we will fall, we must get back up.

You and I and everyone and everyone’s mother here on earth are all a part of the church militant. No one is exempt from temptation. No one is free from sin. No one can boast in being perfect. And guess who Christ called to not only fight here on earth, constantly being shot at with one sort of temptation or another, but to also evangelize and bring others to Him?

All of us.

Even when we fall in battles against sin, we can still be missionaries in that. Our reaction after falling can be a form of evangelization. Seek out your fellow wounded soldiers; begin your journey back to grace with them, look for help to those who are stronger fighters. We are all militant together.

Life does not stop and wait for us to be fully prepared for battle. We are born and our fight begins. We are constantly changing, growing, fighting and learning until we are dead. Life does not stop and wait for us during the times that we are “working through something”; life does not stop while we are educating ourselves and trying to become a better version of ourselves; life does not stop while we are trying to grow more in our faith, life does not stop while we are planning for the future.

Christ knows this, and yet we, the members of the church militant are the ones being called to preach! We cannot wait for the time to be perfect. There will never be a perfect time.

The time is now.

Back to what I stereotypically think of when I think about missionaries: Africa, neat-looking bible-toting, cheerful, skirted people.

Missionaries may look like that. But they also look like secretaries, nurses, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, politicians, mountaineers, fishermen, loggers, policemen, businesspeople, scientists, engineers, teachers, students, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters and you.

You have a job? Great! Preach by example to your colleagues. Be a Christian in your actions. When necessary use words. Words are great, especially when they involve “conversation” and “snacks” in the same sentence.

You have a family? Great! Teach them about the faith. Pray with them. Love them.

You have a thousand other excuses? Stop already. Christ wants you to be His hands and feet, now. Right now, in the lifestyle that you currently lead. This is what it is to be a Christian. This is what it is to be a Catholic. You are the church militant.

“Challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope filled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigor!” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

You are not dead yet. You have the ability to swim against the stream if need be. You are alive. You belong to the church militant. Go fight like it.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” – Mt. 28:19

Day 4

Day 3

Un Poko . . . Mega Musings

“Guys, winter is not coming. Winter is here.” Says Brian, as we stomp into the main dining hall called The Poko Queen. It has been under 15 degrees for the past week and we are kicking off the new snow powder that has been quickly falling all morning.

It’s a place with a vibe that blends lumber-jacks, backwoodsmen, conservationists, hippies, gardeners, homesteaders, educators, adventurers, mountaineers, backpackers, party animals, camp counselors, rock climbers, dish-washing aficionados, house-keepers, teachers, time-travelers, actors, mechanics, ecologists, foodies, travelers, entertainers, and philosophers into one title:  Outdoor Education Instructors at Pok-O-MacCready Outdoor Education Center.

Long Pond on a September morning

You cannot get cell reception here at Poko, which is located within the beautiful six million acre Adirondack State Park in North Eastern New York.  Its lunch time and everyone piles their plates high with the rich left-overs from the previous meals. We all chat about our morning adventures with each other as we wait to heat up our food in the microwave. Three of us worked on the roof of the six story rock climbing center, scooping off the ice and snow which has been known to leak through the ceiling if left unattended.

It has been the banana peel type of icy here and we decided that since the roof doesn’t have railings, one person should belay the person scooping the snow while the third person holds a phone and radio ready to call EMS if need be.  I helped belay and thankfully we didn’t need to dial 911. I don’t think my fingers would have functioned well enough to punch numbers anyway, they were so chilled. I made a note to layer my glove/mitten layers better next time.

Setting routes at the climbing center

I arrived here in August, when the pond that we live near was a welcome oasis from the late summer heat. We canoed in the light of the full moon, jumped on the water-trampoline giddy from time-off and free Budweiser, skinny dipped off the diving board, swung like tarzan off of the rope swing and soaked up the sun on the docks. Nature is easily enjoyable in the summer-time.

The view from the summit of Porter Mt.

In the past couple of months, the North Eastern winter has slowly been introducing itself. I got to meet it earlier in October when I summited one of the Adirondack High Peaks early in the morning. My friend and I reached the summit of Porter as the sun was rising during an ice-storm. It was gorgeous, thrilling and powerful. Winter is not a season to be taken lightly, especially in our field of work where we are outside for the majority of the day. If you are not properly dressed with warm layers, it could be disastrous.

Winter, while being colder and more monotone than his sister summer does have his lovable traits. He whips you into a hard-ass very quickly, through activities that the elements dictate essential; such as: wood splitting, wood stacking, hauling wood, snow scooping and fire-building.  He also has a playful side offering activities such as snow-shelter building, snow angel making, ice-fishing, ice-climbing, snow-tubing down hills, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snow ball throwing, winter mountaineering and tracking animals in the snow.

Poko is not just a place where people work, it is a lifestyle. Working and living within such a small community as this, we spend our days and nights working and playing together. From early morning activities, like a nature walk at 7 AM, to evening activities such as rock-climbing until 9 PM our team of Poko people are well humored and down to earth; working hard and playing hard. Almost every evening we gather in one of the houses called The Junior House for conversation, bananagrams and beer. We all have different stories, view-points, thought-processes, vocabulary, habits and favorite colors. But mysteriously, providentially or serendipitously we all enjoy each-others company. We all laugh more than we complain (sometimes that happens simultaneously). We all care for the welfare of our planet.  We all love being in the outdoors. And we all realize that the life we are living should not be taken for granted.

Early morning canoeing on Long Pond

There are several times throughout these past few months when I have stopped and said “We’re actually getting paid to do this.” Memorable times such as: kayaking into Lake Champlain and camping on the shore, summiting one of the High Peaks on a bluebird fall day when the autumn colors were the most vibrant, self-belaying while setting rock-climbing routes at the climbing center listening to Katy Perry on full surround-sound blast and playing wood-game while talking about the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius.

Pok-O-MacCready and the Adirondacks are becoming a part of my whatness. Being and working in this place is truly an incredible experience. I am continually astounded with the wonderful beauty of the natural world that surrounds me and hope to regularly post about the adventures that I have. If simply for the purpose of being mindful that my life adventures are a gift and I should stop and cherish the cold breaths of chilly snowy air just as much as I savor the warm summer dips in the pond. 

XC Skiing on Long Pond in the afternoon

Jan. 2 Day 2. Mother Teresa quote

The Inspirational Memory Challenge
Day 2 

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Mother Teresa

The Inspirational Memory Challenge

This year I am challenging myself to memorize one inspirational quote a day. 

My memory is a muscle that needs to get back in shape. 

My workout schedule for my memory is: to commit to memory one quote a day by some one I respect. 

It is that simple, I am just going to find a quote I love and memorize it. 

By the end of 2014, I will have 365 inspirational phrases embedded in my heart. 

I was once told by a professor of mine that, ‘on his death bed, during his last moments of life, he will hold dearly and recite to himself the calming words of great men who have lit the long and hard rode to heaven.’

I, like my professor, would like to walk with my heart filled with inspiration as I enter heaven.  

To begin the Inspirational Memory Challenge, I have selected a quote from Confucious. I chose this quote because it gives the fool proof method to assisting one in memorization. 

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Confucius