Giving Thanks - day two

Today I am thankful for our church, and our church family. We attend a rather large church of about 600-800 people. Well, that might not be large by some standards but compared to the church I grew up in it's large in my mind!

Anyway, Bob grew up in this church and when we got married there was never a question about where we would attend. We planned to live locally and we just sort of automatically started attending there. When we were first married I was a little overwhelmed with the large church body and felt a little lost. I didn't really know anyone and it seemed like most people already knew Bob's family. For a while I did help with the teen ministry but I still really never felt like I'd found my place.

About 5 years after we married our first child H was born. Once I had H and began to stay home and not work I finally had more time to get involved within the church body. I began attending a ladies Bible study once a week and was able to meet a lot more women, including many that were my age who also had new babies. It was like I was finally finding my place.

Over the years since then I have served in various ministries from helping with Vacation Bible school in the summers to serving as a Sunday school teacher. I have also made so many wonderful friends - friends of all different ages. There are women who are my age who I cherish as some of my closest friends, there are women who are older who I look up to as mentors, and also many couples that Bob and I enjoy either spending time with or learning from.

I look forward to going to church each and every time because I know that every time I enter those doors I will see so many wonderful people and I will never cease to be encouraged. God's Word is preached and His Name is worshipped.

I also love that my children are learning and growing in the Lord at our wonderful church. H accepted the Lord as her Savior last year on Christmas Eve at our Christmas Eve service. The girls attend Sunday school and have many wonderful friends at our church. And when they see us serve in that place they learn a lot about what it means to serve the Lord - something I have already seen them practice.

I know some people may think a church is just a building, but not at where we go to church. We are all a part of the family of God, whether we meet in that building, or somewhere else. I love my church and my church family ... and today I'm choosing to thank the Lord for them.

We're more than halfway there

VBS continues to go really well. Tonight was 'water night' in which we rented huge waterslides and the kids have a blast getting all soaked. Well it poured cats and dogs all day but I kept on praying that it would stop in time for VBS ... and it did! YAY, praise God!

Even though the air was a little cooler than normal the kids didn't seem to care ... although I did see quite a few chattering, blue lips ... but they kept on playing and enjoying the giant slide and the fire truck hose.

OH, and the 'treats' tonight ... oh my goodness ... in addition to their regular snack they also had sno cones and cotton candy!! Oh yeah, how many parents are cursing us right now as they can't get their kids to sleep???!!!

Anyway, the kids are having a blast ... my own kids are already complaining that 'there's only two more days of VBS!' ... but let me tell you, I'm EXHAUSTED and although this week has been great I could not have handled more than one week!

I have been terrible about getting any pictures but I know there's a couple people running around with cameras every night so hopefully at the end of all this I can get my hands on some photos and share them with you. Until then, I'm goin' to bed. Good night!

First night

of VBS went very well! YAY! I am sorry to say that although I am usually a very organized person I really cut myself short yesterday and ended up arriving later than I had hoped. So my first hour I spent scrambling around trying to make sure everything got done that needed to be done. Other than that our night went great, the kids had a blast, and even though it was hot - it wasn't unbearable.

Tonight should be great as well, I plan to arrive a little earlier so I'll be more prepared. =)

Oh oh oh it's a big backyard, yeah yeah a really big backyard ... everybody's serving and doing their part in God's big, big, big, big big backyard!!

VBS

What is VBS? VBS is Vacation Bible School. It's kind of like summer camp, held at our church. This year our church has chosen two themes for VBS. The children that are entering kindergarten through 3rd grade will be doing a theme called God's Big Backyard. The children that are in 4th-7th grades are doing a theme called Cosmic City.

I am the department head for the beginners. That is grades K and 1. I am so excited about the theme this year. The past few weeks I've spent cutting out clouds, birds, butterflies ... and planning meetings with our team, typing letters to go home with parents, planning music and decorations. It's been so much fun.

I have an amazing team of helpers this year. Several of them are teachers, both in the public school system and also homeschool Moms. I am truly blessed to be working with this amazing group of women!!

Our VBS is run in the evenings. It is from Monday, August 4th-Friday, August 8th from 6pm-8:30pm. The children will have music, do crafts, play outdoor sports and games, hear a Bible lesson, have great snacks, make new friends and just have a blast with lots of other kids.

The theme is all about service. Serving our family, friends, neighbors, community and Jesus. Each night we will focus on one of these areas of service and help kids see that even though they are young, they can still serve others! We will also have a missions project for the week. Our missions project is a local organization that helps the homeless people in our area. They bring food, clothing and friendship to the homeless all year long. The kids who come to VBS will have the chance to bring new socks or money for the homeless. (This is voluntary of course, there is no 'fee' for VBS.) This helps the kids see ways they can help others that are living (and struggling) right here in our area.







Anyway, just wanted to share with you what has been keeping me busy ... I will take lots of pictures next week and I'll be sure to post them!

A wonderful Mother's Day

A few weeks ago I remember telling Bob that it didn't matter what he did for me for Mother's day, as long as he took some time to put some thought into it. I don't need expensive gifts, lavish dinners or huge bouquets, I simply want to feel remembered and honored. Maybe that sounds selfish, but that is how I feel.

Well my man delivered. In a big way. Apparently HE remembered a long ago conversation we'd had about video cameras. We talked about how we have all these beautiful photos of our girls, but no video of their childhood moments. (Well, we do have a very tiny amount of video that we took on my camera, but it's not much and there is no sound.)

So he remembered and he bought me an amazing video camcorder. (It's actually for both my birthday and Mother's day but that is fine with me!)

We had a wonderful day which started with plenty of sunshine. We went to church, then to a local state park for a picnic lunch with my in-laws, then we walked while the girls biked. H has just recently learned to ride a two wheeler and she did awesome. We got to try out the camcorder by taping the girls on their bikes. It was a bit cool and windy but all in all a beautiful day.

My Mom had been out of town but stopped by on her way home so we could wish her Happy Mother's day as well.

It was a simple, quiet, relaxing day. I will cherish it forever.

My most priceless gifts.
Robin and the girls with their bike helmets on.
Bob's Mom, me and the girls.

He's a hillbilly rockstar out of control!

Kenny Chesney that is! We had such an awesome time last night at the Kenny Chesney / Leann Rimes concert!

We went over to Jake & Sam's house first to hang out for awhile and have some munchies ... then out to dinner - then off to the show. It was great. Jake & Sam ended up with seats RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAGE - lucky ducks! They could have reached out and touched Kenny's hand! Our seats were good too, and we had a great time.

Today we enjoyed a beautiful sunny Sunday morning ... taking our time getting up and then going to 3rd service at church. After church we went to my Mom's house for lunch. My brother Matt and his daughter Becca were visiting and we celebrated Matt's birthday (a little early). It was so nice and warm and sunny out! We sat outside for a while watching the 3 little girls run around and play. Just a nice lazy, relaxing afternoon. =)

I need to upload some pics from today - stay tuned for those!

Church is canceled this morning.

I can only remember one other time when it was canceled for weather. I think we will have a quiet morning at home as a family and do some devotions together this morning.

Actually, being this close to Christmas and with all the busy-ness going on ... it feels pretty good to have a reason to just sit at home and snuggle up together. :)

Wednesday Mornings.

I just love Wednesday mornings. I know, seems kinda strange being that it's the middle of the work week, but I really do love Wednesdays.

Wednesday is the day we have ladies Bible study at church. It's such a neat experience. I often feel as though it's a moment of quiet rest in the middle of a busy week. I know, seems weird for me to describe ladies Bible study as 'quiet' and 'restful', but it really is.

It's that one morning a week when I can sit and enjoy the music, speaker, prayer, fellowship and learning. I was sitting there this morning thinking, 'wow, this is the first I've sat totally still and silent all week!'. My girls are both well cared for while I'm at study ... J is in preschool and H goes in class with other homeschoolers. I can restfully sit in His presence without a care in the world. No housework, no cooking, no cleaning, no kids, no things to keep me busy and distract me. Just time with Jesus. (And other ladies who challenge me to learn and grow more!)

I love that I always leave feeling refreshed and like I've learned so much more about God's Word.

The other thing I love about Wednesdays is that ladies Bible study is kind of like a yankee swap for me. There isn't a week that goes by when I'm not borrowing or returning something from someone. One week a friend borrowed some boots of mine, sometimes my Mom is returning books to me that she's borrowed, I'm also often returning books, sometimes I am returning a dish that a friend left at my house, or they are returning a sweater they borrowed. It's always a fun day to swap and I love the sense of community I get from doing that.

Thank you Lord for this day of rest in the middle of my busy week! I just love Wednesdays!
'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' Matthew 11:28