Celebrations!

This week has been full of celebrations. We had an incredible week at VBS, and truly saw the fruits of our labor, as we watched over 300 kiddos learn more about the Bible, sing songs, dance, and have fun for five days straight. My own girls could not get ENOUGH of VBS, and all of their friends! We are still listening to the songs every time we're in the car, and they perform the dance moves in the mirror, pretending to be "Mrs. Lisa & Mrs. Leslie" (the VBS music teachers).

Here are Kendyll & Carlie with a few friends the first day:

Somehow, I managed to arrange a sleepover the first night of VBS with their good friends, Kayla and Caroline. Here are a few party pictures from their night:


And, here are my jungle girls about mid-week on the way home:

As you can tell, we all got pretty tired on our Jungle Jaunt!

One of the biggest blessings for me, personally, was getting to share this week with my incredible hubby. Without being asked, Mark decided to take each morning off of work, to help me with VBS and to just be available at church. It was so much fun to go as a family each day, and for him to see firsthand, what VBS is like---especially for all the kids. Here's my awesome husband, giving some kiddos their face tattoos at our "end of VBS party". Mark, thanks for making my week that much better by being there with me!

And, speaking of husbands, we have a few other celebrations for him this week! Yesterday, was his 32nd birthday---and, of course, we got to spend most of the day at church, wrapping up VBS! But, his girls tried their best to make him feel special, even on a busy day. :)

We actually ate our big birthday dinner Saturday night, which he chose to be grilled salmon at home---yum! We also gave him a "quick" breakfast in bed of his favorite powdered donuts and fruit. (Usually, this is the birthday tradition for everyone in the family---but he got an abbreviated version on Sunday before church!) The big gift this year is a treadmill for his office. Hopefully this will be the inspiration we both need to actually exercise a couple of times a year.

And, tomorrow is our anniversary! So, we get to have a kids free day to hang out, go to a movie, go shopping, have a pedicure (well, at least I am!) and have dinner out. I'm looking forward to this day with just Mark, after a very busy July. Thank you, Mark, for another amazing year of marriage. Words aren't enough to express my gratitude for the way you love me. Happy Birthdaversary to the best hubby in the world. :)

VBS & Conversations with Carlie

I had to show some pictures of the work my awesome VBS friends have been doing. Many of them are blog-readers and I just wanted them to see a few pics of the Prestoncrest jungle. :) The first two are from our area called "Honey, I Shrunk the Rainforest". Everything is blown up huge...my favorite part is the butterfly and the snake.

I also wanted to blog about my middle child while it was fresh on my mind. This week, Kendyll has been gone to church day camp with her friend, Hollyn. So, it has just been me, Carlie, and Abby Kate for most of the week. That has made some great time for conversation with Carlie. It's amazing how little we actually get to talk without an older Kendyll involved. It's so much fun to hear her talk, sing, dance, and tell stories. We have been jamming out to "Mommy's Songs" in the car, and her favorite again and again is Nichole Nordeman. She dances and attempts to sing all the words with her little eyebrows raised and her little voice belting it out. It makes it impossible for me to watch the road because I'm glued to my rearview mirror. :)

This morning, on the way to VBS workday, she brought up the subject of her 3rd birthday party (coming up in a few weeks). This has been an ongoing debate, because she loves every theme we ask her about. We had decided on Dora, but now she's wavering again. This morning she listed all the family members who could come, and then she said "Mom, you and Daddy can even come too!" Wow! We're invited! She also said that no boys could come to her party. ONLY girls. And, the final decision she says is a Barbie Dora party. Now, that might be my biggest party challenge yet. She said she even wants a barbie cake with a Dora on top. Hmmmm.....

Then, tonight, Kendyll got home and we were saying prayers together at bedtime. It is a rare thing that Carlie ever says the prayer, unless I've practically forced her to. And, even then, it's the "short and sweet" version. Tonight, though, the "Spirit was moving her" and she just couldn't stop. She said FOUR prayers. Here are some things that made the list:

*Thank you for our blessens. (blessings)

*Thank you for Kendyll coming home and swimming really good.

*Thank you for Kendyll not being mad at me. (not sure where that one came from?)

*Please let me have fun at VBS.

*And, my paci's in the trash. (not sure if that was a thank-you or what.)

*And, Jacob and Caroline don't have their pacis either. (friends who have also given up the paci recently)

*Please let Daddy be safe and not get stuck (Daddy flies home tomorrow and he's had a few delayed and cancelled flights because of weather. She still wonders if he's "stuck" all the time.)

*Thank you for Gammy, and Papa Ron, and the ranch, and Grandad and Grankay and their house, and Pops and Grandma and their little house (condo).

*No thunder and lightning. (a nightly prayer for her.)

*Thank you for our blessens in our house and our room.

*Jesus and the Bible that we read the stories.

I love unsolicited prayers like this one. I had to rush right out and blog about it before those random listed requests to God were forgotten. :)

If you've noticed a sudden decrease in my blogging, I have a perfectly good excuse. VBS is in full swing, and therefore, I am "M.I.A" for now. I have been actively involved in VBS my entire life and have a deep love for this part of children's ministry. As a kid, we were there every year, and I always dreamed of the day I could become the "youth group leader". Once I attained that lofty goal, I moved on to bigger and better things and began to teach all ages and stages of VBS. For the last four years, I have helped on the planning committee, writing the curriculum and decorating the church. (Ladies who are involved in this, should we even just call it "decorating"....or maybe "transforming" is more appropriate??) And, this year, I began my role as VBS Director for our church. This has been, by far, one of the most rewarding, humbling, fulfilling ministries I've been a part of, and I've been blessed to work with 16 women who are completely amazing at what they do.

Now, along with this blessing of working on VBS, comes a lot of long hours, late nights, and endless to-do lists. And, this week begins what I call "crunch week". Next week is Vacation Bible School, and there are still many tasks left to finish before then. So, this will most definitely be my lightest blogging month ever.

So, in honor of the event that is taking up so much of my time, here is a list of
"You know you're too involved in VBS when...."

1. Your 2 year old knows all about the "rainforest" and uses that word in random conversation. (Our theme is the Amazon Rainforest....also known as the "Jungle Jaunt".)

2. Your 5 year old turns her room into a "VBS" by decorating the walls with paper....only her VBS was a beach theme, instead of the jungle.

3. Your family is actually surprised when you answer the phone. (Today, Cortni said "Is this my sister? You don't have VBS today? To which I said, "Well, I'm actually driving home...")

4. You're too busy to blog about the fact that Carlie is POTTY TRAINED and is loving her new life in panties. Her favorites are the "Halloween Kitty"(Hello Kitty) ones. More to come on that one...

5. Your children "pretend" to be VBS teachers at home. Seriously. I'm not kidding.

6. You wake up at 3 AM and can't go back to sleep (this has happened many nights!) as you thoughtfully consider who will bake for the cake walk, what color wings the giant hanging dragonfly should have, or if the teachers should wear blue or green tshirts. You know, all the important things in life.

7. You feel a deep connection to Cha Cha, the Red Eyed Tree Frog, at Rainforest Cafe last weekend, because you have been reading, writing, drawing, and thinking about rainforest animals intensively for the last few weeks. (I almost felt like I should hug him or something.)

8. You actually take pictures of the ceiling while eating at Rainforest Cafe....and aren't a bit worried about what the table next to you is thinking.

9. You feel suddenly wistful and even a bit worried as you read other people's blogs about their "simple" summers, and wonder, for a moment, why you took this job.

10. In the very next moment, you cry over the smallest success of Vacation Bible School, as you picture the children's faces filled with complete joy as they finally experience what you've been planning for months.

I hope and pray that every minute of work is worth it as those children come to know more about the God who loves them next week. I will be back with pictures of the entire event....more than you even want to see! For now, just know that I will return to blogland soon and can't wait to catch up on each of your blogs when I do!