Sunday Funday!

Normally Sundays aren't so fun for me.  We get up early to go to church - which I really don't mind most weeks.  I love our church, so do my kids and Seth.  It's the AWANA club in the evenings, which my kids really enjoy going to, that kills Sunday for me.  In case you don't know what AWANA is, it is a club where kids come and learn Bible verses for prizes.  Of course there's games and singing and snacks and a Bible message.  But the club is for Bible verse memorization.

Anyway....

Since we live on the other side of town, it's really hard to travel 20-25 minutes to church in the morning, back home for a late lunch.  Have a short afternoon then back to church for AWANA.  By the time we get home from AWANA it's after 7:30 so supper is often late and bed time is late.  It's hard but it is well worth it to have my kids memorize Scripture.

Yesterday, there was no AWANA due to the fact that most of the area schools were on spring break.  We had a very restful afternoon.  It's started out with a yummy potluck at church and our Easter choir practice afterwards.  I always enjoy our fellowship dinners.

Seth needed to get some sleep so he took a nap.  It was a nice day...warm even, so the kids took our puppy out and played in the sprinkler.  I took the opportunity to get through some of bins that have been clogging up my laundry room.  I had been saving every kind of paper that came to our mailbox that looked remotely important.  Turns out, I didn't need to be.  I searched online and found a list of what to keep and for how long.  I printed it off and used it as my guideline as I sorted and sorted and sorted through all of my bins labeled "important papers."

As I was in the middle of multiple piles and a huge bin full of papers in front of me, Seth got up from his nap and said he was gonna go out to a friend's place to shoot his guns.  All 3 kids got their shoes on to go with him, which was fine with me.  This way I could get my project finished without being hassled by the kids.  I'd still get hassled by the puppy, though.

However, sweet little A realized I would not be joining them and was absolutely heartbroken.  I don't know the last time I saw her cry so hard, face covered in tears.  We didn't understand why she wanted me to come so badly but how could I say no to such a strong desire to be with her mommy?  So, I deserted my project and walked out the door.

Our friend was there with his guns and he, Seth, the older 2 kids, and myself took turns shooting the guns.

After a couple of hours, it was time to head home.  Actually, it was time to eat.  We stopped at Arby's for supper and check ourselves for ticks in the bathrooms.  We already caught 3 while we were out shooting and found 1 more in the bathroom.

As we were leaving the shooting area, we discovered why little A wanted me to come so badly.  We have gone camping there a few times and she thought that we would be camping there again.  When she realized we weren't staying, she became upset again.  Not crying as badly as before, but still very sad.  That explained why she was so heartbroken over me not coming in the first place.  She thought she was leaving me for an entire night and she wouldn't see me until morning.  Sweet little girl.

We enjoyed our meal at Arby's and came home.  We played with Rambo who had been fenced in all day (we have a small area where he has toys, food and water, and a potty pad next to his crate fenced off from the rest of the living room).  Then it was bath time for the kids and bedtime.

I got back to my project and made it through a total of 2 1/2 bins of papers.  I bagged up each of my piles and placed them in an empty bin while the other bin I had already cleaned out was now full of papers that need to be shredded.  I have a half a bin left then my paper trays full of the most recent mail piled up on my end tables.  Then I can file them appropriately and maybe stay organized as new mail arrives.  One can only hope.  :)

Fun and Medicine?

I have an 8-year-old daughter and it probably comes as no surprise at all that she is a bit of a drama queen.  Everything seems much worse than it actually is.  Today, she put on quite a performance.  She had burned her fingers earlier this evening, basically due to the fact that she wasn't listening to her dad.  All the rest of the evening she carried a cup of cold water to put her fingers in.  By the time she needed to get ready for bed, she had blisters.  I got out the Aloe Vera gel and bandaids so she wouldn't feel the need to take a cup of water to bed with her.  Because, obviously, that just wouldn't work.

She saw the bottle of green gel and began screaming bloody murder.  Ok, not quite bloody murder.  That actually came later.  She had suddenly put herself in a horror film and the Aloe Vera was her cryptonite.  It was like I was going to dump a bunch of spiders on her.  Or she would be sleeping with snakes.  Or birds came flapping through the window attacking her head.  Drama.  Queen.

"I'm fine with the bandaids...but not THAT!"  boo hoo hoo.  Yep, the girl deserves an Emmy.

I finally had to force her fingers out of the cup of water, dry them off, and I put just a teeny tiny bit of the Aloe Vera on her 2 blistered fingers.

More screaming.  But not yet bloody murder screaming.

"It stings!!!  It stings!!!"  I blew on them and then covered them with bandaids.

The next several minutes involved her rolling on the floor, then onto the couch, then back to the floor.  Screaming...yes, now bloody murder...and bawling.  Waaaay over the top here.  She may give Jim Carrey a run for his money.

I told her that she was thinking about it too much.

"Maybe if I could have some ice cream..."

I could not hold in the laughter any longer.  Sorry girlie, you're not getting any ice cream.  An applause for such an amazing dramatic performance.  But no ice cream.

More screaming, bawling, rolling on the floor.

"I just want to rip my arm off!!"

More laughter from me....and from older brother in the next room.

Finally, I asked what the pain felt like.  I knew she was in some pain, just not as much as she was portraying.  She said she could feel her heart beat.  Well, that meant the bandaids were too tight so I offered to take them off.

She agreed, but I had to do it carefully.  I did my best, but she still gave me screams.  The bandaids came off and she ran to get herself another cup of water.

And....scene.  Take a bow, dear.

Time for Act II.  This time, I'm the main character.  (Were you wondering where she got her drama from?)

My eyes had been giving me some issues so I bought over-the-counter eye drops which have helped.  Previously, my left eye had been the problem.  Today I woke up with my right eye sealed shut.  Awesome.  K had been my eye dropper since I just couldn't do it myself.  Tonight, however, I said each of my 3 kids could give me 1 drop.

I lied down on the floor.  And battle ensues.

"Mom keep your eye open!!"

"I'm trying!!"  I tried to focus on A, but she wasn't helping.  "Show me a silly face."

"Why?"

Drop into my hair.  "Moooommm!!"

"Sorry!"

The longer this takes, the more I get to laughing.  And who can really laugh with their eyes open?  Yep, that just added to the problem.  Which lead to more laughter.

Finally, after getting drops on my cheek, eyelid, and the actual bottle smacking me in the eyebrow, K got a drop in.

Then J took his turn.  I looked at A again for support, this time she knew what I needed her to do.  However, J didn't quite get the hang of it.  First he placed the dropper right in front of my eye so I couldn't even see around it.  And when I told him it was too close, he stood up and held it a few feet above me.  Well, that's not gonna work!  He found a happy medium.

And...drop...right in my eye.

A got her drop in on the first try without much of a fight.

So, with my eyes running with tears of laughter and eye drops, I thanked the kids and sent them to bed.

Curtain closed.

It's VBS season!

This is the time of year my focus becomes our VBS.  I have blogged about the VBS before but that is what is on my mind and will be until VBS is over.  And then we all kinda start brainstorming for next year.  lol  I'm very excited about this year's theme and certain scenes for the skit have been running through my mind.  However, since I depend on the speaker's notes and main Bible verses to write the skit, I have to wait.  And that part just drives me crazy!  No, I'm not going to tell you the theme just yet.  :)

This year, I wasn't sure if I would even get to be involved at all because there's something bigger going on this summer.  Yep, bigger than VBS.  My sister is getting married and since that pretty much trumps everything, I was telling people last summer that my involvement may be very limited this year.  Well, they wouldn't have that.  "We can't have a VBS without you, Laura!" was something that one of the VBS planners had told me.  So, we quickly got together and figured out a week when I would be here AND my absence wouldn't hugely disrupt our rehearsals.

Normally, I am the most excited about the skits.  I get others excited as I develop their characters and let them know my plans.  This year, after asking one of my main actors if he could take the lead again this year, his excitement went through the roof.  He came running up to me telling me everything he wanted to do with his character and what he wants to wear.  He was almost more excited that I am.  Which is a good thing!!  I like that my actors are excited and are planning their parts, characteristics, and costumes, even before I really have the skit written.  Sure, I provide the storyline, conversations, and the basics of entering and exiting when and where.  But my actors, all of them, throw in their own personalities and with their ad libs and commitment, the skits become much bigger and better than I ever imagined.

I LOVE this time of year.  I let my creativity run free, even though it keeps me up at night.  I love how everything comes together for VBS.  Not just for skits, although that in itself amazes me.  But how everyone of different talents come out of the woodwork and God uses each of these talents to create this incredible week of fun, crafts, songs, games, and learning about Jesus.  VBS is the time of year where we can see the body of Christ working together for the Lord.  Some years, if not every year, we get down to the week before VBS and we wonder how we're going to pull it off.  But God does it.  Every year.  It's so awesome to watch God work!

So, if you will be in the Wichita area and want your kids to enjoy our VBS, mark your calendar for July 23-27.  It's going to be a fun one and we would love to have your kids join us!