Harrington 2015 letter

Here we are nearly half way through January already and I haven't sent out my New Year's letter!

January - Not a lot of excitement in January.  Even looking back through my Facebook posts, January was just your normal month.  Except for the fact that Laura celebrated a birthday.

February - Laura helped plan the Valentine's banquet at church.  Everyone enjoyed it.  We had some snow, which, of course, made us all very happy.

March - This is the month when things got exciting.  Both J and K competed in school competitions the first weekend....at 2 different schools.  Josiah competed in a technology competition while K competed in a music competition at a school in the opposite direction.  K performed in a violin trio, a harp trio, and sang a solo.  She received a I rating for all three!  J entered for website design and got 2nd place!  He moved on to the state competition.  That same weekend, K performed in the school's musical of Willy Wonka.  It was originally scheduled for the previous weekend, but the snow postponed it.  She played an oompa loompa and did a great job.  The following weekend, Josiah marched in the St. Patrick's Day parade with his cadets in the JROTC.  Laura decided it was time to stop selling Thirty-One.  It was a great 2 years being part of such an encouraging and fun business.

Kilea in Willy Wonka

April - J headed to K-State for the statewide technology competition.  He didn't place, but he said it was a good experience.  On a later day, Seth took Little A camping while J, K, and Laura stayed home for their own slumber party.  J received a nathional award for his participation in the JROTC program.  All of us had the pleasure of seeing Tim Hawkins perform.  He is a Christian comedian and had us rolling in laughter!  K literally fell out of her seat.  Later, K competed in an orchestra competition, playing the harp for the 7th and 8th grade orchestra while in 6th grade.  They received a II rating.  K performed in a choir concert and an orchestra concert during this month.  J also competed in the LAT (Leadership Academic Team) competition.  Sadly, his team didn't do very well.

Josiah competing in LAT

May - Laura headed to Kansas City to enjoy a girls weekend with her sisters and mom.  J and K had a special school presentation at their school and the neighboring elementary school.  They shared their research on certain artifacts and historic people.  The event was called Night at the Museum and showed the first 2 movies of the series.  Laura was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called hashimoto's which attacks the thyroid and caused her hypothyroidism.  She has been seeing a specialist to help get her health back on track.  K had another choir concert, in which she was chosen to sing a solo.  She did a great job!  Seth and Laura celebrated 17 years of marriage.  Has it really been that long?  The kids' school holds a ceremony every semester called the Academy Awards.  Teachers nominate students for various awards like academic, behavior, character, etc.  They also showcase one talent from each grade.  Both J and K received an award and K was chosen to sing as the 6th grade talent showcase!  Later, Laura's parents and grandma came to visit.  They got to watch K's harp recital.

Academy Awards

June - This is always a busy month.  K turned 12 years old, then headed to Kansas Bible Camp with J for a week.  Laura's cousin got married in Iowa, but we were unable to attend.  J turned 14 years old.  No, he's not driving, yet.  Seth was able to make a trip to Branson for a guy's weekend with our good friends Rod and Dan whom we met at Village Creek Bible Camp in 2000.  Laura stayed home and was able to meet up with some fellow Emmaus Bible College alumni.

EBC alumni friends

July - Laura had been busy with the VBS (vacation Bible school) skit and it was finally time for VBS at church in July!  J and K both were part of the cast.  The theme this year was on time traveling and our speaker was Mark Lindsted.  It was an amazing week!  After being sick from eating different foods, Laura decided it was time to eat gluten free.  This has helped her health in more ways than we thought it would.  She has continued to eat gluten free, and can certainly feel the difference when she accidentally gets gluten.  Right after VBS, K took off to KBC again for an all-girls camp.  I hear it was one big week-long slumber party.  At the end of July, we headed up to Iowa for a very special celebration...

Our VBS costumes

August - Laura's aunt and uncle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and invited all of Laura's family to come celebrate with them.  We stayed in cabins at a resort where there was a water park, a nature trail, a lake, and we all had a really great time.  The kids headed back to school.  J is in 8th grade and K in 7th grade at the same school.  Little A stays home for 3rd grade homeschooling at Binding Word Academy.  Cross country practice started on the first day for J and K.  However, K decided it wasn't for her, so she quit before the first meet.

 First day of school

September - K tried out for the volleyball team, but didn't make it on the team.  She also decided she didn't really like the sport.  We headed up to Iowa on Labor Day weekend to celebrate Laura's grandma's birthday.  We wished all of the cousins could have come, but sadly, most of them couldn't make it this year.  We returned home and jumped right in to J's first cross country meet.  He did well.  He never medaled, but his time improved throughout the season.  Laura continues to teach Sunday school.  This year, she teaches high school and college aged young women with the help of another woman.  A few families from our church decided to get together and go camping for a weekend.  It was fun getting to know each other better.

Grandma Lola's birthday

October - From cross country meets to drill meets, J kept us busy during the fall.  He was not chosen as commander this year, but he did participate in the color guard.  They had a new coach and teacher for leadership, so everyone had to get used to changes and learn to work together under new authority.  Laura came to a few of the practices to help and was asked to focus on the JV color guard.  Seth was sworn in as part of the Sedgwick county plumbing board.  They meet once a month to make decisions on plumbing regulations and such.  K continues to play the violin and harp as well as sing in the choir.  Her concerts kept us busy as well.  She was again chosen to sing a solo.  Since Laura is a fan of the Back to the Future series, she has been looking forward to October 21, 2015, ever since she watched the 2nd movie.  That is the date Marty McFly and Doc Brown go to the future from 1985.  Laura and the kids watched the trilogy throughout the month of October.  Although it was fun to think about seeing a young Michael J. Fox walking around, it was kinda sad as the day ended, knowing that all of the movies now take place in the past.

 J in color guard

K in choir

November - Seth and Laura spent a weekend in Topeka for a parenting conference taught by Steve Price.  We always enjoy going to the couples retreat!  Meanwhile, the kids stayed with the Skiles family.  J marched in the Veteran's Day parade.  Then, he participated in the ceremony on Monday with all of the JROTC cadets in the city.  Later, he competed in the city-wide drill meet.  The varsity drill team came in 3rd place, barely squeezing in to qualify for nationals!  However, they have a new teacher and coach, yet, again, and they have not discussed whether or not they will actually be going to nationals.  J made it to the finals of the IDD (individual drill down) at the city-wide meet.  Then, placed 5th overall!  K tried out for the basketball team, but didn't make the team.  However, she would like to work hard and try again next year.  Our little doggie, Rambo, turned 4 years old this month.

Rambo Chewbacca

December - Seth entered a new decade.  J was chosen to represent his school by attending the superintendant's breakfast.  Only one cadet was chosen from each school.  He first had to give a speech to a panel of judges so they could chose which cadets would speak at the breakfast.  J did a great job with his speech, but he was not chosen to give it at the breakfast.  K had choir and orchestra concerts.  Our church put on another Christmas program in which all 3 kids participated.  K was again chosen to sing as the 7th grade talent showcase for the Academy Awards.  She was amazing!  She also won an award.  We gave ourselves an early Christmas present by going to see the new Star Wars movie.  We went up to Iowa to spend Christmas with Laura's family.  It was a nice relaxing time.  Little A celebrated her 9th birthday after we came home.  We then celebrated our own Christmas New Year's Day.

 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I would say we had a great year.  Laura's health is getting much better and she continues to improve.  All the kids are doing well in school.  We are all attending BSF (Bible study fellowship) studying Revelation.  We've had more earthquakes than tornadoes, but we're learning that might become the norm.  We would have loved to have seen Seth's family in Idaho, but timing and finances just didn't work out this year.  We miss you all!!  We pray you've had a wonderful year as well and you would choose to follow Christ everyday.  God bless and Happy belated New Year!

Seth, Laura, J, K, and A Harrington  And Rambo, too!

30 Day Challenge Challenges 2015

This year, I decided to try a different 30 day challenge each month.  Of course I thought of this in mid-January, so I skipped January altogether.  Here is how I did:

February - write a love note to Seth everyday for 30 days.

You would think that for someone who has been married for nearly 17 years, this would be easy!  Nope.  I started missing days within the first week.  Sad, I know.  By Valentine's Day, I missed about 5 days already.  On Valentine's Day, I gave him a card and some chocolate, but that was it.  The next 2 weeks....nothing.  Part of it was the fact my thyroid started going crazy and I had no energy to think of what to write.  If you have hypothyroidism, you understand.  By the end of the month, we had sick kiddos, and I had little sleep, which just added to my tiredness.  It's very difficult to think of something new to say to the same person for 30 days, especially when my brain is in thyroid fog.  I was thinking that instead of writing a note to Seth everyday that next year, I'll write a note to someone.  I'm hoping it won't be as difficult to think of something to say if the note is to someone new each day.  We shall see.

March - follow one of those 30-day workout challenges.

March was a difficult month.  I was fighting tiredness all month and could not stay awake to workout.  I was able to squeeze it in a couple days, but I think that's all I was able to accomplish.  I also joined a group on Facebook that challenged us to a low sugar, low carb diet.  It allowed for one treat day, but other than that, I wasn't allowed to drink pop.  I did better with the low sugar than any other challenge I did in March.  Carbs are definitely a weakness.  I had a couple of pops when I shouldn't have and by week 3, I basically threw the whole low sugar thing out the window.  I had just been telling someone that 2 weeks is about the longest I can stick to something, and, well, March just proved that.  So, the workout challenge was a complete bust.  If I can get my thyroid levels and vitamin levels up and working properly, I might be able to do this next year.

April - play a new song on the piano everyday.

Let's just say that I kinda fell off the wagon at this point.  I made it downstairs to the piano only once...and that may have been to practice a song I was playing for Easter while K sang.  I was really struggling with my health at this point and was more focused on finding ways to help my thyroid perform better, including seeing an endocrinologist.  I realized that spring is always going to be difficult for me.  For months I've been waking up at 6:00 almost everyday in order to take kids to school.  By the time spring break rolls around in March, I can barely make it through the day.  I often return home from dropping off the kids and go right back to sleep on the couch.  Then I don't wake up until 10:30, even though my alarm is set for 9:00.  I have to listen to my body and not allow things to stress me out.  My goal is to be dressed by the time I have to pick up the kids at 2:00.  Sometimes, I reach that goal and sometimes I don't.  So, anyway, we shall see if this is something I will be able to accomplish in years to come.  April may just be my "relax and do nothing" month.

May - do something special for my kids each day.

I completely skipped this month.  All I could do was get to the end of school.  And when school was finally over, my parents and grandma came to visit, then I crashed.  It wasn't until June that I started to pick myself up and start living again.  I know spring will be extremely difficult every year.  As much as I wanted to do this, I just did not have the energy to put in the effort.  It should have been fairly easy and perhaps one of these years, I will do something for my kids this month.

June - drink a green smoothie everyday as a meal replacement.

I think this one is my favorite so far.  I found a Vitamix green smoothie list of possible ingredients and how much to put in of each.  I mixed and matched and created a recipe for each day.  Some smoothies were really good and others were really not.  After a couple weeks, I could pick out which ingredients worked and which ones didn't.  By the end of the month, I was making all good smoothies...and so so yummy!!!  I don't own a scale, but I noticed my face getting thinner.  It could be due to drinking these smoothies or it could be other changes I've made.  But, this might be a challenge I continue.  I didn't get a smoothie in everyday, but I actually kept it going for the entire month!  I already have my fridge full of more smoothie supplies and I'm pretty sure they are way more healthier than the canned and processed foods I had been eating for lunch.  I would certainly recommend this challenge to anyone.  Don't let the "green" scare you!  It might look gross, but with the right ingredients, these smoothies can be super delicious!

July - read the Bible everyday.

So, this probably shouldn't really be a challenge.  Reading the Bible everyday is something that all Christians should be doing all year round.  However, this has always been a struggle for me.  I don't like to read.  Reading makes me tired.  My mind often wanders while I'm reading and I can read several paragraphs before I come back to reality and I will have no idea what I just read.  Reading takes a lot of effort for me.  And this is any book, article, whatever has a lot of reading, not just the Bible.  During the school year, I do fairly well since I attend a Bible study which has reading and questions to do throughout the week.  Then, summer hits and suddenly, I have no Bible reading plan.  When I was creating this challenge, I chose July for this because I figured that this would be my most difficult month to keep up with my Bible reading and probably the most important month as I am involved in vacation Bible school during this month (this year, anyway).  When my Bible study ended, I thought I had a plan.  I began reading the book Daniel to prepare for next year's study on Revelation.  But discovered it wouldn't last me all summer.  So, I started reading Joshua since that is the book that follows what we studied this last year - the life of Moses.  For the month of July, I printed off a reading plan to follow in addition to my Joshua reading.  When July started, I was doing great.  I was following the reading plan I printed out and continued reading the book of Joshua, as well as reading some in Daniel.  I was still feeling stale in my walk with Jesus and knew I was substituting TV for my relationship with Him.  I had ordered my planner from the same company that I had in previous years.  The calendar pages have Bible references on each day.  Most are 2-4 chapters long.  Quite overwhelming for someone who can't stay focused for long reading sessions.  In previous years, I have either failed miserably at keeping up with that reading schedule or didn't even try.  This year I looked at it, thought about how I spend time during the day, and thought, "I CAN do this!"  So, even though I was a few days behind, I began reading the large portions of scripture from my planner and continued with the reading plan I had printed.  Then, my printed reading plan completely disappeared!  I was very disappointed.  But, I still had my planner.  So, I continued reading those passages everyday.  I've been able to stay focused and learning and growing in my faith.  I read my Bible every day in July without a problem.  I made it a priority because I know it is extremely important to my Christian walk.  And I continue reading.

August - drink water.

I know I need to be drinking more.  Anything would be better than how much I drink now.  I'm not talking just water.  I've never been one to drink much.  I rarely feel thirsty.  I generally can get through an entire meal without drinking a single drop.  If I didn't have to drink in order to take pills, there would probably be days that I wouldn't drink anything at all.  I just don't feel the need.  And perhaps that's why I don't have a lot of energy and I get sick a lot.  That can also be due to my underactive thyroid.  But, I really should try to drink more.  Water is probably my least favorite thing to drink.  However, my options have recently become very limited.  I get sick when I drink milk or juice.  Almond milk just doesn't taste good by itself.  (It goes great on cereal and in smoothies!)  And pop is just really bad for you, not to mention causing more thyroid problems than I probably realize.  I drink tea sometimes, but with a lot of sugar.  Nothing is healthier than water.  Different experts, different opinions.  8 8oz glasses a day.  Half my body weight in ounces per day.  When my body tells me to drink.  Or don't worry about it, I'm getting the fluids I need through anything I eat or drink throughout the day.  And of course the warning: don't drink too much water, or you'll get water poisoning!!!!  I chose to aim for half my body weight in ounces.  In other words, if you weigh 100 lbs, you should drink 50 oz a day.  I will not tell you what that means for me personally, but you get the idea.  I decided to gradually add ounces each day so that by the end of the month, I was drinking the correct amount of water everyday.  I started out really well, drinking more than my goal for that day.  Sundays I found to be the hardest for some reason.  And it was on a Sunday that I first failed to reach my goal.  I brushed it off as a lazy Sunday and made another attempt on Monday.  Couldn't do it.  I made it 22 days and then, I basically quit.  I'm still drinking more than I have normally, so I do consider this challenge to be successful in that it is making me healthier.

September - 30 Day ab challenge

This started out great.  I was working my way through the calendar, able to complete each day, and feeling good.  I could feel the burn in my abs each day.  I was on vacation in Iowa when September started.  Then, I came home.  I did my best to continue, but the tiredness of my everyday life took over.  I don't remember how far I had gotten, but it wasn't far.  I was hoping to get back to it, but my body just quit on me.  I've been battling fatigue ever since and getting dressed is all I can do most days, along with making meals, doing laundry as necessary, and attending school events.  I am not complaining, just keeping it real.  This was a hard month as the early mornings of school is weighing on my body to the point where I have to accept I can't accomplish everything I would like to in a day.  This is my life and I must choose each day what I am able to do.  Working out at all just isn't possible at this point because I have more important things to spend my energy on.

October - clean eating challenge

When I started this monthly challenge thing and planned it all out for the year, I had no idea what all this year would hold as far as my health.  In July, I discovered that I have a sensitivity to gluten.  It is not the allergy, instead it causes gut issues and I'll leave it at that.  So, I have been eating gluten free since mid-July.  When I looked at the clean eating plan I found that I had planned to use this month, I found a couple problems.  One, the meals listed weren't all gluten free.  I could probably substitute and adjust some things, but that wasn't the biggest problem.  I had just recreated our family's menu plan.  We had just gotten about half way through the new menu when October started.  Menu planning and grocery shopping are a couple of the top stress-factors of my life.  So, to change the eating schedule at this point would have caused some major anxiety.  But, that still wasn't the biggest problem.  We started a new budget method.  By the end of September, we realized that somehow, we had to cut back on our grocery bill.  Starting a new eating plan in October not only would have caused major stress in meal planning and shopping, but would have cost even more money than what we were already spending on food.  We just couldn't do it.  And that was the biggest problem with this challenge.  So, I set this one aside.  It simply was not doable at this time.

November - tech challenge

This month, I had written out how much time I would spend on certain electronic devices, hoping to limit how much time I spend on each of them.  I didn't even try.  lol

December - no pop challenge

When I started the year of 2015, I was drinking A LOT of pop.  When I realized how much money we were spending on pop alone and how quickly we were going through our stash, I decided to limit everyone's pop intake.  (Except for Seth's.  He can drink it when he wants to, but he has cut down as well.)  By the time December came around, pop consumption was probably once or twice a week at the most and considered more of a treat.  So, I decided not to do this challenge.

Well, that's it!  I haven't started any new challenges for 2016 and I'm not sure if I'm going to tackle anything like I did in 2015.  My journey became more than what I had planned it being as I started to really fight for my own health.  But, that's for another blog.

9 years old....the last of the single digits!

Baby girl turned 9 a couple days ago.  This is our last year of having a child in the single digits.  What an adventurous 9 years she has brought us!  We had a bit of ice come in so everything was slick outside.  Sidewalks and driveways were especially bad.  Most roads were clear by the time Little A's birthday came.  When I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday, she came up with a few ideas and we finally landed on one I thought would work: going on a scavenger hunt.

Born late, we weren't sure whether we would have a Christmas baby, a New Year's baby or something in between.  Little A made her appearance at the perfect time: in between.  She struggled to get into proper position for birth and her heart didn't handle contractions well.  So, she entered the world via c-section.

She has always been the quiet one.  Even now, she doesn't use words unless she has to.  But she's great at acting her thoughts out and making you guess...hahahaha.  That brain of hers is always working, though.  This might come in handy if she becomes a spy like she wants to be someday.  Little A has always been the adventurous type, although, never wanting to leave those she loves.  How do you go on adventures while dealing with separation anxiety?  This is what Little A must face from time to time.

She is very independent.  She never wanted help doing anything and insisted doing everything herself.  With her brother and sister a few years older, she has a fantastic imagination and can entertain herself well, although she prefers company.

Little A has inherited the artistic gene and loves to draw and paint.  I cannot tell you how many sheets of paper she has gone through in this house!  Sometimes, we'll find a YouTube video for drawing and we'll draw something together for our art class.  It's perfect since I'm not artistic at all.

After enjoying her lunch choice of corndogs, it was time for some afternoon fun.  With the icy weather outside, we bundled up to try out geocaching for the first time.  I thought this would be the scavenger hunt Little A wanted.  However, since we were completely clueless as to how it worked and what we needed to do, it turned out to be very disappointing.  So, instead, we got ourselves some fun treats from the QT kitchen and headed back home.

By the time we came home, Seth was home for the day - early!  It was time for Little A to open her gifts.  We had enchiladas for supper, her favorite meal.  Then had cake and ice cream.  She wanted to watch the movie Pixels while we ate.  Later, she watched Zapped.

Overall, not too bad of a day.  We went on an adventure.  She did some painting and got a new spy watch.  We watched a couple of movies and ate her favorite foods.

This sweet little girl is so talented and loving.  She has a bright future ahead of her and I look forward see to what God has planned for her.  Happy 9th birthday!!!

Can Christians...

Can Christians...

Lie?  Yes
Cheat?  Yes
Murder?  Yes
Use swear words?  Yes
Use God's name in vain?  Yes
Commit adultery?  Yes
Be pedophiles?  Yes
Have premarital sex?  Yes
Be gay?  Yes
Be white?  Yes
Be black?  Yes
Be Asian?  Yes
Be of Jewish descent?  Yes
Be Catholic?  Yes
Be Protestant?  Yes
Be homeless?  Yes
Be rich?  Yes
Be poor?  Yes
Be depressed?  Yes
Be suicidal?  Yes
Be perfect?  No

Christians can be anyone, come from any background, struggle with any sin.  Christians are sinners.  No one is perfect, not even those who are true followers of Christ.  We often come off as judgmental hypocrites who are intolerant of anyone who does not believe the same.

Here's the reality:

Romans 3:23  All have sinned.
Romans 6:23  The wages of sin is death.
John 3:16  Whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 5:8  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Let's be honest.  Everyone judges someone else at some point in time.  It doesn't matter who or why, it happens.  Sometimes, we butt our noses in someone else's business where it doesn't belong, before we know all the facts.  Sometimes, we try to stand up for something we believe in only to smear the name of Jesus across the ground.

This is what I believe:  You are a sinner. (Romans 3:23)  You need a Savior. (Romans 6:23)  The Bible is God's Word. (1 Timothy 3:16)
This is what I want you to know:  God loves you. (John 3:16)  Jesus died for you. (Philippians 2:8)  God wants a relationship with you. (John 15:9)
This is what God wants us to do:  Do justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with Him.  (Micah 6:8)

I grieve for those who do not know the Lord and love living in their sin.
I grieve for those who have claimed to know Jesus, but have turned away from His Truth.
I grieve for myself, when I choose my own way instead of God's because I know He wants what is best for me.

I rejoice when God chooses to use me for His purpose.
I rejoice when a fellow Christian returns to the Lord after knowingly living in sin.
I rejoice when someone comes to Jesus as his/her Savior.

Jesus summed up the 10 Commandments with these 2 commands (Matthew 22:37-39):
Love the Lord your God.
Love your neighbor.

I don't believe the second is possible without the first.  In fact, I cannot love someone else the way God does because I'm still a sinner.  The very definition of God is love.  We are to follow His example.  But first, we must love Him.  When we love God, we desire to be like Him.  As we become more like Him, we are able to love others as He does.

1 John 4:7-8  Beloved, let us love one another.  For love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

I know it seems like we Christians bring our "religion" into everything.  This is why:  True followers of Christ surround their lives with Christ.  Every decision we make, every political issue, every activity we get involved in should be in line with God's Word.  We cannot separate our faith from our life.  The life of a Christian is following Christ.  Yes, we make mistakes.  Yes, we may come off as judgmental.  But what we believe and how we make decisions is something we feel so strongly about that we cannot take it out of our arguments.  We stand firm on what the Bible says.

No matter what you believe or what you think of me, I love you.  When I tell you that you are a sinner headed to hell, it is not to condemn you, to judge you, or to hate you.  It is because I care about your soul and where you will spend eternity.  This is a serious thing to consider.  I don't want you to spend eternity in hell.  God created hell for satan and the angels who followed him.  He does not want you to go there.  However, He cannot allow someone who has not confessed his/her sinfulness into heaven.  He is a holy and just God.

You probably have many questions.  You have probably heard all the answers before.  Or maybe this is the first time Christianity was explained a little more clearly.  I don't know exactly what all of my readers believe.  Regardless of what you have heard or currently believe or thoughts you have about what I've written, please feel free to talk to me.  Ask me your questions.  I will do my best to answer them.  The most important thing here is where you spend eternity.  You have a choice.  It is not mine to make.

50th Anniversary

August 13th is a special date in my family.  My parents were married on August 13th.  So were my dad's brother and his wife, as well as my dad's sister and her husband.  It is my dad's sister and husband who celebrates 50 years today!  A couple weeks ago, we all headed to Honey Creek State Park Resort in Iowa to help them celebrate their golden anniversary.

We got to stay in cottages equipped with full kitchens, dining area, and living room.  With so many of us, we had 3 cottages for the weekend.  Everyone arrived on Thursday and thus began the golden weekend.

There were many activities to do including a water park, beach, and nature walk.  Friday morning, a few kids went on the nature walk while most of us headed to the water park.  The water park included a little kiddie pool where my young niece could play.  We hung out in the lazy river.  Some of us played some basketball or tried the obstacle of walking across the water on lily-pad type things.  And of course there was a fun twisting water slide!  Everyone made their way to the water park at some point I think.

We all met back at the cottages for lunch. We chatted and told stories and laughed.  The kids were all wanting to hit the beach so we cleaned up and off they went.  The area had been getting so much rain that the beach was 95% under water.  They had to put up a temporary border for swimmers in the lake as the normal border was much too deep.  I opted to stay in the cottage as the morning had worn me out.  I played card games with my sister, Lisa, and my mom.  Then, we headed back to the water park to meet up with the beach goers.

For supper, we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.  Then, of course, we roasted marshmallows for our traditional s'mores.  We heard they would be shooting fireworks that night....an event that takes place only once every 5 years.  Everyone, which included 16 adults and 11 children ages 2-15, piled in our vehicles and headed to the fireworks show.  The kids got free glow sticks as we watched the display.  Afterwards, we sat and waited for traffic to move so we could get back to the resort.  Our family decided to make the best of it and did the Chinese fire drill, giving the cars behind us a good laugh.  We had to explain to our kids what it was.  At first, they weren't too sure about the idea, but once Seth and I got out and started running, all 3 of them joined us.

Saturday, some of the guys went golfing.  My aunt, June, had some boxes from our childhood she wanted us to go through and look at.  We talked my uncle Bob and honorary uncle Richard to take the kids to the water park.  My mom, my aunt Lou, honorary aunt Joanne, and my aunt June sat and watched my sisters and I walk down memory lane.  We found puzzles, old books, Mad Libs, and many things we used in the "store" we always pretended to run.  We giggled about old celebrity crushes like Mario Lopez, and Toby Mac.  And a note that I had written..."I'm in the restroom, come in!"

By the time we finished, it was time for lunch.  The kids returned from the water park and we enjoyed another picnic.  We discussed afternoon plans.  The nature center opened up this afternoon.  Some wanted to see what was there.  Others wanted to go back to the water park and others to the beach.  I headed to the beach.  The younger kids enjoyed playing in the sand while the bigger kids swam out to the border.  The golfers had returned in the meantime.  As the day went on, some kids wanted to go to the water park.  Others joined us at the beach.  Adults came and went, more kids left to the water park.  (Disclaimer: all kids were with at least one adult at all times...kids weren't running around all free and adultless!)  Eventually, I decided I was done with the beach and headed to the water park, leaving Bob and a few of the older kids in the lake.  As we arrived at the door of the water park, we met my dad, Lisa, and her husband Andy on their way out.  I decided to join them on a trip to town.

We arrived back at the resort ready for the anniversary party.  We picked up the pizza while in town and bought ice cream.  We ate and talked about the fun we had.  The honorary couple, my uncle Ron and aunt June, opened gifts and cards.  Then, as tradition has it, my sisters  and I sang a song.  This year, we parodied Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  Lisa wrote the lyrics and the rest of us gave our input on changes to make.  Even my niece offered a quick line before she walked out the door.  It was perfect.  We ate cake and ice cream and told more stories.  Ron's brother Richard and his wife Joanne had joined us for the weekend.  The "secret" talent of the Cannons had come out: we play our teeth.  First, my dad played The William Tell Overture.  Then my sister, Amanda, and I played Dueling Banjos...er Teeth.  Richard and Joanne were quite impressed.

Soon, the party had to end.  Sunday morning, we all packed up our belongings and headed to a picnic area after we checked out of our cottages.  We had a time of worship, singing hymns and other songs as well as reading from the Bible things that God had spoken to us recently.  Then, we had our final meal together before we all headed back to our regularly scheduled summer.

It was a fun weekend.  We are thankful that we were able to celebrate this significant event with everyone.

Happy anniversary to Bob and Lou!

Happy anniversary to Mom and Papa!

Happy 50th anniversary to Ron and June!

We love you all.

Time Adventures: Secure your future with the past

Another Vacation Bible School has come and gone.  It's hard to believe this was my 11th VBS!  This year, I had the privilege of having my older 2 children be in the skit.  I think they both were in for a surprise when they realized how much work goes into it and what I required of my cast.  I also think they enjoyed themselves.

Before we could start, we had to train all of the time leaders and time cadets in order to prepare for the mission.  We learned the routes the teams would be taking, became familiar with each time era, and sung songs.  We also saw the craft, played the games, and taste-tested some food.  All went well and we were ready for time travelers to board the mission.

This year, we centered our theme around time traveling.  Mark Lindsted did chalk talks for the lesson each night.  These along with singing, the skit, and handing out rewards all took place in the time machine.  Mark took our time travelers to different times as he taught them about sin, death, and salvation.

The time travelers first had to register with mission control so we knew who was present for traveling through time that night.  We also made sure each team leader had their necessary information and destination plans.  We had teams of astronauts, cowboys, gladiators, and knights.  We also had the mighty midgets/minions who weren't quite old enough to join the other time travelers.  There was also a new group: time cadets.  They were leaders in training, learning the ropes of the different areas and helping out when needed.

When stepping out of the time machine, the time travelers would then travel through the time warp.  They could end up playing games in the coliseum or making a craft somewhere in the future.  Later, they went to the library of time and learned a Bible verse.  They also got to sit in the Garden of Eden and enjoyed a delicious snack.

1 Corinthians 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Ephesians 2:8-9  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.

After traveling to each time, the time travelers then traveled back through the time warp to the time machine where they could watch the skit.

The skit was called Your Time, My Time, No Time.  Dr. Horace Perrin and his assistant Dr. Macy Saniya invented a time machine.  However, before they could test it out, their childhood friend, Zaman Early stopped by, pushed a couple buttons, and several people from different times appeared in the lab.

Throughout the week, the scientists and Zaman talked to Adam and Eve, Synclair Brede who was a passenger on the Titanic, Ellema Ham who owns the barn in which the Great Chicago Fire started, Dmitri Fonda who was an astronaut from the future on his way to Mars, Serina Norris who was a nurse at Pearl Harbor, Saul the Pharisee who would later become known as Paul the Apostle, Albert Einstein, Rahab, Samantha Simon who was a missionary from the future, the Roman Soldier at the cross of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, John the writer of 5 books of the Bible, and Deirdre Townsend who was a Christian living during the Tribulation period.  Oh, they also saw younger versions of themselves who they tried to avoid as this was a delicate time paradox.

Due to a family emergency, the astronaut could not be here so we found a quick replacement who learned his lines and fit in his costume!  The Lord provides!  From what I heard, people really enjoyed the skit.  We had at least 70 children in total attend, averaging between 55 and 60 kids each night!  There were also a few parents and other family members who came Friday for family night.  Praise the Lord!!!

Even though I'm incredibly busy during VBS season, I love it.  I get to see how God uses various members of the body of Christ to come together and serve Him and bring His good news to others.  We continue to pray that the many seeds that were planted will grow and souls will be saved.