We Are Amazingly Blessed...

... to have a group of people who really care about children's ministry and plan fun events!

You don't stop to think about this, too much, until you have found yourself in situation after situation where you are the one in charge without enough help, resources, etc.  But these people are awesome!  A huge shout out to Amy, Deb, Rachel, Dana, all the parents and teens who helped to pull off this camp-in...  the list goes on and on.  And all I had to do was drive and snap a few pics!

Caleb, Ian, and I left around 1:30am, because S & G have quiz practice in the morning, but it sure was a whole lot of fun!

Can you imagine how long it took to blow up these balloons!

 The Kid and Teen Crew:

L.

Sometimes I Wonder…

… If this is really what I was created for…

It’s just been one of those days…

It didn’t really start out that bad… I mean, I managed to take a bath, wash my hair, put a minimal amount of make-up on, find clothes for the kids, and practice the song that Phil and I were to lead off worship with (twice)… all in about an hour. Ian’s socks didn’t match, but nobody’s perfect…

At this point, I turned my attention to throwing together what I needed for children’s church. The project supplies were in the new dining room, and as I was getting them I noticed that Ian was with me… and that he had shut the French doors behind him… and I just thought, “Oh, Ian… you didn’t”…

Now, this might not seem like that big of a deal to most people, but here’s the thing… Our new dining room is almost finished, but it is still a work in progress. There are only handles on the living room side of the doors, and to get out of the dining room, you must pull (not push) the doors… and they latch!

For the next three minutes, Ian pushed on the doors (even though I told him it wouldn’t work), while I screamed at the top of my lungs for Seth, Grace, or Caleb to let us out… They could not hear me over the Christmas music that was blaring in the kitchen. Thankfully, Seth finally made his way to the living room (only Heaven knows why), and I managed to catch his attention… He let us out… I considered the fact that my voice was now hoarse, and for a fleeting moment wondered whether or not I should put Ian back in the dining room… then I remembered that the good china is housed there…

Even though I have determined to wear shoes more often this winter, I started looking for my flip flops, because I didn’t think my tennis shoes would make a fashion statement with my dress (which, by the way, was a maternity dress, because I am still quite overweight from having Miah… and remember this, because it is important to a later part of this story)…

As the minutes ticked away, I decided that maybe the tennis shoes weren’t the worst option, and I put them on… without socks… I knew, instinctively, as I did this that I had just committed wardrobe suicide, because everyone in this church greets me with eye to foot contact, just to see whether or not I’ve given up on the flip flops for the winter… But I had to get moving…

I’m not sure if this is the appropriate place to digress, but last week… about fifteen minutes before we were supposed to sing… I realized that my keys were locked in the van and had to call the church to see if someone could find Phil… steal his keys… and bring them to me. George, our Senior Pastor, showed up at the back door within minutes. I am sure that is just what he needed to be doing (rescuing crazy woman with five children who also happen to be Associate Pastor’s family) right before worship… Thanks, George…

Today, I had my keys in hand. This is only useful if the doors aren’t frozen shut…

I am almost sure that as I pushed and pulled and grunted and snorted that I said something like, “You have got to be kidding me!” Seth said, “Let me try, Mom,” and in the world of cartoon animation and corny movies, it always works, so I stepped aside. Seth pushed and pulled and then said, “I can’t get it either.” I let out a scream (not an angry one, mind you… just kind of exasperated), and then Seth and I looked at each other and started cracking up and almost fell in the snow… I don’t think Miah found it all that funny. Grace, Caleb, and Ian were still in the house…

I finally did manage to get enough doors open to get everyone in the van.

An uneventful drive to “building church” was followed by the realization that there was only one parking spot left, and it was over ice… I took it.

When I got out of the van, I realized that the ice wasn’t all that frozen and that the kids were now going to have to exit into a slushy puddle. I informed them that Mommy just played a game of “Don’t Break the Ice” and lost. They thought that was hilarious… I didn’t, really, but I laughed anyway as I propelled them across the puddle, one by one, and realized that Seth and Grace are really getting too heavy for this. Grace proceeded to whine about how cold it was while I stood almost ankle deep in freezing cold water and got everything else we needed out of the van.

The kids ran in the door.

I took a deep breath and tried to think of something funny to say to the first person who commented on my tennis shoes… or my coat (which I haven’t mentioned until this point, because I like coats about as much as I like shoes… which isn’t very much. If you’ve seen the commercial for Head and Shoulders where the lady is wearing a huge, ugly, black coat and the announcer exposes the myth that “black is always flattering”… well… that’s my coat)…

I crossed the threshold and lost the coat (leaving me, of course, in my sleeveless maternity dress, which I thought was maybe the first good choice of the day, since it caused people to comment on how cold my arms must be; taking the attention away from my feet altogether!)

I dropped Miah off at the nursery, and almost immediately ran into a college aged girl who used to be part of our ministry to teenagers. She had her baby with her, whom I have only seen once before. I commented on how cute the baby is. The girl patted my tummy! This is awkward for me when I am pregnant. Awkward doesn’t even really describe the feeling when I am not pregnant… which I am not! The only thing I could think to do was to be honest, so I said, “There’s not a baby in there. That’s just baby fat. If you want to see my baby, she’s in the nursery.” What else can you really say?

I talked with a few more people here and there, and got ready to enter the sanctuary, take the stage, and sing the song I wasn’t sure I could sing with my waning voice… Remembered I was sucking a cough drop… almost spit it out in the aluminum can collection basket that is for raising funds for the Haiti mission trip (oops)… found a regular trash can (thanks, Ruth)… and took my position again…

Only to see Phil coming down the hall, who said something to the effect of, “Oh good… you’re here! You’re wearing your tennis shoes?” Good one, Phil…

I wish I could say that the rest of the morning wasn’t as interesting…

Every kid except ours who was at Children’s church is going on vacation somewhere cool for Christmas.

Miah was distraught in the nursery, and I finally had to flip my stupid dress around backwards to nurse her… long story… She also showed up at church with only one sock and left with none… epic fail, Mommy… cold toesies…

At least one other person made a reference that made me think she also thought I was pregnant… I think I’m burning the dress… did I mention that?

And I find myself sitting here… typing to beat the band… trying to get this story out before we start phase 2 of this day… Please, oh please let the mini musicale, children’s Christmas party, and whatever else we end up doing tonight go a little more smoothly…

Oh wait… Ian just ran by wearing only pants… Here we go again!

Lisa

VBS has never really been my thing…

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think there is a whole lot of good about VBS. I understand that a lot of kids would never hear about Jesus without it. And I know that a good number of kids go from VBS to VBS all summer long to get away from unhealthy home situations. And I know that a lot of parents depend on VBS for a safe place to drop their kids off in the summer so the whole family doesn’t go stir crazy. Further, I know that there are a lot of kids out there (like mine) that just look forward to having a week full of fun activities and friends that all helps to strengthen their faith. I didn’t say that VBS is a bad thing. It’s not… at all. I just said that VBS isn’t my thing… Not that everything has to be about me, because it doesn’t…


As a kid, I wasn’t even into VBS. My mom was. She helped out at every VBS in town. I tried to hide and pretended I was a teenager (long before I was) so I wouldn’t get assigned to a class. I’m 30 years old now. She still helps at every VBS in town. In fact, she asked me about VBS on the phone, just today, as if it is a foregone conclusion that if you have children (and maybe even if you don’t) VBS is going to take a prominent place in your summer vacation. I told her it was scheduled for next week… and that I was going to lead the music… and that that was a good assignment for me, because I would only have to be there at the beginning and the end (gasp)… and that I really didn’t know anything more about it… But I did get to thinking that maybe I ought to listen to the music, since it’s Thursday and all…


Um… yeah…


I knew I was pretty much in trouble when I hit play and immediately started having theological issues (as a side note… if you ever want to brainlessly enjoy a church related function again, don’t go to Bible college…


Ecclesiastes 1:18 “For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief” (NIV))…

Please… fundamentalists… don’t jump on me before you read this whole paragraph… but the Bible is really not the Word of God. The Bible is, indeed, the inspired written words of God to us. The Bible is, indeed, God’s message for us in written form. I love the Bible. But Jesus is the Word of God (please see John 1). I am a little sickened that I have volunteered to stand in front of children for five nights next week teaching Bible worship. Ouch.


As if this wasn’t bad enough, the creators of this curriculum have also dug way back into the 1980s for some of their song choices. I never… ever... though I’d have to, “shake a friend’s hand, shake a hand next to ya,” again. I am so enlisting my 8 year old daughter for this task.


Not all of the music is bad, and I am just going to choose to focus on that if I possibly can… hand motions and all… And please… If you are reading this, do not think that I am belittling my church’s choice of resources for this year’s VBS or anything. Every person I have had contact with this summer is using this VBS program! I'm sure it's a great program. I just have issues...


Guess it just goes to show that you should ask for lots of details before you volunteer so you’ll know what you’re really getting into. I hope nobody I ask to volunteer for anything in the near future just read this…


Lisa

Must... Keep... Moving...

... Because we know that once an object (or in this case, a person) is in motion, it is far more likely that the object will stay in motion... and once it stops... well... it's a whole lot harder to get started again! I just have to make it until about 7:00pm... then I can crash... I hope...

Lisa

Livin' the Legacy...

... I don't really even know where to begin.

Let me first warn you that this is as explicit a post as you will find on my blog. There... you've been warned.

Today was the State Children's Quiz. My beautiful daughter scored a perfect day. She was not, however, recognized for this accomplishment, because apparently (and I missed this, but Phil saw it) she pulled one of her answers "too late". Uh... can we define "too late" for children's quizzing?

From Phil's description, the question was read and Grace appeared to hesitate and then appeared to have trouble getting her number out of the box. She pulled the correct number just BEFORE the correct answer was given.

You would think that if the scorekeeper was going to subjectively count her CORRECT answer as INCORRECT, he could have at least told her at the end of the round. No such communication occurred.

So, after round 2 we sent up huge rounds of praise and applause for her perfect day, and Grace smiled from ear to ear while eating cookies and brownies...

Fast forward to award ceremony...

Red level... they call all of the bronze level quizzers... and then they call all of the silver level quizzers... and then they call all of the gold level quizzers of whom Grace is a part. The they announce that they will be calling all of the kids with perfect rounds, of whom Grace is a part again. She exits the stage with a trophy and a gold ribbon. At this point, I assume we are going to commence with the blue level quizzers, but the announcer says that they are now going to call all of the kids who scored two perfect rounds, and I tell Grace to get ready, because they are going to call her name again, and Phil starts the video camera.

Except they don't call her name. They call five other kids and there seems to be a bit of confusion in the room. So, the announcer says, "Oh wait... there's a whole 'nother list", and we all calm down a bit. And then they call the next list, and her name STILL isn't on it. So, of course, I walk up to the awards table and say, "Uh... excuse me... my daughter had two perfect rounds, but she was called in the last group"... and the guy handing out awards explains that she can change in her gold ribbon for a purple one, and I go retrieve the gold ribbon. And then I am met by our district quiz director (who I also presume is the state quiz director at this point) and she asks if I am referring to Grace, which... of course... I am. She then informs me that one of her answers was counted incorrect, because she pulled it after all of the other children. I am pretty sure at this time I rolled my eyes, but I just said nothing (I think) and walked away.

If you are not familiar with children's quizzing, you cannot really understand this, but all of the kids pull their answers within a couple of seconds of one another. Somebody is going to pull their answer last, and I have NEVER heard of anyone being penalized for this. If they are going to institute a rule that says answers must be pulled within 2 seconds... or 3 seconds... or whatever, that is perfectly fine with me as long as they use a timer and mark incorrect EVERY child's answer that is not pulled within the specified amount of time. There is currently no such rule. Further... what this insinuates is that Grace was marked wrong because she was cheating... as if she looked around the room at the other children's answers and then picked hers based on what she saw. This was NOT the case and NEVER will be the case with my daughter. SHE DOES NOT CHEAT! In fact, Grace prefers to sit in the front row when quizzing, because she does not want to have the opportunity to see other children's answers.

Many of these kids have studied the question book all year long. I have even conversed with coaches who have instructed their children to always pull the number for "Moses" if it is a choice or to always pull the number for "God" if it is a choice, because they will be correct. I guess that's a nice trick, but do the kids really understand the Scripture? Grace has read the ENTIRE book of Exodus (not just the parts they quiz over) multiple times, on a regular basis, usually weekly, throughout the year. Even if it wasn't a character issue (which it is, and she has a lot of character), she has studied the Scriptures of Exodus in their entirety and has no need to cheat. Thank you very much.

So... I went back to Grace with the gold ribbon and told her that they had marked the question incorrect that she had trouble pulling. And she just burst into tears and said, "That's not fair, Mom!" And you know what, it wasn't. And I told her so.

We packed up the kids and walked out during the remainder of the awards ceremony.

And as soon as I exited the sanctuary, the only words that I could get to come out of my mouth (in front of my kids, mind you) were, "That really pisses me off." And I do not generally use the word "piss". And I am not real proud that I used it today. And I am certainly not proud that I used it in front of my kids. But, heck, that's really the only way to describe how I felt at the moment.

Let me just also mention that I am not going to buy the line, "This day is about the kids, not about us". Just try to tell that to my SEVEN YEAR OLD who studied her little heart out and pulled a PERFECT day but couldn't bring her "all star" ribbon home, because it had to go back into storage for another year... Nobody else at that quiz today is ever going to think twice about this again, but Grace will remember it every time she looks at that gold ribbon that does not proclaim her actual accomplishment. That's NOT about the kids. And furthermore, it's NOT about what they have learned about the Scriptures, and it's NOT a very good impression of the Church. It is a power trip. And that is why I am not... (fill in the blank if you know how... if you don't, that's OK).

In the end, it's not all that unique of a situation. Because of a score miscalculation, I graciously relinquished my scholarship for being the district top quizzer in 1997. I stood on the sidelines while the incorrect top quizzer was announced. I allowed the other guy to keep the scholarship AND the trophy even though my score was better. The district made me a replicate trophy. And then, I have a trophy in my case proclaiming me the 1998 District Top Quizzer, because I was, but the trophy didn't come from the district. It was custom made after the fact. I understand what it feels like to accomplish something great but not be recognized for it. And just as soon as I have the chance I'll be lookin' into ordering a purple ribbon...

Grace Anne... your Daddy said it best today. We're proud of you, because you lived up to your name... your first name (better than I ever did) and your last name, too...

We don't go down easy... and we don't go down quietly. Orlando? Bring it on...

Lisa

The Final Countdown...

Wow... I think it just hit me!!! 3 more days!!! Vacation, here we come!!!

I have just a "few" things to accomplish before we leave...

School (9 assignments, 6 tests or quizzes, 8 discussion boards, and 3 labs) I will never get it all done before we leave, but that's what laptops are for... and... yes... you probably don't even know about Lillian, but she is my new laptop that came at an incredible price... although she was on sale, so her price was not as incredible as it could have been...

Illuminate Tonight (we are having omelets. because let's face it... everyone is on WIC, and we have dozens and dozens of eggs that need to be eaten, since we don't have any friends who need eggs)!

Change Bobby's Water! For crying out loud, the fish is resilient (reminder... 17 cent goldfish here... still swimmin' strong after almost two years in his PH balanced water...), but I don't think he can swim around in that mud much longer! (and, yes, we have a fish sitter... hehehe)

Clean the house! (and especially do the laundry, because you have to have clothes when you go on vacation... you know... not just sweats like we usually wear around here)!

Pack (aforementioned clothes, as well as everything else we own)!

Take Care of Last Minute Church Stuff (like budgets and ordering materials for the children's Christmas program)...

Have Hair Cornrowed by Amazing Friend Who Probably Doesn't Really Have Time to Do it But is Coming Anyway...

Pick Up Trial Contact Lenses (and pray that new glasses and real contact lenses arrive on the front porch by tomorrow)!

Activate Disney Dream Reward Dollars!

Sleep... Eat (but not too much)... Sleep Again...

So, now you have my list of things to do, even though you probably didn't need it!

Starting October 26, I plan to make posts, pics, and videos available for each day of our trip! Please check back frequently... and leave comments, because I like comments, and no one ever leaves comments!!!

Lisa

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

...Catch up! But maybe I can't...

At any rate, be looking for updates soon, including our only trip to Cedar Point with the kids this summer. There is still much going on, and I doubt the load is going to get much lighter as I start school next week and the kids start right after Labor Day! And then there are piano lessons... and soccer... and swimming... and vacations... and field trips... and quizzing (imagine that)!

For today, here's the long postponed posting of the VBS slideshow (several weeks later)! I stayed up until 5am creating this one (long story), which is really late! This week I'm only staying up until midnight... or maybe 1am, depending on how long the prime time Olympic coverage lasts! I never claimed I wasn't an absolute moron...

See below for the VBS pics:



Lisa