A Lifetime of Love

Vacation Bible School just ended last week; it was great! I had 25 boys aged 9-11 (5th/6th grade) every day, with the exception of Monday when we only had 18. The boys were very well behaved and my youth workers were excellent with them. Much to my surprise I even taught a boy, named T, who I taught last year as part of an autism course I took at the college. He is non-verbal for the most part, a little aggressive but very affectionate. My helpers were great with him as he needed much one-on-one. This year's VBS was the best by far, and it is a testament to God as I did not really want to teach this year. With graduation, family visiting, and my final 2 "teacher tests" (which I took yesterday, by the way), I have just been swamped with trying to get ready for everything. VBS was the last thing on my mind, and I did little to prepare. Honestly, when I was asked to teach, I originally said no. But, the Lord convicted me and about 2 weeks later the organizer approached me ag...

This is my 200th post! I can't believe it took me so long to reach this "milestone", but I guess because I'm so busy it's taken me longer than most. Hmm, that seems to be my theme song. It took me 7 years to complete an Associates Degree, and I've been working on finishing the remaining courses for my Bachelor's Degree for 4 years now (will complete it next year, for a total of 5 years). Oh well, I guess better late than never! I'm digressing. *The kids on the Blue Team *The kids on the Green Team So, VBS ended today. I am exhausted. It was an awesome week; I'm sad to see it come to an end, but I am so tired that I can't stop yawning. I tried to nap but my house has been neglected more than usual all week and my mind was filled with all that I need to do while TJ is home to help with the kids. No Carowinds today- too much piddly stuff to do here. We don't dare go tomorrow because of the crowds. Oh well, maybe next Friday we'll...

VBS- Day 0 Here are some pictures of my classroom while we were decorating yesterday. Before we started. . . One of my helpers, Cody ( Mark's son), hanging a decoration. . . My wonderful husband helped us decorate. Without him, the room would not have turned out as awesome as it did because I don't do ladders (I am afraid of heights). Here is TJ hanging vines from the ceiling. . . TJ, Cody, and Thad (another helper) working hard. . . The finished room. The picture doesn't show it, but there is a dinosaur nest at the base of the tree on the left. My helpers gathered sticks, weeds, and rocks in order to build it. There is also a real tree in the opposite corner of the room that my youth workers built another nest in. They found a stray dinosaur so they put him in there. It turned out great! ************************************************** VBS- Day 1 I had 15 boys in class today. It was less than I expected, but we still had a great time! Today's lesson was on Creation...

It has been so hot here this past week, and it doesn't appear next week is going to bring any relief. To get relief from the heat, we have been keeping cool in various ways. On Wednesday we went to a place in Charlotte called Monkey Joe's, and the kids (and I!) had a blast. It's awesome! It's an indoor inflatable playground. There is a toddler area for kids 3 and under, but of course T.G. wanted to be with her brothers on the big stuff, so I had to climb up the inflatables with her so she could play, too. It was fun, just hard work with me being pregnant and having to carry her up the steps and stuff. My friend had emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy Monday afternoon, so I had her little boy with us so my friend could rest and recuperate. We packed a lunch and ate it in the car, and then went back inside to play. Overall, we spent about 3 hours playing. Thursday another friend of mine came over and we hung out at the pool together. It was gorgeous! The water was ...

As Vacation Bible School approaches in less than a week, I feel so ill-prepared and it's my own fault. Yes, I have prepared the materials and decorations and incentives for learning Scripture and good behavior (candy, books, pencils, and other rewards), but I have been lacking in prayer. Oh, don't get me wrong, I have been praying, but the overwhelming sense of responsibility has recently hit me and I feel like I haven't prayed enough. When I say 'responsibility', I don't mean in the physical sense, I mean more in terms of spiritually. I will be in charge of approximately 35 third and fourth grade boys for an entire week. Some of these boys may not attend church. Some may not come from a loving home. For others, this may be the most attention they will receive all summer until school begins again and their teacher is there to pick up the pieces from their shattered home life. My attitude and demeanor can greatly influence how receptive these boys are to the Gosp...

Here are some pictures of what I've been doing the past few days. Vacation Bible School is only 9 days away, and I have so much to do to get ready for it. I can't wait, and hope the boys I will be teaching are just as excited as I am! A dinosaur mural- I will take a picture once I'm finished painting it because you can't see all the fine details, like a volcano erupting in the background or all the foliage surrounding the stegosaurus. The pictures don't really do these guys justice. They are stuffed and about 3 feet in height. I am going to place them in the room around the dinosaur mural. I also have 2 huge 6 foot trees I made that will go in the corners of the room to add to the ambiance of the room. Once I finish the dinosaur mural, I have another mural with Noah's Ark on it that I need to paint. I will take a picture of that when I finish, as well.