I don't know about y'all, but I have a pretty amazing extended family. We're not perfect by any standards. Growing up and realizing that all the adults you idolized as a child have their flaws is a hard lesson to learn. But knowing those same adults as an adult myself is such a great gift.
The girls and I were able to go to a family reunion from my Mom's side last weekend. I don't know an exact count, but we probably had around 100 people there at one point. I got to reconnect with cousins I hadn't seen in a long time, laugh with aunts and uncles, and listen to stories from the great-aunts and second cousins. I also got to spend time with 3 siblings and their spouses and my parents, which is always a plus.
And as much fun as I had playing games and laughing and visiting, there were also tears. This was my Grandma's family. It felt wrong to not have her there. During all the pictures we took with the big group picture and then individual families, there was a spot next to my Grandpa that should have been filled by Grandma. And then we all sat and sang songs, something I remember doing at every family reunion. Something that was always Grandma's favorite thing--listening to her family sing. I didn't make it through very many of the songs. But I wasn't the only one crying. Of the 5 siblings that are our oldest generation now, 3 have passed on. We all felt the loss. But the most amazing thing about my family by far, is that we all cling to the hope that we will be able to see our loved ones again some day. Not every family can claim that. And I am so thankful to be a part of one that can!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
We didn't buy the zoo--but we went!
Back in March or April Hubby bought a membership for the zoo here in town. We had one for the last several years in Houston and it always paid for itself in just a few trips. Our thought process buying one earlier in the year was that we would go when it was still cooler and could enjoy ourselves a little more. It also helps to go during the week when most kids are in school. That way we miss out on most of the crowds.
Well, we didn't end up going until our school was officially out for the summer. Most of the public schools went one more week so there wasn't a lot of kids running around, but it was definitely hot! We packed our lunch, which turned out to be a necessity since apparently they don't open their concessions until public schools are out for the summer. We found that out when we were all very thirsty at the far end of the park. Unfortunately, this zoo does not have tables or benches or shade for that matter outside of the zoo to eat at. So what else could we do but eat in the car? And we obviously couldn't allow our children to sit in a car that had been sitting in 90 degree heat for several hours without the AC turned on! We might have lingered a bit more over lunch than what we would have if we had been sitting outside!
This is a terrible picture, but you know those birds in the Jungle Book that look like vultures? I always thought they were just normal vultures, but this bird looked exactly like them and it was HUGE! Probably the second largest bird I've seen other than a condor. It has the crooked neck just like in the movie and everything. I stayed there for the longest time just watching it. It was so ugly it was fascinating!
We did go back in the zoo after lunch to see the second half that we didn't get to before lunch, but it was really warm that day and we were all pretty miserable after just a little bit of time. So we checked out some of the larger animals that were close to the front and then we were ready to call it a day. Amazingly enough, when we were walking back out to leave we just happened to pass the kids area where there was a playground. The younger two girls immediately perked up and wanted to play. The older two even played a little. Momma sat in the shade and drank water!
So we ended the day a little earlier than we planned and we didn't get to see the entire zoo, but that is the absolute best part about having a season pass. You can go for a couple of hours and then leave and not feel a bit guilty that you didn't get your money's worth. We'll go back eventually--probably not till about October, but that is still OK. We have several months to go back as often as we want to. And besides, the animals come out more in colder weather, right?
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| Tigers cuddle too! |
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| And it wouldn't be a zoo in Louisiana without a gator or 4! |
We did go back in the zoo after lunch to see the second half that we didn't get to before lunch, but it was really warm that day and we were all pretty miserable after just a little bit of time. So we checked out some of the larger animals that were close to the front and then we were ready to call it a day. Amazingly enough, when we were walking back out to leave we just happened to pass the kids area where there was a playground. The younger two girls immediately perked up and wanted to play. The older two even played a little. Momma sat in the shade and drank water!
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| Just because big, white, loud birds are cool! |
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Vacation Bible School
Our first VBS for the church here is officially over. It was kind of decided upon late, but I think it was a success. We had about 15 kids each day. Hopefully when we do it next year we can get the word out a little earlier and have more kids join us. Or not--I don't really think the number of participants determines whether your VBS is a success or not.
We started off each day with songs. I love the fact that Hubby is not afraid to act silly when he is teaching these songs. His ability to really get into the songs and the motions and laugh at himself helps put the kids at ease and hopefully helps them want to participate as well. One of the Moms told us today that even though her girls didn't necessarily sing the songs at the VBS, they were singing some of the songs at home. That to me is a success!
After songs Hubby told the accounts of Esther, Joseph and David. Our theme was Kingdom Kids so the point of the stories was to show how God used people who were young and not very important to do great things. Once again, Hubby did a great job drawing the kids into the story by having them make sound effects while he was telling the account. This isn't necessarily an original idea, but I think it is an effective one. I can still remember going to a youth meeting when I was a teenager where a preaching did the exact same thing. I remember which Biblical account it was, as well as the sound effects the audience made. Hubby's assistants were not always perfect at holding up the prompts for the sounds effects, but that is what he gets for pulling them up front at the last second. Want to guess who was an assistant all three mornings?
Next was crafts--my portion of the morning. Are you wondering why I, of all people, was put in charge of crafts? Me too! But since I also didn't want to come up with games or provide food, crafts was the only thing left. Luckily for me, Oriental Trading has these great crafts that come all pre-packaged and are no-brainers at figuring out. My kind of crafts! The biggest mistake I made was thinking I could have an older kids craft and a younger kids craft. I should know from have four children of different ages that once the younger kids saw the older kids doing something they would want to do what the older kids were doing. We made it work, but next year there will be one craft for everyone!
As soon as the crafts were all done we played games. The Mom in charge did an awesome job coming up with activities that encompassed a broad range of ages and kept everyone involved as much as possible. I think no matter what games you play you'll always have trouble keeping small children's attention for longer than a second, so I think everything she did was awesome! Especially since I didn't have to do any of the planning!
We ended up by watching the Veggie Tales movie of whichever person we talked about that day. Watching the movie was Hubby's idea and it turned out to be a perfect way to settle the kids back down before eating lunch. Some of the older kids said that they thought the movies were boring, but I noticed that they sat and watched the whole movie every day. Imagine that!
Of course, our mornings would not have run as smoothly as they did without the other adults who were there providing support, running to get anything we forgot, bringing lunch and just generally being there for anything that popped up. We couldn't have pulled it off without everyone who was there!
Today to close everything out we went bowling. It ended on a slightly sour note with an injury, non-bowling related, but other than that everyone who came had a good time. Our girls really loved it. Which means that I'll probably have to make sure I actually take advantage of the Kids Bowl Free program we're signed up for this summer!
I really think that the VBS was a great success. My favorite part about a VBS, or really anything else the church does that involves all the kids, is how much closer I feel to everyone who came. There was fellowship with the other adults in the short moments when we weren't busy doing something else, and we got to know all the kids better as well. I love it when I see the kids at church after something like this and they talk to me about their favorite song or which craft was their favorite. They may not remember what all we did at VBS for very long, but hopefully they'll at least remember that they had fun!
We started off each day with songs. I love the fact that Hubby is not afraid to act silly when he is teaching these songs. His ability to really get into the songs and the motions and laugh at himself helps put the kids at ease and hopefully helps them want to participate as well. One of the Moms told us today that even though her girls didn't necessarily sing the songs at the VBS, they were singing some of the songs at home. That to me is a success!
After songs Hubby told the accounts of Esther, Joseph and David. Our theme was Kingdom Kids so the point of the stories was to show how God used people who were young and not very important to do great things. Once again, Hubby did a great job drawing the kids into the story by having them make sound effects while he was telling the account. This isn't necessarily an original idea, but I think it is an effective one. I can still remember going to a youth meeting when I was a teenager where a preaching did the exact same thing. I remember which Biblical account it was, as well as the sound effects the audience made. Hubby's assistants were not always perfect at holding up the prompts for the sounds effects, but that is what he gets for pulling them up front at the last second. Want to guess who was an assistant all three mornings?
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| Moving cotton balls with your nose |
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| Throwing cocoa puffs at the whipped cream plate |
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| Dressing up and singing |
As soon as the crafts were all done we played games. The Mom in charge did an awesome job coming up with activities that encompassed a broad range of ages and kept everyone involved as much as possible. I think no matter what games you play you'll always have trouble keeping small children's attention for longer than a second, so I think everything she did was awesome! Especially since I didn't have to do any of the planning!
We ended up by watching the Veggie Tales movie of whichever person we talked about that day. Watching the movie was Hubby's idea and it turned out to be a perfect way to settle the kids back down before eating lunch. Some of the older kids said that they thought the movies were boring, but I noticed that they sat and watched the whole movie every day. Imagine that!
Of course, our mornings would not have run as smoothly as they did without the other adults who were there providing support, running to get anything we forgot, bringing lunch and just generally being there for anything that popped up. We couldn't have pulled it off without everyone who was there!
Today to close everything out we went bowling. It ended on a slightly sour note with an injury, non-bowling related, but other than that everyone who came had a good time. Our girls really loved it. Which means that I'll probably have to make sure I actually take advantage of the Kids Bowl Free program we're signed up for this summer!
I really think that the VBS was a great success. My favorite part about a VBS, or really anything else the church does that involves all the kids, is how much closer I feel to everyone who came. There was fellowship with the other adults in the short moments when we weren't busy doing something else, and we got to know all the kids better as well. I love it when I see the kids at church after something like this and they talk to me about their favorite song or which craft was their favorite. They may not remember what all we did at VBS for very long, but hopefully they'll at least remember that they had fun!
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