We have survived VBS and lived to tell about it!
PANDAMANIA. The theme for this year's Vacation Bible School was Pandamania. It's where God is wild about you. We had pandas everywhere. We also had kids everywhere. I know our average attendance (all people) was 210 and I think about 130 of those were kids. I know our boys had a lot of fun.
Jenna had fun at VBS as well, but this year she did so as an assistant teacher in a preschool class. It was really neat to see her use her gifts and talents in working with others. Actually, she has been a great worker all this time. She has been at Vicki's right hand practically every day, and during this past week, when more folks were at church, many of them needed her help and came to depend on her being there. We had several people sing her praises all week which is most rewarding to me as her father.
I must also compliment my wife. She was on top of details. She was great with people. And for someone who has battled stage fright she was the stage presence that held it together during our opening and closing group times. It was a pleasure to watch her at work.
My only job this year was to run sound. I am glad Kathy Raglin took the slide show project on as work and other things did not leave any time in my schedule for that. I think Kathy has videos posted online and I'm sure that can be found through our church website (http://www.mtcarmel.cc).
CONGRATULATIONS. Last Saturday Sarah Yergler got married. Unfortunately for us the wedding was in Dallas, Texas. Distance and scheduling prevented us from going. (At least the Tennessee branch was represented by the Dee family.) From the pictures I've seen it was a beautiful wedding. Sarah was certainly a gorgeous bride. We wish her and Jason well as they begin their life together.
SURPRISE VISIT. We had a surprise visit this week. After getting back from the wedding Aunt Linda, Uncle Bob, and Ann Beth drove up here for a quick visit. They arrived Tuesday and left Thursday. It was good to see them. On Wednesday Amanda, Riley, and Tanner (Harper was in Florida with her grandmother) brought lunch and visited all afternoon. They also brought pictures from the wedding they had printed so we got to enjoy lots of snapshots.
SYLVESTER AND FRIENDS. A couple of weeks ago Jenna and I stopped by Aunt Mar's late one evening. While we were there we heard a cat crying out in the corn field. As it turns out there was a momma cat and two older kittens. Ever since then we've been feeding them and trying to tame them. I think Ann Beth was the first to touch any of them while she was here. We've been able to pet them, and even pick one up several times, but they're all still pretty skittish.
One of the kittens is black and white so we've started calling it Sylvester (it's the most vocal and outgoing of the three). It got its name partly from its coloring and partly because it was seen on the roof of the birdhouse Mr. Killebrew put up for Aunt Mar looking into the hole at the birds inside. The birdhouse has since fallen off the tree. I assume it couldn't hold the weight of the cat. We haven't named the others yet.
THRESHING WHEAT. Since we couldn't make it to the wedding last weekend the kids and I broke away and went to the Threshermen's Show. This year they had some minor mechanical problems, but they were fixed quickly and the engine ran well. Charlie and Mary's older son, Will, has taken a more active role in helping his dad out with the engine and I must say I am most impressed with his maturity as he works on the engine. I hope my boys turn out so well.
Speaking of boys, my boys and I enjoyed hanging out together at the show (Jenna and Bonnie disappeared pretty soon after we arrived both days). We had a great time walking around and looking at all the different things to see. We stopped at the blacksmith shop and got a lot of personal attention from the gentleman there making hot dog forks (for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire). However, I think the boys most enjoyed Mr. Wally Watts.
Mr. Watts has been coming to the show for several years. He brings several tables full of miniature steam engines. Most of these are replicas of big engines that used to power factories, but some are copies of farm engines like Jackie's. Most of these units burn alcohol to generate steam. Mr. Watts enjoys kids and involves them as he fires each engine up and lets it run miniature tools or a small generator. My boys were fascinated and I left them with him for quite a while. I think they were too mesmerized to be any trouble.
Mr. Watts lives less than two hours away. He told me he has one of the largest O-scale model railroads in this area of the country. It sounds like we'll need to schedule a road trip soon.
MY TWO GOOBERS. I was mowing our yard Monday afternoon. The boys were here at home with me to get them out of Vicki's hair. The pear tree outside of the kitchen window is one I can usually trim around with the mower, but occasionally I have to touch up around it with the trimmer. It has one low hanging branch I easily ride under on the mower so I usually forget it's there when I have the weed eater in hand. It is just the right height for the crown of my head. In the past, when I've been bare headed, it has brought blood. Fortunately I was wearing a hat Monday when I beamed myself on the limb and I only staggered backward a few steps until I quit seeing stars. Then I looked over at the kitchen window and saw those two snots laughing themselves silly at my expense. I'm glad I could bring some laughter to their day. I'm even more glad they weren't filming me for America's Funniest Home Videos.
Joe
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Hot Summer Days
The summer heat is ramping up. Last week we saw highs in the low 90s, but the evenings turned out to be very pleasant. This next week has been even hotter so it may not be so much fun to sit on the porch at dusk for a while. It is great weather to enjoy swimming with friends which Jenna and Ben got to do at birthday parties this weekend for their friends Maegan and Connor.
THE FOURTH HAS COME AND GONE. We had a very nice Fourth. This year was the 25th anniversary of our Kilgore Remembrance ceremony. It was actually sprinkling rain the whole time we were there, but the trees kept us from getting wet. Mrs. Lorene Lambert had a very interesting presentation on those in our area that served in the Civil War, both Union and Confederate, as this year marks the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.
That evening we went back up to Cross Plains for fireworks. I must say that their show has gotten better each year. You can't beat a four mile drive, and great spot to set up your lawn chairs, and less than ten minutes of traffic when leaving.
MY PROJECT. I've wanted to build a picnic table for a long time. Not your standard, rectangular table, mind you, but a large, square one that seats eight. I found some plans that I liked online, bought the lumber I need (I think I've mentioned this here before), and got started weekend before last. I must say I've had the best time working on this table! I'm using Aunt Mar's garage as my workshop, and each time I come home I tell Vicki that I'm ready to quit my job and start building things.
I've put a lot of time into it so far. As of Saturday I have the frame completed and am ready to start cutting the seat and tabletop slats. I'm going to have to put the project on hold until VBS is over, but I sure am looking forward to finishing it up.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. We don't start VBS for another week, but here at our house we're already right in the middle of it. Ever since Vicki came home from camp this has been her focus. All other aspects of life have taken a backseat to this. She and the kids spend all day at church and when I get off work I find myself up there many evenings working on decorations. I think we're going to be ready for it to be over before it even begins.
IS IT WORTH IT? Vicki was so busy at church Tuesday that we decided to eat supper at True's Barbecue. Vicki and I sat in one booth and the kids sat in the booth directly behind her. After our drinks came we noticed a few spit wads flying through the air so our attention turned to the kids' booth.
After telling the boys to stop Vicki noticed a loaded straw in Ben's hand. With a big grin on his face he took aim at her. She told him that if he shot it would be $1 off his allowance and that he'd better make sure it was worth it to fire. With this news Ben took aim at me.
Looking down the length of his straw I told him that if he fired it would be $10 off his allowance and that he'd better make sure it was worth it to shoot. So, Ben took aim at his sister.
I think he actually wound up shooting the spit wad into his hand (you hate to waste ammo just because your parents tell you not to open fire), but it was interesting to see who was worth what penalty if he had fired.
GOD’S EYE. Jenna has been super helpful to Vicki at church, but she has also found the time to involve the boys with her in a craft project. They have started making God’s Eyes, those colorful things made from two popsicle sticks and yarn. Their goal is to make 1,000 and give them away. I don’t know if they’ll reach that goal, but so far they’ve made about 80.
MR. FLAT HAIR. You just have to love Nate and his imagination. All three kids had dental appointments the other day. Nate is still young enough for them to give him a helium balloon at the doctor's office. Only Nate (of our three) would think to get a marker, draw a face on the balloon, and name it Mr. Flat Hair. It leaves me wondering where he comes up with this stuff.
Mr. Flat Hair, may he rest in peace, has gone on to be with others of his kind, but he was a faithful friend while he still had lift. He, Bear, and Nate made quite a trio around the house, so he deserves a bit of an obituary here. If not for this record we would forget his shriveled smile.
Joe
THE FOURTH HAS COME AND GONE. We had a very nice Fourth. This year was the 25th anniversary of our Kilgore Remembrance ceremony. It was actually sprinkling rain the whole time we were there, but the trees kept us from getting wet. Mrs. Lorene Lambert had a very interesting presentation on those in our area that served in the Civil War, both Union and Confederate, as this year marks the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States.
That evening we went back up to Cross Plains for fireworks. I must say that their show has gotten better each year. You can't beat a four mile drive, and great spot to set up your lawn chairs, and less than ten minutes of traffic when leaving.
MY PROJECT. I've wanted to build a picnic table for a long time. Not your standard, rectangular table, mind you, but a large, square one that seats eight. I found some plans that I liked online, bought the lumber I need (I think I've mentioned this here before), and got started weekend before last. I must say I've had the best time working on this table! I'm using Aunt Mar's garage as my workshop, and each time I come home I tell Vicki that I'm ready to quit my job and start building things.
I've put a lot of time into it so far. As of Saturday I have the frame completed and am ready to start cutting the seat and tabletop slats. I'm going to have to put the project on hold until VBS is over, but I sure am looking forward to finishing it up.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. We don't start VBS for another week, but here at our house we're already right in the middle of it. Ever since Vicki came home from camp this has been her focus. All other aspects of life have taken a backseat to this. She and the kids spend all day at church and when I get off work I find myself up there many evenings working on decorations. I think we're going to be ready for it to be over before it even begins.
IS IT WORTH IT? Vicki was so busy at church Tuesday that we decided to eat supper at True's Barbecue. Vicki and I sat in one booth and the kids sat in the booth directly behind her. After our drinks came we noticed a few spit wads flying through the air so our attention turned to the kids' booth.
After telling the boys to stop Vicki noticed a loaded straw in Ben's hand. With a big grin on his face he took aim at her. She told him that if he shot it would be $1 off his allowance and that he'd better make sure it was worth it to fire. With this news Ben took aim at me.
Looking down the length of his straw I told him that if he fired it would be $10 off his allowance and that he'd better make sure it was worth it to shoot. So, Ben took aim at his sister.
I think he actually wound up shooting the spit wad into his hand (you hate to waste ammo just because your parents tell you not to open fire), but it was interesting to see who was worth what penalty if he had fired.
GOD’S EYE. Jenna has been super helpful to Vicki at church, but she has also found the time to involve the boys with her in a craft project. They have started making God’s Eyes, those colorful things made from two popsicle sticks and yarn. Their goal is to make 1,000 and give them away. I don’t know if they’ll reach that goal, but so far they’ve made about 80.
MR. FLAT HAIR. You just have to love Nate and his imagination. All three kids had dental appointments the other day. Nate is still young enough for them to give him a helium balloon at the doctor's office. Only Nate (of our three) would think to get a marker, draw a face on the balloon, and name it Mr. Flat Hair. It leaves me wondering where he comes up with this stuff.
Mr. Flat Hair, may he rest in peace, has gone on to be with others of his kind, but he was a faithful friend while he still had lift. He, Bear, and Nate made quite a trio around the house, so he deserves a bit of an obituary here. If not for this record we would forget his shriveled smile.
Joe
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Camp Report
July is here. My vacation is over. School starts in a month. Boy, summertime sure is short!
TRASH & TREASURES. My goal in the last time I wrote was to get all the news caught up to the time everyone was returning from camp and then write about the camp experiences this time. As I was writing I knew I was leaving something out, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was. Several days later it dawned on me that I had forgotten to tell about Trash & Treasures. How in the world I managed to forget that is beyond me, but I did.
Trash & Treasures is the community-wide yard sale in Cross Plains. It is held the on the last Friday and Saturday of June every year. We've been away on vacation during this time the last couple of years, but this year we were home and got to go. We were there two weeks ago today.
Yard sales and flea markets don't really run in my blood, but I always enjoy this event because you run into so many people you know. I think it took me and Vicki two hours to walk the three blocks or so from where we parked at one end of town to the other simply because we were visiting with so many people.
Jenna and Ben had fun running around with cousins. Tom and Amy Jones are renovating Uncle Paul's house this summer so that can move out here. (This will be more than a summer project for them.) They have a daughter, Bonnie, and two sons, Spencer and Allen, who are each a year or so older than our kids. We usually see these cousins each year at the Threshermen's Show and we're looking forward to having them as neighbors. (This Jones family is no connection to Vicki's brother and his family.) To get back to the point, our kids enjoyed doing Trash & Treasures with these cousins while Vicki, Nate, and I strolled along by ourselves.
We didn't come away with too many treasures. Vicki found some resource books for children's ministry and a quilt to put on the porch swing. I found an educational electronics kit just in case either of the boys wanted to work on a merit badge as boy scouts. I think the biggest find was that both boys wound up with old Game Boys with some PokeMon games. This has been nice for them as both boys have lost iPods to water this year.
CENTRI-KID. As I mentioned last time Vicki and Ben were part of a group of 24 people who went to Centri-Kid this year. They returned to Georgetown College in Kentucky (though this is the last year that college will be hosting Centri-Kid) and I think everyone had a lot of fun.
Each day begins with a worship rally after breakfast followed by a group Bible study and recreation time. After lunch the kids all have two track times. The day closes with another worship rally after supper and some time for each church group to meet together. It's a very full and intense week for the kids. By the second day Ben's voice was hoarse. Ben said his favorite part was recreation (imagine that). He got baseball and Weird Science as track times which he said were fun as well.
MISSION-FUGE. This year was Jenna's first year to go with the youth group. She was part of 54 people from our church and Friendship Baptist who went down to New Orleans.
M-Fuge is a spin-off for the youth focused Centrifuge camp experience but with an emphasis on mission projects. (Centri-Kid is a spin-off of this as well.) Their schedule was similar to what Vicki and Ben experienced at Centri-Kid with the exception of the track times in the afternoon. These are replaced by a mission project assignment. You can actually see Jenna and her roommate, Savannah, as Bro. Bill interviewed them on his phone and posted the video on our church website (direct link to video - http://vimeo.com/25789371).
Jenna had a great time. I think one thing that was eye-opening for her, though, is that not everyone has the best situation at home. I'm not talking about the people she served in New Orleans, but some of the kids that she goes to school and church with. When she mentioned this to me over the phone all I could say was, "Thank God for your blessings. Not everyone has the fairy tale life that you've had growing up."
Joe
TRASH & TREASURES. My goal in the last time I wrote was to get all the news caught up to the time everyone was returning from camp and then write about the camp experiences this time. As I was writing I knew I was leaving something out, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was. Several days later it dawned on me that I had forgotten to tell about Trash & Treasures. How in the world I managed to forget that is beyond me, but I did.
Trash & Treasures is the community-wide yard sale in Cross Plains. It is held the on the last Friday and Saturday of June every year. We've been away on vacation during this time the last couple of years, but this year we were home and got to go. We were there two weeks ago today.
Yard sales and flea markets don't really run in my blood, but I always enjoy this event because you run into so many people you know. I think it took me and Vicki two hours to walk the three blocks or so from where we parked at one end of town to the other simply because we were visiting with so many people.
Jenna and Ben had fun running around with cousins. Tom and Amy Jones are renovating Uncle Paul's house this summer so that can move out here. (This will be more than a summer project for them.) They have a daughter, Bonnie, and two sons, Spencer and Allen, who are each a year or so older than our kids. We usually see these cousins each year at the Threshermen's Show and we're looking forward to having them as neighbors. (This Jones family is no connection to Vicki's brother and his family.) To get back to the point, our kids enjoyed doing Trash & Treasures with these cousins while Vicki, Nate, and I strolled along by ourselves.
We didn't come away with too many treasures. Vicki found some resource books for children's ministry and a quilt to put on the porch swing. I found an educational electronics kit just in case either of the boys wanted to work on a merit badge as boy scouts. I think the biggest find was that both boys wound up with old Game Boys with some PokeMon games. This has been nice for them as both boys have lost iPods to water this year.
CENTRI-KID. As I mentioned last time Vicki and Ben were part of a group of 24 people who went to Centri-Kid this year. They returned to Georgetown College in Kentucky (though this is the last year that college will be hosting Centri-Kid) and I think everyone had a lot of fun.
Each day begins with a worship rally after breakfast followed by a group Bible study and recreation time. After lunch the kids all have two track times. The day closes with another worship rally after supper and some time for each church group to meet together. It's a very full and intense week for the kids. By the second day Ben's voice was hoarse. Ben said his favorite part was recreation (imagine that). He got baseball and Weird Science as track times which he said were fun as well.
MISSION-FUGE. This year was Jenna's first year to go with the youth group. She was part of 54 people from our church and Friendship Baptist who went down to New Orleans.
M-Fuge is a spin-off for the youth focused Centrifuge camp experience but with an emphasis on mission projects. (Centri-Kid is a spin-off of this as well.) Their schedule was similar to what Vicki and Ben experienced at Centri-Kid with the exception of the track times in the afternoon. These are replaced by a mission project assignment. You can actually see Jenna and her roommate, Savannah, as Bro. Bill interviewed them on his phone and posted the video on our church website (direct link to video - http://vimeo.com/25789371).
Jenna had a great time. I think one thing that was eye-opening for her, though, is that not everyone has the best situation at home. I'm not talking about the people she served in New Orleans, but some of the kids that she goes to school and church with. When she mentioned this to me over the phone all I could say was, "Thank God for your blessings. Not everyone has the fairy tale life that you've had growing up."
Joe
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