VBS wrap up. That plane has landed.

After a week of VBS I am tuckered. Seriously. I think all of us hit our personal wall at different times during the week and thankfully it didn't happen at the same time. This week there were 26 salvations and a few of the kids came into my office during their decisions and I was blessed to be there. Needless to say I was a bit weepy, particularly yesterday and today. God has blessed me beyond measure to be a part of so many kids lives. I look back at a crazy week and know I am a blessed and lucky girl,

I love VBS...and so much more!

The past several weeks have been the preparation and culmination of this week. Today was the first day of our VBS. Working in Children's Ministry means you kiss your summer and family goodbye for a week at a time, based on how many camps and events you have planned for that summer. It is long hours and a harried pace. It is definitely not for the weak at heart. BUT, and a huge BUT,...it is FUN! To see all of these kids and volunteers scurrying across the church and having a blast learning the Good News warms my heart and feeds my soul.

Are you now asking yourself, "What's the Good News?" That's an easy answer...the Good News is that God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we can one day join them both in Heaven. God does not pick and choose, this gift is for all humans... men, women, children, old, young, healthy, sick, abused, rich, poor...every single one of us. See, that is absolutely AWESOME news!!

Now back on track...VBS is amazing and crazy and I think I have a constant look of stressed out to the max with a smile thrown in every once in awhile. I really try to not so stressed around everyone else, but catch me at the copy machine or at my desk and I may look pretty worn. The first day is a whirlwind of running around making sure kids are where they need to be, tending to all of the volunteers' needs and making sure they are good, as well as ensuring parents that their children will be okay for the next three hours. I made coffee in my office at 7:30 this morning and finally got my first cup (while at work...coffee was had at home) some time after 10am. The afternoon was spent preparing for tomorrow.



You may ask yourself why do you do this? It seems nuts. It is because God called me to this. He called me to the church I am at now and to the school I am attending. One day soon I will graduate, but for now I am learning and growing so much. Children's Ministry is where I belong and have never felt more at home in a job. Really, it is more than a job. It is a lifestyle. I live to serve my God. Through Him, I serve the families and children come into my life either through church, camps, community events and mission trips. It is where me and my family belong. We are the children of God serving His family.

Today was crazy sock day...I was sporting these beauties!

My Fav App

I have been quite neglectful of the blog in recent weeks. Unfortunately school and my real life as a working mom have taken over most of my waking and, I am sure, sleeping hours. I like to spend as much time with the family as I can get in around the papers I have due and scheduled exams.

However, one of my favorite Apps at the moment is the My 365 photo calendar for iPhone. Just as it sounds, it is a daily photo calendar wherein you document your daily life one photo a day. Majority of my photos revolve around pics of the kid and dogs. The hubby gets really grumpy when I take photos of  him. Also you can follow others who have the app and see their daily photos. I love looking at other peoples' photographic lives. So many emotions can be portrayed in a simple snapshot.

Weekend Retreat & Super Bowl Chicken

I realize this is Super Bowl weekend and men everywhere are glued to the tv. However, I am a girl and the part that excites me the most about the game is the commercials and my husband's smoked chicken. The hubs is who keeps me from surviving off a diet of chocolate cake, ice cream & nachos. My favorite commercial so far has to be the Chevy end of the world commercial & the VW dog commercial simply for the ending.

My weekend before Sunday belonged to a kids' retreat. 20 kids & 8 leaders spent a weekend getting back to the basics in our relationships with God. We discussed how to have a good devotional time, the different kinds of relationships we have w/ people in our lives and our relationships w/ God, then we discussed the Great Commission. I got the pleasure of leading one of the Bible Studies Saturday morning and then a 2 hour hike through the woods & trails. Other leaders with us led Bible Studies and praise time. Friday we had two teams of kids go on scavenger hunts where the clues led to a bonfire with smores. Several of those kids had never seen a real bonfire or hiked through trails in the woods. It was an amazing retreat that not only helped us focus on our relationship with our Almighty, but allowed us to get to know our kids in the ministry better and they got to know us as well. I am so incredibly blessed for God to have called me into children's ministry.

Friends and VBS... Oh, what a weekend!

This past week was the first week of the Spring semester for me and the hubs. Needless to say, the week was insane! After having a month off school getting back into study mode is a bit rough. The poor kid is back to watching us study every night. However, we make it a point to have dinner together and watch a 30 minute show together.

The weekend before school started, I was able to fit a ton of stuff into 72 hours. I was able to spend some time with an awesome friend  I haven't seen since since 2006,  as well her family. The on Sunday I got to have dinner with 4 of my favorite girls. All of this time with friends, old and new, made me realize how blessed I am to have awesome ladies in my life.

On Thursday and Friday I got to do some awesome work. Really it didn't feel so much like work, as a ton of fun and discovery. I attended Lifeway's VBS Preview and was blessed to sit in on a couple of lectures ranging from how to teach the entire week of 1st-2nd grade VBS to the best ways to relate to preteens. I also was able to get a ton of pictures of the decoration ideas that Lifeway always offers. I have posted a few of the pics below. This stuff is awesome and can go from a small budget to a well expensed budget:

Victoria Falls. Made from foam board, sheets and pillow stuffing for the white water foam at the bottom.

The Northern Lights. This picture doesn't do it justice. Twinkle lights are in the sheer fabric.

The Great Barrier Reef. Made from foam board and the bubbles are made by hanging clear glass Christmas ornaments

The Matterhorn. Made from foam board.

Motorized propeller on the plane all made from plywood. The motor was powered by a riding lawnmower battery.

The Grand Canyon. Made from foam board.

Adorable wall art made from poster board.

Paricutin Volcano. Made from foam board.

Busy Day

I think today has been one of the busiest days I have had in a long time. It started with taking the Kid and his best friend to school, then off to work for me. They didn't have tennis this morning due to semester exams. I am still trying to get used to a school systems that does semester exams AFTER Christmas break. The concept is so weird to me. So, the kid has a half day of school today and tomorrow. Anyways, I was off to work to await the start of the Lifeway VBS Preview which is being hosted by TABC. Lifeway has taken over the church. For the past few days we have helped get this event set up and ready to launch. I will take lots of pics to share. Lifeway goes all out for these events. It is really exciting and gets people ramped up to start planning a church's biggest summer activity. This year's theme is Amazing Wonders Aviation.The big stuff starts tomorrow and I am ready.

However, today I left work at noon to go pick up the kid for a meeting with the youth pastor at TABC. It was time for the kid to tour the youth areas and talk to the pastor about any questions he may have about switching churches. (For the past year and a half, we have attended a church close to home while I worked in the Children's Ministry Department at another church. It was hard for me to split myself between two churches, so now we are making the switch.) The kid did well. He is high functioning autistic and has anxiety issues with new and unfamiliar situations. He only acted out a few times and it was all towards me. He would cover my eyes and give me bunny ears. You could definitely tell he was anxious/nervous about the tour and meeting new people, but he did pretty awesome. After the tour, we had to go back towards the house to buy my school books. $324.00 later, I had my books for this semester. After acquiring my books, we went to meet the hubs in downtown Fort Worth for an early dinner. We ate at Pie Five Pizza. We each got our own personal pizza. I got a veggie pizza which included artichoke hearts, 3 types of olives, tomatoes, roasted peppers and onions and feta cheese. Feast your eyes upon the yumminess:

Finally, we are home and I get spend some time with the family and enjoy a restful evening.

Regularly Scheduled Life Full Steam Ahead

In the process of having a two week vacation from life, I have gotten terribly of schedule. The hubs had to wake me up at 10:30 this morning. I was in a dead sleep. It doesn't help that after a 2-3 hour nap on the couch last night, I suffered a bout of insomnia from midnight to approximately 3:30am. I really should not have taken that nap. So here I sit at 11:45am still in my pj's and drinking coffee. Tomorrow morning I have to be bright-eyed and bushy tailed for a mass of children at 8:45am. Dear Lord, the amount of coffee I will have to consume is terrifying.

On another hand, it is New Years Eve. My plans are to get some regular sleep and make it to work on time tomorrow. I also have a couple of projects I need to finish (start), take down all of the Christmas decorations and wash some laundry. Exciting times in this house.

My goal for the new year is to lose the 10 lbs I rapidly gained as a result of going off all medication I was on. Also over indulgence has played a huge part in the weight gain. Seriously, 4 lbs was overnight. Due to one medication, I was able to eat whatever I wanted, not exercise and not gain a pound. This was the only upside to the medication. It was like a consolation prize for the other side effects which included memory loss and a compromised immune system. It is like the makers marketing slogan was "So what if you can't remember your address, child's name, if you paid bills or missing complete blocks of time and you are constantly sick...At least you're skinny!" So now, after years of trying to keep my weight up so I didn't have to drink the horrible, nasty vitamins in a bottle weight gain shakes, I am now welcomed into the club of regular women who are trying to lose the excess holiday weight. This is where the plan for The Couch to 5K in 10 Weeks comes in to play. Below is the plan and it seems easy enough to follow. I even have a treadmill, so there should be no excuses.

I wish you all a very happy and safe New Year's Eve! Let me know your plans for New Years Eve. It is fun to live vicariously through others. I am off to do shopping, laundry and to de-holidayize (yeah, I made up that word) along with various projects I wanted to have done by now.