VBS and M&Ms.

VBS (Vacation Bible School) was always a part of my childhood summers growing up. I remember with fondness "Uncle Charlie," the older gentleman who ran the VBS of my younger days....they had this wishing well with strings tied to prizes, and the lucky kids would get to pick a string and pull it to see what their prize was. Would it be a new Bible? Or a cool toy? Or maybe the $10.00 bill? And those little plastic Bible banks that we used to fill up with coins to help send Bibles to tribes who didn't know about Jesus. And craft time and game time....and those Bible drills! Oh, I was really good at those Bible drills, which essentially went like this: The leader gave you a verse (example: I John 1:9), you would hold your Bible above your head in both hands, and wait until she said "CHARGE!"....the race was on to see who could find the verse and read it the fastest. I was a force to be reckoned with as far as Bible drills go, let me tell you!

And then, as I got older, I was a teen help and later a leader for Bible schools in my hometown and surrounding towns. It was always fun to be around the kids' excitement as they learned that Jesus loved them, made them special, and wanted each one to live for Him. The music, the fun, the stories....I love that Jesus is presented to children across the world in the VBS format in such a fun, real, experiential way.

This week is VBS week for my kids. I used to teach at our previous church but, because our current church is further away, they are going to a neighborhood church and I am not helping out this time around. On Sunday, we had a fun family kick-off night complete with inflatable slides and jumpers--always a hit!--topped off with ice cream. Yesterday, the first day of VBS, Hayden came home excited about 2 things: 1) Austin, from his preschool class, was going to VBS, too; and 2) He won a huge water-bottle full of M&Ms in the "guess how many" contest! Now, in actuality, his Daddy helped him with his guess, but I wasn't about to be the one to burst his bubble! He was so proud to get to go up on stage (he literally sprinted up there when they called his name) and claim his huge stash of candy, 851 M&Ms to be exact. When we got home, he had to take his winnings and show his little friends in the neighborhood, and when he came home, it was half-empty! So, needless to say, we had to hide the rest of them so he didn't eat them all in one day and be bouncing off the proverbial walls all week!

After VBS, the kids decided that it would be fun to share some of our homemade jam with some of our neighbors, so off they went to distribute jars. It was so fun to see them want to give and share and spread the yummy joy......now if only they could have done it without arguing about who got to ring the doorbell and who got to hand the person the jar..and one point, they actually were on the ground in one neighbor's yard wrestling each other to see who got to give the jar (sigh).....oh well, I guess you have to focus on the positives, right?

Enjoy this Tuesday! It's supposed to be a warm one here, so we're planning to just hang out at home by the pool and enjoy the sun.

Jammed.

In Michigan, one of the surest signs of summer is the arrival of fresh Michigan strawberries at the local farmers' markets. This year, we decided to take it a step further and go pick our own berries and make a freezer-full of jam. So, this morning, we welcomed the first official day of summer by heading to the strawberry patch. I have memories of going to the patch with my Mom and siblings growing up, and I looked forward to sharing this simple pleasure with my own kids.
Kennedy loved picking and was a hard worker the whole time. She was a real helper and kept saying how much fun she was having. Hayden, on the other hand, was sick of it after 10 minutes. He spent most of his time doing two things.....laying down in the grass......
.....and eating what we picked........his face was all red and drippy by the time we left. And his nose was the cutest shade of strawberry red! In all, we picked 36 pounds of strawberries in about 2 hours. It really was an enjoyable time chatting with those around us and telling stories. It was fun to see young and old, a mom with a young baby in a sling, elderly couples and lots of families picking together. It just seemed so good and so natural and so green...it felt good to be doing something good and healthy for my family by providing them with yummy fruit and jam made from local ingredients.
After we arrived home, the real fun began. Cleaning the strawberries is always the most boring part, so I quickly worked on getting that out of the way. Then, the kids and I worked together to make and jar the delicious jam. Kennedy even made some very cute little fruit labels to put on the jars.


And it feels like such a sense of accomplishment to have over 40 jars of jam on my counter. We will be able to enjoy this for the next year until next summer, when we plan to do it again. Kennedy and I decided that this needs to be an annual family event and that we need to get Matt more involved next year.
And what better bedtime snack could there be than fresh, hot-from-the-oven bread topped with peanut butter and fresh strawberry jam....YUM!

Dear ToothFairy and Other Updates.

Here are a few of the things going on in our home this week.....it seems that we've managed to pack a few things in!!

1. Science Tuesday happened on Wednesday this week, and we ended up doing animal science at the zoo rather than volcanoes, which we will save for next week. Our local zoo just added a big lion exhibit, so we headed there to check it out, and it did not disappoint. Tip: If you go to your zoo frequently and live close, go 2 hours before closing. We were practically by ourselves at the zoo, which meant that we were along to pet the sharks and stingrays, feed the bungie birds, and view the lions. These exhibits are usually crowded and packed, so it was very refreshing to enjoy these leisurely. We learned that sting rays are nocturnal, sharks have scales and feel like sandpaper, and bungie birds like sequins.

2. Matt has been gone to football team camp all week. We miss him. We want him home. Return to us from football-and-sweaty-teenage-boy-land, Daddy! He'll be back tomorrow.

3. I can't believe how fast garbage piles up between pick-up days...there must be little elves who fill our garbage can up at night! And they must wear our clothes while they do it, because our laundry seems out of control these days, too! Can anyone relate?

4. Letter from Kennedy to the Tooth Fairy:
Dear Tooth Fairy:
OK, so I lost a tooth but well......I dropped it in the pool and I can't find it. So I'm sorry that you won't get a tooth.
Sincerely,
Kennedy
PS (I love this part) Could ya still give me the money?

5. We are getting ready to leave on vacation next weekend. We will be heading up to spend a couple of days with my parents before driving up to Mackinac to stay on the island for 4 days over the 4th of July. We will be staying at Mission Point Resort again, which was an incredibly enjoyable and patriotic experience last year. We'll be taking our bikes this year, so that we can explore more of the island without paying an hourly bike rental fee; we are all off training wheels now, so it should be really fun for all. After that, we have rented a cabin over in Frankfort for a week, where we will enjoy the water, beaches, cherries, and outdoor-wonders of northern Michigan. We are so ready for a get away.

6. To my great sadness, I have decided to let the garden project go for this summer. I am very sad not to have home-grown tomatoes especially, but we just didn't have time to plant and it now seems too late. We are on vacation for the next 2 weeks, which means that I would have to hire someone to water while we are gone anyway. While I'm sad to do this, it was also a HUGE relief when I finally allowed myself to say "It's OK, let it go." How freeing! And there's always the Farmer's Market!

7. I am writing this entry at 4:29 am on Thursday morning. We stopped after karate last night for Taco Bell for dinner....and it just did not sit well. Even after 9 wintergreen Tums. Enough said. Did I ever tell you that my Grandma used to give us Tums as "candy" for a treat when we went to her house as kids? Strange the memorable events from our childhoods!

8. Kennedy has been doing KidsGames this week, which is like a super-powered version of Vacation Bible School. She is doing the "wild and crazy animals" track and especially loves the energetic praise music! I love to see her learning and praising Jesus! And today after Kids' Games was a special treat.....a visit from FireMan Dave. This brought back vivid memories from my childhood. At our hometown Homecoming Days, we would spend the day in such activities as decorating our bikes for the bike parade; looking for coins in a sawdust pile; chasing after a greased pig; trying to climb a greased pole to get the $20.00 bill at the top; riding the pony ring; and attending the parade and auction. And all of this was topped off by a fireman's fight....which basically consisted of two firetrucks with a wire strung between them and a rubber ball hung on the wire. Our firemen would compete against another county's fireman to see which team could move the ball to the opposing side using their firehose water spray. All of the town's kids would gather underneath to get soaked, which always felt heavenly after a long hot July day. Ahhh, sweet childhood memories.

9. The weather has been really cool around here, for June. It didn't even reach 65 degrees yesterday and was quite breezy. We finally have the pool up and nearly cleaned, and the kids insisted on swimming....but it was downright chilly!

10. We've been enjoying our new bikes as a family, especially tooling around town together. Today, we biked with Kennedy to drop her off at KidsGames, and then Hayden and I continued into town to Byron Family Restaurant for breakfast. I love living in a small, bikeable town. Saturday, we'll bike to the Farmer's Market for some fresh veggies for the week...after all, we do live in the "salad bowl" of Michigan!

11. Tomorrow, Friday, we are planning to go to pick some strawberries and, hopefully, make some strawberry jam. If that happens, we will need to bake a loaf of bread to go with it....Yum! Yikes, I'm starting to sound like the Pioneer Woman!

12. Slow down, June. Please, please?

First Birthday and Inspiration.

love going to babies' first birthday parties....I love the excitement of the grandparents, all of the doting, the sweet pink/blue "I'm One" decorations....and, of course, watching how each individual baby approaches their first cake. Will they demolish it, daintily sample the frosting, or ignore it totally? Today, my niece Samantha (who is my only niece/nephew on my side of the family) is one year old. Saturday, we celebrated with a family party and cookout. Here are some photos from the little sweetie's big day.

She has this sweet little "beauty queen" wave....it is not the typical baby wave where the hand opens and closes. It is a full-out "Hello, I'm beautiful and I know it" wave. She would be digging into the frosting and, all of a sudden, flash a big smile and start waving. It was absolutely precious. By the time she got to her cake, after all of the eating and presents, she was so tired that I thought at one point she might fall asleep in the cake. But, she thoroughly enjoyed the cake, ate nearly half of it, and then was promptly wisked to the bathtub.

Here are the just-out-of-the-tub clean little one-year old baby toes that I just couldn't resist:

Happy Birthday, Samantha Jay. We love you very much and are having lots of fun seeing you grow up. Slow down a little bit if you can, OK?

And, on the scrapbooking front, I picked up a couple new lines yesterday and can't wait to scrap with them. The first is the new "BLOOM" line from KI Memories....it is bright and funky and colorful and just plain fun. I love the chipboard and especially that purple rubber butterfly clip......such a fun and playful line.
And this came in the mail.....the new October Afternoon line of papers, diecut tags, stamps, and those adorable little rubber charms. I love the colors of this line and the apples and critters. Hopefully, for tomorrow's post, I will have some layouts to share, but we'll just have to see how today goes.
Can you believe that June is half gone already. We are already getting ready for our July vacation, and when we return, I will be 5 weeks from returning to work. Yikes.

Fathers in my Life.

These are some of the men in my life. I snapped this photo on our back deck last night as we enjoyed a family Father's Day celebration. It was a beautiful, breezy early summer evening and it was a blessed time together. These are the men and boys from my side of the family.

First is my son, HAYDEN (4 3/4 years old, and don't you dare forget the 3/4!), who is simply the light and laughter of our lives. We are working to raise him to be a wonderful man of God, husband and Daddy someday, and I know, with God's blessing, he will become that and more.

Holding Hayden is my dad, KEN, who is a strong man of God. When I think about my Dad's qualities, I thank God that he is devoted and faithful and hard-working. My dad was one of those dads who worked a lot but was always available when we needed him. He hardly ever missed a school or sporting event, led tirelessly on the school board while we were growing up, and now dedicates a good chunk of his time putting his accounting skills to work for several non-profit organizations. Now, he is a loving and caring grandfather to his three grandchildren. God has truly blessed us with his love and care and strength.

To the left of Hayden is my mid-20-something-year-old brother, MITCH. Last Father's Day, Mitch was in the hospital welcoming his first child, baby Samantha Jay, into the world. So this is his very first year to celebrate Father's Day at home with his family. Mitch is someone who I admire for his gentleness and thoughtfulness. He doesn't always have a lot to say in words, but he has a very deep and compassionate soul. It has been fun to see him grow into fatherhood and to witness how loving and responsive he is with little Samantha.

In the back center is my brother-in-law, DAN. Dan is one of those guys who you just know will make an incredibly loving and fun father some day. He is always taking the time to talk to and play with my kids, and they love him immensely since he came into our family three years ago. Dan, along with my sister, deeply desires to be a parent someday, and they are leaning heavily on God to see how He will answer that prayer.

And last, but very certainly not least, my husband, MATT. What can I say about the man who has made all of my dreams come true, grounding me but also helping me to soar? Matt is the strongest yet most sensitive man that I know. He is tougher than nails on the football field, yet he frequently cries at the sentimental parts of movies. He seeks earnestly after God and is always wanting to learn more about what it means to follow Him. Matt is the leader of our family, our provider, and our hero. Since he became a Daddy to our first child nearly 7 years ago, I have fallen in love with him in an even deeper and more intimate way that I ever thought possible. Together, we are building a family on God and His word, and I will forever be thankful to God for blessing me with this man to be the Daddy to our children.

And, although we didn't get to see him today on Father's Day, here is my father-in-law, ED, whom I admire on so many different levels. First and foremost, I love him for raising a son who is so loving and devoted and sensitive and compassionate. Because of him, I have my hero. And, I am greatly in awe at any man who can raise 7 sons and 2 daughters and still be standing when it's all said and done! Ed has faced many challenges in his life; he has fought in wars, sowed "wild oats", battled health concerns....and yet he is still going strong. And all with a great sense of humor and perseverance that we all love and admire. He is the type of father-in-law who loves you yet keeps you laughing with teasing and smart-alec comments...and the type of grandfather who is more than happy to revolve much of his life around doting on his 20 granchildren. He, and we through him, have been richly blessed in so many ways.
So today, we are thankful to our ultimate father, GOD, for blessing us with these incredible boys and men. We honor Him, we honor them, and we set aside this day to let them know just how special each and every one of them are to us.

A Couple of Projects.

I thought that I would share a couple of projects that I finished yesterday. The first is a mini-album that I did for my niece, Samantha, who is turning one year old. We are celebrating her birthday today, and I am planning to make her a mini-album each year. This album is ultra-simple--I think I completed it in less than 3 hours total--and displays photos that I have taken of her throughout the year. Most of the time was spent with my craft blade, trimming the photos and papers to match the scalloped edge. Most of the products on this are older ones from my stash, coupled with a scalloped acrylic album from Maya Road. I love how it turned out, and especially how the album seems to highlight the photos and especially her sweet blue eyes:









And this is the design for this year' Father's Day cards. I printed a variety of photos in black and white, wallet-size, and made a photo collage. I then tied a quick ribbon, added a Heidi Swapp chipboard heart to cover a blank spot, and used the MM mini alphas to spell "DAD." Finished.

Today, we are getting the pool filled (FINALLY) and heading out to the farmer's market. Later, we have Sam's birthday party at my brother's house followed by several of my family staying over for a Father's Day celebration. It should be a fun and relaxing couple of days with family. Enjoy!

Cottage Party.

Today was all about summer fun for Kennedy and me. Mrs. Hill, her first grade teacher, and her parents hosted all of the families for a summer party at their cottage. The kids had an amazing time swimming, tubing, kayaking, pedal-boating, and Sea-dooing. Kennedy loves the water and loved each of these activities, though her very favorite was the kayaking. While this was her first time kayaking, she was paddling the kayak on her own by the time she was done, and she said that she wanted a kayak of her own.....we'll have to look into that one! It felt great just to sit back, relax, and watch the kids have fun together. What a great group of kids, and it is sort of sad that they won't be together as a group again. Thanks again, Hill and Durren families, for such wonderful hospitality, many boat/tube/Seadoo rides, and for making this a very memorable day.