Pandamania!

Another hit at VBS this year! Pandamania was a blast, over 350 kids which in itself makes things a blast. There is so much energy and enthusiasm all over the building. It is a true joy to be a part of!
This was Ethan's final year, he graduates to being a leader if he does not have Boy Scout camp the same week. He had such a great time doing service projects and tie dying shirts, many great memories!

Farewell

Trying to get caught up on my pictures, feel like I'm always saying that, but some things I don't want to skip just to get caught up! On Father's Day we said good bye to Pastor Jim and his family. They have been moved to another church about 90 minutes away so we won't see them as often.
We will miss Sunday mornings with Jim's sermons and I have already missed VBS with Phyllis. It just wasn't the same without her there to work with in the Preschool. I know we are not the only family who feel this way, the farewell party had hundreds of people there to say good bye.
Bill and Jim have become great friends enjoying weekday lunches over Rubens and we have enjoyed our dinners with our families.
We will see them soon once they get settled. Until then best wishes on their new home. Their congregations are lucky to have them!

MESSY Game Night

The theme for the church Youth Group gathering tonight was Messy Game night. It was a success! Kyle had a blast. And what a mess it was. Imagine about 30+ kids playing "Condiment Twister" that included ketchup, mustard, relish, and mayo. Shaving cream contests with hair styles, contests with eggs, and general messy mayhem! It was tricky getting him home like this but it was way too chilly to hose off at church. Plus we wanted his siblings to get the full effect. Three hair washings and he's as good as new. What a great time he had, he's already looking forward to next year. Hopefully my car won't smell like mustard tomorrow! 

Ahoy! The High Seas Adventure

The only thing missing here is Kyle!

Vacation Bible School is nothing like the kind I attended as a kid. It is amazing to see all the things that the kids do each day. Games, crafts, singing, bible lessons, drama, snacks, and the list goes on. It is one of our kids favorite weeks of the summer. Ethan could not bear to miss it and go to Boy Scout camp. He has been waiting forever to be in the older kid group. They have a different program with service projects and cool things like tye dyeing t-shirts. He did not want to miss and as much fun as Kyle is having at camp, he is sad to miss this week as well. He is old enough to be a leader or work a station. We are hoping for no conflict next summer, hoping my connection with the new Scout Master will make that happen. We had a record year in attendance of 372 kids and 64 of them were Preschoolers which is where I have been all week. I am looking forward to a break this weekend. Have to get ready for my Brownie troops sleep out in my backyard Tuesday night. And the summer keeps on going...

I love Ethan's shirt! I have never gotten a tye dye shirt to turn out so cool!

The Scripture Sleuth

Bill and I got this series of books when we attended the Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati back in April. Similar to Encyclopedia Brown (the author said he was inspired by Encyclopedia) Concord Cunningham solves mysteries using clues that he relates to a bible verse that helps the reader figure out the solution.

Every summer for the last couple of years we read by candlelight and flashlight on the porch each evening in our jammies. The kids look forward to this as much as Bill and I do.

The original idea was to read a chapter of  The Scripture Sleuth and then read from our other novel. Well we have never gotten to the second book because we all love solving the mysteries that's all the kids want to read! The stories have clues and then a bible verse is given that will provide the solution. Bill reads aloud and then all the kids look the Bible verse up and read it. Then we talk about the verse and share the different versions that all our Bibles have. Then we discuss how that solves the mystery and then we check that with the solution in the back of the book.

I can't say enough good things about these books! They are such a great way for kids to use their Bible and really read and study verses in an interactive way. We bought everything in the series which was five books. The author said that he planned more in the future which is good news for us because we are all hooked!

Celebrate!

Kyle celebrated his confirmation at church this Sunday. The service was so nice and the kids helped to organize everything including the song and bible verses. There was a breakfast for all confirmands and their families which was especially nice since we are always running late!

After confirmation we ran home grabbed lunch and then headed to the piano recital. This sounds crazy but I had no idea how much the kids had improved! The piano is being played all the time and I don't always know who is playing.

We ended the afternoon with a celebration at home with cake and family. It was a crazy busy weekend but so much fun!

Erin was by far the littlest pianist.

I know this is blurry but I love how Erin is giving Kyle "5" as she runs to her seat!

Shine On

Tonight was a very special evening, the end of an emotional weekend celebrating the life of a young boy from our church, Jonah Hoser. This afternoon was a beautiful memorial service filled with music, prayer, laughter, and many, many tears. Jonah received a heart transplant at the age of four. Now nine years later, at the age of 13 he began rejecting his heart and was on the transplant list for a new heart. He lost his battle this week. There was not to be a heart for Jonah. As Ethan said, "God wanted Jonah now,” such a simple statement from a little boy, but so true. Jonah is in heaven playing and running and doing all the things he hasn't been able to do the last two months.

Tonight was the annual candlelight vigil for Lifeline of Ohio, except this year was different. They were trying to beat a world record of the most candles lit simultaneously at a single event. It seemed appropriate to go in Jonah's honor. A group from church went downtown to the statehouse for the ceremony and lighting. WOW! What an awesome night. We signed in and were assigned to a leader who was in charge of our group and to make sure that our candles were accounted for when they were lit. We joined a family who was there with their daughter who received a double lung transplant. Such inspiring people were all around. Jonah's family has inspired so many of us over his life and especially over the last couple of months. We were surrounded by so much hope tonight it was uplifting.

Many stories were shared. A lady shared her living donation of her kidney to her friend, another the story of her son's donation to save five lives, a daughter who spoke of her father not getting the heart he was waiting for, and a women who is waiting for a liver. We listened and cried at all of the stories. The spokeswomen from Lifeline shared that one of the speakers who was scheduled to be there was not able to make it, they were recovering from receiving their heart last weekend. She shared of the loss of a boy (Jonah) who had been waiting for his heart, they made sure to include Jonah in the evening.

After the stories were shared we gathered around our red balloons that marked our spot in honor of Jonah. After the countdown was done we quickly lit our candles. The wind that had been blowing our balloons, all but disappeared. Our candles stayed lit for 20-30 minutes. It was as if God and the all the spirits came through to light the candles and keep them lit.

After our candles had been lit for awhile, we gathered around our balloons and held our candles together. Someone noticed that we had 13 lit candles joined around our 13 balloons. We let our balloons go and everyone yelled, "We love you Jonah." People all over started clapping. Our balloons took off right towards Pickerington, they stayed in our sight for awhile, getting smaller and smaller, closer to home. We joked about how neat it would be if they made it to Jonah's house or to Peace.

Jonah touched many people in his 13 years. He inspired many as did his family. In his memory, make sure that you are a registered organ donor. Give the gift of life so that the light will shine on.

Our Mother Daughter Dinner

Princesses of the King.


Tonight we went to the Mother Daughter Dinner at church. We were not able to go last year since it was right after my surgery but I got a huge helping of leftovers thanks to my church friends! Glad we made it this year. The food was yummy complete with a chocolate fountain for dessert. I am proud to report none of the girls left with chocolate all over their clothes from eating all the dripping chocolate. We had our picture taken and ate dinner together while being waited on by fathers and sons, a nice change!

All of the little girls were gathered up at the end of the evening to receive princess crowns. The crowns represented being daughters of the Lord, our King. Daughters of King's are Princesses and they were so excited to receive a little sparkle. It was a wonderful way to end our girl weekend and I loved spending the evening with my little girls.

Pray for Kayleigh

I stumbled on this little baby's family blog about her journey since birth as a one pound premature baby. She is now 10 months old and not doing well. She has never left the NICU. My own kids have become attached to her story and progress. Her family is having many challenges not only with her severe health issues but with the financial strain. To say they are having extraordinary circumstances is not saying enough.

If you have time to click on the button on the sidebar, read her story. If you can, GIVE. We are all so blessed with so much materially and with the health of our children. Having worked as a nurse I have seen so many horrible things happen to people and this is one of those situations. Take a minute and read their story and be thankful for everything we have. Most importantly PRAY for Kayleigh and her family, they need every prayer they can get.

From all the Millers