Shuttle, Friendship, Cotton Candy

 Do you ever get to a place where there's so much going on, your brain kind of stops receiving information? You can't think ahead? Have a hard time processing everything that's happened? That's where I am today.

 

For no I'll just share ith you about VBA - Vacation Bible Adventure. (Oh, and the double u key on our computer has a mind of it's own. I've spent more time trying to get it to work...)

 

More than a week of 10-12 hour days

Skipping lunch

Feet hurting

Sore muscles - barely able to move by the end of each day

 

But so worth it! The theme was Shining Jesus' Light. When someone is sad; when someone is angry; when there's a misunderstanding... show patience and kindness. Shine Jesus' Light! He is the Light of the world, so everything was space themed. And our kids team did a phenomenal job on the decor!

Lot's of great testimonies ~

 

A large group of kids coming every day, who live in a place that supports single moms fleeing DV situations

 

A four year old telling her mom she wants Jesus in her heart

 

A Chinese immigrant stopping me in the foyer to tell me how grateful she is for our church

 

A group of 4th grade boys coming out to the foyer to encourage another 4th grader who was scared to go in. He decided to go in with them! And joined in every single day!

 

And we held a large family party Friday afternoon so the parents, grandparents and siblings could see and hear about the week.

 

 Testing the dry ice ahead of time

 

 

The entrance into the Sanctuary and decor around the building

 The family party had hotdogs, chips, popcorn, cotton candy, inflatables...

 

Then, when it was all over...

 Taking down the moon that hung from the catwalk. 

 

 

It was a great week.

 

Under The Sea

 When we were back in New Jersey Diana and Beth went to see The Little Mermaid. As soon as they got back Beth said she wanted us to see it when we got home. So Monday night, we did.

 

Beth is afraid of heights and I get motion sickness. When Chuck and I go we sit against the back wall. When Beth goes, whoever she goes with is willing to sit in the first two rows. 

 

So we compromised and tried to sit halfway between the front and the back. We both struggled.

 

I thought it started earlier than it actually did but it worked out for me because the Dramamine had time to start working. But I still felt dizzy throughout the movie. At one point I had my eyes closed and my ears plugged! 

 

At one point near the start of the movie I noticed Beth was gripping the empty cup holder between us and she would look to her right. She'd glance at the screen but then look over to her right. I whispered and asked if she was scared, "A liddle bit."

 

So I put my arm over hers, (the one gripping the cup holder) and put my hand on her leg, with my fingers spread out to cover more area. I asked the Lord to have her move my arm or her own arm when she finally felt safe, so that I would know she was okay. We sat like that for about a half hour and then she pulled her arm out from under mine... and she was fine for the rest of the movie. Looking at the screen, laughing, singing along. Thank you Lord!

 

And... I loved the movie! And she did too of course. I was fascinated by the technology, the way they made it look like the hair was floating in the water, all the different sea creatures, the colors... And the way the different people groups learned to live together. There's one line that King Triton says to Ariel, "I'm sorry you had to lose your voice to be heard." Wah!!! 😭 It really is a beautiful movie: visually and culturally.

 

Chocolate and Strawberries and Gels

Thank you Latane and Pamela for the suggestions about the birds nest. I took a broom and cleaned up everything the mom and dad had pulled onto the porch but a couple days later, they had pulled even more out from behind the wreath! Those nests are pretty complex structures.  

 

Beth and I went out for yogurt the other day. You get your own yogurt from their 6 or so flavors, (they change weekly) and add your own toppings, then pay by the weight. We both got chocolate yogurt with fresh strawberries on top! (I also added a few mini chocolate chips and she got mini marshmallows!) It was so good!

 

 

Then we needed to go to the drug store for a few random things: nail files, lined paper... and as we were walking through the stationary department she audibly gasped! They had the gel pens she'd been looking for for months. She took it off the shelf... and hugged it. 😊 Then she looked at me, "I don't know if I get two." When I told her she had enough money in her account, she grabbed it off the shelf so fast! One happy girl!

 As we were driving home she let out a big sigh, "I love shopping."

Jello, Storm Troupers, Gratitude

We had a quiet Fourth. Chuck, Beth and I went to the parade, then came back here for ribs and caesar salad. I love to people watch so waiting for the parade to start is so relaxing to me!

 

The color guard, the veterans in their uniforms, and the group that carries signs of those who were lost in the last year, I get emotional every time. I'm so grateful to have been born in this country.

 

 Beth's favorite part is the Star wars characters. She was telling the strangers seated next to us about her hat. As she points to it she's telling them, "I wore my hat!" They were silent for a few seconds and then, "Oh yeah! That's really nice!" Then she points to the characters. She even yelled at them, "I wore my hat! My hat!!" She absolutely loves them!

 

  After lunch we had our traditional Fourth dessert - jello and whipped cream. we've made this since our girls were little. Our town didn't do fireworks this year so we watched them on TV. Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

 

 

What Do They Eat?

 Hi everyone,

 

I'm spending 2-3 hours a day on the Israel book but I have just a couple more pages to fill and I'll be done. Then proofreading and hitting that Submit button! Of course, then comes the really hard part... waiting for it to come in the mail!

Meanwhile, we're going to work, doing laundry, grocery shopping and just living life. Beth cleans the preschool at our church but when they're out for the summer, I have to find other things for her to do. This week she disinfected the seats in the sanctuary and cleaned the sinks in some of the bathrooms. She's glad to be doing something different.

Remember the Junkos? The birds who build a nest in the wreath on our porch every year? well every December I switch it with a Christmas wreath. Hanging it back up this year I noticed there is a little hook in the back, so I've been hanging it upside down all these years. Not that you can really tell. Supposedly, this is right side up -

This spring the Junkos showed up and mom and dad were hanging around the porch but I never saw the nest. Until one day I noticed it in the back, near the top!

I guess that's where their scent was from years past (or however birds remember where their nests were) and built it as close to that as possible! I've been so afraid that it was going to fall off but it never did, thank goodness. And now those little babies have flown the coop. Next year I'm going to turn that wreath back around!

I planted all kinds of purple and white pansies this year. Five pots full in the front yard and they were really looking nice.

Then the bunnies appeared. And the pansies disappeared...

 

I think next year I'll plant Geraniums. Do rabbits eat Geraniums?

Back Seat

 Hi! Do you remember me? I'm afraid this blog is taking a back seat to the book I'm making on Snapfish of our Israel trip. I like to have something to hold and I don't want to forget anything so I'm desperately trying to get this book finished but it's taking a while.

 

In the meantime, We flew to New Jersey last weekend to see Diana, Peter and Adelaide.

 

Adelaide was baptized and I'm so glad we got to be there. She was a doll in her white dress and hat. Chuck and I bought her a bracelet to wear for the ceremony, you can see it on her right wrist in this picture.

 

 She practically laughed through the entire baptism, so much so that she had everyone else laughing too!

 

 After all, how can you NOT smile with this angel?!

Jet Lag, Thorns, and a Warning!

 I'm sorry I haven't been posting - or reading - lately. I finally began feeling a little normal yesterday, had my first 'normal' night sleep Tuesday night. I was talking with a friend at work today and they heard it could take one day for every hour difference. I pulled out my phone to look at the calendar and yep, Tuesday was day 10! It's been crazy, and I didn't expect how hard it would be to get over jet lag. Have you ever struggled with it?

 

Work has been so busy since we got home. Plus trying to get caught up at home. The laundry, the yard work...

 

And, we leave early Saturday for New Jersey. We're going to see Diana, Peter and Adelaide for a few days. In fact, I didn't even put the suitcases away. I did laundry from Israel, and put a lot of the clothes right back in the suitcase! 

 

A local private high school is having their graduation in our Sanctuary tomorrow. We've spent weeks planning with the principal, various admin, Senior advisors... tomorrow morning is the rehearsal! It's finally here!

 

Sorry, this post seems to be so random, I feel like I'm just rambling. I'm creating a book on Snapfish of our Israel trip and it's been fun to re-live the memories. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite photos -

 

 Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee

 

 

The kind of tree they believe was used to make the crown of thorns. 

The thorns look a little flimsy but they're not. Trust me.

 An oil painting in Magdala, Mary Magdelene's home town

The woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of His garment

The floor of this room is from the first century

 

 We went to the Jordan river, very close to the area where Jesus was baptized by John

In fact, the other side of the river IS Jordan

Our phones kept pinging, "Welcome to Jordan! Warning! Xfinity does NOT serve Jordan."
 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you in a week or two. 

Donkeys, The Sea, and Fire

 We flew out at 2:20pm PST on May 15th and after a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany, we landed in Tel Aviv at 7:30pm on May 16th (Tel Aviv time.) By the time all 94 of us arrived at the meeting place in the airport, went through security, loaded onto the busses and drove the 30 minutes to the hotel, it was 10:00pm. The amazing hotel served us a delicious dinner and we fell into bed around midnight.

 

We had to be up and on the busses at 7:30 in the morning. And that began nine days of the most incredible journey!  

 

Our first stop was Caesarea National Park, right on the Mediterranean Sea. We saw the remains of Herod's palace and the harbor he had built. We visited 46 sites in our 10 days on the ground. It was a whirlwind trip but one we will never forget.

 

 

 We also went to Mt Carmel, where Elijah confronted King Ahab, then he prayed and God rained down fire on the altar and it consumed the wood, the altar and the water around it.

 

We visited a Jewish village where we got to put on robes like they wore, pick and grind wheat, some rode donkeys, (Chuck and I didn't) and just experience what life would have been like back then.

 

Incredible experiences for our first day!