VBS 2013- Day 4 and 5

Thursday was Day 4 of VBS overload.

 

 

My class was ready to go. They are really getting the hang of the VBS thing.

 

I know it is only a week and only a couple hours, but I have really enjoyed these little guys. It is bittersweet, because  I will miss seeing them, but VBS is exhausting!

 

Brady and Grady are best buds. They are so silly. When I told them to say cheese, they said underpants. Boys.

 

After lunch, nap time, and a few errands, we headed back of our last night of VBS round 2.

 

They have refreshments for every one the last night. Caleb had to work late, but he joined us at the end.

Friday was day 5 of VBS. It was a crazy day. The kids were worn out. After VBS was over, I cleaned up my rooms while my MIL rocked Presley and Brady watched veggie tales with about 20 kids in the children's library. You know they were worn out, because they were all crowded in there quietly watching. Ha!

After VBS is over some ladies have a meal for all the teachers and helpers. It is always so nice and yummy. Presley enjoyed some BBQ.

 

A few things to note about VBS 2013...

• 2 VBS's in one week is killer. We all hit our limit about Wednesday.
• I have the best MIL. She is so helpful. We would have had a very different week if she hadn't tagged along with us in the mornings. So thankful for her.
• Presley is a trooper. She is a stinker and a little bit of a diva, but girl hung in there like a champ.
• I have learned so much about teaching kindergarten VBS. I have declared myself the Kindergarten VBS teacher as long as I am available. I think it is beneficial to stick with one group and learn rather than jumping around.
• Brady is a good boy. He got such great reports from all his teachers. I am so proud of my sweet boy. Sometimes it feels like we are total failures as parents, but when he gets such good reports I feel like maybe we are doing an okay job. I credit most of it to a lot of prayer.
• We are surrounded by great disciples of Jesus. I am blown away by the willingness to jump in, love, and teach our children and the communities children. I kept thinking to myself how this may the only time some of these children see Jesus. I hope they felt and experienced how loved and special each one is. The sweet smiles on their faces and joy in their voices make me think they did. :)



 

So long VBS 2013! It was fun!

VBS 2013- Day 3

Whew! Wednesday was day 3 of VBS overload of 2013!

 

My class was a little wilder this day than they had been. The have been a really good group.

We had a jam packed lesson with a lot of activities. They got to dress as shepherds, pack a "lunch", and go on a sheep hunt.

Needless to say, this got them all excited pretty quickly.

Brady was so tired, which translated to having tons of energy. He was running around in circles yelling, "wahoo" at one point.

Yeah, it was as fun as it sounds.

Presley is doing really well. She has been a trooper. Girl is tired, though!

Wednesday night we let Brady choose if he wanted to attend regular services at our congregation or continue our 2nd VBS. He choose our regular congregation.

Because of VBS a lot of classes are out of commission, so they had all classes meet for a puppet show and songs.

I am so thankful for so many children for our children to worship along side. We are blessed with some wonderful Christian families.

We made our way home last night and there was a wreck on the interstate so all traffic was being rerouted to one of the roads connecting to our roads. It took us 45 minutes to go a distance that normally takes somewhere between 5-10 minutes. Bonnaroo traffic is in town or traffic wouldn't have been so bad when rerouted at 9 pm. It was terrible and Presley was so upset. She cried and cried.
Bless it...

2 more days...


VBS 2013- Day 2

We headed out bright and early for day 2 of VBS Tuesday morning.

 

Brady and Presley were excited to get started.

 

Brady did well and loved it.

 

Presley did well. She gets so sleepy. The babies don't do well with the noise, so they try to keep them away as much as possible. Presley is also not a fan of the people dressed up.

 

My class was good. We were not the largest today. I have given them a challenge for tomorrow with a bribe of doughnuts on Thursday if they make it. We shall see.

 

My wonderful MIL took the kids back to her house for lunch and naps. I was able to get my room all set up for tomorrow and grab lunch with my mom in peace. I came on home, because the kiddos were still napping. I tried to get a little cleaning done. I mostly just enjoyed the quiet.

 

 

We had dinner at Caleb's parents house before all heading to VBS part 2 with them.
 

 

It went well, but we are all tired.  See Presley's eyes above. Presley actually did really well for being so tired.

Brady was WILD. There was some debate whether to if he actually ever took a nap or not. He is very good at manipulating skipping nap at Gigi and Papa's. Either way, he was bouncing off the walls!!!
 

 

As we were driving home, I thought it is only Tuesday. What are they going to be like on Friday?

 Hopefully naps and good nights rest will keep them from being over exhausted. *Fingers crossed*

More fun to come...
 



VBS- Day 1

It is Vacation Bible School time again with our congregation. AND to add a little more fun to the mix, Caleb's parents congregation are also having VBS this week. Ours is during the day and theirs is in the evening. This is going to one week of VBS overload.

 

Brady is beyond excited about all this fun. Presley is yet to be determined.

 

Today was our first day!

Our morning started rough, despite my best efforts to get everything set out and ready the night before. Presley woke up about 4 times crying in the night, so naturally I had to wake her in to time to leave. We shoved some food in her sleepy, grumpy mouth. Brady spilled his milk and moved around like a snail. We finally made it out of the house and I drove to the wrong place to pick up my Mother-in-Law.(communication error.)

 

Apparently I felt the need to smile super big to overcompensate for the morning.

 

No worries, though.

 

We all made it and had a great first day.

My MIL stayed with Presley and she did great until the very end. Something about an Egyptian scaring her.

 

I got an excellent report from Brady's teacher. He is so interested in learning. I hope he continues to behave as the week goes on.

 

I taught Kindergarten and we had the biggest class with a total of 21(including adults). They were good, there was just a lot of them! Ha!

 

We came home and took naps and got things ready for the next day, before heading back to the other VBS. Presley slept from 1-5. Ha! Girl, was worn out. I woke her at 5.

 

Brady went to his class and I think he did fine. I left Presley in her class, she was fine when I left. About half way through I heard her crying and went in to save the teachers.  She was fine after that.

Obviously Brady is having a big time!  He is in the red in the front.

 

We ran into this little guy. Jeffery attends are congregation. We have spent some time with him in the nursery. He was my boy tonight. He just crawled up and sat right next to me. He is a cutie.

 

 

We are all going to try and rest so we can be ready to do it all again tomorrow!

 

 



Weekly Wrap-up

• I have spent the majority of the week working on painting our kitchen cabinets. I am a little wishy washy on how I feel about them. I think they look good, but I notice every single imperfection and it drives me crazy. Also, it is such a time consuming job. I am so ready for them to be finished. Our house has been torn upside down this week. I *think* it will be worth it in the end. Caleb says they look good.

• We spent a little time in the kiddie pool this week. Presley is not a fan of the cold water and she is still taking 2 long naps a day. We haven't quite figured out when the best time for her to enjoy the water is. She is very regimented. I typically do what I want when I want with my kids, meaning I am not a stickler for their schedule. Miss Presley usually makes it fine, but she is much better if we stick to her schedule. AND if we are home, she basically forces you to follow her schedule. I will say it is much easier to enjoy the kiddie pool while she is napping.

He  would jump out of the little pool into the bigger pool. Kids are funny.

• We made it to story time at our library this week for the first time in a year. Ha! The kids LOVED it! I love our library. They do such a good job with all their programs.

• Brady played his last t-ball game of the season last night. It was the first game of the tournament and his team lost. I always want to win, but I was a little relieved they lost. That is just one less thing we have to make it to. Brady had a great season. I am so proud of him, not only because he improved so much in the game, but he behaved so well overall and listened well throughout the season. We had a few not so pleasant moments, but those were few and far between.

He had a few people come out and watch him. Including myself there were 13 of us cheering him on. We have one loved little boy. He made sure to get another home run. It was a nail biter, though.

 

 



*I have no idea why his pants are pulled up so high!*

Because this was the last game, they each got a medal. The boys were so excited!!!

 

 



• Vacation Bible School starts on Monday. Our congregation is in the morning and Caleb's parents is in the evening. It is going to be a week of VBS overload for us. I have got to spend my weekend preparing for 20 kindergartners (and finishing up my cabinets). 

Summer is in full swing around here. Brady keeps asking if it is still summer. Ha! When I say it is, he will reply with oh goodie goodie goodie. Ha!

Girls Night Out

Monday night my Mom and I, along with some friends, went to see Darius Rucker and friends benefit concert at the Wildhorse Saloon. The concert benefited St. Jude's Research Hospital.

There were six of us total. We had a great time. However, I failed to get a single picture of all of us. This is my friend Amie and I, not the greatest picture, but oh well.

 

Amie and I sat on the floor so we could see through the rails. We felt like little kids, but we were able to see.

 

Luke Bryan was one of the friends at the show. Most of us didn't realize he would be there, so we were a pretty excited table of ladies. I looked it up a while ago, but forgot who all would be there, so it was like being surprised again. I did manage to get multiple pictures of Luke. Priorities.

It was a great show. Each artist sang about three songs. Darius sang back up to at least one of each artists songs.

Darius opened and closed the show with some of his popular songs. The amount of people yelling "Hootie" was entertaining.

It was a great night of fun, laughing, and girl time.

Weekend Fun

My sister took Brady and Noah to the zoo. I kept the babies at home so they would be able to nap and not be in the heat.  Brady had a great time and talked all about the animals he saw.

Saturday morning was spent at the ball field. Presley is getting better and better about being at the ball field. The wagon is very helpful. Even if she doesn't sit in it. I can toss all my stuff in it and easily make it to a from the car.

Brady's team won and qualified for tournaments. They start this week.

Caleb and I were attend a Luau on Saturday night. The luau was to benefit a program which provides school supplies and other necessities to lower income children locally. This is a new program only its second year and this is the first type of fundraiser for this program.

 

Gary did the auction. They had about 12 items and they were really good items, including Luke Bryan concert tickets, 2 Duck Dynasty duck calls signed by Si and Phil, and a trip to Panama City Beach.

 

We ate yummy food and enjoyed an authentic hula show.

We  had a great time and quite a bit of money was raised. It came a huge downpour right before and as it was starting. All the décor got soaked, but everyone made the best of it. We had fun and were happy to be apart of it.

 Sunday morning the kids looked so cute for church. I don't usually worry about matching or coordinating them, but it worked out. Presley had her blue dress on and Brady had his blue seersucker shorts on. They both looked so cute! However, they would not cooperate with me for a picture, hence the bribery cracker P is eating above.

I was able to get a picture after services with Caleb that was much better. P is sleepy and is representing that paci. I need to take more Sunday morning pics.

 It was another fun weekend for the books.

11 Months

11 Months

 

Wow! Presley is 11 months old. She turned 11 months on Sunday.  

 

What an 11 months it has been. Presley is a mess! She came into our family demanding her place and that hasn't really changed. Ha!  Girl wants things done her way and she doesn't have much patience if it doesn't happen.

 

At 11 months Presley is...

 

• wearing size 3 diapers.
• wearing size 9 or 12 month clothes. Most of her summer clothes are 12 months or she would be mostly in 9 month stuff.
• eating table foods mostly. She has pureed food on occasion just for convenience if she will eat it.
• nursing about 3- 4 (short) times a day. I am planning on slowly introducing cows milk this month. She is over the breast milk, bottle, and nursing thing. She really is only interested right when she wakes up. I will continue that as long as need, which I don't think will be that long.
• pulling up and cruising on and around everything. She can stand alone, but has taken many a fall, so she is a bit timid. She can walk while pushing a standing toy or riding toy. She is so very close to walking, she just hasn't gotten the courage to let go yet. I am not really rushing it.
• saying mama, dada, bubba, dog, baby, up, no no, hi, and a couple other things here and there. She babbles and says the same sounds repeatedly in the same situation, but we don't know what she is saying. She also repeats a lot of sounds back to you.
• clapping, pointing, dancing, waving hi and bye(they are different), playing peek a boo, blowing kisses(if you are lucky), and rolling hands/arms for patty cake.
• singing. It is super sweet even if I have no idea what she is singing. She mostly does it in the car or when she thinks no one is listening.  The singing might be my favorite thing she does.
•  blowing kisses like it is her job.
• sleeping from 8-6:30 most nights.
• has two bottom teeth and two top teeth barely past the gums.
• loves her brother.

She has changed so much. She is so little, but acts so big. I honestly have trouble remembering life without her, but it seems like we just brought her home.

Birthday party planning is in full swing. We have a lengthy to do list around here before the party.

Brady is so crazy about his sister. He constantly wants to check on her, play with her, talk with her, or know what she is doing. He is such a great big brother.

It has been a great 11 months and I can't imagine life without her. 1 more month until birthday party time!  Aaaaahhhh!

Happy 11 months Presley!