Vacation Bible Study photos

Due to overcrowding conditions, a blessing in itself, the Bible lesson portion of VBS was conducted on the patio outside the Fellowship Hall. At this time we usually lost some of our audience, as this was the second last activity before closing, and they start to wind down a bit. Mario is shown with his head down while others lean on their arms, listening to Miss Jennifer read the story.

"I have a great idea! Let's give the kids weapons!!!" Actually they did rather well although proper use of the rhythmn sticks and clacker thing the girl on the right has needed repeated instruction. But, once the singing was underway, the kids kept the beat and were very ready to participate in praising God!

The class I assisted with is sitting behind the row where Sarah is sitting. Mario, Twila's great grandson, in the white shirt is looking at Hanna who is looking at her little brother with triangle. I think that day the triangle needed to be restrung because somehow or another it came off the ribbon which supported it. If the kids had a shaker on Wednesday, they wanted a different instrument the next day. THAT they can remember!!!

Mario and the Langley boys are learning the movements for one of the songs they were singing. It worked better doing the smaller groups than the entire group, complete with distrations. From left are Mario, Brant, William, and Wesley.

Little Andrew, this being his first night at VBS, fit in perfectly and enjoyed his "eye scream" ice cream treat all the way to his ears! The object lesson was a scoop of vanilla ice cream, with strings of red liquorice for eye lashes, and then chocolate shell as the eye color. Then a nice cup of lemonade, which would have made my head spin around!

Such goofy weather today

While I understand that other areas of the nation are getting much needed rain, we are getting more not-needed-right-now rains, with intermittent sunshine here. Early this morning I had already figured there was no pooltime for me today so I got cleaned up and dressed in street clothes, for a change! It was better for me to be fully dressed anyway since the painters are working outside my condo, covering my plants with cloths to protect them from spatters. I gave the one man in my courtyard a bottle of water which I had gotten from Justin a few weeks ago, just for moments as this. The paint is being applied by roller and goes on nice and rich with the sealant product included. Almost like rubber to the touch.

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Much to the painters' delight, I am sure, Cassidy is playing the piano downstairs for their listening and dancing pleasure. When school starts again, it will be sadly quiet musically around here, except for the weekends when there are weddings at The Club. Last year she gave piano lessons which were not quite as pleasant an experience for the listeners, but when she is playing for her purposes, I get to enjoy it. Soothes the savage breast, particularly when she plays Finlandia, "Be Still, My Soul" melody.

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Tonight will be the closing of our Vacation Bible School for 2009. We grew from pre-registered 12 kids to nearly 40 as of last night, when often the number decline as the week wears on. I have such fun photos of the kids eating their ice cream treat, actually licking their plates clean. One little guy had chocolate all over his face, even his cheeks were stained. I will post them another time as I am writing from my laptop at present which won't allow for the photo card.

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I see a brave painter pair on the outside of the building, suspended from the roof on the river side. This is the first time I have seen them actually at work from above, as it were. The greyness of the skies would certainly prevent me from painting when dangling between heaven and earth, since there is no escape once they are out there. Certainly they know what they are doing, as this is not the first job for them, but it is a first for me, having them out there like that!

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Last week, speaking of painting, I picked up a piece I had framed at Great Hang Ups, in a red frame with a red beveled matte. I love it, but am not sure where to hang it. My walls are kinda full, unless I put it in a room no one sees...I have been thinking of taking a piece of mine with me to Mom's so we can redecorate the family room while we are at it. She has used the same decor since before she moved to the apartment, it is time for a change. Mom loves her Amish stuff, and feels sad about possibly getting rid of it, so I suggested she simply put up the arrangement into another of her rooms instead. Works for me!

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Earlier in the week I made flight reservations for Justin's and my trip to help Mom move in September BUT, I goofed! Presently Justin's school schedule is Monday and Wednesday evenings but when the fall schedule begins, he is going to Tuesday and Thursdays. This has not been established yet, but he had told me his plan and I simply forgot this when I made the plans. From the looks of it, he will miss one class now that I made the change to the reservation. It cost me to make the change but that is better than having him miss two classes. Nuts!

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My sis-in-law is due in town, may possibly be here already, coming from WI with 4 teens as her passegers. They will be staying with her brother at his big house but I hope to at least show them my place while they are in town. I know that teenagers are not as easily impressed with views of the river but if I can take them down to the pool, that might be fun for them. Either house has a pool so that is not a huge draw over here.

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My tummy is grumbling so I think I will go to find some food. It might be time to go to Publix again and stock up on some grub. Joanne's food items are still in the fridge and cabinets which I should pack up for her at some point. Of all the food of hers in there, I can use the ketchup and bbq sauce, but that is about it!

I hear water rushing!

Oops, I accidently hit "enter" rather than "tab" and sent my blog off for posting quite prematurely, with no text in the body! A bit of concentration problems going on here, possibly because I here water rushing from outdoors. Without actually going to look myself, my guess is the pressure washer folks are in my courtyard today! It is my turn to be spruced up! But, wait....it seems they are a couple floors above mine yet, and it sounds as though the machinery is outside my doors---weird the way sound bounces around in my building! Both my eyelids are in full-flutter mode already today and I have only had one can of soda. Perhaps I was not done sleeping when I got up.

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The river is quite silent appearing this a.m., with not one boat or flying vehicle to be seen at this moment. The sky is filled with clouds which makes the idea of water aerobics fade quickly. Originally I had planned a meeting with a man from church this morning but I have since postponed it. It can wait until next week, after all the VBS activity is done and we can settle down a bit. I just heard a small plane high overhead and spotted a single boat cruising down toward town, now again, all quiet....

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There is the most darling Cheerios commercial on again, where a little boy shows up in his parents' bedroom with milk and "O cereal", as Timmy used to call it, very early in the morning. The sweet child tells his daddy that he has to get "that cholestral off of you", so the daddy sits on the edge of the bed, eating his cereal. The boy has a huge dimple and tousled hair....After the daddy thanks the child for the breakfast, the boy walks around to the other side of the bed and wakes his mom. I swear he looks just like I remember Timmy looking! Would I have been such a good sport about being awakened with milk and cereal? Probably not! I do remember one time, on a Saturday morning, opening my eyes to see a small boy wearing a ranger hat with his favorite blanket wrapped around him, standing next to my bed. No jammies? The blanket was included with the other items in his coffin, not that he'd need it....The ad makers are wise to the fact that certain scenes actually do take place in our homes and in our lives, and capitalize on that fact. I am going to buy some Cheerios!

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It certainly does my heart good to see the markets coming back up this week. There is so much going on around us that we are seemingly powerless to affect, including the socialized medicine bill being forced through. My friend told me last night that PrezBO wants it passed before the House and Senate take their summer recess. Such a small percentage of people are involuntarily uninsured, and yet the entire nation now must fall under the plan, at a huge cost, not the least of which is personal liberty---again. Small businesses or businesses in general will once again get hit in the bottom line, with more staff being let go due to the high taxes...it seemingly never ends!

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A Marine from Middleburg was killed over the weekend in Afghanistan and my friend, Judy J. is attempting to get the information about his body's arrival in the States, if he will be buried locally or at Arlington National Cemetary. I want to be present if his entourage travels from NAS to Middleburg, so Judy is making the contacts today as she will stand with me if it happens here. She is recovering yet from a case of shingles so has been keeping a somewhat low profile, as her undergarments cause an irritation, obviously. Poor thing, especially in the summer!

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Ms. Lisa is escorting a crying little one from the opening devotion portion of VBS, with Kathy B. lending a hand in Lisa's absence.

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Last night was one for weeping at VBS, as two little boys had problems. One, his first time experiencing a week of VBS, got a bit upset when the music was too loud or the DVD was too loud during the opening so Ms. Lisa took him out to get him settled. Moments later, one of the Langley boys pulled on his elasticized lanyard for his name tag, which popped back, snapping him in the eye! Once more a hustle for the door where a cool cloth was put on the eye until it stopped stinging. We did not think about the snapping elastic scenario when distributing the name tags......That reminds me of years ago when we had a train themed VBS. All the kids were given bandanas to wear around their necks, to look like conductors. Little did we know they would try to strangle one another or snap each other with them. Good thing we waited until the closing service to distribute the train whistles!

Some early VBS photos

At the opening of Vacation Bible School, Pastor Kuske is explaining about Creation, and it appears as though he is being imitated by the robot, Gadget, in the background! The two robots and the backdrop came from our sister congregation, Victory Lutheran, where Justin worships, and they nicely allowed us to borrow it for our week-long VBS. The garage-scene is incorporated throughout the lessons. GADGET is an acronym for God Always Does Great, Exciting Things!

The children were all given the task of making their own robots, using cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, and other household items. My goddaughter, Sarah, is busily painting her cereal box using a long paint brush, which I found amusing. In the background, Colby, who is a craft helper this year, is leaning into the frame so I could snap a picture of him as well. He has gotten quite tall this summer and can look me in the eye, or rather at my eye brows! Akeila, the little girl I have mentioned in previous postings, has the white beads in her hair, back to back with Sarah.

Miss Jennifer, our primary leader for the VBS, working in concert with Pastor, is also the teacher for the kindergarten VBS class. I was able to help with the kid shuffling last night as they decided to break the pre-k group out of this one since we had so many. At early count a week ago, there were only 12 people registered but now our numbers have grown to just about 35, with two new registrants last night. Thank you, Lord, for providing willing workers and children "hungry for the Word" at our VBS!!!

This game is more than just fun to play, it also helped the little ones understand the story of Creation, as various-sized balls were sent aloft in this parachute. The large beach ball was the sun, with the decreasingly smaller balls symbollic of the stars and planets. They had to try to keep the balls in the air and not let them crash together, because God created them all and manages them for us! Anna is a game helper this year, as she is getting too old for VBS herself. She is also helps Kathy B. with the music, operating the DVD sing-along portion and the CD operator. Many tasks to be taken care of, many hats to be worn by all age groups!

I think I am losing my poof!

I only got home a short while ago from Vacation Bible School and I am bone tired! How does Bonnie do it, managing those kids and their crafts, in such a short period of time, too! Quick, quick, quick we dash from one center to the next with our little children who really do not take direction well......We no sooner get them situated at a table for crafts and it is time to move to the next area. As usual, it is my "cat herding" analogy that comes to mind.

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Tonight my job was to help Jennifer with the little ones, moving them from Point A to Point B without losing anyone, taking kids to the bathroom (or pee pee, as the case might be!), help with their crafts, etc. I so prefer kids in the 1st and 2nd grade than the older ones, believe me. Some of the girls are feeling their age, since we take up to age 12, and have taken to coloring their hair with blue stuff, wearing partial gloves, all the hip stuff. No thanks! Not for me, my patience would be worn to a frazzle. Mike C. has that group, and he is no stranger to middle school kids!

This is the fabulous backdrop and GADGET the robot, borrowed from Victory!

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Kathy B. is leading the music and allows the kids to play little instruments like rhythm sticks, shakers, and gizmos that make a cranking sound. She also plays a song on the guitar that they sing along with and can clap their hands in time with the music. There is a DVD and CD that comes with the program that they learn hand and arm motions to, but I was really slow catching on to that! It went too fast for this old girl...

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When I went to get the pizza for the staff and those cleaning in the classroom building, I saw a rainbow over the river, taking the place of the space shuttle in the sky for me. Nuts! After exercising today at water aerobics and then having a lovely lunch with Maggie O., and then VBS, I am bushed! Good night, y'all!!

Bummed by the shuttle scuttle

Hey, guess who is back, sitting on the flower pot holding the palm tree in the basin---the great blue heron! Or am I in the middle of Ground Hog Day?????

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Once more, my hopes were dashed by bad weather, or at least the threat thereof, as the shuttle remains on the pad at the space center one more day.....The plan is to attempt the launch again this evening but, really, we are no strangers to late afternoon/early evening rain showers here in Florida. Why will tonight be different? Evidently it is significant to the mission to launch in the evening or I would think they would try for a window in the light of day when the skies cleared. It takes a long time to prep for the launch so the astronauts cannot just go running like firemen when the bell goes off. Sitting on top of explosives requires just the right outfit, you know? If it does launch this evening, I will be less able to watch it as I will be at church for VBS.

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Normally at this point in my day I would have switched over to my on-line radio station to listen to Neal but today I have the news on TV as the Senate confirmation hearings begin this morning for the new judge on the Supreme Court. I want to keep half an ear listening to what is going on in the hearings. The sun is breaking through the light cloud cover and I am considering putting on my swimsuit rather than clothing. As mentioned earlier, Good Shepherd is having vacation Bible school this week, starting tonight, so at some point, clothing will need to be worn---but not until!

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Originally we were having a light supper prior to VBS starting to provide that service to busy parents dropping off their kids for class at 6:30. Pastor announced yesterday that due to little interest expressed in the dinners, we will only have it on Monday night, since we notified people of this opportunity on the postcards which went out. Pastor's wife, Lynn, was disappointed as she said she looked forward to a week of not having to worry about making suppers. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she is signed up to make the dinner tonight so I suggested she just make a huge amount of hot dogs (the menu for tonight was hot dogs) and have them all week long! She laughed at that idea. It makes me want to still bring/make what I was going to do just to give her a break midweek. I have sent Pastor a message to that effect and hope to hear back from him shortly.

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Yesterday I had the privilege of worshipping with Justin at G. S. as he has been staying at his father's house while he is on vacation. Mickey the dog still lives, a dog of nine lives, so he needs to be attended while his master is away. Justin complained the other day at lunch that he allowed the dog to sleep in the same room where he slept and the dog made horrible breathing sounds all night long. Justin was too "uninspired" to remove the dog to his usual sleeping spot so his disturbed sleep was his own doing. Then, Friday, Justin told me that Mickey has to be locked up in the house because he found a pile of doggy doo on the carpet in the formal living room. Not good, not good at all. Phew! Justin and I are just not pet people, and that's it!

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Back to church---Justin turned alot of heads, although he has been at church with me a few times this year, he appears to be taller now that he has lost weight. Certainly it is the weight loss that folks notice and compliment. He is gracious about accepting the compliments, and I pray it will not go to his head. We have seen that happen more than once in people's lives, when the ego inflates as the body deflates. He got to hug on his Grandma Twila and Aunt Jean Nichols, Judy J. got a couple squeezes out of him, plus the handshakes and backslaps from many others. Since the choir was quite active in the liturgy, I asked him to come and sit in the back row with me rather than alone further up. We did the Divine Service 1 from the Supplement with the choir leading this week, and next week, all of us will sing it. He likes changes but does not like "happy clappy" music in churches.

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The sermon text used was the same one Justin and I heard in late June when we attended at Victory, from Lamentations, where Jeremiah reports "Gods mercies are new every morning!" Is that not wonderful to know???? It was wonderful to have him there, and we had already discussed his not hanging around for the congregational meeting following the service. Before leaving, Justin had a chance to discuss his gym training with Robbie, but he stopped talking when I walked up. He told Robbie he does not like to talk about it in front of me because I disapprove. Really, what I disapproved of was his ignoring my admonition against spending money he does not have on a gym membership when I am already paying for gym equipment at his apartment complex. It is a done deal so go ahead, talk about it all you want! We have created monsters!

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Pastors sermon touched on that, not calling us monsters, but addressed how we, as believers, are equipped to deal with life situations when we are hit with them. Financial setbacks, failing health, huge voids in our lives that we think cannot be filled.....His mercies are new every morning. Would I dare tell the Father these mercies are not good enough? Certainly not! But we do that to each other all the time, and probably toward God as well, hopefully we are not realizing that we are doing it. A good message for us from what I refer to as Justin's favorite book of the Bible, because he likes to lament so much!!!

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After the meeting, my intent was to head straight home and get out to the pool with Maggie O. and the others, but it was just pouring rain---again! It was fine when we went into the meeting but an hour later, the heavens were open. Instead, I accepted an invitation to go to lunch with a group from church, not my usual ones, except for Judy C., and I was delighted to go! Longhorn, here we come! It was an enjoyable time with these friends and a nice to-go box of chicken fingers and onion straws for another meal or two. I shared with them the story of the spilled marsala sauce and a collective "eewwww!" went up when I told them about the sauce going all over my desk and papers. Terri asked me if my desk smelled good and I laughed, telling her it did----the first day............!

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It had stopped raining by the time I got home and I made my way immediately to the pool. Pat was the only one of our usual group still there as the rain scared everyone off. They were just closing up the cabana so I was glad I brought my own soda downstairs with me. Of course, I no sooner got situated when the sun went away so no going into the pool for me. The water reportedly was still pretty cold from the recent rains so definitely some sunshine would be necessary for me. Pat and I chatted a bit, and then noticed a police car drive in our parking area, with two of our neighbors walking around and looking at stuff. Curiosity got the better of us, and since Pat is on the Board, thought we should check it out. I saw the police car leave but Pat was convinced something was amiss so off we went. There was nothing going on, Hugh and Mo were merely checking out the paint job, so we sat on the sundeck the rest of the afternoon into the evening.

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Paul and Emily were planning to come over to watch the shuttle launch from here but Paul was not feeling well so they decided to not come. Good thing, because the shuttle was scuttled. We got a few chuckles after church yesterday when Paul handed me my heating pad which he had borrowed weeks ago. Many had complained about it being too cold in worship and I offered to rent my heating pad to whoever needed it during the church meeting! Money changers in the temple!

Things are quiet, "heron" the river!

Get it? There is a great blue heron perched on the concrete 'flower pot' which supports the palm trees in the basin, standing first on one leg, and then the other. It appears as though he is casing the joint, looking into the water for the best, the juiciest fish to nab for breakfast. Joanne was telling us at dinner the other night how the herons eat their catch head first. She has much more patience bird watching than I would because I have never seen the herons eat their catch!

A great blue sitting on the rocks outside my condo

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This early morning I woke up abruptly from a dream and at just the right time. Yes, another dream story to start your day! In my life and living, I am pretty much surrounded by people in the building and real estate businesses, which naturally affords itself of talking shop. I did have quite the conversation around the pool late afternoon Saturday with some of my neighbors, one of whom has his condo for sale and the other, Miss Chardonnay, who is a Realtor.

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In my dream, I somehow got the key for a house for sale in Manitowoc, on N. 8th Street, a two-story older home with a basement. It was evening when I let myself in and decided this was the house for me! There was no Realtor with me, just let myself in. But that vinyl floor in the kitchen just had to go, and I pulled out my trusty razor knife and starting cutting away. About half of it got pulled up when I decided to mark the walls for where I wanted the cabinets installed. I think this came from looking at the Money Pages coupon magazine at the display for the people who make-over garages with spongy floors and organize tools, etc. By the time I got done with my make-over of the house, I found myself in the front room of the house. Much to my surprise, there was an office set-up with people working at desks, the real owners of the house!!!

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I explained that I had gotten a key and wanted to buy the house, but I did not know how much it was (sounds just like me!). They put their heads together and came up with a price. It was not out of line, probably more than a house like that in Manitowoc usually cost, and I pulled out my check-book.

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BUT, here's the turn of the plot, it was time for me to be at work!!!! I had to get going and nothing, nothing, would allow me to get to work on time! Oh, that level of frustration runs rampant through my dreams, running in quick sand. My impulse was to write these people a check for the full amount of the house but then reason kicked in, telling me to give only a downpayment. At this point, they did not know I had begun renovations already. My wallpaper man was busy in the kitchen trying to install a border but the wall was so out of square that the border ran up and down instead of across....

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Meanwhile, I was digging through my purse trying to find the key card to let myself into work ( I was trying to get to Shady Lane using my Sprint key card!). At one point in my dream, I wanted the Sellers to notice the crooked walls without my telling them so I put two dead roaches in the corner to draw their attention to it. Certainly it would have been rude of me to point out the flaws directly....So, I woke up in full-frustration mode, ready for the day!

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I hear the A/C running which means the temperature in my home must be about 79 degrees, which is a good sign for what the day brings. Justin is going to church with me but will not be staying for the meeting afterward. He is taking advantage of staying at his father's house further down the river, entertaining his friends, cooking out, jet skiing, watching TV....I hope he remembered to bring church clothes along with him. I have to chuckle about him as he has become a huge fan of Kohl's! Many many years ago, our friend, Pete, said there is no other place to shop than Kohl's, and that was before the chain moved to Florida! Justin is quite the sales shopper and since he has lost about 60 pounds, has become the clothes horse. Or pony, as the case might be!

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On Fox and Friends, the very first thing I heard when regaining consciousness this a.m. was a breaking news story about how long it takes women to get ready for the day. What? That is what passes as news today? I heard this yesterday already, warmed over non-news, ugh! But wait, it gets worse----supposedly a study somewhere, probably from the streets of New Jersey (sorry readers from NJ!), "proves" that cursing and swearing are helpful in dealing with situations and with pain. Really? Supposedly, again, if you burn your hand, curse, and thrust it into ice water, you will get relief quicker than the person who does not stoop to cursing or filthy words. Next these words will be showing up on spelling tests or on the FCATs, changing the entire meaning of the acronym!

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Hopefully the space shuttle will launch this evening, and Joanne will miss it! She is now staying at the beach house more than here with me, but will be in Bible study during the launch. I will have to watch it for her!