Remus Here We Come!!!

Well the youngest two and myself are off to Remus for camp this week.  Talon and a few of our teens from church, are headed to Athens Youth Camp in Athens MI.  I told the "kids" I would be willing to drive our church van and take them to Athens, if enough of them wanted to go.  We started off with around 6 wanting to go, but we are down to only 3.  Oh well, I know they will all still have a great time.  I decided to head to Remus to be with my Dad at his camp, after I drop the kids off.  It has been years and years since I have been back home for camp, so I am excited to get to go!  I wish Jerry could go with us, but totally understand he has to work.  We are SO thankful for his job, God has been good to us allowing him to find his job!!!  I can't believe it has been almost a year that he has worked there, but it has.  Last year at this time we were having a rough time and praying that God would give him a job.  We know it was all in God's timing, after all, he applied for this job 4 months before they called him for an interview, so... I guess God was just trying to teach us to be patience and wait on Him!  So thankful we serve a God that knows just what we need!!!  --Well I'm outta here, we leave in the morning so I'd better get some sleep.  I'm sure I will have a lot of pictures to post when I get home, so...stay tuned.  Since we start VBS the night we get back, I'm sure I won't get around to posting them right away, but shortly after.  Have a great week!

VBS Is Upon Us

Well it is that time once again...VBS time!!!  I look SO forward to this every time our church has it, I guess it is the kid still coming out in me : )  For some reason it seems we only have it about every other year, so I get excited when the preacher says, "we need to have a VBS meeting after church", YEA!  I was asked two years to be "in charge" of the crafts and I was happy to do so.  I got everything ready to go and...that is the week my Mama decided it was her final week to here with us on this old earth.  I spent that whole week in MI, so I missed out on VBS that whole entire week : (  I was SO thankful for my great friend, Bobbie, that stepped in and took over the crafts for me that week!!!  It made it nice to know that everything back here at home was under control and that I could enjoy being with my Mom in her final days!  When we heard those words..."we need to have a VBS meeting after church tonight" a few months ago, I was excited to do whatever I could to help out.  I didn't realize Ms. Sarah had BIG plans for me again this round, but she did : )  Needless to say, I have been preparing lists of items needed, pricing items, pulling out what I have here at home and getting stuff ready for VBS.  When they originally scheduled it, it wasn't till August, but it has been re-scheduled to the week of July 26th, so I knew I had better get my tail end in gear.  I will be gone to MI for a few days before it starts, so anything that needs done for VBS will have to be done and ready to go, by this week.  Today I decided to finalize my "donation list" for craft supplies and start on the work that needs to be done ahead of time (like painting and such).  I know the 3-5 yr. old would looovvveee to do their own painting, but for the sake of their clothes and time, I'm going to get all of that painting done and out of the way.  Today I put my little slaves to "work" and they helped me get the painting underway.  They sure loved this kind of "work", they wish it was this fun and easy every time I called for it to be work time, ha!  Here's what we were able to get done---

Keeg & Kallee helping me paint 14 toilet paper rolls. 
This isn't near enough rolls, but that is all we have collected so far.

Keegan is always so careful and wants to make sure it is done just right ; )

Little Miss Kallee finally getting to paint one green!

What Are We Up To...

Last week was Talon's 7th performance with he Clinton County Youth Theater.  He played Liver Lips Louie, in "Guys & Dolls".  As usual, they did AWESOME!!!  I would love to show some pictures, but...some how the 100+ pictures that I took, got deleted : (  I do have a few but I'm hoping to get some from some of the other parents.  --This week we've had a beautiful week, God has given us lots of sunshine, but decided to give us a break from the humidity.  I've enjoyed having the air off and the windows open, it has been that nice.  The boys (Jerry too) have been working really hard on cleaning up the yard and it is looking very nice.  They have cut down trees, cleared tall grassy areas and cleaned up some junk that has accumulated around the back barn.  It looks so nice, I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing a cleaned up yard --thanks guys!!  --Kallee enjoyed a class at the library this week and her and Keegan are still working hard on earning points towards prizes for the Summer Reading Program.  Only 3 more book reports and they will have their Indiana Beach tickets earned, YEA!!!  --I've enjoyed a pretty lazy week, I'm sure my hubby would say--"don't you enjoy those kind of weeks every week", he's such a gem, LOL!  Speaking of my hubby, we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary this week.  I can't believe in 2 years from now, I will be married longer than I was single ---where did that time go?!?  He took me to my favorite restaurant for lunch, Red Lobster, and it was so good!  He wanted to know what I wanted as an anniversary gift and since I had bought some scrapbook stuff earlier this week, I told him he "technically" already had bought me something! : )  I figured why waste money on something that I really don't need, especially since we are working really hard paying down on the debt that we owe.  Being self-employed and then without a job for 7 months, it just doesn't help the bank account any so...such as life! -- I've been scrappin' a little this week, it doesn't seem like I get much done, but at least 6 more pages are done so I guess that's better than nothing.  I look forward to scrappin' with "the girls" next week, it has been two weeks since we've gotten together, so I'm itching to meet with them.  None of us ever get much done, but it is fun just getting together with my friends and accomplishing at least a little. : )  --Well we are off to IL tomorrow, we are going to visit my niece Megan and her family for the 4th!  She invited us last week and since we didn't really have any plans, we said sure.  We are taking our tent so Jerry and the boys can sleep outside and us girls plan on sleeping in comfort---inside, ha!  I'm just NOT a nature girl and I don't enjoy camping, well at least not in a tent.  I would like to wish you all a very Happy 4th and hope you have a great and safe day tomorrow!