No Forks!

So I didn't stick a fork in my eye after all.

And I don't HATE Annie. I was just so stinkin' sick of hearing it in the background as K, J, and I all had simultaneous meltdowns that afternoon. It would have taken waaaaaaay too much energy to explain it right at that moment (though it would have made a killer blog post) so I punched Annie instead. I am sorry, Annie. I am sorry, Daddy Warbucks. We love you, Miss Hannigan!

Later that same afternoon I flopped down on my bed utterly exhausted for approximately 47 seconds of a nap before I was notified that K was "cooling her hair down" with toilet water. Good times! I was really reaching for the fork by that time.

We had VBS last week, FIESTA: Where Kids are FIRED UP about Jesus! It was a great curriculum. This was my second year as the Station Leader for Chadder's Desert Drive-In Theater which meant I had a new crew of 15-40 kids coming in my theater every 20 minutes for 2 hours. I would show a short segment of the feature presentation and then TRY to facilitate small group discussion while emphasizing/illustrating the Bible Point of the day and not forgetting to scream "VIVA!" and throw my arms up in a V every time I either said it or heard it spoken. Yeeeeah...it was pretty challenging, but I much prefer that role to being solely resposible for one group of 5-10 and escorting them throughout their day's activities. I had a couple great helpers and some super kids.

I really did enjoy it. Imagine, joy in serving Jesus? Joy in serving...others? How very foreign...who knew? And when else can you Cha-Cha and Mambo at church? And when else can you answer such deep spiritual questions as, "Mrs. Janelle, if I attached a message to God to this balloon and let it go, do you think He would answer me?" Umm, yeah...no, no I do not. And when else can you be in the middle of such RICH interaction with so many interesting little characters? Another tender soul brought to my attention his suspicion that I had worn the same shorts the day before. While another boy cautioned me that wearing flip-flops everyday was probably not in the best interest of my feet..."because you have ALL that WEIGHT on them with no support for your back." God bless. And yet another boy attempted to give me a detailed explanation for why his medical condition prohibited him from "tip toe-ing" after I had instructed him to do so. It was good fun!

Friday afternoon after the Fiesta festivities had concluded, we left for one of my favorite destinations anywhere and that would be our friend's parents' cabin about 3 hours "up north" of these here parts. It is not so much a cabin, but more of a nice 4 bedroom house in the middle of 340 heavily wooded acres complete with 3 new four-wheelers, two full sized for adults and one mini for the kids, and seemingly endless winding and hilly trails to explore. The house has running water, is powered by a generator, and is equipped with most modern conveniences except for central air. It even has its own satellite for improved cell phone reception. We stayed 2 nights with our friends and their 3 children, and another couple and their 3 children. So yes, that made 6 adults and 9 children under one roof. Surprisingly, it was very peaceful with not so much as a single squabble to settle all weekend. We did a lot of trail riding, ate lots of good food, and learned how to play a new game. The kids and I won't go back again till next summer, but Jeff will hunt there a couple weekends this fall. (See new photos on Webshots.)