VBS: Faith, Fun AND FREEDOM...

I started this before yesterday's post, but I wasn't feelin' it. Hopefully it isn't as bad as it was yesterday...

Wow--it has been so long since I've been here--I am pretty sure that everyone went home--even the family members who felt obligated to read. I'll need to work on that, though I am not confident that I will be back for long. This summer is kicking my butt. What's that you say? It is only week number two (teehee...number TWO...I have problems!) and my children are in FULL DAY VBS this week? Yeah? Well...SO...

Speaking of VBS, I need to take a moment to give it the credit it deserves. For those of you who don't know (I'm not judging, but you are missing out--BIG TIME!), VBS is Vacation Bible School and it is the reason I am here now and not locked up somewhere scary. REALLY.

My son participated in VBS and I helped out with VBS when it was through our church in Virginia. He was about three I think when he first started. Maybe two...When my oldest daughter was old enough, she participated, too. We would rock out all year to:

"Here we are at the Great Bible Reef, with my bro-thers and sis-ters and the friendsthatImeet. Where Je-sus lovesallofus aswelove-eachother, it's the G-R-E-A-T. B-I-B-L-E. GREATBIBLEREEF..."

And the hard rock version of This Little Light of Mine (yes, there IS one...) until they were scratched up so badly ((the CDs--not my children--thought I should clarify--not so much because my children weren't scratched up, but because that would make less sense to the story I will eventually tell if I stop with all of these sidebars...) that I had no choice but to "retire" them (again--the CDs--NOT the children). LUCKILY, we sang them so frequently that a lot of the words are embedded into our brains. Our last year in Virginia were were invited to go to a SECOND VBS with Brayden's best buddy from our neighborhood. this VBS was even better for me as a mother because they FED my children lunch  before sending them home at 1:00. I'm not ashamed to admit that it was AWESOME and that my children were usually so wiped after VBS that they would immediately nap when we got home and my days were SOOOOO easy--even easier than the average day of being a stay at home mom (which is SO. VERY. EASY. According to those who do not do it. Just like TEACHING is so easy. For some who don't do it. And WAITING TABLES is so ea--okay--you get it).

So Virginia gave me my first taste of sweet freedom that VBS provided and I left there in November anxious to send my kids again. For the lessons of course. Unfortunately, VBS tends to be a summer thing--believe me--I checked. SO...after barely making it through the first seven months (and joining every MOMS/MOPS group within a fifty mile radius), VBS was in my cards again. We were invited to two and I found two others. That's right--don't judge. The way I saw it was that when I helped with VBS we loved having other people join us--it truly was the more the merrier (not the same holds true for staying at home with my children--just sayin'...) and we prided ourselves on having high numbers. I was actually helping them by sending my children. You're welcome.

The year after my VBS summer, I brought it up at my MOMS group and was not embarrassed to say that I would sign up for all of the VBSs in our area if I could find them all. People were a little wary at first and started looking around to see what other (more normal) mothers thought about my VBS theory. Why wouldn't I want to send my children to a camp where they will laugh, sing, create, exercise, and eat all day? Oh--and where they will learn a nice message to carry into our everyday lives? Why would I want to deprive them of that? More important than that--why would I want to deprive me  of that? I wouldn't.

This week's VBS has been fantastic! Brayden was home today with a belly ache, but he has truly enjoyed every other day and they are all wiped out from all of the fun they are having. I love hearing them sing their songs and try to apply the messages that they learn each day. I also love that I saw on my MOMS group's page that they now list all  of the VBS groups that meet in the valley (I KNOW--I lived in THE VALLEY--how cool is that?!)--just in case people want to bring their children. I like to think I had some influence there. I SAID I like to think it--it doesn't make it true.  I also like to think that ice cream helps in the depletion of fat. I'll let you know how that works out for me...