Whew ...

It's been awhile since a post ... well, since a NEW post anyways. We've had a lot going on.

VBS - July 13-17
VBS went great! I am way too tired to write about all the things that I could write about ... but I will say that we had over 300 kids, 100 volunteers, we had a great time, the kids had a great time, everyone had a great time at the Friday Family Night, we are so appreciative of all the wonderful people who helped ... and we're tired! :-) This was Caleb's first year in VBS and I loved watching him throughout the week. He was SO excited when he received a "Kindness Coin" for being kind. And I was so touched at his excitement. What was just a whim of an idea weeks ago turned into something personal. But now the Kindness Coins are gone because he keeps sucking on them.

On Monday, we relaxed and our family went to Sesame Place - our very first experience there! We exchanged vouchers for tickets so did not have to pay the ticket price ... but made up for it in parking fees, locker fees ($15!), and spending 1/2 our weekly grocery bill on lunch. But it was worth it. We spent 9 hours there and we had a marvelous time! We put all our stuff in an expensive locker, and walked out into the water park ... all 4 holding hands, with nothing but our swimsuits and shorts and watershoes. No phone. No wallet. No camera. Just us. And it was a great feeling! Freedom! We loved the Lazy River and water slides and Ellie went on her first water slide alone (it was pretty tame) and in the evening we changed into clothes and went on the "dry" rides ... and Caleb went on his first roller coaster (it was actually fun! I liked it!) and Ellie wanted to but she has to wait until she's 3. It was a really fun day.

On Tuesday night I drove out and spent the night with my parents. Wednesday morning, mom and I drove dad into Phoenixville Hospital for his surgery ... with a 6am check in time. We waited in the waiting room until noonish when the doctor informed us the surgery was done and everything was ok. Then we waited another 3 hours so we could see him in his room ... he was a BIT sluggish. :-) Then I drove back home and had church that evening.

Friday after lunch we all drove out to see Grandpa Marvin in the hospital. The kids didn't push any buttons or pull out any IV's ... YES! No, they were actually very well behaved. Dad looked pretty perky for just having surgery. And he has about 6 coloring pages from Caleb and Ellie hanging in his room. Saturday morning mom and I went to see dad, and looks like he'll be released tomorrow! We had lunch with Dick and Darlene and headed back home ... where ...

... we made dinner for Pastor Shawn and Kristal (youth pastors at CLC). And their dog Riley. They haven't yet sold their house in Lancaster so cannot look for a house here ... and needed a place for their chocolate lab (Shawn's brother had been keeping the dog but it wasn't working out with his kids). So now we are the foster parents of an 80 lb. chocolate lab until ... whenever they can buy a house here. Whew! (Riley just barked at Muffin ... Aaron is calming him downstairs ... let the fun begin!) Riley is really a good dog - he's trained to ring the bell to be let outside, doesn't jump on furniture, doesn't really bark (except for getting aquainted with our cats), is very gentle with the kids (who have already tested him) and is good with other animals ... after he satisfies his curiosity ... which our cats are not letting him do as of yet. I agreed to the arrangment on 1 condition ... Aaron takes care of all poop/pee of the dog and takes him on walks if I don't want to. So we are both satisfied. We'll see how this venture goes! The kids are pretty excited!

Funny moment ... during dinner, we were talking with Shawn and Kristal, and Caleb is really excited at having new people over so he's being very silly. And he looks at me, smiles and giggles and says, "Screw you!" Then he says it again, with an adorably silly look on his face. We all stop, try not to laugh ... and Aaron and I ponder how to address this. I don't know if he heard it from somewhere or if he just made it up, as he frequently does with other words ... but we calmly informed him that wasn't a polite thing to say. "Ok" he replied. And Shawn and Kristal just laughed, muttering "Pastor's kids ...".

Next week I'll be at Kids Camp. It will be fun and totally worth it, but I'm really looking forward to some down time soon!

Anyways, off to bed!

~JG