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Staff Lunch – Salad Bar

Staff Lunch – Salad Bar

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Summertime means I have two extra helpers for staff lunch!  Hooray!

Here’s what we had this month:

A huge pile of salad ingredients

Basil Orange Dressing

Buttermilk Rolls

Cracked Wheat Rolls

Apricots (Sprouts has good sales!)

Citrus Butter Cookies – This is a Pioneer Woman recipe, so you really just have to go to her blog to find it.  Partly because that is the kind, right, copyright-friendly thing to do.  And partly because she writes recipes way better than I do!!

If you only make one thing, make the dressing.  You won’t regret it, even if it takes a whole basil plant.  I promise.

BUILD

BUILD

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Another summer, another VBS–some things never change!  However, this was the first year that Nathan was a volunteer instead of a student.  It was the fourth time Than and his staff have created the program in-house, and this year they went with a Lego theme.  The content focused on how Jesus built up His disciples so they could continue the building of God’s Kingdom.  Bible teaching, lots of Lego building, songs, games, snacks, and crafts–that part was my department 🙂  As always, it was humbling to see the passion and dedication of so many volunteers.  And many of the best ones were a lot younger than you might think!!  There were so many different skills and talents serving together in a wide variety of ways.  It is a joy to see the richness of spiritual growth in community, for kids and staff alike.  Here’s a little peek (thanks to other people who shared FB photos!)

Any suggestions for next year?!!

16 Years Ago…

16 Years Ago…

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Vacation Bible School week…

Crazy Hair Day for students and leaders…

School board meeting…

And our 16th Anniversary!!

I’m pretty proud of this anniversary photo–the two of us, together, doing things we love.  A cathedral length veil and flamingo shorts just says a lot!  We look forward to celebrating “properly” next weekend with a getaway for just the two of us, but the day didn’t go uncelebrated in spite of the timing!  Than had volunteers bring me flowers throughout the day, and I ended up with a huge pitcher which I displayed next to our wedding photos for anyone who was patient enough to stop and take a peek.

We squeezed in family dinner at Chik-Fil-A, always the height of romantic destinations, and were happy to serve together surrounded by people who care for us well.  It really was a happy anniversary, and who knows what we will be dressed in after 16 more!

Katya’s Role Model

Katya’s Role Model

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Today’s final “kid bragging” post is a writing assignment that Katya did.  It was deeply encouraging and humbling, especially to this mom who often finds herself at odds with her creative, independent, passionate daughter.

“My mom is a great role model for me for many reasons.  To begin, my mom is a Christian woman.  My mom shows that she is a Christian by disciplining me very well.  Also, she teaches me about God and how to love God.  Next, when I think of my mom I think about how loving she is.  My mom comforts me when I am sad, and she is gentle when I am hurt or sick.  Also, she encourages me in hard times and is patient with me when I am grumpy.  Last, my mom is always joyful.  I can see that she is joyful because she always wears bright colors.  Also, my mom smiles a lot and loves everyone around her.  I admire my mom as a role model.”

Some moments are so very hard, but then there are other moments that are so richly beautiful.  Thanks, sweet girl.

Nathan’s Hero

Nathan’s Hero

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One more “student work” post from Nathan…

Hero Project

My hero is my little sister, Katya. She is a charismatic person who loves acrobatics, art, and people. She is my hero because she proves that the best gifts come in small packages and she shows me an example of generosity. She is generous, creative, sweet, adorable, innocent and brilliant and she shows me how to have fun even when everything seems serious. She is very creative and adds new things to playtime every day. She is very responsible and she is similar to Aurelianus [a character in the book this pieces was an assignment for] because she loves dogs, she is a lover of harmony, and she loves magic. She also is very observant and knows lots of things. She is different than Aurelianus because she does not have a very conventional mind she has more of a creative one. (She also doesn’t have a fur coat that changes colors, wink, wink.) Katya helps so many people have love and joy in their lives. She gives gifts and smiles at what people say. She fills people’s lives with creative ideas. Katya and I are alike because we both love each other very much. We are different because she is very creative but I like orderly, conventional thinking.

Nathan’s Seasons

Nathan’s Seasons

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Today’s “student work” is from Nathan.  Enjoy!

For the full effect, you should click on this PDF (SeasonsSm) so you can see the colors and photos that Nathan chose to go with his writing.

Winter

The field slept under the fresh blanket of snow. A cardinal twittered a few notes and then was silent. The church bells rang and the children shouted as snowballs were flung about. But the plants still slept on and on and on. This is winter.

Spring

The field sprung into spring as flowers burst into bloom and birds twittered among the trees. Church bells rang signaling the Easter service. Children romped in the spring sun. Easter eggs popped open and squeals came from the finders. This is spring.

Summer

Bright flowers twirled in the magenta sunset. People ran out with huge boxes of fireworks to light for the Fourth of July lighting. WHIZZ-POP there goes one rocket. PHEEE! a screaming one went! This is summer.

Autumn

A football landed in front of a tree. Mr. Squirrel ran to his stash of nuts. A cool breeze wafted through the trees. Some childish laughter rang in Mrs. Bear’s ears. The world was slowing down again. This is autumn. (fall)

God made the seasons to help us enjoy his creation.

 

Katya’s Dog Poetry

Katya’s Dog Poetry

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Normally I try not to do too much “kid bragging” on the blog, but sometimes it is just the best forum for sharing what they are up to!  As the school year ends and the summer begins, I’ve got a few things I’ve collected from their year that I hope you enjoy.

First up, poetry!!  Of course, when it is time to write some poems, you choose your favorite thing.  And for Katya, that would be dogs!  This writing even got illustrations…

Bear

There once was a big dog named Bear

Who chased hare after hare

One day while chasing a hare she jumped into a lake

and she came out holding a rake

and she swam out of the lake with much care

Golden Retrievers

A big ball of fluffy happiness

fun, silly, smart, crazy ball of fluff

frolicking, licking, running ball of sunshine

doing tricks, playing games, your best friend

in the water splash, splishing, sploshing

licking children, being friendly, your pet!

A Bean Grows in Denver

A Bean Grows in Denver

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As part of her science unit at school, Katya has been carefully tending some bean seeds in a plastic cup.  She has loved watching them appear and has faithfully photographed their growth from when the sprout appeared to when we put it outside.

I was amazed at how quickly they grew–the first few photos were taken with only about 12 hours between each picture!

Creation is amazing!

Spring Break (Catching Up)

Spring Break (Catching Up)

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How did I miss posting about our spring break road trip?!!  We traveled to St. Louis (as we have done before) and took with us special guests Uncle Nate and Aunt Kerry (which we haven’t done before).  I suppose it is a bit late to write a long play-by-play of our visit, but it is worth noting that we went and were SO glad we did.  We visited some old favorite places and some new spots, but were especially happy about having rich times with so many different parts of our family.

A Modern Day Knight (Catching-Up)

A Modern Day Knight (Catching-Up)

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I have a young man finishing sixth grade!  So many changes are on the horizon, and I am both nervous and excited about that.

One of the changes are are feeling right now is the shift from “elementary” to “junior high.”  It will happen this fall for school, but this spring it takes place at church.  This was Nathan’s final year to attend our Wednesday night clubs program, and he ended with the long-anticipated crest ceremony.  Each year the 6th grade boys select images and colors and create a wooden crest that represents things that are important to them.  They present their crest at the final night of clubs, talk about what they chose, and then hear words of blessing and a prayer from their parents.  It is really cool and really important!

Here is Nathan with his crest..

It is amazing to think that the boy who was a baby when this curriculum was designed is now graduating from the program.  I am so grateful for the men who worked with Than to put this together, and for all the godly leaders who have feed truth into my son during his years under their leadership.

Here is Nathan talking about his crest: