vacation bible school

Last week the kids and I were busy with Vacation Bible School at our church. We look forward to it every year and it is always one of the highlights of our summer. But man, it is exhausting!

Our VBS meets Monday - Friday from 9 am to noon. By 11:30 all of the mom-volunteers are walking around shaking their heads and saying, "I just don't understand how 3 hours can be so tiring." It is tiring but wonderful!

This year I taught Hannah's 4 year old class. I teamed up with the same co-teacher I had last year and we had a great time. My co-teacher has 4 kiddos, the oldest is going into 4th grade but her younger 3 are the same ages as my 3. So, her 4 year old little boy was also in our class. We had 11 kids in all, plus 2 teen helpers who provided much needed extra hands.

This year's theme was "High Seas," so everything was nautical somehow. We learned:
Day 1: God's Word is True, with the story of God freeing Peter from prison. Acts 12:1-19
Day 2: God's Word is Comforting, with the story of God comforting Paul in a storm at sea. Acts 27
Day 3: God's Word is Surprising, with the story of Paul surviving a bite by a poisonous snake. Acts 28:1-10
Day 4: God's Word is Life-Changing, with a story of Peter and John teaching about Jesus. Acts 3:1 - 4:12
Day 5: God's Word is for Everyone, with a story of how a community of believers share. Acts 2: 42-47

We took the kids all around the church where they made crafts, sang songs and danced, ate snacks, played outside and even saw puppet shows. They had a great time!



But for me, it just wouldn't be VBS without someone getting sick. On Thursday night Ethan came down with a fever and so I had to stay home with him on Friday. Turns out, he had an ear infection. It stunk that we had to miss the last day, but what can you do?

On Saturday we realized that Ethan is allergic to the antibiotics they gave him for his ear infection. He developed a terrible rash and some pretty awful diarrhea. Since we had been out at the lake and I was worried about putting him to bed, a 10 pm trip to the after-hours pediatrics office was in order. The doctor there confirmed that his rash was probably a drug reaction, assured me that his throat would not swell shut during the night and wrote him a new prescription.

On Sunday, everyone was tired from staying up so late the night before. Avery had a birthday party in the afternoon and came home running a fever. So, we'll see what the day brings...