VBS 2011: Nights 4 and 5

The last two nights of VBS started out the way each one had, so I don't have any pictures of that part.

On night 4, the craft was making a cowboy hat. You could paint it with glue and then add decorations.

Here is Quinn, waiting on instructions from his buddy Johnathan.  Or as Quinn would say, "Johna". Please notice Quinn ALREADY has the glitter bottle in his hands!

Johnathan had barely gotten the hat painted in glue when Quinn did this.  Notice the grins of the other worker and even the other child.....

And here's a close up the hat.  You can clearly see why my friend Kim, who is our Pastor's wife, dubbed Quinn "The Rhinestone Cowboy"!  And every little bit of that glitter stayed put!

On the last night of VBS I was able to sneak away and get a picture of the registration area. The College and Career class did a great job of decorating the entrance area as well as the stage. With the theme being "Gold Rush", the designed the downstairs area to look like a gold mine. You can't see (and pictures inside didn't turn out), but on the walls are the Bible Verses of the week stuck to the walls with glow-in-the-dark stickers. There was also some black lights to light the way, and a wheelbarrow full of "gold nuggets" and other gems. The floor was laid out to look like train tacks.

Here's a closeup of the poster on the wall. The CC Class thought of everything...down to the little details. The three men in the picture are Pastor Ken on the left, Pastor Josh (youth pastor) in the middle, and Pastor Bailey (asst Pastor) on the right.

On the last night of VBS, the boys won the Penny War! The girls did win 3 nights to 2, though. I'm still waiting to hear how much money was raised. I did hear that this year's buckets are bigger than last year's buckets! A couple of the 6th grade boys brought whole boxes of pennies. I think I heard someone say that a box of pennies was $25 worth. There's 2 boxes on top and I think another box was dumped inside the bucket.

The last craft of the week was one that the craft workers had been prepping for all week. One night they painted the bottles, one night they painted the hats. But finally on the last night we got to put together the cutest craft ever.

A juice bottle painted green....add a cowboy hat, a bandanna, some arms, facial features, and a star....

And you get a Cactus Cowboy piggy bank!  Too cute!

Overall, I think Quinn had a great time at VBS. He talked about it throughout the week. He didn't always sit still like the other kids did, but he did enjoy the different events.  I am so thankful for all the workers who gave up their evenings to work with these children. It was worth all the sacrifice to know that several children came to know the Lord as their personal Saviour thanks to what they heard at VBS!  I'm already looking forward to next year!

Show me YOUR happy face!

Quinn got a MagnaDoodle from his Aunt Kristel for his first Christmas.  I would have to say this is one of his most used gifts. He loves to draw on his "doodle".

 One day this week he drew the following picture.

Pretty cute, huh?

Do you see what I see?

On Wednesday night at VBS, I noticed some of the teenage girls that were helping Quinn's group all looking up at the sky and pointing. I looked up too and saw this.

Do you see the heart?  Reminds me of these verses:

Jeremiah 31:3  "And the Lord appeared to us from afar saying I have loved you with an everlasting love..."

Psalm 19:1 "The Heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hand."

VBS 2011: Night 2 and 3

Here is a recap of Nights 2 and 3 from VBS.

All day on Monday, Quinn asked if we were going to see the "Bible Show"?  I think he's getting Bible School and Puppet Show confused, but basically, that's what we are doing. The little children are getting God's Word through puppets.  When I asked Quinn what we do at Bible School, here is what he told me:

"See da cowboy with da orange Bible": One of the puppets wears a cowboy hat, and when we do the pledges, he holds an orange Bible.

"Put my corns (coins) in da blue bucket": The boys put their pennies for the Penny War offering in a blue bucket.

This is the puppet that starts the program each night and is also the one who has the orange Bible.

Each night the children have to help Mr. Sizemore "wake up" Kodiak the Bear. Then they read the night's verse to help Kodiak learn his verse.  Kodiak seems to have some memory issues, as he always begins to quote the verse from the night before, but quickly quotes the correct verse for some candy!  Quinn calls Kodiak "my bear". 

After teaching Kodiak his verse, the 3 year olds go to craft time. Monday night's craft was making bandannas. Each child got a plain white one and decorated them using paint and rubber stamps with various western images, like a cowboy hat, cactus, wagon, wolf, etc.  Quinn enjoyed painting the stamps. His new buddy, Jonathan, is helping him. Jonathan is one of the teens helping with Quinn's group.

I caught this picture of Quinn on Tuesday night (VBS #3). He is watching for Kodiak and other puppets to pop their heads up from behind the back drop. Quinn and many of the other little kids thinks this is hilarious. When any of them catch a glimpse, they all begin to squeal with excitement.

Because Quinn is in the youngest VBS class, his group is always called up first to drop pennies in the buckets for the penny war.  The girls dominated the first two nights, but finally on Tuesday night, the boys won!  Both buckets are overflowing with pennies! I've heard that VBS typically raises upwards of $1000 in pennies in one week!

Tuesday night's craft was cow print sheriff vests. We tied the vests together with yarn and then created a sheriff's badge to attach to the vest.

Somehow the 3 year olds always get done with their craft before the schedule allows. And we can't go back to the sanctuary because the older students are still having their Bible Time.  So the teens have been taking the 3s on a walk to go see the school buses! Sounds kind of funny, but the kids love it! They even open the door and the kids climb in the bus and sit in the seats. Quinn pretended to drive it! Hey, if he can "drive" a fire truck, he can "drive" a bus!

During the Bible time on Tuesday night, the puppets had 2 special guests...Amazon monkeys!  I think these guys may have been used in a previous VBS unit, and are also going with the group to New Zealand.  Mr. Hartman asked the kids if they had any questions for the monkeys. Quinn saw all the children raising their hands to ask questions and he raised his too and said "My Turn!" Mr. Hartman handed him the microphone and I thought to myself...oh my, what in the world is he going to say?

Quinn's question was "Can dey sing?"  And so the Monkeys sang Jesus Loves Me! So I took a picture while they were singing in response to Quinn's question.

Quinn is remembering and understanding more than I thought he would about Bible School. He hasn't quoted any verses and he doesn't always sit still, but he does seem to be enjoying all the aspects of VBS. I am so glad I get to experience this with him each night.  2 more nights to go....can't wait to see what is in store!

The Pledge may be different.....but Jesus is still the same.

Since my previous post, I have had several people ask me about the Christian flag pledge I said at the church I grew up in.

It went like this:

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Saviour for whose Kingdom it stands. One brotherhood, uniting all Christians in service and love."

I am learning the version used at our church, because this is the one Quinn will use when he starts going to school there, and it goes like this:

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Saviour for whose Kingdom it stands. One Saviour, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe."

It was a little surprising for me on the first night of VBS when I began to say what I thought was "The Pledge" and realized there was more than one version.  So I do what I do anytime I have a question...I "googled" it.  And this is what I found.

I may have said one pledge, you may have said a different version, but Jesus is still the same. And Praise the Lord that He never changes!

VBS 2011: Gold Rush...Searching for the "Rock of Ages"

Quinn is finally old enough to go to Vacation Bible School at our church!  Tonight (Sunday) was the first night of VBS. Our theme this year is "Gold Rush....Searching for the Rock of Ages."

The Bible verse for tonight was John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

The stage of the sanctuary was set up to look like an Old West town.

The fence area was where the puppets would come up and interact with the children. One of the puppets, shown here, kind of scared Quinn a little bit, but thankfully I got him settled down and we were able to enjoy the rest of the time. 

One thing I found comforting was that first part of Bible School was saying the pledges to the American Flag, Christian Flag and the Bible.   The only thing was that the pledge to the Christian Flag that I grew up saying was NOT the same pledge that was said last night!  I'm not sure what that's about.  I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, and this church is an Independent Baptist....but the flag is the same.

(Perhaps some of my church friends who read the blog can chime in here!!)

The buckets at the front of the stage were for the kids to place their offering in each night. Apparently the church is famous for having a "Penny War" between the boys and the girls. Each year the money is designated to go towards a certain missions group or need within the church. This year, the money will be given to our College/Career class for the upcoming missions trip to New Zealand.

The church was smart to have plenty of pennies on hand for kids to swap their dollars, quarters, etc. They had set up a booth called the "Gold Exchange" and had boxes and boxes of rolled up pennies. Quinn was so excited to put his "corns" (coins) in the "blue bucket"!  Because Quinn is in the youngest age group, he got to go first!  Unfortunately the girls won the first penny war.   

The first activity was Craft Time. Two of the ladies in charge of Crafts are sisters and friends of mine, and having read both of their blogs, I know how creative they can be!  Tonight's craft was a horse. Take a white tube sock, paint the toe area brown for the nose, attach a couple of googly eyes, and add some brown yarn for a mane. Attach it to a paint stick and voila...a horse!  Quinn was really proud of his horse!

After craft time we went back to the sanctuary for singing, story time, and more puppets. When we got back to our seats, he said "Mommy, I not scared now. We watch da movie again?"  He meant...more puppets please? He really watched during the puppets, and I wonder if it reminded him of when we went to see Veggie Tales?

The song tonight was Jesus Loves Me, and Quinn sang along to every word! He enjoyed Mrs. Pam's story and was super excited when more puppets came out to tell the story of Jonah! That's one of his favorite stories, again, thanks to Veggie Tales!

After this was snack time (grilled cheese, chips, and a cupcake.) Then it was down to the gym for game time. The game workers tried to adapt some of their games so the little ones could play but that proved to be a little difficult. Quinn is pushing 3 and a half, but a couple of the little girls in his group won't be 3 until the fall, so getting them to understand "rules" for a game was pretty hard. So in the end, the kids just ran around the gym, which was perfectly fine with Quinn!

We had a great time and can't wait to see what tonight holds for us at VBS!