It is funny, I am getting so behind on blogging. I keep feeling like this summer has just flown by, yet other than our vacation in June, I feel like we haven't done a thing because of this horrible heat wave that feels like it's lasted forever. Yet, I am behind on updates, so we must be doing something (ha!) because I do have lots to share. Mostly, we've tried to make the best of this extremely dry and hot summer.
Andrew had a great week of Vacation Bible School the last week of July. He went in the mornings from 9-12. He had a great time, and there were over 400 kids from our church that attended different sessions throughout the week. Just amazing! To celebrate the end of VBS, our church has an event called "Taste of Hope." It is a major production and it was so much fun! It turned out to be the first beautiful day we've had since June, so it wasn't bad being outside (I think God planned this just for the occasion!)
Daddy was busy at a baseball game so we invited some of our heart friends to join us for the day. Ga Ga kept Kerigan home so Andrew and I could go together. We started with lunch... and oh my gosh was it ever amazing. There was so much food, we could have eaten all day. The sweet corn was our favorite!
When they served it they actually dipped it in a huge pot of butter!
Everywhere you looked there were bounce houses and bouncy slides. Andrew was in heaven!
He even wanted to try this one where you stand on a platform and hit a bouncy ball on a rope that comes flying at you!
He did pretty good staying on the platform!
This was his favorite slide of all... a water slide!
He kept saying he wanted to go on it again and again!
This is Andrew's heart buddy "little" Andrew (that's what we call him! Ha!) These two have known each other since they were babies.
Are these a couple of pretty awesome scars or what? Ha!
*Sidenote... Both of these Andrews have been asked to be ambassadors for an upcoming walk for our support group- Help-A-Heart. We are so honored! Mark your calendars for September 29th! We hope to have lots of people join us to help support families affected by CHD!
This was just plain funny. Andrew really didn't get how to shoot the water balloons...
So he just kept picking them up and throwing them on the ground! Ha!
I'm laughing out loud at this picture because Andrew is begging me to go on that water slide in the background again but I wanted to take this picture showing our church in the background. Ha!
This was so sweet, this nice man volunteers his time and makes balloon animals for the kids! Andrew got a lion!
Buddies sitting under the tree eating their popcorn!
The theme of VBS this year was "Game on with Jesus." Our church always does such neat things with the kids- we have the best children's programs. We are so blessed to attend such a wonderful church with so many great people and activities for youth. I pray Andrew will grow up loving church and attending all the fun kids events and youth groups!
This lemonade was SO GOOD! Huge line, but totally worth it!
Just a view in one direction... huge crowd!
These were the tables set up to eat (by the way, this all takes place in the church parking lot, which is a huge circle that wraps around the whole building.) I started going to this church when I was single with my first teaching job and it was held at a tiny church up the street and there was a very small congregation. It just grew and grew over the years (one of the best pastors on Earth has brought so many people in...but he doesn't take any credit. It's all GOD!) It expanded so much we built a huge new church on one of the busiest corners in the city. There are now 3 "branch" congregations in suburbs around Des Moines, and we now attend one of the branch locations, just because this church is about 40 minutes away from where we now live. But we love that it is still the same church, just a different location. And we often drive to the main branch for special occasions (like this one, or Christmas, etc).
Back at our home branch on Sunday the kids all performed songs from VBS! We got a copy of the CD and Andrew knows all the words but you'd never know it!
He was his usual, serious self and not much singing! But daddy did get him to smile in these pictures!
All the kids did a puzzle piece (do you see Andrew's?? His name is in orange, and that's pretty much all that's on it! Ha!)
And they put them in this big cross- I just love it! What a fantastic week of VBS getting our game on with Jesus!
