VBS

I have some great friends.  A couple of them work for the church we attend; so it makes sense that I volunteer for the church, both because of my friends and because my children are a part of children's ministry. 

A couple months ago, Kristy, a dear friend of mine, asked me if I would handle the crafts for the summer VBS program.  I said yes.  As if I don't have enough on my plate, I decided that I needed to take on crafts for 200 children too.  And, as I found out, this is an outreach VBS.  So, every craft we make, we make one to give away too.  Therefore, it is not 200 crafts, but 400.  Did I mention that I don't really like children?  Nevermind that I have four of my own...and I really don't like chaos.  Or messes.  Or lots of excessive noise. 

Day one was pretty basic, just coloring t shirts and making books, Tuesday we made I Spy bottles for the children's hospital.  There was rice from one end of that building to the other.  Today we colored and stuffed travel pillows for the homeless.  Tomorrow we are painting welcome mats on carpet samples for the local orphanage.  Friday we are making greeting cards with seed packets on them.  As organized as I am, there is a lot of running around.  We decided today that it would be wise to have tablecloths down for the welcome mats.  AND we decided that we were going to control the paint and the refilling of the paint! 

And then there is Ivy.  She doesn't like to be away from me, and normally I would just put her in the kids room, but I'm afraid to do this for five days in a row, for 4 hours in a row!  They might kick me out, craft or no craft!  So she attends the craft project with me. 

I have some great helpers, who are as organized as I am, and I love them!  I have also discovered that I really like seeing my children come through and do their crafts...and then have them move on.  They are so cute!  The kids seem to be having a great time and are learning a lot.  I haven't decided if I'm doing VBS again next year, we shall see.  For now, all I can say is I'm tired:)  I have also decided that VBS should not stand for just Vacation Bible School.  Not sure there is a lot of Vacation in it.  I think VBS should stand for Very Busy Summer!