Aaaaah

Today was the last day of VBS.  There were lots of little (and not so little) issues throughout the week, but I hope that most of the kiddos had a good time.  They make me smile when they aren't driving me crazy, and a bunch of them go out of their way to say hi and get a hug, which always brightens my day.  I spent the week putting out fires, naming Kindergarten freckles, listening to tattles, doing puppet shows, buying, sorting, organizing, trying to keep track of supplies, seeing smiling faces, trying to tune out whining, and making the kids think I was crazy because I took pictures of their shoes.  I actually had my camera today and took a few:

 

 

Fun Keens.  And some more in the background that I didn't notice when I took the picture!

Pretty, flowered sandals.  I would totally wear these.

 



 

Same Keens, different kid...

 

More Keens.  Feet belong to the twin of the girl in the first picture.

 

Sisters!  They asked specifically for me to take a picture of their matching shoes.

 



Tie-dye!  She wouldn't let me have them, though. :-(

 

So another camp is over.  I'm now ready to sleep for approximately a week.

Tired...

I am soooo tired.  Everyone is starting to get tired, kids and volunteers alike.  Today I felt like all I did was put out fires and listen to people tattle on each other.  It's one thing when the kids tattle, but then some of the adults started in.  I love many things about camp weeks, but man they just wear me out.  Even though this is the 8th camp I've done at this church I still feel like I'm faking it, and that I really have no idea what I'm doing.  There's a lot of guilt and self-doubt that comes out those feelings.  I had a friend who would always try to get me to list and acknowledge the things I did well, but when I think of this week all I can think is that it's "fine."  Hopefully the kids will at least get a little something out of it.  I know some of them are having a great time.

 

So, shoes.  I'm too tired to be creative.  I don't think I even have anything in reserve to break out.  There were cute shoes at camp today but every time I saw them my camera would be elsewhere.  There are a few sets of twins here this week (and one set of triplets!) and one set had the most adorable Keens, but I didn't get a picture.  Maybe they'll wear them again tomorrow.  In the meantime, I just looked some up:

 

 

I would wear any of them, but I totally want the tie-dye pair!

 

Picture Day

If you ever want to experience the craziness of a VBS with almost 200 children, you should either visit us during worship or on picture today.  Today was picture day.  I love seeing all of the kids in their matching shirts, and always love the pictures when they are done.  Getting there is quite the challenge though.  First you have to hand out the shirts. 

 

"I didn't get one!" 

"Did you check with your guide?"

"Oh.  No."

 

"Mine doesn't fit!"

 

"I don't like orange!"

 

"His shirt is better!"

"It's exactly the same."

 

And on and on.  Then you have to get the kids lined up by grade and height.  THEN you have to try and get everyone looking at the camera, not making dorky faces or "sexy" poses, not throwing stuff, not shoving each other, etc.  (and that's just the Sr. Pastor...)  I always think the result is worth it, though.

 

 

That's a lot of shoes.

 

VBS Day 2

Well, it happened.  Since I've started the blog I've come close to forgetting, but never actually missed a day.  This morning I realized that I completely forgot to post yesterday.  Sunday, as you know, was stressful, and then we started Vacation Bible School at church yesterday.  We have about 180 kids registered, from preschool-8th grade, and about 40-50 volunteers helping out for the week.  This is a "small" camp by this church's standards.  One year they had between 250 and 300 (depending on who you ask) campers, and people kind of expect it to be there again, although the volunteers don't mind the smaller numbers.  Since I've been director I've never managed to get more than 200 campers, so I guess I'm doing something wrong.  At any rate, it's a big camp to me, which  means my brain is going in a million different directions all of the time.  It's a week of very practical shoes for me, so here are some that I've been taking when I notice cute ones that the kiddos are wearing:

 

 

Clearly I'm gravitating toward Keenes and adorned flip flops this week.  I was wearing my Keenes yesterday, so that was maybe why.  The purple ones belong to a little girl who, along with her sister, always has adorable Keenes each year at VBS.  The following picture is actually one from 2 years ago (my first VBS here) with my foot and her sister's foot.  Notice the theme.

 





WTH?

It has been a looooong day.  The hubby's car blew up while he was out running an errand.  No, really.

 

 

 

The most important thing is that he is OK.  He was able to pull over and get out of the car while flames were shooting out of his vents.  The fireman said he was really really lucky.  Not sure what the heck happened.  This car was his favorite thing ever.  He called it his baby.  Pretty sure he loves it more than me.  He is a very sad hubby today.  I'm just grateful he's safe.

 

On a happier note, the picture from yesterday is apparently from a place called The Silver Slipper Casino.  So at least there's an explanation.  Thanks, Dad (Mom, you'll have to pass that on, since I know he doesn't read this) for the info!  And why do you know about this place, anyway?



I'm an Aunty Who Does What She's Told

The Bean sent me this picture today from her phone and told me I had to put it on the blog:

 

 

It's a...shed?  With a giant shoe on it?  I really have no explanation for what is going on in this picture.  Why is this necessary?  I love me some shoes, but I don't need to decorate with them to this level.  Thanks, Bean, for the picture.  And for making your aunty totally confused.

 

In other Bean news, we always joke that she needs to find a box big enough to ship herself here so we can hang out.  Today I told her to tell her dad (my brother) that the hubby and I are just going to adopt her and keep her with us.  I'm sure I got an eye roll for my comment.  Of course, as soon as adolescent pissiness hits, we're sending her back!



Grrrr

The hubby and I rarely watch regular TV.  I rarely have time to watch any TV lately, and when I do, it's usually on Netflix or the DVR.  So I don't see many commercials, which is why I missed this one:

 

 

It's cheesy and adorable, and apparently caused so many racist remarks that Youtube had to shut down the comments section for the video.  Come on, people, what century is this?  As the aunty of a mixed race niece, and the (hopefully) future mama of mixed race babies, I get really angry at people's responses to something like this.  This child is beautiful.  Her TV family reflects families across the world, just like a commercial with a white, Asian, black, Latino family.  Just like a commercial with 2 mommies or 2 daddies.  Just like a commercial with multiple generations.  We are ALL children of God.  We are ALL made in the image of God.  As much as I loved the Far Side cartoon, God is NOT an old white man on a cloud.  Now, if you like picturing God as an old white man, then more power to you, but don't foist that view on others.  The child pictured above is created in God's image just as much as all the old white men in the world.  Getting pissed off because a cheesy commercial depicts a family just like thousands of other families simply reflects that you do not live in the same reality as the rest of us.  As much as that pisses ME off, it also makes me incredibly sad for people in that other reality.  Think of how much joy and life you miss out by staying in your narrow viewpoint.

 

No shoes today, just me venting to get that off my chest.  Back to the regularly scheduled shoes tomorrow.