June 2016

Oh wow this has been a CRAZY month!  We've had tons of fun but it has been super busy.  Lots and lots of church activities.  We have many awesome photographers that capture wonderful memories for us.  So all photo credit for church activities goes to Jack Hess.  They are much better than my phone pics. =)

We jumped right in with Vacation Bible School (VBS).  Our theme this year was GLOW - Let your Light Shine.  I worked in the preschool music/story room again this year.  We had so much fun and I just love the girls I worked with.

My sweet teammates (taken with my phone)

The big kids (K-6) attended a worship rally each day that had an awesome dance team. They came to perform one song for preschool at the end of the week.  The kids LOVED it.

My cousin Jean came to visit for a few days and we had lots of fun hanging out.  We went swimming, read, went to lunch, and visited Heritage Homestead Museum.

Up next was Mini Music Camp for ages 3 - 6.  Both girls got to participate this year and they had a blast.  I worked again too and enjoyed as well.  Our theme was All God's Creatures.  We learned that God created everything and it all has a purpose.  LOVE the adorable animals hats....and the kids got to take them home too.

Last week was our final music camp for completed K-6th.  This was Hannah's first year to participate.  I signed up to help so Abigail got to come too.  She had so much fun and LOVED hanging out with the big kids.  We packed a LOT of things into this camp: games, singing, bounce houses, and more.  We were tired at the end of the day.  But it was so much fun!!!  We learned an entire musical in 4 days.  Not Your Average Joe - the story of Joseph with a 50's twist.  Only my phone pics so far, official ones haven't posted yet.

We also went swimming a few times at Grammy's.  Pictures were taken, but I don't have them yet.  I'll include them in next month's update.  We also went to some fun library activities and a children's concert in the park.

May 2016

We started off the month by watching Hannah's spring church choir program.  The performed the Go Tour - about taking the gospel to the nations.  Hannah picked dance as her class this semester and had so much fun.  They performed to an Indian themed song so they got to wear saris.  It was a great performance. Photo credit goes to Jack Hess

The baby Canadian geese we've been watching finally hatched.  We've taken several trips up to the college to see them.  So so cute!!

These girls are awfully cute too.  =)

For those who are not on Facebook you may not have heard that Nathan has been stuck in Philadelphia for over a month.  =( =(  He works for Verizon and they have union employees up north (NY, NJ, PA, MD, RI,etc).  Their contract was up in August and everyone thought they were going to strike but they thought they could negotiate.  Things were going nowhere and so Verizon drew their line in the sand on April 12.  The union was not happy and walked April 13.  So all employees with an Emergency Work Assignment (EWA) were notified at 5 am on April 13 to book a flight to their assigned location.  So while the union workers stand outside and walk the picket line, those with an EWA are doing their jobs, going into people's houses to repair phone and internet lines.  The hours are bad: 12 hour day, 7 days a week.  Thankfully they get paid overtime for all hours over the normal 40 hour work week.  We all HATE that Daddy is gone, but are trying to make the best of the situation.  Nathan was able to come home for a visit the 2nd weekend in May.  We loved having him home and had some great time together as a family.  It was hard to say goodbye again and send him back to Philadelphia.  We are praying things get resolved soon so everyone can return home to their normal jobs.

Hannah had her kindergarten performance a few weeks ago.  It was so cute and the kids did a great job.  They sang about 10 songs and each one demonstrated a concept they had learned this year in music class.

Abigail and I got to help with Field Day too.  It was fun to be on the other side as a volunteer and not the teacher.  The coaches did a great job planning things.  It was very well organized and had lots of really cute games.  Hannah had fun and so did we!!

Can't believe school is almost over and I will have a 1st grader.  Looking forward to lots of summer fun!

April 2016

I got to join Hannah on a field trip to the Outdoor Learning Center.  This is a super cool place with a nature trail and an animal room. The students go every year but always talk about different things that relate to their Science curriculum.  I've been there many times with my students but it was fun to go as a parent.  In fact the last time I went on this trip was when I was pregnant with Hannah and doing a long term sub job.  =)

Abigail and her preschool choir got to sing in a concert with Miss Patty Cake.  The kids had so much fun.  It was a cute concert. Photo credit for concert photos goes to Jack Hess.

Since both girl's birthdays are so close to Christmas, it makes it really hard to schedule a birthday party with friends.  So we decided to wait until the weather warmed up and have a park party.  We had a random cool front that made it chillier than we hoped but not too bad.  And about half the friends we invited couldn't make it, but all in all it was a great party.  And we all had lots of fun!  Abigail for some reason didn't make it in the photo.

The college by my parent's house had 3 sets of Canadian geese come nest this spring.  So we've walked up there the last several Friday.  Nothing hatched yet, but here's a cute picture of Abigail and the baby ducks we found.