Junior Volunteer

Her dreams are coming true!

Jersey #1 is going to be able to spend this summer working out at Galloping Grace Youth Ranch, as a Junior Volunteer.

Considering her age, and how far we must drive to get to the Ranch, her Mom and siblings will be joining the volunteer team as well.  We are signed up to help with any odd jobs that I can do while also keeping an eye on my youngin's.

We love GGYR.  This summer of service will also be a summer of fun.

We took Jersey #1 for the volunteer training.  She spent 3 hours learning about the ranch, and what is expected of her.  She also learned how to catch a horse in the corral, and how to harness it.  She thought those skills qualified the day as "awesome!"

Jersey #1 loves horses and loves Galloping Grace Youth Ranch.

For a couple years now, she has been telling folks that she is going to work at GGYR when she grows up.  (Some folks like to tease her that GGYR is a volunteer place, so she won't make any money at that career).  Last summer, she inquired as to how to become a Junior Volunteer.  The Junior Volunteers are youth who work along side the adults, to help make the GGYR program run when the kids visit.  

Last summer, she realized she would meet the requirements by this summer, so she set her sights on becoming a Junior Volunteer this summer.  I had told her that she had to work on her attitude.  No complaining about the dirt, smell of horse poop, sweat, or heat.  She had to learn to work with younger kids patiently, with the heart of a servant, and not express frustration.  Much to my surprise, she has been working very hard on her attitude.  I am most impressed by the way she has stopped complaining, and is willing to pitch in and help around the house and yard.  I am pleased that she has met my requirements fully.  She has also shown me that she can really accomplish a goal when she sets her mind to it.

In addition to meeting my attitude requirements, Jersey #1 wanted to have the right outfit for the job.  Dressing the part is important to her too.  She asked for a new pair of cowboy boots for her birthday.  I also managed to get her a cowboy hat and a T-shirt that had a horse on it.  With her birthday money from grandparents, she bought herself a new pair of bootcut jeans. 

Let the summer of fun and service begin!

AWANA Games

To add to our Extreme Weekend, the older kids participated in AWANA Games.

This is a fun, athletic event, with PE style games.  The kids are divided into teams, and the teams from different AWANA clubs around town compete against each other.

Jersey #3 participated in Sparks-A-Rama, which is the competition for the Sparks Clubs (kindergarten-2nd graders).  His team won 2nd place.

Jersey #1 and Jersey #2 participated in AWANA Games, which is specific to the T&T program (3rd-6th grades).  They were on the same team.  Their team won 3rd place.

For a couple of events, the girls had to run around a big circle.  As I sat in the bleachers and watched Jersey #2 run, I could not help but pray a prayer of thanksgiving:  Praise the Lord that her heart is working so well!  It was amazing to see her be able to run like that.

We had quite a cheering section to watch the kids compete.  The Referee was able to attend.  It was really sweet that our Pastor and his wife came out to watch the kids too.  The number of children in our church congregation is growing, and many of them are active in AWANA.  They were thrilled to see their Pastor at the AWANA Games event.

Sparks-A-Rama was held in the morning, and AWANA Games was held in the early afternoon.  Since our family had to be there all day, we ate lunch at the concession stand.  The kids thought that was a real treat.

Birthday Party Adventures

When we were discussing how Jersey #3 wanted to celebrate his birthday this year, he told me that he wanted a party at our house with 3 specific things:

1)  His cousin

2)  His friend from AWANA

3)  A Mario pinata

I totally feel like Mom of the Year right now, because I accomplished these requirements with gusto this year!  Jersey #3 is easy to please.

1)  I managed to borrow my nephew for the weekend, so he could attend the party.

2)  His friend from AWANA (his very first friend he ever made on his own), was able to attend the party and stay the night afterward.

3)  Even though I ordered a little Mario pinata online, we happened to find this massive Mario pinata at Walmart the day before the party.  I had to buy it, because it was SO cool.  (It turns out that was the best pinata I have ever experienced, so I will be getting more like it in the future).

We also invited other people to the birthday party, so it was a full house.  Our Pastor came over with his grill to cook hamburgers and hotdogs for me.  The Referee hung the big Mario pinata from a tree limb in the backyard.  There was plenty of food, friends, family, candy, and cake.

There was also a bit more excitement than I had planned.

One dog-loving child got too-close-for-comfort with my dog, and she snapped at him.  She managed to leave a couple scrapes on his nose, which bled a lot and sent him into hysterics.  His grandparents had brought him to the party, and this was their first visit to our home, so we did not make a good impression.  Thankfully, the grandparents (and also the child's parents) are all dog-loving folks who knew the dog was being defensive, and not aggressive.  The wounds were not deep, so the reaction was calm.  I was thankful for that.  When we saw the child later the next week, he spoke well of the party and my dog, so that was nice.

After the dog bite incident, we moved on to the pinata.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but part way through the process I started to wonder if the hanging a pinata that was shaped like a man, from a tree in the backyard, and hitting it with a bat, was a bit violent.  The candy was tucked in the chest, belly, and butt region.  When an arm was knocked off, the crowd of children cheered.  That seemed odd.  They cheers grew wilder as each leg was knocked off, and yet no candy fell.  It really was a cool pinata, and held up well.  The kids were not blindfolded, and were hitting it with Jersey #3's new Louisville Slugger baseball bat his grandparents gave him for his birthday.  I had it stuffed so full of candy and toys that it rained tootsie rolls for 2 full minutes after the body cavity was actually busted open! 

When the party was over, and all the guests had left, Jersey #3 was able to enjoy a sleep-over with his cousin and his friend.  For the rest of the night, they pretty much played video games on the Wii.  They woke up early the next morning and immediately resumed playing video games.

When it was time to put on PJs and prepare for bed, 3 boys turned into super heroes and asked to sleep in the tent that Jersey #3 had just received for a birthday gift.  I tried to tell them that the wood floor would be pretty hard to sleep on.  They didn't seem to mind.

Much to Jersey #2's delight, she also got to enjoy a sleep-over with an AWANA friend, who happened to be the sister of Jersey #3's friend.  (Did I mention Mom of the Year?)  The girls had lots of fun together, without playing a single video game....which was good, because I doubt the boys would have shared the game system anyway.

 

Borrowing a Nephew

I asked my sister if I could borrow my nephew for the weekend.  It was a special occasion, since we are hosting Jersey #3's birthday party this weekend.

It is a strange request, but she obliged.

My nephew is only 3 months younger than Jersey #3, and they have always been crazy about each other. They even like to dress like twins.

When they are together, I am often asked if they are twins.  You should see the looks on people's faces when I answer, "No, they are cousins."  I can tell that folks are trying to figure out how we managed to get twin cousins....must be one of those inbred families!  Their facial expressions amuse me.

Since we don't live in the same town, we both drive to meet each other part-way to swap out kids.  My leg of the trip is shorter, but there is no good location to make it equally half way for us.  We meet at McDonalds, let the kids snack and play, then return home.  It is nice to have this opportunity.  Making that trip on a Friday evening and then again on Sunday afternoon is tiring.  Seeing how happy Jersey #3 is to have his cousin to wrestle with, makes it all worth it.  I hope they continue this friendship as they grow older. 

AWANA Cubbies

We completed another year of AWANA Cubbies!

This year I stretched myself and tried something new:  I volunteered to be an official leader in the Cubbies program.  (Cubbies is the AWANA program for preschoolers).  In all the past years of my kids participating in AWANA, I had never signed up as a leader.  I would still attend club each week, and assist in the various classrooms.  But, this year, I made that official commitment.  It was a good experience.   

I had 2 kids in Cubbies this year.  Jersey #4 and Jersey #5 are 18 months apart in age, and 1 year apart in school.  The Cubbies program runs for 2 years, so they spent a year in the club together.  This was exactly the same thing that happened when Jersey #1 was 4 years old, and Jersey #2 was 3 years old.

At the end-of-year Cubbies Awards Potluck, we celebrated our year of accomplishments.  Even though he has been avoiding crowds, and finds large gatherings overwhelming, The Referee made a point to attend.  He has always attended their awards programs in the past, and he knew it was important to the children.  I was glad to see him too.  I remember how important it was for me that my own parents attended my awards programs when I was a kid, so I was glad he was making that effort for the kids.  I was also thankful to have the help.  One thing I did not consider when signing up for Cubbies Leader is that it would be hard to be a leader and supervise my own kids at the same time, during the awards night dinner!  With The Referee there to sit with the kids, I was free to roam as a leader.  Plus, knowing how much I cherish pictures, The Referee offered to take some photos for me too.  What a blessing!

This was our 6th year in a row of attending a Cubbies Awards Program.  Our family started AWANA when Jersey #1 and Jersey #2 were both in Cubbies together.  Jersey #1 only completed one year of Cubbies (since she started at age 4), and then moved on to Sparks.  Jersey #2 completed her 2nd year, followed by 2 years for Jersey #3.  Jersey #4 completed one year alone as well, then had her little brother with her for her 2nd year.  Next year, when we graduate our final Cubbie, that will mark 7 years in a row of being part of the AWANA Cubbie program! 

It was so much easier this year, with our two youngest children in Cubbies.  In years past, we had toddlers and babies to hold, carry, stroll, and entertain.  Two preschoolers are much easier to manage.  (As one friend described it, "life is just more challenging with a baby and a toddler, regardless of how many children you have").   

The Awards Dinner went great.  Jersey #4 is very excited to move up to the Sparks program in the Fall.  Most of her peers were excited about the new red vests they would wear in Sparks.  Jersey #4 tells me that the reason she wants to go to Sparks is because she can't wait to get to use the bigger playground area outside the Sparks classroom!