Let's Go To Church, Kids

Poised:

Goof:

Mood:

Joy To The World

Well, Campers now knows the definition of "Stage Fright."

Buw-wa-ha-ha.

Here he is (on the right), along with several other Stoic Sunday School Students, "singing" Joy To The World.

I know that within that Meek and Shy little six-year-old body resides an On Stage Ham.

It runs in the family, ya know.

And it is also just a matter of time before Pa teaches Campers the "real" lyrics, which he wisely held back until after the Debut Performance.

For your enjoyment:

"Joy to the world, the teacher's dead
We barbecued the head
Don't worry about the body
We flushed it down the potty
And round and round it goes
And round and round it goes
And rou-ound and rou-ou-ound and round it goes."

It's Just Another Manic Church Day

Slicked back hair and all, ready for church:

The Sister, taking time out to explore the Man Toy:

And then scream a bit about her hat:

Box Packing Frenzy

I did the unthinkable, I actually Left The House Without The Camera, so these photos are from a friend who was kind enough to e-mail hers off to me.

So anyway, laaaaaaast week, the boys and I headed off to home group (one we've been visiting), and that night all the kids were packing their boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I was happy that the boys got to keep up with our annual tradition in a new place.

You might notice that "happy" is not how you'd describe the boys in this first picture, though. We had just popped in the door, and the boys had not had time to conduct their lengthly conversations that they like to have, man-to-man, with the other boys there. But once the construction toys appeared, all was well, and Great Noise Ensued.

As you might also observe, the kids in this group are Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese aaaannddd White-a-nese.

(Look at these! Dirty knees!)

Campers' friend from Sunday School is standing right next to him in the purple (so maybe THAT is why Mr. Six Year Old is being so shy!) and Zig's friend is down in front in the black dress (sister to the other little girl).

Well enough introductions. What happened at this little shindig was that each family brought their loot to the meeting, dumped it in a big pile on the floor, and then the kids worked together to fill as many boxes as they could. One of the dads in the group is a dentist, so Let Me Tell You, there are going to be some kids, in a faraway land, with some Really Clean Teeth.

And the boy you see next to C & Z was quite chatty, and made quick work of helping the boys feel at ease.

Did I mention that someone brought a big bag of Dum Dum Suckers? I just can't seem to get away from those things!

Best part of the night was that the kids got to Eat Pizza! And Hot Dogs!

Oh, and pack boxes for poor and needy children in other countries...yes, that was it.

Goofy Givers

My kids collected non-perishables for the homeless today.
Yeah, so what did YOU do??!!

[I do hope y'all haven't forgotten that my snarkiness runs deep.]

Anyway, our church is doing a Thanksgiving Celebration where folks bring in a bag or ten of food items for the hungry in our city. Which includes us, of course, and the boys were quick to ask if they were getting a nutritious can of spaghetti-n-meatballs just like the homeless people would.

"Why of course, my darlings, and I hope you enjoy your high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavorings, refined white flour, and bouncy meat."

If you thought maybe I was a fun mom, think again.

And what is really fun is when my tots head off to other kids' houses and pronounce judgment on their food.

Yes, we are grateful and considerate people, that we are.

So as you can see, the kids were super-excited about canned goods and boxes.

And in this shot, I think they were singing some kind of "food for the homeless" type of chant:

And don't let Zig's floating eyeball scare you; he's fine. He just has this "eye thing" going lately when I pull out the camera.

I Combed Their Hair, Ya See?

You know it's Sunday when the hair lays nicely and the facial crumbs are gone.

At least for five minutes.

Just When You Think It's A Big World

If it looks like I'm wearing the clothes I wore last Sunday...well...okay...I guess you're right. But I'm just about to find those other dress clothes, yessiirrreeee!

And speaking of dress clothes, we were highly overdressed for church anyway, as the speaking pastor for the first church we attended today was in jeans. Yes, Mom, I said J E A N S!!!

So we walk into church this morning, and wouldn't you know it, the gal who checks our kids into their classes graduated with both Pa and I, from the same college, in the same year.

I mean, really. What are the chances of that?

I recognized her right away, even after.........well let's just say "a few" years.

She and her husband were living in the cornfields of Indiana and decided they wanted a change, so they moved to the city. And so here they are, living in the same quadrant of town as us.

Small World.