Ladybugs & Stinkbugs

Teenager craziness


Matthew's in there somewhere


I think they put Jacob in a cage

Andrew! He was 3


Jacob was about 6 months old!


Annie looks so little in these pictures.

All the VBS ladies.

In honor of VBs, I'm post some pictures of VBS from LAST year, and then I'll post pictures of this year's (once I get them on my computer...)

Sorry, this has taken me long because I'm just editing it. This is the first part, and I may have clips as we go on with the editing process!!! :)

Last night was our Psalty musical at church! After months of a LOT of hard work, we were finally able to share with our church, friends & family what God had put on our hearts. That might sound "preachy" but it is totally how I feel. The kids did an AWESOME job! I really enjoyed watching them sing their hearts out. We will have one more performance, next week, at an apartment complex here in town. It is a "mini-mission-trip" for our 1st through 5th graders, and I think will be an awesome experience.

Here are a few pictures. I don't want to post pics of OTHER people's kids without their permission, so you won't get the whole "effect", but my babies sure looked darling! I will have some video up soon for you!




Jeremy and his friend Jeremy they worked very hard on all the "tech" stuff.









Mom & Aunt Betty - they worked soo hard!















Katie-girl looking all pitiful

















Annie singing her heart out

Sunday, in his message on Christian Fellowship, our pastor encouraged us all to begin reading through the entire Bible this year.  Matthew (7 years old) took that seriously and brought the reading guide home.  He really convicted me that he should be following my example (instead of me following his), so I'm going to start also.  I thought, as a way to keep me accountable, I would post my thoughts on the reading for each day.  Hopefully it will also help me slow down and think about the passages more, instead of just "checking the box" and getting it done for the day.

If you would be interested in hearing podcasts of our church's weekly services, go to
Westgate Memorial Baptist Church's podcast and you can subscribe.

After a rocky start, Andrew is really getting into Cubbies. Here is a video of their special song - I tried to get one from the front, but as soon as Andrew saw me he got completely distracted. They all have their backs turned, but he's the one closest to me in the back.

Annie has NO FEAR!  Our church's Fall Festival was held last Sunday, and she got up on the stage with her friend and sang - in front of everyone.  She's dressed as a Ladybug, so that's why she looks funny.

 

All our kids - except Jake - made their own little hats and we painted their faces red with black noses.  They wore matching white t-shirts, and we put their "numbers" on the back - M. Downs 1, A. Downs 2, A. Downs 3, J. Downs 4.  Jeremy says we have first downs through fourth, and that's all there is!

 

I thought you would enjoy the video.  This one may be a little bit small - I'll try to get a bigger one uploaded later this week.

 

 

For those of you who don't know, AWANA is a Bible-memorization program through our church.  They have a program for 2 year-olds (Puggles), 3-4 year-olds (Cubbies), K-2nd graders (Sparks), and 3-6th graders (T&T).  Right now, we have two Sparks and two Cubbies (including Madi).

 

Andrew has been having a rough time with the transition to Cubbies (and in his new Sunday School class, as well).  He really liked the IDEA of Cubbies, but didn't actually want to GO to Cubbies!  We had a couple of very stressful (especially for me) drop-offs, but last Wednesday night he went into his class with NO CRYING.  Then, wonder of wonders, he did the same thing in Sunday School yesterday.  I think he finally got 'comfortable' - he's like his Daddy, he doesn't do "new" very well.

 

Here's our 3-year-old Cubbie:

 

 

Annie was very excited to get her 1st-grade book this year. She really knows what is going on, and has really just jumped back in. My favorite thing is hearing her pray during Opening Ceremonies. Her sweet little voice just melts my heart, especially when she's talking to God. Here's our Sparkie:

 

 

Then there's Matthew. He's on his third (and last) year in Sparks, so definitely knows the program. He's ready to move on up to T&T next year - but Mommy is NOT ready!! He's an overachiever - it's not enough for him to memorize his book. He wants to finish it, complete the review, AND go on to the workbook (which is "extra" stuff you can do when you've finished your handbook for the year). He's a lot of fun to work with because he really takes it seriously.

 

 

This may not apply to a lot of my regular readers, but this is a very...thorough...discourse on what teenage guys think about teenage girls. I think it's worth watching...plus, it's hilarious.

These are the WMBC guys:

A couple of cute videos from the past few weeks. If you'd like to see more, check out the Photobucket link to the right.

The kids singing at church. It is so sweet hearing them sing and worship!



The kids enjoying singing during music & dance at VBS.



Jacob drinking lemonade.

This was the last night of Awana for the year. Andrew's no longer a Puggle - he'll be in Cubbies next year!! Matthew and Annie will still be in Sparks.

Anyway, here is a picture of "Granny" with a pie-face!

Sorry about the quality of these videos! I took them with my phone at church. =)

This was Annie's children's choir performance at church a couple of weeks ago. They played "Jesus Loves Me" on handbells, and then sang. They also sang "Our God is an Awesome God." This is a song Annie LOVES, and she has taught it to Andrew. It is so cute to hear them sing it together!