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Sooooo today, after church, I am meeting with the gal who will be teaching the Middle Schoolers at VBS. They do everything off in their own little group -- except the games. They join the 5th graders for games. So SHE will be teaching them their crafts -- and THIS year I decided they are going to do leather work! On Friday the younger kids will be making friendship bracelets. One for themselves - and one to share with a friend! So the middle schoolers are going to make leather bracelets - and they get to do the tool work, and the painting or staining of the leather. It will be GREAT fun and they will LOVE this craft! But they DO have to learn to do it properly and leather is totally UNforgiving... so you want to try to avoid mistakes at all cost! This means that I need to teach the teacher, so that she can teach the kids! This is the ONLY part of VBS that really makes me wish I could be two people at the same time!!! I would LOVE to be with the kids on this project! (of course, I also want to be with all the little kids on their projects!) Dennis has done leather work in the past, and so he had MOST of the tools that the kids will be using. I DID buy a few new stamps... folded hands, two different crosses, the fish... 5 more mallets for hammering. WELL! I wanted them to have options! It IS Bible school after all! OKAY! I've spent a bloomin' fortune on the Middle Schoolers - I admit it! But it's WORTH it! I like the kids to get gOOd stuff....

So, after I teach Debbie how to teach Leather Working 101... then I get to go down in the multi-purpose room and DECORATE for the week ahead!!! I'm sO excited! Of course, I can't WAIT to put up the shower curtain! But I also got a BIG Tree to put up! (the kind that goes on the wall in a classroom... ) And I've got butterflies and dragonflies and ivy and STUFF. I WISH I had some BIG mountainous rocks... but what I have will have to do! And ... and ... I have little "giveaways" for them - something for each day! The first day I have some ROCKS for them! (the mom's and other teachers are gonna love me to death... givin' kids ROCKS! Go Ms. Lantz!!!) *nods* Yea... I'm givin' 'em rocks! WHY? Because VBS ROCKS! ... of course! On day 2 I'm giving them each a LEAF! Why? Because... We BEE-LEAF that Jesus is our Savior!!! After that I quit being corny and I just have some pencils and tattoos and JUMPIN' Bugs! (unless Y'ALL have some other corny ideas to share -- cuz I dig bein' corny!!! The kids practically expect it!)

So this is IT! TOMORROW starts Vacation Bible School! I am sO ready! I will NOT be around much this week guys! Besides VBS, I have a niece in town this weekend that I haven't seen since around 1990... we're meeting her & her hubby for late lunch tomorrow afternoon, and then Tuesday after VBS I go to babysit Luz ... and same on Thursday! So it really is going to be a crazy hectic week! I will try to post something each evening... and then visit as many as I can... but I make NO promises! ;-) Prayers for GREAT success and that God touches all of these little lives this week would certainly be appreciated though! Thanks!