Summer is here

It's beginning to look a lot like SUMMER. Water balloons, splash pad, watercolor painting, camps and VBS! This year there was a lot going on during LeTu camps. We balanced swim lessons, Isaiah's Lego Battle-bots camp, Noelle's "Strings and Things" camp, Lucy's Science camp, and Passage for Luke and me! Isaiah had a great time at his camp with his partner Noel - ha! We all thought that was funny, except for our Noelle, who is rather bothered by the idea of boys named Noel. He and Noel worked all week on their "Bot" and were able to battle on the last day. They did pretty well and made it through a few rounds of competition. Noelle was in heaven at her camp. All girls in a cool room with peaceful music and plenty of supplies to craft with! They did all sorts of yarn projects, the favorite being pompoms. Lucy had a great time in her camp with Lucy Caldwell, coming home each day with some science reaction to play with at home - "snow," slime, tornado, etc. 

And Passage was great. I loved being part of it this year as a teacher. It was nerve-wracking to prepare to teach, though! I am very comfortable teaching, but preparing was HARD! I was not sure I knew what I was doing - especially after the first class. It was not nearly as strong as I'd hoped it would be, but after tweaking some things my Friday class was so much better. It was a relief! Our family was around at a few Passage meals and events, but sometimes it felt like we didn't really need to be there and that we weren't really part of what was happening. At the end of the week, however, I was so humbled and thankful to hear the counselors talk about how much it means to them to have the Professors' families around. They said they know them as Professors - as scholars of theology and scripture - but that it is such a rich experience for them to see them as godly husbands and fathers, loving and caring for their families. They are more than book-reading, essay-grading, lecturing nerds - they are living a full life at LeTu and at home. I'll always remember that and enjoy showing students that Luke is not just Dr. Tallon by my presence whenever I can.

And VBS was another good week. Luke and I definitely missed our annual VBS experience with the Silverthornes. We have planned, decorated and acted through "Bible Experience" for years! They were unable to do it this year, so we were left to our own devices. Isaiah was my right hand man for transforming the chapel into a Babylonian temple. He did great and had some neat ideas that I would never have thought of. Luke and I spend the week as Daniel and "Ash," a sort of made-up character that helped tell the story of Daniel. I have to say, we were a hit. The kids always love that station an hardly recognize us - even when our costuming is super minimal. It was a blessing to soak in the stories of Daniel - of his faith and willingness to be faithful, even when he knew that it would, almost certainly, cost him.

Also, funny moment on the first Sunday of VBS. There was a big sign on the stage that said, "BABYLON." A few minutes into service, Lucy leaned over and whispered, "Why does it say baby lion up on stage?"