Vacation Bible School

I signed Stella up for Vacation Bible School or "Vivle" (the "b's" are pronounced as "v's") if you ask her at St. Thomas in March and I also signed up to be a volunteer.  

I missed the volunteer meeting because we were at the beach for Stella's birthday so when I arrived Monday morning I had no idea what I would be doing.The theme for St. Thomas' VBS was Maker Fun Factory, so it had a lot to do with imagination, creativity, and building things. Mrs. Monica grabbed me and told me I was helping in the Imagination Station in the auditorium.  I was with Mrs. Eileen (a teacher at St. Thomas) and three teenage boys from the youth program-Alex, Owen and Daniel.  

The children came in groups at four different times, every 30 minutes. Stella's group was the last group each day.

The first day was crazy hectic and super busy. The kids made bears, similar to Build A Bears and we had to hot glue them shut. I guessed there were about 100 kids. The next day I asked Mrs. Monica how many kids had signed up and she said 165. So we spent 3 hours hot gluing approximately 165 teddy bears!!

Tuesday was much more low-key which made me happy.

Wednesday I didn't volunteer as I had to drive up to Buford to try on bridesmaid dresses for Michael and Jessica's wedding. Stella was upset to see me leave, but ended up doing great.

Thursday was calm too.

Friday we spent organizing and sort through pictures of each child who attended so that child/family could have a picture. Stella's picture came out just perfect.

I also searched and found a VBS in Port St. Joe for Stella to attend. It was at First Baptist Church on 3rd street and it ran Sun-Thur 6-8:30. We missed the first night because of Stella's golf cart accident, but she was excited to attend the other four nights. The theme was Galactic Starveyors which was perfect since she has shown interest space.

We'd arrive around 5:30 for dinner and each night she ate super good. I mean, really, like it was her job! She'd sit down and just stuff her face and not even get distracted. It wasn't what I was expecting from her so I was one proud Mama. I'd stay until she finished or was at least close and then kiss and hug her bye. The first night it was time for everyone to leave the dining hall but she wasn't finished with her grilled cheese, tots and cookies. Another adult volunteered to sit with her while she finished. I went to Goodwill, then grabbed pizza at Hungry Howie's and enjoyed it by the bay on a swing that hung from an old oak tree. Then I went to the grocery store and picked her back up. 

She was so proud of herself for staying and making new friends so she called Donald on the way home. She talked for a few minutes then said, "I'm gonna have to let you go. I've got to call Uncle Mikey and Aunt Jessica, LolliPop and Tiffany, Landon and Hudson and tell them all about Vacation Vivle (she pronounced the "b's" as "v's") School." I was laughing so much I thought I may drive off into the ocean. And then she just hung up on him and called Uncle Mikey and then LolliPop. I had her hold off on calling The Greens since it was getting late.

Tuesday night she chowed down on chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, green beans and cookies. She went right for the mac and cheese and green beans, even eating it together in one forkful. She only ate a few nuggets because they were quite processed and we aren't used to those. 

There were two kids stabbing their forks into their cups of Kool-Aid, dipping fingers into it and flinging it on to each other. Kids staring at their plate of food as though they'd never seen it before. A few were eating, but it was mostly a lot of goofing off and picking through food. The kid in front of her was sucking up ice and spitting it back into his cup. Doesn't sound that gross, but it was because he still had bits of food in his mouth. What was Stella doing? Eating. Like it was her job. And I was shocked to be honest. So surprised because typically when she's in a new place or situation and around people she doesn't know she isn't herself. She withdraws and gets distracted easily which usually means she doesn't eat. But this place had no effect on her appetite and I was so happy. I crouched down next to her and whispered into her ear, "See that kid in front of you? See what's he's doing? Don't do that. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep eating your food like a big girl. I'm so proud of you." 

I went to leave and I could tell she was getting a little teary-eyed so I squatted back down for a few more minutes. She finished up supper and happily joined her group (below) and ran off to craft, sing, dance and learn about God.

I happily drove over to Joe Mama's Pizza and sat down at the bar for dinner. Since I'd just had pizza the night before I went with a lighter supper of the Tuscan kale salad and bresaola and grilled artichokes.

With dinner, I had a glass of their house sangria. Their dessert special was an amazing butterscotch pudding with toffee and fresh whipped cream so of course I had to try that. Incredibly good!  If I had been at home I most likely would have licked the bowl. Yep.

I got to the church to pick Stella up and she'd made a constellation on black construction paper with stars. She really liked this craft since she knows her name means "star".

The next night I just went back to the house to straighten up, wash dishes, etc. #adulting #reallife

The last night of VBS I went to the beach. It was really pretty out. Very calm and no wind. The waves were barely lapping at the shore.  I set the alarm on my phone (just in case) and sat down and relaxed for about an hour and a half. I swam a bit, read a bit and closed my eyes for a bit.  When my time was up, I rinsed off in the outdoor shower, put on some clean clothes (I think?) and headed back to PSJ.  Stella was excited to see me when I arrived at the church.  At the end of the program all of the children received kites. This made Stella's night. She got an Anna (Frozen) kite which flew surprisingly well a day or two later and is still intact after several flights.

Stella told me she had a great time at Vacation Vivle School. I'll be honest-I used this last VBS as a babysitting service, but I feel like I deserved it and needed it. Some time apart from each other was needed. Plus, I wanted her to step out of her comfort zone a bit to see how she did and she did great. 

Considering how great she did and how much she enjoyed herself, I'll definitely be signing her up for VBS again next year!