VBS and Grandpa's Wedding

July was full of the excitement! Back in June, a friend from our old church contacted me to help with the VBS because the theme of the mission room was China this year. She asked me to talk about the Chinese traditions and the festivals. I tried to talked about my childhood experiences and tied them to the VBS's theme "I will do what God asks me to do even when I don't understand". I talked about a story I heard when I was a child during the festival time: In ancient time, a poor family couldn't afford a good New Year's Eve meal because the husband was at the war and didn't send any money home. The mother didn't want the neighbors to know she didn't have anything to eat (so she wouldn't be embarrassed). She put the kids to bed very early (while most kids get to stay up all night playing and eating for the New Year's Eve) and brought out the empty chopping board and started making the chopping sound so her house would sound like anyone else's. It was a sad story. But it taught me to be sensitive about the people around me when I'm enjoying the blessings of good food and other materials. Maybe someone around me doesn't have anything but didn't want me to know it; maybe I can share my stuff with someone who is in need. We need to keep a watchful eye for the less previleged because Jesus said, if we do this (good) to the least of the people, we are doing it to Him! Then I talked about all the strange traditions that we celebrate as Chinese. I didn't understand why we celebrate that way. But since I am a Chinese, that's just part of me. Now I have a new identity in Christ. There are still many things I don't understand why sometimes. But because I am a Child of God, I will do what God says even when I don't understand or even when it's hard. The kids just soaked in everything. Even the days after the lesson, many kids still brought their parents to say hi to me. Their parents told me their kids kept talking about all the stories and things they learned from the lesson. I also got to visit with many old friends. These precious kids, our old friends, and the whole VBS atmosphere made me miss our old church.

The kids got to try the mooncakes, use chopsticks, make lanterns, etc.

 

Emily and Andy absolutely loved the VBS. I really liked everything except the snacks. Emily and Andy have been off sugars for a while. So they brought their own snacks. After the first day, Andy confessed to me (without being asked because I just assumed they ate their own snacks) that he ate the sweet snacks his teacher gave him (which were marshmellows and chocolate chips) before he ate his own snacks. I told him that I was disappointed because he knew he shouldn't have. He looked at me and said "Mommy, from tomorrow on, I will tell me teacher 'No, thanks!' every time she give me snacks. OK?'' I said "Thank you, sweetie!" Two seconds later, he looked at me again and said in a soft voice "Mommy, will you forgive me?" It just melt my heart. "Of course!" I gave him a big hug. He is just the sweetest boy! And he kept his word for the rest of the VBS (his teacher told me so)!

 

Right after the VBS was over, we headed over to Tulsa for Dad and Linda's wedding. It was a joyful celebration for us all. We are very happy for them! We know it will be a blessing to everyone! Congratulations Dad and Linda! We love you!

 Our small group from church had a bowling party for the Weatherfords going-away. It was the first time for Emily and Andy to play bowling. They just loved it! Can you tell that they had lots of help?

 

Emily's PE teacher Coach P invited us to her farm house to ride the horses and collect the eggs. But it was too muddy because of the heavy rain. So we collected the eggs and pet the animals instead. The kids had a great time!

 

Emily covered her nose while Andy collected the eggs. Boys are boys!

 

Andy is taking piano lessons next month! Originally we just started Emily. But Andy have been practicing every piece that Emily learned and he always spent more time on the piano bench than Emily did. He really showed some talent and it amazed us every day. So when he asked last month "when can I have my piano lessons?", we contacted the piano teacher right away. He already can play several songs. Here he goes!

 

David saw a bobcat outside our back gate. We were nervous for a few days. Then lots of people told us they were not very dangerous. They actually helped to keep the rabbits in check.

 

Emily and Andy tried to have some outdoor fun every day.

 

 

Some days, they would get so exausted

These are the beef jerky that I made out of the grass fed beef. They taste really good. The kids took them and some raw cheese cubes as snacks for the VBS. They never had any leftover.

 

The kids have been reading lots of books from the library. These were from one trip to the library. They were so excited to have 47 books to read in two weeks!

The cherry tomatoes have been producing a lot. Andy got in the garden five or six times a day to check/pick them. He always got several red ones every time. He would run to me and ask me to close my eyes (as if I didn't know that he had some tomatoes). Then he asked me to open my eyes and said "Surprise!" Both kids enjoyed feeding me and watching me eating the red cherry tomatoes.

 

Here are Emily and Andy helping Daddy to build another raised bed for the garden. They can't wait to plan out the fall garden!