What a Crazy Weekend! (I thought Monday would never get here...)
So late in posting, but this Monday is just a runover from the weekend. It's been non-stop go, go, go!
This past weekend was the LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) Convention. LTC is a way to get children involved in Bible studies; scripture reading; speech; sermons; song leading; art of all medias; dramas; chorus; prayer journaling; puppet shows; service projects; and signing. It is a program that introduces children to various act of service and teaches them that anyone can be useful to God in different ways, these being just a few. (This year’s theme was “Take the Lead” and the books they studied were Joshua, Judges and Ruth.) Being that this was the first year that our daughter participated in LTC, it was our first time to enter this arena of fun, fellowship and chaos (meant in a good way.)
Fortunately, the convention was in Kansas City this year, so traveling far was not an issue for us. Figuring out downtown was but that was because we rarely make it downtown so our knowledge on it is very limited. I will admit that is somewhat embarrassing to ask for directions from an out-of-town convention attendee. They didn’t make fun of us, too much anyway…
Friday started off with a bang. We arrived at the hotel early enough to hit the pool before everyone else did. The kids had a blast swimming and playing with some other pool-goers. Mr. Right is such a good daddy. He was in the pool playing Marco Polo and shark and all sorts of fun games. (I’m the fuddy-duddy – I like to play “Let’s sit in the hot tub and relax” game. They never want to play what I want to play…
After showering and dressing for the evening events, we grabbed some dinner and checked into the convention. While gathering our information for the events, one of the convention organizers looked at me and said, “They still need a judge for female Bible reading… Would you be interested in helping?”
My first time there and I’m being sucked into the running of things already? Of course I said yes. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I could help out. It was during the Bible Bowl, a two hour session where the kids are asked 100 different questions from their studies. I didn’t think I would miss out too much if I didn’t sit through that one! It was an event that was easy to judge and worthwhile to see young woman get into the Word.
Since we had so many out of town acquaintances, we decided to forgo going to bed early and kept our kids up entirely too late. We met some friends for coffee and a late snack and some good fellowship. I got called into duty again at 10:30 - that night. “Hey, I know that they need a signing judge for tomorrow and I know that you sign, so I gave them your name... Will you do it?”
Now here is where you need to understand that although I am learning sign language, I in no way feel as if I am advance enough to judge anyone else, not even a 3rd grader. But after talking to the coordinator and being assured that even I could do a good job at it, I consented.
The next day when I showed up to find out what I needed to do, they wanted me to judge the advance classes. I firmly stated a good “No way, José,” but said I would do the beginners. It was fun and really encouraging to see so many kids learning to sign, especially boys! (Did you know that a deaf person has an average of three good friends their entire life, and two of those are usually their parents?! That is just so sad and narrow minded of us who have the capability of hearing.)
They did a great job signing the songs; you would not believe how much courage it took for them to participate. Most everyone was extremely nervous, but they didn’t give up. All I wanted to do was give everyone a gold medal for even trying! But I did the right thing and judged/critiqued the way that was requested. It was funny how everyone ended up with a silver or higher though. I walked away saying I wouldn't mind judging again next year; they LOVED hearing that little bit of info...
The rest of the day was spent following my daughter to each of her events. My shy, sweet girl participated in the puppet show and she did great. Next she played a part in the drama; it turned out that she loved being on stage. Lastly she sang with the chorus. I’m such a proud mama to watch her participate in some events from which she normally would shy away – all on her own accord. (No I didn't talk her into a single event; she made all these decisions on her own!) Seeing her smile after each performance was worth the lack of sleep and running around involved with this weekend.
We had made plans with some of our visiting friends to go see the Wizards’ game. Let me just say now that I loved the soccer game. It was beautiful weather, great friends and we got to see up close the only score of the game. (Wizards won!) All the kids (6 in all) had fun with their hot dogs, cotton candy and time with each other.
We all finally made it to our house about 10 PM that night. We were exhausted! And Easter was the next day... Another long day from the get-go… I was hoping for a little breather today, but no such luck. Maybe Tuesday will calm down for me.
Next year I know to plan a vacation to recover from this kind of weekend…
This past weekend was the LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) Convention. LTC is a way to get children involved in Bible studies; scripture reading; speech; sermons; song leading; art of all medias; dramas; chorus; prayer journaling; puppet shows; service projects; and signing. It is a program that introduces children to various act of service and teaches them that anyone can be useful to God in different ways, these being just a few. (This year’s theme was “Take the Lead” and the books they studied were Joshua, Judges and Ruth.) Being that this was the first year that our daughter participated in LTC, it was our first time to enter this arena of fun, fellowship and chaos (meant in a good way.)
Fortunately, the convention was in Kansas City this year, so traveling far was not an issue for us. Figuring out downtown was but that was because we rarely make it downtown so our knowledge on it is very limited. I will admit that is somewhat embarrassing to ask for directions from an out-of-town convention attendee. They didn’t make fun of us, too much anyway…
Friday started off with a bang. We arrived at the hotel early enough to hit the pool before everyone else did. The kids had a blast swimming and playing with some other pool-goers. Mr. Right is such a good daddy. He was in the pool playing Marco Polo and shark and all sorts of fun games. (I’m the fuddy-duddy – I like to play “Let’s sit in the hot tub and relax” game. They never want to play what I want to play…
After showering and dressing for the evening events, we grabbed some dinner and checked into the convention. While gathering our information for the events, one of the convention organizers looked at me and said, “They still need a judge for female Bible reading… Would you be interested in helping?”
My first time there and I’m being sucked into the running of things already? Of course I said yes. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I could help out. It was during the Bible Bowl, a two hour session where the kids are asked 100 different questions from their studies. I didn’t think I would miss out too much if I didn’t sit through that one! It was an event that was easy to judge and worthwhile to see young woman get into the Word.
Since we had so many out of town acquaintances, we decided to forgo going to bed early and kept our kids up entirely too late. We met some friends for coffee and a late snack and some good fellowship. I got called into duty again at 10:30 - that night. “Hey, I know that they need a signing judge for tomorrow and I know that you sign, so I gave them your name... Will you do it?”
Now here is where you need to understand that although I am learning sign language, I in no way feel as if I am advance enough to judge anyone else, not even a 3rd grader. But after talking to the coordinator and being assured that even I could do a good job at it, I consented.
The next day when I showed up to find out what I needed to do, they wanted me to judge the advance classes. I firmly stated a good “No way, José,” but said I would do the beginners. It was fun and really encouraging to see so many kids learning to sign, especially boys! (Did you know that a deaf person has an average of three good friends their entire life, and two of those are usually their parents?! That is just so sad and narrow minded of us who have the capability of hearing.)
They did a great job signing the songs; you would not believe how much courage it took for them to participate. Most everyone was extremely nervous, but they didn’t give up. All I wanted to do was give everyone a gold medal for even trying! But I did the right thing and judged/critiqued the way that was requested. It was funny how everyone ended up with a silver or higher though. I walked away saying I wouldn't mind judging again next year; they LOVED hearing that little bit of info...
The rest of the day was spent following my daughter to each of her events. My shy, sweet girl participated in the puppet show and she did great. Next she played a part in the drama; it turned out that she loved being on stage. Lastly she sang with the chorus. I’m such a proud mama to watch her participate in some events from which she normally would shy away – all on her own accord. (No I didn't talk her into a single event; she made all these decisions on her own!) Seeing her smile after each performance was worth the lack of sleep and running around involved with this weekend.
We had made plans with some of our visiting friends to go see the Wizards’ game. Let me just say now that I loved the soccer game. It was beautiful weather, great friends and we got to see up close the only score of the game. (Wizards won!) All the kids (6 in all) had fun with their hot dogs, cotton candy and time with each other.We all finally made it to our house about 10 PM that night. We were exhausted! And Easter was the next day... Another long day from the get-go… I was hoping for a little breather today, but no such luck. Maybe Tuesday will calm down for me.
Next year I know to plan a vacation to recover from this kind of weekend…
Labels: Family
posted by Shalee at 2:32 PM
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