facial expressions

We went through her closet this week and I discovered this Huskers cheerleader outfit. It is a 3T and given her daddy's love of the Huskers I realized we better take some pics since she barely fits in it. She was excited to put on the outfit. She was excited to take the pictures... but the first four that I took were the the ones farther down the blog- in each one she had a pout or unhappy look. I just kept taking pics figuring she would soon smile. Finally I said- hey come look at these- what's missing? She didnt have an answer and giggled when I told her a smile. She assured me the sun was in her eyes and she was hungry. I moved her spot and promised her lunch after the pics. Then she gave me her most recent smile. It seems she sees how her 3 month old bro D. smiles- a wide mouth toothless grin. I think she believes that is her smile too. When I ask her why she isnt smiling she assure me it is a smile. What I find fascinating is when she plays camera/picture taking, I give this same open mouth toothless smile. She says, "Mom- I know that is one of your smiles but I like this one better (and shows me what my real smile looks like) I hope to capture her genuine smile again- but for now I have extremes... the canned smile or the unhappy girl. Either way- she is incredibly beautiful. We often say to eachother "I love you when you're mad. I love you when you're nice. I love you when..." showing that no matter how we feel or how the other person is acting, we will always love them. I almost feel that she took these pictures this way to remind me that even when I get the teenage glare, I will always love her, and hopefully she will always love me!








One of the best parts of the summer is VBS. This is A.'s second year of participating in Bible School. I have seen many styles of VBS and have to say that our church sure knows how to do it right! This year there were over 130 kids involved between the ages of 3yrs - 6th grade. We used Group's "EGYPT- Joseph's journey from prison to palace" A. and I were "playing VBS and she was teaching me that God gives us Hope. Please note the collar and headband she made at the marketplace.







I love the system with the shirts. Each group of 5 kids wears a certain color of shirt. Each group of 5 has a MS/HS kid that is with them in the same color. Two groups of 5 form a family with an adult leader. All the 3-5 year olds this year were a shade of blue. This is especially helpful to keep track of the little ones. There were 40 kids aged 3-5 this year. We met Joseph daily to hear about his journey, we had playground time, and we went to two of the ten stations in the marketplace each day to make crafts, pet animals, taste Egyptian food, make bricks, and do a service project. There was also a celebration time with everyone in the beginning and end where we learned the songs and talked about our God Sightings. It was well orchestrated and the volunteers were amazing. This year she could attend a Bible program during the year called Awanas. Our church does not have the program so I am not sure if she will attend. I do not want our local church being upset- but at the same time, our church does not offer any programming for a 4 year old on Wednesday evenings. Have you or your children ever been a part of Awanas? What are your thoughts?