Trying to Catch Up!

Well, it's been awhile. Last year I had about 28 posts while this year I've only 4 so far. That's a significant downgrade, I'd say. I've just been very busy with school. Every year I teach something new so I have a whole new curriculum to learn! I so enjoy the challenge, but a stress-free, putz-around-the-house kind of summer seems to be unattainable for the present. At any rate, Ma always said it's best to be busy than the other way around and generally I have to agree with her (I have a smart mom). And truthfully, I am not TOO busy where I can't enjoy time with my family. Mike and I have been going down the shore every weekend, so I have time to relax then. Just this past weekend Mike and I were down with Jules and the youth group from church. We had a great time. At night Jules played on the playground on the beach and made fast friends with a bunch of kids with big imaginations - right up her alley. The next day, Mike convinced me to go banana boating on the ocean with some of the youth group. Banana boating is when you have a motor boat pull a large inflatable tube that holds up to 12 people. Well, not expecting it to be such a big deal, I went. I was tossed - along with others - off the boat a number of times and simply trying to get back on the boat took a herculean effort! Let's just say that a day later, sore doesn't begin to describe some of my muscles! But it was fun, and I bet in a year I could be convinced to do it again. Mike and I also went on a trip by ourselves to the ocean and spent a night without Jules (thank you, Lora!). It was even better than the last time we spent away from home - sans Jules. This time we went to a winery. Did you know that there are over 50 wineries in New Jersey??? (I suddenly am very knowledgeble about NJ's wineries). It was neat experiencing a wine-tasting. I think we tried 5 to ten different types of wine. I nodded thoughtfully when the owner of the winery talked about the "dryness" of a particular wine or the supposed "fruitiness" of a bottle. Interesting stuff. Then Mike and I bought a bottle - whether fruity or dry I couldn't say - sat out on the wide porch that overlooked the vines, and had a glass or two with some cheese. It was so peaceful and beautiful. We were in a county in NJ that I've never been in and it felt like a different world. At night we went to "Moonstruck", a restaurant in Asbury Park and sat on the top balcony overlooking the river that leads to the ocean. Lovely! And tomorrow it's VBS - vacation bible school. I'm looking forward to it! It's always a little challenging to be organized, but hopefully it will run smoothly like it always seems to do. We had a good reminder in church this morning on why churches should be involved in various outreaches, and it was good for me personally to hear that because it is so easy to get caught up in the minutia (like craft preparation, etc.) and to miss the bigger picture - telling children about God and His Word and asking Him to bless it! Well, that's all for now. Wishing all my readers a blessed week!