Wowza Week

This past week is just one fast blur!  My blogging shows it, too!

School started on Tuesday so after the 2nd child left you'd think my life suddenly got less complicated but . . . you would be wrong! I went for a long walk with a friend and then came home to redistribute the items the tornado that had whirled through my house had repositioned. The tornado has two names, curiously similar to the ones my children carry...it's as if they were SURPRISED that school started on the 7th!

When they got home we began the going through and signing masses of papers they brought home. They are both on block schedules, so there are two sets for two days in a row.  Some need to be returned, some returned with checks attached, some to be read and laughed at, some to be trashed immediately.  I looked at my husband and said, "multiply this by how many kids in Fairfax County? How many trees do we kill each fall?"  He smiled smugly and said, "don't stress. I still have stock in Weyerhauser."  Okay, now I feel better.  NOT!

So Wednesday we did Leaders training for my Community Bible Study class all day. Then more school paperwork that night. And phone calls.  LOTS of phone calls this week - some I had to make and some I received that gave me further taskings.  I am so NOT a phone person.  It was a little bit stressful.

Thursday was actually a treat -- I got to spend a couple of hours in the 18th century looking at old records at the Virginia Room (the genealogy room of our local library).  Then met the daughter's boyfriend's mother for lunch. Man, I hope the girl stays with this kid for a while because I really like his mom. We have so much fun together.

Friday I had to take the boy to have minor surgery on his foot which meant going to the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda. That place holds happy memories for me because that's where daughter was born! Son didn't mind the surgery as much as the big needles they stuck him with to numb the foot. BIG needles...

Last night our Youth Group did a really cool annual thing called The Godfather. It's an outreach event that gets every 6th grade and up and as many friends as they can get there to participate in. They divide into teams and the Godfather gives them tasks to do at our local town center. The adults take them over (everything has been cleared with Town Center security beforehand) and then they take off running. I was with a younger team, so I stayed with them.  They film all of the tasks.  Some of the tasks:

1.  Build a human pyramid in front of the movie theater.
2.  As a group, sing a song at the ampitheater. (My group started with YMCA and ended up with the ABC song because they didn't know the rest of the words!)
3.  Stand on the circles of the fountain without getting wet.  (There's a fountain that shoots up water on timers from the ground)
4.  Find a poster of a book at Barnes & Noble and act out the illustration.
5.  Do a tap dance in front of the Tap Room.
6.  Play duck, duck, goose in a public location, but instead of duck, duck, goose, it was human, human, any animal. The person tagged had to make the noise of that animal and chase the tagger around while being that animal. Fortunately, no one said "snake."
7.  Ask a stranger to marry you.

and lots more.  Other people from the church were strolling around in costume and the kids had to find them and answer questions from them (football fans, movie guy, couple with a baby, Big Easy - the Godfather's sidekick).

The Godfather is a former member of our congregation who is a FFx Cty cop which helps things a lot!  Last night to begin everything he came to the church in the back of a car with lights and siren, and was escorted, in handcuffs, by another cop into the church.  The kids' eyes were as big as dinner plates.  It was HILARIOUS.

Next Sunday all the kids who participated are invited back to watch the videos of the tasks, hear which team won, and eat pizza and cake. A short talk on what the difference is between The Godfather and the Father, God will finish the event.  Daughter has friends who have come to this for 3 years because they have so much fun. It really is the highlight of the year. Daughter read blog and wants me to add that this a very NON-churchy event which is what makes it so easy to invite friends to.

Oh yes, our youth pastor said if there were 75 youth involved, he'd dye his hair pink, purple or orange for 2 weeks. When we got back to the church he told us there were 48 of them, but the Godfather told him to count all the drivers, and if there were more than 60, he had to do it for 1 week. There were 66 -- so for one week (including the day he's preaching) he will have (the kids voted on it) PINK hair.  Can't wait!