A Peculiar Notion

Day Four Down...One to Go!

Art Camp went well yesterday.  The kids worked on their "snake" shirts, which is sort of like tie-dye.  You prepare the shirt by tying it up like you would for tie-die, but we used fabric markers to color the shirts (a lot less mess).  There's still papier-mache paste all over the carpet in the room we're using, so I didn't want to add dye to that.  After the kids colored in their shirts I allowed them to untie them.  The designs turned out really awesome!  They wanted to add their names and other designs, so I let them do that as well.  I collected them once they were done so I could throw them in the dryer for 30 minutes to set the color.

We'll finish the hot air balloon project we started on Monday in class today.  They used so much paste when they put them together they are all hard as bricks.  I'll let them pop the balloon inside, then glue the colored paper squares on the outside to finish them off.  Then we'll finish the bottom of the cups and attach them to the balloons with yarn.  During this time I'll have to collect all the projects and separate them by child in the other room.  I've told them all week they could take their projects home today, and we've completed quite a few.  They LOVED the Gumball Machine project we did yesterday.  Every one of the kids drug their parents over to the table where they were drying to show their project off.  We should have our gumballs to put in each glass bowl today before they go home.

I came home last night exhausted.  Quinn and I tag-teamed dinner, and I layed down on the couch for a minute to rest.  We ate dinner together as a family and then I headed out to see Mom at the hospital.  She said the stockings they had her wearing (to keep from getting blood clots) were pinching her, and she couldn't get anyone to fix them for her.  The nurses are doing the best they can, but like everywhere else in the country they are woefully understaffed.  While I was there one of her machines started beeping, and I had to call them twice to get someone to pay attention to it.  When I left about 90 minutes later I was walking toward the elevators with tears in my eyes.  I felt so torn between staying and going home to help Quinn with the kids before bed.  The timing for doing Art Camp could not have been worse with her going into the hospital.  But I am trusting God to see us all through this week.  After today I'll be able to spend more time with her.  She's still in a lot of pain, and is having problems with gas bubbles in her stomach.  She'll drift off to sleep, then get hit with another spasm of pain.  I hate seeing her like this, and there's nothing I can seem to do to ease her pain.  She's currently sharing a room with another woman, and she had about 6 people visiting her last night all at the same time.  It made for a lot of noise.  Mom just had me and Dan come visit last night.  I wish she had a church home and had friends to pop in and surprise her with a visit.  I think it might make her feel better.  Something more to pray about I suppose.

I'll have the pics uploaded of Art Camp sometime over the weekend.  I can't wait to share the finished projects with my blogger friends!  Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement throughout this week.

Blessings,

Lori