VBS and other stuff

Next week is Vacation Bible School at our church and, as always, we're trying to bring the story to life for the kids to make the greatest impact for Christ that we can.  Our theme for this year is the story of Joseph and how he was sold into slavery by his brothers.  The slave traders took him to Egypt where, after working as a slave and spending time in prison, he became a well respected man with great responsibility.  
This year things are going to be a little different because several of these activities will take place in the same room.  We're creating an Egyptian marketplace where the kids will do several crafts each day, snack, visit the library, have their picture taken and hear a story in the school house.   The opening and closing, where they learn the motions and words to lots of fun, new songs, pray and other cool stuff, will be in the auditorium.  The Bible room will be the place where they meet Joseph, the actual story comes to life.
This week is prep week and hopefully by Friday night, we'll be about ready.  Of course that would be a first because we're usually adding the finishing touches minutes before VBS opens!  We're hoping to start out with 120- 150 kids ages K-6th grade.  But by the end of the week, it would be great if we had 200!  Crazy...but great.

So we have lots to do this week and I'm thankful for a little extra help from my daughter's beau who's visiting PA for a while.  Also, it's worked out that both of my daughter's are off work this week so I'm putting child labor into effect.  :)  Just kidding...both of them enjoy being involved in VBS because they remember how much fun it was for them as younger children.  It's a chance for me to play a role and dress up in character.  An excuse I find as often as I can because I can be someone else in front of other people much easier than I can be myself.  Silly, I know, but true.  My job, after the marketplace is established, is to be the chief priestess in the embalming tent where the kids will learn about that aspect of Egyptian culture and paint their own sarcophagus to take home.  A token of the story to remind them of the lessons they learned at VBS.  The beau will be my head apprentice so I have to make him a costume sometime this week too.  Yeah, and in my spare time, I think I'll crochet a few skull cap type head coverings for the Egyptian women to wear!