The kids and I have been going to church on Wednesday nights all year long while John goes to band rehearsal at school. I go to my bible study while the kids all go to their classes which is a very much like Awana except for the boys it's called Royal Rangers. Cole's class is called Sonlight for 2 and 3 year olds and Ryder was in the Rainbow class for 3-5 year olds. Our church just started Cole's class this year, but Ryder has been in his class since we moved here and it has been something he looks forward to going to every week where he gets to be with his friends, and learn about Jesus!
Here are a few pictures from the ceremony we just had at our church bringing an end to the year!
Cole with his teachers, Pastor Joe and his wife Donneta
(she also leads the worship team John and I are on, and they and their family of 4 sweet kids have become good friends of ours since we moved here!)
Joe talked about each child in their class and gave Cole the "Best Marcher" award since he loves to march when Joe asks them all to march from their class to the playground :) Instead of certificates, Joe figured the kids would like lollipops more! Good idea!
Here Mrs. Hendrie is giving him a pin since he was one of the Honor Rainbows, earning 18 badges and memorizing a verse to go along with each one. Great job, Ry!!! It's awesome to know there is so much of God's Word hidden in his heart at such a young age. :)
At the beginning of the ceremony, there was a time of worship when we all sang songs together while the kids were siting with their class. I caught a couple videos during this time. The first one is of Cole and Cora dancing while she was sitting with Cole's class for the night...
I thought this was cute since Cole kept turning around trying to get Ryder's attention during Ryder's favorite song. You can see how focused Ryder is!
Another thing I love about these pictures and videos is that they remind me of what a blessing the body of Christ is. I will always be grateful to Ryder and Cole's teachers and their dedication to their classes ALL year as they faithfully taught our children about who God is and who he made them to be. I was thankful to get to serve alongside them periodically throughout the year and see how much the boys loved being under their care. I'm looking forward to Ryder moving up next year to Ranger Kids, Cole moving up to Rainbows and Cora being in the Sonlight class for the first time. Thank you, Lord for providing such a wonderful body of believers for us to be a part of! They have blessed us in incredible ways!!!
