For the Mamas and the Papas

I know people from church have checked to see Patch pictures so here ya go, y'all!

Our church does the Patch the Pirate program and every year, Brother Mike's 4th-6th grade class hosts their Patch Quiz Bowl. This is not a normal Patch the Pirate event, but our church enjoys it, so we do it.

Brother Mike has been an EXCELLENT teacher over the years and teaches deep into the Scriptures. Come the night of the quiz bowl, the children go head to head against their parents and we (the parents) have never won. We usually fail miserably.

Because Hannah moved up last year, we would not have been partaking in the fun, except Madison had no one to go up against. Her mother is an assistant in that class and her daddy had to work. So, I volunteered my services. Boy, was that dumb! Madison let it be known, under no circumstances, that I would walk away a loser. She was correct.

The class...


The judges: John O', Brother Johnny, and Brother Jonathan. Hmmm...they all have the name John and they all have the same initials. How ironic. Jonathan was praying that he would be a good judge.


Poor Angie....I won't even tell you the question SHE missed. It's just too embarrassing. And believe me when I say that her son, Benjamin, was still picking at her for it Sunday.


Ally blends in nicely with the decor, doesn't she? :) Her daddy is Brother Mike, so she went up against her Uncle.


Brother Joel, suffering from a sinus infection, was quite the trooper as he went up against his son, Caleb.


And dear Michelle had to face her son, Bailey. He's rough!


Brandon wasn't about to cut his grandmother, Mrs. Gail, any slack either.


Brother Terry went up against his daughter, Callie. She is too funny.


Pam went against Nicole.


And Brother Ron, looking rather pale and anguished, went up against his granddaughter, Cheyenne.


Brother Tommy and his son, Cody, were at a stand off. We waited in silence for one of them to ring the bell and yet neither of them moved. Finally Brother Tommy, yelled, "Ring the bell, boy! I don't know the answer!"


It was Brother Danny's turn to go against Benjamin. Who rang that bell first anyway?


We'll not even discuss Brother Bruce going against his son, Coby. But the word pitiful does come to mind.


There was a lot of laughter going on and Brother Mike couldn't help but giggle throughout the night.


For the final round of the game, five children went up against five parents. We could work together to name the fruits of the Spirit. Both teams were correct, however, the children did actually get theirs in order.


The judges tallied up the final scores. It was no surprise that the parents lost and the children won. Oh, dear...how sad.


Next, it was time to pass out the awards.
Jordon and Kendall received the Class clown awards. I certainly was not surprised.


Callie won the Elephant Award, for memorizing the most verses.


There were several other awards passed out, but my camera wasn't fast enough.
The children moving up from the Patch program to our SIGMA gave a short farewell speech. First up, Caleb. Caleb is a young man of as few words as he can get by with, so I was impressed that he even spoke at all. It was sweet.


Next was Kendra. She gave a testimony of how something that was said in class this year had allowed her to see her need for salvation.


There were no teams this year, but Brother Mike awarded a medal to each of the children that have been saved this year. Bailey Watson was one of those also.


And these were the top five scorers: Ally in 1st, Callie 2nd, Madison 3rd, Nicole 4th, and Caleb 5th. Way to go, y'all! They'll be taken on a special outing later in the summer.


Pastor Goodman recognized the workers in this class.


Jennifer D, who will become Mrs. O this fall.


Mrs. Kim, who is more terrific than I ever knew.


And last, but not least, Brother Mike. He has given many hours of thought and prayer into this class and it has truly paid off. Thank you, Brother Mike.


Kim and Alex. Can you "cheese" like that for the camera, peeps?

We had a great time. Justin helped in the nursery and after the quiz bowl we went to DQ with some special friends. I had a plain ole' ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. There's something to be said for the plain ole' ice cream cone!

Hannah's Essay on Commitment

Commitments kids make are ones like: cleaning your room, making your bed, feeding your pet, doing the chores your parents gave you, cleaning the kitchen, and washing the car. Kids make all kinds of commitments.



Adults make a lot of commitments also, only theirs are more important. Adults make commitments like: cleaning someone's house on a weekly basis, teaching a Sunday School class, teaching a school class for someone and many other things.



I know that a lot of people will make a commitment to God even if they don't want to. But they will make commitments like these: praying everyday, putting Him first, loving someone who does not show love back to them, and loving Him more than anything.



If you break your commitment as a kid you could get grounded, not get supper, or do something you hate.



Breaking a commitment to God can get you in trouble. The Lord could make you sick, and if the commitment you made to God is really, really important, He could get you in a car accident or make you fall and get hurt really bad. You have to be responsible for the commitments you make and you have to do them no matter what you want to do.



If you break your commitment as an adult anything could happen. You could get fired from your job, get hurt in a weird way, or end up doing something you did not intend to do.



Everyone who makes a commitment is responsible for their commitment and needs to stick to it.



Hannah, age 12.

Hannah's Last Patch Quiz Bowl

The last several years the Patch Bowl has used the same theme as SIGMA uses for their banquet. This year was no different.

The children and those who wanted to, dressed up in their 50's clothes for a fun night at the Old Path's Diner.

This was Hannah's last year in Patch the Pirate Club before moving up to SIGMA next year. Although she is looking forward to moving up to SIGMA and getting to know Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz better, she is going to miss Brother Mike and Mrs. Susan something terrible. She loves them so much and they've put a lot of time into her class and into her personally.

The Patch Bowl is a time when the children in Brother Mike and Mrs. Susan's class gather for a time of food, fellowship, and a bit of respectful competition directed toward their parents. The children go head to head against their parent in answering questions on things the children have learned during the Patch year. Oh my....we (parents) always end up looking quite pitiful.

Hannah and Mrs. Susan


Every year, Brother Mike and Mrs. Susan encourage the chilren to do an essay on a subject they've learned that year. This year the essay was on commitment. There was a contest on the essays this year and these were the entries lined on the wall for the parents to read.


Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz with their children, Michaela and Sam. Cute, huh?


Naomi was kind enough to oblige a picture for me by the giant milkshake.


Of course, Harrison wanted a picture in the car.


Ally is showing her pretty hair piece. Looks real, huh?


Hannah with her daddy


Bruce with baby Abigale. Even SHE had a poodle skirt.


Harrison wanted a picture by the chocolate milkshake.


Brother Jon and Mrs. Susan snuggling in the red car. Awwww


This is Brother Dave Douglass and his sweet wife, who by the way, is in the hospital with a kidney infection. They are missionaries and we love them!!!


I just had to snap this shot. One of the things I liked about this theme was the way the teenagers and the Patch kids enjoyed themselves with it. These boys were behind the counter getting along with each other, being silly, and I caught them with the camera. They were so cute.


Me and Ashlyn, Brother RJ and Mrs. Liz's baby.


This is Mrs. Susan during the quiz bowl against her son.


Bruce and Hannah


The judge's table. Our judges this year was Brother Brandon, Brother Johnny, and Brother Jonathan.


These were Hannah's Patch teachers this year. Mrs. Susan, Mrs. Kim, and Mrs. Jennifer


Paw Paw going against Hannah....she beat him by the way.


This cracked me up. The first round of the quiz bowl is usually always easy. But then they step it up a bit in the second round. By the third round, the parents are at a total loss...literally. Here, you can see the agonizing look by Brother Bruce while his son, Coby, looks on in cheerful glee.


The last couple of questions of the quiz bowl always goes against a few students and their parents or adult of their choice. Each team had to write down all ten Egyptian plagues. The children answered all of theirs correctly, however, the adult team, which consisted of our Pastor AND our missionary, Brother Douglass, missed it by one plague. Boils. But the final question sent the score in favor of the children over the top. Name all 13 judges mentioned in the Old Testament. To which all of the adults threw up their hands and walked back to their seats while Ally McCurry spouted them off into the microphone.


The final score revealed what we already knew. Judging by Ally and Justin D's expressions, you should know that the children won......again.


And then on to the awards. Brother Mike gave Hannah a medal for being the treasurer this year. Each year the children raise money throughout the year and vote on who or what they want to donate the money to. This year, the children raised $100, and decided to divide it between two ladies in our church. Hannah had the honor of presenting them with their gift. On Memorial Day weekend it seemed appropriate that the money would go to the wives of two of our military men. One of which just came back from war and the other who just left a few weeks ago. The ladies were Mrs. Paige and Mrs. Charity. It was really touching.



Hannah received the Peer Award, which is given to the student that showed Christian character. She and Justin D both won that award.


Mrs. Parris, a well respected educator in our church, was given the opportunity to announce the winner of the essay contest and read the essay itself. Bruce and I were pleased as punch when our little girl's name was called. Of course, we already knew that she had won, but appreciated the fact that she was recognized. We had not read or heard her essay until that night and my heart was full as her thoughts on commitment were read aloud. I'll post a copy of her essay tomorrow.

Mrs. Parris presented her with a beautiful plaque.


There are four children moving up to SIGMA this year. They each gave a farewell to their class and to their teachers. The first was Dakota.

Then Justin W

Hannah

And Evan.

Brother RJ welcomed the uprising SIGMA and gave them a word of encouragement.


The top five score winners will be given a special trip somewhere with Brother Mike and Mrs. Susan. In fourth and fifth place were brothers, Justin and Jaren D. (Please tell me I didn't spell this child's name wrong again!!) They worked really hard this year.



In third place, was Hannah.

Second place, Ally

And first place..............drum roll, please................Evan!!!!!!! They all did a wonderful job.


Me, Hannah, and Bruce after the quiz bowl.

Hannah with Brother Mike and Mrs. Susan. Thank y'all for all the time and wonderful work you've put into my children these last few years.

Ally with her awards

Hannah with her grandparents. Thank you both for being there for her. It meant a lot to her and to me and Bruce.