Courage

How much can a kid grow up in a day?  Quite a bit.

Let's have a look at the kids' terrified faces their first time on a canoe this morning:

Blood curdling screams, I tell you.  We got some nasty looks from the paddle-boaters nearby.

But slowly, the kids began to trust us and decided to get their hands wet.

And paddle right along, just like good pirates.

 And halfway out, with nowhere to tether our boat, they discovered something of a treasure buried deep within themselves: Courage.    

 The day of the panicked screech turned into a sunny day at the beach.

 And those fear monsters tuck-tailed and ran away.

Then Lorelei decided suddenly she wasn't afraid of anything anymore.

Not even riding a bike.

So on the pedals went... and off rode our little biker for the very first time!

 She didn't even let us help her.  "No, let ME do it!" she insisted, jerking her bike away from our cautious grip.

And did she ever!

 The war wounds were minimal.  What's a little blood?

 It's a good thing I was behind the camera.  Tears just flooded my face when I saw the pride in Lulu's.

And I'm an ugly crier.

Courage has been something of a theme lately. 

We just read The Tale of Desperaux and Brave this month (the movie comes out this week), which were brimming with courage.

And the theme of VBS this week?  You guessed it.

 Lulu, you are so brave and strong.  How much you have grown in a single day!

And you're already asking for that frog catcher we promised you... :o)

Just no broken bones, okay?