Recently we teamed up with two sweet boys, Aidan and Noah and did a Flat Stanley project.   You can read more about Flat Stanley here:  http://www.flatstanley.com/books  Aidan and Noah made Flat Stanley and mailed him to us, and my kids made Flat Stanley and mailed him to them.  They took our Flat Stanley on adventures, which you can read about here: http://ourappalachiahomeschool.blogspot.com/2012/08/flat-stanley.html  And, we took their Flat Stanley on adventures, which you can read about below.

Jacob, Jaden, and James were elated as they pulled Flat Stanley out of the envelope.  They grabbed the camera and Flat Stanley’s adventures began. (I don’t think he realized what he was in for!) ;0)

Flat Stanley immediately complained about being famished because the postmaster would not allow him to eat in the post office.  He told Jacob that it had been almost two days since he had eaten.  Jacob felt completely sorry for him and gave him a chicken nugget.  Just look at that smile!

After his belly was full, his energy returned full force!  He decided that it would be fun to ride on the three year old’s head.  Since James wasn’t having near as much fun as him, he thought it might be a better idea to take a ride on the dog.

Molly wasn’t very excited about him being on her head either, so he moved on to the cat.

Smores sort of liked his company, but Jaden began to wonder if Flat Stanley was from another planet because boys do not take rides on cats.  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so she went along with his wishes and continued to let him ride on Smores.  But, when he asked her to take him to ride the pig, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.  She feared for his life!  Not too long ago she had witnessed that very pig eat one of her books.  She tried to explain to Flat Stanley how much the pig loved to eat paper, but Flat Stanley would not take no for an answer!  So, what did he do?

He recruited the three year old to take him instead.  He did fall off of Dudley a few times and became a little fearful.  But, thank goodness James was able to grab him up quickly, or he would have been history!  😦  Flat Stanley knew Aidan and Noah would have been so sad if the pig would have gotten him!  Well, you think his adventures would end here.  You think the pig ride would have done him in.  But, oh no, Flat Stanley loves adventures, and he begged to do more.

So, Jacob promised him that the whole family would take him on an exciting adventure the next day, but first he had to get a good night’s sleep.  Flat Stanley agreed.  After reading the Bible with the whole family, he was out like a light.

The next morning came quickly, and Flat Stanley was the first to wake up.  He was ready for his next adventure.  So, the family loaded up in the car, drove for a little over an  hour, and ended up at New River Trail State Park.

Flat Stanley, Jacob, Jaden, and James were ready to get this adventure going!  Jayla opted to sleep and hang-out with Mommy, but the other four hit the trail running!

They headed straight for the river.  When they got to the river, their friend, Cash, was there.  Jacob, Jaden, and Cash, decided that tubing would be a blast, but Flat Stanley was not as thrilled.  He was leery of the creatures living in the water!  He didn’t like snakes, leeches, or paper pinching crawdads.  Jaden couldn’t understand why he was scared of water creatures and not a paper eating pig.  But, she wanted her guest to feel reassured, so she knew exactly what to do.  She taught him Psalm 56:3: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”  She explained to him that she is afraid of thunderstorms, but she knows she can trust God to keep her safe.

Flat Stanley said the verse a few times to himself.  He felt calm after saying the verse, and he jumped right in a canoe.  He wondered if he needed a life jacket, but he figured that since he was flat and made from paper then he probably didn’t need to bother with putting one on.

When they reached the shore again, he told Jaden and Jacob that the ride in the canoe was a blast!  He said that the waterfalls were AWESOME!  Jaden just giggled at him.  She was glad that she was able to convince him to get in the river.

After everyone was dried off, all the kids including Flat Stanley went to ride horses.  Jacob got to ride first while the others patiently waited for a turn.  Flat Stanley told Jaden that he was a little scared.  He explained that horses are so much bigger than the three year old, the dog, the cat, and the pig.  He said that he was afraid that he would get thrown off and get stomped on.  Jaden looked at him and asked him if he remembered the verse that she had taught him at the river: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”  She still couldn’t understand how he could be afraid of a horse and not a paper eating pig, but she didn’t mention this to him because she knows that a friend should love at all times.

Jaden’s turn came, but Flat Stanley couldn’t bring himself to ride the horse with her.  Of course, Jaden was a little disappointed when Flat Stanley decided not to ride because she was really starting to like Flat Stanley.  But instead of dwelling on him not wanting to ride, she came up with the idea of having him sit on the fence and hang out. He made faces at Jayla while Jaden was riding.  Jayla laughed and smiled at him.  After everyone had their turn, it was time to head back home.  The car ride home was pretty quiet.  Everyone was tired from the day’s adventures.

The kids were glad when they made it home!  As everyone piled out of the Suburban, Flat Stanley tugged on Jacob’s shirt and asked him if he thought it would be okay if he rode his horse.  Jacob wondered why he wanted to ride because he was so scared at the park.  But, he didn’t question him.  He was glad that he wanted to ride Dutchess, but he wondered what had changed his mind.

Jacob and Flat Stanley rode and rode.  They were having a great time together, but before they knew it, it was dark outside.  They decided to call it a night.  Before they fell asleep, Flat Stanley told Jaden that he had memorized Pslam 56:3.  He thanked her for teaching it to him.  He said that it helped him know that instead of being scared that he could trust the Lord to take care of him.  Jaden smiled at him, and they all fell fast asleep.

The next morning, the whole family went church.  Flat Stanley had a lot of fun in his classes with Jacob and Jaden.  He gave James a big hug as he went in his class.  After church they had dinner and played outside.  That afternoon they went back to church.  Before they went to bed that night, Flat Stanley told Jacob that he was having a lot of fun with him, but he missed Aidan and Noah.  So, Jacob told him that he would send him back home the next day.

Before he left, Jacob, Jaden, and James, all gave Flat Stanley a big hug and sent him on his way.  They knew that he wouldn’t be scared on his way home because he had hid Psalm 56:3 in his heart!

Thank you Aidan and Noah for letting Flat Stanley visit us!  We had so much fun with him.

~ Jacob, Jaden, James and Jayla 🙂