following through on a promise/mother's day

Ever since we moved into our home (3 years ago), every Mother's Day I have asked for a garden.  Year after year it never worked out.  There were other projects that took priority or we just couldn't make it happen due to time constraints.  This year I asked for it again.  I came home from my errands one Saturday morning to find a garden box kit set up on the side of the house.  I was surprised and it wasn't even Mother's Day yet (it was two weeks before).  I was so excited to plan what plants would go into it and purchase them.  It's been a work in progress ever since and now it is complete.  Art has worked so hard on it. 

We chose to plant -

green beans

carrots

squash

cucumbers

tomatoes

sunflowers (for the girls)

basil

mint

italian parsley

red bell peppers

red chili peppers

Art made it simple by adding a water timer and irrigation to the beds and he added a net around it to protect it from the deer.

Everything is doing well and growing.  I can't wait to start harvesting the veggies. 

Psalm 23:4

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for YOU are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

This is my devotion for the day.  I'm finding comfort in this scripture today.  Praying it over loved ones who need security and comfort.  God knows my needs each day and today, reading this scripture is his way of using me to pray for my family.

A recent e-mail has reminded me once again how great a family I truly have.  Generations past paved the way that I might have a personal relationship with Christ.  I love to hear stories of my ancestors, to get a glimpse into what their lives were like, how they worked hard, how they loved.  Truly inspirational to know I came from that.  Makes me want to do my best to leave the same legacy with my descendants.  It makes me worry for the future as well.  GOD IS MY COMFORT, he is my family's comfort, I must remember this. 

starting this week

From this...

to this...

summer is here.

goodbye 2nd grade

Our last day of school has come and gone.  The two 2nd grade classes ended it with a poetry reading.  Here's the gang in their entirety.

This is Mrs. Palmer.  She has been a big part of Grace's school life since starting at ILS.  She is wonderfully sweet and the kids love her.  She is retiring after this year which made Grace sad but she has promised is to visit from time to time. 

I wasn't able to get a picture of Grace and her 2nd grade teacher.  Mrs. Brand is very pregnant and was advised to stay put on the last day of school.   Luckily, we will see her next year plus her new baby. 

Second grade was a success.

we have a graduate

Sarah's Kindergarten graduation program was probably one of the best school led performances I've ever seen.  It was creative, funny, sweet and uplifting which was the theme of the year and program.  Here's our graduate singing with her top hat to "New York, New York."  The lyrics of the chorus were -

"Start spreading the news,

we're leaving today,

we want to be a part of it,

first grade,

 first grade!"

They even did a dance with their hats.  So cute and we got it all on video.

Sarah in the hot air balloon with both kindergarten teachers. 

Sarah with her friends from class.

Sarah and her teacher, Mrs. Cross.  Sarah and I both loved Mrs. Cross.  She made the year fun and Sarah has learned so much, we've seen so much growth in her.  I can't say enough wonderful things about this woman.  I do wish she were moving up with Sarah though :).

The graduate with her twin, medal, diploma and top hat.  Fun night and a great ending to a great year for Sarah.

2, 4, 6, 8... who do we appreciate!

Teachers!  That's who!

Here are the gifts my girls gave during teacher appreciation week.  We decided we would love on our teachers each day that week.  I had to get creative to keep things low cost and overall I think I did pretty well. I added things up and I spent around $15 for each teacher. 

This was Thursday's gift I created on my own with inspiration from the watermelon cups and lifesavers.

On Monday we gave two small dollar store baskets we found and filled them with lifesaver peppermints.  I attached a note that said, "You were MINT to be Grace's teacher!"  Got the idea from here -

On Tuesday we did this, which I found here -

For Wednesday we had stopped by the Target dollar spot and purchased two pink baskets, magnet clips, note pads, pens, large-ribboned paper clips and Hershey chocolate bars (teachers always need chocolate).  I put a note in the basket that read, "Thanks for being so organized!"  Both teachers were super organized this year and I can appreciate that.  I saw this idea for the clips on Pinterest a long time ago but never pinned it, I found this picture on etsy though. I found the clips at Wal-Mart on clearance.  SCORE!

On Friday we gave something similar to this which I found here.  They even gave you the free flower printable.  This was our big purchase for our teachers which they turned out to be $7 each for a potted rose from Wal-Mart.

The girls loved sharing these treats with their teachers and letting them know how much they are appreciated. 

sweet surprise

For Spring break we headed to the Kansas City area.  I found out through a conversation with my Dad that my sweet cuz' was in town visiting her Momma.  I gave her call and low and behold it was true!  What a surprise and what makes it even more sweet is that I got to see her pregnant :) and she let me touch her sweet belly, my soon to be second cousin.  She glows, ahhh bliss...

My cousin, Aunt and hubby waiting in line for KC BBQ.  Yum!

Told you she looked cute, look at that perfect prego belly.  Love it!

Another view of the side.  Can you tell I'm excited for her?  I can't wait for this sweet girl to make her appearance.  I'm thinking I'm gonna have to make a visit to SoCal when she's here :). 

these are the last days

of 2nd grade

and Kindergarten

{SIGH}

six

Sarah turned six at the beginning of May.  I surprised her with this balloon idea I got from Pinterest the night before the big day.

She was surprised and smiling even in her grogginess. 

Pancakes, sausage, orange slices and chocolate milk were on the birthday girls breakfast menu.

Sarah's pick for dinner, a favorite local mexican place. 

A week later we celebrated by having her friends from school come for a party at the Magic House.

The princessy gang.

Sarah and her bestie in the bubble room.  Love this room. Always a hit.

It was a hair raising good time, literally :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Six!

a peek at the chaos

I held back and didn't take a picture of my desk.  OY!

I'm going to close the door now ;).

mother's day 2012

I was determined to get a picture of me and my girls this year.  It never fails that it gets forgotten and the day is at an end.  I look at this picture and can't believe how big they are. I'll have a 1st and 3rd grader next year, WOW, that blows my mind. 

I'm such a lucky Momma to have these two, what a blessing they are.

i'm back, catching up and lists

I'm back.  Thought I had given up on blogging didn't ya?!  I have to say life got to be crazy busy the last few months and something had to give.  So blogging it was. 

I'm not sure if I'm even going to attempt to catch up here.  It seems overwhelming.  I will try to share the highlights as I go along.  That will have to wait until another day this week.

I am out of school.  My kiddos were mentally done a few weeks ago, that is usually the case at the end of the year.  I had to remind some that I expected better, knowing they knew what I was asking of them.  It worked but it also got old :).  We were all ready for school to be done although I did shed tears when I received my last hugs from them.  This group was great, all touched my heart.

Fast forward....  It is Sunday.  My girls are getting ready for bed, I'm hoping to get them there by 7:30.  We've had a busy weekend.  Saturday morning we met my sister, her family and my parents at the St. Louis Zoo.  It was a short notice thing that turned out to be lovely.  We had to leave early because Grace had drama camp practice.  My girl is doing a drama camp this summer with our church and the production is High School Musical Jr.  She learned two new dances and so far is really enjoying the process.  After that I took her to a birthday slumber party.  So she is pooped today, hence the early bedtime.  Sarah stayed up late last night as well with Art and I and fell asleep on our bedroom floor where she remained for the rest of the night.  She thinks it's big stuff to sleep in our room :).  She is exhausted as well. 

Art and I worked on the yard this weekend.  Thursday as the girls and I pulled up to the house we noticed (not that we could miss it) a huge pile of mulch sitting on our driveway.  It was a surprise to me.  I took a picture of it and texted Art saying, "I guess I know what we're doing this weekend." I was hoping for a low key weekend but he had other plans.  He did most of the spreading of mulch to our flower beds and landscaping.  It's amazing how a fresh coat can really spruce up the appearance of our house.  I mowed the lawn while the girls played outside.  It was warm and we all ended up using sunscreen.

We've all had our showers and are now settling in for the night.  We can hear thunder in the background.  I do hope it rains.  We are dry and with the temperatures in the upper 80's the past few days the grass is looking a little crispy.

My girls have 5 more days of school before Summer officially begins for them.  We started our Summer Fun list tonight.  Some of the highlights are:

Circus

Make homemade ice cream

Cardinals game

Visit to Mamaw and Kapaws

Six Flags

American Girl Doll Store

Pick blueberries and peaches

Cooking classes

Plant pumpkin seeds

Lots of fireworks

On top of the summer list I've mad my own "to do list" for this week.  5 days at home with no girls means I will be doing alot of cleaning, organizing and de-cluttering.  I'm actually looking forward to it.  Our house has been neglected so badly these past few weeks.  We've been living off of piles of clean laundry in baskets, in the laundry room.  I need to dust, vacuum and clean the bathrooms.  I brought home some of my school stuff so my office is a mess.  I moved it from the car to the room and then shut the door.  Art doesn't go in there because it drives him crazy :) so it is a must do this week.  I'm hoping to get it all done so when next week arrives, I can focus on a great summer with my girls.

I guess I should update my blog header too, huh?  March is long gone :).  One day at a time.