May

My parents sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Teacher Appreciation Day. They do this every year and it always comes at the perfect time. Right at the end of the school year when I need a little more motivation to get things done. :)

We celebrated Mike's birthday. It was kept very simple this year. Mostly because that's how he prefers things. But also because we thought he was going to Rome with his Mom so he didn't really need a big celebration at home. (Which was really just an excuse for me because I was so tired and nauseous). But he ended up not being able to go because of work. He makes a lot of sacrifices for our family. I am so blessed to have him. I love my husband. :)

He requested anything but cake and agreed to a big chocolate chip cookie. But it had to be homemade and not bought at the grocery store. I made the cookie and piped "Happy Birthday Mike". Little Miss Chatterbox decorated it. She loooooves to use sprinkles. :)

He had a softball game that night so we made dinner easy by ordering pizza. His other request? To come home, relax, watch some basketball, and drink some beer. I don't think it could have been any easier for me. Did I mention I love my husband? ;)

Then came Mother's Day weekend. We spent Saturday with my parents and had a lovely time at Meadowlark Park. It is so beautiful there. Lots of inspiration for my home garden! (Lots of "Maybe one day"...)

My Mom got the kids adorable outfits. They all looked so cute!

I especially loved the children's area they had there. It was put together with logs but it was so sweet! This is one of the things that I would like to have in our backyard one day.

The kids had a little tea party with Uncle Ju.

We tried to get a picture of all the kids with Grammy and Grandpa, but they were pretty tired by then.

My Mom took the kids to a ceramics class where the three older kids painted me these beautiful vases. Don't they look nice on my kitchen window? I will cherish them always.

On Sunday we went to visit Mike's paternal grandmother. "Grandma Shaffer" as the kids call her. She is so awesome. I always enjoy getting to spend time with her.

And this little guy. He's got those big squishy cheeks and those gorgeous blue eyes. I love this baby!

We celebrated Mike's birthday while we were there too. His Grandma was so excited to have an opportunity to use her lighter. She was having a hard time getting it to work and someone asked her if she wanted them to do it. She said, "No! I've been wanting to use this thing!" She's a hoot.

The next weekend was Confirmation. One of Mike's sweet cousins asked me to be her sponsor. It was such an honor!

Then came another birthday celebration. For Kanga. One of Little Miss Chatterbox's stuffed animals. Chatterbox asked me if she could have a party for her, cake and all. Her jaw dropped when I said yes. It's nice to say yes once in awhile. Chatterbox made the cake all by herself. From start to finish. There was no frosting because Chatterbox doesn't like frosting. The cake was delicious and both boys asked Chatterbox if she would make their birthday cakes for them. She was SO proud. So was I. :)

Even Chatterbox's friend from Australia came for the party. Her name is Kayla Waya. (She's a made-up friend but we love to have her over because Chatterbox does a great Australian accent)

We had a lot of rain in May. Which caused a lot of gnats to be around. After spending a day outside, we discovered that Little Miss Sunshine is allergic to their bites, just like I was when I was a kid. Her ear was incredibly swollen. But she was a trooper and didn't seemed bothered by it at all. We called it "Damian Ear" because it reminded us of Saint Damian of Molokai. A holy man who dedicated his life to taking care of the lepers in Molokai and ended up getting leprosy himself. The leprosy disfigured him, causing one of his ears to be bigger than the other. One of the kids just walked by, saw this picture, and said, "There's (Little Miss Sunshine) when she had Damian Ear." Yep. Sorry, Damian. I hope we're not being disrespectful. But this will always be remembered as "Damian Ear".

All of a sudden, it was Memorial Day Weekend. So we spent a day at Grammy and Grandpa's house. My big girl got to do one of her favorite things. Swim. Her favorite swimming partner??

 Anni, the dog. I'm pretty sure they would both spend the entire day in the pool if they could.











Chatterbox likes to think that her and Anni have a lot in common. They both have dark hair, they both love to swim, and according to her they both love cantaloupe.

The kids discovered that if their hands are wet, they can hold bubbles. A pretty awesome discovery!

On Pentecost, we celebrated at Mike's parent's house. We had our traditional Pentecost food. Buffalo chicken, 12 fruit salad, and 7 layered dip. Plus a cake which always symbolizes the 12 apostles and Mother Mary and the Holy Spirit in some way. I don't know why, but this is the only picture I got.

Before we knew it, it was May 31st. The very last day of May. In the Catholic Church, May is dedicated to Mary. She is the daughter of God, the Mother of Jesus, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit. No other human can top that! ;) We believe that when she was assumed  into Heaven, she was crowned the Queen of Heaven, to sit next to her Son, the King of Heaven. In the traditional calendar, May 31st celebrates the Queenship of Mary. So the kids and I had a mini celebration in her honor. We ate grilled Rosemary chicken kabobs and had blue punch with our meal.

                     After dinner we sang hymns, said prayers and had our own mini coronation.

Then we ate Strawberry Creme Pie for dessert. The strawberries sticking up in a circle were supposed to make the pie look like a crown. Chatterbox said it was a "masterpiece". haha. Mike missed it all because he was playing a double header. But the kids loved it and it was a great way to end the month of May.

Time to take a deep breath and dive into June (which is already proving to be very busy)!  I've got one month before I plan to start the new school year with the kids. Good thing I already ordered all their school books. Now I just need to finish transforming the basement into our school room. More on that later! Pax.