All in a week...

I'm going to miss surprise deliveries from my senior guy in the morning!

Practicing some of the harder parts of K5...sentence writing!  

Yep...I have to now use readers to see the little print of the testing results.

This group of students did a great job today in the performance for our preschool and elementary!  It was fun to watch all of them!  I'm looking forward to tonight...opening night!

Our guy runs the accompaniment track with all music pieces and sound bites!  They all nailed it this morning!

Working on Mother's Day projects when I have a wonderful helper in Miss Alisa!

Who eats ice cream when it is cold enough for snow? Me!

 

Special deliveries

When you call your sis to ask if you can bring her anything and she actually requests a coffee drink!  Mari gave lots of smiles.  We had a nice afternoon together.  The day after surgery was going as expected...rest and minimal pain controlled by normal pain reliever. "I feel like I got punched in the armpit."

Then the girls stopped by with a sweet treat from Dairy Twist for their auntie.  "She hasn't come by yet and she needs some Michigan Pothole!"  We are doing our best to temp her taste buds with high calorie things.

Snow...we had snow in April...just as my tulips are getting ready to bloom!

The falling snow was pretty...

for as long as it lasted...but now...we are ready for the warm temps to come back again.

 

Today was the day...

for the surgeon to remove the lump that held cancer in Mari's body.  She had an early morning and sent this update as I got ready to start our school day.  We gathered again in the hall as teachers/friends and prayed for Mari and her doctors.  We don't know what God has planned but we are trusting Him.

I came home from school and getting groceries to see this man wearing his pink shirt today.  

I made supper for Brad, Mari, Caden, and Jan tonight.  It is fun to take a special request and deliver it!  I realized that I have been figuratively holding my breath as we got to today.  And then I got to see Mari and talk with her.  It is not the answer we wanted for today...two lymph nodes are showing cancer still present.  Pray for Mari and Brad as they wait for more tests to come back later this week.  I am praying for rest and healing for my sis.  I know the next few days will be uncomfortable...and I know the upcoming weeks and months hold some unknowns for her.  I am so thankful that we know who holds our tomorrows!  I also know that He is the Great Physician and He is holding Mari and Brad and their family tightly in His arms!
 

A busy week!

Hair coloring and practice...and lots of giggling.

Sorting our pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters..."Mrs. T., is this really your coffee money?" Well, it was till I brought it to Kindergarten for you to count.  These coins stayed in my cupholder in the van for coffee stops!

I brought coffee from home and a little friend brought me a cup of coffee today!  What a treat!  It was good that Alisa came to school with me today to help in K5!  I got to go to the bathroom while she chatted and read a book!  That was an unusual privilege!

"Hey, Teddy!  What are you doing?"

The yearly chocolate milk chugging challenge!  These crazy guys try to chug a gallon of chocolate milk in their 45 minute lunch period.  The winner is the one who gets it down and keeps it down.  Well...this year...they didn't get it all down before it came up.  "Hey, Teddy, who won?"  Ummm, I guess me because I drank the most...but we all lost on keeping it in!  I'm shaking my head...these...are our senior guys...who have a month and a half left of high school and will make their way out into the big, wide world.  Oh dear!

Fridays are tiring!  Thankfully, I had some snuggly companions as I crashed in the chair.  Who you can't see?  Alisa...up on her bed taking a nap too.  "Those kiddos were nuts today!  Yikes!"  One month  and 5 days left of K5!

 

Grow through what you go through!

My little daffodils are blooming this week!  The rainstorm brought them into full bloom on Sunday.  We need the seasons of life...just like these plants do.  We need rest.  We need water.  We need the warmth.  We need the nutrients from the food we eat.  We need the weeds to be removed.  We need protection.    The seasons of our life help us to grow...and it is not always easy.  We have to weather the storms that bring the rain...that cause us to grow strong.  And when the sun shines again...we tip our faces and soak it up!  These happy little flowers greet us as we walk up to our front door...such happy reminders for our family!  Happy spring!

 

Saturdays are for...

sleeping in, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, yard work, and chocolate chip cookie making!
 

Here we are...already!

When we started kindergarten this year...there were many things we did not know!  My class helped me with a partial list this week...

and then we put on our caps and gowns for pictures!  Oh my heart did a little flip flop!

In my head and heart, they are not ready to move on yet!  I still see some things that we need to accomplish and I get nervous if they are where they need to be.  Kindergarten is so much more that letters and numbers!  I wish I could get people to understand that!  I am standing on the other side now...our chair fillers are graduated/almost graduated.  Let your children be children.  Where does this crazy demand come from..."your children are not successful if they are not....."  Don't let others opinions or supposed opinions push you to make unwise decisions that will impact your children negatively.  Go to people who can help you make wise decisions that will be a benefit for your child.  So many have "been there and done that"  and some wish "I should have done it differently for their sake."  We have one chance with the little ones that God gives us.  Are we asking Him for His help?

In my heart, I want to keep these little friends with me, but I know I have to let them go to first grade.  It happens every year, but this year seems to be filled with more angst about getting it right after the crazy the world has brought to our families.  I sat back with a sigh during reading groups today...and then watched and listened...finally, in my head, I knew, most of them are ready for the challenge of new things in a new grade. 

 I looked through pictures of our year together.  We have a little more than one month left...so much to doin such a short time!  We have had fun!  We have learned and practiced so many things!  I am pretty sure of the plan for our program now..."All I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten!"  Well...at least...we have a pretty good start!

                                                           And just like that...40 days left!

Different girls...same place...same dogs

 

Around and out of the house

Pre-Easter fun at school...I found a cute Jellybean reminder to use for the story of Easter.  We used numbers and letters for learning before our short two days off.

Springtime flavors...homemade lemon curd and cream napoleon. MMMM

Living room talks with Dad after work.  I wouldn't trade these times for anything!  Life is hard and God gives wisdom exactly when we need it most!

Practicing the skills she has learned...she makes me laugh when she exclaims, "It looks so good...it worked."  My pink highlighted hair got lots of comments at pre-school, and Ashlynn got another guinea pig.  Ha ha ha!  Aunt Mari stopped by during this color session and whined that she wanted to be a guinea pig..."But guinea pigs need to have hair!"

We had a girls night out on Friday...the young girls let the old girls come with them!  A 70 minute wait for Olive Garden led us over to Red Robin for a 30 minute wait...in the sunshine!  Fun with our girls hearing about life.

 

Easter blessings 2021

Sunrise service at 7:00am...we were inside the little tent facing the east.

"He is risen indeed!" 

We came home to warm up and have coffee.  I made a puffed pancake for breakfast.

So yummy!

Spending time together and reflecting on the goodness of God in all areas in our lives.

Our church auditorium was just so pretty.  We had a good service filled with lots of music.

Lots of helpers for Easter dinner together...

Ohhhh these cousins!

Lots of laughter and good food.

Getting the family familiar with the charcuterie board idea...this time...dessert!  We missed Bryn and Peter.

They crack themselves up and make us laugh too!