May things

Tate had his very first big school project- a report and model of Mars. I was so thankful Brian was home to help him with it-

He was actually really excited about doing the project and enjoyed it a lot. And he was so proud of the finished project!

I need bi-focals. But until I cave and get them, I have found a solution while at home- readers fit perfectly on top of my glasses-

For the last 16 months, I have had one little corner with a pile of my mom's things that I was avoiding going through. I knew it was there and it comforted me more than nagged at me. But since we are getting ready to move- I needed to sort through it. It was hard, but I did it. Sobbing. Because what exactly is a daughter supposed to do with her moms wallet? So personal, but so useless now.

I purged. I had to. I know she wouldn't want me lugging around a bunch of her crap. We have beautiful pictures together and precious memories. And everything else that I kept is now in this sweet little box-

We were driving by a local McDonalds and saw a giant Ronald McDonald on the roof- they were having a grand opening, so we went! Ronald, Me and Macy-

My mom collected quarters from each state for each grandkid. When she died, none of the sets were yet complete. I recently pulled Tate and Macy's out and went through a giant jar of change that we had in an attempt to finish this project that was so dear to her-

I came up 4 quarters short. I was feeling a bit deflated because the chances of my ever coming back to this project were just a slim as us finding these quarters randomly one day. (There are two of state quarters in these collections- one from each of our US Mints. So each quarter actually has either a D on it for the mint in Denver, or a P on it for the mint in Philadelphia. You can see why this task was so daunting and would take years to potentially finish... Brian was at a meeting- Boy Scouts, Church, not sure- and I sent him a text with my disappointment. He asked which I needed- I figured that he was was going to see what was in his pocket. Within minutes he sent me a message back- "I just bought the 4 quarters you needed for less than 5 bucks, they will be here this week." WHAT AN ACT OF LOVE! For me and my mother. Tears. And I am so happy to say, the quarter project is done- two full sets collected!

Growing up we had a cheesy little plaque on our wall with a poem about a little girl eating breakfast with a bird. It hung on the same wall next to the kitchen table the entire 19 years I lived in that house. Tracey was always so impressed that I knew the poem by heart, and over the years it has come up in conversation between the two of us and I'd wondered where that little plaque had disappeared to. It was always in the back of my mind with each antique store I'd stepped into over the years too, as I'd hoped to find another... but no luck. Well, this week I was looking for some old photos of a friend who is terminally ill and in my bucket of all things Farrah Fawcett (don't you all have THAT bucket of childhood, high school, college stuff- stuff that was yours before you got a forever roommate?) I FOUND IT!

Who knew I'd had it tucked away all these years? Brian and the kids were quite impressed that I could still recite more than half of that sweet little poem.

We said good-bye to Big Red this week. She served us well these last 4 years. She was THE perfect couch for a bonus room. I can't tell you how many parents tried to tell their kids "dont walk on the couch" while in our basement over the years... and I'd quickly correct them, "nope- your kids know the rules here- this could is fine to walk on, jump on, do flips off!"

Many of fun sleepovers were had on Big Red- that was the ongoing question for the group, Who wants to sleep on the couch and who wants to sleep on the floor? Big Red was always the winner.

I found this book fascinating and I could not put it down at times-

One night Brian worked on teaching the kids the best way to build a paper airplane- yes, he really can do everything!

They were everywhere! And so were "snowballs" which were just crumbled up pieces of paper that they threw up into the ceiling fan- a fun game they learned at Nana's house!

These are the sweet, simple times I want them to remember. These are the nights/days I am so happy that we aren't over committed to schedules that lead us outside of our house. We need each other. We prioritize family time. We need time to be us and not running around too busy to let these moments- which turn into hours- happen. 

And I also need Macy to remember this-

And no, you can't just wear leggings and a t-shirt. Unless said t-shirt is long enough to be covering the outlines of the underwear that is covering your private parts under the leggings. And you better be wearing underwear as long as you live under our roof or we are paying any bill of yours. Those are our rules. Done. Hard No. And yes, I do practice what I preach. 

Oh the dreaded patches of the girl scout vest- it's a labor of love!

But check this little model out- Again!

THIS right here is our weekly small group bible study! Shauna Neiquist wrote this in a devotional I was reading recently- and I couldn't believe her group also meets on Thursday nights. I was delighted to share it with our group-

Because why wouldn't you take a giant blue teddy bear in the car with you to drive your brother to school and put him out the window at a stop light for others to see?

I was going to post this on memory on FB, then I decided not to and to only share it here on our family blog. But I didn't want to retype it, or forget to share it- so here is the screen shot. Poor Tate...

Stop growing up kid!

Brian, Wayne and Rick are back to biking together, as Rick has recently moved back from Utah. Im so delighted he has guys he can connect with and go off and exercise with. This particular morning they met at 7:30 and rode the Mt. Vernon trail- such a unique opportunity living where we live right now...