We finally finished school for the summer. The kids had their last piano lessons until the fall, and I quickly decided that as long as they practice the piano every day this summer, I can let go of my ambitious plans of math flash cards and writing workbooks. Maybe I will have the energy in August, but as I type this in July, I can tell you that it's not likely. In the meantime, I have enlisted their help around the house. Photos in clockwise order from top left below: Emma helping with laundry, Violet showing me her alphabet train puzzle she proudly built, and their last piano lesson for the school year.
The girls had their dance recital this past month and did an absolutely beautiful job. The love and pride that I feel when I see their shining faces on stage is one of my favorite things. The girls in their ballet class, and the moms as well, are such a great group of people that we really do love our time spent with this dance studio.
Below are both sets of grandparents who also are big fans of our ballerinas.
This past month my brother, his wife and my niece were in town for Opal and my niece's double baptism. My niece is six months old and lives in Florida, so this was the first time I got to meet her. I already warned my brother that I would be an emotional wreck when I first met her, and true to my word, I cried all the tears upon meeting this sweet baby, my God daughter. It was great seeing my brother and sister in law too, and another highlight was my parents having all of their grandkids together for the first time since my niece and Opal were born. My sister in law had the idea of having one of the kids hold a picture of Luke for the photo, so he is included in the line up too. My sentimental heart just loves photos like this! The photos in clockwise order from top left below: my girls meeting their cousin for the first time, my parents with all of their grandchildren, God sisters Opal and Hayden, me holding a book entitled "Butter" that my sister in law who excels at gift giving gave me, and Will and my brother comparing dress shoes.
There is a new splash pad by my parents house that we all went to when my brother was in town, and we also celebrated Grandma T's birthday this past month too.
Will's first day of summer vacation started at the end of this month, and we celebrated our first week day morning with him by eating a special breakfast of strawberry shortcake outside.
Will planted my lilac bushes that he gave me for my birthday, and we discovered many beautiful insects in and around our yard this past month too.
Because Will loves me, and I love bees, the bees feasted on islands of clover that he generously spared from the mower in our yard this past month.
The oldest three girls enjoyed the "kiddie" pool, the slip and slide, and the water table this past month while Opal looked on.
Lots of swinging, bike rides, neighbor fun and even roller skating took place...
...and we even got around to making a fairy cake kit with the girls that we hadn't had time for during the school year. My friend Krista gave the girls the kits for Christmas, and have been begging us ever since to make them. I must say that Lucy took on the project as her own, and made some unbelievably beautiful creations with Emma, Violet and me as her assistants. The photo in the top right below is of a play the girls and Will put on for me, inspired by the move The Greatest Showman, and their creativity had me laughing and smiling so much!
We joined our library's summer reading program this past month which has the theme "Libraries Rock" and enjoyed a workshop put on by a Girl Band Rock group where my kids got to try out all sorts of instruments.
We also went to a Music and Matisse workshop where the girls made Matisse inspired creations while listening to music from Matisse's era.
We have excelled at reading this past month, and as I type this, have completed our summer reading program. I'm so happy to share my love of reading with my kids with both old favorites, and also discovering new titles together.
We found lots of baby deer this past month - one just born in a field by my bee hives north of us, and a pair of twins in the cemetery by our house. The mama deer in the cemetery by our house still has her twins from last year with her, and so I feel a special connection to her with each of us having four earthly children. We also attended a play at the local university called The Three Little Pigs which did not disappoint, and Lucy and Emma also attended a week of vacation bible school at our church.
It's hard to believe with all of the above pictures showcasing all of the fun things we did this past month that we were extremely sick for several weeks. It started with Will, then me, and then one by one the kids. It came with every symptom of sickness you could think of, and it was definitely a trial of endurance for us when Will and I weren't feeling too great ourselves. Fortunately Opal did not get sick!
Because of our germs, we ended up having to reschedule our yearly family photos, but we were able to squeeze them in before the month ended. The below photos in clockwise order from top left: a "behind the scenes" look at family photos, our attempt at a family photo, and four stacks of freshly folded little girls clothes - one for each of my girls - that hit me straight in the gratitudes. I still can't believe my luck at having four earthly kids!!!
And finally, the polished and perfect looking professional photos that capture the highlights of my earthly family so very well.
I don't need much in the way of material things, but when it comes to capturing my family on film, the photos my friend takes every year for us are among my most prized possessions. I want to hold on so tightly to these moments in time with my kids still little and us all under one roof, and while I know that the future holds wonderful things too, I really do love this chapter that I am living right now. It is the hardest thing I have ever done - the endurance, faith and patience required is immense, but the rewards are so very great.
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