Based on the amount of pictures I sorted through, May was a busy month at the Timmerman house. We kicked off the month by getting one of my toes fixed from the botched surgery I had last year. This was a huge deal for me but a very minor surgery for the doctor. Thankfully, I dealt with my anxiety and the new doctor did an excellent job. I was back on my feet in no time. Here my loves are below, supporting me at my follow up appointment the week after my surgery. I have used this situation as a teachable moment, and can now give my kids a real life example of how Mom did something she didn't want to do and how good it felt when it was over. Minor toe surgery = priceless.
The first Saturday in May our wonderful Farmer's Market opened and fortunately I was limping along enough by then to attend. The girls potted some marigolds and we met our friends there as well.
The late spring finally seemed to be here to stay this month, so I decided it was safe for me to wash the winter gear.
No sooner did the hats, gloves and coats dry than another freeze came to our neck of the woods. Here we are below, scrambling to get all of our fruit trees, vegetables, tulips and bees protected from the incoming freeze. If you look closely, you will see the ghetto fabulous 'safari' sheet from the 80's hanging for all to see off the wall of our garage. Thankfully, Lucy and Emma are young enough to not be embarrassed by us yet.
We ran out of tarps and old sheets for my last patch of tulips, so I decided to pick the tulips that wouldn't make it through the frost.
All of our produce except for our pepper and cucumber plants made it through the last cold snap and we have resumed spring-like activities. Will went to a chicken swap this past month to "look around." I should have known better. When he got home Lucy came running in the house telling me, "Mom! Dad has a surprise outside for you!" I responded, "What, he brought home a chicken?" Lucy's eyes went wide with surprise and she went running out of the house yelling, "DAD! Mom figured out the surprise!" Will came in with a sheepish grin and I asked him if it was true. A volleyball of words ensued in which I told him that I thought buying livestock warranted at least a phone call to your spouse. Will's response, "I knew if I called you, you'd say no." Flash forward exactly six days and all of our chickens except the new one are sneezing, coughing and have runny eyes and noses. After intense online research I determined that the new white chicken (being pet by Lucy and Emma in the picture below) was a carrier to a serious and deadly disease and we would have to do the humane thing and kill the entire flock. It was so hard for me not to tell Will "I told you so" so I told him. Not to mention the sick feeling we both had about having to lose our entire flock who were like family pets to us. Three days later, they were all better. Moral of the story - always call your spouse when buying livestock and never make diagnosis from online sources like mybackyardchicken.com.
I am also happy to report that our new white chicken, aka "Friendly", is the most friendly chicken we have now and is super sweet as well. Also, in all of my online searching, I determined that we need to do a better effort at keeping our chickens healthy and have found a local organic farm about an hour away that produces fresh, organic chicken feed. In the top right picture above we are enjoying a picnic dinner on our way home from the lovely chicken farm. In the center picture above, Will is using scissors to rescue one of our Isa Brown chickens from the blue tarp she shredded and then got stuck under. Picture shreds of blue tarp around her neck like a multi-layered necklace with her wings trapped in shreds of tarp like a spider web and her squawking like swear words. Life is never dull with these chickens!
Below is a picture of the perennials my friends so generously donated to our yard. Thank you Jenny, Gina, Judy, Richard and Becky!
Our yard is finally starting to look like we didn't just move in. It is a lot of work to fix up a yard that had been left alone for ten plus years. Fortunately, we had a lot of plants to work with so after three years of splitting and switching plants around, our yard is finally starting to look just how we want it. In a couple more years I will be posting on Facebook for people to come take perennials from me!
The weather did warm up enough for us to turn the sprinklers on a couple of times this past month, as well as eat popsicles outside, relax on the porch swing, enjoy wheel barrow rides, power wheel rides with friends, serious sidewalk chalk art, and even master the art of bike riding. Lucy rode a bike with training wheels for the first time on her birthday. A month later, she is zipping around like an old pro.
It seems like most days this past month were too cold and or rainy to play and work outside, so we did spend a good deal of time inside as well. I found the girls below playing in the bathroom sink. Like a good mom, I went and got my camera so that I have material for their graduation parties down the road. The top right picture is of Lucy baby wearing her doll. The bottom right is of Lucy and I enjoying quiet time together under my napping blanket, which is actually an afghan Will's aunt made for him. I told Will the blanket is now mine by possession because I can't take a nap without that blanket. The bottom left picture is of Lucy painting Will's finger nails with blue paint dabbers. Will is a good sport!
With all of our cold, rainy weather, the girls have some serious pent up energy. One night, in an attempt to get them to bed at a decent time we went on a pajama walk complete with rain boots. Many muddy puddles and a couple of heel blisters later, they were ready for some band aids and bed. They also learned that when mom suggests wearing socks with their rain boots they better well listen.
We also had the joy of meeting our first nephew and the girls new cousin this past month. Below is sweet Samuel Joseph with his big sister and two cousins. In the bottom picture are the girl cousins taking a walk.
The girls went bowling for the first time this past month with Will's work and had a blast. Every time someone's ball knocked the pins, Emma would yell "CRASH!"
Over Memorial Day weekend our town had their annual Heritage Festival complete with old fashioned games and past times. Here we are below trying out stilt walking.
The girls also got dressed in old-fashioned clothing and got to try their hand at washing clothes in a wash tub, churning butter, sweeping the floor, quilt making and even rock wall climbing. Oh wait, rock wall climbing isn't old fashioned? Either way, it was there and Lucy did an amazing job! She got pretty high until she looked down and then was done.
In the above upper right hand picture, Emma and our friend's son William were sitting at a little table at the festival complete with play food and dishes. My friend and I started joking that all they needed was a candle for their impromptu date and low and behold, Emma whipped a candle stick out from under the table and set it between them.
We harvested our first item from the garden just in time for my birthday. I love strawberry rhubarb cobbler and got to enjoy some for my birthday dessert. Since then I have also made a delicious rhubarb coffee cake from an old Amish cookbook. I love rhubarb and it is just one of the many reasons I love the month my birthday is in.
I had a wonderful birthday. It was amazing for many reasons, but mostly I think because I feel like I have personally grown so much this past year. As some of you might know I have been in counseling and have dealt with issues of anxiety, depression and certain injured relationships over the last year. It has been quite a journey of hardship and redemption and this year on my birthday I feel like I am a butterfly that has finally emerged from her cocoon. The joy is unexplainable after going through the valley this past year of my life has been. That is not to say that all of my hardships are over, but I feel stronger and better equipped to deal with all life has to throw my way than I have ever been before. I have learned through this experience that God has not left me alone in my troubles. Without several key people in my life as well as a heaven-sent counselor and a supportive husband I would not be where I am today - strong, happy and hopeful. From here on out, I will be going where the love is, and breaking the chains of perfectionism by letting go and letting God. I understand now that self-care is not selfish, but crucial for my well-being. I have a renewed appreciation for the little family Will and I are blessed to help grow, as well as the friends and family in my life who support me unconditionally. I am on top of a mountain, folks and because of this I had an amazing birthday with so much to celebrate.
Will surprised me by taking the day off of work, which allowed me to take a yoga class in the morning. When I came home we went for a bike ride to a new Mediterranean restaurant that opened up by our house. We did take out and brought it to our neighborhood park where we enjoyed delicious food by the creek that runs through our town. I couldn't have asked for a better morning. When we came home we put the girls down for naps and a long awaited (and we thought lost) package arrived for me. Inside was a necklace from a dear friend which brought tears to my eyes. The necklace is a tiny bird nest with three pearls representing each of my babies. It was an amazing thing to know that my friend thought of me in such a meaningful way, as well as the fact that a package that we both thought was lost arrived on my birthday. I believe that Luke had a hand in this and actually used my friend's generosity to make it look like he gave me a present as well on my birthday. Either way, the significance was overwhelming to me.
Before the day was over I received two more packages and watched the girls run through the sprinklers. No sooner did we get the girls dried off from the sprinklers than it started raining. We piled on the front porch and I painted the girls and my toenails while we waited for the weather to clear up. By dinner time it was still raining so we decided to enjoy our meal on the porch. We had never eaten a family meal on our front porch before (just ice cream breaks during naptime) so it was even more special.
It has been quite a month, and quite a year for me. I have made a long time dream a reality by trying my hand at bee keeping, and Will and I have launched a new business venture that I was previously held back by from fear. I am invigorated by my new theme song "Catch My Breath" by Kelly Clarkson and feel as though I could accomplish anything now. "Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud, making time for the ones that count, I'll spend the rest of my time laughing hard with the windows down..."
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