Dear (forgiving!) Family and Friends,
We have been so blessed and so busy with the joys of our hearts! May is by far the busiest month in our household...this year seems especially so, as we juggle science fairs, music competitions and recitals in addition to the rigors of Craig's end-of-year hustle with school concerts and graduations. Sprinkle in a wedding practically every week from now through August and it can be hard to remember the 'joy' in the busy!
Regarding our busy-ness...May 10th Ella and Natalie had a music competition in which they both placed First in cello and violin. This was Natalie's 2nd experience competing at this level and Ella's first. It was interesting to see how they both handled the stress before the competition, and the euphoria once they learned of their successes!
This past Saturday we had the opportunity to host a Homeschool Science Fair composed of various families from our church. Each child not only presents their fair project and results, but narrate for us all about the project, what they learned from it and close with q&a from the audience. We are in year 3 for Ella and year 2 for Nat...Ella tested how cleaning effects geodes, and Natalie studied the effect of soil on plant growth.
The highlight for Ella was when she demonstrated how to open a geode and discovered her geode contained the rarest color crystal found in geodes...black! Natalie was relieved to find the audience forgiving of her needing to purchase replacement plants for her experiment, since Oreo knocked her actual plants over "destroying them". (P.S. Save your money and opt for topsoil over Miracle Grow!)
Today Ella had her first cello recital. She performed beautifully, without her music (!), and with grace and composure that made us so proud! The instrument really suits her, and she is looking forward to resuming her lessons mid-June. She is proud to say she can finally get the bit in the horses mouth for horseback, and she should be able to tack up solo by the end of the month.
Natalie is glad to have dropped gymnastics...and is eager to learn "gymnastics in water!". Can you guess what sport this is??? DIVING! She begins in September, and will probably dabble in dance in the meantime.
Grace shined today as the flower girl with Natalie, distributing the flowers to each performer after their cello piece. She is chomping at the bit to learn viola, but her soon-to-be instructor would like for her to wait one more year...she would also like to dance in the meantime, and we are trying to convince her that she really WANTS to take swim lessons, now that she is tall enough to stand in the big pool.
David is all boy...and Craig has requested I try to write the 'odd' things I say to him (or whomever, but mostly him!) during the day. I was only able to write 3 so far this month. "David, get the hot dog out of your shirt." "We don't put hot dogs in our pockets." "Boys without pants on don't get lunch." Please note that his reply is always "WHY??", like he is being the most logical! He really wants a Buzz Lightyear 3 wheel scooter...if anyone knows of one I'll send a check and include shipping!
I tried to take Claire in for her 1 year portrait last Friday. Key word: TRIED. She is in the heart of seperation anxiety right now, and just walking away from the platform was enough to throw her into a fit. She is climbing up everything, and is a hoot to watch when she lugs the stepping stool around to different rooms in the house in an attempt to find more trouble to get into!
We have more busy weeks to come, and are looking forward to visiting in Arizona June 9th! I/We will try to keep the blog posted, but it might just be updating pictures as we find time to do so. I hope you all are healthy and happy, and find your days full of the joy that comes from enjoying the blessings God has placed in your lives!
Love Much,
Nia
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