Q of A Olympic Day

 Nicholas finished a great year in first grade with Olympic Day.  He had a blast again this year!  He once again placed first in the hoola hoop contest and also placed third in the one lap race and had some great kicks in the Soccer Kick this year.  His class won first place and the spirit stick for their pod!  Way to go 1A and especially way to go Nicholas on an excellent year in first grade!

Dance Recital 2016

 Grace has completed her third year of Ballet/Tap with Mrs. Mary at Tolbert Yilmaz Dance Studio.  This year they performed a tap recital to In America.  Grace had so much fun and danced beautifully!  Way to go sweetheart!

Last Day of Preschool 2016

 Another great year of preschool for Grace and Henry has come to an end.  We are so thankful for the wonderful teachers they both had this year, all the friends they made, the fun they had, and everything they learned!

Henry loved his teachers, Ms. Christy

…and Ms. Shannon

These two girls have become best buddies!

Fun at the end of the year picnic

Even Samuel joined in the fun by chasing bubbles and breaking out his best dance moves :-)

Who doesn't love to hoola hoop ?

Grace's Preschool Graduation

 Our baby girl has graduated preschool and is now kindergarten bound!  Wow, where did the time go?  Grace has always loved preschool and her teachers all say what a great little student she is.  She loved everything about preschool:  the arts and crafts, playing with her friends, reading books, learning her numbers and letters, etc.  We are so thankful for such a sweet, loving environment for our children to learn and grow in!  We pray her passion and joy for school continues going forward.  Congratulations Gracie Grace, we are so very proud of you!  

Her best little friend Anna will be going to an different elementary school.   We hope they can stay good friends.

"Grace's favorite part of preschool was playing with Legos.  When she grows up, she wants to be a Physician's Assistant and take care of babies."  :-)

They sang two songs for us:  That's Amore! and The SPC Graduation Song

Samuel 19 Months

Samuel is talking up a storm this month!  He tells us "off" when he wants out of his high chair or down from our laps.  He is saying each of the kids names better all the time.  And he says "mommy" at least 500 times each day!  He is my little buddy and especially likes to help me with laundry….he yells "laundry" super excitedly when I ask him to help me.  When folding, he hands each item to me and tells me "thank you" (since that's what I say to him I guess :-)  When we tickle him, he asks for "more."  When I wrap him up in a towel after bath, he always says "baby" so that I will sing Rock-a-bye baby to him.  In fact, he still really loves all nursery rhymes.  I've caught him singing parts to several of them including ABC's, 10 Little Monkeys in a Bed, I'm a Little Teapot, Miss Polly had a Dolly, Once I Caught a Fish Alive, just to name a few.  Every time we walk into the church building he automatically folds his hands and says "pray."  That being said, he never sits still in church, or anywhere for that matter.  He remains a very busy little guy.  Being outside is his favorite place to be right now.  He loves to ride the scooter, water the garden (he goes gets the watering can, says "garden" and brings it to the hose to fill), play with any ball, and use the toy leaf blower.  He has 3 out of 4 molars that have worked their way in this month and so has been pretty fussy with those.  As a result, getting him to eat has been more of a challenge than ever!  But we wouldn't change one thing about you sweet little Samuel!  We love you to pieces!!

In time out…...

He LOVES riding the scooter!

Here, he had gone to the garage, chosen a helmet (Grace's pink one) and put it on himself (backwards) and brought his scooter up the hill in our driveway, hopped on and started riding it down!  Whoa!  Just another day with Samuel!!!

Gymnastics Jamboree

Grace and Henry have been taking gymnastics again this school year and both really enjoy it.  The year just ended with the Gymnastics Jamboree performance.  They both did really well.  Henry was quite  timid in the beginning but soon warmed up and had a great time!  Way to go kiddos!

Spring Soccer

Nicholas and Grace both played soccer for our church league again this spring.  We were proud of how much they both learned and progressed this season.  Way to go!

A Happy Mother's Day

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the blessing of each of my five children.  Each one enriches our lives in his/her own unique way.  They teach me, on a daily basis, how to love on greater levels than ever before.  They challenge me to be better person.  And they show me the beauty of your great love!  For this, I am ever grateful!  Please help me to never forget what a precious gift each one is and to cherish every moment with them.  Guide me as a mother to them, so that I may teach them your love through my words and actions.  And finally, thank you Lord for my own mother, grandmothers, mother-in-law and grandmothers-in-law.  Their selfless, loving example is such a blessing.  Please bless each of them especially today.  Through the intercession of Your Blessed Mother I pray, Amen. 

Grace's class hosted a Mother's Tea.  They sang a couple songs and then served us tea and strawberry shortcake.  It was so sweet and special to spend this time with Grace.

We even released the butterflies which they had grown from caterpillars!

Henry's class also hosted a Mother's Tea.  The sang "I Love Mommy" and "Peanut Butter Choo Choo."  Henry was just beaming and tapping his foot to the beat the whole time.  Soooo sweet, it just melted my heart!

This was my Mother's Day gift from Nicholas….love it!!!!

On Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, Grace and I went to the Tea with Beatrix Potter at Barrington Hall again this year.  Grace and I both enjoyed walking the gardens there most of all, but the whole event was great!

On Mother's Day we went strawberry picking as a family.  It was a great time!  I'm not sure who ate more strawberries that day, Samuel or Henry!