Sorrow Lasts for the Night, But Joy Comes in the Morning

Tomorrow will be a hard day.  But tomorrow will also be a good day.  One year ago tomorrow I lost my mom.  It has been the most painful year of my life.  I have cried more than I ever have.  My stomach has been in knots, I have not wanted to get out of bed, and I have mourned deeply.  But this year has also been good.  I have prayed more, been blessed beyond my wildest dreams by friends and family, have been encouraged, and saw God's faithfulness meet my every need.  Tomorrow I will remember my mom (as I always do), but tomorrow I will also celebrate all the reasons I have to be thankful.  The day will be bittersweet, for sure, but I am determined to have a good day.

 This week my friends came and planted this amazing "Memory Garden" for me.  I was truly blown away by their generosity and thoughtfulness.

 The tree they planted in my mom's memory is a Japanese Maple.  It was one of my mom's favorites.

 This heart shaped rock was an especially sweet touch. I look forward to many evenings spent sitting by this garden and remembering my sweet mom.

 Tonight my friend Nikki and I went to see the traveling Broadway production of "Fiddler on the Roof".  My dad and his friend, Sally, took us out to eat and to see the show.  It was a nice distraction and we had a good night.

When I came home tonight after the show, I found these.  Mike and the kids picked them out for me.  I feel so blessed and so loved.  

Thank you.

13 Days Away

Thirteen.  That's all that's left until....

SUMMER BREAK!!!!

For real.  That is not much time, people.  Just thirteen more school days until I have two second graders!  Oh my!  We have a countdown going and the girls get more excited for summer break every day.  

The kids and I are currently discussing all of our summer fun ideas.  On the list we have:

Swimming

Bowling

Martin Nature Center

Science Museum

OKC Zoo

White Water Bay

Vacation to Texas

Art Camp

Vacation Bible School

Playdates with friends

More Swimming

Trips to the library

Walks to the Park

Sleeping in

Reading Little House on the Prairie

Movies

Popsicles

Fourth of July Fireworks

Gymnastics

Lucas' 3rd Birthday 

Trip to Lake Tenkiller

Swimming Lessons

Running through the sprinkler

Riding bikes

Nature walks

And more swimming

So far, so good!

What do you want to do this summer?

Cupcakes

I mentioned in a post last week that Leah is really into making cupcakes lately.  Her dream right now is to one day open a bakery with her sister and produce all sorts of tasty treats.  Over this weekend, Leah decided that she wanted to make cupcakes to take to her class to say, "Thank you for being my friend this year."  She recruited Hannah who happily agreed to the idea.  I thought it was so sweet that I couldn't not help them hatch their thoughtful plan.  So yesterday afternoon we went about making strawberry cupcakes with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting.  The girls took charge of everything.  I simply provided the supplies and the supervision. And the aprons. More than anything, they loved decorating the cupcakes with a brightly colored array of sprinkles.  They looked great.

The finished cupcakes

Busy at work

This afternoon Lucas and I were working in the front flowerbed planting some new annuals I just picked up today when Leah and Hannah came skipping down the sidewalk after school.  I asked them, "How did the cupcakes go over?"  They were all smiles as they told me the story of how their teacher had them come to the front of the room to explain why they brought the cupcakes, and how the whole class cheered when they passed them out.  It was nothing short of a major hit.  They were thrilled.

I sure love these girls and their tender, thoughtful hearts!

Art Fest Pics

As promised, here are a few pictures I snapped with my camera phone from our visit to the Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts last night.

 We have been going to the Festival of the Arts every April for years.  Way before my kids were born.  In fact, the first one I remember going to was in seventh grade.  That would be 1990....so 22 years? Wow! Even I hadn't realized how long ago that was! Now it is an event my kids look forward to as well.  

Here are my three little people eagerly walking toward the festivities.

 Walking through the sculpture garden.

 Is my food here yet???

Now as every seasoned Arts Festival goer knows, the event is partly about the art and partly about the food.  The food is so good. There are your typical "fair foods" like cotton candy, roasted corn on the cob, and Indian Tacos.  But the majority of foods are more upscale.  There are even many vegetarian and vegan options which is nice.  And of course, the mandatory dessert is the Strawberries Newport.  It is a delightful concoction of puff pastry, sweet cream, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  A must have.

I went with a fairly unsophisticated, but very yummy taco salad.  I was going to take a picture of our famous Strawberry dessert, but we devoured it in a matter of seconds.  Next year.

 After dinner, we strolled through the art tents. The girls were fascinated with the paintings this year.  I heard many statements like, "Did someone really paint that?!" There were lots of live demonstrations, and we paused to watch a woodworking event.  Live music permeated the air and we got in some good people watching too.  Finally, we headed over to the nearby Myriad Botanical Gardens.  There were several more outdoor stages with music drifting out over the crowds. The sun was setting and it was a simply beautiful night.

 We stopped to take it in and the kids instantly took off their shoes and began rolling down the hill in front of us.  A few other kids joined in and we watched them giggle in pure delight.

 Our last stop for the night was to check out the brand new Children's Garden.  It was amazing.  First you come to this large mosaic structure with colorfully changing lights and water fountains spraying intermittently from both below and above.  The evening was warm, and we indulged our kids a moment to run through the water.  It didn't take long before all three were soaking wet from head to toe.  They loved it!  

After the water experience, we played at the funky new modern playground adjacent to the "cool off zone" .  The kids were nearly dry by the time we left, way after the sun had gone down and way past their bedtimes. It was a quiet ride home, and we all went to bed happy and content.  

Friday Happenings

Blogging from my phone tonight. I know...lame-o. But my laptop is being finicky again. Boo.

So here is a quick run down of my day today.
-- Took the girls to school
-- Dropped Lucas off at my neighbor's house.
-- Attended the funeral of a dear family friend (my mom's brother's wife's mother. did you follow that?) it was a beautiful service.
--Picked Lucas up and fixed lunch for us both.
--Played "superhero school" with Lucas (a new favorite game), read books, and put him down for a nap.
--Cleaned up the kitchen, folded laundry, and read while he napped.
--Girls got home at 4:00 and we all played outside.
-- Went to the Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC and had a great family night out.

I will post pictures tomorrow if my computer cooperates. Hope you had a great Friday!

Favorites

My favorite color:  robin's egg blue

My kids and I like to play a game we made up called "the favorite game".  We simply go around and ask each other, "What is your favorite (fill in the blank)?" Or sometimes we switch it up and ask for a person's "least favorite (fill in the blank)."  It's a go to game for waiting in restaurants, long rides in the car, etc.  That along with other classics like "I Spy" and "20 Questions."  It is interesting how my answers to most of the favorite questions rarely ever change.  I guess I've come to an age where I know what I like. Favorite color: Robin's egg blue.  Favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption.  Favorite fruit: pineapple. Favorite sound: the wind blowing through trees. Favorite dessert: blueberry walnut cake. Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird. Favorite smell: freshly baked bread. Favorite season: summer. Least favorite vegetable: asparagus. These are just the facts, people!

My kids' answers, however, vary from day to day.  Leah went on a long stretch where yellow was her favorite color.  Now, she has switched to purple and she's sticking to it (for now).  Hannah's favorite book was Little Bear but then she discovered books by Robert Munsch and now she's totally into Moira's Birthday and The Paperbag Princess.  Their favorite things are still in the development phase.  They are learning and exploring and changing, so their answers will change too.  They are slowly defining what they like and don't like, and I find it so very fascinating to watch them in this process.

So, let's play the favorite game!  In the comments, tell me some of your favorites.  Here's the list I used above:

Favorite color:
Favorite movie:
Favorite fruit:
Favorite sound:
Favorite dessert:
Favorite book:
Favorite smell:
Favorite season:
Least favorite vegetable:

*Feel free to add some more!

Lately

Lately I am.....

:: Enjoying the beautiful spring weather we have had this week.  It has been glorious and we have been outside a lot.

 ::Trying to eat healthier.  I made this vegan dish today at lunch.  I followed my friend Maria's recipe which you can find here. I didn't use asparagus, and added spinach instead.  It was delicious!

 ::Watching this girl fall in love with reading. This is what she does everyday as soon as she gets home from school. 

 ::Reading the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy.  I really enjoyed the first book and finally saw the movie last weekend.  I'm about a quarter of the way through this one and I am turning the pages as fast as I can.

::Listening to "My Room in the Trees" by The Innocence Mission.  I love anything this band puts out, but I am particularly loving this latest album.  Makes me want to drop whatever I'm doing and just close my eyes and soak each note in. 

What have you been up to lately?