05/30/07

Oh my goodness...I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted!!! I knew life was wild and all but I really thought I had posted more this month. It is all that time flying stuff...

What a month it has been!! I think May is sometimes even crazier than December because of all of the end of the year things. Wesley and Mikayla OFFICIALLY graduated from Kindergarten on May 17. I didn't think I would cry, but I did. I am so thankful we are ready to move on now, but it is also bittersweet. I am fine now but, boy, did I cry the night before they graduated. What am I going to be when they graduate from highschool???? No one ever prepares you for the emotional roller coaster of being a mother.

The last week of school was last week and it was busy but good. I am really going to miss my students. They are precious to me. I shed a few tears over them last week as well.

I am SO GLAD to now be on summer break. I am enjoying a slower pace and getting some cleaning done. It is nice to de-clutter. I have been working on it yesterday and today and still have a ways to go, but it is slowly getting there. After being neglected for 9 months my house isn't going to get spotless and de-cluttered in a day. I am dreading our room for some reason. Maybe it is the weeks worth of laundry piled on my dresser???? It felt so good to actually feel like cooking for my family last night. I enjoyed that as well as cleaning up the kitchen and going to bed with my kitchen clean. I am always amazed at how much more energy I have when I have not been drained from school.

Weight loss update... I am now down 23 pounds as of last Saturday when I weighed!! I am tickled with myself but I also know I want to be careful because I don't want to go back where I was. I still don't have a "goal" as everyone keeps asking me. I just want to be less than I was before I had the kids, I guess. I think that will mean another 7 pounds or so. It has been fun knowing I can't fit in clothes that were getting too tight on me last summer. Of course, now I have the problem of finding exactly what size I am now. LOL I have enjoyed getting to buy new things that fit me and moving other things out of my closet!!

The kids have been working on their summer fun books and reading to me. I want them to be well prepared from the summer when they enter first grade. They are doing pretty well with it, but I haven't given them a choice. I am also teaching them how to fold their laundry and things of that nature. I want to increase their responsibilities around the house to teach them as well as be of help to me during those school days.

Yesterday was my 14th anniversary to the love of my life. This past weekend we celebrated since our anniversary fell in the middle of the week. I kidnapped Steve on Sunday and took him to a five star hotel nearby called The Umstead. I also took him out to eat at our favorite restaurant. He was QUITE surprised and I was very glad I pulled one over on him. hee hee On Monday we went to see Pirates 3 before we came back to reality. It was VERY nice to just be with him with no distractions from the house/yard. I miss those days when I was his only focus. lol (The picture is of the fountains in the lake behind the hotel. I was pretty tickled with my photography here!!) He made me cry at supper because I asked him what he has learned in these past 14 years. One of the things he told me was that he used to think people were silly when they said they loved their husband/wife more now than they did when they first were married. He told me now he sees how true that is and that his love for me is stronger than ever. I was so touched by his sweet honesty. Those that know Steve know he is a laid back silent kind of guy so this was precious to me. I have felt that way myself. It is a blessing to know that God has given me such a wonderful man. I cherish him.

My sweet husband also did something to surprise me, though. On Saturday night he presented me with a new lens for my camera (see pic) ! It was my anniversary/birthday gift from him and Mom and Dad also chipped in with him. I was SO excited over it. I dreamed about it all night and couldn't wait to start using it. I will share some photos that I took with it in the days to come but enjoy these from today. All of these flowers I took with my new telephoto lens and didn't have to get right at the flower to take them!!

We have all kinds of daylilies blooming in our yard right now. I think they are becoming one of my favorite flowers along with the Siberian/Dutch Iris. They are so elegant. Today will be orange daylily today on my post. We have a lot of these so I went to town photographing them.

My kids are quiet so I need to go see what is up. I also need to get back cleaning. I just wanted to show that I was still here. I really am sorry it has been so long since I posted. Hopefully my summer will allow me more time to sit back and enjoy the life God has given to me without being busy every moment. I enjoy those times greatly.