Monday, May 15, 2017

Mother's Day 2017

Just a perfect Sunday afternoon in the Smokies.


 
Just a quick and easy bucket of chicken and a couple hours of nothing but simple conversation and swatting away of gnats. 

 Just a beautiful daughter who indulges me as I learn to use the "real" camera.


  
  

Just the simple joy of hammocks and a favorite book and no cell phone service.



 

   Just an evening of strawberry shortcake, a game of Sequence, and a walk around the yard with these ones I love.




It's all I could ever want. It's more than I would ever have dreamed.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Semester Wrap-Up

W-o-w! I have no idea how I let so much time elapsed since my last post.

OK, I really do know. It's been busy around here.

Sad news first. We lost our old cat Hamlet. He was an old, old man in cat years, and he was a good, loving cat for our kids. We were sad to see him go.


Randy and I enjoyed a weekend away at a cabin in the mountains for our 28th anniversary, although the 8.2 mile hike almost killed me.


We went on two college visits with Duncan and friends: one to Milligan College, my alma mater, in upper East TN, and the other to Lipscomb University in Nashville, where Laurel goes. The kids loved them both and wanted to go to college immediately. Pro tip: visiting colleges with friends is so much more fun than going solo!


Mom turned 90! A bunch of the family was able to come over and help her celebrate. I love my beautiful mother so much and am so incredibly blessed to have her and my Dad live just down the road.


Speaking of Dad, he was presented with this beautiful quilt by Quilts of Valor for his service in WWII and the Korean War. Several teens in our support group's 4-H Club made this for him and had a wonderful ceremony.


And then there was prom. Duncan and his friends thought it would be a good idea to take pineapples as dates. Don't ask.  Really. (Homeschoolers are weird. See? I wrote about it here.)


I went to Nashville three times in April: once to see Laurel in this big college production called Singarama (that's her in the middle, dressed in 70s clothes for her group's dance), once for that college visit with Duncan and crew, and once to see Brandi Carlile at the Ryman. I'm so lucky to get to see my girl so much!


And besides all those extra things, all our regular happenings keep going on, too. There have been Eagle Scout ceremonies and family visits and all kinds of classes and seminars and on and on and on. Life is full.


But as always, the bustle of the school year winds down in May. I've been able to sneak in a few hours sprucing up the flower beds. Laurel arrived home this week for the summer; I can hardly believe she's halfway through college already! She'll be taking a math class at the local college this summer to get that over with—and getting ready for her best friend's wedding.


How can my daughter's constant companion since age 4 be getting married in a month? I don't know how it happens so fast.

Our co-op classes ended this past week.  As always, I am sad to see them go but happy to have a break. The top four are most of my seniors; the ones on the end I've had in classes since they were in preschool. Sniff.


 I have stacks of essays, research papers, and journals still to grade, so I'm a long way from done!

That's a bit of what's been happening in our own small world the past couple of months. Next up: graduation for several of my friends' kids and Bess's wedding. And, if I'm diligent, more regular blogging!

Linked up with the Weekly Wrap-Up and the Hip Homeschool Hop