Journal: May-June

Out My Window: Pleasant and sunny today, we have had a few hot days(over 100) but with enough mild summer temps sprinkled to make it all manageable. This has been our most successful flower year(see pics)....I know it's not that impressive, but I have a brown thumb, most everything I have planted has withered. I am especially grateful for my healthy rosebush.

Crafting: Benny and Charlie found some pine cones on a walk and we slathered them with peanut butter and seeds and hung them on the tree....it was fun to make, but we are not sure the birds have actually eaten any, I think a renegade squirrel took one down and disappeared with it.

Quick Quip: A new segment...Charlie: "I love you more than I love you forever." This has been his motto for the last few weeks.

In the Kitchen: I have been baking when it's not triple digits, burrito bake and cherry crumble. Gregory tried his first taste of avocado(thanks for the tip, Monica!), he was a little freaked out....doesn't quite know what to do with food in his mouth....I don't get real serious about food until @12 months+.

Avo...what??

The Kids: Noah has been riding around on his bike garage saling. He and Don have done a little volunteer work up at church sanding down some windows.

Jonah: Graduated from 8th grade and we had a Mass and ceremony with our homeschool group. His aunt, Flora, bought him a coding book about creating your own video games and he has been working on that everyday since.

Jonah with his godparents.

Hannah: has been enjoying a pottery class at City Arts(THANK YOU AUNT JANET!!!) with her cousin. She also has been reading a few of Betsy Byar's books, Summer of the Swans and Brady.

Eli: has been building card houses, he's up to 2 stories at present and huge 1 story complexes and he has been teaching Benny and Charlie how to build them.

Benny: Can't get enough of the new swing set Don and the big boys built in the backyard.

Charlie: is a funny little...well big... , guy. We went to a Ride-a-Thon fundraiser for his cousin who receives horse therapy to help with her autism. We got to watch her ride her horse, which was a delight! Charlie whispered in my ear, "When do I get to ride a horse, Mom?" I explained that this was only for the kids in the program and we were just there to watch. Later, Charlie discovered a tire horse swing that he really enjoyed riding and said, "See Mom, I did get to ride on a horse!"

Charlie's horse

Watching: We had a free redbox code so we rented, "The Impossible" a true story about a family that survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. It's a great story but a little too graphic in my opinion...and definitely not for kids! This spun-off a series of watching video footage of the tsunami on youtube. I truly don't understand human suffering....especially where children are involved.

Praying/Thinking: about friends who are suffering, how important communication is and how sharp and easily I am to snap at the kids and say hateful things I don't mean, but at the moment I feel it's justified and then later I can't believe what I said! We had a really BAD day and I felt like a complete failure and I wanted to quit.....but for real this time! Reflecting on it the next day, though....we learned so much from that day and how I need to deal with a situation before it gets out of hand...instead of ignoring things until I explode...and then everyone else does. Fr. Jerome gave a homily on the importance of mercy in our day to day lives....aaaah mercy....I need it so much from God....so why is it so hard for me to be merciful with my kids?

 Pic to share:


More flowers