Springtime Misc

 Here are some of our miscellaneous family happenings from April and May... I'm slowly trying to get caught up with my photos!

Mail-Order Brownies

My mom has a good friend named Sharon who makes the most delicious frosted brownies. All my kids loved trying them when Sharon came to visit my parents last year. Since that time, whenever Cody has to write his favorite food on a school paper, he always mentions "Sharon's brownies." When I told Sharon how much Cody craved her brownies, she overnighted us some brownies through FedEx. What a special treat!

Sharon says the brownies are best when we can add fresh frosting, so she sent brownies wrapped in wax paper and a separate tub of frosting. It was amazing receiving all of this through the mail! The brownies, as always, tasted SO yummy! My kids are fans for life.

Celebrating Birthdays

In early May, my friend Andrea celebrated her 40th birthday. We made her a birthday meal and chocolate cake to celebrate.

Andrea was excited about visiting the BodyWorlds exhibit downtown. I had never seen it either, so the two of us spent a Saturday together exploring this fascinating museum. It is simply remarkable seeing God's intricate design of the human body. We have such a creative God!

A little later in May, Adley was invited to a bike party for her cousin Ben. At the party, Adley was able to decorate her bike and then ride it through various stations...

...including a newspaper delivery station. It was such a fun party!

Third Grade Chapel

As the third grade was preparing for their class chapel in May, the third grade teachers selected several students to write a short skit. Both Jaden and Cody were chosen to be script-writers. They were supposed to devise a skit about what it meant to be a witness. Their team of 4 writers (all boys) wrote a funny story about a guy who witnessed a bank robbery and saw the robber get slowed down by a wild bird.

The teachers connected this story to what it meant to be a witness for Christ. On the actual chapel day, Jaden and Cody had speaking roles towards the end of the chapel presentation. Both boys had their entire parts memorized.

Cody's part was the closing line and was especially long!

It was fun to see our boys involved in this way--both with their chapel speaking and their behind-the-scenes skit writing. We are thankful for the boys' Christian teachers who do such a great job of allowing their students to use and develop their God-given talents.

Mother's Day

I felt so spoiled for Mother's Day this year! Both boys gifted me with special cards and decorated wooden spoons they had made in school. They also had each made crossword puzzles for me to solve--they know what their mommy loves!

Adley drew some pictures and dictated a thoughtful message for me as well. For my gift, they had each come up with a coupon of time, a way that each individual child wanted to spend time with me. What a special idea!

I'm so blessed by these 3 that have made me a mother!

I didn't get photos of my time with all three children, but we sure enjoyed our time together. Cody and I went swimming one afternoon, Jaden and I played tennis together, and Adley and I saw the movie Raya and the Last Dragon in the theaters. So fun to have this quality time with each child!

Jason had also put in a coupon for family time, a day for our entire family to attend an Astros game together. He even bought me an Astros shirt to wear for the occasion. We went to a game at the end of the month. It was such an exciting game against the Padres but unfortunately one that the Astros ended up losing.

We still had fun watching, though, especially when the Astros train chugged across its track! We also enjoyed these special baseball treat bags that a family from church graciously packed for us. Each bag contained individual snack favorites for each of us!

Go Astros!!

End of School

Despite it being a strange covid year with masks almost all year long, occasional flex learning days, lots of handwashing and cleaning, social distancing rules, and schedule changes, Jaden and Cody had a great third grade year. Jaden loved his teacher, Mrs. Pieper-- her kindness, creativity, and wonderful Christian example. We were especially thankful that Jaden had her as a teacher right before she retired.

On the very last week of school, the kids were allowed to be mask-less. Otherwise, masks were the norm all year. It was nice to have one class photo of all these smiling faces!

Cody also enjoyed his teacher, Ms Eickemeyer. It was her first year at Salem, and she was a wonderful addition to the school. Cody liked her energetic personality, her athletic nature, and her Christian care for all students. He had a wonderful year!