May Days

1. WE ARE IN OUR FINAL WEEKS OF SCHOOL! I'VE ALMOST MADE IT!!! (I felt the need to shout. Hahaha.) God's grace has been soo amazing during my first year back in the classroom, and my first time EVER as a full time working mom. I can't believe we're about to wrap up this school year and welcome summer. It's crawled by.... and yet it's flown by. It's bittersweet to see my school babies go, but I am so thankful I'VE ALMOST MADE IT!! 😊 

2. Our sports seasons are winding down. We have 1 more baseball game left (plus All-Stars... which I have mixed emotions about) and 1 more soccer game left, plus a tournament. I love watching my boys play sports they love, and every year it's super fun and exciting, but every year it's also exhausting and crazy. So we're looking forward to the off season! 

3. We are continuing to enjoy our pool and can't wait for some lazy summer days to really make the most of our new backyard. We've been able to get in, or at least let the boys swim, on school nights/afternoons just a few times. It's just hard to find the time in the midst of school and sports. So summer days on the horizon make us super excited!!

4. We are still in the final stages of finalizing our backyard project. The only things left are small finishes to the deck, and making our final decisions and purchases of furniture. The table and chairs we ordered have been here for a while but a piece of the table was broken so now we're waiting on a new one. We also need a new grill since we just got rid of ours at our yard sale over the weekend. Annnd we're still waiting to order/pick out our lounge chairs and a couple of other "furniture pieces" for the lower level of the deck. Once everything is completely done I want to write a blog about the whole process start to finish with pictures and everything. It's still such a dream come true for me that I really want to document all of it! 😊

5. It's Teacher Appreciation week! Yay for teachers!! I finally finished the teacher baskets and thank you cards I'm giving the big boys' teachers. Next, I have to write the notes and get things together for Layton's teachers. This year we have 6 teachers we're appreciating and we love them all! I am so thankful for these special ladies and the ways they've supported, loved on, and taught my boys. They are each very special to us. 

6. I am in the process of planning my class's "End of Year" Program. Eeeesh! My first time!! In Pre-K, each teacher plans a little program for the parents to be held in their classrooms during the last week of school, and because Pre-K is students' first big school experience, it's kind of a big deal! So far I've finalized the songs we're going to sing and decided on an individual award for each student in my class.... so that's a variety of 22 different awards based on various academic, personality, or behavior strengths. Phew! Glad I got that done. Now I just need to fill in/type up the awards and print them and decide on the order of our program.... and whether or not to type something up for the parents so they'll have a "program" for our program. I also need to finalize the food we'll eat after the program. (Most Pre-K teachers have a few snacks to celebrate afterwards.) And last but not least, I need to finish the slideshow. The slideshow is my biggest challenge so far as I am not tech savvy and have never created a slideshow-movie before. So. Hopefully I can pull it off and it will be sweet and special and wonderful, not incomplete and a mess and a major teacher-fail. #prayforme #slideshowsarechallenging

7. Mother's Day weekend is this weekend! It's one of our busiest weekends of the whole year. Haha. We have a lot planned but are looking forward to all the fun celebrations we'll get to enjoy. I am so grateful for my mom, mother-in-law, grandmothers, and of course being mama to my boys. It's a full weekend but super special.

8. Coming up: Garrison's Field Day is today and he has a field trip next week. Austin's big Kindergarten program is in 2 weeks and so is his party. Layton's party is next week, his graduation is the next, and he has "bike day" on the last day of school. My end of year parent conferences are happening now. So are Mother's Day crafts/gifts. So is program prep. Plus we still have our final games of the season coming up along with our end of season parties/banquets. I am trying to keep my calendar straight but it's all starting to run together. Craziness is my life right now. Haha.

9. We are finally starting to think about summer plans. And by plans I mean camps and swim lessons. So far we've narrowed down our ideas and preferences and done some research but nothing has been finalized just yet. We aren't big on attending camps all summer or filling every second of our time with things to do. So less is more come summertime. In fact, way less is WAY more. Especially after this school year. Mama needs a break! So we'll think on it, pray on it, and see what works out and go from there. (Terrell and I also have an anniversary trip to get ready for! Plus we're looking forward to our week at SGI with the fam.) We can't wait for summer!!

10. May is fun. May is exhausting. May is mayhem. Hahaha. Honestly I just want to enjoy what I can of these May days, make memories, and rest every chance I get. 😊