April Fave Fives #3

It's Friday!!  This has been a great week.....the girls had lots of school work as the final marking period has begun at school.  I had so much spring cleaning to do, and still am not totally done, although I have made lots of progress.  3 windows and sets of curtains are done, and the basement is slowly getting re-organized.  Yard work will consume most of my time this weekend, if the rain holds off.  Also consuming my time is the hunt for the perfect prom gown for my 11th grader......and....helping my 11 year old to organized the 2 projects for school she is working on.  One is a story for the Young Writers Workshop she was selected to attend....her rough draft has been returned with some ideas of how to make it an even better story and her final draft is due on May 5th.  Then, she has a major Language Arts project due which involves creating her own game-board/game to go along with the book they had to complete.  She is very independent but I just need to make sure she schedules her time to get it done.

Now...on to this fun meme that Susanne from over here hosts for us each week.  I always look forward to reviewing my week and choosing just 5 things or moments in my week that were really blessings from God.  

This week, in first place, there is a "tie".  So.....grab a cup of coffee and help me celebrate the blessings God gives....

Courtney, my teen, plays violin in the high school Orchestra.  They had NYSSMA Majors (a graded competition for orchestras, bands, choirs throughout the state).  Yesterday, the S----Orchestra received the Gold with Distinction which is the highest honor!!  We are blessed to be in a district that not only has a superb  strings program and excellent music teachers....but...her Orchestra/Violin teacher is a Christian who also happens to attend our church!  Congrats to the Orchestra members!!

And...tied for first place on my "fave five" list is:

Claire, my pre-teen, who attended "Take Your Daughter to Work" day yesterday with me.  For those of you who are new to this blog, I am certified as a Special Education Teacher and work part time in an Inclusion Kindergarten classroom in one of our district's elementary schools.  Claire was able to meet all of the students....8 typically-developing children and 7 special children.  She even coaxed an autistic boy I work with into finishing up his creative writing work.  It was a thrill to have her spend the morning with me, and helping the class clean up the playground to celebrate Earth Day.  She and I then went out to purchase a hat for HER school-community project (a Hat drive for local children with cancer) and we finished up that task by going out for lunch.  She then worked on homework while I did more housework.....what a privelage to be able to teach outside my home AND be a part time "stay at home" mom.  I feel like I have the best of both worlds and am so grateful to the Lord for allowing this in my life! My children are a huge blessing to me and my husband....we cannot imagine our lives without them!

This scone mix!
After Courtney came home from her all-morning drivers ed class last Saturday,  I made these cream scones and added some chocolate chips.  I served them with fresh pears, cut up, and hot coffee. (Claire drank milk).  They tasted great and was something different from croissants...although we will NEVER tire of croissants! :)

The Cherry Blossoms in my front yard.....we have 2 of these trees....they will be in full bloom by the end of the weekend and I just love the color it brings to the neighborhood.  No one else on the street has these trees so the pink is especially pretty next to the apple blossom tree of my good friend/neighbor, Melissa, and the greens of the other trees in the other neighbors' yards.  Our town has a rule that new houses must have at least 2 trees from the builders so....we have had these trees since 1994 and they are blooming beautifully every year.  I enjoy the spring colors!!

My new decorative flag from Original Art Flags.  They are made in Delaware and are usually fairly pricey but I got this for 40% off at a local arts store.  The wind was blowing when I took this picture so it isn't hanging perfectly straight.  We like watching the black-capped chickadees at our feeder and I have always liked pansies...I also used to collect decorative birdhouses and still have several throughout the house, so I just HAD to buy this flag!  It's cheerful, n'est pas? 

This souvenir I found in the Munich, Germany airport while waiting for our flight out of Europe.  My teenager and I LOVE Nutella and this was a limited edition jar.  It's glass rather than plastic so I plan on cleaning it and saving it.  And the key-chain is just so cute.....I couldn't resist it! And in euros it was less than $8.00!

Now, what about you?

I notice I have several visitors to this blog...I would love if you could take a moment and jot me a comment......tell me one thing that would make your Fave Five list!

Enjoy the weekend....and I'll try to post some more  Paris pictures....some of you have emailed me asking to see more...I WILL get to them...we have many to upload and one computer in the house as "bit the dust" so it might take awhile before we finish getting all the pics done.....

GOD BLESS YOU and have a restful weekend!!