May Fave Fives #2

Ok...well, I am assuming that Susanne is going ahead with the Friday Fave Fives.....

For quite a while last night, Blogger was shut down.  I even lost a post I had just uploaded on Wednesday evening......so.....hopefully this will work....

It was a hectic week although less hectic than last week.

I have a busy evening ahead as my youngest (the 12 yr old ballerina) is having her birthday party in the backyard.  She wanted a "backyard BBQ and Bonfire" to celebrate turning 12.  Well, on the day she turned 12...about 4 days before Xmas, there was snow on the ground...so...she chose to put her party off until spring.  And so tonite, 6 of her youth group friends and a couple of friends from school will be hanging out in our backyard with 4 of them sleeping over.  She is so excited because some of these girls live in a different school district so we only see them at youth group events or church.  

Meanwhile, I want to take some time and post the 5 things that God blessed me with this past week.

He is so amazing isn't He??  One of my favorite ways to spend time with the Savior is by simply being outside.  And what a gorgeous week for that!  Here are a few things I saw around my yard:

Fresh Chives!

Tulips under the Cherry Tree

Our Cherry Blossoms

• FRESH FLOWERS AND HERBS!  I was so excited to see how quickly the chives have been growing this spring.  My oldest daughter planted them when she was 3, back in 1996,  after giving me a tiny seedling in a paper cup for Mother's Day, compliments of her Preschool teacher! Each year I look forward to snipping these and tossing into salads and onto baked potatoes. And the tulips and cherry blossoms speak for themselves....May is so pretty in the Capital Region!

Lilacs in our backyard

• LILACS!  One of my fave scents is that of lilacs.  This bush is doing very well this year.  The other bush didn't make it through the January ice storm.  I cut a sprig of lilacs to put in a small vase for the kitchen counter last evening so my mom-friends could enjoy the scent during our small group meeting.  They are so pretty and just whisper "Spring is here!!"

image taken from fitbootcamps.net

• MOTHER'S DAY! After church, my husband and youngest daughter cooked me a tasty dinner with most of my fave foods:   Grilled Lemon Salmon, Fully-Loaded Salad, Dill Steamed Rice, and Iced Tea.  It was such an awesome meal....and my oldest daughter helped with clean-up and with other chores.

Courtney's Senior Prom Gown

• A PROM GOWN SHOPPING DATE!  My oldest daughter decided, kind of at the last minute, to go to her Senior Prom.  The Senior Prom is not as big a deal in our school district as the Junior Prom is....she and her friends were trying to decide if they really wanted to spend the money or not this year. The whole group of them decided to go and since Courtney also has a formal banquet to attend in June, I told her we would get a new gown and she could use it for both events.  She can also use it next winter at college for the Gordon Globes.  I was shocked to discover that she did NOT want pink again....rather, she tried on 8 gowns, all of which were either blue or purple plus a mint green and this emerald green. She ended up choosing this emerald green gown and it looks stunning with her green eyes.  Thankfully we found a tailor who can alter it in just 6 days.  (the Prom is one week from tonight!). And since she is not dating anyone this year, and doesn't have a date for the prom (her whole group of friends are the same) they are all going as a group and meeting some of their guy friends there.  The parents are driving our kids to a park  in the city of Albany (the prom is held at the convention center) for pictures first.  This will definitely be a less expensive prom that last year!!  I just loved shopping with her and then going out for iced coffees......I am treasuring each and every moment.

Frost Hall, Gordon College
Financial Aid Center

• FINANCIAL AID LETTER!  Last week the financial aid letter arrived from the college where our oldest daughter will attend....this was broken down into what she will need to pay, and how the scholarships and loans will be divided, by semester.  It was fairly simple to understand although I had to ask a friend what the difference was between subsidized and unsubsidized loans (things have changed so much since Dave and I were in college!!) and what happens with those federal loans. It was good to learn how everything is broken down and the amount we will need to help her with, etc. I am actually looking forward to getting all of these steps accomplished and we've even started shopping for dorm stuff.  Every time I see something on sale that she will need for dorm living, I buy it; we have a crate started with things set aside.  I think we're gonna need many bins/crates!

That wraps up my week......my oldest has about 20 more days of classes.  Next week is "wear your college garb" to school day, then Senior Awards Nite, then the Senior Skip-Day/Picnic followed by the Senior Prom that evening.  After that she has her French Club trip to Quebec and then just another week of classes and the Spring Concert,  before finals and exams. She also has the Formal Senior Banquet at church/youth group the week before Graduation.

 My youngest has a super busy couple of weeks coming up as well with Violin Competition, the Spring Concert, Field trip to Boston, her Ballet Show, Science Exam, and finally final tests and Graduation from Elementary School followed by the Class Picnic.  But although we are busy getting ready to wind down the school year, we continue to learn, laugh, love and do life....and the final fave I have for the week includes my group of mom-friends...we are becoming a tight-knit group...I am blessed that we all go to the same church and we plans for a big family day hike in mid-July.  We are all so excited that our husbands will be meeting each other and that we have this family day to look forward to.  Meanwhile, we plod along finishing up the many tasks that fall at the end of the year and count the days until summer vacation!!

Enjoy your weekend...and leave me a note sharing a fave of your own this week!!