SPRING HAS SPRUNG Faves

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

It's Friday and time for the FAVE FIVE hosted by Susanne.  Join in with us by writing your own faves from the past week and linking up over at her site.

Spring has definitely sprung here in eastern New York State with sunny skies, warmer temps, and blossoms and green popping out everywhere. I love it!!

MY FIVE FAVES

• DINNER OUT AND A RAFFLE WIN!  Our church held a Small Group Leaders Appreciation Dinner in the youth center last Friday evening for all leaders and spouses. I lead a small group so Dave and I enjoyed a wonderful catered dinner.  The small group ministry staff did a fantastic job of turning the youth center into an elegant room with linens, china, glassware, floating candles, gourmet desserts (including a chocolate fountain) and 6 wonderful gift baskets to raffle off. I won the 2nd raffle drawing!! I NEVER win anything!!  I got to choose which basket so I chose this gourmet pasta one. It has gluten-free lentil crackers, sauce, pasta, chocolate-covered cherries, pretty napkins, and fresh pepper to grind.  It was a beautiful evening with food, fun and fellowship.  A real blessing for a Friday evening!

• TULIPS!  Our front flower garden has chives, crocuses, tulips, 2 rose bushes, peonies, irises, a juniper bush in the middle, and mums in the fall.  I love when late April gets here because my yellow tulips are the first flowers to bloom (not counting the crocuses which are now gone) and they are my favorite type of flowers besides lilacs.  They look so cheerful. What a blessing that most of them have come up this year.....and a couple of red ones will be open by the end of the weekend.  I love tulips!

BUMPS POND on side of Sleeping Beauty Mountain
a beautiful spot for lunch!

• HIKING!  On Sunday afternoon, my friend Carla and I hit the road for the eastern part of the Adirondacks, northeast of Lake George Village.  We hiked Sleeping Beauty Mountain (the side of it is in the picture above, the summit is actually a little higher and to the left of the pic...I couldn't get it all in).  This was the 2nd time I've hiked the mountain and Carla's first.  It was quite an adventure because the road directly to the trailhead was still closed from the winter season so we had to park 1.5 miles away and walk in. Once we got to the trailhead we took a wrong turn and ended up at this pond which was another 1.2 miles.  We ate lunch, turned around, and hiked back the 1.2 miles to find the correct trail up the summit for another 1.8 miles. Our total hiking miles for the day was 8.8  We had only planned on hiking for 3.6!!!  The blessing is that my back was fine, my legs and knees were fine and I had no problems the next day or all this week.  GLORY TO GOD!  

Claire on Orchestra Spring Concert Night
31 April 2013

• SPRING CONCERTS!  Tuesday evening featured the Junior High School's Orchestra Concert.  Claire is in the 8th Grade Orchestra (first violin). The 7th Grade Orchestra & Scherzo (small strings ensemble) also played that evening. It was outstanding!  Then last evening, some of the Junior High Choral Groups performed.  Claire is in the Grade 8 Chorus which just earned a Gold with Distinction rating at the NYSSMA (New York State Schools Music Association) Choral Majors. (A competitive performance for a grade against other schools in the state).  She is also in Select Chorus (by audition only) and they will be performing next Thursday evening followed by a day at the Great East Music Festival competition in Massachusetts.  I think it's a real blessing to be in suburban school district with an exemplary music program. (note: many people ask me why she wears black and white for orchestra concerts.  It is because our district has a mandatory dress rule that the Orchestra students MUST be in concert dress which is white on top and black on bottom. For Select Chorus competition and events they are allowed to wear their school music tee-shirts.  For regular chorus or band members, they are allowed to wear dressy clothes of their choice).

• FIRST PLACE!!  My oldest daughter (Courtney) is a sophomore at Gordon College (Boston).  She takes Photography this semester (a course in her major (Graphic Design)) and the class submitted photos for a flower show that was held on campus.  She won FIRST PLACE in the black and white category.  It's stunning.  You will need to click here to view the photo.  Thanks!!  It's a blessing to see she is doing well and winning awards!

that wraps it up for me! We are having a stretch of beautiful spring weather here!

My first Family Hiking Club event is scheduled for tomorrow with several of our good friends and their teens....should be fun!! We will be doing a very easy hike (just an hour or so and seeing a gorgeous waterfall on the loop trail.  Click here to see where we are going tomorrow morning!

What do you have planned for the weekend?? anything fun and anything outside??

Enjoy it no matter what you do!!

Happy Weekend!!