Memories in May

Graduation...what a joyful time! Jamie graduated last week and it was exciting and fun for the whole family! We are so proud of her and her accomplishment and also proud of the beautiful young woman she has become..

There was a celebration at her grandmother's house and much love and laughter. Many memories come rushing back to my mind of the past 18 years and her life and all of our happy times together. I have a great surprise for her coming up soon!

Today I went with her to a job interview at the daycare where Cole goes. I hope she gets the job. It is what she wants to do and I believe caring for children is her calling in life. She does have a gift for it.

I also went to Leah's pre-school graduation, which was so cute! It was fun to watch and she was excited that I could be there. Ronald had to work and she wanted to know where he was! Some people think all of the pre-school, kindergarten and grammar school graduations are silly and I guess they are in a way, but they are also a good excuse to hang out with the kids and celebrate.

This past Sunday, I attended Sarah's confirmation at her church. Ronald had to work and oouldn't be there but I went and watched her recite her vows to the church and to Jesus. It is a big step in her faith and a new experience for me at a Methodist service. She is growing up so fast!

I am looking forward to the next few weeks, when I will attend Sarah's 6th-grade graduation, her violin recital and her dance recital. She is a busy young lady! All of her special dates fall on days when Ronald has to work, so he will miss out on all of the celebrations.

What a busy, exciting time!

Spring is back!

• The forecast finally shows temps in the 70's for the next week! Hooray! Maybe that will help a lot of the trees bounce back after the freeze and grow new leaves. I am ready for warm weather.

• We did get the garden planted yesterday with the usual...zucchini, tomatoes, corn, okra and Ronald's hot peppers. He is "only" planting 18 plants this year...! We still have a lot of his "gunpowder" left from last year but that's okay. It comes in handy and we can continue to put it in the peanut butter-suet cakes that we make. Did you know that birds cannot taste the hot pepper? The squirrels can though and it doesn't take them long to learn not to eat at that particular feeder. We make sure they have plenty of shelled corn, so they surely don't go hungry!

• This year we have watched one of the squirrels build a nest in one of the big trees right behind the deck. It has a huge branch that is split and hollow and she ran up and down the branches, chewing off little twigs and running back into the split. Now there are a bunch of little sticks poking out of it and sometimes we can see her moving in there.

• We were surprised she picked that spot. It's like "main street" for the squirrels that are constantly running back and forth to the feeders for corn. I foresee some future squabbles on the highway!

• The first hummingbird this year was later than last year. He showed up on April 15th and a female was there two days later at the feeder. They never cease to amaze me....such tiny creatures that travel so far. They are incredible in every way!