May was "something"...

I'm tellin' ya what...
May just about kicked my buns!!!

It was one BIG thing after another...
some of the highlights ~

**Well, I married my best friend during this amazing month,
we celebrated a whole bunch of years together on the 7th...
love that man of mine! 
And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this quote:
"A successful marriage requires
falling in love many times ~
ALWAYS with the same person..."
Pretty much sums it up...
He is so worth falling in love with over and over and over again!

We took the day together and went to the mountains. 
We attempted...strong on the attempt,
to ride up to the top of a lookout...
the snow was less than cooperative, but it was still a fantastic ride. 

We hiked to Boiling Springs ~
so beautiful with all of the flowers popping up ~ and took a little dip in the hot springs...soooo warm!  :0)

**We finished up finals and co-op classes and choir concerts and a few fantastic field trips and Prom and college entrance stuff and the BIGGIE (drum roll...)
...we had another of our kiddos graduate!!!  Oh my, time has gone by so fast! 

**I mended a relationship that has been struggling and suffering and limping along for too many years...I hope with all of my heart that it is securely stitched up and will now prove to be a happy, healthy wonderful experience for both of us for the remainder of time!!!  This has to be one of the very most important things that I've experienced in a long time...it can be so hard to feel heart-broken and then open yourself up, hoping with all of what is left of your heart that it won't hurt worse, that it will only prove to be joyful and happy.  With a lot of prayer, a ton of faith, all the compassion and understanding that I could muster up...I approached the situation knowing that it could only improve...and guess what???  It really has...I am so, so, so happy!  There is still work to do...may always be, but don't all things that are worth it take effort???

**Chad decided it was time to take all the kids out shooting...first time for the little girls to learn to shoot the guns.  They loved it!  I got to show off for my boys...LOVE IT when that happens!!!  They were mighty impressed at my target blasting...hehehehe!

**I helped my sister with her wedding plans ~ and had a wonderful time helping with her decorations for her special day...June 2nd!  It was such a wonderful feeling to see her so happy...wedding pictures coming (hopefully soon!!!)

I will share this one though...this was way too fun!  I am planning to make one for my little girls' room...all you need is a hula hoop, some Christmas light, some big, fat stuff...dang, not even sure what it is called...it has holes in it...it's heavier than tulle, you work it around and tie off with ribbons to get the "fluffy" look going on.  Then add some greenery or flowers or whatever sparks your fancy.  It was stunning with the lights turned on.  Hoping to add some better photos from their photographer.  Cannot believe I don't have any of my sister, I guess I was too busy watching her and forgot to snap a few for myself!!!

**This was also the day of my baby turning 7!!! 

Happy Birthday

to our little ROCK STAR!

What is up with that?! 

How can my baby be that darn old already? 

(Sorry I snuck in a couple of June things, cause they really consumed me during much of May...so I kinda count them as May stuff, too and it was only the 2nd day of the month...so I think it works)

What a day June 2nd proved to be...

full of so many emotions, so much excitement, so much of, well... everything... 

and then I just have to add this in... 

**I saw my Grandpa ~

same day as the wedding and same day as my baby turning 7

(as if the two of those weren't BIG enough already)

Oh how I have always, always, always loved and adored this man. 
So why do I sound so weird and flipped out about seeing this man???

If I love him, shouldn't I have been ecstatic to see him?

Well, I was...kinda...

The story is that much to my dismay, after making a religious choice many years ago, I was no longer accepted in as family.  This was heartbreaking for me.  My grandparents have not seen my last four children...and missed watching our others grow up. 

Seeing him at my sister's wedding was bittersweet. 

I was truly grateful for the blessing of seeing him, of wrapping my arms around him and of being in his presence, but it only intensified for me the feeling of loss I have experienced for these past 16 years.

I guess I can only love him and my grandmother and relish in the memories that I do have of them and not dwell on the choices that they've made...there will be time to mend this relationship ~ probably not here, but I do know it can happen, and I fully expect it will and that it will be a beautiful, magical reunion. 

Okay, so back to May and all the "Stuff" that went on around here...

**I beautified

~not so sure that is "really" a word~

 but I like the way it sounds...

so I'm using it!...

anyway,

I beautified my yard

and I finally hung pictures on my walls

and I made an adorable shelf for my dining room ~

(this is made out of an old piece of barn wood and a couple brackets...it was exactly what I wished for)  And look at those happy gerbers...what a great thing to look at every day!

Yes, it is the little things that make me smile! 

I love walking out and seeing flowers happily looking back at me...I am so enjoying my time making my environment feel alive and welcoming and making it look like me...well, it doesn't look like me, it just looks like what I love to surround myself with...yeah, I'm rambling and probably losing you, but bear with me, I get like that sometimes!

My very 1st rose!

Love this old barn door ~

I just added a touch of yellow and it is simply perfect!!!

Gotta love a big strong boy who loves to work hard!

Bryce pulled this dead tree out and helped me plant fun stuff in it's place...

what a kid!!!

**I gave a presentation for our business and have been working like a bit of a crazy woman trying to grow this business back to what it used to be...prior to this darn recession...it is working and I am so pleased!!!  I am enjoying my time doing networking and meetings, but there are times that I feel a little crazed trying to balance it all.  Luckily our kiddos are fantastic and quite understanding and know that they come first for me ALWAYS!  Even my business card makes me think of them...aren't those some darn cute little feet?  Yep, they belong to my little ones!

**May held very little time for writing for me...I did fit in a substantial amount of time for study and reading.  Hooray for that time ~ I think it kept my level of sanity "okay".  I am deep in the middle of studying Adlerian Psychology and I LOVE it!!!  I feel so drawn to it and spend my Tuesday evenings learning as much as I can from someone that I am so blessed to have as a mentor. 

Hmmm...I was certain there must have been several other "things" that I did, but I cannot recall any others, so I guess that was it.  The list doesn't look quite as daunting as it felt.  May was a fantastic month...full of so many wonderful events, so many BIG things.  Maybe it felt so BIG and daunting because the "things" were significant to me, so meaningful for me. 

Watching another of our daughters walk across the stage to accept her diploma ~ it is so "real" ~ that "graduating" word means a whole awful lot.  It doesn't just mean they are done with school, it means they are starting a new life...

they are no longer the little person you've held in your arms, 

rocked to sleep at night, 

kissed the hurts away,

and wiped the ketchup from their chin...

this little girl of ours has grown into a beautiful young woman,

full of talent and potential,

she is ready to take on the world and give it all she's got ~

and I have to make sure that I do not hold her back...

that I give her wings to fly and that I send her with my love and blessing.

So yeah, May was something, it was something beautiful and memorable...and June isn't starting out half bad...life is pretty darn happy!