Fifteen Days and Counting

Things have been crazy busy around here with the school year coming to an end. I love that summer is so close we can taste it, but we have to survive the end of the year madness before we can reach the promised land of swimming, sleeping late, camps, and a more relaxed schedule. Tatum had a bad cough last Friday and had to miss "Dress Up as your Favorite Book Character Day" at school so we dressed her up at home and took pictures. Can you guess who she is?

Remember Gentry's big Christmas gift this past year? She has absolutely loved learning to play the guitar and has picked it up quickly. I never have to ask her to practice (something I could never say about her and the piano) and she challenges herself to play harder and harder pieces. Her teacher laughingly calls her the next Taylor Swift and had her play one of Taylor's songs for recital.

Performing at the recital. She was so nervous but did great. Guitar is a more boy-oriented instrument, I guess. She was one of only 3 girls to play. Nothing like my piano recital days where the boys were in the minority.

 She earned a gold medal for making a 100 on her theory test!

 Me and Miss Middle.

Mother's Day was all it should be -- laundry-free and family-full. My favorite gifts are anything with a hand-drawn portrait or homemade craft from my girls. Their teachers must have kept them busy the week before having them create several masterpieces to give for Mother's Day. I treasure these special gifts, and the store-bought kind don't hurt either! I felt appreciated and honored to have the privilege of raising these 3 amazing young people who call me mom.

Ava was disappointed we didn't have time for her to cook a special breakfast before church, so we had breakfast for dinner instead. She made everything herself - sweet potato pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast with Nutella, and bacon. I could get used to this.

This is me enjoying my decadent breakfast/dinner, sporting my 2 mom badges and ignoring the complete chaos behind me. I wore those badges to church and throughout the entire day. Tatum made sure to repin them after my wardrobe change.

Gentry's birthday is in the summer and she gets short-changed on a class party unless we cheat and celebrate it during the school year. Having a summer birthday myself, I'm always vigilant to make sure her friends get to celebrate her at school. We took cupcakes to her class today and they got cuh-razy singing/cha-cha-ing to her. Tye was able to be there for the first time since he was WatchDog at their school all day. Don't let her teacher's apparent silliness fool you. That lady is all business in the classroom and has cultivated and nurtured Gentry into academic excellence.

 Happy almost-birthday, Gentry Olivia!!

I know this post was very Gentry-intensive. I'll try to share the child spotlight in future posts. That's us in a nutshell. I'll be back to post lots more items soon. My last day to accept orders is next Monday, May 21!