The time between my birthday in mid-March through the end of April seems to go both so quickly and so slowly. Because tax season is at its peak, I feel it will never end and it seems to drag on forever. On the other hand, there's so much going on that I try to keep up with that it seems to fly right by. I try to snap pictures when I can to remember it all! Here are some pictures (other than Spring Break) of what's been going on.
Lily took a sewing class with friends for several Saturdays under the teaching of their amazing art teacher, Nancy Rodriguez. Lily had never used a sewing machine before, so this was a great new skill for her. She loved it! Her favorite final project was this beautiful doll and its clothing, all of which she made. It's beautiful!
Mia is still enjoying guitar lessons under Ms. Sara, and you can really hear her improvements!
Mia also started playing softball with Upward again this season, and she's loving it! She's playing for the Lady Braves which is awesome. Coach Dom is doing a great job, and Mia is working really hard. She's focused and playing really well. Her defense is outstanding at first base, and her batting is spot on. She's had several stand-up doubles and triples! This is a fantastic season for her.
Liz came over to visit one weekend which is always a wonderful treat. She, Ryan, and the girls went to a Braves game and stayed for Friday Night Fireworks which was tons of fun. They all hung out on Saturday (unfortunately, I had to work because it was a week before the 15th). On Sunday though, we all had brunch together at J. Christopher's which so nice. I loved getting to finally spend some time with her. I always enjoy our time together!
That same Sunday afternoon, Lily held her monthly Bible study for our neighborhood kids. I'm so proud of her for putting this together each month. She plans a devotion, craft, and snack for the kids. There have been 8 kids at each meeting (plus Mia and Lily), and 4 of those are unchurched kids. I've encouraged Lily to continue sharing the Gospel because this may be the only time they hear about Jesus. This particular week was her Easter lesson, and she helped everyone make "resurrection rolls" where you use a marshmallow in a croissant to represent the death and resurrection of Christ. It was a fun and delicious example!
My last week before the deadline was met with some tasty treats. Melinda Law (a friend and client) gave me 4 Mr. Goodbars...my favorite! Jen Vachris (our friend in Birmingham) had GrubHub deliver me a delicious gyro and grilled veggies to keep me going. Barbara Williams (my cousin and client) made the whole office delicious white chocolate chip cookies and date bars too. I appreciated these efforts to get me to the finish line of April 15th!
Finally, the deadline passed, and we had a couple of days of light work around the office. However, I closed the office on the 18th and 19th to give everyone some much deserved paid time off. Ryan and I went to the day game and bought really cool seats right at field level down the 3rd base line. These were really great seats!
Stonehaven was actually closed on the 19th because it was Good Friday. We had an easy morning and then decided to have a little hometown fun, so we headed down to the World of Coke. We've all been before, but this is still a neat place to visit.
After we finished there, we walked across the plaza to use our passes to the Georgia Aquarium. It was actually really packed with people today, but it was still a fun time. There are so many beautiful forms of sea life to see here.
Easter Sunday came over the weekend too. As Christians, this is the most important day to celebrate as we remember that Christ conquered death and fulfilled so many prophecies. We can be forgiven and set free from sin because of His sacrifice for us. We are (literally) eternally grateful. It seems a little odd to me that we celebrate by filling a basket full of goodies to celebrate, but I choose to look it as a small gift to remember the most incredible gift we've been given.
Ready for church in their new dresses.
After church, we continued the tradition of celebrating with extended family at Judy's house. All the "young" cousins always come together for a picture which is fun to see.
And then it's time for the egg hunt and then the egg toss!
Ryan had a wonderful time chaperoning Mia's class field trip to the Aviation Museum last week. He always loves planes, so this was a really cool one for him to go to. Mia loved it too.
Stonehaven has partnered with Young Actors Playhouse this Spring which is the group Lily performed with a few years ago. The girls decided not to participate this year because we had several other activities going (we are careful to not over-commit). Friday night was the big performance of Back to the Beanstalk, and we were all looking forward to it. Three of Lily's best friends were in it (as were lots of acquaintances of both girls), so we were happy to go see this. Here's a picture afterwords of Lily with Avery, Zaya, and Raegan. They all did great!
The Braves were running a "buy the date" special for this weekend, so Ryan bought three tickets for $4.28 each for today's game. Not a bad deal!
Even though I love to be at the park too, I am more excited that I'm starting my annual post-tax season beach getaway today. I am so very thankful that Ryan understand my need to completely get away to rest and relax after the 15th. I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally depleted right now, and this helps me recharge. I appreciate that Mom and Dad let me use their condo each year too. What a huge blessing!
Whew...it's been a busy few weeks! Now we have about three more weeks until the end of school and then summer begins!
No comments:
Post a Comment