Crossing the Finish

No, this is not a race story. haha I guess it just feels like a race we have been running the entire month of May. I have several things to post here so I'll just dive right in...

I was very proud, and a little sad, when Jonah graduated from Kindergarten this week. Where did the time go? He looked very handsome at his graduation and did a great job singing the songs they had learned for the program. Here's some pictures of my handsome graduate.

Ready to leave for school! It's graduation day!!

Mimi and Jonah

Granddaddy and the special graduate!

Ms. Mandy Lynch, Jonah's kindergarten teacher
Thank you, Ms. Mandy, for a great year!

A Mother's Day gift to me from Jonah. It has been on the fridge for the last couple of weeks, and I want to remember it and exactly the size he was when he finished kindergarten.
To My Sweet Jonah:
I love you, Jonah, and I am so proud of the big boy you are becoming. You have been a really good boy in school this year, and Ms. Mandy said it was wonderful being your teacher. She commented on how funny you are. You are smart and sweet, and I can't believe you will be in 1st grade in August! Always do your very best in everything you do.
Love,
Mommy

The day after Jonah's Kindergarten graduation, we attended John Owen's Awards Day at school. He was presented with the Citizenship Award and he received the Principal's List Award for making all A's on his report card for the whole year!!

Way to go, John Owen!

I am so proud of you, John Owen!
God has blessed you, and He has blessed me by giving you to me!:)
Never take what God has given you for granted. You can do anything you put your mind and heart into!

John Owen and his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Barbara Ewing.
Thank you, Mrs. Ewing, for a great 2md grade year!
You are a super sweet and special teacher.

Yesterday(Friday), I finished up my last day at school, so Summer has officially begun for us!

Woo-hoo!!

Now, can you guess who's special birthday we are getting ready to celebrate?

This is the birthday cupcake magnet we use to countdown every family member's birthday!
Mary Claire keeps asking, "Is it today?" :)
As you can see...one more day!

She's having a Rapunzel ("Tangled") party next Friday night, and she is so excited!
Post about the party will follow. I have a special surprise planned for her party that I think she is just going to LOVE!
Waiting to reveal it is so hard...

Today, I cut some beautiful hydrangeas from the hydrangea plant growing beside the house.
When Mary Claire wakes up from her nap in just a minute, I know she will love these!

So, here we are...
It's Memorial Day weekend, and we are crossing the finish to the end of May.
Last night, we had a great time by the pool with our friends, Crystal, Scott, Ebby and Brock. Today, we have been back poolside and just relaxing before we head over to my friend Nora's in Arlington for a waterslide party with the kids! Great day for a waterslide!
As I finish this post, I have also just finished a strawberry cake and some cupcakes for Mary Claire's birthday tomorrow. While I cannot claim to have the cake decorating talent my friend, Christi, has, I think Mary Claire will like it. And that's all that matters.
She's calling me now to tell me she's finished with her nap.
Birthday posts later.:)

Tale of a 10k

MIM (Memphis in May) 10k was held this past Friday night. But NOT in Memphis...it was in Tunica, MS. A few miles down the strech of roard named "The Blues Highway". The 10k was the kick-off for the Memphis in May Triathlon Weekend. I had no intention of doing the triathlon, but I signed Jan and myself up for the 10k a few weeks ago, and asked my mom if she could babysit. Two days before the race, Jan came down with an infection and Friday morning, he was at the doctor's office where he received orders to not run or get hot. I could have gone by myself, but Jan did not like the idea of me going alone or the fact that the money would go to waste. (Probably more worried about the latter there. haha)

When I called my mother to tell her about this, she volunteered to go with me. She even said she would take Jan's place in the race if the race officials would let her. So, as it turned out, it was just the two of us, my mom and me. On the ride down to Tunica, she kept asking me if she should do the race, that my dad was worried about her getting too hot. Let me explain. Mom has been suffering from a series of sinus infections, and is presently on another round of antibiotics. She didn't do the Go Lucy Go 5k for this very reason, and she has been trying to take it easy for the last few weeks. But, Friday, she said she felt o.k. enough to do this race with me, and the race "people" let her take Jan's place with no issues, so we set out to find the START line.

It was HOT! Probably about 85 or 86 degrees at the start of the race. There was a slight breeze which kept it from being hotter than it could have been, I guess. I have not trained nor run much at all in temps over 80 degrees. Believe me, I know this is something I will be doing this summer, and I am not looking forward to it. I don't do running in the HEAT well. At the finish of mile 3, I was incredibly hot. Long stretches of flat road in the sun...whew! I also felt some chills, which made me think back to the fact that I not hydrated much during the day nor eaten like I should have. And then, I started thinking about my mom. If I am this hot, she is probably hot, too. I began to worry. I began to think about turning around to find her. I began to think that my finish time didn't matter, and making sure we both finished this was more important.

I took it as a sign when at my mile 4 and her mile 3, we met on the road. I slowed down and turned around, as she was saying, "You are the 20th female. I'm o.k." :) She had been counting the female runners that passed her to see where I was in the ranks. Too funny...Here I was worried about her, and here she was, worried about me and how I would finish in the race. I am usually worried about where I finish, but not this time. "I'm going to finish with you. It's hot," I said to her. She didn't argue with me too much. She had been pouring water on herself at the first 3 water stations, so she was cooler than I was. We jogged/walked the rest of the miles together, talking and laughing, especially when one of the football players at one of the turns reacted so dramatically when my mother told him she was 64 years old. It was priceless!!

We held hands as we crossed the finish line and they announced us as mother and daughter. 6.2 miles (approx. 7.3 miles for me) done on a hot Memphis evening...then we wasted no time making our way to the food and drink tables!:) A race to remember for sure!

Love you, Mom!

What Can I Say About May?

I sit here tonight with a million things I could post about. Things just seem to accelerate in the month of May! It's like a race to summer break and then AHH...

Maybe, just maybe, we breathe a little slower and let time slow down just a bit to enjoy the ever-seemingly shorter summer days. For my boys, May kicked off with Field Day at school. A day to enjoy friendly competitions among classes, a celebration of year end assessments completed, a day of no schoolwork...just fun and games! And what beautiful weather both boys had for their field days!

Ready to play at Field Day 2012

Jonah did great in the Musical Hula Hoops competition:)

John Owen reloading...I can't remember what this toss-and-catch game is called, but they loved it!

Then it was time for the 2012 Go Lucy Go/LeBonheur 5k!

We were all super busy with plans for this special event, and our family is honored to be a part of this. Our community, as well as people beyond our community, have been extraordinary in helping us to raise some MAJOR money for LeBonheur Children's Hospital for 2 years now. Our plans are to keep going with this!:)

And it's all in honor of one super special and strong little girl...Lucy!

Here's a few pictures I managed to get on race day.



Mary Claire and Elise enjoyed the beautiful face painting we had at the race!

A new favorite picture!
A friend shared this with me on facebook, and it makes my heart happy every time I look at it.
My mom holding my little girl's hand as she crossed the finish line at the Kids' Fun Run. And the fact that Mary Claire is reaching out to give her buddy, Raygan, a high five is priceless!
I give thanks for this as I look at it.
Go, Mary Claire!

Unfortunately, Jonah had a little mishap on the track. Another little boy's shoe fell off, and Jonah did not see the boy bend down in front of him. He toppled right over the boy. I did not see it happen, but a friend brought him to me so that I could check him out. Once we determined he was o.k., Jan put him on his shoulders and went back with him to help him finish the race. I caught this moment with my phone camera when they crossed the finish line. I was glad Jan used this moment to teach Jonah that we always try our best to finish what we start, even if we have to help someone finish or be helped.

Rolling right along...
This past Wednesday night, John Owen and the children's choir at church performed their production of "That's So Daniel!" It was incredible!! They all did such a great job. Their hard work paid off, and I pray that the Biblical lessons they learned through this will help mold them into Christ-like young people.
(Our whole family knows the songs and dialogue! Mary Claire is still asking me to play the CD in the car, and sngs the songs to the top of her lungs!)

Great job, John Owen!

A good looking group!

And it wouldn't be a weekend around here without a party, right?!

We celebrated a special birthday! Our dear friend, Preston, turned 5!

His party was at the TN Safari Park in Alamo, and it was fantastic.

As you can see, Mary Claire enjoyed the icing on the cupcakes...

 She's got him by the horns!!:)

 Mary Claire and Mills feeding carrots to the giraffe.

 Mary Claire "hanging" with the girls.:)

 One of her favorite people, Mary Leslie!

Yes, and if you are wondering why I have several pictures of Mary Claire and not the boys, it would be because the boys were all over the place! Having fun with friends is hard work, and snapping pictures of them at "work" is hard, too.

Here's a good group shot I got before they got off of the trailer.

Happy birthday, Preston! It was a "wild" party at the Safari Park, and we had so much fun!

Well, that's about all I can put into words tonight...Oh, except that I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! My "group" showered me with handmade cards, flowers, lunch at a "fancy" restaurant, a sweet "love" letter from my husband, and a little bit of rest time. I got to enjoy a good run with my friend, Laura, this afternoon and spent tonight with my own mother for an hour or so. I am blessed beyond measure for several reasons, but mostly because I am called "Mother" by 3 beautiful people that God has given me.

Blessed because I have a wonderful Christian mother who continues to teach me through example of what being a mother is all about.

I love you, Mom!