1. Way back in August, I learned that when your child finally goes to school, be it Preschool or Kindergarten or whatever, it’s tough. But this month, I learned that when they finish said year it is way harder. We started praying for Lucy’s teacher last spring when we registered her for Pre-K and we could not have been more blessed by the precious woman He provided. God did exceedingly abundantly above ALL that we asked or thought we wanted for her first year of school when he blessed her with such an amazing teacher, class and school.

HOWEVER, I was still a ridiculous wreck on her last day. Especially when we were driving up to car-line, and she said… “Mommy! Wait. Stick with me. I have a plan. Turn Here!” (directing me into the parking lot where parents park to walk their children in.) So I asked if she wanted me to walk with her and she said, “I NEED you to walk with me. I just need a little more time with you.” Sniff. Sob. Sad. As in, I wanted to climb into a ball and cry while I looked through every single one of her baby pictures. BUT. I put on my brave mommy face and we survived. Those of you who have kids who are capable of taking their own baths and stuff probably think I’m a nut. I’m willing to agree with you. But this is still how I feel about my children growing at such a breakneck pace:

2. Okay. I think I might have discovered a hidden fear of turtles. I’ve never known this to be an issue– until the other day. Both our girls are slightly very possibly extremely squeamish. They squeal every time we are outside when they see a fly, a dragonfly, a moth,–anything in the bug category. Heaven help us all when a bee flies by. Total pandemonium. Complete wailing and gnashing of teeth until the bee (or bug or fly or gnat) flies away and they are “safe.” Seriously, I don’t know where this came from. Except maybe I might a little. I’m not really afraid of bugs… but I can’t help but jump when they catch me off guard. Isn’t that normal??? Back to the turtles. My dear husband is on a never-ending quest to gently “toughen them up” a little– which makes good sense, because right now– let’s face it– they could not make it in the real world. Or even a Children’s Museum.  So the other night the girls and I were inside, they were having dessert at the table and I was cleaning up from dinner. Lance comes in from outside with a LIVE TURTLE wrapped in a bath towel, (because it was muddy.) His aim, was to show me first, and have us all have this fun learning experience around our new reptilian friend. EXCEPT THAT HE DIDN’T WARN ME FIRST. So I’m cleaning the counters, hear the front door open and turn around and there he is. With a towel and ALL I CAN SEE IS THIS SLIMY SCALEY NECK POKING OUT FROM THE SHELL AT ME. I Jumped sky high. Literally, I ended up on the other side of the counter putting quick and considerable distance between myself and that thing. So naturally, that caused the girls to FLIP OUT. Even Abby’s hands were shaking like a leaf as she yelled, “GET IT OUTTTTTTT!!!!” So basically, I had an undiscovered fear of reptiles in shells… and it totally scarred my children for life. Lance, meanwhile was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe because of the surprising way I was so startled. oops. Lesson lost on that one.

3. I learned afresh in May how much I wish I could be in two places at once. I love our home. I love where we live. I love that we aren’t as far from family as we used to be when we lived in Wake Forest. But, sometimes the distance still seems very far. One of my very best friends is about to give birth to her first baby within the next few weeks and there is nothing I want more than to just have to race across town to sit in a hospital waiting room while she labors. I would love nothing more than to be in the same town when that sweet baby boy enters this world. She and her husband are forever friends of ours. They were there the night Lucy was born, and even though all they saw was the waiting room, they sat with another sweet couple and waited, prayed and waited some more until Lance came out and told them “She was here!!!” Maybe I could figure out the whole Harry Potter-Apparition thing in the next couple weeks. It would be helpful for sure.

4. I learned that a plastic baby pool in the front yard is still as much fun as it was when “we” were little. On Memorial Day, we set up a little plastic pool from Wal-mart and a fun sprinkler and the girls had SO much fun. You would have thought we took them to a giant water park. Lance and I sat on our porch and watched them splash to their heart’s content and relished in the simple joy of it all.

5. I was reminded of the importance of making your home exactly WHERE you want to be with HOWEVER you can. I am one who loves to travel. I love the getaway, the different restaurants, the fun places– but I LOVE to come home. And I always like to “bring home” my favorite parts of a vacation. When we visited Disney last month, I was consistently amazed by how beautiful and magical everything ALWAYS was. Part of that reason, was lights. Lights everywhere– and the minute the sun went down, Disney became a completely different place because of all the lights. So, during May, we hung little white cafe lights (when I say, ‘we’ I mean my sweet husband lovingly spent a couple hours on a ladder.) on the ceiling of our front porch, creating an amazing atmosphere. It is now one of my top “happy places” in the world. So if it’s lights for you, go ahead. Hang them up! If it’s flowers, plant them! Whatever makes your home more of a haven from everything out there– create it! We purchased our lights from Target, but there are similar ones on Amazon here: 25 Foot Globe Patio String Lights – Set of 25 G40 Clear Bulbs with White Cord And for fun, our finished product– come join me for a glass of Tea sometime!

I am happy to link up with Emily Freeman over at Chatting at the Sky for Things I Learned in May

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