May Days...

May is the fullest month of the year for me... 

We push through to get school done, then I jump into full time preparation for the 

Royal Family Kids Camp I volunteer for

(which is a camp for kids in the foster care system that happens the first week of June). 

 

The calendar is filled with everything from practices to end of the year programs galore...

with not much margin in between. 

It's just May at our house... and I can't change what it is, or how full it feels,

but what I can do is embrace the fullness, because it is just a season,

and ask God to show me signs of His goodness. 

Here's a little peek into our May Days.... and the goodness that came from Him.

 

I don't know if I would call snow in May "good"...

but it did make me kind of smile and just shake my head!

 

These two have been sweet friends since they were toddlers.

Bella is such a special friend to Ainsley, and they get along SO WELL!

During their whole play date, I couldn't help but pray that

this friendship would stay close and grow over the years!

Capturing the memory of what school looks like some days.

By the time we turned the calendar for May, we were both feeling

pretty checked out... but sweet moments like this warm my heart

and remind me why I am doing this thing called homeschooling right now.

After a month of sickness and a nasty cough that wouldn't leave our family,

my three little ones were diagnosed with walking pneumonia.

Nice......

 I had to laugh, because this is what we were reading for health that week...

 My sweet Ainsley finished her last year of preschool.

She seemed so old and grown up to me during these last weeks of school.

It is crazy to think that she'll be my kindergartner next year.

There is much fear about that thought... but also a feeling

of joy and excitement to be spending my days with her.

 Her class did a program for all the parents that was very cute.

These were the girls from the morning and afternoon sections of preschool.

And it is times like these that I realize just how tall she is compared to

other little girls her age.  A good six inches taller... at least!

This is what our office looks like standing in the doorway.

The totes are all filled with camp stuff that I am prepping and working on.

These totes will be added to about 20 other totes that I store at my parent's building to take to camp.

I plan and organize all the activity centers for the campers for the week of camp.

48 campers X 18 centers X 5 days = lots of STUFF!

But in reality, as much work as it can be, I can't imagine myself doing anything else

in the month of May.  I am blessed to have this opportunity to serve God and pour myself out

for little ones who need it so much!  I really do love being involved with this camp!

 The message on my chalk board this month...

I'm believing God to do BIG THINGS....

BIG things at camp...

BIG things in the lives of some of my dear friends...

BIG things in my life...

I'm Believing God!

 A Happy Hour Sonic run to celebrate the last day of school for us!

There still times I shake my head, look back on the year, and think... "Did I really just do that?"

 Mother's Day... how thankful I am that God allowed me to be a Mama!

A sweet letter and chocolates from my big boy...

 A pretty box made at preschool from my girl...

And my little one was napping... but he colored me a picture too!

(and daddy is sending me to Beth Moore in August!)

I am blessed by my family!

Since school was out for us, we took a trip to the Lauritzen Gardens to check out

the traveling LEGO sculptures they had there. 

It was a fun morning... and I felt like I scored some good "mama points"!

 After that, we went and visited the trains at Kenefick Park...

It is amazing how big they really are!

Then we found a shady spot in their shadows to have our lunch.

(more "mama points"!)

 This is Ainsley's dance class!  Just the two of them!  We have been so lucky!

These two have had such a fun year together and have become good friends.

Ainsley is working hard on her recital that is coming up in June.

 Last day of preschool!

Gotta love it!

I couldn't have asked for a better preschool teacher for my children...

First Liam, then Ainsley, and next year, Kallan!

I love this woman dearly... and she has impacted the lives of my children in a great way!

Thank You Mrs. Knihal!

 So... even though we have every letter toy known to man (even a big version of these)

when I saw them... I just couldn't help myself because he will LOVE them so much! 

This picture is for my friend... who helped me have self control at the homeschool conference

(where letter toys are in abundance...)

Where were you to tell me "no" when I needed you?!?!?  :)

 And last week... a day trip to Adventrueland in Iowa! 

We had SO. MUCH. FUN!

Hopefully some more highlights of that trip to come...

but if not, this about sums it up!

That is our month of May!

So thankful for these moments...

So thankful that in the fullness and business of these days!

He continues to bless, and show me His goodness day after day!

 

(and now on to camp work... I think I've stalled enough for the day!) 

*wink*

Wrapping up Chicago...

So as much as I don't want to forget what we did in Chicago... I'm feeling a little "over" Chicago and want to move on with life! :)  We did have fun though... so thankful for the memories we made!

After the American Girl Doll Store, we met the boys at the Lego store for some more fun!

Liam has visited a few Lego stores, but they always amaze him and make him smile!

I just watch him soak everything in... and it makes my heart happy!

He too had been saving his money, and after much contemplating and discussing,

he ended up buying a new Star Wars Lego ship.

This little guy was super happy and content playing with all the Legos his little hands could reach!

Our next adventure was to go to the Alder Planetarium and enjoy a little space action!

It was a great museum that the kids really enjoyed!  The extra bonus... teachers get in free to all museums in Chicago.  It's nice to feel appreciated!  Thanks Chicago!

The kids got to explore the moon on a giant TV screen...

As well as experience a little "Moon Walking".

The exhibits were amazing and so well done!

We all liked the hands-on stations the best!  The kids got to launch their own space ship, discover why we have seasons, and learned some things about air pressure and blasting off.

Kallan found a block table and was a happy as could be! 

It doesn't take much to bring joy to this little boy!

Our last stop in Chicago was to experience China Town. 

For some reason my kids have a fascination about China. 

We thought it was the perfect opportunity to give them a little taste

while not having to travel too far from home!

We window shopped for awhile and walked through a few of the Asian market stores. 

Tim and Liam discovered a huge tank of giant frogs waiting to be sold for supper...

(thankfully I some how missed that tank)

but Kallan was able to find a huge open box of peanuts in which he stuck his arm in.

This ended our tour of the market places quite quickly!

 

We asked a few people for their recommendations of where to have supper, and found a place we thought would be good to try.  The food was amazing and the kids had fun with their chop sticks!

We were so glad we took time to explore China Town in Chicago. 

The kids loved the experience, as wall as the little trinkets we let them get at one of the stores.

Thanks Chicago... for the fun weekend and loads of memories we came home with!

Hopefully we'll be back again soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Perfect Brunch - Day 3

On our last day in Chicago, we had a big day planned! 
Looking back, it's crazy to think of everything we did, but it sure was fun! 
Not to mention, the kids did great as we went from place to place all around the city.

 

Our morning started off with a walk downtown to the American Girl Store for a very extra special brunch for Ainsley and I.  To get the full "American Girl Experience", I made reservations for us at the restaurant in the store.  To say that every tiny detail of our morning was perfect would be an understatement. 

The restaurant itself was amazing!  Pink, Black, and White everywhere! 

 

They had little seats that attached to the table for each doll brought to the restaurant.  Ainsley had brought her doll, Caroline, so we got her set at the table and she was served tea.

 

Ainsley was all smiles from the moment we walked in!  As we sat down, they explained that the pink napkin ring was really a pony tail holder that we each got to keep.  Then the waiter opened this cute, little box that was full of questions for us to ask each other.  While we waited for our food, we asked each other questions and giggled at our answers.  The bottomless cups of hot cocoa was a bonus, but the real treat was the food!  It was so yummy... and if food can be "cute" I'll say it was cute too!

 

This girl was super excited to have dessert for breakfast! 
"Mom... I really get to eat dessert now?!?" 

 

We had an amazing time! 

What a special mother-daughter morning full of giggles, smiles, and making memories.

After our brunch, we had some time to walk around the store and shop.  Ainsley had been saving her money since Christmas to spend in Chicago (Tooth fairy money and all...)

so she was ready to find some special things to buy.

She was able to get her doll's ears pierced as well as buy a few new outfits for her dolls.
We had such a fun and amazing morning!  I'm so thankful we got to have this experience in Chicago with my girl, and to have a morning full of making special memories together!

Chicago Fun... Day 2

Our first full day in Chicago was going to be filled with fun!  We were going to head down town to Navy Pier and hang out at the Chicago Children's Museum for most of the day.  What better thing to do as a family than play the day away together!

 

We started out in what I called, "The Box Room".  Lots of cardboard and boxes to do whatever you wished with.  Liam was excited to find his name on one of the pillars... while Kallan just wanted to make letters with all the boxes he found.  Kallan could have stayed in this room for a long time! 

Next, we headed to the "Water Room" where the kids had a blast playing with all the water contraptions!  It is an amazing room!  Liam mainly wanted to play with the water-way and try to block the water from running.  Ainsley was just delighted with all the different water things... especially the water pump that if you pumped hard enough, 
the water would "explode" and ring a bell.

Kallan's favorite part of the water room was the tile wall that you could paint on... of course he just wanted to paint letters on it.  Silly Boy!

After getting wet, we headed to the Dino Dig where the kids enjoyed finding some dinosaur bones.

Liam's favorite part of the museum was the wood working room.  Here, he could create whatever his heart desired.  They even let him use the power tools all by himself which he was so proud of!  He made a hammer (in his hand) and a rocket (on the table behind him) while Kallan worked on making his own bird house.

How tall are you??? 

Ainsley found a secret hide out under a play structure where she enjoyed constructing a maze of pipes.  Kallan found a room with "letter blocks" in it and was giddy with glee! 

"Mama... they have here Letter Blocks too!!!!" 

Our last room of the day was another construction room.  Here, Liam joined another little boy, and together they worked on building a Chicago sky scraper.  They had a blast together and had great plans for their creation.  Daddy and Ainsley worked on a dog house together... it turned out cute too!

After a full day at the museum, the kids wanted to go on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier before we left.  It was cold, windy, and snowing... but the ferris wheel was running, so we braved the weather and took a quick trip.

It was so cold... and a little scary when we got to the top and the wind was whipping around us, but the views were amazing... and the kids were so excited to be able to go on it!

 

After our day at the Pier, we headed downtown to our hotel and took a walk to a Chicago favorite... Gino's East.  When we were in Chicago about 4 years ago, we met up with some church friends who were then living in Chicago, and they took us to Gino's for "Chicago Style" pizza.  It was amazing... and I must admit... I have been craving it ever since that night!  So it was a must that we went back! 

Gino's is known for people leaving their mark by writing their name anywhere and everywhere in the restaurant.  It's pretty cool when you start looking around. 

And the pizza did not disappoint... oh my... just like I remembered it! 

It is the best... and it made this mama very happy!

On our way back to our hotel, we just happened to pass by the Hershey store and we thought we needed a little chocolate for dessert.  It was such a fun store, and when they literally pour chocolate kisses on you when you walk into the doors, the awesome factor went way up in the kids' eyes! Who wouldn't like this store... not to mention the constant smell of chocolate the entire time you are in there!  Now that is my kind of place to hang out!

What a fun day... a fun, fun, fun, day!