First Quarter Report

Today is Easter! I love Easter, it always helps to right my steering, and correct my focus.  It is also March 31st, and that brings to mind that the year is one-fourth over already. Wow, that was fast.  As I look for ward to the next part of the year that brings lots of busy things like end-of-the-school-year activities, recitals, field days and more, I wanted to pause to take a breath and look back on the everyday of life, so far in 2013. 

January held lots of Just Dance (Rachel got a new one for Christmas),

Abbie lost her first tooth,

and lots of regular old schoolwork days (not sure why that requires a slingshot on this particular day, though...)

February picked up the pace with a lot more happenings, like a field trip to the Henry County Fire Department

 (This trip was with our homeschool group, and I had to include this adorable moment with our little buddy John and the fireman, and a group shot):

...and Irene & Abbie's American Heritage Girls troop had a "Daddy -Daughter Night".  Mike had to work, but the girls were thrilled that their Papa Hollinhead could come in his place, and they had a great time!

They also made puppets with the American Heritage girls as we worked on our Puppetry badge in the Tenderhearts class.

We went with some goods friends to the Secret Keeper Girls' Pajama Party, which was all about helping girls learn that they are special, valuable and precious to others and to God because of who they are on the inside, instead of the outside.  We also hit Cheddar's on the way there for some good food! 

And to wrap up the events of February, I can't leave out that most monumental and momentous of projects on a gargantuan scale, the Great Laundry Room Redo !!!  Here are the "before" pictures of my (nearly) emptied laundry room, as well as the table in the kitchen that it spilled its guts onto:

                                                             

And here is the finished room, although I wanted to get a picture of the whole thing.  I was trying to get a picture of the pegboard pot-rack to send to someone, and that was the only picture I remembered to take before I started messing it all up with laundry and such.  I do hope to get it clean again, and take a picture of the whole thing.  Don't stay up at night waiting on that one, though;  the getting it clean part may cause a bit of a roadblock.

                                  

One more picture from February, just for good measure...spaghetti noodle sword fighting is so popular right now, I hear:

If you are, by any chance, still with me, we shall venture on into March.   March has been the month of projects for Matthew at Konos that make a mother want to pull her hair out. He did research projects on Switzerland and made a portfolio that included menus, trip itineraries, maps, travel brochures, etc.  and wrote an adventure story using all of the information he learned about Switzerland as the setting to the story.  It was a challenging project but we both learned so much! 

Rachel turned 21 this month!  Wow, I cannot believe my precious baby girl is old enough to order a margarita.  She is not in the least bit interested, though, which I count as a blessing!  She asked me to gather some photos of her, covering her lifetime.  I think she was thinking one or two from each year.  I began that project on facebok, and in my usual fashion, could not narrow down the photos well, so I think I quit adding them at about 150 pictures.  I had worked up until she was about age 12.  I am thinking nobody wants to continue watching me add dozens upon dozens of photos of Rachel to facebook, but I think they are coming, if I can ever get back around to it! (Oh , and she split the cost of a WiiU with me for her birthday. Seems totally unnecessary to me, but what do I know. I indulged her because it's pretty much her last year of birthday presents. Shhhh...don't tell her, I have not broken that news yet.) 

Here we are singing to her...

...and she is hugging Abbie for the gift she gave her.

I am really bogging down here, so I am going to give you the super-speedy version on the rest of the month:

                                                                           Baking,

playing with Farmer Boy dolls made at Little House camp,

making crystals (made at Classical Conversations, then did it again at home!)

breakdancing with buddies

Michael came to see us and is too long for the loveseat

Went to New York to pick up my mom's car (sidenote: saw Statue of Liberty and Freedom Tower from the plane! Exciting!!) 

Here are the Twins:

We got a trampoline as a very late Christmas gift,

Mike got really pooped out after having to put it together three times,

The kids enjoyed their Easter loot this morning,

Abbie made a "tomb" in the dirt last week and buried a rock in there (Jesus)

...and today she rolled away the stone and Jesus was out, walking around (well, standing beside the tomb, as rocks do) and ALIVE (as much as rocks can be) !!!!!!!

Looking pretty for Easter at South Point Fellowship

a wonderful, Easter brunch with good, good friends

Easter " Tea",

and, finally,  gardening.

PHEW.  I am tired.  If you stayed to the end, you are a true blue friend.  Thanks for sticking with me.  Here's to launching the second quarter, may I document it more frequently than the first, so that I don't have to do this to you again!