May showers

I love spring, and I love May. There's always a lot to celebrate. I love the sunshine and the flowers blooming. This May seemed to be a bit backwards, though, bringing with it a lot of rain showers. So I've had to be intentional about soaking up every bit of sunshine I can.

May has been filled with endless testing on our end of year calendar, but I love that without a single mention on the calendar, several of us woke up on May the 5th and wore our special Mexican attire for Cinco de mayo. It's kind-of an unwritten tradition that we just do at our school every year, and I love that we all just showed up dressed very similar without any prompting or reminders. Of course, when we ran into each other in the hallway, we had to pose for a pic!

The first week of May is usually a fun week of surprises for Teacher Appreciation Week, but COVID has really put a damper on that the last two years, and our students' families have taken quite a hit in so many areas of life that they just can't afford to do many extras these days. A student brought me rose scented hand soap, while another brought me flowers, and another brought me a picture holder. Our administrators grilled burgers for us, and our cafeteria staff provided donuts and breakfast biscuits. And I made sure to get my free chicken sandwich from Chick Fil-A!

I finally got that heart monitor off and sent back after having it attached to me for 30 days straight. The initial summary didn't seem to show any huge concerns, but I don't meet with the cardiologist until the end of the month to go over all of my testing that I've had done over the last month. Thankfully they finally got me on the right dose of meds to keep me functioning and sane. I'm also glad to not have that one extra thing to keep up with, between keeping both the censor and the monitor charged, and making sure I had the monitor within 30 feet of me at all times. Now comes the fun part of paying for it all. 

Juan had other plans on Mother's Day, so he took me out for a Mother's Day brunch the day before. We had a nice time together just talking about life. I always appreciate the way he appreciates time with me.

After the brunch, I headed to DBU to pack up the majority of David's things to bring back home, leaving only the essentials that he would bring home later in the week after his last final.  Kind-of bittersweet to move a second son out of Lange Hall after completing their freshman year at DBU. 

After getting David, we came home and then went to church together. That night we had a special treat for Mothers with Beth Moore speaking about our most important maternal role as praying for our children (and any spiritual children we are involved with) to bear fruit. Her message was a good reminder of what matters more than anything and set a theme for this month of being a prayer warrior for my children and all those who are in my circle of influence. While sitting behind my son and his girlfriend and watching them worship Christ together, I received that picture as a Mother's Day gift, an answer to years of praying for my son to grow into a godly man. 

Both Mike and David had to work on Mother's Day the next day, so we went out on a double date after church with David and his sweet girlfriend to celebrate Mother's Day, and also their 6 month anniversary as a couple. She is a delight to have in our lives.

David went back to DBU that night in order to work the next morning, and Mike got up early to go to work on Sunday, as well. But he left this on the kitchen table for me. :)

With everyone gone for the day, I headed on over to eat lunch and spend the afternoon with my own mother. We exchanged Mother's Day and birthday gifts, and my dad cooked steak on the grill. We had a really nice lunch together, and we made candles together of our favorite scents (hers, lavender; mine, blueberry).

David took this silly pic the night before, and I loved finding it on his instagram page in the late afternoon on Mother's Day. Love him.

Two days later, I celebrated my 44th birthday. I woke up to an encouraging card from my grandmother and a gift card to go out to eat from a dear friend. I started my morning outside on my back porch with my fireplace heater and my kitty, and my coffee (which sadly is still decaf until all my heart rate issues are figured out). 

When I came inside, I opened my gifts from Mike since he had to work till close in the evening and wouldn't be around when I got home from work.  I absolutely love the purple shirt and felt that it went very well with Beth Moore's Mother's Day message. 

My mom got me this perfect little caddy for my colored pencils, which I happen to use quite often when I just need to chill and take a break from my never ending school work this year. I also found out that introverts like me really enjoy coloring because it is a way for our brains to relax and refocus. 

I got to school and found this on my computer from one of my closest friends that works with me. 

Since Mike was going to be working, and Juan wasn't coming home until later, (and it was pouring down rain), I used the gift card to buy myself a nice birthday dinner at Chick Fil-A. I will admit, though, that I was sorely disappointed to eat my birthday dinner alone, but I didn't feel like calling anyone or trying to meet up with anyone because it was pouring down rain as I tearfully sat in the drive through. I was pretty bummed. (I was also bummed because my students had to test all day long, so we didn't get to do anything fun to celebrate.)

So while I sat at home eating my birthday dinner alone (and texting my mom), I got a text saying a delivery was coming from Tiff's Treats within the hour. I really had no idea who sent it or what it might be. So I waited. And while I waited a package arrived at the door. But it was for David, not me. I texted David to say a package arrived for him, and he told me to open it. I was so excited to open up new things I'd been wanting for my bike. :) My day was starting to get a little brighter, and the sun actually started to shine, too!

While I got my bike set up, my delivery from Tiff's treats came, a dozen fresh, warm cookies from one of my closest friends. But the card attached truly warmed my heart.

How did she know the theme of a prayer warrior that God was sending me in various ways this week?

Shortly after my cookies came, Juan came home, and we went out for a special treat together. 

Instead of strawberry pie, I had strawberry crepes. Just as delicious, and a meaningful time again with my son. And then when we got home, I got another sweet treat, a phonecall with Julian. We haven't talked on the phone since my last birthday, but I love how he always remembers me and how deep our connection is to each other. Love him and miss him like crazy. I sure hope someday I can get back to Buenos Aires to see him. 

The next day, I wore my new shirt that my mom got me for my birthday. :) It's not my cat, but it looks just like her!

So, May's been filled with a lot of rainy days (with an entire week of rain ahead of us), but I hold on to these moments of sunshine, joyful in hope for more sunshine to come. 

Looking forward to summer days to clear my mind and color new pages in my most recent garage sale find.