Around Here: Springtime Edition

What possibly could have kept me away from the blog for almost a month?

I promise I've kept busy, stayed creative, and had fun! 

For the first time ever, and with my mom's help, I've planted a little garden just outside our family room sliding doors.  It's hard to get a sense of it from the photo, but when I sit out under the patio table umbrella with my coffee in the morning, it feels a bit like a resort.  (I'm easily pleased!)

As for so many of you, the school year is drawing to a close for us.  My younger daughter "graduated" from preschool (complete with paper graduation cap!), and my older daughter has just one more week of kindergarten.  They are excited by all the possibilities of being in the same school together next year!

Feeling ambivalent about the end of the school year

Sunday school has drawn to a close, as well.  In addition to planning my final lesson, which has the fourth graders making flowing windsocks to remind them on Pentecost of the power of the Holy Spirit, I prepared sweet little gifties for my girls' teachers.  I used a Pinterest inspiration to create the packaging for some sweet springtime Skittles.

In an exciting development, I've created two series of Summer Craft Camp workshops, one for 1 to 3 year olds, and one for 4 to 7 year olds.  I advertised to my local MOMS group, as well as my women's circle at church, and have a little group coming together for each of the workshops.  All of our activities are being kid-tested and approved by my own two in-house crafting experts, and they are really helping me work out the kinks before we "go live."  I will share news of the workshops as they happen; the first two are at the end of this week!

A serious artist at work

Squoosh Art?  Rorschach Test Art?  Symmetrical Prints?  Call it whatever you like; it's fun!

I wrote my first guest blog post for a local "mommy blog" called Delaware County Moms.  I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of a re-sale shop called Clothes Mentor, and write a review of our local store.  Now I'm pretty devoted to the idea of checking there first before I shop full-price at the mall!  Discovering that store came at a great time for me, as I'm really working on adopting a frugal lifestyle this year. 

Would you like a pair of shoes with that??

I am going to be working in the Vacation Bible School craft room at my church again this year, so our Craft Room Team held our first planning meeting.  We have some exciting ideas for the kids as they learn about Moses and the Israelites coming out of Egypt into the Promised Land.  Remember those matchbox mezuzahs from last year, and the foam sandal necklaces? To rival those, we'll be using cereal boxes and duct tape to make their own sandals; how cool is that?!

My first cereal box and duct tape prototype for VBS!

And finally, I've been positively delighted to watch the developments in a little birds' nest just beside my front door.  I saw the nest empty, then filled with four perfect blue robin's eggs, and then positively overcrowded with all the brothers and sisters vying for the worms their mommy has been faithfully bringing home for them. 

First came the beautiful blue eggs...



Then the silently squalling baby birds came on the scene!

Sadly, the nest sits about six inches from my mailbox, so the mommy robin has been quite disturbed by postal workers, as well as door and window openings throughout the day.  I almost think the babies have gotten used to my face peering down into their nest, and the flash of my camera catching their daily growth and development.  Very, very soon they will be flying away on their own, and I have to admit that I hope at least one of them will hang around and make their home in our yard for the long term!

We are doing some traveling in a couple of weeks, so my blogging consistency probably will not return until mid-July, but I promise I am not deserting the blogging world for good!

Enjoy these final weeks of springtime!