Strawberry Picking, May 22nd

 Mom carried Gloria

 Elli picked for a while, then the prickers got to her and she stepped out for a bit.

 Contemplating whether or not it is worth getting pricked by the thistles to get some more delicious strawberries!

 Yes, I am 35 weeks pregnant picking with the best of them.

 Speaking of the best, this is proper pickin' form, displayed by Heather:)

Me and my girl!

Happy 1st birthday, Lucia

 What a sweet little lamb.  She was not so happy just sitting here thugh.

There's the adorable smile we see so often.  Love you, Lucy!

Mother/Daughter Banquet At First Baptist Kettering, May 18th

 Heather and Gloria

 Grandma, Mom, Heather, Gloria

 My girl.

 Grandma, Mom, Elli.

Gloria loves Elli and will reach out to hug her when Elli comes near.  So sweet!  Elli loves it too:)  It was a fun night celebrating being a mom with my mom and sisters, grandma, and daughter.

Kindergarten Graduation, May 18th

 Elli and Molly said the pledge at the opening of graduation.

 Whole class picture with Mrs. Cooney and student teacher, Ashley Morris (former student of mine).

 Family picture with the graduate.

 Miss Morris.

 Mrs. Cooney

 Elli received two awards.  One for turning in all her homework all year, and the other for learning all 50 sight words for the year.  Way to go baby girl!

 Getting her diploma.

 Switching her tassel to indicate she is now a 1st grader.  This actually caused great confusion because the kids had three more weeks of kindergarten!

Lunch at Stony Creek with another frozen hot chocolate.  She is a spoiled little graduate!  So very proud of my big girl though.

Elli's book

 One night while reading Laura Numeroff's book, "If you give a moose a muffin", Elli told me she could write a book like that.  So the next day she dictated to me a story called, "If you give a cat a flower."  It is great!  She did the story all by herself, only needing a couple of prompts.  I am so proud of her work.  We fixed it into a hard back book and she has been reading it to friends and family.  Here she is reading it to Emiliee.

Proud of her.

Baby Shower Extravaganza, May 10th and 12th

 Sherry and Paula held a shower for me at Paula's on May 10th.  It was such a fun celebration of this life God has blessed us with.

 Thank you girls.

 Some of the ladies.

 Lots of presents.

 My two very helpful helpers.

 Laugh, cry?  Not sure because I spent the night doing both, sometimes laughing until I cried.  And no, it is not just because of pregnancy hormones.  This is simply the way I am:)

 Heading out for another shower, thrown by my mom and sisters on May 12th, at Heather's.

 Some of the ladies.

 Lots more presents!

 My little helper.  She is never far from the action:)

The girls.  It was another great day.  Lots of fun and great food.  Thank you to all who helped make these days special.

Ballet Fun!

 Love these girls.

 Always a pose when they are around:)

 Searching for the long awaited, much anticipated, highly sought after, 3rd year trophy.

 Found!!!!

 Happy girls.

Elli, Olivia, Sarah, Madilynn, Caroline, Lily.  What a fun group of little girls.  The mommies have had a great year too:)

Garden, Play, Dragons

 We decided to plant a garden again this year since last year was so much fun.  Yes, it is hard work, but oh so worth it to have all that fresh produce.

 Matt, Leah, and the twins came over to play.  We love having them around.

 We attempted a dragons game with the church.  We got there, got dinner, and then left due to a rain cancellation.

Brent keeping Elli dry under the umbrella on the way back to the car!  I love her sweet face here.

Happy 5th Birthday, Madilynn!

 Adorable Hello Kitty cake.

We are so thankful to have so many wonderful friends in our lives.  We love you, Madilynn Joy and cannot believe what a sweet big girl you are!

Elli's Spring Choir Concert

 Looking oh so pretty, ready to sing.

This is the kindergarten class singing during Cedarcliff's Elementary Choir Concert.  It was cute:)

Happy Birthday, Fergusons:)

Brent and Lance, April 14th, Elli April 25th, Kyle April 30th, and Jenna May 1st.  Calls for one huge celebration:)

Last Visit with AnnaBelle

 AnnaBelle has been in our family, as Heather's dog, for 15 years.  She was the best dog I have ever met and is greatly missed.  She was really sick and we knew she wasn't going to be around much longer, so we went over for a little visit.  Elli sure loved this dog and I am sure it is one reason Elli loves animals so much.

"Family" picture.