2016 Week 19: Annual Celebrations

I discovered  this lovely columbine in a hidden place, and almost missed the humble and fragrant lilies of the valley.

Flowers of the week

So many yearly events come together in May--Mother's Day, proms, graduations, bridal showers, end-of-year party, medical and dental checkups, birthdays.

The week began with Mother's Day greetings--phone calls, lovely cards, sweet and moving words-- that help to erase the memories of past failures.

Leah's gift of three more little turtles add to the "Koch turtle family." Can you match them with the grandsons they represent? Below, a five-year-old photo to help you. Wish you could see the fine details on each one.

Malachi and Lexi's prom photo this week may give you another clue.

Tuesday I turned in semester grades and Wednesday evening attended the pinning ceremony for the ASAP students. There I met some of the family members and befriended a six-year-old little brother who invited me to sit with him and because we both have May birthdays, he asked me to come to his party next year!

Friday we had a delightful though brief visit from our friends from way back, reminiscing about our early days together in Vienna, Austria, and even before that in Germany where they were married. Many more long-forgotten memories have surfaced as we read their recently published memoir Stones of Remembrance: Mapping God's Faithfulness through 46 Years--the most recent book in Mike's car for me to read aloud whenever we go somewhere together.

Dave and Brenda examining Stephan's sculptured tree that tells the story of our life.

The week's big deadline to work toward was "Mike's Party"--the robotics team end-of-year celebration. Yard and house required a lot of attention having been neglected for a time.

Kayla came for a little visit and seeing that I could use some help, offered to rake out the flower bed which lay protected by leaves for the winter.
Rebecca played contentedly with her toys and clapped for Mamma every time she revved up the leaf blower.

Then I planted the annuals in window boxes and elsewhere in the flower patch.

Saturday morning Kayla texted that she was on her way to help again! It was a rainy cold day so we tackled the inside of the house. She saved the day! Everything was in order by the time the crowd began to arrive. By late evening there must have been some fifty people coming in and out. The young folk playing with nerf guns, swinging around the tree, playing card games or chess. The adults chatting, catching up on one another's lives. Then there was the FOOD, as always super abundant.

My favorite part of the evening was the sharing at the end--a look back over the opportunities and blessings of the year and the open doors for the future!

Believe me, I took many more photos, just don't want to bore you with them.

I knew we'd have plenty of leftovers so why not invite the family over on Sunday with the excuse to celebrate May birthdays. I've heard that it saves time and effort to have piggy-back parties.
Again, I have way too many photos. Here are just a few.

What's everyone looking at?

The young'uns bring us much joy.

Can you guess what our main entertainment was?