4-H County Achievement Night

This evening Michael and I attended the county 4-H achievement night where Michael had to give his demonstration on how to make a portable flower press.  He was really nervous today and really struggled to slow down the speech portion.  Since he was the only 4th grader in his project category, he automatically won first place and will move on the sub-regional competition in a few weeks.  He also received a great deal of constructive criticism from the judge and extension officer. 

As a part of tonight's contests, Michael also entered two photographs--a bluebird and a cherry blossom.  His bluebird photo won 2nd place, but we were shocked when his cherry blossom won 1st place in the most entered category of the photography contest!  

As you can see by the big smile on his face, Michael had a great time tonight!

Palm Sunday

This morning Daniel's flute choir, Silver Winds performed during the Palm Sunday service at the church of one of the members.  It was a great day to worship together with other believers! 

(Please note: Most of these pictures were taken during the rehearsal before service started.)  

Michael joined the other children for Sunday School and the procession of the palms.  He was an enthusiastic palm waver!  Just like his sister always was on Palm Sunday.  The "candy lady" of the church gave him a chocolate Easter bunny and combined with the treats from Sunday School he's had way too much sugar today!  Sugar crash and tummy ache. 

Since we were all dressed up, I made everyone suffer through a few pre-Easter pictures.  The sun came out just in time to make us all squint! 

Thursday and Friday

Stretch and flex class aka Yoga
Tennessee Promise scholarship meeting
Finished reading Tera's book
Almost a week of no gluten
Haircuts for the boys
People still sporting mullets
New sandals for everyone under the age of 20
My grandmother still in the hospital not doing well
Trying to figure out yet another week's food menu
Forgetting to get my child pencils and snacks for the ACT tomorrow--(head hanging in shame)
Above mentioned child proceeded to gather his own supplies which is surprisingly awesome
Gearing myself up for a weekend of house cleaning, grocery shopping, food prepping and school planning
Thinking too much about things beyond my control

That about sums up the last couple of days.  

Wednesday

The dogwoods and red buds are simply gorgeous this spring.  It's a beauty I feel like I'm seeing for the first time.  Daniel's flute teacher always has something different in bloom almost every week.  

 Daniel at flute lesson.  His teacher agrees he's having a "growth spurt" when it comes to his progress in flute.  He plays so beautifully! 

More dragon drawings by Michael

Karate

Taco bowls (on a plate) for dinner tonight--day 5 of no gluten for me. 

I ended my day working out at the gym while this smiling beauty finished up her shift.

Surrounded by beautiful moments all day....

Tuesday

Tuesday mornings start with Tai Chi and swimming.  Michael swam 11 laps in 30 minutes today.  I walked around him.  Daniel attends the Tai Chi classes. 

While we were waiting for Daniel to finish Tai Chi and grab a shower, Michael got an art lesson.

He came home and tried out the shading lesson on his own creation.

Schoolwork, housework, bill paying, leftovers for dinner, karate and flute rehearsal was how the remainder of our day was spent. 

Monday

We signed off of Facebook for the week as part of our family Lenten sacrifice.  But I promised my mom that I would update our week on my blog every day to keep her posted.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with that promise throughout the week.  

I'm doing a little experiment.  I did some research on the connection between gluten intolerance and hormonal issues/OCD/anxiety.  I found enough support to spur me to try doing gluten-free eating for a while.  Currently, I'm on day 3.  It's been okay so far.  I'm eating far more fruits, veggies and whole grains than I have been lately.    My focus and thinking is clearer as well.  So, we shall see...

The sun beams through the clouds, beautiful redbud trees intermingled with blooming dogwoods--it was a gorgeous reminder of God's handiwork today!

Today, Michael worked on some examples crafts for his 4-H demonstration.

Even though Tera had to work tonight (after working this morning, too), JP and I squeezed in our weekly date night.  We have such a good time talking over dinner, walking around one of our local thrift stores and then ice cream.  The timing was perfect--we met where Tera works and then made it back by the time she was getting off work.  Perfect!

All in a week...

We picked up Tera's trophy from last week's chess tournament...it's a beauty!

Daniel's band concert--200 Years of Wind Band

 Disassembling lysosomes

Michael is studying Mississippi in U.S. Geography this week. One of the activities was to make a cotton ball catapult. So, I scored this awesome find at the thrift store---a brand new catapult set kit with two catapults. Daniel and Michael were supposed to put it together, but the wood glue wouldn't come out of the bottle (or so they say).

They took matters into their own hands...then one child climbed out on the roof.

Making golgi body cookies

Graph paper art