Life Update
Hello and welcome back NEO Homeschoolers! It's been a while, and I decided to use today's post to catch up. So, how's life in your corner of northeast Ohio? I hope you and yours are doing well, enjoying these hot summer days. Life has been hectic over here. Last week was VBS (a.k.a., Vacation Bible School) at our church, leaving me tired and ready for some R&R over the weekend (recap of VBS coming soon!). One of my close mom friends had her second daughter this past weekend... I'm super excited for her, and can't wait to meet the little cutie. Maureen's been thoroughly enjoying play-dates with her friends, and even gives me a list of the friends she wants to see each week now, lol. And of course, this coming weekend brings the 4th of July which means fireworks and extra time with family and friends.
So, let's start at the top... VBS! As I said, I have a full recap coming soon, but to say the least, it was crazy, hectic, exciting, and SO much fun!! This is the second year I've gotten to bring Maureen with me to help in snacks and once she got comfortable, Maureen really enjoyed it this year. She even (sort of) made a new friend in one of the other snack volunteer's sons who's a similar age and tagged along with his dad. I think my favorite part of VBS was watching Maureen begin to learn not only the words, but also the motions to some of the songs. I loved watching her sit in front of the videos of the songs and try to mimic the motions while learning the words. Talk about a fun way to learn about Jesus! 😀
On top of VBS, Maureen and I also managed to squeeze in a few play-dates last week. The first was on Monday - yes, I melted in the heat - when we got together with Maureen's besties, Max and Sloane for some pool play in Sloane's backyard. The three had an absolute blast, and the mommies (Sloane's Grammie as well) got to enjoy cooling off with the water too. Sloane has a water squirter that she and Max took turns using to spray the adults. It was hilarious because where Sloane had no qualms about being obvious in her attempts to spray us, Max was a stinker and enjoyed doing sneak attacks on all three Mommies plus Sloane's Grammie. The pool party lasted until almost 5 PM when the Mommies decided we all better head our separate ways to get dinner and get tired 3-year-olds to bed. Unfortunately, despite being exhausted and in bed by 7:30, Maureen was up until 10 PM on Monday night... Tuesday was a bit rough as a result. Anyway, our second play-date was on Wednesday when Maureen and I returned to Sloane's house for more pool play. Maureen was thrilled to get to see Sloane again, but the question of where Max was did come up. Max's mom has a bit of a chaotic work schedule, so their availability varies from week to week.
Finally, Maureen and I got together with her friend, Heidi for a picnic lunch and some beach play on Friday after VBS. This play-date warmed my heart so much because Heidi's big sister, Hannah and cousin, Isla were also present, and both girls made it their responsibility to include and help Maureen as much as possible. I loved seeing Hannah and her cousin play big sisters to Maureen, and getting to catch up a little with Hannah and Heidi's mom, Laura, whom I hadn't seen in a while. I have a few pictures from this play-date that I'll include below.
I also got to experience church family in action this past week. My dear mom friend, Allison (a.k.a., Sloane's mommy) had her second daughter on Saturday, and it warmed my heart so much to see the friendships I've inspired demonstrate love and support as Allison went through delivery. I reached out Saturday morning to let Allison know I was praying for her that day. I didn't expect much more in the way of follow-up, but boy was I surprised! Sunday morning, before church, Hilary (a.k.a., Max's mommy) texted in our three-way text thread to check in on Allison. I loved this show of support!! Allison responded with an update and some very sweet photos of Sloaney's new baby sister, Sawyer. Then, after Sunday School, my friend, Laura (i.e., Hannah & Heidi's mommy) made a point to ask me about Allison and how she was doing. I was so touched and super excited to share the news that Sawyer had made her entrance into the world. It made my day on Sunday to see these moms who really didn't know each other before I introduced them, stepping up to support each other and be "church family" in every sense of the phrase. I am so grateful for our church and the little family we've created for ourselves within that community. I can honestly say I never fully understood what church family was until my hubby and I joined and became connected at our church.
Now, let's talk 4th of July. Do you have plans yet? Our plans are being made kind of on the fly this year. Last year, my hubby and I started a bit of a tradition when we invited a few friends from church over to our place to enjoy cookout food, fellowship, and of course, fireworks. We made some treasured memories last year, and are continuing the tradition this year, inviting church friends over again to enjoy the fireworks from our backyard. I'm excited, especially because this year, Maureen was highly vocal about wanting her friends to come over for fireworks. It makes my mama heart so happy to see my daughter experiencing quality friendships at such a young age. That's what a good church fam can do for you!
Anyway, we're having two of Maureen's friends and their families over plus my sister in heart, Quinn and her family and the youth director's family over this year. In total, we'll have around 20 people for fireworks. I'm looking forward to watching the antics that develop and seeing friendships grow, form, and strengthen as part of our church family connect over good food, fun with their kids, and of course, fireworks. Maureen's thrilled because she'll have friends to play with, and even helped me pick out supplies for our little party. She specifically chose giggle sticks for the kids... I'm going to be "popular" with the adults on Thursday. 😅 Thankfully, the forecast looks fantastic for Thursday, so we'll be able to send all the giggle stick silliness outside. Overall, I think I am most looking forward to having church fam over and seeing what memories we make this year.
Speaking of memories, my favorite memory from last year involves my sister in heart, Quinn. She had Maureen on her lap for fireworks last year - I wish I'd gotten a picture of the two of them! - and Maureen had been consistently asking Quinn, "What's that?" while pointing to the fireworks in the sky. Initially, Quinn tried to keep up, answering Maureen with what color each of the fireworks were. Eventually, Quinn couldn't keep up, and became a bit silly... fireworks became "chicken nuggets" and there were fuzzy chicken nuggets, hairy chicken nuggets, sparkly chicken nuggets... you get the idea. It was hilarious, and Quinn and I quote her "chicken nuggets" joke to Maureen regularly, asking if Maureen wants to "watch chicken nuggets" with Ms. Quinn again this year. My hubby rolls his eyes, and has tried valiantly to teach Maureen the difference between fireworks and chicken nuggets. His efforts seem to have paid off because recently, Maureen looked at me when I asked her about watching chicken nuggets with Ms. Quinn this year and said, "No Mommy, those are fireworks, not chicken nuggets." I think Ms. Quinn will be disappointed when she finds out her silly joke from last year has lost some of its silliness. Haha.
If you're looking to find some fireworks near you, check out this link: fireworks.
Okay, I think this post is long enough, lol. If you're still here, thank you for reading all the way through, and I hope you enjoyed this update on life in my corner of NE Ohio. I'm sorry for the off-schedule posts recently. As I said, life has been hectic, and I haven't been feeling 100% recently - more on that in a future post - so getting posts written and scheduled has proven challenging. I appreciate everyone who has stuck around and continues to support this blog by opening and reading my posts when they do go up. I'm going to try my hardest to get back into a regular posting schedule over the coming few weeks. In the meantime though, happy 4th to you and yours, and I'll see you again in a couple of days!