Once we get to the standardized testing, my brain all but checks out. While it isn’t required in SC, I like to keep it up.
Month: April 2023
We like sheep–preview
Katriel will be in the Fountain Inn First Baptist Church’s production of, “We Like Sheep,” in a few weeks. And today they sang a song from their show for the congregation. I am so grateful for these opportunities, and I love helping out Mrs. Jessi, and Mrs. Carrie as an assistant.
Finally we got to Daddy’s birthday!
It was a rough few weeks – but we finally got around to celebrating John’s birthday.
Out of practice for a party, and other wacky stuff.
I suggested to Tabitha she have a birthday party this year. She hasn’t had a party since she was 10. And between Covid and moving she has done pretty close to nothing the last three years. She hesitated. That would mean revealing the time of year she has a birthday… but in the end her friend Melody and I were able to convince her it would be fun.
So we did what all normal people do – we vacuumed the back patio.
Now – to be clear – we’ve had very few gatherings since moving in here.
And to say we needed to scale back is putting it mildly.
There would be none of this:
’
or this:
or this:
or this:
LORD have mercy, I miss my yard, driveway, and private property!
What did have was this:
Which made this:
It only took Melody, Johanna, and I three hours to assemble.
Melody had lights.
And we borrowed ladder ball and corn hole. And Melody had a fog machine, and they made a dance floor.
And some kids had fun loud fun, and some seemed quieter.
And my girl said she had fun.
And I still don’t have a great photo of her and Melody!
Prom 2023…
A/K/A Thank-God-that-is-behind-us!
I simultaneously want to tell the whole story for history’s sake and also want to just put it all behind us all….. Immuna go with just the facts…
Tabitha went to the prom solo. A lovely young man did invite her to the prom back in March. She thought it would be best to decline his thoughtful invitation as it may have been the breeding ground for rumors, something she has had front row seat in learning how to navigate this winter.
We went looking for a dress in the mall when Nan was here, and couldn’t seem to find just the right one. Though we had gone in looking for purple, she left the store with red on her mind. Lo and behold, a quick peek at JCPenney.com found exactly the right dress for my elegant daughter.
That morning, on the way home from CBS, the little girls and I stopped by Claire’s boutique to procure a crown. Seriously. This girl had earned the freaking crown this year.
I flexed my parallel parking skills with my 12-passenger van in downtown Greenville and we headed to Falls Park to find some of her friends who were going to be meeting there.
We caught up with some of the ladies and gentlemen and they waited their turn for photos by the fireplace.
Tab headed to dinner with her friends, and I followed a bit later just to be on call as a driver.
They had some food at Gather Greenville and had some fun upstairs,
and I grabbed a Coke and chatted with some other parents on the lower level.
I left before they did, confident Tab was in good hands (and henceforth I do not have any photographic evidence of 8 of them riding in a Ford Escape from the food to the venue.)
At that point, I sat in the parking lot of the venue for the next three hours. Not going to lie, we weren’t 100% sure who might want to be done with the prom when. It hasn’t been a drama-free semester, and there was no telling which way things would go. And I am now a card carrying Mama Bear. God saw fit to have another mom stop by my van and we talked for well over an hour. It was such a blessing of a conversation!
When it was time that parents were welcome into the building, I could see Tab and her friend doing the photo booth. Tabitha was not Nathan’s date; he just happened to be wearing a red tie. They spent the first half of the evening correcting people and the second half not giving a hoot what people thought.
After the prom was over the kids spent an unbelievable amount of time figuring out where they were going to head. A fair number of them headed out in the party truck, but I had given Tabitha red light on that the day before.
Lemmetellyousomething. These kids – who walk around with communications devices our parents only dreamed about have zero ability to hammer down plans!!!
I drove Tabitha and Jay to Cook Out, and while the kids socialized, I visited with another mom who was chauffeuring her daughter.
Cook Out closed, and Tabitha was getting texted by Melody that she was now home. I drove Jay to meet up with her mom who was with another group at a Waffle House. When we got to Waffle House, the plan was that Tab and I would then head home. But as Tabitha walked Jay in, one of the moms I had been talking to at the prom waved me in… and I did something crazy and got out of the van and had myself a seat.
And now I can say I hung out in a Waffle House after midnight.
Melody ended up meeting us there, and she and Tabitha drove home together.
All in all, I think I may have had at least as much fun as they did. The two jewels realized they’d never gotten a photo together and coupled with the fact that they didn’t have much fun, they are planning a re-do in the weeks to come.
I think I will insist they both wear crowns the next time.
Wedding Bells for Friends
How delighted we were to be invited to the Wednesday morning wedding of our friends Frederique and Craig.
It was a beautiful ceremony!
the way things ought to be…
The boys’ bestest buddy from NY graced us with a week long visit. I can barely dig up the words to articulate the joy it provides me to see these clowns together.
Yes, they are playing Bible Outburst! Not sure who won, though I got yelled at more than once for “helping.”
Tab’s new move
Tab has been enjoying swing dancing over the last month. It meets Tuesday nights from 8PM-11PM, but I’m willing to hang in the parking lot til ten.
Some friends from co-op attend, and she has met a lot of new people through her friends.
She loves to dance, and was especially tickled when her friend thought he and she could master this one move…
he wasn’t wrong!
https://youtube.com/shorts/WBsf791wf5w?feature=share
Sweet 17…
She arrived on Easter evening all those years ago. And her birthday fell on a Sunday again this year, too. We’d had a very busy weekend and she declined a birthday meal.
Gifts were sparse, but joy inducing.
Though she didn’t request any special meal, we all decided she should have pizza for an early dinner. Her sweet friend Melody arrived in time for some molten lava cake.
After that, Tab and Mel headed off for a double dose of youth groups.
That’s a thing around here, to be honest. A lot of kids seem to visit more than one fellowship. Since they often have friends at other congregations, it seems to work.
She likes her birthday to be low-key… but this was a little lower-key than I anticipated.
I love all my kids from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, but let me tell you, SEVENTEEN HAD BETTER BE A BETTER YEAR THAN SIXTEEN WAS!!!! She just needs to catch a break somewhere.
Dayspring Disciples 