A Haircut, a house and a huge birthday

May is always a busy month for our family. Besides the annual hoopla surrounding the end of the school year, we celebrate two birthdays, Mother's Day and observe Memorial Day. This year the birthday was a big one for both Nikki and me. She was thrilled because she finally was able to leave the teen years behind and can now say she is 20! I was not so thrilled because, well, let's just say she was born on my 30th birthday, and I wasn't as happy about leaving my 40's behind as she was about embarking upon her twenties.

Our break from end of year activities was short-lived; one year to be exact. Mara had two events this year. On May 13 we enjoyed a potluck with other families from the Union Colony Children's Music Academy classes. Then the children put on a great program performing many of the songs they learned this year as well as showing off their new music reading abilities. Mara loved Music Makers Home this year and can't wait to start up again in the fall with Music Makers World.

The next evening, she "graduated" from Awana Cubbies after two years of working very hard to complete both her books. She received a big ribbon and a cool banner to display all her awards. We're very proud of her hard work and know that this program was instrumental in her journey to asking Jesus into her heart last fall. She will be a Sparky in the fall. She tells me she is ready because she knows the song already. She does.

Ailah's milestone for the month was her first haircut. The sad, choppy hair she came home with had grown into a very shaggy, if adorable, mop of hair which was in her eyes much too often. So in she went for a bang trim and a first effort at evening out the orphanage cut. She sat very still and allowed Anna to do the best possible for now. It will take a few more cuts for all the odd pieces to catch up and allow her to begin growing it out. But since her hair grows as fast as Mara's, it won't take long.

Now drum roll please, for the biggest milestone of 2008, to date. On Friday, May 30, Katelynn closed on her first house. Wahoo!!! (As if turning 50 didn't make me feel old enough, now I have a child who owns a house.) We are so happy for her and can't wait to help her move in so she can start turning it into a home. It is a great place, 2000 sq. ft, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths and a full-finished basement. Thanks to the sad state of the real estate market and the low interest rates, she was able to get much more house than she otherwise could have. The perfect storm causing heartache for those who had taken on more house than they could afford, was a timely opportunity for Katy. She had a month left on her lease, so she can spend some time fixing up a few things before she moves in.

The month went by in a blur and, as usual, left us rather breathless. I'm so glad my favorite season is here and I'm ready to settle into a summer routine. I'm loving having Nikki here for the summer, though she is gone during the days Monday through Friday working an internship at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in Denver. (A little nepotism is always helpful in finding summer jobs.) Mara has been accepted into the Colorado Virtual Academy for the fall, so we can relax a little knowing that the decision has been made about what to do for Kindergarten in the fall. I'm a little worried about how she and I will fare as we embark upon a home school situation, but Jeff and I both believe this is the best choice for her this year. So for now, we'll just enjoy the season, assuming, that this chilly, rainy weather ends soon and allows us to once again enjoy watching the daily sunset from our deck as we enjoy a grilled meal or an iced coffee. Ahhhhh, summer!