It was a month of many highlights, lots of blessings, and huge changes! What a whirlwind! Would you like to go along with me through these past 30-ish days?
Here we go . . . from May 18th to June 18th! (Fasten your seatbelts!)
May 18: Kati married Andrew!!
Here's the first photo of our new family of twenty!
May 19: Bekah's piano recital
Here and there during the past month: Making Kati's bedroom over into a guest room
June 1: Bekah's voice recital
June 7: Bekah's last day of school (and my last day of homeschooling)
Gavin, our oldest grandson, served us our last-day-of-school breakfast at Chick-fil-A.
June 8: Graduation Day for Bekah and her friend Grace!!
On Graduation Day, we took this photo with ALL of our homeschool graduates!
(Now I am retired.)
June 9: "Faux Father's Day"
(because Ron and I would be out of town on true Father's Day)
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| My dad with his grils |
June 10: Packing Day
Kati had begun a "Hope Chest" when she was a teenager. Over the years, her collection had grown to include "Hope Rubbermaid Boxes" in the attic and had also spilled over into the nooks and crannies of our house. Ryan named the moving truck "The Hope Truck."
June 11: Moving Day for Kati
Ron drove the U-Haul, and Kati and Andrew drove her car down south to her new home.
Ron drove the U-Haul, and Kati and Andrew drove her car down south to her new home.
June 12: My travel day
I joined the group for a few days of settling in, planning, seeing the sights around Kati's new home . . .
and lots of good eating!
Kati and Andrew in front of their home.
(Andrew said that his neighbors will say,
"That guy must have gotten married because he has a pretty wreath on his door now." 🤣)
(Andrew said that his neighbors will say,
"That guy must have gotten married because he has a pretty wreath on his door now." 🤣)
June 17: Back home
This is the remains of Bekah's bouquet from Kati's wedding.
This is the remains of Bekah's bouquet from Kati's wedding.
I admit to feeling a bit like these wilted hydrangeas these days. It's been a month full of life-changing events.
When I posted the photo of the wilted bouquet on my Facebook page, my friend said these encouraging words to me:
"Dried hydrangeas are one of my favorites! One of the few flowers that take on a beauty of their own in times of 'wilt' . . . a wonderful reminder that going through this life we are transformed from our former glory into a new one!
It has been a month filled with beautiful moments, accomplishment, deep emotion, and change.
Such a wonderful post of your past month's happenings.
ReplyDeleteHave a fantastic summer ~ FlowerLady
Thank you, Lorraine! It's been quite a busy month.
DeleteHappy summer to you, too! (I plan to be back to my rounds in Blogland now that things have settled down some.)
Beautiful wedding!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I still plan to share some more photos, but these past few weeks was not the time. Whew!
DeleteOh, I have loved your tour of these past few weeks. A whirlwind of life-changing events. Beautiful bride and lovely family. Loved the blue theme.
ReplyDeleteWhat other milestones besides! I love your FB friend's thoughts about the wilted hydrangea bouquet. I too think hydrangeas (and tulips) look as wonderful in this stage as in their full bloom state.
Wishing you a beautiful day, Cheryl. And some 'comfort' down times to catch your breath and so your soul can find her sense of the new normal.
Brenda xox
Brenda, your kind words go straight to my heart! Indeed, there is that need to find the new normal. And I believe that you are right . . . it will take some "'comfort' down times" (love that phrase!) to sort it all out.
DeleteI enjoyed the update! It will be interesting to see how it all settles in your mind the next few months. Both of my children's weddings and the end of homeschooling brought both great joy and an odd since of melancholy.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm glad you enjoyed it, Brenda! I have been wanting to pop in and catch up, but . . . no time! Over the next couple of weeks, I want to fill in a few details about some of our big events.
DeleteYour comment startled me with its accurate description of my own feelings! Maybe "misery loves company" is at work here, but it does make me feel better to know that someone relates to that dichotomy of emotions!
Have been anxiously awaiting wedding photos..thanks for sharing today. Beautiful event..hard to follow all the excitement but I'm sure you will have many new adventures... Blessings, Sharon D.
ReplyDeleteSharon, I have been eager to share more wedding photos, but I was overwhelmed with things-to-do! Our dear friend Frances (who has blessed us with other family photos through the years) took so many wonderful shots! It will be hard to choose the ones I like the most, but I will give it a noble effort!
DeleteYou are right. It is hard to come back to "regular life" after such excitement. I actually love a slower pace and time to putter around my house. But less to do means more time to think and come to terms with the changes . . .
Many happy congratulations!!! You did it!!! ALL those years faithfully homeschooling!!! And, oh my, Kati was a beautiful bride <3!!! It is odd the changes we work thru in our hearts when these life events happen (even when they are good!! Lord bless you as you seek Him in this new chapter!! BTW ,I do not know how far south Kati and hubby are , but we are just south of Atlanta if they are close!!! Would love to help anyway I can!!~tammy
ReplyDeleteYes! That's the thing, Tammy . . . "even when they are good"! Big changes mean big adjustment.
DeleteThank you for rejoicing with us and for your kind words and offer to help! (They are not really close to Atlanta, but you are so sweet to offer!)
What a lovely house to start her new journey of life! Settle into summer and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely home! We are hoping for a mix of summer fun and a little down time!
DeleteChange is always challenging, and you've had so much change! Big events. I hope you'll get to slow down, and really rest this summer. Give yourself grace, you're emotions are not wrong, they are a sign of how much you've loved your life! You've retired from a great portion of your life's work. I sense it coming for me, too, with only four years left of homeschooling, and my girls making big changes in their lives next year.
ReplyDeleteLove you friend. We need to find a good place half way between us to meet up for lunch and conversation!
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."
DeleteThat is what your kind and insightful words are to me this morning! You "get" my mother-heart. Oh, how I have loved the life of a homeschool mom! It will take a while to see myself in a different role. Thanks for your encouragement to rest and give myself grace! ♥
"Ch-ch-ch-changes...." yes, that's what life is made of isn't it? I have always loved dried hydrangeas and that quote from your friend is so true...they take on a different kind of beauty all their own, just the way our lives do as we go through these changes. What a great photos of your "20"...Katie made such a lovely bride and Bekkah seems to get even lovelier with every photo. And that new home...what a darling place to start married life! Now go rest.....
ReplyDeleteYou're so right! Change . . . change . . . change. That is life in a nutshell. (I also have to agree with you that my girls are beautiful!)
DeleteThank you for your kind and encouraging words, friend!
Wow Cheryl so many good things and changes as well. Your photos were lovely to see. I am sure you are going to need the month of July to catch your breath. Take care and have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Debbie! "Catching my breath" is exactly what I am hoping to do this summer! A blessed weekend to you too!
DeleteOh dear girl I can understand feeling spent with all these major changes going on in your life and home, and in just one month. What a sweet home Kati has with her hubby. Congrats to Bekah for all her accomplishments, too. Your family photo is just beautiful. You are blessed with your quiver full for sure. Now I'm praying that God will revive you physically and spiritually and that you will be refreshed in this new season of life.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen, for all of your sweet thoughts, and especially for your prayers! Indeed, we are so blessed!
DeleteAnd just as it should be... I am so happy for Kati and I think that she will so enjoy married life. She will have such fun creating home for Andrew and herself. I think that the neighbors will be very impressed by his wonderful choice!
ReplyDeletePraying that The Lord will show you ways to fill the empty places and to create a new time for yourself moving forward. I know that He is right there with you. It will be most interesting to see what He comes up with.
Thank you for visiting my place today and for leaving a comment in light of that horrible spam. Ugh. Anyway, The Lord is faithful, always, I am past two infusions and recovering for the next session in July. Hopefully, I will be better prepared for the challenges I know that I will face this time. I think I'll be having a little chat with those people. Someone did not quite give me the whole story. ;>
Oh yes, I think that Kati will certainly enjoy married life! Selfishly, I wish she could enjoy it a little closer to home, but she is where she needs to be.
DeleteI thank you for your prayers for His guidance! And I most certainly continue to pray for you, dear friend! Two down . . . and hopefully, experience will help you to face the next. (My aunt recently completed her last session of chemo. It took a while before the oncologists were able to find the right "recipe" for her.) May the Lord continue to go before you!
I love the picture of you with your graduates! I always wondered how life would be without homeschooling for me, and my friends who did it for even more years than I. But we have all found our niche, though not without some mourning of course. It's gratifying to see our students going forward and doing good things in life. I also remember how hard it was to get married and a week later move 800 miles from home. But there is joy in knowing this was God's plan for us. I hope you are able to rest a bit and enjoy the change of pace and just let your soul settle as you adjust to all the changes.
ReplyDeleteI am finding some time to slow down and rest a bit. Today, Bekah and I went to the beach with my oldest daughter and my daughter-in-law and all of the grands . . . and then I came home and took a nap! I look forward to some breathing room and some thinking space this summer. I am praying for His guidance as I, too, find my niche. I know that there is work for me to do!
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