April's Springing Green

Hello :)

Here is the picture trail of April's Springing Green tidbits...a bit late in getting it out, but it has been a busy May!  I know it'll be over in just a few days, but putting the April blog post together late is allowing me to enjoy the April tidbits again: reflecting and enjoying memories, so that's a plus to being late, lol!....

...this aloe finally bloomed: a tall stalk with yellowish-green flowers that had a very small opening on the bottom...

...the 'just growing' garden...

...early morning quiet time in the backyard...

...strawberry cream home-ade popsicles...the purple layer just has some blue spirulina added to it, to make it pretty...the girls LOVED them!!...

...April Fools...LOL!!!

...blue milk(aka blue spirulina in the milk)...

..."home-ade" ice cream bars...cough, um...aka, chocolate-covered white soap bars...got at least one of them hook, line and sinker with these :D...

...4!!!!!  HOW???  Didn't we just bring her home from the hospital?!?!!?  We sure do LOVE this little lady full of sweetness and a dash of spicey...Happy Birthday, KeKe :)...

...Isn't Kirk's classroom view the best for this class?...

...a night sky pic by Kirk...stunning and moody all in one...

...the Whistling Ducks are back!!!  They are less afraid this year and let us get within a few feet of them...

...some fun illustrated books for kids that we sure do enjoy for beautiful illustrations and pull these out in the spring and summer...

...want some light-hearted and fun illustrated books that might just make you chuckle? ;)...

...this book I have used for years for outdoor ideas when my brain is like what is there that we can do outside...some great ideas to spring-board off of...

...this has been a good and worthy read!  Especially in today's digital age and the age of constantly onto the next thing/event, etc.  It has made me more committed to be, more intentional, and purposed to give 'white-space' to my kids that are still at home and not to feel the need to fill every moment for them...

...spring=chicks...the kids at home are enjoying and excited for them...our new little chickies are such a dukes mix along with some broilers...they LOVE crickets and go crazy for them...

...a chick from our Silkie rooster and one of our hens...cutie...

...supposed to be White Opringtons and Cream Legbars, but the Opringtons have ended up being Lavendar Orpingtons, which is kind of a fun twist, as I wasn't entirely wanting White Orpingtons...

...the chicks are getting older and this gal LOVES feeding them mealworms and crickets...the chicks are always SO happy to see her with treats...

...the fig tree is loaded!...

...lol, the ducks also have her figured out and knows she is the treat lady ;)...

...some yummy coffee for the road home from Numinous Coffee in Marble Falls...if you are in Marble Falls, this coffee shop is worth stopping at...

...a pomegranate latte with coconut milk by Barista Kirk...the best at-home latte drink barista!!!...

...a fun and neat freebie thank-you!...

...another Kirk specialty...he makes the BEST Salted Honey Matcha Lattes and Kerry Gold stuffed dates with dark chocolate...if you are visiting or want to swing by, contact our favorite barista guy :)...

...our favorite book nook in our house...dreaming of my dream room of a library in the house someday :)...PS-I'd show you my library closet,  but it's stacked like 3 layers deep, so nope, LOL, not until I have a library someday ;)...but for transparency...it's not neat and tidy!...

...sure, I'll jump on the trampoline too :)...

...trampoline and parachute fun...

...a fun fruit to try; she loved it...

...Dottie is so tame...

...thank-you for the book that arrived from a cousin and now I've lost her to its pages :)...

...fresh hot sourdough einkorn naan bread...

...cottage cheese and egg based pancakes have become one of our family favorites...

...front porch is still one of the best spots to cozy up!...

...a morning dove nest in the barn :)...

...passed a dental check-up with flying colors...

...Baked Artisan Goods does amazing breakfast sandwiches and shaken espresso!!!...

...why yes jumping in a light rain is fun...

...CCA field trip to Volleman's Dairy was such a neat tour...

...drive from the bottling plant to the dairy barns...

...fun, but made for itchy skin and watery eyes...

...treating the girls to eating out on the way home...

...Kirk ran the 10k Outlaw in Fredricksburg and Jason decided to run the 5k that was also in that race...stopped by a shop after supper and let the girls get a mystery bag for fun!  Also, can you tell who did and who did not want their pics taken...lol...

...came in first for his age group in the 5k...there were over 800 runners...course was VERY hilly and it was a warm day, but even despite these two components my guys ran pretty well...

...geocache we went and found the evening before the race...the pink panther is heading with Kirk towards the PNW to be placed in another geocache out there...

...Caspian continues to settle in and is now getting along with all our cats quite well...

...Maundy Thursday/Passover meal and tradition in our household...it's very special and I love it...

...Resurrection and Easter table centerpiece...

...what a fun puzzle...

...loved going to their concert in town and could of sat for another couple of hours listening to them...to learn to play the cello is still on my to-do list someday...

...home-ade dyes for hard-boiled eggs for Easter eggs that we then turned into deviled eggs and egg salad...we also had to see if we could tell which natural dye they came out of :)...

...peanut butter eggs...all natural sweetener and dyes...so yummy...

...Resurrection Cookies...a long-standing tradition in our household...

...each of the kids at home got a meaningful item they had to discover and find Resurrection morning.  We don't do this every year, but this year we did...

...missing Jadon, but Blessed Resurrection Day...

...Resurrection afternoon saw some family pull in for a visit...we had a wonderful, blessed, and fun time with them all...finding Resurrection eggs and the natural dyed eggs...

...guessing what natural dyes had dyed all the eggs found.  Then the kids explained any of the Resurrection eggs they had found...then we dug into the food :)...

...the cutest lemonade stand and toy stand; ran by some of the cutest folks around!...

...Rosie fun...

...trampoline and sprinkler fun...

...the cutest play these kids put on for us on the last evening...

...a fun evening out with these sweet ladies...

...some photos of Jadon's continued training...we sure do miss him bunches, but are also thankful for his dedication and training he is getting...he sometimes surprises us, like when we were talking to him one weekend and he said a challenge was thrown out to run a marathon on the track one Saturday...well, he was one of the ones that completed the marathon challenge in 5 hours and 5 minutes...lol, not a challenge I'll be taking on anytime soon or anytime at all :D...

...sweet Bible time companion...

Hoping this finds everyone enjoying May and the closure to a lot of school for the year...we will see y'all around soon again :)...

Monthly Quotes for Thought:

"The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift, not a right."

"A fool contributes nothing worth hearing and takes offense at everything."

~aristotle~

"The real things haven't changed.  It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong." 

~laura ingalls wilder~