April Showers and May Flowers

Ahhh....we are loving the beautiful days of spring! Things have been busy, but it is so nice to get outside and enjoy God's creation! 

Baby Update: Levi was three months old about three weeks ago. He sleeps eight hours at night and is awake for a total of about five hours during the day. There is nothing super newsworthy to report, but we are starting to see some teeth getting ready to poke through and he is preparing to roll over any day now. 

Three months old! (Three weeks ago)

A few of our attempts at three month photos...

A proud Daddy got a visit from Levi at work! 

Levi met his new cousin in April when Krista Karen joined Phil and Kelli's family! She is such a sweetie! 

Music lessons started for Levi a few weeks ago. Progress is slow, but I think he's catching on. 

Visiting Kyra and Garret in Bloomfield!

We enjoyed a full Mother's Day weekend, spending Friday evening with the extended Schulz family, Saturday evening with my family, and Sunday evening in Fairfield with Matt's family. Another plus to the weekend was town-wide garage sales on Friday and Saturday!

Mother's Day took on a whole new meaning this year. In the past, I've spent the day appreciating the love and care of my own mother and grandmothers, but this year I was overwhelmed by the joy and thankfulness I find in being a mother myself. There are so many women who would do anything to have children of their own, and I feel very unworthy and humbled that God chose to grant me the blessings of motherhood. 

Just Me and My Mom (and baby Justin) - circa 1999

The weather was beautiful for grilling out in the park! 

'Tis the season...for school music programs and concerts as the students anticipate the end of another school year! We attended the 1st & 2nd grade program in April to watch Ethan and Tristan, along with several of my piano students and other friends. Last weekend was the 5-12th grade band concert starring Justin, Travis, and Camille.

And now for the non-social excitement in our lives:

Matt's LATEST project (I feel like I use that phrase often) was to install an aerator on the pond and make a little covered shack for it. The purpose of the aerator was to eventually get rid of the moss/algae that seems to accumulate all summer long (see the sample green stuff around the dock). 

Update on our wildlife refuge:

We had five little goslings on our pond in April! They hatched and waddled around for a day before heading over to the big pond behind Uncle Troy's.

One day, Matt looked out and saw that the mama duck had ten little ducklings with her! He found out that she had left two eggs and three ducklings in the nest, so he collected those to raise in our garage. All of the ducklings that were with the mother disappeared within a couple days, probably due to a raccoon or other animal.

Both eggs eventually hatched, but one of the ducklings died shortly afterward. We were left with four seemingly-healthy ducklings. 

Matt moved them outside into a rabbit box this weekend. They are growing quickly!  

On Saturday, we took full advantage of Levi's 5-hour afternoon nap and did some much-needed maintenance in the 'landscaping' down by the end of the lane. It looks much better than it did and now I am hoping to find some low-maintenance plants to add to the bare plot.

We thinned out the irises a bit (will probably do a more thorough job of it in the fall), dug up the stones and redid the border, added landscape fabric, and then put down mulch! 

In case you wondered why Levi is so good at taking naps...it is probably because Matt reads him the nap book. This sleep-training method will probably work for your three-month-old baby too. 

Since the title of this post mentions showers and flowers, I am including a picture of our own May flowers. This is the month of blooming irises! 

We are thankful for the many "showers" of blessing that God has provided for our "flowers" of faith to grow!