End of the School-Year Busy-ness

There's been a lot going on around here. So much, in fact, that Ella has been taking mid-afternoon naps much more frequently, and often to her own surprise.

She was very excited, though, when I told her about DeLaynie's spring concert. I promised that she would be in the spring concert not too many years from now, but she thought that I meant that she would go on stage right after DeLaynie. This is a picture of her with Daddy before coming to realize that she has to wait at least two more years before her musical debut.

We were pretty worried about DeLaynie's emotional state on stage, especially after Edwin said that she had absolutely NO DESIRE to go into the music room. We prayed from our seats, and the Lord heard our cries, as evidenced below:

Her favorite part was the bowing. The children were instructed to bow after the last song, but it was all DeLaynie could do to refrain from bowing for the whole song, every song. We were pretty impressed by her self-restraint since she bowed and called out, "Thank you! Thank you!" after each 30 second ditty.

Since there's nothing else to do (okay, there may be a few hundred things that are still categorized as "To-Do", like Vacation Bible School prep and DeLaynie's Pre-K graduation), one of my favorite people and I went to Deeper Still... in Louisville, Kentucky. And, no, we are not anywhere near Louisville. And, yes, we did drive the ridiculously long 14 hour drive there and the equally ridiculously long 14 hour drive back within the span of four days, with a 30 hour reprieve for spiritual growth.

All the while, our two wonderful husbands cared for the (drum roll, please)... 6 little girls that we left in their capable hands. I must admit, I did not do my share to contribute to the grand total of children. We have a meager 2 girls, but they have out-done themselves with 4 girls between the ages of 5 and 13!



In case you don't know, Deeper Still is a Christian women's conference featuring three of my favorite Bible teachers: Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, and Priscilla Shirer. LifeWay has been putting these events together for five years, and I've said that it's my dream conference, but didn't think I'd ever be able to make it. Then they announced that this was their FINAL conference. Then it just so happened that my sweet buddy said, "We should do an overnight girls' trip." I pounced immediately, and our overnight turned into a three-night, four-day road trip extravaganza. After deliberating we have decided that it was worth the time, money, and energy. We have also decided that LifeWay needs to start hosting some events for us Northern chicks.

Tomorrow is preschool graduation, and I have a preschooler in the tub, getting ready for the celebration to come. I can't believe that my baby is going to real, live kindergarten next year, despite the fact that I've had five years to prepare. Let me go rinse her hair with my tears... Okay, maybe not.