Van Gogh'd

Good morning!  Today I am sharing about the Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience that has been traveling the country.  We were able to see this exhibition in our city over the weekend.  Especially with an artist in the family, this was especially fun to see.

On a side note, when we spent a month in Brussels, Belgium for missionary training, we went to Amsterdam one weekend and went to the Van Gogh museum there back in 2014.

Here are photos from the current traveling exhibition:

Did I mention the exhibit was at Graceland?  And that I use to work there? And Elvis was my first concert?  I still love to listen to Elvis music and am excited about the upcoming movie.

Enjoy your day!

Weekend Wrap-Up/May 16, 2022 - Senior 2022

 Happy Monday!  This post contains lots of pictures....this is what happens when you put a lot in one post when so much happens within a short amount of time.  I am highlighting today my high school senior.  

First up, here she is on her first day of kindergarten.  Brook was homeschooled through 8th grade, with the exception of 6th grade when she went to a small International Christian School when we lived in Bogota', Colombia.  

Brook began 9th grade at a public high school.  She knew no one, is a minority at her school & it was her first time in a traditional school in the USA.  She was one of 500 freshman in a school of approximately 2000 students.  She finally goes to traditional school and then a pandemic hit.  The end of 10th grade was cut short at spring break and she did 11th grade completely virual.  I am so thankful she was able to return for her senior year, even though she wore a mask every single day.  She is resiliant and has excelled.  She met friends, most of them very different from her, but some really sweet people.  She grew into an amazing artist.  Somehow, I blinked from the picture above and picture below.

She looked beautiful for her prom a few weeks ago and got some pictures with her dad.

For the first time in 4 years, we were able to go see her get an award Friday night.  This is her AP art teacher with her.  This is the teacher we will remember.  He has been a huge cheerleader, encourager and challenger to her in her art.  We are so thankful for him.  

Saturday night, we hosted a small family graduation party for her at our home.

With my parents

3 silly greats of mine!

Playing with balloons

Decorations!

We had Italian theme foods & a few other snacks.  The menu was bread, salad, fruit tray, cheese and cracker tray, veggies, lasagna, pesto pasta and a side of grilled chicken strips.

I made key lime bars and brookies for dessert.

Proud parents!

Thanks for reading along during such a fun time!

Linking up with Holly & Sarah

Friday Favorites/Life Lately ~ May 13, 2022

 Hi!  I am catching up on some life lately and a few favorites from the week.

ONE

Our family lived in Bogota', Colombia in South America for 3 years and one of my favorite drinks there was Lulo.  Juices are very poplular there and you can get them at any restaurant, probably even easier than ordering a soda from a restaurant in the US. Lulo is a fruit, however, it is used for making juices and is not eaten.  I was so excited to find this mix in my local grocery store!  I also purchased Mora, which is a berry.  My daughter always liked that flavor so we tried it too.  It was delicious!

TWO

I am still enjoying getting my nails done and this was the last color I chose.  I will go back next week for a new color to have for upcoming graduation and cruise.

THREE

We have a park here that is one of the 20 largest urban parks in the US and it is 5 times bigger than Central Park.  There is a Buffalo Range in the park as well.  I went on a walk here last week and passed by the buffalo on my trail.

FOUR

Well, no pictures of this one, but I went to get frozen yogurt, one of my favorites, with my best friend who is in town.  We talked about our families and what the Lord is teaching us.

FIVE

I got to spend some time with some of my greats one evening this week while waiting on my daughter who was having her senior pictures taken.  I was able to hold my newest one, who is just a month old.  This one here below will be 2 next week and she is such a joy to be around.  

This weekend will be a graduation party and going to an art exhibit.  This Maycember is busier for me than any December on record, but I am enjoying all the things, but it takes me behind here in blogging for a little while.  I am trying to record some family moments when I can so I can look back at these days.  

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Hello Monday ~ May 9, 2022/Mother's Day

This Monday morning blog is a quick recap of Mother's Day 2022.  I hope it was a good one for all of you.  Our tradition is to go to my sister's house for a crawfish boil.  It is always a lot of fun and ususally the inaguaration of  her swimming pool open for the summer, however, the water is still quite cold.  

I like crawfish, but am not too good at the peeling part, but got some practice yesterday.

The greats learning  to eat crawfish :)

It was a joy to see all my greats, including this little guy.

 

My college girl arrived at midnight Saturday and is leaving this morning, but loved having both my girls for the day. So thankful to be their mom. We spent the evening sitting by a fire outside back home.  The weather was great this weekend.

Enjoy your Monday!

Liking up with Hello Monday

Currently ~ May 2022

 Currently..........I am currently behind on most things this week, but am joining in on this link-up today with Anne.

Consuming

Most days I consume a Built Bar.  They are my favorite type of protein bar and I usually have one in the mornings.

Feeling

I am feeling so many things these days.  Feeling busy of all the things I need to do with little motivation.  I am feeling discouraged with a lot of things in life, yet excited for some things to come.  Clearly, I have a mix of feelings these days!

Finding

I am finding joy with my daughters.  I was able to visit my college girl last weekend and it was such a sweet time to have one on one time with her.  In 3 years, this was my first time to visit her on my own.  She is about 5 hours away from home.

Following

I am following some encouraaging accounts on Instagram....

ruthschwenk

karen ehman

lisaappelo

lisawhittle

lsaterkeurst

proverbs31ministries

Spending

After a trip away last weekend and all the high school graduation/college prep, there is a lot of spending.  My daughter moved into a new house last weekend, so there were lots of things for mom to buy.  It is all a joy to help in any way we can though.  Maybe June will be a slower purchasing month than the last few though!

Have a good day and I will try to catch up on life again soon here!