Some folks keep an eye out for the first hurricane of the season, or the best time for the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. My Dad looks forward to the first tomato of the season. But me, I tend to keep an eye on the height of amish corn. This was the tallest I could find in Mennonite territory. Ronald promises the corn will be ready by July 4th. Hurray!

John the Produce Man up at the farmers market says he will be selling 20# boxes of fresh sweet cherries this Saturday. They will cost $20. Not bad! Today was Ruthie's first day back at violin lesson since her broken wrist. Just in time for recital next week.
Today was a busy day for Lizzie. (See the dress she made?!) After violin lesson, Lizzie dashed off to play her 8 memorized piano pieces before a judge. She did very well, as expected. Great job, Lizzie! What did she do when she came home to unwind? Played piano for an hour!
I never got to show off the birthday gifts from this spring. Allen gave Lizzie this quiver to hold her arrows. She was tickled pink. She has it hanging in her room.

I gave Lizzie this wall plaque I found at the thrift store.
Sarah gave Lizzie a set of six wall peel-ons that are western themed. So now Lizzie and Ruthie have a western bedroom they can enjoy.
The only thing about their bedroom that I can't stand is that they both hang their cowgirl hats on their bedposts...for me to knock off when I sneak in to kiss them goodnight. I gave Allen a brand new Volcano stove that came with many extras. I was so tickled to find this gem at the thrift shop. I looked up the entire set online and found my $5 find was worth $156! Sarah also bought her gift at the thrift shop. Everyone wanted this lamp in their room!
I found this shade for 15 cents and painted it an antique red to look like this:
Not bad! My five sailors came home from Virginia having passed their boating course. Right now everyone is outside trying to find Moab the Muscovy who has been missing all day. Fortunately we haven't seen any signs of a fox...so far. Lizzie is as sad as the other lone muscovy. As much as that duck is a bother, we still are praying for her to return home safely...for Lizzie's sake.

For any of you church folks who didn't get to see the finished parsonage, I took 11 pictures and will print them out. I will show them to the elderly folks on Sunday, then I will ask permission to post them on the bulletin board. Sure looks nice!

Our family has been reading some fantastic books lately. I read this book called, "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris, sons of the famous Gregg Harris, homeschool educator. Every teen should read this book. The subtitle, "A Teenage Rebellion against low expectations" says it all. Nice easy reading for a long afternoon.

I listened to Focus on the Family today on the radio. Dr. Dobson was interviewing Terry Schiavo's father. It was hard not to cry while driving. I hope I never have to watch my children die of thirst.

Enjoy your week. Many blessings ~ Kathie