There and all theirs.

It's the end of the school year and the events are endless. I'm so proud of my boys and all of their hard work this year, and seeing the twinkle in their eyes when they show me their stuff assures me that they too know they've accomplished something great. Education really is such a special gift.

The circles under my eyes may have replaced the twinkle inside but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't darn proud of myself as well. This year was intense and exhausting and I had a million excuses not be present in the boys' life at school, but I was present. I never missed an opportunity to read during library time, help with parties, share our culture, go on field trips, admire their artwork or hear them sing--always with a baby on my hip and a toddler doing somersaults by my side. There are so many big and great things I could be doing in the world and sometimes I wonder why I'm not, but then I attend morning events like the Spring Sing for T or the Bug Bash for Ev and realize that the big and great things I'm doing are the small and simple ones. I'm present. I'm there and I'm all theirs. Those sweet boys know they're loved, they're safe, and that no matter what is happening around them I will be the constant in their lives. It's not always glamorous but boy is it a beautiful thing.

SPRING SING

The second graders at T's school gave a concert to all the parents last week and it was great. T has suffered from polyps on his vocal chords so he is a little self-conscious about his sometimes squeaky singing (and speaking) voice, but Mr. Harrison, AKA the worlds best music teacher, is so playful and silly and has really boosted T's confidence in singing. The concert was wonderful and he was so proud of having all the songs memorized. 

T had a special part on the Glockenspiel, and I don't know if he liked performing his part or saying that silly word more! I have not a musical bone in my body so let's just hope he inherited some from his Dad! 

T's cheerleaders! Luckily Grandpa Christofferson was there to hold Quinny and Cora was content to eat puffs on my lap so we all got to enjoy the performance. I love that happy smile on T's face.

And of course T wouldn't let us leave without holding Coco for a picture. He is such a great big brother and loves his little sisters so much. We're so lucky he came first.

BUG BASH 

Everett's class has been working hard to learn all about ladybugs and caterpillars and butterflies and moths and about a hundred other kinds of creepy crawly things. The girls and I went to his classroom last week and did a scavenger hunt to find all of his written work and artwork about bugs and he was tickled teaching me things like the number of legs a spider has (8) and the number of days it took the butterfly to leave it's cocoon (17). Kindergarten is so much fun and I'm so sad to see it end.

Quinny was running around there somewhere but here I am with my amazing Ever Knight (and the ceramic donut he made, yum!) I look at this picture and I just want to kiss the cheeks off of that squinty-eyed darling.

Kindergarten writing is THE BEST! I'm so proud of Everett. Like so, so proud! When he started kindergarten he could only write his name and barely knew his letters. Now he is reading well above grade level and writing like a true kindergartener and really excelling in school. I am so glad that he loves learning and works so hard at school.

Let's be honest, could there have been a cuter sequence of pictures than this one? Ev's class learned about the life cycle of different bugs so they also talked about their life cycle. It makes me smile super big thinking about my sweet Ever Knight and his perfect little life.