Five on Friday (May 18, 2018)

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You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. -Psalm 139:5

1. We celebrated Mother's Day twice. Saturday night our family used a gift card for supper at a local Italian restaurant (and a free dinner always tastes better). It was absolutely delicious and I brought home tiramisu, which is my favorite dessert. Camden was so irritated because he had made arrangements to stop at a little bakery to bring me a piece on Sunday so I burst his bubble by ordering it Saturday.  I told him it's the thought that counts. I volunteered to make Mother's Day lunch for everyone and so we spent the afternoon at my parent's house with my grandparents, Liz, and Addison. Camden had the idea of making chicken salad with some fancy-ish sides and cake. Brian gave me tulips and my favorite summer perfume; Rory gave me a laminated picture of her face. :)

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 2. I'm having a hard time believing that the school year is over. I have a high schooler, friends. How is that possible? Here are 2 pictures from the final morning before school (they've taken to playing basketball or soccer before leaving). Yesterday I found them outside chatting on the back porch. How long will this last?

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3. Brian's last day of school is Wednesday. The kids and I have already enjoyed a slow Wednesday and Thursday. It's an abrupt change of pace from frenetic to full-on rest. I'm finding great joy in replying "no" to all of the automated text reminders from Vanderbilt - a constant reminder of how much time is consumed as a cancer patient. I've already had several people assume that since I'm no longer receiving chemotherapy my body has automatically jumped back to 100%. While I wish that were true, it just doesn't happen that easily. I'm looking forward to this summer's slower pace and hoping to begin moving back to 100%. But already 100%? That's crazy talk.

4. This weekend I'm attending a women's conference with mom and Liz (and friends from church). Lisa Harper is the speaker (I love her) and Ellie Holcomb is the musician (I also love her). I think we're all really looking forward to it.

5. My Starbucks coffee order has moved from an iced blonde cappuccino to a nitro cold brew with a splash (or two) of half and half. Do you know it comes without ice? Definitely ask for ice.

So the weekend's agenda includes a conference for me, yard sale fundraiser for Brian and the kids, birthday party for Rory's friend at the skating rink, and maybe a movie for the adults if we can sneak it into the schedule. Happy Friday!

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