May 2023 (Part 1)

“All things seem possible in May” – Edwin Way Teale

PART 1:     May 1 - 14 (this entry)

PART 2:     May 15 - 31 (linked) - includes books read

May is full of hope!  And new beginnings, beautiful weather, and Oklahoma storms.  She is full of love, and joy, and the bloom of spring with the promise of summer on the horizon.  And for the Weavers, May is ALWAYS busy.  This one takes up 2 entries!

As I continue my 2023 blog with the promise of celebration - as this is my One Word for 2023 - I am halted by the reminder that sometimes, we have to celebrate things lost, as well as things gained.  And this May was full of both.  A complete roller coaster and yet so full of love family, friends, memories, and hope.  We celebrated birthdays, graduations, new beginnings, life, and love.   But we also celebrated a life well lived, and mourned the loss of a dear family member.  All of these celebrations, as always, were captured in photos - a few of which I will share here.

The Month started off "All About Finn" as he started his annual State Testing in his classes, and we went to an orientation night at the middle school he will attend the next year. And of course, Jake had basketball practice in the evenings,  We also made a few trips back and forth to Stillwater as Britt's dad has been admitted, and was not recovering as expected. On May 5th, the family called in hospice care to prepare for end of life.  This heavy experience was buoyed slightly by looking forward to the next 2 weeks filled with the girls' college graduations, 21st birthdays, and their trip to Central America, but we also knew many of our plans could be changing.

Finn's middle school looks fun!  Their mascot is a cougar.

BeReal went off while these two were shooting hoops in the driveway.

Visiting Grandpa Jake in the hospital

Finally remembered to order, then waited patiently for, the girls' announcements!

Emma's Graduation

Emma and Austin!  <3

It was during Emma's graduation ceremony that we found out about Jake's passing. These pictures are so precious to me.  Life changing in so many ways in just one day.

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity.  Sunday, we headed to Stillwater AGAIN to enjoy church at Univeristy Heights Baptist Church where Lara has worked for the last 3 years as they honored their college graduates. And of course - went out to lunch afterwards!

Jake had a fun and unique opportunity with his high school basketball team to join up with the Mriacle Baseball LEage in Edmond to help work a baseball game they were having.  Any he and I made memories as we walked through our neighborhood recording video for his final woAP World History class project on Pearl Haror - during a tornado watch.

  

The closing shot

And, we planned a funeral for Friday...  Surreal.  But it was a beautiful service filled with memories, family, friends, and all our loved ones.  Jake was one of a kind and he is so dearly missed.

 

Jake's Funeral

 

 

Lara's Graduation

 

Third Gen OSU Business School Grad!

Jake was not at Lara's graduation because mere moments after the funeral on Friday, he was whisked away to Dallas to meet his Team Griffin 16U Select team and finish out the tournament they were playing in.  Here are a few highlights:

AND, because there was much to celebrate and our days had been so heavy, we had a little mini photo shoot with Emma and LAra to commemorate college graduates and their 21st birthday - here is a sample of those shenanigans...

 

 

  

  

And a nice little weather shot from our drive home before we got PUMMELLED by rain!

And then they Turned 21!

I took Lara to a little hole-in-the-wall bar in Guthrie for her first drink.

We crashed a birthday party!

 

 

We facetime'd Emma - she was in her own world!

And it was Mother's Day...

WHEW!  That was A LOT in to weeks!  The boys are still going to school every day at this point!  Jake is gearing up for Finals and Finn is practicing for end-of-year ceremonies and planning parties!  Flip to Part 2 for more Weaver Fun!

April 2023

 

“April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks, “Go!” – Christopher Morley

This quote sums up the entirety of the month of April for the Weavers!  We THOUGHT March was busy and chaotic and full of CELEBRATION, but APRIL!  April brought a new intensity level: the sense of running towards a finish line!  Later this spring, Emma graduates from College, Lara graduates from college, and they both turn 21.  Jake finishes up his sophomore year of high school, and Finn completes elementary school.  It is truly GO! GO! GO! for April in our lives.

But we are also taking time to cherish it.  To smell the new flowers and t watch the landscape turn green. To embrace the ending and look forward to the new beginnings. and to celebrate all the many accomplishments of our family.  April did NOT disappoint!

And as it is TOTALLY on brand for the Weavers, the month started, AND ended, with Basketball.  We wouldn't have it any other way, but we also squeezed in a lot of other family fun this month.

Jake had a fun weekend in Memphis - after surviving the tornado and moving hotels because

theirs was damaged in the storms...

Franklin the Flexor ("Frank") had to work very hard during the excavation and
rewarded us with a flat tire... (today is the 29th and this was the 2nd -
the tire is still not here to be fixed)

Nana turned 75!

6A Champion Huskies at the Oklahoma Capitol

And at the Edmond School Board Meeting

The girls BOTH were in Stillwater at the SAME TIME,
so we grabbed lunch on the Strip

Emma got her braces off!

Basketball in Texas?  Requires a Buc-cee's Stop!

And this happened!

It was a good weekend

We CELEBRATED our risen Lord and Savior on Easter at Life.Church Edmond

Britt accompanied Finn on his 5th grade field trip to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
to watch the OKC Dodgers take on the Sugarland Space Cowboys

And we CELEBRATED the end of year banquet for the ^A State Champion Huskies
on a weird and dreary night filled with wild winds and giant hail...

Class of 2025 guys

MY guys!

We are SO PROUD of  Jake!

Finn: This trophy is BIGGER than me!  And it is SO HEAVY!

Started preparing for the girls' graduations by making these

I took a little solo trip to Kansas City for basketball...

Where the wild weather continues with the FREEZE WARNING!

Jake got in some good court time...

....And I enjoyed some AWESOME cousin time!

So grateful for this pic of doing what I love!

Jakee's Kansas Fan Club!

He even let me get a pic with him!

 

In the meantime, Finn spent most of the weekend with Lara and they had their own fun adventures!

Jake got a little Prep Hoops press after the Kansas performance...

... and its awards season: Academic Letter, Oklahoma Honor Society.

And the last weekend of the month - Jake goes to Texas for basketball!

And, he got his FIRST IN-GAME DUNK!

April was FUN!  But I think the fun of our Spring has just begun!  MAt brings graduations birthdays, milestones, and of course - MORE BASKETBALL!  Here's hoping we don't have a lot of severe weather and we can just enjoy the days!

And! Still posting the books I read each month...  I am in a neighborhood book club for Hidden Oaks of Guthrie, but I like to read all the books, and many at the same time, so I will indicate which one was for the book club and then the others I decided to tackle as well!

I had several "in progress" as we opened the month of April, so while there are 8 on the list, several were very close to the end when the calendar turned over.  I have three more going right now, so May will be a fun one!

"Layla" by Colleen Hoover

"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia OWnes

"Evidence of the Affair" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Patron Saints of Nothing" by Randy Ribay

"Love at First Psych" by Cara Bastone

"The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell (Book Club Choice)

"A Girl Called Samson" by Amy Harmon

"Things We Never Got Over" by Lucy Score

I have read 20 of the 30 books I had set a goal for in 2023.  6,224 pages.  My wish list on Amazon, Goodreads, and Audible are all growing!  And when a friend comments a new book on Facebook I tend to add that to the list as well!

Find me on GoodReads:

 goodreads.com/bdub_ok