It must be divine providence that our Bishop lifted the mask and social distance mandate of the churches right before Pentecost. We enjoyed a wonderful mass full of loud voices and smiling faces. After mass we enjoyed the fellowship we had been missing for over a year. It has finally felt as if things are getting back to normal.

We are becoming pros at pizza, which all started because of quarantine. A year later we finally have the perfect crust recipe and the perfect toppings as well. The girls look forward to this night so much. When we started we just enjoyed the chaos of flour and the rhythm of making several pizzas. Norah use to eat all the toppings, now she expertly rolls out her dough (with help) and decorates the pizza. Mia’s garden has provided us with fresh basil for our Margherita pizzas.

It rained again earlier in the week and we occupied ourselves with homeschool, painting and dress up. The rain has brought so many mosquitos and has kept us inside. Nicholas had a checkup appointment and weighed in at almost twelve pounds. We took an evening walk and the amazing smell of the blooms was heavenly.

Mia has begged and begged me and her father to let her run her lemonade stand again. She decided to open in the afternoon the Friday before Memorial Day. It is more work than she realizes and being the person I am, I cannot just let her do it herself. She has promised me that she can handle the responsibility. I am so proud of her determination yet still exhausted from no sleep and having to clean the garage and driveway to help prepare. Last year she started her lemonade stand in the height of the pandemic and was very successful. I may have helped with marketing and teamed up with a few charities in order to gain exposure. Her success ended in seven hundred being donated to two different non profits. I explained that this year I did not have the time or energy. She understood and carried out her plans regardless. She made eight dollars total including the sale of a few rice crispy treats. She had fun and worked well with her sister.

Saturday Ryan, along with three other friends helped work on a patio. All their children were there having a play date while then men and the older boys leveled the ground for their project. These men had joined each other in a prayer group and challenged themselves to give up certain luxuries and add healthy routines for ninety days. Now that the challenge is over they are working as a group to finish projects at each others houses. They were praying the rosary for the death of a teenager in our community during the start of their work day.

After a long workday, then men managed to find the energy to attend a graduation party at a mutual friends house. The girls swam, travelled down their zip line and churned homemade ice cream. The party’s host built their home themselves, including a treehouse. They have honeybees in the front yard and are currently pouring cement for their new pool. I was fascinated by the huge drop screen for movies, the garage game room and a wall of ribbons in her laundry room.

We attended mass the next day and with the social distance and mask protocols being lifted saw an increased number of families at mass. It was such a joy. We went to the evening service that has contemporary music played. Their rendition of American the Beautiful made me cry and the roar of applause had everyone in the spirit of the Memorial Day weekend and also seemed as if we were celebrating our freedom to return to church without masks.

The next day, we went to the Sanctuary Blueberry farm in Conroe. It was a warm day and we had a late start at around 11am. It was mostly cloudy with a wonderful breeze, making it a perfect day to pick juices blueberries. At the start the bushes were hit or miss, only having a few ripe berries. We had picked about four pounds and made our way to check out and found two rows of bushes that were weighed down by ripe berries. We got busy and ended up with ten pounds at the end of our visit. Norah probably ate a few pounds herself. Nicholas slept in the stroller very content to be with us. As we made our way to the register, Norah started crying to be held. Dr. Reed, the owner, found us to make sure we were okay. His thoughtfulness is just another reason we love coming to this farm. We purchased honey that was made from their hives and organic chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that was enjoyed by all.

We made it home in time for Norah to take a little nap while we got ready for the pool. Ryan had taken the girls swimming by our house the day before while Norah, Nicholas and I napped. I was excited to see Norah play at the pool. The girls had so much fun. Norah wore her goggles and practiced blowing bubbles in the water with Ryan. They enjoyed the lazy river as Nicholas and I watched from the side. I walked around the pool up to my knees to stay cool. As I was enjoying the water and conversation with a little family nearby, Nicholas decided he was just as relaxed and had a blowout that thankfully missed by clothing. Why do babies always choose to do this when we are out in public and not at home. Thankfully we had extra clothes. We spend the rest of the swim day nursing in the chair, watching big sisters and and daddy play.

A lady I was chatting with told me about a sling made for the water that I should purchase to hold Nicholas. I was wondering how I was going to stay close to Norah while also caring for a newborn. Thanks Jenny originally from Pennsylvania!