Easter was a blessed holiday for us. We were able to go to church at 6:30 a.m., and were even able to keep our eyes open during the service, which was inspiring:) Rob cooked a ham, a turkey, and some grilled cauliflower steaks on the bbq and we had salads, desserts and sides to go with them, with everyone bringing something to share.

The card on these flowers SAID they were from Anthony and Allison, but I have a suspicion that Anthony didn’t know as much as Allison did about them:)….. They are sure pretty and are brightening things up around here today.

I set the tables with tablecloths I already had. I picked bluebells from the yard, where they are taking over the flowerbeds and used canning jars for vases. Rob got some ribbon from the dollar store which I used, and he also spread some chocolate eggs along the table right before we ate, so they would last more than 10 minutes:). I picked some parsley and cilantro for more bouquets and let people take some home if they wanted to.

Rob dug up some parsley plants from the massive collection in my flowerbed and let people take home starts for their gardens. This is also how we decorated the outside table on our deck.

Alissa headed up the Easter egg hunt in the yard. We call our aunt, “The Easter Bunny Janet” because she has filled the eggs with candy for many years. She brought the candy-filled eggs, Alissa hid them, and the younger ones found them. Then all candy was put in bowls, divided amongst everyone who wanted any, and sent home in baggies. I overheard Patsy telling Alissa that she might need to help hide eggs next year—I guess she’s feeling like she’s getting a little older….So, that would leave Jake to find all the eggs???? I’m sure someone will help him, or we will need to find another kid or two to invite:)

I did a lot of cooking and cleaning this week. I had to go grocery shopping since I skipped last week, so I looked for bargains, and used Ibotta for rebates. It went well, and I stayed in the budget I wanted to.

I got quite a bit of gardening done in bits and pieces whenever I had time and it wasn’t raining. I planted a new blueberry by the 2 old plants. I’m hoping the berries will be larger and sweeter than the ones on the old bushes. I’ve been digging up plants, clipping bushes, and digging grass out to make the edging cleaner in many flowerbeds. I have a lot more to do!

I made Patsy a skirt. We did some shopping and got a black lace top to wear over a black tank top to go with it. She also got a few other things, and I got a few as well. We found great bargains, and the skirt was from fabric I’ve had for years, so it didn’t break our bank. We both had gift cards from Christmas and/or birthdays, so that helped, too. We should be set for a bit.

I spent hours preparing for a homeschool meeting regarding Alissa. We go though a diploma program and I needed to have a meeting with them to show the work we’ve completed so far, grades, hours spent, etc. I wanted this meeting as a final check-up to make sure we’ve done it all, since she’s supposed to graduate on June 6. I called it my “anxiety meeting.” We now have a list of the final few things that need to be finished, another appointment in 1 month, and we will be done! Since I put in so much work on the record-keeping as well as having her do extra schoolwork to finish up this and that, it won’t be so hard when I do the final compilation in a month. Whew!

Rob has been taking her senior pictures. They got a lot of good shots on Saturday, but they aren’t done yet. They have plans for a couple more sessions. Already there are too many good ones to choose from….What a great “problem” to have!