A few highlights

Our week was good. Mariah was selected to receive a Principal's Award at school and there was an assembly to go to on Thursday. Being the supportive parent that I am, I woke up Lindsay and Ruth from naps and headed to see my brilliant daughter's shinning moment. Ruth cried the whole time and Lindsay kept trying to escape my arms and crawl to the closest fan as other parents (with no additional children) kept looking at me like I was an insane person. Mariah was the last child to go up (there were about 45) and gave me this look for the one picture I managed to take. And she was given the award for "being a great citizen in our classroom. You always have a smile on your beautiful face and such a sweet disposition."
On a brighter note, yesterday I canned apple pie filling and applesauce. It was a big project, but one that left me feeling like I did something FABULOUS. Thank you Emily and Derek for letting me use all of your equipment and make the mess in your house. Also, it would not have been possible without my wonderful husband who had the children all day.
Canning brought back many memories. I remember HOT summer mornings canning tomatoes/apples/peaches/grapes or anything else that could be put in a jar. (Mom you're going to love the next part) After canning yesterday I realized that what I thought I was doing was hard work, but now I know my Mom must have been doing WAY more than her whining children.
Another canning memory is preserving just about anything with my grandpa. I have a confession, I could never eat anything that he canned if I hadn't been there to see what he did to it. He canned anything just because he couldn't see it go to waste. While he did eat some of his own stuff, he had jars and jars and jars that he never ate. I'm sure that they found them all when they cleared out his stuff.
My final memory is of Matt's mom. Every time we visit she loads us up with yummy things that she has canned. Maybe someday I can pay her back.