It's been busy here: remodeling, moving, renting out the old place, house decorating, unpacking, conference, jury duty, house guests, busier than expected office schedule and more. Finally this weekend John and I can put our feet up!
This little tropical paradise is at one of our neighbors Memorial Day celebration. Btw-- Now that I know what I am missing. I am getting a hammock (if I have a chance to shop). My plan for the holiday weekend was to commit to nothing except what was important to John and my boys (john picked the party.) . Thank you Trish for grabbing my camera and snapping this cute photo of me and John. I appreciate it so much.
David has missed me during long working hours. He's been extra clingy. And since I posted about it below, he keeps telling me how awesome I am. He counts the hours till I come home. He had fun pretending like he's a little baby asleep in a sling. It was funny putting him in the sling because he had to stand on a chair next to me and step into it. He got his fix quickly and went back to the games. He says babies love being carried in slings because it feels great being next to mommy. Yep, he even called me mommy.
We tried having a mock Shabbot service on Friday at our own dining table. I've thought about doing this before, but in-line with keeping low key and close to home without responsibility to anyone but ourselves this weekend, we finally gave it a try. We went at our own pace and read and re-read the various songs and blessings as the boys asked a lot of questions. Although we enjoy (kind of) attending with a congregation, it's not always on our time table or our comprehension level. I expected my boys to be restless and bored. Surprisingly, William and Scott argued about who should get to read more. (so we read twice). I had no idea that William learned and remembered several songs from TBI and he made a wonderful contribution to our "service." David is learning some simple blessings like the Sh'ma and Shabbot Shalom, so we let him sing it solo. He is very proud of his cantor-like skills. The boys pointed out parts we missed and want to include next time. Seriously, since service offers a time to remember the sick, the departed, and those fighting overseas for us, it gives us an opportunity to rembember those special to us. This was a far bigger success than I imagined. They are getting weekly tutoring for their Bar Mitzvah, but I feel like we need to be doing activities in the interim to keep it fresh and meaningful. We will definitely do this again. 
My mother took the broken cushions and frames to her Upholsterer and Decorator in Orlando.
And now I have a fabulous dining room set, that goes perfect in my new house!
Let me add, what a treat it was to get the opinion of a professional decorator along with my mother's decorating advice (with pick-up and delivery) because this kind of stuff doesn't come natural to me. 
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