June

 June. 

The first month of glorious summer weather. 

Unfortunately, these pictures uploaded completely out of order.  So, this isn't going to go chronologically. Alas. I am too lazy and frustrated with blogger right now. 

The start of the garden. 

checking out the weeds with Finn

Our days off are golden. We love every minute of family time that we get. 

out on the tree swing

pool time :)

Mid-June, we took our residents to Indiana dunes for a house trip. We only had two residents at the time and the weather was great, so it was a good day. 

beach baby

"take a picture of me"

We have a wonderful advantage of having the Klops close by.  We took the residents to the pool a few times. 

chalk

forever drowning my plants

Cordin set up a bunch of Independent Living classes for the residents. Thing like sewing, electrician, crafting, fire safety, human trafficking etc. Anyway, on of the classes was a tour of a local coffee roasting company.  It was so cool. 

The residents were bored but I thought it was cool

House Parent kid gang

Leo has the best splash park.  They have the usual fountains and such. But, every time we go, the kids spend the most time in the creek bed. 

yes. she is drinking the water...

They don't enjoy carwashes...

Fathers day. We were on duty so we didn't do anything exciting. 

my crew. 

We took a trip out to Illinois. 

Logan and Cadence had birthdays 

The kids did some painting

This girl.

spending time with Grandpa Braker

They have the cutest puppies

Elodie turned 5 months old!

 Summer means a lot more of our energy and time is spent on the residents.  Gideon and Aurelia play hard all day long. When we are on duty we don't see them much. At the end of the day they are dirty and exhausted.  Its fun to see them be so care free. But, they are both struggling. We that much freedom, they don't have a lot of structure and it's starting to come out in their behavior. It's been really hard for me to watch. 

such a mess. :)

playing in the mud

In their freedom, they have started up an unsavory habit of going to the bathroom outside. One day I learned that Gideon had pooped in the center of campus. He didn't want to poop in his pants so he just went in the grass. It was one of those moments where you have to choose to laugh or cry. So, I laughed. Thankfully, Harlan came to the rescue with a bucket and a shovel. 

the hero

One weekend we went to the zoo with the house.  The Ft. Wayne zoo is really cool.

June was full. It was the beginning of summer. Trying to figure out what we could fit in to the schedule. Spending time with family and relaxing when we could.  

In Christ

~Michelle

May

A  quick look back at the month of May.

Elodie getting bored with her play mat

Mother's Day

We got a new resident and said goodbye to two residents. 

Elodie making friends

feeling like a big girl :)

We went out to Illinois for Tate and Tamra's wedding. 

at the farm

farm kids at heart

I had my 30th birthday.  It was a pretty good day. 

The kids wanted me to make an Ocean cake for my birthday. So, I did :)

helping me eat the filling :)

It started to feel like summer

On one of our off stretches we took a mini little getaway to Indianapolis.  We stayed at Embassy Suits and went to the Children's Museum. 

swimming in the pool

the trains :)

The dinosaurs were the coolest part

They were a little nervous hehe

It was such a wonderful time with the kids. They still talk about the museum three months later. 

fun with Bodi 

It finally got warm enough after a cold snap to plant the garden. 

80% of the Garden is flowers. :)

Elodie turned 4 months old! 

I was very pleased to find out that there is a lilac bush in the landscaping. :)

My parents came out to a visitation. It was great to see them for a short time. 

May came with a lot of changes around campus. Summer break started for the residents and we had a big turnover of who was on campus with a lot of residents graduating.  May did bring beautiful weather, which was wonderful. But, with resident's home more, it is harder to get outside to enjoy it. 

May is still my favorite month. Flowers, spring weather, and a birthday are the best.  :) 

In Christ

~Michelle