First Week of May

May 1st marked our Engagement Anniversary. 6 years ago, Dave came to my apartment dressed in a nice suit and had my favorite car waiting in the parking lot (a black Jaguar). We drove to Creve Coeur Park, where he gave me a rose and got down on one knee and proposed. It was amazing! Then we drove around to our families' houses telling them. Our parents already knew. I was so glad that Dave respected my family enough to call and ask my dad for his permission to marry me / at least let him know that he was going to propose to me. That evening our parents threw a party for us. It was such a special day and evening. About a month later we had a "formal" Engagement party that was held at a park.
Looking back at these pictures, really brings back memories. I can't believe how young we all were. My nieces and nephews were so little, they ranged from 4 to 13 years old. Dave was 25 and I was 26. What special memories, even though it seems like a lifetime ago!

May 5th marked 2 years of my dad's passing. I still can't believe that he is gone. I still sometimes think "Oh, I have to call him to tell him about..." Other times, I think "I wish he were here to see Kaitlynn..." Actually, there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish he was still here. I have finally stopped begging God to bring him back to us and almost stopped questioning God as to why he took my dad and not someone else. That is a question that I will not know this side of eternity. I cling to the fact that I know one day I will see him again. We will be reunited. I know he is better off, but it doesn't stop the fact that it still hurts. It is an emptiness in my heart, a piece of me that is missing. I have faith in God everyday that He will give me the strength to go on. I thank God for Kaitlynn and Dave because without them I don't know if I could face days like May 5th, Father's Day, October 5th (his birthday) and all the other holidays. They make me realize that life has to go on. We were never promised forever here on earth, but we are promised eternal life if we believe and trust in Jesus.

On Cinco de Mayo, Kaitlynn played outside with the dogs. I cut some flowers from our Peony "garden". We have white and pink ones. They are one of my favorite flowers. Later we made a Mexican fiesta. We had spinach and cheese (and chicken on Dave and Kaitlynn's) quesadillas, rice and refried beans. Kaitlynn had sparkling grape juice. Dave and I had margaritas. We enjoyed a fire in the chiminea. It was a fun night at home!

Kaitlynn's last Kids in the Kitchen class theme was Cinco de Mayo. First the kids made covers for their recipe / cookbooks. They decorated the covers with pictures taken in the class by the teacher's assistant. Inside the cookbooks, were recipes from each week of the class. At circle time, after singing the usual songs, the teacher read a book about vegetables. Then it was time for the kids to wash their hands, set their places and get cooking. They made root beer floats, tacos, chicken tortilla soup, pudding and guacamole dip. Kaitlynn liked the root beer float and the taco. She refused to try the soup, pudding or dip. I liked the dip and I am not a fan of guacamole dip. The pudding was good also. Kaitlynn brought the soup home for Dave to eat, which he said was good.