Happy May 2007! I'm a bit late posting my Mother's Day photos, but better late than never! Matt and Whitney surprised me with flowers on Saturday - a beautiful fresh-cut bouquet. Natalie surprised me with a bouquet of tissue paper flowers and Dad surprised me with roses - all on Saturday. Who needs Mother's Day when you can celebrate the day before?

The actual day was restful - I stretched out by the pool (which isn't open yet) and enjoyed the sunshine. And, we all went to Fazoli's for our annual traditional Mother's Day dinner. :) Natalie and David gave me a beautiful candle shade (seashells!) and "crabby" salt and pepper shakers!

It was a very nice holiday! Glad I'm a mom - I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

On 26 May 2007, Natalie, David and I walked in the "Run for the 'L' of It," sponsored by UL to benefit cancer research. It was a 5K run/walk and, naturally, we chose to walk. :) We did our 3 miles in 50 minutes - David a little faster. It was a beautiful morning to walk - a bit warm, but with a good breeze. I walked in the asthma walk with the kids a couple years ago, but this is the first "official" walk I've participated in. I even got a number for my shirt! As you can see, I was #255! That's a good number for me, too, since I will be 55 in July. Which brings me to my next "big" event for May.

Gary and I went to Frankfort on Friday, 25 May and I completed my retirement notification. I will turn in my letter to my boss on Tuesday after the Memorial Day holiday. It is a bit scary, especially since money will once again be the focal point of our lives. The last several years, we'd gotten away from the constant monitoring of every cent, but for a while, I guess, we will be back to that way of life. Oh well. I'm glad I'm retiring, though. I'd planned on working as long as my boss stayed - which I figured would be 2-3 more years. But, because of a new board, he has been kind of forced out of a job. Since he is leaving, it seemed like a good time for me to leave, too. So, I will be a free woman - officially on 1 August, but I plan to use all my vacation/personal days in July, so my last work day will be 27 June. Wow! Kind of a fuzzy picture, but it is a beautiful plant. Today our church celebrated Pentecost. On Pentecost, the altar is decorated with donated red geraniums. To my surprise, Natalie donated a geranium in honor of her parents! How neat! I was very touched that she would do that! But, then, she is a sweetheart! (Actually, I am very lucky - all my kids are sweethearts!)
Last, but certainly not least, my nephew was advanced to the rank of Senior Chief in the United States Navy! Way to go, Ted! He received his advancement during his deployment in Honduras in front of members of the Honduran Navy. We are all proud of him! And, we are grateful to him and all the servicemen/women who have protected our country in the past and continue to keep us safe everyday!

Happy Memorial Day!