Family Graduation Night

Because I like to turn everything into a party, a simple burgers by the pool night became Family Graduation Night tonight!  

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We have 3 graduates this year!  Tyler is moving into high school. Corynne is moving into middle school, and Lyndsey is officially a pre-school graduate!  I think all that hard work deserves a cookie cake and balloons!

Maybe a little welcome to summer gift is in order also!

We also had mini chocolate graduation hats.  Well, Colleen ate most of them!!!

Patience Please

The school that the girls go to is a Classical Christian school.  Each year the teachers award the students with a character trait that best describes them for that year.  This year Mrs. Baldwin recognized Lauren for her Patience in the classroom.  

Patience is the ability to accept and remain calm in difficult situations.  "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." Colossians 1:11

I am glad she shows patience with her teacher and her friends, and I can not wait for her to demonstrate it at home!!!

Lauen had a great year with this class of girls!!!

Lauren also received a gold metal for completing her Olympic Reading requirements for the year!

Fly Away Little Butterfly!

Today was Lyndsey's pre-school graduation.  Will somebody please push the pause button?  Now!!!!  I love this precious little 5 year old.  She is so FULL of life and love and energy!

Lyndsey and her classmates presented an awesome musical for the parents.  She sang her little heart out!

Then, Mrs. Alice called each child one-by-one to congratulate them!  (Lyndsey's foot came out of her sandal as she gracefully (not!) jumped off the back of the risers instead of stepping down the risers.  She is a bit stessed in this picture because she can't get her foot back in!)

Next, her teachers Miss Kim and Miss Milla presented her with her diploma.

I Did It!!!!!!

I love that smile!  Seeing that smiles makes me forget all the wild, chaotic days with this little angel that make me want to scream and pull my hair out!

The most amazing Pre-K 4 teachers, Miss Milla and Miss Kim!!!

Just one more thing in May...

Because we do not have enough going on in the month of May and the kids just love doing one more school project...Yes, that was sarcasm you were reading between the lines!

Tyler had a project due in Bible class.  It was suppose to be a timeline of Tyler's Christian walk and milestones in his faith...if he had read the directions correctly!  Good thing he had an understanding teacher or he would have gotten a big fat "F" for not following directions.  Next time, I will read over the assignment also for safety!

Lauren had to make a volcano for the LAST WEEK of SCHOOL!  Seriously, I really wanted to throw in the towel at this point.  I am waving the white flag of surrender!  Let's just say that if Dad had not have been home to help, this project would not have happened.  Not that it is a difficult project, it is just one more thing on a long list for the month of May!

Lyndsey wanted to plant a strawberry plant this year.  This was the easiest of tasks for the end of school.  But it was not until the middle of May that she got to pick her first strawberries.  The birds kept beating us to the bounty!  Then, a wise 2nd grade teacher, Ms Ford, told us to drape a net over the plant.  Oh!!!! Why had I not thought of that...probably because my head is overloaded at the moment!!!

Yes, she ate her sweet, home-grown strawberries immediately!

In all the hustle and bustle, this little baby is growing up to FAST!  She is taking "how to be a star where-ever you are" lessons from her sisters!

Play a song for me...

 Today was the girls piano recital.  They have both taken from Mrs. Gloria Bryant for years, and they are both progressing at a reasonable pace for as many other activities as they participate in!

Corynne received an award for 5 years in the National Guild.  She was surprised!  I don't think any of us had kept count!

Lauren received an award for competing in the National Guild for her 3rd year, and she received an award for receiving "0-0" at AMTA this year.  She was very proud of herself!

Moving Up

Today I got the privilege of attending Tyler's "Moving Up" ceremony.  I can not believe that I am the mother of a high school child now.  I always dreamed of being a mommy, but my dreams never took me to this stage of life!!!  In my dreams, they remained sweet, obedient, little kids and they run, play and take naps!!  WOW!  That is the stuff that DREAMS are made of!  

Tyler has grown up so much this year.  Of course, height wise he surpassed me a few years ago.  I think he has officially passed JM, but JM is not admitting that yet!  He has done a lot of maturing this year through lessons learned the hard way.  It is not fun watching those "bad consequences" happen to your child, but you hope and pray they learn the lesson well the first time.  Some issues have dragged us through the wringer multiply times, and we are hoping that high school will bring a new sense of ownership to his actions.  I am very proud of the man he is becoming!

This is his group of friends.  They have had a lot of good times together in junior high.  The next 4 years should be fun with this group of diverse personalities!

Congratulations, Tyler!

Cinco de Mayo

 Just taking an ordinary taco night dinner to another level!  Oh, LaLa!!!  I love a reason to decorate and party!  The girls enjoyed Dad's special drinks again tonight!

 Colleen...she is my sweet princess!