Graduating Class of 2009

The graduation was last Saturday. It went well. Katherine felt special, which was everything I wanted for her. She didn't wear a traditional cap and gown. Everyone who knows us well knows that we aren't very traditional.

Instead she wore a sash and headband (with a cap and crown attached). Both said, "Princess Grad".

I'm surprised that nobody has put out a webpage with ideas and suggestions on hosting a homeschool graduation. For those of us doing it for the first time, it's intimidating. In the end we decided to do our own thing. I wrote a speech. Her father presented her with the diploma. Then she gave a speech.

A friend grabbed my camera and took pictures, otherwise I wouldn't have any.

*I* forgot to take any pictures! Can you believe it? That was my only regret from the day...that I didn't get any pictures of the guests. After everyone ate (of *course* I fed them all), the teens got a game of softball together and played outside in the heat and humidity. We older folks stayed in air-conditioned comfort and talked. :^) I'm so glad I put on all the invitations to "dress casual." I think everyone was comfortable, therefore we all had a good time.

We are so blessed. I just can't say that enough. We are blessed with friends, with family, with fincances and support. I could go on and on....but I won't. Thanks for reading.

Been MIA lately.

Did you miss me?

This graduation thing has come up QUICKLY! Faster than I had planned. I'm a list-maker, so stay with me while I write this all out so I can see it.

The cake is ordered and paid for. There's a 3 dollar coupon in this week's ad for this week's cake orders. It couldn't have been in there LAST week, could it? {sigh}

Most of the food is bought. In fact, I think *all* of the food is bought. Now it just needs fixed. Any volunteers?

The photo collage is coming together. By that I mean...I have the tri-fold board and the pictures. Some assembly required. That's the sticker. When I laid the photos out on the white board, I didn't like it. It needed a background. After much consideration and some discussion, I decided to lightly spray paint it. It seemed like the best option. Katherine wants blue and purple on it. Do you know how difficult purple spray paint is to come by here in Mudville? We went to town and still had a time of finding the right colors. {sigh} I wasn't about to drive to the big town this late in the game, so we settled. Now to just finish it in time.

What else? Oh, decorations are bought. We *need* to start decorating so I can see what we've got and if we still need anything. It's been over a year since I started buying for this event and I can't remember what all we've got.

I need to get the tableware out and make sure we have enough.

What am I forgetting? Answer quick--the graduation is Saturday afternoon.

Typos

I hate making typos. It must be the perfectionist in me. Sometimes it bothers me when I read a typo. Not from friends, but from "professionals". The desktop background that I have at work has a typo on it. I can't enjoy it because once I saw the typo, that's all I see.

But most of the time they make me laugh. Take this one, for instance. It made me laugh...so I saved it. It's from a paid ad in a local newspaper many years ago.

Yeah. You read that right. You too can own your very own 15 foot fool. I am VERY curious about the "accessories" that come with it. Is it a "he" or a "she"?
So many questions. So few answers. I could go on and on...but I'll let YOUR imagination take you were it may.

BTW, spellchecker found no typos in this post. But there is one. I left it in just for kicks. It's good therapy for my perfectionist ego to make a few mistakes every once in a while. It keeps me grounded.

Just thought you might want to know.
TTFN

Okay, here's my River Barge story...

When dh and I were first married








we rented a little house that sat right along the riverbank. The Ohio River riverbank, that is. It was just big enough for the two of us and we were so happy to be living as a couple. Both of us worked full time jobs. He drove a delivery truck and had to be at work at four o'clock every morning. I worked an office job and had to be at work around eight o'clock (they were very leniant). Anyway, since we lived 40 minutes away from work, he would get up at three...and being the loving, newly-married wife, I'd get up with him and see him off to work. Then I'd stay up and do the housework, write the Thank You notes and do all those other mind numbing tasks. Sometimes my job would be slow and I'd come home a little early...and sometimes it was stressful and I had to work late. All of this would eventually take its toll and I'd be extremely tired by the time I got home from work. On one such evening I went to bed as soon as I got home...thinking I'd just take a little nap and get right up to fix supper.
Well...I ended up taking a big nap...in a deep, deep sleep. I woke up when dh came running in the room and called out my name. I woke up disoriented because it had become dark while I slept...and dh was excited about something.
It turns out (as he tells it to me) that a barge was traveling down the river. When they travel at night they use a spotlight to keep track of the shoreline so they don't run aground. Nothing unusual about that. But on this particular night this particular barge was shining it's spotlight on our house. Specifically...on our bedroom windows.
And it was blowing it's airhorn.
Dh's imagination got the best of him and he thought maybe I was standing at the window dancing for the barge-hands. Or so he says. We'll just have to take his word for it, I guess.
*I* never saw the barge light. And *I* never heard the horn.
And I certainly wasn't dancing in the window.

What is it like in your part of the country?

Last week when we traveled to my parents' house to take the Senior Portraits, I snapped a few pictures since:
A) I had my camera in hand

and

B) my 16-yr-old wants to drive every chance he gets.

I've been wanting to do a blog on this every since I opened my blog account. Well...actually...since before that. I have a friend (HI COLLEEN!) who lives in Colorado. I live in Ohio. She was in West Virginia (get out the map if you need help with this, people) and so...since she was so close...we hopped in the car and drove over and saw her. The conversation drifted to the terrain and the differences in the two areas and she asked me something along these lines: "How can you stand this? I feel like I'm boxed in!" And you know what? I never really thought about it. I've lived in the hills all my life. When you travel, you're either on the hilltop, in the valley, or in between going up or down. (Life is kinda like that, too.)

So here we go.
Since we're in the hills, it's a good place to have livestock.












Cattle are popular.












And when you're on your way up to the hilltop or down to the valley, you have to go through a lot of twists and turns. If only I'd have waited one more second you'd have seen the next turn after this one. Sometimes you really zig-zag!












And sometimes it straightens out.

Going down...just so we can go up again.












You can't tell it, but through these closest (bare) trees you get your first glimpse of The River. We're on the hilltop here. We have to go to the valley to get to The River.












And down here the road is flatter and straighter.












Every time I mention The River on the web, someone always asks, "What River?"
The OHIO River, of course!












Where the barges run up and down The River all day and all night.












And that reminds me of a story...
Remind me to tell it to you later. Woo-Hoo!

Wow! Has it really been a week since I last blogged?

Happy May Day, everyone!
This week I've:
**ordered prints from Wallyworld of the Senior Portraits for family and friends,
**written out the invitations for the graduation/party,
**strolled down memory lane while perusing through a big box of snapshots--picking out ones to be put onto a photo board for the graduation/party,
**strolled down memory lane while perusing through files of photos on the computer--picking out ones to send to Wallyworld to be printed so they can be put on the photo board for the graduation/party,
**visited my parents. again.
**oh yeah, we went camping until Tuesday. Back to work on Wednesday. Boy, was it a hurried/busy half-week at work! I'm glad it's over!
**enjoyed the company of my children. All week. Well, I enjoyed it most of the week. Occasionally--not so much. But that's another story for another day.

Okay, I'll tell you a short story. But that's it for now. I mean it now--don't whine for more.
My oldest son got mad at me Wednesday morning. I'm not entirely sure why...but he's 16, so that's probably reason enough. Anyway, he had promised a lady from church that he would help her get her herb garden in this week. Wednesday was the day...so I dropped him off at her house, sour mood and all. Several hours later when I picked him up he was a different boy. All smiles and talkative. He told me, "You can't stay in a bad mood around that couple!"
I'm so thankful to God that He has placed some good, godly people in our lives.