Graduations 2016

 Today was a beautiful day!!! Jeren and Ashlyn finished up their Kindergarten work and this evening we had a graduation ceremony for them. :)   I know that it might seem silly to some because we "only homeschool" and it's "just our family" but I wanted it to be something they will remember forever - graduating from Kindergarten and we had fun making it happen!   We found some caps and gowns in some of the drawers at the school and they were a perfect fit. :)  Jeren and Ashlyn could hardly wait to put them on and admired them every chance they got before they could wear them.

Finally the time came to put them on.....eeeeks!  They were nervous.

Jeren was so excited to be "graduating" and I was so happy for him that he was so excited!

My two babies growing way too fast!

Ashlyn Hope - 5 years old!

Jeren Kyle - 6 years old.

We skyped Grandma and Papa and the other Grandpa, so they got to be part of the graduation ceremony.   So thankful for technology!

Keith gave a little welcoming speech and the graduates were supposed to slowly walk in.....

But, no! They came skipping into the living room! :)

Kristyn prayed a beautiful little prayer over them asking God to bless their lives for His glory!

Owen and Megan led us in the pledges...

Ashlyn was so concerned about Jeren's tassel.   :)

Grandma gave a little speech and told how proud of them she was and for their hard work over the last 3 weeks that she has been their teacher.

Ugh - that tassel!!

Then they got ready to give their little speeches and songs...

They said the ABC song and Jesus Loves Me!

Keith gave a devotional about keeping what they've learned in their hearts and using it to serve Jesus better!

I got to hand out the diplomas!

So proud of my baby Ashlyn!!

Jeren was SO excited!!!

I love his hugs that squeeze me to death!

So proud of my Jeren-Man!

Turning their tassels!

The graduates and their teachers!

YAY!!!

Let the party begin!

I'm so thankful my mom was able to come down for 3 weeks to help us with homeschooling.  We did not do any schooling for the 8 weeks we were in language school, so we were a bit behind. Mom taught Jeren and Ashlyn for the last three weeks and I taught the bigger kids and we were able to get 1 1/2 months worth of work done in just these 3 weeks!  So thankful for God's help and strength!!!

Thanks for stopping by to check on us........

*Mother's Day 2016*

Has everyone given up on me?  I feel like it's been forever since I've updated our blog but for part of the time, it truly was impossible.  We spent 8 week during, February-April attending language school away from home and the internet was not high enough to load pictures.  But we're back how (3 weeks ago - big smile) and I'm going to pick up my one thing that I love to do - blogging - again!

Thanks to the little push from my friend, Mandy, that I need to find/make time for it . ;)

So pictures from the past few months will come, but today, on Mother's Day, I'm going to put pictures on here of my beautiful blessing and the reason that I can celebrate being a momma!

These little people are my absolute favorite in all the world!

12 years ago, God brought a beautiful baby girl into our life and things have never been the same.

20 months after she arrived, God blessed us with a sweet, pudgy baby boy.....

21 months later, a sweet black haired bundle of sweetness arrived and......

20 months later, our little Jeren came.....

16 months later, our caboose came and what a ride it's been.

I wouldn't trade it for anything!!!

Now my babies aren't quite babies anymore and are growing up too fast!  But I often tell them, "You'll always be my baby"

I'm so thankful that God chose me to be the momma of these 5 blessings, but most days I feel completely inadequate for the job.  I'm thankful that God fills in the big gaps that I leave and I pray that they will all grow to love and serve Jesus with all their hearts!

I'm also blessed to have this wonderful, godly man by my side. I'm so thankful that he's the daddy to my children and I wouldn't pick anyone else in the world to go sailing through life with.  Some days are smooth sailing and others days there's some waves in life, but together we've come through all the storms (with God's help) and each one has made us stronger.

On this day, I'm so thankful for my little family!  I'm thankful for my two mom's that have blessed my life beyond words with their encouragement, help, love, support and godly example!  

Happy Mother's Day to all my momma friends!  I hope your day is blessed!