A Few Pictures from Eli's Kindergarten Graduation Slideshow

Our Last Kindergarten Graduate!

It seems like last week that Isaac graduated from Kindergarten, but somehow it has been eight years.  I had been secretly dreading Eli's graduation.  It seemed like real proof that our little family is getting older.  

Eli's class only had three graduates, and our ceremony was very short and sweet.  Somehow I ended up in charge at the last minute and it was a bit stressful to try to get the slideshow together.  I figured out Power Point in a day and threw it together.  I was kind of thankful for the stress, because it kept me from completely becoming that mom who was an emotional mess over her six year old's graduation.

 Mark asked each graduate about their future career plans and Eli said he wanted to be president.  I am so glad he is aiming high!

I am thankful for the opportunity to homeschool this little graduate.  I am going to try to treasure these next twelve years, because I know they will go by fast!

Rodeo!

We attended our first rodeo last night.  It was quite an experience.  We saw calf roping, bull riding, horse riding and lots of other interesting things.

We even saw Capuchin monkeys riding Border Collies and herding goats to the top of an eighteen wheeler.  That is something you don't see everyday!

It was definitely a new and different experience for us.  We had fun visiting with friends and watching the show.  The kids got a good dose of country music and other cultural lessons they had been lacking.  I have to admit most of the show made me nervous, especially after a bull rider was trampled and had to be loaded into an ambulance (Eek!).  

All in all, the rodeo was a nice change of pace.  We may just have to make it an annual event!

God's picture in the sky was my favorite part of the show!

A Few Easter Pictures

I suddenly have the itch to blog again.  Hopefully it will last longer than a couple of days.  I love to look back at old posts and see things that I had forgotten.  Our children are growing up so quickly.  

My parents came to visit at Easter time.  It was such a blessing to have them here.

We were down to only three egg hunters in our family at the church Easter egg hunt.  It was the first year we ever hunted eggs in the sleet!  Our older two did not mind hunting eggs at our egg hunt at home.  I guess candy is treasured at any age.

Simple Pleasures!

A new box of sidewalk chalk makes us happy!

My Memory Wall-- A few more things

I added a few empty frames to remind us all that God is still working in our lives and that we need to look for his answers to our prayers.

I added a few more things just because I like them...

I hope to add more to our wall throughout the years.  It is very much not perfect, but I love it!

My Memory Wall-- Places

I am a Tennessee Girl.  My blood runs orange and I love Rocky Top.  When I married Mark, I knew that we would probably be moving.  Tennessee, with its many strengths, is weak in chemical industry.  It came time for us to move when Isaac was six months old.  I did not want to move to Louisiana.  I did not want to move away from my mom and dad.  I was still trying to figure out how to be a stay at home mom.  I was trying to figure out my roll in the church as a mom of a baby.  I was crying as I went, but I was also praying. Mark and I both prayed that God would prepare a place for us.  We prayed for friends and a church family.  I cried and we prayed.

 I arrived in Louisiana on a Friday (Mark had been there a few weeks).  We went to church on Sunday and a young couple's picnic on Monday.  God very quickly answered our prayers.  It took a while for the sadness to go away, but it did not take long to find friends and a church family.  God was so faithful to us during this time of transition.

We lived in Louisiana for six years, and we were so blessed by our life there.  We still wanted to get closer to family, so we decided to move to Alabama.  I cried when I left Baton Rouge as hard as I had cried when I came.  Once again, we prayed that God would prepare a place for us in our new home.  We found a church family we liked and we met a lot of friendly people.  We made a few friends, but it still did not feel like home.  I learned that I needed to be content in each season of my life.  It was not an easy lesson, but it was such an important one.  After only fourteen months in our new home, we got the news that Mark's job would be moved, and we could not stay there.  Those fourteen months suddenly made much more sense.  

We came for an interview in Batesville and it immediately felt more like home.  We were blessed with friends very quickly and we jumped right into a new church family.  Looking back at our times of transition has helped me to see how faithful God has been to us.  These pictures are great reminders that I do not need to worry about the future because it a great provider.