The End of the Road for Elementary School

Skylee has offically graduated from elementary school. I can't believe I have a middle schooler now (am I really that old?!) She's worked so hard this year, and we are truly blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. She was on the honor roll with strait A's all year. We hope her dedication to her studies continues. We have decided to home school her for the next few years (which she's not happy about at all, because she's such a social butterfly) because our school district has made some drastic changes to some programs. This seems to be the only way to keep her on her current course, and we know she'll be ahead of the game when it comes time for high school. At this time we've told her she could go to high school, so she can have the "social" opportunities that high school provides. I don't blame her, I have very fond memories of my high school years. So...unless the entire school system goes to heck in the next few years, that's the plan. We'll see how mom holds up since the teenage attitude has already begun to creep into our home.


Mrs. Abrams her english teacher

Mrs. Alford her math teacher

Her best buddies

Her class mates from church

All A's honor roll students

Fixin' up the old homestead (part 2)

Here's the front door now accessorized. I found a tutorial about how to make this cute wreath on line, and Dacy cut the vinyl for me.

















The master bath is finally done. I finished back in May, but never got around to posting pics. I was so excited at how the shower curtain and window valance turned out. I also painted the medicine cabinet, the vanity, and put in new lighting. Unfortunately my before pics have disappeared?! Oh well...

Paul's First R&R

We were so excited for Paul to come home on Mothers Day. I spent the week tidying up the house, and yard so we could enjoy the first few days with out having to do house work. My nephew's birthday lunch was Saturday, and so the kids and I went to Olive Garden to meet everyone there. We sat down, ordered our drinks, and then someone came up behind me and whispered in my ear, "Have you ordered yet?". At first I thought it was the waiter, and I was thinking, "You are too close buddy, and you know we haven't ordered yet!". But upon turning around I was totally surprised by Paul, who had pulled a fast one, and changed his flight. It was a great surprise, and the kids were equally shocked to see him there! It took Briya a few hours, but by the end of the first day, she remembered her dada. Paul just wanted to be at home, so we spent a lot of time just hanging out together. We spent one weekend up at his parents land, and had a great time riding around on the four wheelers. B was having a hard time with the fact that he couldn't ride alone, but he was a trooper with mom behind him slowing him down. Having Paul leave was harder the 2nd time! We miss him terribly, and he has had a very difficult time getting acclimated back to life in a war zone. We are counting down to his 2nd visit on August 4th. We're hoping this summer passes quickly, so he can be home again.