Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Sending

A sneak peek of the photo I chose for Sunday.
My oldest and "youngest".  
Twenty years separate these two, but the bond will always be there.
We raised little Miss R for the first year of her life 
and have the privilege of seeing her once a month. 
 I can't keep either one of them. One leaves on Tuesday 
and the other begins her new life on Wednesday. 

Monday night we had a get together to wish our eldest godspeed.
Fantastic friends.
 Marvelous mentors.
 Family.
 A constant presence.
 Babysitter extraordinaire.
 Grandparents.
 Friends who knew her when.

 The party was laid back. Just what she wanted. 
Lindsey got a chance to visit with all of the special 
people who have seen her turn into an incredible woman.
The kids rode in the back of the pickup and thought they were living dangerously. 
If they only knew...
Lindsey did a great job of spending time with her siblings over the last few weeks. She took them shopping, read stories, went on family outings, and gave them rides in her new car. 

On Wednesday, our daughter will kick up her heels and fly the coop to begin a new life a few hours away. She has a great opportunity on a big dairy farm where she will be a manager, responsible for the health and well-being of a whole lot of cows. We will miss her terribly but the excitement of watching a child land on her feet and make her way is the best feeling ever.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Pictures of the Week 5/20-5/26

Hanging in there with Project365. Some days I "almost" forget. No stellar pics but more representative of our fun and frivolity this week.
Dress Up
141 / 365
She escorted our visiting missionaries to the front of the church on Mission Sunday. 
We believe in global outreach, until they all hear...
Big Day
142 / 365
Her first car.
Artwork
143 / 365
Copying a famous artist, we created pictures from fruit at the Children's Museum.
A Very Important Date
144 / 365
Our guide was fabulous. 
We acted out the event and learned what really happened.
Budding Entomologist
145 / 365
The girls found some very cool moths.
Fingerprints
146 / 365
I'm pretty sure someone was watching me take a picture....
Her
147 / 365
Love is a beautiful soulful noun.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Monday Monday

A snapshot of last Monday.

I don't imagine there IS such a thing as a typical day around here.

Got up and made granola.
 Drank my first ever kale smoothie. Went down easy.
Helped my daughter with her first independent act - we/she bought a car.

Taught Preschool through 8th grade math - yes, everything in between.

Counseled a crying single mom on the phone.

Made butternut squash apple soup/tahini green beans/oatmeal muffins for lunch.

According to my disgusted son, I've gone crunchy.

Cleaned my bathroom for the second time in a month. Woohoo!

Did loads of laundry (don't bother counting anymore).

Checked my e-mail, too many times. Oh, most likely FB too. However my scrabble buddy was out of town....

Texted a friend.

Took little boys to their last swim lesson.

Left after dinner and went grocery shopping at 7:30. My husband and daughter dropped me off and went to get her stuff out of her college abode and picked me up on the way home.

9:30pm - Put groceries away. 

Read my book for Book Club.
Darn, I didn't get my nap in today. 

I think I took a shower because I don't usually go out of the house without one.

In between were hugs and stories and probably tears in there somewhere. 

Maybe theirs, maybe mine.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Finishing Well - Graduation

Bear with me on the million pictures. Unfortunately, I will never be a scrapbooker. Therefore, I must document these amazing events where I am able. Thank you twenty-first century and all the gadgets that go with it.

We have our first college graduate. Our oldest, Lindsey, graduated from our state university last Saturday. We were all on hand to witness this important milestone for our beloved sister, daughter, granddaughter, niece, and friend.
A plethora of black hats. 
Thank goodness for texting so she could tell me where she was. 
I didn't think we had a chance of spotting her.
There she is. I'm thinking those braces were a good investment.
She decorated her hat appropriately, I'd say. 
It's all about the cows, you know.
There was a mass of humanity with about 2500 graduates.
My wonderful advance team came at 7:15 in order to procure 15 seats for our family. Which meant leaving the house at 6:00. That is A.M. See why they are so wonderful?
We sat down and migrated into a girl row and a boy row. 
Why do we do that?
I was a little unnerved when we spotted the snipers on all the roof tops. 
Didn't really put two and two together for awhile.
The speaker was Ron Noble, Secretary General of Interpol. 
I guess he has a sniper-worthy job.
Near the end of the ceremony, we were surprised by an entourage of secret service walking right by our section. Apparently Ron Noble knew someone and wanted to say hi.
At first I thought they were coming after me for pointing my big black camera at the sniper guys. Just like on TV, ear pieces, guns (which the guy in the brown suit was happy to show off), and not a drop of sweat in the 80 degree weather. They all had suit coats and ties and looked cool as cucumbers. We were wilting after two hours in the sun.
A treat to be up close and personal. 
I was pleased that an African American was the speaker.
After the graduation, we restaurant-ed in celebration of our girl. The wait was a bit long but worth it for excellent seafood so we resorted to calling the other end of the table on cell phones. Whatever works, right?
The boys were dreaming big in the front seat of the limo.
We took the grandparents to see "Lindsey's" cows one last time. 
We found a few curious looking specimens in the heifer barn.
I think she's giving him the stink eye, don't you?
This is a test. Does my brother read my blog?
Father and son. Really nice that they came to support Lindsey.
Cows don't bite. They make the perfect petting animals for little boys.
We all graduated from the same school.
The rest of us, a few decades ago.
 The grandparents have supported Lindsey through her life. 
We are grateful for all of them.
Those beautiful cheekbones spell Peterson. 
Thank you, Farmor, for being part of our special day.
All present and accounted for. 
Missing one big one who had a track meet.
Aunties and Uncles.
Thanks for coming.
Proud parents. Aren't we cute in our black and white? 
I never realized until I saw the pictures.
The day was long in coming. Lindsey worked extremely hard and finished well.She's accomplished much in her 22 years, has a sustaining faith, trusting that God will always steer her in His direction.

For me, I got a little choked up wondering if I could possibly do this 9 more times....

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Pictures of the Week 5/13-5/19

What a week. There is so much going on here that it is almost too much to talk about. We had performances, an unplanned appliance swap, and a graduation. Lots of changes but it's all good, praise the Lord!
  My Sailor
134 / 365
Our son was in a Shakespeare play and played a sailor. 
He's a good actor and enjoys the theater onstage and offstage.
  Triple Trouble
135 / 365
Now that the land of diapers and such is a memory, 
seatbelts and carseats can be manipulated. 
I had this awesome cheering section hanging 
out the window while I pumped gas.
  Front Loader
136 / 365
A worthy event when a family of 11 goes 7 days without a washer.
My very first front loader arrived today. 
I am one happy momma!
  Swinging
137 / 365
Even big girls like to have fun!
  The Simple Joys
138 / 365
Childhood should always be like this!
  There She Is!
139 / 365
We were grateful that we caught sight of our daughter 
in the sea of graduates at the Honors Convocation.
Graduation Day
140 / 365
She did it! Our first born graduated with a 
Bachelor of Science from our state university.