More party pics

The lady in the blue (in front) was 5th grade teacher

to all 3 of our kids. The girl in brown is her daughter and

was also her student as was the other girl in front.

This dear lady was an aide to Deidre

for four years in elementary. These two would

have been better getting a video of. Deidre's tassel kept

getting her!
Deidre is a little bit bigger then she

was in elementary!

This guy (Kevin) loved his job of grilling

porkchops all day! We put them on

sticks (skewers) and called them chopsticks

This little guy kept busy all day

playing with the kittens in their food dish!

Graduation Party

We had a great day for Deidre's graduation and party. Rain was predicted for both events but it was so kind as to hold off until after. Wayne and I both had a good time getting ready for the event. While I cleaned the freezers in the garage, he worked on a chess table that he was building. (He's got his priorities straight!) Actually the chess set ended up being a hit. Several would stop by to play for a bit!

Wayne had the garage looking pretty good and we used one side of it to set up the food tables. Just outside the garage we had a tent set up. It was just a great day for seeing everyone and catching up a bit. I think it seemed a little unreal to Deidre that all this was for her. She was pretty pleased and is VERY happy to be finished with high school! She just sounds like a different kid this summer. I say "sounds" because she has been at Gma's and Gpa's since her party.

Wayne's Mom and Dad got to come on Tuesday before graduation. They were an incredible help--and tried to help me keep my sanity. Thank you for coming! His older brother, Kevin, came and brought Nick and Amanda. And Amanda brought sweet little Kylie! Thank you Elliott for sharing them with us! Warren and Lauren got to come for the graduation ceremony. Next year will be our turn to go to their place for graduation! And thank you, Elizabeth, for the outfit you got Deidre for her party! It was so cute on her--even without shoes!

I'll post a few pictures from that big day. Guess I'll post pictures of the guests attending graduation first! lol

Catching up!

Please bear with me while I try to update our blog with past events. Hopefully I will do that frequently here since our blog has grown quite stale over the past year. I finally feel like we are coming up for air again! It will be good to see you all again!

She Graduated!

I was trying out the telephoto lens

I had borrowed. We sat clear at the top of

the bleachers and across the football field from

this stand! Not bad!

400+ kids filing out of the gym!There she is! She was helping with the boy next to her.
Walking up on stage to get her
certificate

Friday was Deidre's graduation! It has been quite a trip down memory lane. I'm one that always, ALWAYS puts things off to the last minute--and then go crazy trying to get them finished. My delayed project this time was putting together a scrapbook for Deidre. It was just her school years--but she started preschool at the ISD (Intermediate School District) at age three! It was fun taking a trip down memory lane and seeing just how far she has come.

When Deidre was in first grade she had an aide start with her. That was a tremendous help. From second grade through fifth she had one aide with her the whole time. We still claim that special lady as a very special part of our lives. Middle school and high school were a struggle, but she made it through.

This next year Deidre will be moving on to an adventure that we are all very excited about. She will be starting a work training program through a transition center in the area. For the first time in many years we feel very positive about the assistance she will be receiving. She is excited too, that she will be training with others that understand her!

It just feels unreal to be at this stage of life with a graduate! It seems like just a couple years ago we were laughing about the fact that she would graduate in the year 2010! And here it is already!

Her party was loads of preparation, but the actual event was so much fun! Wayne and I both enjoyed it--and are already looking forward to doing this again! My only thing is--I just wish I could hang onto this time a little longer! I'm anxious to see where they go in life--but I enjoy this time, too!