Graduation...And Life

Well, we made it! Graduation is over. Bittersweet...I didn't cry as much as I thought I would. God is gracious. He has sustained me. I know He will continue to sustain me. It was a wonderful ceremony. I have been to a graduation ceremony from this school a couple years ago and was very moved (and impressed). Amazing...every part of the ceremony pointed to God...praising Him through it all.

I am proud of my son, of his accomplishments. Yes, I'm thrilled that he's smart, and that he was salutatorian of his class. I'm pleased that he has been surrounded these last four years with Christian friends, who encourage each other in their moments of weakness. I'm so thankful that all of his teachers are Christians who share their passion for Christ on a daily basis. But more than this, I am so thrilled and thankful that my son has a passion for Christ and that he is in a vibrant, growing relationship with his Savior.

I know these are the reasons for the satanic attacks we seem to be under so often. The devil, our adversary, is roaming about, seeking whom he might destroy. I know he can't destroy our souls (because Jesus holds them in His hands, PTL!), but he does seek to destroy our Christian testimony! That serpent of old, the father of lies constantly tempts us in our areas of weakness. He seeks to entice us continually. He promises what he cannot deliver. And I sometimes grow weary of fighting the battle.

But I am so very grateful to my heavenly Father, for He hears me when I cry out to Him. He delivers me from the oppression. He holds me in His arms while I weep. And He delivers what He promises! He promises me rest. He knows that I am weary and He gives me rest. He is my Rock and my Salvation. He is my ever-present help in times of trouble. Praise Him for He is holy...praise Him for He is love...praise Him for He is my shield! I will glory in Christ alone!

Countdown to Graduation

Wow! I know you're getting tired of hearing me say it, but....life is moving FAST! Graduation is only six days away!! I'm not ready! I was hoping to have a scrapbook of his high school years ready for display on his graduate's table, but I don't know if that will happen...I'm only finished with his junior year. I guess I might be able to make it by graduation night, but I was hoping to have it ready for the graduate reception at church this Sunday night! I guess we'll see how fast I can work on it tomorrow.

Honors Day was held at his school this past Wednesday. He is Salutatorian of his class. His best friend (who will also be his college room-mate) is Valedictorian. It's a small Christian school; there are only 12 seniors. I've been so busy with end-of-the-year activities for him that we haven't accomplished much of what I'd planned for homeschool this month with my other children. I've already warned them that we will still be in "school" after he finishes. But that's okay...learning is for a lifetime. And I'd already planned to do more reading throughout the summer anyway!

May the joy of the Lord be yours in abundance.

Life

To quote my irl friend, "When did life move from fast to FAST?" That's definitely what it feels like around our house right now. Seems like everything happens all at once! I'm ready for summer now so we can slow down a little (sort of...daughter plays softball during summer, so we are on the go, but not as much as now).

FIL continues to improve (praise Jesus!). He is doing quite well with his therapy sessions. My dh teases him, saying they'll have him running steps before they're done!

Older son's baseball season is over now; we made it to the second round of state play-offs! However, he is in that "let-down" mode, kind of moping around the house because he has played his last "high school" game ever. I can tell he's in that transition mode; he's ready (sort of) to graduate and move on to a bit more independence, yet he's not sure if he's quite ready. Understandable...I'm not quite ready yet, either! Here are some pictures of the baseball games:

He plays 3rd base.

Younger son and mom

And yes, he did catch this pop fly; I just snapped the picture too soon! Timing is everything!

Here we are stopped at a Bass Pro Shop on the way home from the games. LOL, other people are there shopping and I'm taking pictures!

There were tadpoles in this water, and I was afraid I was going to have to fish my kids out (lol)!

Life is certainly moving forward. We've been having the best time watching the birds around here. Funny how last year we studied Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day and we didn't seem nearly as interested in the birds then as we are now! We've also had fun watching the metamorphosis of the tadpoles we collected. I've enjoyed seeing the colors appear in my yard, how everything has turned from the dull browns of winter to the vibrant hues of summer! And I say summer instead of spring because around here we experience maybe about a week of two of spring-time, then we charge right into summer! I really do enjoy this time of year! Except for the mosquitoes!

Recently, we met with some others from our home school group and learned about composting, and we were able to make our own smaller version of a compost bin to take home. Afterwards, the kids just played together and had a great time. We moms enjoyed the time of fellowship as well.

By the way, we finished reading The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Spear today. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you do. It is a very good book!

An Update

My fil continues to improve. He is residing in the rehabilitation/therapy unit of the local nursing home. The doctors told him he has to stay for therapy for 20 days; as of today, 5 days down, 15 to go! He is doing very well, but we continue to covet your prayers.

On a side note, he was released from the hospital on the day after the first case of swine flu was diagnosed in the state of Georgia; the patient was admitted into the same hospital where my fil was located. This pandemic has now hit "close" to home for us.

We will be traveling to north Georgia today for my son's baseball games. His team has made it through the first round of the State Play-offs, and is in the second round this weekend! It's a double-header today. Gotta love baseball!