I’ve been tragically slow at getting Kait’s graduation post up.  It isn’t for no reason.  And it isn’t because it wasn’t a big deal to me.  In fact, just the opposite.  I’ve been sitting on this post since last Saturday because I just couldn’t come up with any words that accurately expressed my delight in my daughter’s graduation from high school.

And I still can’t.

But I must get the post written.  Family is waiting.

The day was crazy. Actually, the whole week before graduation day was crazy though I can’t pinpoint why.  Just everything seemed magnified.  Like when the kids were all being loud and it normally sounds like kids being loud but that week it sounded like a team of helicopters landing in the back yard. Constantly.  That kind of magnified.  It may not have had anything to do with the graduation ceremony coming up, but it felt like it did. Everything felt related to that event.

Good things were magnified too.  Time spent with friends felt much more valuable.  My dad flying in to surprise Kait on her special day was definitely awesome. And the gift of a Kindle along with $100 in gift cards to fill it with books from Papa, Nona, Uncle Frank, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Matt and Aunt Nina was so generous and thoughtful and is very much treasured. And Kait walking in to the auditorium along with 22 other homeschool graduates in step with Pomp And Circumstance played by a very young homeschooling orchestra was a feeling not easily described.

Our homeschool graduation ceremony is not like those traditional school ceremonies.  We, the parents, present the diploma. We also get to say a few words if we choose.  Ryan definitely chose.  He read a verse to Kait and said something meaningful about her being an arrow shot from his bow.  I don’t remember exactly what because he had a microphone and an auditorium full of people were looking directly at us.  It was meaningful though.  And a little nerve wracking.  I didn’t trip and fall.

Kait did trip, however.  But not on the graduation stage.  It was later.   And she didn’t fall, really. I didn’t see her actually trip but I heard it, thought to myself, I hope that wasn’t Kait, and turned to see about 4 young men jump out to help her.  These homeschooled boys are just like that.  Very chivalrous.  And that’s the only reason I’m telling the story.

There are no words to describe the feeling of your first child being born.  Yeah, we say it’s amazing, wonderful, and all kinds of lovey stuff.  But really, nothing accurately describes their birth.  And now I’ve felt how similar the feeling is when that first child graduates from high school.  Adult hood is RIGHTTHERE and you get to watch it and be a part of it but it’s theirs and not yours so you must just let them.  And while they are separating from you, becoming their own person, you might say it’s amazing and wonderful and all kinds of lovey stuff.  But that doesn’t accurately describe watching them becoming adults.  And it doesn’t describe the pain that comes with watching them grow away.  Knowing they aren’t necessarily leaving you, but they are being ripped from you much the same way they were when they were first born.

It’s a complicated feeling.  One I have trouble with.

She’s grown up so beautifully.  Inside and out she is everything I could ever ask for in a daughter.  And while she’s only 16 and still has a few years of carefree childhood left, I see the adult Kait in her every single day. It makes me leap for joy inside.

As for those of you who are dying to know what she’s planning to do with her life…

Kait has found her calling in the domestic arts.  She will no doubt make some man a very wonderful wife someday and will most definitely be a much better mother than I could ever hope to be.  Until that time comes, however, she is persistent at increasing her mind through research, study, and reading historical stories. Most interesting to her right now is Biblical history. She is also writing two historical fiction novels, one with her friend, Katy, and one on her own.  And she has taken over much of the boys schooling and is currently organizing their summer reading lists.

She has a review blog here where she focuses on reviewing Christian works for girls from the tween ages through young adult.  You should check it out.

And that’s not all.  Good grief the girl is ambitious.  I couldn’t possibly list all her interests here.  Photography, animal husbandry, dog training, gardening, etc…

Kait,
I am so glad to call you daughter.  And even happier that you are growing into someone I am delighted to call friend.  We have been able to share so many new things together this past year as you have become more woman and less child and that makes my heart sing.  Congratulations on your high school graduation.  Your dad and I are so proud of you. I wish I could come up with the right words to explain to you the joy you have brought me these last 16 years, but anything I might say will most definitely come out as a complete failure compaired with the feelings I have about it all.  So I’ll just say I think you’re awesome.

I love you, Kid.

My neighbor is preparing to have a garage sale on Saturday.  I toyed with the idea of having one, too, but I think maybe that garage sales are going to be the last thing on anybody’s mind being that Saturday is the rapture and all.  I’m wondering what clothes I should wear to bed tomorrow night just in case I get snatched up while I’m sleeping.  Something pretty, maybe?  Or maybe my clothes will be left behind as I ascend into the heavens like the Christian’s clothes did in those Left Behind books that only vaguely resemble something a little bit like anything Biblical but I still find extremely entertaining so I’ve read them a few times even though some people think that’s bad.

I’m thinking that maybe clothes left behind would not be so good. Could you imagine looking up and seeing a whole bunch of naked people floating upwards like balloons let loose at the kind of celebration where they set balloons free? Nevermind. Don’t imagine that. I just did. It wasn’t pretty. I’m going to try to forget that I ever imagined that.

One time I had a dream that I was driving and suddenly the roof of my car sprang off and flew backwards down the road smashing into other cars as they swerved and mashed their brake pedals and skidded sideways and stuff and then I floated up, up, and away into the sky and I was dressed the whole time. That’s how I picture the rapture happening.  I wish I knew what time it was taking place on Saturday so I could make sure I was in the right place at the right time.  Heaven forbid I’m showering or something. That would be embarrassing.

I was concerned about my pets for a minute.  But all dogs go to heaven, right?  Then I remembered that I have a cat.  And a plecostimus.  And a gecko.  But I think I’m just going to register them with After The Rapture Pet Care.  It’s only $10 per pet and
since the brown widow escaped somehow, that makes it only $30 for my non-canine family members. And we’ll never be asked to pay another dime.

I think I’ll still make like I’m going to have a garage sale just in case the predictions are wrong because there is that one verse in the Bible that says we won’t know the day or the hour or some such nonsense and if Jesus really meant that then that means Saturday is, in fact, not the day of the rapture and I’ll then be running around like crazy trying to get a garage sale together last minute and that’ll make me cranky.

Anybody want to buy a front loading Kenmore Elite washing machine and matching dryer?  And a fish?

Today’s giveaway is a $25 gift card to Publix. Gift cards my favorite thing to giveaway. Gift cards to Publix are awesome because everybody eats food sometimes. At least everybody I know anyway.

To enter to see if you could be chosen to recieve your very own gift card you must take the following course of action by the end of May 29th, 2011. US addresses only. Feel free to enter even if I “know” you.  Winners are chosen randomly.

1. Read this post with interest. Publix is awesome so this shouldn’t be too hard.
2. Tell me something good. Or funny. Or anything really. Just make it about food. Like I said, everybody eats food. This shouldn’t be too hard either. Do this in the comment section.
3. You can leave a second comment if you chose to pass this giveaway on to somebody else. Like through a link on your blog or Twitter or Facebook or something. This will take a little more effort but it will gain you a second entry. You may find this worth it but one time I entered to win a gaming system that had over 600 entries and 8 ways to enter and I only chose one method of entry. I won. It was awesome. I felt like all happy and stuff about it until I remembered that I believe all gaming systems should be burned with fire. But I didn’t have to buy Joe a Christmas present that year. It was bitter sweet.

Have I mentioned before how easily sidetracked I am? 

Publix is awesome and I can imagine that when they conspire with a brand like General mills and host a Great Deals on Great Meals event,  lots of yummy things can result.  To help get everybody in the celebratory mood My Blog Sparkhas teamed up with General Mills to offer you all a chance to win $25 gift card to Publix.  Also, because not everybody wants to wait to see if they win to get savings, you may be happy to know that from May 12th through May 29th, you can visit GreatDealsOnGreatMeals.comto download $10.80 in coupons valid exclusively at Publix.
You’ll want to get your coupons and then stop by Publix by May 29th to take advantage of great savings on things like pasta makings, Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ and other featured products like Yoplait Yogurt, Honey Nut Cheerios and Progresso Soup.

Remember to go ahead and enter to win the $25 gift card now so you don’t forget!

1 winner will be chosen on or around 5/30/2011.

We will announce it on the blog here. I’ll also email you if you’ve provided your email address. But, I can’t hang onto your winnings forever so make sure you check back!

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Traveling east.

Baby is crying.

Toddler is hollering No, me, my over and over again.

2 more boys are giggling and yelping in the way back seat, hitting each other with empty Zephyrhills water bottles but in the car that’s wrong so Joe is warning sternly that they must knock it off.

Kait has her hands over her ears becausd she’s trying to concentrate on whatever it is she’s looking at on her laptop. I thought to be angry with her about it for a second but then imagined myself with ear plugs in. And I understand.

My husband just looked over at me and said, I’ll be your huckleberry. But huckleberries taste like robitussin so I’m not sure how to feel about that. Besides, didn’t Doc Holliday die of tuberculosis?

And we have about 40 miles left of our 380 mile trip. It might as well be 1000 though.

Nevermind on that last thought. With all that is in me I take that back because wouldn’t that be the type of sick joke I would have played on me.

We’ve been busy this last week. I don’t do busy well. It messes with my head something awful. I become forgetful, tired, and careless.

Today is Sam’s 4th birthday. I didn’t forget this fact. How could I with his reminding us that he’s grown about 341 times today. 4 is a big age, you know. It’s half way to Matthew’s age and Matthew can do big things like throw the basketball into the hoop and chew gum without swallowing it and read.

I did, however, forget to write his happy birthday post.

Samma, as we like to call him, was born adorable. Perfectly clean, wrinkle free, with a perfect complexion.

My mother-in-law’s husband said, That is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen. Really, he’s so cute I want to say a bad word.

You know that’s some kind of cute.

Sam was rarely put down. He was born in a time where his sister was finding her mommy side.  She didn’t like to hear him cry, or see him alone, or let him sit on his own where he might get bored.  He didn’t walk until he was 16 months old because you can’t learn to walk if you’re always being carried. 

But Sam can walk now, and jump even. And he’s really close to riding a two wheel bike.

Sam and his best friend Willy

Happy birthday Sam! We love you! 

Four is going to be an awesome year.

There are times in my life when I just have nothing to write about. It’s like my normally slightly interesting existence suddenly goes through a dry patch and writing material just doesn’t happen like I’m used to.

That is not the case right now. Not at all.
I have plenty to tell my blog about, I just haven’t had the presence of mind lately to put anything down with any semblance of order. I am sure you wouldn’t understand a thing I wrote anyway and it would probably disappoint you somewhat like if you were trying to pet a fish because you thought it was friendly and didn’t have teeth but it wasn’t friendly and did have teeth and it bit you and left a mark.

So, I will leave you today with a picture of what 12 kids did at my friend’s house with sidewalk chalk, a fence, and a whole lot of time because we said at least a bazillion times, Go. Out. Side., and they were like, But it’s boring, and we were like, Okay, good then, because we have all these division problems we need completed, and so they found something to do because they all believe that division is the devil and will burn them with fire if they ever come near it.

It’s actually pretty cool.
The fence. Not division.

I do have a lot to write about. Daughter graduated high school on Saturday. I’ll definitely be telling my blog about that before too long. There was a silly looking hat and a turquoise tassel involved. You’ll want to check back.

A few days ago Kait said that 11 week old Lucy laughed for her (she’s actually 12 weeks old today). Though we’ve been able to tell that she’s been close to laughing for a few weeks, we weren’t really sure that Lucy had actually laughed for Kait. Not that we thought Kait was being dishonest, but sometimes a big smile and a cough at the same time can resemble a laugh and an excited big sister might take that to mean she got the first laugh.

You know what I mean.

However, the next day Lucy laughed for my friend, Marty. I didn’t hear this one either but now two people had heard her laugh and I was more apt to believe that she was, in fact, letting out little giggles, not just coughs and smiles.

Today Lucy has been laughing all day long. She likes when we play with her feet and make silly noises. It is so adorable to hear her tiny little new baby giggle.

I got this picture of her while she was super happy. She was flappin’ away with her arms and legs and only her face wasn’t really blurry.  Kind of weird – almost like a special effect. But I’m just saying that to make myself feel better for taking yet another not-so-awesome phone picture [wink-wink, Penny]. ;o)

So, Kait got the first giggle from Lucy and I think that’s fitting.  She’s been praying for a little sister for a long time and I think it’s kind of special that Lucy has taken to her big sis in a special way.  Their relationship is definitely gonna be one of a kind, I think.

Because we decided not to find out Lucy’s gender before she was born we were pink-less without anything girly at all to cloth or wrap her in right after she made her first appearance.  It wasn’t but about 20 minutes after she was born before I received my first gift of girl stuff from my neighbor.  Two big boxes of baby girl clothes made their way into my bedroom without me even noticing. (We had Lucy at home)

Before too long packages were rolling in filled with so much girly-ness.  I was just giddy wading through all the cute stuff.  Thank you to all of you who sent Lucy all those adorable clothes, blankets, and accessories.  It was much needed and we are so appreciative of your gifts.

But I want to send out a specific thank you to my grandmother who made a beautiful lavender baby blanket for Lucy to snuggle under.

Thank you, Grandmom, for the time and care you took in creating a unique blanket just for our new baby girl.  We love it and I’m sure your new great granddaughter appreciates having a comfortable blanket to snuggle up with.

I love you, Grandmom!

P.S. I simply love that my grandmother reads my blog. Love it.

I’m bored because we’re on the road today and I have nothing to write about because nothing of blog worthiness has happened.  I’m not really complaining about that, but I’m sort of complaining at the same time.  I really don’t want anything eventful to happen but it would be nice to be able to pass the time sitting in the car with a good story dripping with details that should be blogged about like something broke or got dirty or set itself on fire or something.

If only we lived in a more perfect world where bloggers never run out of material and chocolate is not only fat and calorie free but can be grown easily on my window sill even when I forget to water it.

But alas, we live in a time where sometimes there just isn’t anything of note to blog about.  And to be honest, fire is not on my list of favorite things right now anyway, being that we live in Florida and the temperature outside is in the 90′s this week.

So I leave you with peanut butter and jelly fingerprints and a bag of cheese puffs with a gnat in it.  A tragic failure of a blog post.  I know.

I’m sick. Nothing serious. It’s not like I have something that could make me dead like the pig flu or monkey ebola or anything. It’s just a little thing called allergic rhinitis that I’ve probably had for years, that spurred on something else called bronchitis with the help of a mild cold my kids brought me. And then there is a hint of that pneumonia thing.

I’m all messed up.

I actually went to the doctor yesterday because I felt so horrible.  There was a sign at the check in desk that said something like, but maybe not exactly, Please don’t come to the doctor if you think you’re sick with something contagious. Things like a cough, runny nose, congestion, fever, and headache should be treated at home with over-the-counter products.

So then I felt wrong for being there and wondered what kind of punishment I would be made to endure. Like maybe somebody would give me a dirty look or throw fire at me or something.

But no. Everybody acted like it was normal to come to visit the doctor when you aren’t feeling well so I felt better about breaking their no sick people rule that I didn’t know about because I never go to the doctor and didn’t know they weren’t for sick people anymore.

The doc was really nice and helpful. She asked me some questions and then said that a mother of two can’t afford to be sick and she was definitely going to help me get well.

I don’t know what made her think I have two kids. I chuckled on the inside but I didn’t correct her right then. However, my children did come up in conversation a few minutes later and she was shocked and awed and all the normal junk that happens when people find out we’re one of those families.

She said, I think you probably have the biggest family in the Navy.  I bet you do.
But I don’t know about that.  I think large families are becoming more and more common.  But we are pretty big and I’ve not met any other military families with more than 6 kids before. Still, I’m sure there are larger Navy families out there somewhere.

After the appointment we went around the corner to pickup my prescriptions and, people, if anybody tells you that  you can pull off hot pants with a tucked in t-shirt that says keep staring I might do a trick, they were lying to you.
It’s just wrong.