On to the Next Step

Tonight Ryan graduated from Preschool; his first big milestone on the road of education. I didn't go to preschool when I was his age. I grew up in the dark ages where you just went to Kindergarten right out of the chute and didn't have to know your alphabet to get accepted.

Women go Crazy for a Sharp Dressed Man

Ryan picked out the shirt and tie himself. The shirt actually came with a clip-on tie, but he also wanted to get a real tie. I guess even at five a man needs to have options when getting dressed up for a big event.

Too Cool for School

This is downstairs in the basement getting ready for the ceremony. The teachers made the hats for all the children. They even measured each of their heads so they would have a perfect fit.

Getting his Bible and Diploma from his Teacher

Ryan had the best teachers: Mrs. Brands and Mrs. Graves. Mrs. Brands is actually retiring after this year, so neither Chase or Karis will have her - which is a shame. But Ryan was lucky enough to have her both years AND Mrs. Graves will hopefully still be there by the time Chase and Karis go to Preschool.

I'm only here for the popcorn.

Chase was also dressed to impress...even though he would not pose with his brother or let me take his picture. I had to take this picture covert style when he wasn't looking...which explains Grandpa's tummy. Chase's favorite part of the evening was the cookies and punch afterwards. He hit a milestone tonight as well as he learned to drink from a cup all by himself.

Karis was also dressed up for the evening, but the only shot I got of her was a very unflattering close-up with her eyes half closed and her tongue sticking out. Someday when she is a teenager and she thinks I am the meanest mom in the world because I won't let her do something all her friends are doing, I'll remind her that I didn't post that picture.

First of Many

I know that you all have been patiently waiting for updates on everything, or maybe you've been waiting for any update at all... I apologize, but things here have been more than busy. I know you want to see pictures of the new kitchen, or perhaps maybe find out how my mom is doing, or if Tracy got his CDL. I have a lot to catch up on, I am aware.

So - since I don't have the time or the energy tonight to tackle the big issues, I'll put some recent pictures of the kids up so you can see how they are doing. Here are some of my favorites:

KARIS

Karis is getting big, big, big. She can roll over quite easily now, and always has a smile on her face. Even when she is really upset, I can usually get her to smile in between cries.

Although not seen in either of these two pictures, she has recently decided that she really likes to stick her tongue out ALL THE TIME. It is the cutest thing, and since she realized that it makes everyone laugh and smile she does it even more. We just had her six month old pictures taken, and one of the best ones was with her tongue sticking out. She'll be so proud of that one when she's 16. Hee hee - being Mom is good sometimes.

CHASE

Chase has decided that he would like to live on snack food and never eat anything healthy...ever. It has been fun battling him over this, and due to his stubbornness, he has seen a few bedtimes with no snack and little to no dinner. We have decided that he not only gets his good looks from his dad (see above picture), but also his eating habits. He has also started talking a lot lately. He is very polite and says thank you and sorry all the time. I think he has decided that he doesn't want Mom continually hounding him with the infamous question: "And what do you say?" That is Ryan's favorite question, I'm sure.

RYAN

CRAZY BLUE MOHAWK!!!!! Enough said, right?

After asking him for over a month, just to be sure, we decided that Ryan could get a mohawk, a blue mohawk. Sometime this week it will become a crazy blonde tipped mohawk, though, so we can change the colors when we want to. This is a summer haircut for Ryan. Since his alopecia came back and he was almost up to 50% hair loss again anyway, we decided he could have whatever haircut he wanted. The best thing about this haircut, besides the fact that he LOVES it, is that people actually make positive comments to him about his hair now. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for him to hear, "Hey, cool haircut," instead of, "What is wrong with his hair?" I know Ryan is happier about the reason why people stare at his hair now. That is worth any haircut in my opinion.

MEGAN

Ok, so Megan isn't one of my three children, but she is my ONLY niece and we were lucky enough to have her come down and spend some time with us in March...even if it was just for the shopping. Here she is holding a much smaller Karis. She's probably going to kill Aunt Denise for posting her picture. Too bad she lives so far away and can't do anything about it. We love you, Megan. ;)

P.S. My mom is doing GREAT. Thank you everyone who sent love and prayers our way. I will update on her within the next few days. Our kitchen is wonderful - pictures before the end of the week. And last but not least, Tracy can drive the big rigs on his own. Woo hoo, another trucker in the family, just the way we like it!