Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Post Full of Pictures

This post is dedicated completely to my daughter. I suppose I could have done a slide show except for the fact that I don't know how to do it.

I've wanted to post these pictures for a very long time, but chose to wait until she graduated. They are her senior pictures - only a few out of the 300+ pictures we have.




This one is my personal favorite!






Friday, June 26, 2009

The BIG Day

Here it is two weeks later and I'm just now getting around to posting about Lyndsey's BIG day.

She actually had a BIG weekend.

It started on Thursday, June 11. The kids and I had to leave early before everyone else because she had to be at rehearsal by 6 PM. Her graduation was not local. It was in northern Los Angeles. Since we homeschool, the independent study group we are with is based out there.

The display board of Lyndsey's life

a closer look at the pictures



We left beautiful (but cool for this time of year) 85 degree weather and headed into 55 degree (and overcast and cold) weather. We forgot our coats and just about froze our little tails off (just a minor exaggeration). At least it felt that way.

We stayed in a Marriott about 10 miles from where the graduation was held. Thanks to my brother-in-law, we got an awesome rate there.

As I was driving to the hotel on Thursday night I recognized a mall that I had been to several years ago. I told Lyndsey that we were going there the next day for makeovers.

After breakfast, Grandpa and Grandma and Lyndsey and I went to the mall. We went to the Bare Escentuals boutique and both got a makeover. The makeup artist did an AMAZING job! And the best part was it was free!

We had the pleasure of having a very leisurely afternoon. It felt great to have nothing pressing for the better part of the entire day.

We were treated to a small meal at the church for all the seniors and their immediate family members before the ceremony started. I wish I had been there right at the beginning. All the seniors were having professional pictures done as an entire class (there were 17 graduates). Lyndsey only brought one pair of nylons and they ended up having a run all the way up the leg. So.....Mom had to run around and find another pair for her - which wasn't the easiest thing to do because she HAD to have black. Tan would NOT do. Nosiree! By the time I got back, the pictures were done.

Some of the pictures before the ceremony.



But she did have a few minutes to herself and so we did our own pictures.

The ceremony was fabulous! I wish I had the money to purchase the dvd from the graduation! It was first class!

During the ceremony



Lyndsey was the most gorgeous girl on the stage (and I'm not being prejudiced, either - no, seriously! :)). She seemed far more calm than I expected. I did get choked up a couple of times during the ceremony, though (surprise, surprise).

After the ceremony, her attention was wanted by soooo many people. I hardly saw her except for the pictures I took of her. She definitely was beaming that night!

After the ceremony

Lyndsey with Ron and Sheryl Brown

Our pastor and his parents with the graduate

Lyndsey with Serena

Lyndsey with LeeAnn

Lyndsey with Cody (LeeAnn's brother) - also a graduate

Lyndsey with family friends - the Sundquist family

Last, but not least, the 3 Muskateers
Richard, Lyndsey, Eddie
Richard and Eddie graduated 2 weeks before Lyndsey
This is the last picture of the 3 of them before they all enter adulthood officially.

Sunday evening we had a reception for Lyndsey at our church. The girl made out like a bandit with graduation gifts! But it is all much needed since she's leaving for college in 2 months.

Her graduation cake
I have been so excited for my girl. This has been an event that I have looked forward to for her for so long. She just makes me so proud! I love that girl (turned young woman) so much! For days leading up to graduation I had been thinking about the day she was born and holding her in my arms for the first time. I remember thinking that 2009 was sooooo far off and I had an enormous amount of time to be with her. And now she starts a new phase in life.

All in all, it was better than I could have imagined. We are so proud of our little girl. She has grown into a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord and all she wants to do is to serve Him. We could not have asked for a better daughter!

Monday, June 15, 2009

A Small Request

Update: As of Friday, June 19, we still haven't found Ruby. However, we did get 2 phone calls about her. We followed up on them and didn't get her, but are thankful that folks care enough to call. We continue to put flyers throughout the neighborhoods and have covered the laundromats, pet groomers, barber shops, and library. It is comforting to know that quite possibly she is still alive even after being gone for a week now. We were thinking that someone had her and either she wasn't wearing her collar with her id tag on it anymore or they just didn't care enough to call us.

We just have to keep waiting on the Lord for answers. For years, I have prayed for patience. This little trial is really testing my patience (hopefully growing it). Sometimes I find myself upset over this and wonder why patience is so difficult for me. Then other times it seems easy to wait out this whole thing. I KNOW that no matter the outcome of this, my God is still good, awesome, merciful, gracious, caring, compassionate, etc. and my family and I will continue to serve Him.

Ruby is a huge part of our family (we are BIG animal lovers) and I realize that some people don't understand why we are putting forth such effort to find her because she is just a dog. Ruby has been loyal and faithful to us and has always given 100% of herself to protect us and she's just an all around great dog. Very loving and obedient.


We have returned from a very big event in the life of our daughter (i.e. her high school graduation). More on that later.

Right now I would ask each of you who read this post to pray for our little dog, Ruby.

Lyndsey's graduation was not local for us. We had to drive for 2 hours to get to the church where it would be held. We had decided to make it a 3 day vacation. One hour before Lyndsey's graduation ceremony was to begin, we got a call from the people who were taking care of her that she had run away and they couldn't find her. We actually weren't worried about her at that time. We figured she would come home in a few minutes or by the next morning. We chose not to tell the kids until late that night about Ruby.

We decided Saturday morning that we better get home and look for her. We've been looking for her and others have been as well since to no avail. I've made up a poster and will be handing them out as soon as Walter gets home tonight. We've been through the neighborhood and beyond many times and just returned from about a 2 hour walk thru a different one with no luck.

The kids (Tyler in particular) are having a hard time with Ruby being gone. Tyler cried for hours on Saturday. We have put her in God's hands and have asked Him to take good care of her and to bring her home. Would you please pray with us for her? Thank you to all who do.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Do You Know Anyone Like This?

Or are you like this?

Lyndsey and I were shopping tonight at the grocery store. We were in the produce section when the following scenario took place.

A older man and a woman (and apparently the man's dad, I think) were in the produce section just a few feet from us. Each of them had their own shopping cart (we thought it was odd that 3 people needed 3 carts).

The woman is looking at something. The man is over at the bagged salad section and he grabs a bag and proceeds to put it in his cart. The woman (I think his wife) sees what he got.

Woman: "No, you are not getting that! You put that back right now! You can't have that with your diet! You ruined your salad the other night with all that mayonnaise you put on it! Put it back right now!"

The man then puts the salad back.

Lyndsey and I are watching the whole thing and have BIG smiles on our faces because it was just plain funny. I happened to glance at the man's dad and he had a BIG smile on his face, too!

We go about our business and all of a sudden the woman starts talking really loud again.

Woman: "I told you to put that back! You can't have it!"

The man had just gone back to the bagged salad section and picked up the salad again and put it in his cart.

Man: "I win! I win! I win!"

I look up and the man and I look at each other. I couldn't help it! I was outright laughing at this whole thing! The man is smiling and softly chuckling.

I tried not to be so obvious, but you know how those things go! The woman sees me laughing and she taps me on the shoulder and says "You know how these things are! He just won't listen! And then he ruins his salad by putting a half cup of mayonnaise all over it!" I just laughed. She actually did have a smile on her face by this time (she wasn't smiling at the beginning of all this).

The man walks by me still smiling and saying, "I win! I win!"

The next and final time we see the man he's in the bulk candy section. I don't think that was the best place for him to be if he's on a special diet!

Do you know anyone like this? I can almost see this being a scenario that will play out with Walter and I when we are that age!

Is It Really JUNE In the Desert?

This morning I awoke to the sound of the wind. Not too surprising given the fact that we live in an area of the southwest that is considered a natural wind tunnel.

I woke at 6:15 a.m. I looked out the window to find gray clouds hovering overhead for the 3rd day in a row. Very unusual for this time of year.

I thought, "Great, it will be cool for my morning walk!" Then I took the dog outside. Brrrrrrrr! It was only 59 degrees. Again, very unusual for this time of year.

I actually had to put a coat on before I left the house. And I might as well have put on a ski hat too because by the time I got home, my ears were numb. My cheeks and nose were numb, too!

My 20 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk because of the wind resistance (not that I'm complaining).

Is it really JUNE here in the desert? I better check the calendar because it feels more like February here!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Something Unusual

It's raining right now!!!!

Why is that something to blog about?

Because we live in the very dry desert!!!!!

I don't think we've had rain in June in the 11 years we've lived here.