There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle......
The other is as though everything is a miracle.

~Albert Einstein~

Yes it's true Jesse has graduated.......and we all survived!!! Commencements were yesterday and it was a thrill to watch Jesse walk the red carpet to get his diploma. The formal banquet is later this week and should prove to be a great night. Congratulations Jesse, we are proud of you!!
Love mom and Dad

Jesse is 18 years old today. Where has the time gone. My little boy is becoming a man.....I am just so thankful we all survived!!! Jesse has kept our lives full of laughter, frustration, pride, frustration, joy, frustration.....you get the picture. He is a unique individual and is very talented when it comes to music and writing. He is also graduating this year and moving on to another chapter in his life. We are so proud of him and the man he is becoming. I know he has big dreams and we are 100% behind those dreams. His journey through life will take him through many roads and I know whatever he decides to do he will do it well because he is a big dreamer. We celebrated Jesse's birthday at breakfast because there is just no other time....grad is happening this week. Rod and I got up early and cooked an outstanding meal.....pancakes with strawberries and whip cream, sausage, omelets, fresh friut, frit juice with little umbrellas in the cups and croissants. Then we topped it off with an icecream cake from DairyQueen.....all before 8:00 a.m. We also took this opportunity to announce to everyone that instead of a big christmas (presents) we are taking a trip to Hawaii!!! We are going with some friends, so it will be a blast!! It was a great way to start the day off!! Maya now wants to be a hula dancer!!




Happy Birthday Jesse....we love you very much!!!




Jesse would say....great presentation!!!

I made a poster announcing our trip and we all wore grass skirts and leisDenaye and Maya don't really know what the trip is all about, but they understand going on an airplane. They just got caught up in the excitement of it all.
My 2 hula boys!!!

.......all this before 8:00 a.m. not bad.

Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman lost their youngest daughter in a tragic accident. As many of you know the Chapman's are big advocates for adoption. Their 3 youngest daughters were adopted from China. It is such a sad story and hard to understand why something like this would happen. My heart and prayers goes out to the Chapman family......in times like these the best thing we can do is pray.

This video is a song written by Steven about a real life moment with his girls....it makes you think.



Here is a website link you can access to read about the story. http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/05/musician_steven_curtis_chapman.html

Today we celebrated Denaye's birhtday. Her birthday is actually on May 15th, but we had her party today. She has watched her cousins, her brother, her sister and even her dad celebrate their birthday. She has asked me everyday since she realized what a birthday was if it was "my happy birthday". Today was no exception. She tiptoed into my room early this morning, got about an inch from my face and asked me "is it my happy birthday" I could finally answer yes!!! She was so excited. We went to Chuck E Cheese and had a great time with family. Denaye was so happy that finally it was her turn. She ate pizza, blew out candles, played games, danced, won prizes, opened presents and hugged Chuck E Cheese....what more could a girl want. We bought her a bike which was on the top of her list. It was good fun for everyone!!











Today was a beautiful spring day. We took advantage of the weather and took the 3 youngest of our children to Kinsmen Park. This was a first for Denaye and Maya.....when we arrived home back in September 2007 the weather was just turning cold and no time for parks. The girls loved the HUGE slide and Sam felt important showing them around and how to use the play equipment. Denaye had her first experience with sand......kind of sad to think she has never seen it before. She tiptoed very gently at first and then was running through it as if she had done it all her life. She told me she wanted to go to the beach and build a sandcastle....something else they have never done yet. Maya of course has seen sand in her playground at school so this was nothing special to her, but the park is huge, so she was delighted with everything. The big slide!!!!

Denaye who is usually cautious went down all by herself and giggled the whole way. Sam the ever protective big brother is always there for Denaye.

Denaye's first experience with sand.......she was cautious at first.
I love this picture....Maya is in a tube that you climb through.
Denaye always has to wear sunglasses.......she 's so funny.
Walking across the river on the bridge.

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