Congratulations Anne: 8th Grade Graduation

I thought I'd share our evening with all of you.  Tonight we enjoyed the home school 8th grade graduation, where Anne was one of the seven graduates.

Of course Grandpa and Grandma came to enjoy the presentation, but I think the funny farm was right in front of them. . . many giggles were coming from their side of the row.

Our Graduate!

Anne's wall of fame turned out beautiful, everyone especially loved the 14 random facts about Anne.  I told her in four more years it would need to be upgraded to 18 random facts.

It has been such a priviledge and a joy to be able to home school her all these years.  She is such a blessing to our family and we look forward to seeing what God has planned for her to accomplish the last four years of our school.  Keep up the good work sweetheart!

Happy Mother's Day. . .and another great recipe

Spaghetti in Garlic Gravy with Herbs and Lemon Marinated Chicken and Cherry Tomatoes

Happy Mother's Day. .  I pray your day was extra special.

Mother's Day is a great day to try a new recipe on the family.  We had a rather large lunch after church today so we didn't want anything too heavy for dinner . . our bellies were still overly full.

This was a recipe I happen to stumble across on pinterest one evening.  We are big Italian food fans - have I mentioned that before?  I think spaghetti is a basic weekly occurrence in our home;  need I mention the olive garden salad dressing.

I didn't use the lemon-marinated chicken in the recipe this time.  I wanted something meatless since we had over indulged at the Chinese restaurant during lunch.  All I can say is that the spaghetti with garlic gravy was so heavenly; little George had three platefuls.  Even my  picky eaters didn't pick out the tomatoes for once.  The recipe really didn't need the chicken, but I will try it another day with the chicken because the marinade sounds absolutely wonderful.  I will anxiously look forward to trying some more of  Jeannie Maristela's great recipes.

How was your Mother's Day and what special things did you do with your family?

Blessings,

Michelle

.

fourteen years

fourteen years::

one::  sweet baby who never wanted to sleep . . .Dad and I took turns driving around at night to keep her sleeping. . .maybe momma should have stopped having those chocolate shakes from Wendys???

two::  she survived this year on goldfishes and pepperoni. . and maybe an occassional smidge of homemade salsa

three::  her favorite saying, "Yippee, I'm FREE."

four::  her first bus trip all the way from Florida to Louisiana . she ended up staying with her Dad and Sarah while Momma finished up school.

five::  her best friend was April, who lived across the street from us.  They were inseparable.  Her sister Hannah was born this year and her big sister Sarah came back to live with us permanently.

six::  She was a Daisy Girl, she played T-ball (especially for her Dad) and she got to attend her first official baseball game for the Dayton Dragons.

seven::  We traveled to Chicago for the weekend and she got to pick out her first American Girl doll from the American Girl Place.  The doll looked just like her; she named her Elizabeth.  Anne broke her arm while playing on the monkey bars and got a super cool lime green cast, but was very disappointed because it was summer time and that meant no swimming in the pool.  Her sister Lindsay was born this year.

eight::  Anne was our superstar swimmer in Colorado. .  they had a wonderful year round swim program where she could just swim like a fish all the time.









nine::  Our little girl finally had to get glasses.  The prescription was barely needed, but she was so thrilled to wear glasses we got them anyway knowing that with her family's history of wearing glasses, she too would eventually have to wear them.  All I remember about them is that they were PURPLE!

ten::  Dad took the girls to their first ever Monster Truck Jam - "what? did you say something?" was all momma heard for a day or so after the event.  Her sister Abby was born this year.

eleven::  met her best friend Kelsey online through each other's blogs.  They are like two peas in a pod.

twelve:: being a "tween" was a busy year.  Her Dad retired from the Air Force, we moved back to Northern California and we left a wonderful church family behind in Georgia.

thirteen::  her biggest milestone yet- becoming a teenager. . getting a facebook. . . .and a cell  phone now that she was officially babysitting.

I cannot wait to see what "fourteen" has instore for her. . . .  

We love you sweetheart!

Happy Birthday!