One Chapter Closed...

Hello, everyone! I am still around, believe it or not! The girls last day of school was this past Wednesday, then Brittany, of course, graduated on Thursday. It truly has been a whirlwind of activities!

Graduation went off without a hitch...and my tear ducts survived! :) The only problem was that it was so HOT! It was held at the football stadium and the temperature was around 90 degrees! Plus, we sat on the side where the sun was beaming right down on us...UGH! Once the sun went down, it turned out to be fairly pleasant. The ceremony lasted for 2 1/2 hours.

Now, just to backpedal a bit, the day before graduation, we decided to give Brittany her graduation gifts since we had company coming in the next morning and it was going to be such a busy day. I made her a scrapbook of all of her running accomplishments and newspaper articles. Here she is checking it out...

We, also, had a t-shirt quilt made for her using 12 of her most cherished running t-shirts.

Here's the full view...

Her biggest surprise from us was an amethyst birthstone ring that she'd been wanting for awhile. She was thrilled with all of her gifts!

Now, here's some pictures we took before and during graduation.



Here's all the graduates streaming into the stadium.

Here's Brittany turning around to talk to some friends on her way up to get her diploma.

And all their caps flew up in the air after the principal declared them 2010 graduates of Mill Creek High School!!! What a moment!


I still can't believe it's all over. One thing I have learned from this whole experience is that change is inevitable. I can learn to embrace it, or I can fight with all my might to push it away. I choose to embrace it for all it's worth and I look forward to this new chapter in our lives with great anticipation!

Thanks for all your support...you're simply the BEST!

This~N~That

I don't know what's gotten into me here lately. Just seems that I'm scrambling for things to blog about. I've been keeping pretty busy, so maybe that has a lot to do with it. Plus, Chris has been home since Tuesday, which has been nice.

Yesterday, I went to a sign shop and ordered a graduation sign for Brittany. Around our neck of the woods, everyone puts a sign or banner in their front yard announcing that their child is graduating from high school. I was fine until I got back in the car and started heading for home. This beautiful song by Steven Curtis Chapman came over the radio and I lost it. Hope his words and voice speak to your heart, as well.



I tell you, that man can SING and he sure knows how to make you think about life, love, faith, blessings...and so much more.

I suppose it's beginning to hit me that the end of this particular chapter in my life is soon coming to an end. Just this morning, I mailed in Brittany's housing deposit for college, as well as her freshman orientation registration. We are definitely in the final stretch with graduation only 2 months away. I'm trying so very hard to make every moment count...before it all changes.

It makes me so happy to hear how excited the girls are about going to Orlando one week from today for Spring Break! Abby has been busily planning everything we're going to do when we're there. That girl has it down to a science! Brittany, initially, thought she was going to the beach with her best friend, Alicia, but her mom wants to have a "last hurrah" with her before she heads off to college. Boy, do I understand! I was glad that Brittany didn't seem too let down and is looking forward to spending some time together as a family.

Tomorrow is the County Track and Field Championships! Brittany will run in the 1600m tomorrow morning, then the 4 x 800 and the 3200m on Monday. She is currently ranked 4th in the region for both the 1600m and the 3200m. She REALLY wants to set a new school record, so maybe everything will fall into place and she can make it happen. Abby and I will work the concession stand tomorrow night...we always have so much fun hanging out with everybody! We can make some mean burgers and nachos!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend! Let's all keep our fingers crossed for WARM, SUNNY WEATHER!