Letters of Intent…….Graduation Edition…….

It’s that time of year…graduation.

::sigh::

And as the old adage goes…”Where in the hell does the time go?!”

This year, we have two very special graduations…Emily (my daughter from my first marriage) graduates from 5th grade on Monday, on her way to Middle School. Timmy (Jeff’s oldest son from his first marriage) graduates from High School.

Dear Emily,

Where do I even begin?! It seems like just yesterday you were the excited little 5 year old, with bouncing blonde curls, going into Kindergarten. For being only 11 years old, you have grabbed life by the horns, and are enjoying every second of it. You are an OUTSTANDING reader, accomplishing the 300+ points in Accelerated Reader. You were one of only four kids that made it!! You have made A’s and B’s your entire school career thus far, and have a countless number of friends. You have started to write a book that just BLOWS MY MIND. And you have created a book club at the local library that has become instantly popular. Your passion for reading and learning is evident, and it’s wonderful!

I am so excited to begin this next chapter of your life. You are an incredibly intelligent young lady, with a love and passion for life and for others. I admire your imagination, and self-esteem that you constantly show, and I even admire the quest you have for ALL of the answers you try to get, even when I’m not ready to answer some of them! You and I are so much alike, it scares me at times. However, I love the fact that I truly do “get you” when others may not. I get why you ask some of your questions. I get why you question an answer or direction you’ve been given. I admire your talkative nature, even when it wears me out at times.

I admire you. All of you. And I can’t even begin to imagine where this next road leads you, but I’m excited. A little sad, yes, that it seems to have gone by so fast, but nonetheless, excited.

I love you Emily Grace!

To the moon and back.

Love,
Mama

Dear Timmy,

Ah. Timmy. Where do I start with you?

You were just eight years old when your dad and I started dating. Just a little guy. Full of giggles and smiles. I know things weren’t the easiest for you when your mom and dad divorced, but I think you hung tough as best as as you could for you and your sisters.

And the love you have for your sisters. It’s endless. Even though you love to aggravate the mess out of them, your love for them shines through. To see an eighteen year old young man, interact with his two year old sister is priceless. She loves and adores her “dude”. Shelbie looks up to you. I love to see how your relationship with her has grown, as the two of you have grown older. You are a fierce protector of her, and I admire that. And poor Elayna…as much as you aggravate and tease her, she looks up to you too. And you are just as protective of her as well. And yes, you and Emily may bump heads from time to time, but you have shown your love for her just as much as if she was your “bio” sister, instead of your step-sister. I will be forever grateful for that.

When you came to live with us permanently, you were failing seventh grade. We often wondered how, considering how truly gifted and intelligent you are. We made it through all of those hard times, and you have truly come out on top. Graduating high school with a 3.42 GPA. We are so very proud!

We watched as you got your licenses and started driving on your own. We have watched as you met the first love of your life. We have watched you interact and act goofy with your friends. And watched you go to prom. All of these events have helped lead you to the responsible, sensitive, funny, and hardworking young man that you are today.

It truly has been a privilege to be a part of your life this far, and I look forward to what the future holds for you.

We love you and are so proud of the young man that you have become. Keep reaching for the stars!

Love,
Kara

For more Letters of Intent, go visit Julie over at Foursons!! Happy Weekend friends!

Fragalicious

 

Hi peeps!

Let me just start out by saying how HAPPY I am that the weekend is here. Why? Because hubby is off for the weekend, and the weather is supposed to be amazing! What is there to complain about that?!

Anything fun or exciting that you are looking forward to?

 

For some sad news, I would like to ask that you say a special prayer or send some positive thoughts for some friends of ours. SaraBeth and Rob have been on one hell of a roller coaster ride the last nine months that she was pregnant with Faith. Sadly, Faith passed away yesterday after SaraBeth’s scheduled c-section. While they knew this would be the likely outcome after she was born, I know it doesn’t make it any easier. SaraBeth and Rob have shown amazing grace, courage, faith, and honesty over their experience, and she continues to inspire me daily with her uplifting posts while through this most difficult journey. Please visit them over at “More Than Enough”.

Thursday my best friend and I made concrete plans to spend one whole ENTIRE WEEK at the beach this summer. I am just waiting on an email confirmation back from the condo lady, but it looks like the week after the 4th of July will be our vacation dates. While I wish I could say that it’s just her and I going, it’s not. We’ll be brining alllll of our kids with us. Her three, plus her nephew, and my four girls, and maybe Timmy, if he decides to take off of work for a week. However, Jeff and I have never really taken the kids on a real vacation before, so I am SO excited that they will be going with us, even if Jeff isn’t. My BFF’s hubby and Jeff might come for a night, but that would be it.

Um, hello?! A week of no wife nagging, and a house to themselves?! They’re no dummies!

This is what our view will look like out our 7th floor balcony:

Going to sleep and waking up to hearing the waves crash against the shore?

YES PLEASE!

Lounging on the beach, with no housework to do?

YES PLEASE!

Bringing back LOTS of memories for Steph and I from high school, and the many, MANY trips we made to said beach?

YES PLEASE!

Having the opportunity for a girls week, even with our kiddo’s in tow?

YES PLEASE!

Seeing the faces of our kids who have been sun burned kissed playing in the water and sand?

{Uh, we’ll go with sun kissed, thankyouverymuch.}

YES PLEASE!

Annnddd……

To see sunrises such as this?!

YES PUH-LEASE!

I’ve never wanted July to get here so fast!

One of the first classes I took when I went back to school was Psychology. I figured it would be really interesting and intriguing. Sadly, I was disappointed. Turned out the majority of it was about the founding psychologists such as Erikson, Pavlov, Freud, and Piaget. While some of their history was interesting, the majority of it was bor-ing. I didn’t care when and where they were born, etc. However, one of my last pre-requisites for nursing school is Developmental Psychology. I was moaning and groaning about it, figuring it would be along the same lines of my first class. Oh how WRONG I was! Now this stuff is SO awesome! I can tell you that I haven’t read the majority of my textbooks since starting, mostly because of the notes the professor provided, but also because it wouldn’t keep my attention to save my life. With this stuff, I find myself rereading it over and over to make sure I “get” it. The way things are explained has already brought me so much clarity to certain things in my life. I’m hooked!

And now I want to leave you with a Callie-ism, as I have dubbed them.

She spent some time at her best friend Claire’s house a couple of Friday’s ago. No big deal. She had a blast, like always. Well, a couple of day’s later she told me that she wanted some “walkin’ shoes” like Claire has. I had no clue as to what “walkin’ shoes” were. She was trying her two year self best to explain to me what they were. Well, she started walking on her tippy toes, telling me “walkin’ shoes, mama!”. I still had no clue. Finally, in her frustration, she went to my closet to show me walkin’ shoes.

They are high heels!

DUH!

I just love this little one to pieces, and what she comes up with. She keeps us laughing!

Happy Friday friends! Have a wonderful weekend!!

And for more fragments, go and check out Mrs. 4444!

Sunday’s In My City {Prom 2011}

::sigh::

Prom.

SENIOR Prom.

How?

Why?

When?

It just all goes by way too fast!

My {step}son went to his Senior prom Friday night. He has lived with his dad and I for almost seven years. I’ve watched him grow from a boy to a young man, and it’s truly been a blessing.

{Timmy & his many faces…none of which are serious…cause he loves to give me a hard time}

 

{Obligatory shot with the little sisters}

{Shelby & Jess}

 

{Best friends & partner’s in crime}

{Tim & Jess}

 

{Shelby & Zack}

And I was told a great time was had by all!

Monday Minute

I stumbled across this fun little meme while trying to get caught up on my blogs. Jump on in, and don’t be shy!!

Rules: Copy the questions, post them on your blog/site/whatever you got and link back to The Daily Dose of Reality. Easy as 1-2-3!

 

1 - Where aside from a toilet have you taken a dump?  Explain. *Ahem* While out hunting with my ex, many, many, MANY moons ago, the call of nature, well, called. I went into the brush, like I was supposed to, promptly squatted down to do my business, not paying attention to the cactus I firmly squatted on. It was bad enough having to poop out in the woods, but a thousand times more horrifying when *trying* to do your business with cactus needles in your ass.  My CB handle after that? Yeah…Cactus.

2 - At this point do you really think that Magic Johnson has HIV/AIDS? Who is Magic Johnson? Kidding! But truthfully, would anyone be offended if I said that I don’t think this man and his HIV/AIDS condition has ever crossed my mind? Hence, I can offer no opinion on this question.

3 - Would you wrestle a member of the same sex, nude, in pudding for 10 minutes for one million dollars? Uh…hell YES! What’s 10 minutes of embarrassment for a cool million?

4 - Squash just doesn't sound very tasty.  What say you? I say it’s very tasty. And I better feel this way, seeing how I have about 20 squash plants in my garden, starting to sprout. May I recommend it sliced and tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with Montreal Steak Seasoning, with a chopped onion, and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes? Delish!

5 - Is it worth the effort? Some days yes, some days no.