Filled With Joy

Today is Collin's birthday. It is also the last day of school, and even though that is a great blessing, Collin is even bigger and greater blessing. He is so much fun. I have loved watching him grow up. He is all grown up now. He is kind. He is giving. He is hilarious. He is adventurous. He is smart. He is happy. He is talkative. He has a fantastic eye for nature photography. He is a joy! Love you, Bud! (Collin doesn't have any pictures of himself. However, I LOVE his photography, so I'll include two of his latest."

I love this kid with every cell of my body. Lil' Kenny, as I like to call him, has been a great blessing in my life. I love how he enjoys our house because of our video games, and my school because of our indoor playgrounds. We have so much fun together. Well, tonight after sixteen years of school, he graduated from North Fremont High. He got the biggest cheers, and was given a top ten spot. So proud of him.What a joy it is to know Kenny!

Today was graduation for South Fremont High. In the last three years, I have enjoyed watching my 2nd graders walk across the stage and get their diplomas. I get so teary-eyed because I love those kids. Once my "kid," always my "kid." I proudly beam in their accomplishment. Today, I especially enjoyed watching Justine, my adorable niece, walk the stage. She is adorable. She is kind. She is smart. She is going to do wonderful things.

The end of school brings lots of fun activities. We have three days of activities planned - Field Day, Bike Ride, and Roxy movie theater. There has been great joy in knowing that our cold, rainy, and windy weather gave way to beautiful sunny weather. Now we don't have to entertain these crazy children in our rooms. The end of school is so rough. If there was a way to not have a "last week" I'd be all for it.

These blossoms have been so beautiful this year. I finally decided to pause and enjoy this spectacular crab apple. Just standing there, admiring, I noticed the intricate details of the individual blossoms. Then I heard the humming of hundreds of bees doing their work. I'm grateful for those few moments to pause and enjoy.

Today, at the JCC, the students were exceptionally excited about clapping. It was such a fun, peaceful, happy environment that I don't think they could contain themselves. Some of the kids have told us that they just like coming because it feels different when they arrive. One student told us it is the most peaceful he has ever felt. He comes every week. Today, a friend of ours who works at the JCC, told me about a girl who has completely changed because of her time at "first church" (that is what it is called by the kids). We can only hope that our hour together each week brings them some joy now, and hopefully later. It certainly brings us joy.

Wedding crafting. This is a new adventure. Kenna, Collin, and I spent a significant amount of time in Hobby Lobby today looking at flowers, glitter, ribbon, and a whole lot of other stuff, getting ideas. We then went to DI to find mismatched vases for centerpieces. We decided to give the idea a whirl when we got home. We had so much fun, and it worked so well, that we did them all before we even knew it. We like them. She also picked a date, once she was able to get in touch with Justin who is currently in Vietnam. August 9th is coming soon. I felt great joy today when I realized that I don't have to worry about that master's on top of the wedding.