Wrapping Up 2nd Grade - 2018-2019 School Year

June 2019

Last assembly of the school year. Riley received an award for his hard work in math. 

 Last day of school. Here he is with his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Sturgis.

Now, on to the 3rd grade!

First day of summer break Riley be like, weeeeeee!

Your worth does not depend on your hard work or what others think of you. Your worth is found in the loving eyes of God.

Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

-Proverbs 3:6 NLT

Nathan Graduates High School 2019

Nathan, our middle child. Our gift to him for graduating high school was to give him a certain amount of money to get himself a car but Nathan didn't want just any old car so for a year he also saved his paychecks and with both of our money he ended up getting a very nice car. He still has to make car payments but they are very low. I'm glad he's conservative with his money. 

My parents and sister Claudia flew in from CA to take part in Nathan's high school graduation. 

I've said before that with Nathan, that the progression of his life up until now has gone by at a steady pace and still, seeing him graduate high school was emotional for me. 

I'm proud of him for being a very responsible person and a hard worker at school, college and work. 

The day was somewhat overcast but it was June so it was a tad warm. Here we were waiting for the soon to be graduates to arrive on school busses. This field is at a high school that's a few blocks from our house and since it's a large field their graduation takes place here instead of at their school.

The busses leave their school then drive through city streets where the busses honk as they drive by. People wave at them, it's a cool sight. Once they arrived everyone was cheering for them.

They walked in through the far right side of the field. It took us a while to finally find him.

I've highlighted him so you can see. It's unfortunate I didn't have a good camera so I could zoom in. 

So proud. I definitely got teary-eyed several times throughout the ceremony. (thankful that the chinese virus hadn't arrived yet.)

My three earthbound children. We are all proud of him!

My parents and sister Claudia. So happy they got to experience this very special moment in Nathan's life and that Nathan got to see his maternal grandparents at his high school graduation. That's definitely a blessing.

Nathan's paternal grandfather, Gerry. Unfortunately his grandmother Grace wasn't able to join us. Happy that both sets of grandparents were here to share in this wonderful experience with us.

We love you so much Nathan! I pray for God's protection in your life and that you make godly choices. And that you also remain a free thinker. 

Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live. -Henry David Thoreau

If we make happiness our primary goal in life it will always remain elusive and beyond reach. But if we will put God first and live according to what His word says, then we will find ourselves happy. Not from seeking happiness but from living in holiness.

We love you!

Talent Show

I have an agenda where I write down the days events. I'm glad I do because that's how I'm able to go back and read about what I plan to blog about (even if it takes me a whole year to write about it). 

For this day, back on June 7th, 2019, I wrote: Talent Show. The weather today was awesome, blustery and rainy off and on. Kind of weird I just described a day in December rather than in June right? That's why I loved it! It was definitely a nice change from the Summer weather.

We left home about an hour early. I wanted to make sure to get a front row seat at Riley's school auditorium for the Talent Show to be able to take pictures without anyone getting in the way. 

When Riley came to us about wanting to be in the Talent Show we were surprised because he's somewhat shy when he has to interact with people he doesn't know. We asked him if he was 100% sure because we told him that once he commits to something he has to see it through until the end. He said he was sure so the next thing was for him to pick a song. 

He wasn't interested in singing just performing. Because Jacob still listens to 80's and 90's music Riley has learned a wide array of songs. So the song he chose was It's Gonna Be Me by N'SYNC. 

He had practice once a week for an hour for eight weeks. He was so excited about it. When I first told him that we would be at the Talent Show he said he didn't want us there because he would be embarrassed and mess up but I told him that we wanted to see him perform and that it was important that we were there to support him. After several weeks, as he became more confident with his dancing he said that he did want us there and couldn't wait to perform for us. 

Riley wanted to wear ripped jeans and a tank top. He did so great in his performance. I'm so glad he didn't get stage fright. 

I loved that he enjoyed himself so much. He was brave, bold and happy. I couldn't stop smiling.

  Go out there and be the best that God created you to be. Be exceptional. Be excellent. Be a leader. Rise up to the occasion and make a difference.

 

Riley's Last Day of School 2018

Riley is always so eager to be at school. I have to say my goodbyes as soon as I enter the school parking lot because there's no time for it once I stop the car, lol.

These pictures are from last June so I'm a little fuzzy on remembering all the details but if I'm not mistaken Riley wasn't too thrilled about the last day of school but he was happy to be able to see his friends once last time. Like I mentioned above he loves school.

I liked his 1st grade teacher because she was strict but fair. Riley of course thought she was very strict, lol. She kept a lookout for Riley because some of the other boys were trouble so she knew when to separate Riley from them in the classroom. And whenever Riley didn't behave she made sure to let me know as well and for about two weeks straight Riley wasn't finishing his work in class and socializing a bit too much so he got grounded at home several times. When I informed Jacob about what Riley's teacher said he would smile because Jacob knows all too well how it was in elementary school. He also used to get in trouble in class for talking too much but, he also spoke to him and reminded Riley of our expectations of him and enforced discipline.
It wasn't until the following September we found out Riley's teacher retired. She was a good one.

His certificate of completion of 1st grade.

The last day of school was early release so we hung out at the mall. I'm pretty sure I had some shopping to do for our upcoming 4th of July road trip.

To celebrate his hard work we went out for ice cream at Ice Cream Social in N Tacoma. We enjoy this part of Tacoma so much. You can sit on the steps and admire the Puget. It's wonderful!

Now, on to enjoy (the cloudy days of) summer!

I'm so thankful I get to do life with this guy.

God provides and abundance of blessings every

day. Make sure you don't get too busy to enjoy them.

Nearing Christmas

When it comes to shopping for Christmas gifts, we typically shop for our extended family first and mail those off but when it comes to our kids we're sort of last minute shoppers.
Jacob takes a day off a few days before Christmas and before Riley is off for Christmas break so we can get the last of the kids presents. It also feels like a date because after we're done with shopping we go out to eat.
I've realized that when it comes to food I am a snob ... but in a positive way. The way I see it is if I'm going to spend money on food I want to make sure that what I'm eating is good and not just mediocre. In this case we were craving burgers. Our two top burgers picks is Red Robin or The Habit. We prefer flame broiled burgers and sometimes it's hard to decide where we want to go eat at. I guess it depends if I want to have a beer with my food ... in this case I wasn't in the mood for one so we chose The Habit. Good choice! This is making me crave one right now.

On the last day of school before Christmas break Riley had treats in class. He always gets happy when I visit his school. He looks cute!

There was also an assembly where the students sang several Christmas songs. It was cute seeing them all getting into it. It's unfortunate that his school didn't make it a family Christmas event. Their excuse was because the school is small, which is true, however they could have split the students by grade and have had two assemblies on two separate days. It is sad that the Principal didn't think this Christmas event could have been shared with the children's families. Very inconsiderate of him. I happened to find out because I asked Riley if they were going to have a Christmas program and he told me that they were going to sing Christmas songs so I invited myself.
I'm glad I went because I took pictures and enjoyed hearing them sing.

This was Christmas Eve. It snowed. New fallen snow sure makes a home feel cozy especially since I knew that we were all going to be safe at home the following day.

Jacob read the traditional book of The Night Before Christmas ... along with the Bible's Christmas story.

I am so thankful and grateful for a cozy home and the love of family ... for all the provisions and blessings. I can never thank God enough.

May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of 

hope and the peace of His love at Christmas and always.