It's that time of year again.

Oh, my...  We're facing another graduation.  This time we'll be watching our Ashley walk across the platform to receive her diploma, thrilled from head to foot that she has worked so hard and finally finished her schooling.  Two years ago, Dale graduated; two years before that, it was Katie; two years before that, Amanda.  Now, Ashley is counting down her final days as a high school student and chafing at the bit to actually be DONE!  Ashley desires to go into obstetrics/gynecology, possibly, or some other field that will enable her to help people in a definitive way.  She's spending the next year working to save up money so that she won't be so very deep in student loan debt once she is able to attend college.

Praise be to God for allowing us the grace, patience, wisdom, and love to help our children through these formative years in our care.  But wait!  There's more!  We still have one more child in school.  Emily is five years behind the others, but, starting this fall, she will be our only child in our school.  Frankly, that's gonna be weird.  I've had a vanful for back-and-forth school trips for the longest time; even the last two years since Dale graduated, he's come to school with us a good bit of the time, plus Emily and Ashley and whichever friends we're giving a ride home.  Next year, it'll just be Emily and me in the van.  We've had a taste of that this week since Ashley's been on her senior trip; Em and I have been to Starbucks once and Cowgirls' Coffee once---we're enjoying this alone time!

Update on Dale:  He got to have six sessions with a physical therapist earlier this year, and seemed to benefit from the extra exercise.  The therapist realized we would not be able to continue the sessions (our insurance only pays for six visits a year, and Dale's Medicaid is "under construction"), so he formulated a set of conditioning exercises that Dale could do daily at home.  Which Dale does, if he remembers or if we nag him!  The therapist stated that he believed Dale's muscles are strong but unreliable.  Dale's legs and arms tend to twitch and jerk unpredictably; this causes Dale to lose confidence in his own limbs' ability to support him.  Consequently, he takes short, stumbling steps and constantly hunches over, preparing for the next jerk or fall.  We are continually trying to convince Dale that the exercises will help him gain stability and confidence, but that, frankly, is an ongoing battle!

We're still looking for ideas to keep Dale's mind sharp and his time occupied with more than just YouTube.  A very kind man at church gave Dale a HUGE book about computers, as well as an old monitor and keyboard to practice taking apart...and, hopefully, putting back together again.  Dale's read part of the book but is afraid of ruining the monitor, so he has yet to experiment with it.  Several people have offered suggestions for Dale to try, and we appreciate each one.  His attention span lasts for only a few weeks at a time; he is genuinely interested in each new project, but loses that interest within a short time.  So, if anyone has any project ideas or areas of interest to research, please let us know.  We look into each new idea, but are forced to discard many of them because they cannot be tailored to suit Dale's physical abilities.

Katie graduated from Gene Juarez Beauty Academy the third week of March!  She spent thirty hours a week for thirteen months to learn so much about hair cuts and styles and coloring and tips.  She had already been working part-time as a spa hostess at one of the Gene Juarez salons; she was able to schedule her work hours around her school hours, but it was still a very looooong thirteen months.  She decided to take it easy after graduating and not stress out about finding a stylist job fresh out of school.  Now, she's interviewing at a couple of different salons, looking for the right fit and excited about the possibilities.

Chad just started a new schedule at work, one that is different enough from what we'd all become accustomed to that it is requiring quite a bit of determined thought to remember it!  His days off, his bedtimes and rising times, his coming home times are all different now.  Probably by the time we finally adjust, his schedule will change again!  I thank God for my husband's hard work and ability to provide so well for our family.  He doesn't just pay the bills; he plans ahead and keeps a good budget and always thinks of fun family outings to break up the monotony of school and work and all.  He's a good man, a great father, and a loving husband.  We are so blessed to have him leading our family.

I'm kind of surprised by this blog entry.  Usually, I'm long-winded and bit depressing, but this post is of average length and rather cheerful.  And, for that, I am thankful.  Too often I focus on the problems and difficulties our family faces, and end with our deliberate decision to trust God anyway.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  But it's nice to write a simple account of the latest doings of various members of our family.  It's refreshing.  And it's the truth:  no embellishments, no disguising our feelings, no highlighting the bright spots and hiding the bad.  Too often, social media can paint a very unreal picture of family life; it's a blessing to be able to be honest and yet upbeat.  Praise the Lord!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen.

Psalm 146: 1-2  "Praise ye the LORD.  Praise the LORD, O my soul.  While I live will I praise the LORD:  I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being."

Psalm 147: 1  "Praise ye the LORD:  for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely."