PHS Graduation 2012

My Senior

The time has come and gone. It's been a month now so Pomp  Circumstance isn't

stuck in my head. The whole day played out so quickly.

The Sr. stopped by the house to grab his cap &  gown. 

I wanted several pictures but he just didn't want to take time to pose.

Ahh, boys. Mine were not camera hounds. 

I found these two walking around together. When S. first arrived at PHS he played football the very first day and made friends with Trey. Those guys have been through thick and thin together.

It did my heart good to catch them one last time. They boys were surprised to hear that for four generations our families have been friends. Their great-grandparents, their grandmothers, their moms (that's me) were best friends in 3rd grade....we go waayyy back and they didn't know.

Oh, the waiting....

Ha ha ha my little fashion statement.

To his credit I must say...From day one at PHS he wore his jeans

hanging over his boots like this. They called him "Cowboy" and he was the only

one who did that. Everyone else tried to be preppy; Son had no need for preppy. He was who he was and didn't get intimidated over not looking like the others. I love that he was secure and confident.

And while I feared he would actually walk across the stage like this, He did not. 

It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And If I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings 

The days of lining up are over. 

Pomp & Circumstance plays.

As his first teacher I tear up. I remember well the struggles and triumphs

of home educating this, my youngest son. His decision to enter into public school

did not come lightly. Never once did I have to remind him to take his books nor did he leave his work behind and forgotten. It was a serious decision. He boasts that he's the only one who finished 

public high school in our family.....and he is. 

Coach H. spiffys you up before you walk across the stage. 

I notice his jaw clenched in every picture and I wonder what's going through his mind.

Tassels are turned.

The students walk off the field one last time.

And now, the night they waited for and dreamed about is over.

Congratulations Class of 2012

Paris High School

Sr. Snapshots

I thought it would be neat to take Stefan's pictures where he has some history.

I 'm praising the Lord his history didn't land in him jail for trespassing although

when we first moved to town we did get a call from the local police.

Did my kids not get somewhere along the line that you don't just randomly wander onto property

just because you want an adventure?  City life is different than country life.

He looks all cowboy!

My favorite but he's not mad as some suggested. He just can't smile on demand. 

There's a seriousness about him and deep thought. I know this look well.

Ahh, yes, history....we looked in the windows down below.

I gotta say, I'd be tempted to go in too.

I don't want anything but to be surrounded by "what was" and "what was left behind" and wonder

at the conversations that took place that linger among the walls.

It's really interesting to learn the history of buildings in small towns.

At the tracks....

I thought it would be neat to take the guitar with us as a prop.

If I had known what was "down the tracks" for me...I wouldn't have.

Graduation brought new paths for all of us. It's a time of letting go. Totally.

It's giving advice and not keeping track to see if it was followed or being upset if it isn't.

It's finding your way. Learning what to hold on to and what to let go of.

Knowing you did what God told you to do in bringing up those kiddos

and trusting Him as He fills in the gaps.

The Creator will write His own  "God Story"  in our son's life. 

This song rings in my heart as Stefan's journey begins. 

It is based on Philippians 1:6

He who began a good work in you
Will be faithful to complete it
He'll be faithful to complete it
He who started the work
Will be faithful to complete it in you

If the struggle you're facing
Is slowly replacing your hope
With despair
Or the process is long
And you're losing your song
In the night
You can be sure that the Lord
Has His hand on you
Safe and secure
He will never abandon you
You are His treasure
And He finds His pleasure in you

Stefan's Senior Prom

Senior Prom

Paris High School 2012

Suits, tuxedos, short dresses, long dresses, wrist corsages and boutonnieres.

Classic cars, fast cars, double-decker buses, limousines.

Styles are changing and you can see just about anything these days.

The event wouldn't be complete without pictures downtown at Culbertson Fountain and

Holy Cross Episcopal Church. This year we were reduced to just over 30 minutes to

take all the pictures that will have to suffice and keep these memories of our children dressed to the nines; finishing one more hurdle as they leave high school life behind. 

Here are some of the shots I took.

Fun arrived with the young man on the left. One of the Special men God created and the

life of the party. He had everyone laughing. Special thanks to his teacher Liz who sees to it that the special needs students always take part and dress up for prom.

Stefan and Trey, friends through all their high school years.

A fourth generation of friends with our two families.

Part of the crowd that would come and go as the students moved around from

site to site. You bring your chairs and watch the show.

Candace and I used to buy our favorite pizza, grab a Dr. Pepper and make this a night.

She was homeschooled but knew some of the kids so it was always a fun night for us.

Having graduated from private Christian school I never went to prom but as one former

public school classmate said, "I don't think kids looked like movie stars in our days." 

And because he's mine, I post mostly about him.

So proud of Stefan who made the decision to buy a suit that will last him through the years instead of renting the traditional tux and losing his $200. for one night of wear....so maybe that homeschooling stuck with him more than he thinks.

Let the Children Come

Jesus loves the little chidren, all the children of the world.....

In Israel little ones walk unattended. Most of the time there is a small group

but occasionally you see just one.

On my first trip to Israel I remember seeing a mother pushing a small child in a stroller. 

She was window shopping and parked the child in front of a store window and walked two doors

down to enter an entirely different establishment. I flipped! I wanted to guard the little one from kidnappers and thought, "What kind of mother is this? Why isn't anyone doing anything?"

That's when my friends chuckled and let me know what it's like with the people of this fair land.

"Why would anyone want to hurt a child, why would they want to take it from its mother?" they say.

Everyone looks out for children.

What happened to our world? I long for a society like that but am reminded we live in the

"fallen world".  

My last day in the Old City of Jerusalem rained poured. The term "drenched rat" highly resembled me.

It wasn't glorious or glamorous, I had no umbrella, or hat. My hair dripped but as I ran through the rain in the Arab Quarter I saw three little ones and I stopped. I don't think the oldest was even 5 but she stopped and carefully tied the shoes of her little brother so he wouldn't fall as they also ran through the downpour. It was just a moment but it seemed to freeze in time.

I wanted to grab my camera but knew it would be over too quickly. And really, the camera couldn't catch the joy I felt. It was one of the sweetest moments I witnessed on the trip. I was the silent bystander, they paid me no mind as they ran passed me. I loved seeing that act of kindness among siblings and it was a gift to my soul as I said farewell to the city I love.

I flew out hours later, dry. I remember watching the lights of Tel Aviv fade in the night as we flew over the Mediterranean Sea and though I desperately needed sleep I feared closing my eyes.

I feared forgetting the smells of the city, forgetting the children in the rain, the old Arab man asleep on rugs in his shop. It's why I take a thousand pictures.

Beach Day

Just a neat view at night with all the lights on.

Sometimes I say, "I'm so tired I could sleep on concrete."

OMG, that man is watching me take his picture! LOL

I couldn't resist.

Look, we ran into two of the boys...

Stories to tell about Cozumel and my boys...Think long and hard when taking teen boys.

 Jansen

 Stefan

 And Dustin...whose name was washed with the tide.

Going back...you have to take these pictures. You just have to.

 The man who takes me to tea and to the beach when he really doesn't like the ocean.

He found a nice shady spot for a three hour nap.

Love it when they dock side by side.

And not much is in the water for all that sticks up. LOL