Congrats to Miss Sadie - HS Graduate!

When I think of our sweet Sadie, she will always be "Little Sadie" to me, even though she has just graduated from high school.  This picture is the first thing comes to mind when I think of her.

This picture was taken at Nana and Bumpa's lake cabin.  Right before it was snapped, Sadie and I spotted a Daddy Long Legs spider, climbing on one of the fern leaves.  We went to investigate it.  Little Sadie said to me, "We have to be careful with it.  We don't want to break its legs!"   Those sweet little words are forever engrained in my memories.    Her giant kind heart and endearing innocence will always be one of her strengths.  And now, Miss Sadie is 18 years old and has just graduated high school.  The older I get, the more I find myself saying, "time flies by so very quickly".

To celebrate this marvelous young lady, we drove up north to her open house.  It was a lovely day, as the rain had subsided and it was a bit chilly (no chance of melting in the hot sun this day!).

Here's our sweet little Jango, being such a good traveler in the back seat.  He has what would be Connor's seat.  Unfortunately, Connor couldn't go with us, as he had to work that day.  :-(   Bummer.

And here's Little Mr. Ramsey giving Bailey Love a little snuggle when we arrived at Nana and Bumpa's house, just prior to leaving for the open house.  

When we arrived, there were so many fun things to see, yummy things to eat, and wonderful people to chat with.   

There were delightful mason jars on the tables, with markers and little black squares of paper for all to write on - specifically memories, advice, or just a general note.   Ramsey wrote his dear cousin a little note... it referenced her smarts and her "pretty smile".  :-)

And, we couldn't leave without getting pictures with Miss Sadie.  :-)

To our beautiful, kind-hearted, sweet, intelligent, and amazing Miss Sadie.... God bless you on your life's journey.  May your wings be wide and graceful and take you anywhere you wish to go.  Find the goodness in every day and enjoy the small things, for some of the small things can be the most meaningful.   We love you, sweet girl.

Preschool Graduation

What an array of emotions on the day of Ramsey's preschool graduation.   Literally, my cup runneth over.  My heart was full.

Happiness - that he's had the opportunity to have such amazing friends, phenomenal teachers, and a wonderful environment to learn.

Pride - that Ramsey is turning into such a wonderful little human; so smart, funny, kind, and sweet.

Gratitude - for the love and guidance given by Ramsey's beyond-amazing teachers.  Seriously, we couldn't have ever had better teachers.  They are forever in our hearts.

Sadness - that my baby is growing up, this beautiful year is over, and soon he will be in Kindergarten! Mind. Blown.

Ramsey was sent to school all dolled up in his spring outfit with bowtie (gotta look handsome, ya know).    Nana Vicki and Bumpa drove down and met us.  Nana Karen wasn't well, so she wasn't able to attend.

The kids started off singing some super cute songs!

Then, they got their "diplomas".

Our little graduate:

Mrs. Brown and "Mrs. Rachel" (Brown) and the staff at First United Methodist were given accolades for their terrific efforts.

And, Mrs. Brown received an extra special nod, as she is retiring.  She will be missed SO much!  XXOO

Aaaaand.... here's where the waterworks started and I turned into a blubbering Mama.  That, in turn, caught on and Nana Vicki shed some tears.  And, apparently Ramsey also started bawling during this (but I was too busy sniffling myself to notice the poor kid was a mess!).

This video montage.... how stinkin' sweet!

 I tried to "smile nice" for the pic, but I had been crying like a darn baby, so I'm all puffy looking.  Grr.  HA!   Ramsey had "got it together" before the pic though.

 Our dear Mrs. Brown:

Afterwards, there was a reception downstairs with cookies and refreshments.  Ramsey had a special cookie with his name on it.  So cute!

 Sweet Mrs. Rachel:

 When we got home, we opened up Ramsey's gift bag from his teachers.  We discovered the most wonderful and heartfelt gifts!  There were wonderful books for Ramsey's library, pictures of Ramsey (see the "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up" pic), a copy of the photo montage video from the graduation ceremony, a workbook of the alphabet that Ramsey had worked on the entire year, and a personalized towel (which Ramsey insisted on using as a blanket instead). 

 Then, we got to the "memories" book, full of pictures, notes ("what Ramsey loves the most about school", "Ramsey's favorite things", "Ramsey's memories" [from various occasions]), and other tidbits from the past year in school.    That was where the waterworks fell all over again.

Ramsey patted me on my back and told me, "You'll be OK, Mommy!  It's good to have a 'good cry'.  I'm  here!  I'm always in your heart!"

After this extremely emotional day, I wondered, "Does it ever get any easier???!!??" 
#BlubberingMama   #KindergartenBound