It was an emotional day for me today as we went to see Evan’s end of school music performance and see him get his kindergarten “diploma.” It seems like it was just last week that we were coaching him through his tears and practically pushing him onto that bus in the morning. I didn’t know how we were going to make it through the year. But, here we are. We made it through. Not only did we make it through, but he has even been a little sad that kindergarten is over. And, I’m a little sad too. Of course, I’m dealing with the normal mom stuff of how-in-the-world-am-I-going-to-keep-these-kids-busy-this-summer syndrome. But, more than that, I’m sad to leave Mrs. Nowak and Mrs. Ritter’s care. They have been such a blessing this year and have cared for not only Evan but also for me as I went through the process of recognizing some special needs that Evan has and getting him help. It’s been quite a year. Tomorrow, he has one more half day of school before summer is official. Mark and I are going to decorate his bedroom door tonight (it’s our tradition to do that on special days for the kids–we hang streamers and colorful ribbons from the door frame for them to wake up to). And, I think I’ll go get some balloons to meet him with at the bus stop when he is dropped off for the very last time.

P.S. Had to include the picture of Ash and Drew hamming it up on the stage after the program. They are crazy.

The kids have had a ball this past week playing with our neighbors. They have 3 kiddos exactly the ages of our kids. So, they have all been perfectly matched. In these pictures, the kids were enjoying some hot cocoa during a rain storm that came during their outdoor play. In the other picture, they were all lined up watching the neighbor remove a bush from the yard. We are praying that these neighbors stick around for a while–they are only supposed to be here temporarily as they look for a home to buy. We’d love for them to stay!