Happy 13th Birthday to Sweet Samantha

Sunday was Samantha's 13th birthday. After church, the H family and Omi and Colette came to help us celebrate the birth of this sweet girl. We had lasagne (the most popular birthday dish around here), garlic bread, salad, and Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake--yum! Samantha was blessed with some nice presents (and some money too). Oh, and since it's her 13th birthday, she got a $1000 cd from Grandma and Grandpa, who do that for every grandchild's 13th birthday (and they have alot of grandkids!) She will be able to use that for whatever she needs around her 18th birthday. (Danny used his towards his car, and Cara is using hers towards college.)(Sorry, too lazy to go into the program to turn those pictures the right way...)

Our (Ralph's and mine) gift to Samantha was getting her ears pierced and a lunch and shopping trip out with Mom (which is kinda nice since I got the lunch and shopping trip too). Samantha bought herself 2 outfits with some of her birthday money, and I bought her a shirt at the Christian store, which is what she really wanted, and then we went and looked at the animals in the pet store (not my idea, but it was her day, and she is an animal lover). :-)
After that, it was time to head to her restaurant of choice, Dennys....You can sorta see one earring in this one if you squint:
She was so cute; she ordered a double cheeseburger, and then it was so big and so high, that she was too embarrassed to pick it up and try to get it in her mouth, so she ate it with a fork.
On the way home, we split a chocolate shake, which we didn't really need, but it was good....

Samantha is my quiet, shy, sweet girl. She loves her Jackson-boy with all her heart and he loves her. God was so good to give us our Samantha.

Happy Graduation!!

Well, we have another graduate in the house. Last Friday evening, Cara graduated from our home school high school. Scott and Lynn (brother and sis-in-love) drove my parents up, and that was a real blessing to have them here, know all they have been through recently. Cara sang one of her own songs beautifully....Here we are giving her her diploma--the hardest part for Ralph and I was getting up on that stage and saying a few words!! After the ceremony, we were able to eat goodies and visit with the many friends and family members who came (although there were so many of them, it wasn't possible to spend enough time with anybody!). I am just so proud of the young lady that Cara has grown up to be. She loves Jesus, and strives to follow and please Him. I am just honored that God has allowed me to be her mother. There is so much more to say, but life is calling. So.....I will just say.......
Happy Graduation, Cara!!