We Remember

Happy Memorial Day. May we never forget the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

God bless the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and those who are currently serving. My prayer is that not one more life is lost in war. Bring our troops home safely.

Now that was cool!

We have just returned from Bekah's show, and it was great, and fun, and well... interesting. Bekah did a great job playing the Narrator and the Rabbi in her show. It was really fun to watch. Her narrator role was very Twilight Zone like, and she did a great job holding the audience's attention with the opening monologue. She also did a great job as the Rabbi, which was actually quite funny to see. She was able to show her acting skills as she was sarcastic and straight forward to the other characters, and as she died on stage. GREAT JOB BEKAH! WHOO HOO!

Now she is very tired, and hungry...and very happy that she had such a great opportunity with another professional theatre company!

We are so proud of her!

24/7

Last night Bekah auditioned for a new show. We don't know what the show is, or what it will be about, or what character she auditioned for. See, she auditioned for 24/7. This is a theater production that in only 24 hours, auditions are held, scripts are written, and performances are given. She auditioned at 8 o'clock last night, the writer's wrote 7 short shows last night, and Bekah got the call at about 9 this morning telling her that she was cast. Now she is in for a day of 11 hours of rehearsal, and the shows will be performed tonight at 8. We are so excited for her. Way to go Bekah!

Say Goodbye to Middle School!

Today we celebrated Bekah's 8th grade graduation. The LMS Gym was packed with proud parents and grandparents, and although it was long (and hot) it was a nice ceremony. Bekah was chosen to sing the National Anthem at the ceremony, and did a nice job with the other 2 girls in the trio that performed. She also received an award for Drama and a plaque for serving as the Vice President of Choir. After the ceremony, we went to lunch and celebrated some more. Here are a few pictures from our special day.

Bekah wasn't too thrilled about posing for one more picture on the campus of Ladue Middle School. She was ready to say good-bye and move on.

We were thankful that Jimmy was present to share our day with us.

So, now we have one daughter in college and one daughter in high school. When did we get so old?

After the ceremony, we asked the girls what they were going to do now that they both were done with school for the academic year. Both gave the same answer...

SLEEP!

Congratulations Bekah-boo... we love you so much and are so proud of you!

Look out LHS... Here she comes!

More Graduation Pictures

What a wonderful day it has been! Jennifer is done with high school, and we had a great day of activities to enjoy. Jennifer has the camera with the rest of the graduation pictures on it, but here are few from dinner tonight!

Jenn and Boo are great friends, and a lot like sisters.... in so many ways.

Jason and Jen

We were honored that Jimmy and Amber (and "baby T") were able to join us tonight. They are wonderful friends and have been a great influence in Jenn's life over the past few years.


We asked some random guy to take a picture of our entire dinner party. (L-R) Mom, Me, Drew, Amber, Jennifer, Jimmy, Bekah, Jacki, Jason and Mike.

We had a great dinner... and a great time to be together with family!

Graduation 2

Jennifer is done with HIGH SCHOOL! HOORAY!

Now, it is time to head out for our dinner reservation!

More to come...

Thanks to Jimmy for the picture!

HAPPY GRADUATION

... it is Sunday... it is 4 p.m. and we are headed out the door to Ladue High School graduation...
HOORAY!

Stay tuned for pictures and a report of the big evening!

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER... WE LOVE YOU AND ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU.

Saturday

Lots of great things to report....

Happy Anniversary to Jason and me! HOORAY for us!

The CFS Golf Tournament was a great success- WAY TO GO MIKE, ROBIN, AND THE REST OF THE STAFF!

Jennifer graduates tomorrow!

Bekah graduates on Thursday!

Spring has sprung and if you look in our backyard, you will find baby bunnies, baby ducks, baby groundhogs, and baby birds. There are so many babies.... and of course there is soon to be baby Kelley, baby Thompson, baby Wimberely, and baby....??? oops... that friend wants to remain anonymous for now.... (BUT IT IS NOT ME!)

Highway 40 Symposium

After several weeks of planning, organizing, stressing out and praying, today was The Highway 40 Symposium sponsored by the YMCA. The idea came after talking with a few of Board Members about how we are going to handle the upcoming Highway 40 closures since our branch is in the middle of Brentwood and most of our members work in Clayton. We figured if we are asking a lot of questions and worrying, other big companies must be worrying as well. WE WERE RIGHT!

We sent invitations to 100 local companies and invited them to come hear speakers from MoDot, The City of Clayton, Missouri Public Transit, and other local experts on traffic and what comapanies are doing about this upcoming issue. We limited attendance to 40 companies... (get it.... 40 companies... highway 40....?) Cheesy I know....

Anyway, we had 40 companies call and RSVP, but since the seminar was FREE, we were not sure that they would actually come. We held the event off-site, served breakfast (donated by Balaban's) and lunch (sold at cost by Applegate's). We had great YMCA materials to share with all of the attendees and gave small leather portfolios with the YMCA logo debossed on them and pen and pencil sets to each company that attended! We were well organized and professional- that made me happy.... and made my boss happy! HOORAY!

So, after we set up and got everything in place, the question still remained.... HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL ACTUALLY SHOW UP? I was getting a little nervous...but, would you believe that 40 companies registered and 40 companies SHOWED UP? Wow- God totally answered my prayer! It was great.

The event went very smoothly, and we were VERY excited that Ladue News, the Post-Dispatch and Channel 4 all sent reporters (the Post sent 3!).

I am so thankful that things went so well. I am even more thankful that the YMCA was marketed well, and that we are now viewed as an organization who is a leader in our community who is reaching out to offer solutions to real community issues.

Today was a great day! Praise the Lord!

Congrats!

Congratulations to Jennifer! Today was her very last day of high school! Sunday she will graduate from Ladue, and we are so proud of her... She has come a long way in the last year, and we are thrilled for her. Last night we attended Senior Awards Night at the High School, where Jenn was honored with a Broadcast Journalism Award. Sunday we will watch her as she crosses the stage and receives her diploma... my oh my they grow up so fast. I remember when she was born as if it was yesterday. We love you Jenn!

Congratulations are also in order for Bekah! Bekah will soon graduate from 8th grade and will be headed to High School. She has been selected to sing the National Anthem at the graduation ceremony too... we are pretty excited for her. Also, she learned today that the all-girl Chamber Singers which she sings with received first place among all of the choirs who recently completed at the Middle School Festival. WAY TO GO!

We have been blessed with two beautiful, smart, and talented girls. We are so proud of you both!

Look Alike?

Some people just have a face that is familiar. Some believe that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. But for my hubby Jason, he hears very often that he looks like a couple of different superstars... For those of you who know Jason, what do you think? Do you think he looks like either of these famous guys?

Joey- From NSYNC

Jeff Supan- Former St. Louis Cardinal

What do YOU think?

Gonna Dance the Night Away...

This week has been an awesome week for our girls. Last Saturday night, Jennifer went to her Senior prom and had a great time. Tonight Bekah went to her 8th grade formal dance and she had a blast too. Both girls looked beautiful for their special events. In fact, they looked so beautiful that a particular daddy that I know and love didn’t really want to let them leave the house without a burlap sack.

Both girls took a digital camera with them, and there were lots of great ones to choose from (including some with a few pretty “cute guys”), but I didn’t want to embarrass anyone TOO much! Here are a few pictures from the dances.

Bekah- leaving the house.

Bekah with a few friends.

Jen leaving the house.

Jen with a few friends.

My, my, they grow up so fast! We have been blessed with two beautiful girls! Oh yeah, and two very EXPENSIVE girls! Do you know how much this stuff costs? Geez… Dresses, shoes, prom ticket, limo ride, jewelry, nails, hair stuff, make-up… and on and on…. Well…. I guess you only graduate from 8th grade, and high school once! They are worth every penny!

We love you Bekah and Jen!

Too Funny

This too funny...

"After12 years of intense therapy, my therapist finally said something life changing, that brought tears to my eyes... He said, "No hablo Ingles!"

Maybe I am the only one in the world who is laughing hysterically, but in my opinion.... that it REALLY funny!

Lemonade

We have all heard the old saying, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." I thought that this was cool and wanted to share it. Here is a new way to look at an old, familiar saying:

"When life hands you lemons, GOD gives you the opportunity to make lemonade... and if you ask, HE will even provide you with the sugar."

Chicago Pictures

I have a few minutes, and I thought I would post 2 more pictures from Chicago. I had such a great time with my girls! I love you Boo and Jen!

SO SASSY!!!

The Story Behind the Question...

What are your thoughts?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/20/transgender.prom.king.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us

Question

I just read an interesting story, which provoked me to ask you all a question:

Should a girl be able to run for Prom KING?

I know, I know...

I know, I haven't blogged for almost a week. My girls, and a few others have told me that I need to pick up the pace and get to blogging. So, in a few short minutes, let me give you an update:

• I am tired
• Work is going great
• Bekah (aka Rapunzel) is loving theatre and her show closes on Wednesday night
• Jennifer would like you to know that it only 27 days until graduation
• Jason finished the bowling season with a decent average
• The Highway 40 Symposium is coming together nicely
• The bedroom is finally painted and the new furniture will be here Saturday
• My lower back/hip still hurts really badly
• Mikki had the all important surgery and did great
• It is time to start shopping for prom and 8th grade dance dresses
• The plumbing is fixed in the bathroom sink finally
• The cost of gas is insane
• The weather is beautiful
• God continues to bless us

I will try to post pictures soon.

How about you... what are you up to these days?

Say Goodbye Sanjaya- FINALLY!

Ladies and Gentlemen....

He is finally gone! Thank you for voting him off- American Idol is worth watching again!

Girls' Road Trip

The girls and I took a trip to Chicago this weekend. We saw the Sears Tower, the Contemporary Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Wicked, and a million other random things! I have taken a lot of pictures, and I want to share them, but to be honest, I am just too tired tonight, but here is my favorite of the entire weekend!

I love my girls so much! I will post more pictures and comentary on the weekend as soon as I can. I am thankful that we had a great trip and that we have arrived home safely.