Done!

My Asher will graduate this weekend! As of last night, he's completely done with all his finals and coursework and is quite happy about that. :) As we finish out the week, I figure it's a good time to share his announcements. Like his brother before him, Asher was not a fan of official senior portraits or any of the official Class of 2021 merchandise. He finally consented to letting me take some pictures in February at a nearby park, and I made up these announcements:

The high school has decided on the indoor graduation ceremony on Sunday with only two guests per graduate. (To be honest, it makes us a bit uncomfortable since it will easily be the largest indoor gathering we've been to since March of last year. With that in mind, we deliberately made sure to get our vaccines as soon as we were eligible so that we'll be fully vaccinated before the ceremony. I worry about those who weren't able to get that process started in time, and we'll obviously leave Micah at home.) The ceremony will be live-streamed for those who want to watch. Also, we won't be having a party at this time. With Micah still unvaccinated and extended family mostly unvaccinated and travel being difficult/unwise at this time, it's just not the right time for us to do that. We're hoping to do something with his friends later this summer and will see various extended family members separately in the coming months. 

Regardless of the less boisterous celebration this year, though, we're so very proud of our Asher. His high school experience was anything but normal...starting out with a year of homeschooling, then a year of part time homeschooling and part time at CEC, then a semester of "normal" high school taking college courses at the CEC campus, then a semester of the same but interrupted by a pandemic and finished out online, and then a year of college courses taken remotely (except for physics labs). And, amid all that, he still managed to complete his Associate of Science as a straight A student!!

Along the way, he's also earned his second degree black belt, traveled to Costa Rica with a school group, completed a summer internship, done multiple job shadows (in person and via video call), volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, enjoyed parkour and karate and demo team, and traveled aplenty with us. He visited and applied to and was accepted at five different colleges and is starting to get excited about heading to Omaha this August.

So happy for this guy!

Happy Mother's Day

To all the moms...happy, happy Mother's Day! Here's a fitting quote I found:

There is no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. -Jill Churchill

So, thank you to all the good moms out there...past and present! Here are some of mine...

My awesome mom in May 1976 when I came to the United States from Korea and she became a mom:

Nathan's fabulous mom in August 1975 when Nathan was born and she became a mom:

My mom's mom in 1952 (my mom's on her lap):  

My mom's stepmom in 1959 a bit after her marriage to my grandpa (my mom's third from the left):

My dad's mom with my oldest aunt (I think this was taken in the 1940s...my dad's mom died when my dad was five so I never knew her):

Nathan's mom's mom with her husband, his mom and their first four kids in May 1952 (Nathan's mom's the first on the left):

Nathan's dad's mom with her husband in 1940 (I couldn't find any of her with her kids when they were little):

And my godmother in 1976 when she became my godmother:

Very thankful for these women and the roles they've played in my life and my motherhood. Beyond those pictured, I also so appreciate my sisters, sisters in law, and friends. Moms rock!

Those who are no longer with us continue to touch our lives through their examples, accomplishments and love. Those who are currently part of our lives inspire, support and love. So many beautiful women...so many truly good moms.
 

Thankful Thursday

Another beautiful Colorado Thursday (sandwiched between bouts of grey skies but I'll take it)! Just a quick list of things I'm thankful for today...

1. Spring flowers. Nathan and I planted some bulbs last fall. I'd honestly forgotten what was planted, so all the fun colors and flowers have been a wonderful surprise.

2. Green. Relatedly, the rain lately has very much greened up our yard. Thankful for that and for the precipitation in the first place. (See last week's post.)

3. Operations that run smoothly. Thankful for The Ranch mass vaccine drive thru site! Noah and Asher got their second shots last Saturday, and it was super easy and efficient. They had fevers for about 24 hours and were a little achy but weren't hit as hard and Nathan and me. While they were resting, Noah introduced Asher, Micah and Nathan to an anime series called "Dr Stone" which was actually hilarious. I don't usually watch the anime shows with them (I dislike reading subtitles because it prevents me from doing other things at the same time, lol) but caught myself laughing with them a few times.

4. Lists. Lots of little and big things getting done and needing to get done lately. It's May, after all, and we've got a boy graduating soon. Unsurprisingly, I have a number of lists going. They keep me sane. :) Will post more about at least some of these things soon.

Speaking of lists, though, I have things to see to...off to be productive. Happy May, y'all!