Mother's Day - It Never Changes

This is the picture we took on Mother's Day. And yet I still try....

Softball Banquet

Tonight was another final for Katherine -- her last banquet of the school year. Every player received a participation award followed by a few individual awards from the coaches. Katherine received the "Most Christlike" Award. I was so blessed by what the coach said. He shared that everyone wants to be around her, that there was "just something about her quiet spirit." She was a leader on and off the field. The senior girls also received photos of senior night and a framed picture of the team, signed by the coaches and players.

Coach Gary sharing Katherine's wonderful qualities
(I don't think she likes that...)

Fun decorations

Photo op with friends

Katie Hall, a sweet girl who loves Katherine

Hooligans from the back of the room,
my two and the coach's kids

In Case You Were Wondering...

My new blog template is a theme that will be capturing the next two weeks of our lives. Yes, indeed, the time has come. The day that we thought would take years to appear will indeed arrive in exactly 14 days. KATHERINE'S GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL. You cannot know how tempted I am to say, "It seems like just yesterday..." Nope. Not going to do that in this post either.

So, are we ready for graduation day? The checklist has been getting smaller every day.

1. Invitations mailed. Check.
2. Dress bought. Check.
3. Pictures mailed to church for senior night. Check.
4. Graduation board/scrapbook completed. Almost check.
5. Graduation party planned. Check. Not having one.
6. Senior Skip Day. Check.
7. Cap and Gown picked up. Check.
8. Kleenex purchased. Check.

Where did the time go????

Oh, Summer....I Knew You Were Almost Here

I found this little gem of a photograph on my computer today. I instantly felt the need for a cherry snowcone. My mouth is watering just looking at it now. Temperatures have almost been in the 90's this week. School is almost out. The pool is almost ready for swimmers. Almost, almost, almost....

Summer. I love you.

Photo Courtesy of Katherine Holmes

Katherine's Surprising Birthday

Katherine is 18 years old! And, what would be the point of saying the tired old phrase, "Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday that she..." Anyway, before the tears begin I'll move on. My baby is 18 and a beautiful young woman. It hardly seems possible. (Oh, wait...I wasn't going to do that.)

Her first surprise came the morning of her birthday when she went outside to get in her car for school. Her boyfriend, Ryan, had tagged her car. Then in between classes, Sharon put a gigantic balloon on it. Little did she know that we had planned a surprise party for her later in the day.

Grandmother sent her a fabulous pair of purple Converse.

Ice Cream Cake

And, the fabulous group of friends who helped me surprise her: Sharon, Travis, Ryan, Tanner, Jessica, Arianna, Erika, Erinn, Michele and Megan. We ate Chinese food and the kids watched the movie, "Avatar." Although the surprise was "not cool," Katherine had a great day!

Wedgwood Baptist Church - 50th Birthday Celebration

On May 1st and 2nd, our church celebrated 50 years of ministry. It was an exhausting, but wonderful time of sharing, reunions and worship. We began the weekend with our WILD Worship Children's Choir musical, "Praise Rocks." The kids did a great job of reminding the congregation to praise God or the rocks would cry out in their place.

Sunday morning was a two-hour worship service with lots of music, testimonies and videos of the church's history. If you look closely in the bottom right of this picture, that's me on the piano! We also had a reunion choir of children's choir members from the early 1990's to our current choir. They sang three songs in the service and did a wonderful job. Barb Isbell, our former director, returned to lead the kids. It was a meaningful service and it was great to see how God has moved and worked in our church over these years.

After the service, we went downtown to a luncheon hosted at Will Rogers Center. After lunch, former staff members came on stage and were recognized. We were able to visit with many former friends that we hadn't seen in years. A blessed weekend.

We're Finished Tracking

Another sports season has come and gone and we hardly know what to do with ourselves. Well, not really...we are breathing a sigh of relief to have a little more time in our days that is free. Track was a great season for the girls, with the exception of an early sprained wrist for Abigail. She was extremely versatile this year, trying hurdles, the one mile, 800 meter, shotput and discus. She thinks next year she will just concentrate on the 800 meter along with shot and discus. Here are a couple photos of her in action.

Rebecca had a fantastic year running track. She ran many events including 100 meter, 200 meter, 4 X 100 meter relay and 4 x 400 meter relay. She ran both Jr. Varsity and Varsity. The 4 X 400 meter relay team made it all the way to the regional meet where they posted a personal best time of 4:20. Rebecca injured her leg during the race, yet finished with a personal best time of 69 seconds. She definitely finished strong and is excited to have earned her Grace Prep letter jacket as a freshman. Pictures of Rebecca in action are extremely hard to get because she's running fast!

Regional meet, getting instructions before the start
(Bec is to the left of the girl in the black pants)

Waiting for the 2nd leg to finish and get on the track

Of course there's a year-end banquet, so hope to have more picture to post from that.

State Champion, Baby!

A few weeks ago Katherine went to the TAPPS 4-A State Fine Arts Contest at Concordia University in Austin. And, she did really well. She won 1st Place in the Seek & Sketch competition, and 2nd Place in the Onsite Drawing competition. She was awarded her medals tonight at the GPA Awards Banquet at Dallas Baptist University. Her drawings are shown below.

The Catch Up Post

It's been awhile since I've been able to post, due to both general busy-ness and Blogger's lack of cooperation in uploading pictures. I'm happy to report that it is cooperating well tonight.

It has been a busy month in the Holmes household and since I'm three weeks behind in posting events, I thought I would share briefly from each event.

Basketball Banquet

Seniors recognized with a poster of their season.

We don't look alike at all, do we?

Rebecca ran in the Texas Relays at UT Austin.

Spring finally arrived.

We tie-dyed (literally) Easter eggs from men's silk ties.

Great idea, Barb!

I finally spent my spa gift card and had the

best pedicure I've ever had.

Abigail played "Superior" at the Solo & Ensemble Festival.

Katherine went to the Grace Prep Masquerade Prom.

Rebecca celebrated her 15th birthday.

Katherine attended a second prom.

Abigail, in a moment of questionable sanity, jumped

in the "still very cold" pool, in the rain, in her clothes.

Seniors were recognized during the

final softball game.

GPA Academic Awards Banquet at

Dallas Baptist University.

Well, that's all we've been doing the last three weeks. I didn't include the three track meets because I didn't have pictures. We're looking into slowing down, sometime in the year 2015 after Abigail graduates from high school. Yeah...that's not long. Not long at all.

A Small Pictorial of My Current Life