Graduation

 I can honestly say there were times I thought this day would never come.  When we took the leap of faith - because we made this life changing decision based solely on the answer to prayers - to sell our home and go back to school, I could have never imagined what a beautiful journey it would be.

 Jeff and I met in college 12 years ago.  We each graduated with an associates degree just a few months after we were married.  We soon built a new home together, Jeff worked while I continued my education, and then we started our family.  After Jeff was promoted and our family grew, we knew that what he was doing was not meant to be his life's work.  But knowing that and doing something about it did not easily go hand-in-hand.  It took years of pondering, discussing, praying, fasting, thinking, talking, and more praying to finally decide to leave the family business and go back to school.

 One of the first things we learned is that God does not usually illuminate the whole path.  His plan requires that we follow in faith, not always knowing what step will come next.  What we came to understand over and over again is that His plan is perfect, and that He will always provide a way.

 One of the overarching lessons of this journey is that God is absolutely aware of us.  He cares about the big things and the little ones, the long-term goals and the minute-by-minute details.  We have witnessed a continuous stream of miracles throughout the past four and a half years.  Jeff has learned so much about himself.  His capacities, talents, and perspective have all been magnified.  Our marriage is stronger.  Our family is stronger. Our faith is stronger.  Our determination is stronger.  We have emerged from this leg of our journey so much stronger.

 The kids and I were the only ones that were able to be there to support Jeff at the graduation ceremony.  We started out alright, but soon Titus became fussy, so I took him out to feed him.  As I was walking down to our seats on my way back in, he threw up (no, not spit up, we're talking projectile vomit) ALL OVER.  Turns out Titus wasn't exactly thrilled to be at graduation.

 Luckily he drifted off to sleep as they were announcing Jeff's department.

 ...and he wasn't the only one who caught a nap during the ceremony.

 Afterward, we were outta there.  There was some serious family fun waiting to be had!  We don't get to hang out with our dad a whole lot between school, work, and clinical hours, so we celebrated Graduation with a family weekend getaway.

 Titus was all smiles when we finally got out of the graduation and into the hotel.

 The kids could hardly wait to go swimming, and dad was a super great sport.

Titus (a.k.a. Skinny) and I mostly watched from the sidelines, enjoying the laughs and soaking up the memories. (Family Fun Weekend to be continued...)