WOWzers!

So, I’m just not sure we could have squeezed anything else into the last week and a half.  The out-of-towners have come and gone (accept for Oma who is staying one more week), Max’s weeklong celebration with his classmates is over, Olivia went to an out of town Lacrosse tournament and back, Rudy had a full week of medical appointments and Wilson made it home safe and sound from Ft. Knox, KY late last night after his month in Madagascar.  In between, there were pool parties and crazy antics and food (so much food!).  Needless to say, today is clear of any commitments so I’m staying in bed as long as possible.  😉

The months of senior activities and fun anticipation for the DP Class of 2017 culminated in last Thursdays graduation celebration…it was so fun to share the day with our out of town guests and hometown friends!

After graduation, we hosted a house full of friends to celebrate and it was rich.  Max’s godmother, who flew in all the way from Wichita, shared some beautiful scripture and words of affirmation & blessing AND Coach Mollkoy (for whom Max TA’d this year) had a special presentation too!  Max felt well celebrated and expressed his gratitude for all the love from family and friends on more than one occasion!  Yay!  So grateful!

After all that, Rudy still had one more day of school…

Our church has an annual tradition of recognizing the graduates on “Graduation Sunday”…those promoting from 6th grade to Jr. High and from 8th grade to High School, as well as the High School and College graduates.  ‘So excited for this bunch!

One of the things I love most about our church is the “team effort” that goes into the investment of our youth…this certainly was demonstrated in the comments shared with (and about) Max during the service…well done, dear friends, thank you, thank you!!

We are so grateful to our moms and KS nephews and Max’s godmother for making the effort to come all the way to California for Max!  Their presence made all the celebrating even more special for sure…well done everybody and thank you, thank you!!

Medical Update:

Rudy’s one-week break between the end of the school year last Friday and the start of summer school this coming Monday is almost over.  As it turned out, it was packed with routine dr. appts Monday through Thursday.  We still have neurology, cardiology and a trip to the dental clinic at UCLA coming up in a couple of weeks but we were able to check gastroenterology, orthopedics and the bi-annual visit to the heart clinic off our list this week.  The news from GI is that Rudy is losing weight and needs to bulk up a bit so an increase to his daily volume of Pediasure has been ordered.  Our appointment at UCLA’s heart clinic yesterday was exceptionally long (with a nearly hour long echo) but there isn’t any major change in Rudy’s heart function since December…a good thing!  The most surprising news this week came from the orthopedist who determined that Rudy no longer needs his braces!!!!  I didn’t see that coming AT ALL and it took me a few seconds to process what he meant.  Ha Ha  Dr. Early recommended we stop using the braces and track Rudy’s falls (an increase in falls may mean a return to the braces) but he suspects Rudy will grow in leg strength pretty quickly now that the calf muscle will be free to move and get exercised.  As a result, our day in LA yesterday included a trip to Famous Footwear for a pair of new shoes AND new sandals!!!!  Rudy is so proud!

Speaking of LA, when we finished at UCLA, we stopped for lunch in Westwood and ran into the echo technicians who conducted Rudy’s echo…guess who elbowed his way into their lunch break?

So, as always, there is much to celebrate and much to ponder.  In the meantime, we’ll continue to focus on quality time with family and friends and remember to breathe once in a while!