Debbie Delozier :: A Casual Affair

It seems Orange runs deep.  Deep in our family’s veins anyway.  It began over 50 years ago (probably closer to 60 now) when J’s dad graduated with an Engineering degree from OSU, a.k.a.  The State’s University.  Following in his older brother’s footsteps, Dad’s younger brother, John also graduated from OSU.  A few years later stepping into the traditional Cowboy’s shoes boots, J’s sister attended OSU for a few years where she also dated and married her husband Mike who was also attending OSU.  A few years later, J also attended OSU for a while.

The orange continued to flow through the veins of the family when our oldest daughter entered OSU on a Journalism scholorship.  She later changed her major and graduated with a BS in Political Science.  And now, after spending 2 full days at OSU in Stillwater our teenager has been accepted, is now enrolled, and has her first semester’s class schedule at OSU.  Therefore, as the teenager is now a college student and on the road to fulfilling her own destiny we will forever more refer to her by her name; Kati.

For the last 2 days Kati, J and I have been attending workshops, orientation classes, a free breakfast, a free lunch and tours.  Kati even stayed all night in one of the dorms.  She has met new people and made new friends.  She has already met and been advised by her assigned adviser for the next year, or until the time she completes 28 credit hours, at which time she will need to declare a major and will then move on to an adviser under that major.

Because Kati has decided to keep up the tradition and attend OSU she is giving up the $10,000 scholorship offered to her by Southern Arkansas University.  Just goes to show;  money may talk sometimes, but it may not be speaking the correct language.  J and I just want her to go where she will be happy, and after seeing her interacting with other new freshmen, upper classmen, and faculty at OSU we know she is in for a fantastically awesome ride.

  J and I were invited to attend a reception in T. Boone Picken’s reserved room in the Gallagher IBA stadium.  Nice view isn’t it.

  The beautiful library.   Right in the front of the library is the fountain in which the students always dye the water orange during Homecoming.

  The Student Union;  we spent quite a few hours here over the last 2 days.

This is the steeple of the First Christian Church (DOC) in Stillwater.  It just so happens to be within walking distance of Kati’s new dorm (actually closer than some of her classes).  Kati and I have decided that the next time we are in Stillwater we are going to drop by and introduce ourselves to the pastor.  Kati says that she wants to visit this church when she can.  She is actually pretty excited about it because, as in Kati’s own words “I’ve never met a Disciple that wasn’t nice and friendly”.  I agree with her.  We thought that if the congregation in Stillwater is anything like our own “home” congregation that it will surely be another support system for her while she is away from her home and her own church.  As we all know, young people can always use another support system.

We returned home today to find our grandkitty, Nickle here visiting for a week while Cass and Travis are on an Alaskan cruise.  I hope they have a good time because I’ve already had to pull one cat off the back of the couch and break up 2 cat-fights.  I know once we move back to the bedroom for the night the cat-fights will be taking place right on top of the bed; I’m speaking from experience.

I’ll talk to you later in the week; sometime between my dental appointment, my doctor’s appointment, the Rotary club lunch, grocery shopping for a sit-down dinner for 75 and the actual cooking for the dinner.

Have a wonderful week!

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The teenager graduated Friday evening putting a period on the years she spent in Kindergarten through high school and opening the door to the world and the beginning of a life of new people, new places and new adventures.  As parents J and I are beaming with pride of a job “well done”.

In the picture she is receiving her diploma and a tearful hug from her Aunt Debbie,  who just so happens to be Secretary of the Board of Education.  Normally the President of the Board of Education would present the student with their diploma, but Aunt Debbie asked if she could present the teenager’s, her nephew Brian’s (on the other side of the family) and also Andrew R’s who is the son of close family friends to all of us.

After graduation some of the extended family went with us to a Supper Club for a late night celebration dinner and more doting on the teenager.  We arrived home about 11:30 and hit the sheets about midnight at which time the teenager and her bestest friend left for an all night party arranged by the high school principle and one of the local churches.  J and I were able to get just shy of 3 hours sleep before re-dressing and heading to the church to fix breakfast for the Senior classmen who attended the party.

About 30 of the graduating seniors showed up for the party that began at midnight and ended about 6 a.m.  They bowled, they held a volleyball tournament, they had Wei tennis tournaments, played basketball, dodgeball, pool and air hockey.  They also snacked on pizza, chips, cookies, doughnuts and then ate the full breakfast (sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits, orange juice and milk) that J and I and the Khueler’s prepared for them.

While the kids were eating the principal and the youth minister from the church gave away prizes that had been donated by businesses and parents.  The teenager won one of the 2 stereos.  

Some of the other prizes were 6 gift cards in the amount of $25, 5 Ipod Nanos, 2 mini refrigerators, 2 microwaves and much more.  The grand prize was a flat-screen tv.  Yes, there were some very lucky kids, everyone went home with a prize.

The teenager headed home  and went to bed while Daddy and I helped clean up the kitchen.  We returned home about 6:30 and went to bed ourselves.

After about 2 hours of sleep J and I were, once again, up and at ‘em.   I needed to finish a birthday cake that had been specifically requested by a 3 year old who happens to be near and dear to my heart.  He enjoyed it tremendously.   Here he is picking off all the gummy letters that spelled out his name.    He looked up at me and said “it’s really delicious Aunt Debbie”.

After the birthday party we returned home where I browned some sausage and onion together in one skillet while I sauteed red pepper, green pepper and more onion together in another skillet.  These would be used to make sausage muffins and mini frittatas for the brunch at church in the morning.

Sunday was Youth Sunday and J and I needed to be there early to help set up the fellowship hall and I would also bake the previously mentioned items.  The teenager had to be there early also as she was singing the special music and giving the sermon for the morning.  She did a marvelous job.  Everyone complimented her on her singing, her writing and speaking,  and smothered her in hugs and kisses.  I was (and am) a very proud mom.

Sunday and Monday have been mostly used to rest up.  We have done the normal grocery shopping, meal preparing and trying to straighten up the house and yard, but mostly we’ve been pretty lazy.  This evening we will head over to J’s mom and dad’s for hamburgers and hot dogs, a Memorial Day tradition.  I’ve also made a Cornbread Salad and will finish up a Sopapilla Cheesecake there.

Usually we all try to make it to the lake cabin for Memorial Day but with J’s dad’s just getting out of the hospital and graduations, birthdays, business meetings and schedules it was just undoable this year.

This week (and the next week) are also busy ones for us.  Tomorrow is the regularly scheduled Rotary lunch and trying to finish up the laundry, etc here at home.  Tuesday evening J has a business associate coming into town so we will be having dinner with him and a few other business people.  On Wednesday we are on a road trip and will have dinner that evening with another of J’s business associates then check into a hotel in Stillwater where the next 2 days will be spent attending OSU orientation.

We will return home just in time to get the number of RSVPs for our church’s centennial which will allow me to order the meat for the formal dinner and make up the grocery list for said dinner.  The next week will be spent grocery shopping and doing any preparations that we can do before the weekend celebrations.

That’s the way its been and will be around here.  I will try to keep in touch along the way.

Blessings!

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We’re nearing the end of the school year and the teenager’s graduation.  I thought this picture, which I took at the cabin this last weekend, was fitting as I would no longer have any ducklings at home.  Yes, I know the summer is still ahead of us before she leaves for college, but I’m not looking for her to be home too much during the summer due to previously planned summer trips with the church youth group and her own special summer plans.

For yesterday’s Rotary lunch I served the Cosmopolitan Grilled Chicken Salad (you’ll find the recipe in the Family Table section), with Lime cupcakes for dessert.  They must have really liked it because all but just a teeny bit was gone.

Last time I went to the market I bought tons of fresh greens and veggies, so tonight we’re dining on Asian chicken slaw and tomorrow evening a fresh salad with oranges, pineapple and dried sweetened cranberries.  Looks like it is shaping up to be “The Summer of Salads”.

Last evening J and I went to Tulsa to drop off J’s push mower so the son-in-law (or oldest daughter, who knows) can mow their yard.  Their mower isn’t functioning so they are pondering taking it to Sears as it was just purchased there last summer.

While in Tulsa, J took me to eat at Kilkenny’s on Cherry Street.  Kilkenny’s is an Irish Pub and we loved it, even though we didn’t have any Pub type beverages.  We’ve just never been very big on beer, but food, that is a whole different story.  And I love trying different foods from different cultures.

They started off by bringing us soda bread to snack on, which was yummy.  J had a steak with mushroom sauce, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes mixed with cooked cabbage.  The mashed potatoes with the cooked cabbage was fantastic.  I mean fantastic!!  Don’t be surprised it I try something like that very soon.   I, after conversing with the waiter, decided on the Cottage Pie with steamed veggies and a green salad topped with Bleu Cheese dressing.  Oh my goodness gracious.  I swear I’ve never had a Bleu cheese dressing nearly this good.  The Cottage Pie was pretty tasty also.  It was a nice mixture of slow-cooked beef tips with peas and carrots in a nice thick beef gravy.  This was topped with mashed potatoes, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and browned in the oven.  Like I said, pretty tasty.  I can’t wait to go again and try some other traditional Irish dish.

Well, my family will soon be here so I best get to chopping veggies for the Asian chicken slaw.  Wishing you a wonderful evening.

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I could have titled this post “In The Kitchen With Lucille Ball” and I will tell you why after I tell you how to make this.

This is a wonderful, tasty and easy brunch idea (when you do it correctly).

I began by lining a springform pan with parchment paper, spraying the paper with cooking spray and adding a layer of grated cheese.

I then fried up 8 slices of bacon which I had chopped into smaller pieces.               

After draining the bacon I added it to the pan on top of the cheese.  

To the bacon grease I added 7 red potatoes which I had washed and sliced.

While the potatoes were frying I threw in a handful of chopped red bell pepper and another handful of chopped onion, then added sea salt, freshly ground pepper and red pepper flakes (do this to your taste).

Once the potatoes and vegetables were softened I added them to the pan on top of the bacon.  

The next and final layer of this Upside down breakfast cake is eggs.  I beat 5 eggs and poured them over all the ingredients.

I baked this in a preheated 350 oven for about 20-25 minutes.  You want the eggs to set.

After letting it set for just a bit I inverted the cake onto a serving dish, and topped with chopped tomatoes and fresh cilantro.  My family was seated at the table and ready to eat, so I carried the platter to the table and set it in the center to present them with a tasty meal of this cake, fresh fruit and buttered toast.

Now here are a few tidbits I learned along the way.

1.  DO NOT USE A SPRINGFORM PAN:  any grease that is left in the bacon or from the fried potatoes or when the cheese melts will drip from the springform pan, fall on the bottom of your hot oven and smoke up your kitchen.  Use a round 9″ cake pan.

2.  DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU LINED THE PAN WITH PARCHMENT PAPER.  If you take this to the table and notice a shiny layer under the chopped tomatoes and cilantro, it is the parchment paper.  You need to remove this BEFORE adding the garnish, it is NOT good for your family to eat, make them wait while you remove the parchment paper from the top.   Sure made the top nice and pretty for the picture though, didn’t it.

I hope the Food Network Stars keep me in mind when they make their bloopers show.

Really, give this a try for breakfast, brunch or even dinner (as we did), just learn from my mistakes.

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I woke early yesterday morning to find the sun stretching it’s long shiny beams out across the backyard.  A beautiful, welcome greeting on a Sunday morning.  The weather forecast is sunny and warm for the whole week.  It seems as if it has been a long time coming and I, for one, am very happy to see it.

J’s mom and dad made a quick trip to their place in Colorado to pack up a few things in preparation of renting/selling the place.  They ended up heading back home to Oklahoma sooner than expected, that thin Colorado air getting the best of Dad.  This is their first trip back up that way since the heart surgery and it seems to have taken it’s toll on him as he had to start back on oxygen.

J’s mom called earlier today and said that they had went out to their doctor here in town and he put Dad into the local hospital.  He is running a temperature and is on the brink of pneumonia.  Now with the help of antibiotics maybe he’ll begin to get better.

It is the last week of school for the teenager.  The Senior class has fun and games planned for the whole week.  All the Seniors seem to be very excited about the game “Gotcha”.  They had a trial run last week and they are all very excited to begin  “real” play this week.  In the game, each Senior is given an envelope holding the name of a classman.  Their goal is to get that classman from behind without being caught.  The classman that has been “got” then hands over his envelope (or envelopes, depending on if that person had already “gotten” someone).  The new holder of the envelope then has to “get” the person in the captured envelope.  Whoever ends up with all the envelopes is the winner.  They are hoping to play a few games of “Gotcha” throughout the week.

The week will wind down for them with Baccalaureate on Thursday night and practice for graduation on Friday morning.  After the practice they will be turned loose for their last day of school or no school if they so choose which I’m betting they will.

After church and a wonderful lunch prepared by my friend Joyce, J and I decided we needed to run a truck load of firewood over to the lake cabin.  We don’t need the wood until the winter but J is wanting to get it out of the yard for the summer.

Upon arriving at the cabin, J backed the pickup over to the woodpile while I headed for the front door.  When I opened the storm door I found the cabin’s front door opened about 2 inches.

Not wanting to walk in by myself I yelled for J.  We entered the cabin to find all the closet and cabinet doors and drawers opened and rifled through.  We headed into the master bedroom where the dresser drawers had been gone through and all Mom and Dad’s clothing were spread all over the floor.  The closet were open, and Dad’s pellet rifle was laying on the bed.

Upstairs the middle bedroom door (leading to the balcony) was opened and my sister-in-law’s bedroom door was unlocked.

Nothing was missing.  The television and computer were still there and there was absolutely nothing that we could find torn up or destroyed.  We called Dad who then called the sheriff.  While waiting on the sheriff we went to neighbor’s houses to ask if anyone had seen anything.  The neighbors informed us that 3 other houses, all right around us, had all been broken into.  One of the cabins across the street had fishing reels taken from the rods (rods tossed to the ground) right out of the boat while the homeowners were indoors.

The sheriff’s deputy finally arrived and took a report.  He also told us of other break-ins right there close.  In all the break-ins nothing of value has been taken so the officers think the people are looking for drugs or items they can use to make drugs.  They said they had a few suspects in mind and were keeping an eye on things in the area.

I was telling J that even though nothing was taken I still just have this horrible feeling.  Just knowing that someone or a few someones were in a place our whole-extended family has considered a second home, walking from room to room and touching our things.

In other areas of our life, we are still waiting for a call from the insurance to let us know where we stand with the teenager’s car.  Also, a few friends have asked about my ankle.  It was doing so much better, no pain and very little swelling left.  Then Thursday I went out to check the mailbox and as I stepped out of the door and down to the walkway something in the front of my foot (where most of the swelling was) popped and I swear to you I felt “oozing” under the skin in the same spot.  Very shortly the swelling began again.  So, I am back on the ice and Ace bandage.  If I don’t see improvement in the next day or so I will return to the doctor.

So, that is about it, the sunshine is back in our lives and our schedules are busy.  I guess I could have told you that in the beginning and saved you the last 15 or 20 minutes.  I’ll turn you loose now, hoping you have a wonderfully blessed week ahead of you.

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Life, at it’s best, is a;  come as you are, play the cards you are dealt, every day is different, grab bag.  It just so happens if you visit my website today you also get a grab bag.  We will visit the last week and I will type whatever my brain sends to my fingers.  Hold on; we could jump from topic to topic without warning.

The rain still falls from time to time, seems it is mostly on more than off.  Sometimes it is a mere sprinkle, more likely than not, lately at least, it gushes.  We have a farmer down the road that lives near Talala Creek, right now a good portion of their land is underwater.    Also, for the avid fisherman, my cousin’s husband was fishing in Talala Creek one day last week and caught a 64 lb catfish.  I know, this sounds like a fish story but I am telling the story exactly as I heard it.  I was told the catfish was almost as tall as I was.  I haven’t seen a picture and I haven’t been invited to a fish fry,  I’m just passing the story along.

We drove over to Claremore last evening (we were home by the time the storms hit bad) and while crossing over Oologah Dam we noticed that the lake is so high there is only “boat parking” in the parking lot normally reserved for cars.

Also because of the recent downpours, we have discovered a leak in the sunroom ceiling.  Because of this leak the bamboo flooring we had in there was staying wet and began to mold.  I had noticed the on-set of the mold and by the time J could get to it the mold was really beginning to bother my sinuses causing sneezing and coughing.  Saturday J pulled up the bamboo flooring, took it to the trash pile and cleaned it all up for me.

  Is this not a picture of a truly wonderful man.  He used bleach to mop up with the first time and them finished it all up with the Clorox mop.

Sunday was Mother’s Day.  The teenager had stayed all night with her friend Nici (after the birthday concert and getting to see Caroline’s Spine) so it was just J and I here in the morning.  I guess with graduation looming over us we had better get used to this.  She met us at home after church.  J asked if we wanted to go to lunch “for Mother’s Day” at which time the teenager said “oh yeah, Happy Mother’s Day, Mom”.   On our way to Tulsa I also received a text message of Happy Mother’s Day from our Cass and Travis.  We ate at Abuelo’s in Tulsa where I received my one and only Mother’s Day gift.

  Now don’t be too fast to judge my sweeties,  we have had a monstrously busy schedule lately, with birthdays, work, church, concerts, appointments and life in general.  Besides, I am (as are moms or wives in most families) the one who buys the cards and gifts for people, so without a nudge or really heavy elbow, they tend to forget.  This is only the 2nd time in the last 27 years that I’ve been a mother that they’ve slid off-track, so that isn’t all that bad.

On Sunday my friend Janice offered to handle the Graduation Brunch at church on the 24th.  I jumped on the offer, Thanks from the bottom of my heart, Janice.  This offer was a gift from God as the next day Mr. Williams, the high school principle asked me to handle the breakfast for all the high school Seniors attending the all-night graduation party, at 5 am on Saturday the 23rd.  Of course, not having the word “no” in my vocabulary I said “uh, ok”.  Fortunately, many other Grad moms and dads are there to help me.

Yesterday I had an appointment with our new dentist for the first step in getting a crown.  I was hopeful that getting this “crown” would officially set me up as the Queen I feel (deep down) that I am.  My younger (most likely jealous of this Queen status) sister informed me I was incorrect.  Like I say I think this is jealousy speaking.

Earlier this year, I had made a lunch for the choir director and one of the ensembles that had performed uptown.  Recently the choir director has been wishing I would make them another lunch.  As stated earlier, the word no doesn’t seem to be a verbal skill that I have, so today I am cooking chicken.

  This chicken, once cooked, will combine with other yummy ingredients to become Kati’s favorite Chicken Enchiladas.  I will also prepare fresh guacamole and salsa to make up their lunch on Friday.

Next week is Graduation Week, so the week is full of pre-graduation activities that will peak on Friday.  Each day is more exciting and fun for the teenager.  My tears are coming off and on (akin to the rain) hopefully ceasing after Sunday the 24th which is the aforementioned Graduation Brunch for the teenager.  My baby will also be giving a sermon and singing the special music in church that day as it is Youth Sunday.  My heart swells with love and pride as I type these very words.  But as I said, I hope the crying will cease for the time being.  I know they will begin again in August when we escort her to Stillwater and college, but hopefully we can get through the major part of the summer without my eyes leaking and my heart swelling at every turn.

I’ve kept you long enough, so I’m turning you loose to go about your day.  I hope it is a marvelous day.

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Keeping my promise.   After the ladies at the bank sampled this pie today I had to swear to put it on the website.  Here you go, Peeps.  Just for you.  Tammy, let me know how wonderful this is in your “tweaked” crust.

I know most people associate avocado with guacamole so you’re thinking “ew, guacamole in a pie”, but this is nothing like that.  The lime juice is actually the leading flavor here, sort of akin to Key Lime Pie.

You’ll need:

1 ½ cups whipping cream
¾ cups sugar
1 ½ ripe avocados, peeled & pitted
6 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)
Graham cracker crust (homemade or purchased)

Here is how you put all this together to make this delicious dessert:

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.  Remove from heat and stir the sugar into the cream until it dissolves. Transfer this to a medium bowl, and allow to cool.

Combine the avocado and cream cheese in a food processor and blend to a smooth consistency.  Now add the lime juice and process again until combined.  Whisk this into the cooled cream mixture.

Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust, cover and put in freezer for at least 2 hours.  You will want to set the pie out for a little bit before serving.  Serve topped with whipped cream.

If you want to make this without having the leftover 1/2 an avocado and the extra 2 oz of cream cheese here are the adjustments:

2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sugar
2 avocados
8 oz cream cheese
2/3 cup lime juice

Give this a try, if you like lime you will love this easy-peasy pie.

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That is what the teenager said after her surprise party and unwrapping the birthday/graduation gift (Mac Book and printer/scanner) that J, myself, Cass & Travis gave to her.  Cass and Travis went further and got her a laptop sleeve so that it will stay pretty and won’t get all scratched up.

We ended the birthday evening with a celebration dinner at Olive Garden.  She didn’t stop the birthday partying there however.  Saturday she spent the afternoon at her friend Nici’s house then that evening, Nici and Terri (Nici’s mom) took her to Tulsa for a rock concert featuring Caroline’s Spine where she got to go backstage and visit with the band afterward.  She got a Caroline’s Spine t-shirt, a t-shirt and book of  poetry from another one of the bands and a drumstick autographed by one of the members of Caroline’s Spine.  She is in her room “sleeping it off” as we speak (er, write).

Isn’t this the cutest cake you’ve ever seen?  It was not only the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time, it was yummeeee.  It was a strawberry cake with buttercream frosting.  We had it done at Reasor’s and it was worth every single penny (about 2,600 of them) I spent on it.

At first the teenager was a bit disappointed when I told her I was ordering her a cake instead of baking her one, but then she didn’t know about the whole surprise party.

She quickly forgave me after being surprised by everyone and after seeing the cake.

Thanks to all the family and friends who came to the party and help make Kati’s 18th birthday celebration so very special for her (and me, because it isn’t every day that you present your daughter with “the best day EVER”).

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Make this sandwich today.  Your husband will love you more than ever.  Heck, your next door neighbor’s husband will smell it cooking, come over and see it and love you.

I made these sandwiches for the Rotary Club lunch last Tuesday.  One of the officers of the bank smelled it cooking and came into the kitchen and wanted to know what it was.  I told him what all it had on it and he said “You know, you could open that door to the street and people passing by would want to join Rotary just to be able to eat this”.  I doubled the recipe, which I do most the time when I’m cooking for the Rotary Club, so the whole time I was grilling the meat I was thinking “this is too much meat, whatever am I going to do with all this meat”.  It wasn’t too much meat, there wasn’t any left by the time the Rotary members ate and my family ate it on Wednesday night.

Kati (the teenager) isn’t a “big” meat person, especially pork chops, pork loin, etc.  She loved it.  Of course J did too and ate 2 of them.

Here is what you’ll need to make these wonderful sandwiches:

2 lbs boneless pork loin, cut into ¾ inch cubes
¾ cup cider vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
4 tblsp lemon juice
Zest from lemon
1 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tblsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
½ tsp cayenne
6 sliced thick Italian bread or rolls

Here’s what you’ll do:  Mix together all the ingredients (except the bread) in a plastic bag and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

Remove pork cubes  and discard marinade.  You can put the cubes on skewers and grill or throw them all on a grill pan and grill them that way.  Grill 4 – 5 minutes on each side.

Serve by putting the grilled pork on to the Italian bread.  As you see we added some marinara sauce (store bought is fine), some grilled onions and colored bell peppers and some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Like I said, make this today.  I do hope you’ll enjoy it.

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My Baby!  My youngest daughter (the teenager as known here) turns 18 today.  She is one fantastic young person.

Kati has been in a music class since she was in elementary school.  She loves music.  Music is her passion, she lives for it, she finds all music (maybe not country) irresistable.  And Man; that girl can sing.  She sings morning, noon and night.  I think she dreams about music.

Last night we attended her choir’s Spring Concert (the farewell concert for the seniors). It is a tearful evening for all the seniors, their underclassmen friends, grandparents and especially Mommas.  Kati was among the few seniors that had solos.  She sang “For Good” which is a song from the musical, Wicked.  It was beautiful.  If you don’t believe me, ask either one of her grandmothers.  She made the mistake of looking at me and her friend Nicci and had to sing through a few tears.

They then had the Senior slideshow and showed pictures of the seniors from the time they were babies through out their lives (so far).  And wouldn’t you know I forgot my tissues.

Mr. Jones also showed the 4 trophies they had won while at the contests in Dallas last weekend and then gave awards to all the kids for the work they’d done throughout the year.

  Mr. Jones gave each of the Senior girls a wrist corsage and the boys a boutonnière.  The member award was given to all Seniors who had been in Choir throughout the 4 years of high school.  The Outstanding Senior award (the one Kati is very proud of) is an award voted on by all of the choir students.  She was very surprised, not to mention thrilled, to be awarded this one.  Later she  was telling her friend Nicci she couldn’t believe she got that award.  But, as Nicci told her, “everyone loves you, Kati”.  And we all do.

It was a joyful, sentimental evening for all of us.  After fighting back (as much as I could) tears through her solo; laughing while crying through the Senior Slideshow; and taking pictures of her and her friends, her dad and I left for home.  Kati and her friends all went out bowling, etc. for a few hours.  After she arrived home we were talking;  I said something about tomorrow (today) being her birthday and she’d be 18.  All of a sudden, the tears flowed.  I covered my face with my hands, the tears wouldn’t stop.

I guess I’d (and probably all of you, my friends) better get used to it.  It is going to be an emotionally charged month.  If you happen to see me and my eyes red, don’t worry;  I’ve just been thinking of the wonderful life (my baby) this wonderful young woman has stretching out in front of her.

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