~Our Kimberly is graduating from High School!~

I can HARDLY believe that our first baby girl is a Senior in High School!  We are not old enough to have one of our children to be a senior. :-)

Kimberly will graduate TOMORROW, June 18th, with CHEO: Christian Home Educators of OHIO in Mt. Vernon, OH, and then we will have party for her more locally next Friday.

Here's a poem I wrote to Kimberly about the occasion.

~Our Kimberly~

12 years ago, Kimberly, you began school!

The ABC's, 123's, and the Golden Rule.

God started you in "Dickinson Home school," which would feature...

Daddy as the Principal, and Mommy as the Teacher! :-)

You've home schooled in AZ, OH, Costa Rica, Colombia, & Argentina.

You've learned violin, piano, Spanish, "y un poco de China!"     (& a lil' Chinese.)

Not to mention writing, arithmetic, and lessons about life.

Like cooking, cleaning, and How to settle "sibling strife."

You can pack, weigh, and carry a suitcase like a PRO!

And are at HOME in an airport, you LOVE to "Go!"

You've lifted Mommy's load more than words can say...

So, Kimberly...~THANK YOU~ we honor YOU today!

It has been a joy to teach you, Kimberly,

And Watch God form you into a Sweet young lady.

"Oh, The Places you've been"--and "Oh, the Things you know!"

Now, with God by your side..."OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!"

                                         ~Mommy June 2016~

 ~Kimberly spent 3 weeks in Tennessee taking care of her 94 year old Great Grandmother.
While she was gone is when it was time to send out her graduation announcements.
So, I went ahead and used her Kindergarten graduation pic, and then when she got back home we got her Senior pics taken, which she will send out with her Thank you's.
(Her senior pics turned out adorable!  I'll post those after her graduation party! :-)~




Since Kimberly has served Jesus with our family in 3 different countries,
 and helped Daddy and Mommy move from country to country,
packing and unpacking, weighing suitcases,
lugging babies, lugging suitcases,
helping settle the family in each new country,
working in those countries for Jesus and helping Daddy and Mommy
with her 5 siblings,
and the housework, etc.
and when she saw the Need, she went and helped take care of her 94 year old GG for 3 weeks,
so, she is still finishing school work and plans to be done TODAY!

~We do not own a baby gate, so Phillip and Noah rigged this table as a baby gate so that Abigail can't go to the 3rd floor and "HELP KIMBERLY FINISH her homeschooling!" :-) ~

 ~Ham and Cheese sliders that Noah and I made for lunch yesterday...to help celebrate Kimberly.~

JUST KEEPING IT REAL, FOLKS!  :-)
~Our house is a WRECK.  Not only is Kimberly trying to finish schoolwork, but with all our family has been through... so are Noah and Sarah, and with my strength being little to NOTHING still, I can't do much yet to clean it up on my own.
Plus we are gathering things to take to use at Kimberly's graduation party out near our church next Friday, so all those things are all over our dinning room table and dinning room.
(and with little kids constantly coming in the kitchen, it seems there are always dirty dishes setting around, no matter how hard we try to train them to put things away. :-)
Kimberly plans to help me DEEP CLEAN the house as soon as her graduation party is over! :-)~

But in the midst of our CHAOS, Sarah and I surprised Kimberly this morning by making whole wheat pancakes, homemade maple syrup, sausage, boiled eggs, and coffee and setting a pretty table (in our kitchen) for her LAST MORNING of High school!~

 ~Incidentally Sarah found the LEFTOVER NAPKINS THAT KIMBERLY USED AT HER 13th birthday party, so it was fitting to use them this morning.~

 ~The last of the pancake dough that I scraped out and poured on the griddle.
Kimberly thought it was cool that it looked similar to her Beloved SOUTH AMERICA where she has spent the majority of her life!~

 PLEASE PRAY FOR STRENGTH:
 FOR KIMBERLY AS SHE FINISHES,
AND THAT GOD WILL GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO GO TO HER GRADUATION
TOMORROW IN MT. VERNON, OHIO,
GET HOME LATE SATURDAY NIGHT,
AND THEN HAVE THE STRENGTH TO GO TO CHURCH ON FATHER'S DAY
WITH MY PHILLIP.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!

~Heather~