Last Day Celebration!

Our morning prelims decided to waive, so I was able to attend the CHA Awards Assembly at 11:30! 

Rach brought these confetti poppers and somehow got permission at the last minute for Jace and his 5 best friends to do them at the very end of the elementary assembly (after their whole class sang a cutesy farewell song).  Considering they had zero practice and just decided to throw this in today, it went very well and was super festive and fun, and totally unexpected for CHA!!

This = awesomesauce teacher gifts Rach made for Mrs. Husted (5th grade) and Mrs. Garcia (6th)!

He got a lot of compliments yesterday and decided to wear the purple suit again for the last day of school so everyone could see it. lol  We were all pleasantly surprised to see Jace get the character plaque for "Determination: Do Hard Things!"  The teachers each choose two students from their class to receive an award, and Mrs. Garcia chose Jace and Lindsey. ❤

Mom and Rach told me Jace was getting something, but Rach figured it was a paper award, not a character plaque.  He's never gotten one of those before, so I love that it happened on his last day of elementary!

Individual pics with our award winner! ❤

And now we can remind him of this quality whenever he wants to give up on something difficult! ;-)

Huzzah!  Soooo much confetti!!

Their deal was that the boys had to stay after and clean it all up, so kudos to Axel, TJ, Jaceman, Asher, Jace, and Gideon (who's not pictured here) for being an awesome clean-up crew! #worthit

Kyndal Faith with Colin and Eva.  Not sure what this hand signal in the left pic means, but I'll find out at our next fam dinner!  Before the school-wide assembly, she was recognized for Individuality in her class today, which feels appropriate! =)

Now K is having a few friends over for an End-of-Year swim party at Mom and Dad's, and Jace is working out with Neal!  Congrats to them on their character awards, and HAPPY SUMMER to all the CHA students!!

* * * * * * *

In other news, yay for these new shadow-box frames at home!  I've gotta work on pinning the cap straight, but when I get that right, it'll be fantastic! =)

Potentially the most ridiculous thing in my entire home, but it was $2 and it makes me laugh!  #johnnylawrencefanclub #allvalleychamp

Finally, I taped some new photos over my existing wood panels at work!!  It was time for an update - the only one that's not new today is the one from Dad's 40-year SF party in 2022!

And on a more serious note, please be in prayer for JoBug, my fun-loving aunt, who went in for major surgery on an celiac arterial aneurysm this morning!  She'll be in the hospital for at least four days as she begins to recover.  Also be praying for my friend, Kristen, who is in the midst of a rough journey battling leukemia - currently diagnosed with pneumonia and seeking a white-blood-cell donor for a life-saving blood transfusion! 

Praying for good doctors, full healing, all the support they need, and for extra peace and strength for both of them and their families!!

That's all I've got for you today.

Happy Wednesday, friends and fam!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Movin' On Up!

Today marks Jace Michael's final day of elementary school, and last night was his long-awaited Sixth Grade Graduation ceremony!!  Purple suit for the win!

Pre-ceremony pic with Megan Elizabeth, there to see her niece, Afton, graduating!

Processional -- Pic with Grandpa -- Diploma moment -- Pic with his Mom!

Destiny and Gideon did a great job as their class speakers, and Josh Bullard gave a great mini-message on "Obedience brings liberty; disobedience brings bondage!"

Happy and proud of himself - yay!

Pics with Aunt Lindsey and the proud grandparents!

They had a long greeting line for everyone to congratulate all the kids... I was ready to capture a sweet moment, but here's the Miss K with a classic fakeout handshake! lol  #siblings

Pics with a few of his former teachers: Mrs. Champion, Mrs. Garner, Mrs. Gentry, and Mrs. Orr!

Pic with Josh and Emily, fist bump with Mr. Harpole, the Lorg family, and Mrs. Tinker and Mrs. Garcia.  The Jaceman is a social one!!

Pic with Sheriff Johnson (TJ's dad); pic with Marshall and Stonewall, his fav upperclassmen!

The boys! ❤

Baby pic cuteness; Jace and Gideon!

Parking lot pic with Mamaw!

We liked this lighting better! lol

Believing Jace doesn't care deeply for long, sentimental letters, I kept this one short and to the point! lol


Yesteryear:  There was no official ceremony due to Covid, but here's my post from our Sixth Grade Graduation Party for Triston... This summer of 2020 pic with the women and children of our fam tells me A LOT has changed over the past five years!!  P.S.  I love Kyndal's baby tooth smile and her feet not yet touching the ground here. lol

By the next summer, Rach and the kids were five months into a high-conflict divorce/custody battle, and Dad was in the hospital recovering from a potentially-fatal bout with septic pneumonia... I'm thankful the rest of us made it to CHA for the ceremony for Carter's Sixth Grade Graduation!  In God's kindness, we had no idea how dramatically things would shift that summer - by August, he was living with the Deppen family and no longer a regular part of our lives.  We love and miss him - we've all settled into a new normal at this point, but that awkward and gradual loss is another good example of ambiguous grief, to be honest.  I'm grateful for lots of good memories and some level of continuing connection, and I'm praying for God's hand of protection and blessing over my niece and all three of my nephews!! ❤

Speaking of yesteryear, here's a real throwback to me and Rach on our Sixth Grade Graduation day... me and Jenny Womble 1996, Rach and Megan Smith 1997!

Congrats again to Jace Michael - now a teenager moving into Junior High School!  May he continue to grow in maturity and move through life with contagious joy and confidence!! ❤

That's three down, one to go - I'm sure the elementary side will miss Rachael's awesome decorating help and teacher gifts when next year comes to a close!  This year, we had me and Jaceman graduating... and next year, we will have Kyndal Faith's Sixth Grade Graduation and Triston Michael's CHA Senior Graduation - get excited!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Framily Fun!

Happy Sunday, friends and family!!

Look at us, up bright and early to support the Mini Miss K in her summer volleyball league!  It was a 9:00am game at a gym that was 45 minutes away yesterday, and Mom and I agreed we would not set an alarm but would come if we happened to wake up on time... so we were both fairly surprised to see each other there.  Stupid Walmart grocery text at 7am. lol

We had fun cheering for her new team (they won the first game and lost the second, but both went into a 3rd set).  One of the dads behind us commented to his friend, "So this girl's our ace, huh!?" while Kyndal was serving. =)

*Also, this story is from a past tournament, but it made me laugh.  During the serving warm-ups, a volleyball was coming in hard right at me, but a little 6- or 7-year-old girl ran by and hit it back to the court just in time... then Sailor's dad sitting behind me sang in his best Mariah impression: "And then a hero comes along..." and I laughed about that for a stupidly long time. lol  What a great song I'd mostly forgotten about!

Okay, so after the morning games, Mom and Dad and I had a delicious Cheesecake Factory brunch!  We sat outside, and it was pretty nice weather.  Mom and I split the Belgian waffle with strawberries and pecans and whipped cream (obvi), and Dad had pancakes, and we all had a good talk! ❤

So much cuteness... Miss Hope Renee in her cap and gown - I so wish CHA did this!

Speaking of graduates, Laura's niece, Hannah, is graduating from Baylor this week - yay!  Sic 'em, Bears! lol  Anything with Baylor will always make me think of Jeffery.  Also, I applaud Baylor for creating this perfect photo spot... well done!! ❤

Katherine Claire with her parents during their mini-trip to OKC!

Ellie Faye with her parents on her last day of dance class!

Jace Michael with Rach, trying on his suit and tie for graduation!

An awesome gift and card from Bill and Jill! ❤

One year ago today.  A life-changing dinner convo with ripple effects that are still continuing!

Eleven years ago today - LifeChurch Tulsa with Tiffany and Kyle!

Followed by cheering for Karli and Baylee in the Full Moon 5k, followed by dessert at Yolotti! lol

I sooo applaud whoever thought of this.  I've never once eaten a whole loaf of bread before it expires, so I'm a big fan of this smaller & cheaper option!

"I am not alone because the Father is with me...
But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  ~Jesus

 The month of May is very full!!
Praying you find peace in Jesus today!

❤ ❤ ❤

Life in Vibrant Color!

"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." ~James 1:12

In a fun unexpected surprise, the fam celebrated my marathon and graduation at our dinner last night -- YAY!! ❤  I love how colorful we are in this pic.*

Rach made me this awesome card commemorating those things - including my marathon bib and race #, the pink shoes with green shoelaces, the sparkly boots, and a Dwight quote!! lol

Mom included a lovely heartfelt letter, and Dad wrote a great note in the card which Kyndal and Jaceman also signed! ❤

Mom also got me these lovely Swarovski crystal earrings (I'm attempting to showcase them in the above pic, but figured I'd include a closeup, as well) - it's something we'd talked about on the Graduation trip, and I love them!! ❤

Kyndal Faith got a new mannequin to practice different hairstyles on... she was enthralled with it yesterday!  Between her and Rachael, I'm confident they'll come up with and practice some awesome new hairstyles!!

Friendly reminder to myself and anyone else in a waiting season...

Friendly reminder to myself and anyone who feels tempted to shrink or play it small...

The Jaceman went with a purple suit for his 6th grade graduation!  It strikes me as perfect for him, and I'm excited to celebrate the end of his elementary years with him next week!! ❤

*The first time Chettles said something about us being "visually loud" or "a loud family," I was caught off guard by it and not sure whether to feel insulted.  The more time has passed, the more funny it is to me that I didn't really see it before! lol  Mom's distaste for white cars and white walls has rubbed off on us, and we for sure all tend to LOVE color and glitter and confetti and sparkly things, cars and clothes and jewelry and shoes and hair and home decor that make a unique and bold statement.  And if I'm being honest, I LOVE that journey for us!! lol #loudandproud #embracetherainbow #slay #bet ;-)

To quote another extra-cheesy teen movie, "Why blend in when you were born to stand out!?"   (Just for the record, it was never intended as an insult - just a casual observation he probably assumed I was fully aware of. lol)

Okay, friends and fam - thanks for being here!  Happy Wednesday to all of you, and happy LAST DAY OF WORK at TAFB to Rachael LaJo!!! ❤  She has 4.5 months of pay and benefits remaining, and she's already completed her medical coding classes, so I'm very confident she'll pass that test and find a great remote job before that time is up!

I'm off to take a neighborhood walk. =)  I hope your day is every bit as vibrant and sparkly and colorful as you want it to be!!

❤ ❤ ❤