Johnsons' Journal: May 2010

As the end of school drew near, my schedule filled up quickly with field trips, class parties and awards ceremonies. I'm so glad it over! I was afraid to answer my phone for fear that the PTO President was calling.

Anywho, Nathan graduated from 8th grade. "Is it that big of a deal?" Scot asked. We passed the Middle School on the way to drop Emma and Andrew off at school. There was a sea of cars parked on the side of the road and 2 men directing traffic at the church down the hill from the school. It was pouring down rain. "Uh Obviously." I said. "Drop Barret and me off at the doors and I'll wait for you to park the car. Oh, and good luck with that." 10 seconds later, he double parks in the school driveway blocking traffic and is jogging towards me. Pomp and Circumstances is already playing as we try to find a seat. A sweet grandma scoots over and offers us a spot "If you don't mind sitt'in on my cushion.", she said. "Not at all." My rear end was ever so grateful.

Nathan graduated " The Soddy Way" Honors and received a medal for highest average in Science. They played a slide show of random pictures taken during school functions. We didn't stay for the reception. Crudites and finger sandwiches served in the school cafeteria didn't sound appetizing to us.

Here's our handsome beau after the ceremony. He actually fixed his hair (and ties his own tie)!

Time just keeps marching on.
:o(

Emma and Andrew had their awards ceremony later that week. Emma was the top reader in 1st grade. She read 60 AR books and passed all the tests! She got a T-shirt and a certificate. Pretty good considering we moved here at the end of September (28th). When they announced Perfect Attendance for First Grade. The recipient couldn't accept her award. Her Nana called the teacher that morning and said she woke up with "The Pink Eye". How ironic :)

Here's my Overachiever:

Andrew started crying toward the end of the ceremony. He thought he wasn't going to get an award :(
He wiped away the tears when they called the Kindergarten classes up to get their graduation certificate and pictures taken.

Whew! Kindergarten down, only 12 more grades to go.

And Barret:
Well... He gets the Momma's Boy Award. He gets to be the baby for one more year and I'm going to cherish every moment.

"Hi, I'm Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."

These boys crack me up. When we were about to leave, they met me by the garage door with this ensemble.

Our church helped sponsor A Day of Service to help the East Chattanooga community. Projects were for all ages. They ranged from Landscaping to Quilting, Home Repair to Donating Blood. Teams were selected for the adults/teens ahead of time. Scot and Nathan were on a paint team. I signed up to help with the children's projects. The kids were excited about doing the children's service projects. It rained through the night and thunderstoms were predicted throughout the day. Most of the children's projects were indoors so we weren't affected. Several stations were set up with various things. We were divided into to groups and rotated so that every child had the opportunity to each craft. The kids made sock puppets, cut fringe on lap quilts tied quilts , made cards, and assembled hygiene kits. They had a wonderful time doing it. The projects were easy enough for Barret to participate in. He really enjoyed doing things by himself. They had mural painting going on outside but, the thunderstorms rolled in before they could paint. Thank goodness. They were oil based paints. It was a great experience and look forward to doing it again next year :)

Here's some pictures: