Abby graduated!!!

I cannot believe that my little girl is officially out of high school. She did what she set out to do since elementary school - graduate top in her class. She was valedictorian, and a beautiful one at that. She graduated Friday, May 22, 2009. We are so very proud of her and all that she has accomplished. She will start at Missouri State University in August and she received enough scholarships and grants so her first year is completely paid for. She went to project graduation and won $65 in the Deal or No Deal game. I think all totaled she came home with about $140 cash money, a gift card worth $25, tickets to Dixie Stampede worth $100, a gift certificate for gas and various gift cards and coupons for area restaurants. She cleaned up on the prizes!! Then Saturday night we had a graduation party for her and Shawn. All this happened this weekend and yet it seems like it was weeks ago! Things have been a blur for the last couple of weeks with the school year ending and I've gotta say I am ready for the laid back time that summer vacation brings around here!

Matt's first baseball game is Friday night and I am looking forward to it. I always love to go see him play.

Gotta go for now, but I will be back soon to post more pictures from Abby's graduation and Shane's 2nd grade program!

The Shanester is a Superstar!!!

On Friday we got a phone call from Shane when he was practicing his phone number at school. After he finished talking, Mrs. Huckaby got on the phone and asked us if we would bring Shane to the alumini basketball game on Saturday night so he could shoot hoops at half time. Of course Scott said yes that we would love to see him on the court shootin' baskets. At first I was so excited for him and then the nerves set in. Would the crowd and the noise be too much? Would he go on the floor willingly? Would he come off the floor without a crying fit??? Why oh why do I worry so much about my Shaner? I guess that's one of the good things about autism - at least with Shane - nothing seems to bother him and he never gets nervous about anything or at least he never shows it. Sure he may have an outburst when things don't go just his way, but only when he's frustrated or doesn't understand what's going on.

Well, Saturday night rolls around and he seems pretty excited to be seeing a basketball game. The women were warming up and it was almost too much excitement for him seeing all the balls going towards the basket. His teachers, Miss Stokes and Mrs. Huckaby were both playing. Mrs. McBride, Mrs. Bailey, and Mrs. Caffey were all there too, and they were all wishing him good luck. At half time they announced Shane and another little boy as the entertainment. When Miss Stokes came over to get Shane, he just hopped right up and took off for the floor. The music started and the crowd was loud. Shane wasn't sure about the noise, but if there is one thing that he is comfortable with, it's basketball. He got his shot down and rarely missed. He enjoyed the crowd cheering and just had a blast! He did not fuss at all when it was time to get off the court, either. In between games he got a little upset, so Miss Stokes took him back out on the court and he made every basket. It was such a fun night and afterwards everyone was telling him what a good job he did and I'm sure he felt like a superstar!

Here are a few of the better pictures I got. For the most part they were a little fuzzy, but these weren't so bad.