Congratulations, Michael!

I'm so thrilled for my man! After 3 years of going to school full-time, Michael graduated with his OSU Bachelor's Degree in Rangeland Ecology Management. Despite tremendous obstacles, he managed to overcome a learning disability thanks to hours of learning therapy, supported a wife and two small kids, juggled his commitment to the National Guard and worked out of town for the Forest Service during summers. He took summer classes and many times 19 credits a term to finish in 3 years. I couldn't be more proud of him. He finished very well, way better than either of us expected. We prayed together before every major test and it is clear that those prayers were answered. God is so good! The following pictures are of Michael's graduation party in our backyard. They are all out of order but hopefully you'll see how much fun we had and how proud of Michael we are.

Josiah has a ring in his nose and is acting like a bull. Don't ask!

It decided to rain on and off the whole day. One minute it was nice the next it was raining. So Michael rigged up a huge tarp so we could all sit under it and stay dry. Here we are going around the circle and "blessing" Michael. We were all a mess by the end of it. It was really special, especially when Michael's mom told Michael how proud of him his dad would have been (his dad died when he was 10 years old). At the end, we all prayed for him and his future. We had a lot of people staying with us that night, so we built redneck fire (in a washing machine drum) in the back yard and sat around reminiscing, telling jokes and taking turns playing guitar and fiddle.

Josiah is toasting his dad is this picture.

The guys did a great job with the shelter. Luckily, the wind wasn't blowing, so it stayed up all night.

Michael is nailing the tarp to the edge of the shed roof and then he tied it off to the lilac trees, posting it up on the sides.

Michael's best friend, Tim, and his family came up. It was the icing on the cake for Michael. They've been friends since 4th grade. They stayed up till midnight chatting around the fire.

Hailey still managed to be the princess of the party in her crown that her Nana gave her.

We had bbq'd hamburgers and hot dogs and had a bunch of different salads and figure foods. Everybody brought something which really helped me out.

Michael's little sister, April, was able to come up for his graduation. His mom, Kay, is standing with them in this picture. They were so proud of him! He's the first person in their family to graduate with a bachelor's degree.

This is our family shot. Josiah was so excited about his tie! I got it at a local re-run shop and he was so happy because it was blue (his favorite color). He made sure everyone noticed his tie. He even had an OSU tie pin that one of Michael's professors gave him.

Our friend, Amy, made a really nice cake for Michael. We served homemade ice cream along with it. Josiah insisted we put some candles on the cake, then we all sang "So he's a jolly good fellow" and had him blow out the candles. It was a very special day for a very special man. I'm so proud of him!