How I fell in love with farmland {p.2} The Graduation

The next morning was graduation day! The day we'd come for. We got up and Mrs. Brown showed me how to cut pineapple, and we made a tray of fruit and had some yummy breakfast blueberry cake. You should have seen us all surrounding the kitchen to pray. And Hannah and Tim got in the night before and surprised us by being earlier than previously thought!

We all rushed around getting ready afterwards. I had a new dress and it needed a ridiculous amount of ironing before I deemed it presentable. So Laura, lovely person that is she, set up the ironing board for me, and I'm sure I was at it for twenty minutes or more.

But we all got ready on time, though Mrs. Brown, Mr. Brown, Grace, and the boys had to leave earlier. The rest of us ladies, complete with two Hannah's, left later with the boys. We met Lizzie at the church for graduation.

It was this whole, huge place, filled to the brim. Thirty graduates from that area alone! And our lonely Dakota ones are small in comparison . . .

With live musicians, too! We don't have those either! It was so neat to see such talented young people around.

Master of Ceremonies.

Class speaker.

Special Guest Speaker. He is a Colonel in the Navy. Loved hearing him speak.

The lovely choir sang lovely songs, of which Josh and Grace were both a part of.

Then came the graduates. In alphabetical order, across the stage, one by one as a blessing from their parents was read. Grace looks so lovely and happy, her parents so proud. How did she grow up so fast? Just a small little thing when we first met, now she's all grown up and going off to college.

It's such a bitter sweet feeling. Ending something, but going on to something so grand and new.

Class of 2014! And yes they threw hats, complete with one late one. There were skittles and pretzels and water served afterward.

Looking over Grace's board and signing her book.

It was so clever I wish I had thought of it ;), she had people sign a book from childhood. So neat. Quite necessary if one loves books as much as we do, right, Grace? ;)

Beautiful sisters! Alas, there were none with Liz! Goodness, I just want to hug them all!

Hannah and Grace. And Grace, the one of me and you is accidentally lost because quite frankly my hair has seen better days and it is too ashamed to appear on this blog. I love this one of you and Hannah, though. Sweet friends. I don't want to ever forget our friendship. Let's not grow up any more, okay? It's all so perfect now. I always wonder why good things end. Perhaps because there are better and more perfect things yet to come?