What's up with those kids?

Well, we have so much going on in our lives, I just can't keep track of it all! Maybe blogging will help me get it down so that when I don't remember, I can at least look it up! Okay, so Princess #1 will be graduating High School in just a few weeks. We're wondering how long her commencement ceremonies will be, because she has a friend (and an "adopted" family member) also graduating that same day. The Friend's graduation starts only 1 1/2 hours after Princess #1's, so we could have a tough time seeing both girls march. It's so hard to believe that they're graduating already!

We grilled Princess #1 the other day, and she has no idea what she wants to do after high school. But then, really, does anyone? She is doing extremely well in her job, and has already had a couple of promotions, with a promise of promotion to Assistant Manager after graduation. She seems to enjoy the work, and she and I had discussed a possible future there. She certainly looks up to the various management members with whom she has worked, and they have given her some valuable advice--especially as she now finds herself managing some of her peers and good friends. You know, retail is kind of in her blood (her Dad has run retail stores for more than half of his life), so maybe she'll be a district manager for them someday! Meanwhile, she's going to be attending the local Community College and getting her basics out of the way as she examines what she wants to do with her future.

Princess #2 is about the most social person I have ever met. She knows full well that her priorities are supposed to line friends up somewhere behind God, Family & School, but somehow, that often gets conveniently forgotten. She has been talking with her friends, and they are wanting to take driver's education together--I can't even believe that she's going to be 15 this summer! She has always made friends easily--we're constantly meeting her new friends. She is definitely in the throes of teenager-hood, and I can only imagine how she'll be in the next couple of years. She has always done one thing well (sometimes a little too well!), and that's speak her mind. She isn't afraid to tell us when she disagrees with something; we know that this will also give her the strength to stand up to her peers when they are pressuring her to do something that she knows isn't right. She has recently made a decision that she is going to give her best to school--her teachers definitely know that she is capable, we know that she's capable, heck, even she knows she can do the work. Now, she's going to show the world (via grades, we pray) that she is capable of the tasks she is assigned.

Princess #3 has just wrapped up a couple of absolutely fantastic weeks. I have a habit of asking the girls at dinner, "What happened in school today?" Or, "What was your high today?" Well, this young lady has a very long list! She has been doing some testing at school--the law requires literacy testing, and they test every fall and spring. Well, her scores were below the acceptable level last fall, and so she has been working diligently this school year to improve her reading skills. She has even found a couple books that she likes--I find that she favors the ones that have shorter stories, because she can read for 15-20 minutes and then be finished with that story. The longer books sometimes get a little involved, and she gets a sense of accomplishment when she can finish a shorter story in a longer book. Anyway, she recently re-tested, and was very confident that she had done well. She also read a passage orally to her reading teacher (all the kids did), and found that she is now reading above her grade level! She also has done some comprehensive testing to determine her overall level regarding vocabulary, grammar, spelling, comprehension, etc., and her score jumped from a 26 to 77 in just this school year! Her teachers recognize the extra effort that she puts forth, and recently she was honored by them with special Award for her efforts. Oh, she's also the queen of sleepovers now, having had them with multiple friends for more than one weekend running.

Finally, and our favorite high for her, she was baptized this past Sunday. We had a fantastic time watching her prepare for this--she has such a gentle heart, but it is filled with (not-so-quiet) passion. She was baptized by her Dad and her Mom in church (I'll post some pictures soon), and she continues to pepper us with questions--and bring her friends to us with their questions! You should have heard the questions she came up with when she was reading Revelation; she was understandably frightened by some of the stuff that she read. Isn't it great to know what's going to happen before it happens! Yes, Princess #3 has had a great week--she even got to have lunch with Dad on Wednesday--he came to the school and had cafeteria food (now that's love!) with her!

We will be spending a little time together today since DH leaves tomorrow--we look forward to dinner with all the girls before we drop them off at their Mom's house for Mother's Day. He is such a great Dad, and while none of us on earth is perfect, I don't think there's any doubt in any of these girls' minds that he loves them absolutely. Okay, I think I have used enough exclamation points for one blog--I'll have to catch up later. Hope all the friends and family are doing well!