Jeffrey's graduation party May 14, 2010

After a pretty nice day, rain started about 4 pm! We were wondering if people would still come, but they did! Sixty-eight people came to congratulate Jeffrey on his graduation. At times, it was crowded and crazy, but everybody had a good time.
Jeffrey and his cakes. On two laptops, we had a slide show with pictures of Jeffrey throughout his life. People seemed to enjoy looking at the pictures.

The food table

We appreciated people driving all the way from Colorado Springs, through rain and slowed traffic, to celebrate with us!

Ben got wet coming in!

Judy Hunt and Janet

Jeffrey greeted each person and gave them a thank you card for their input into his life.

Jeffrey getting a bite, Janet cutting the cakes

Maloria McAteer, Lois (? last name), Barbara Sloan

Sunshine and Brett Gearhart, Barbara Sloan, Lois, Timmy Lucas

Uncle Alvin and Katherine Gafford

Ross and Maria Nichols greeting Johnnie Ullmann

Beth and Esther Mendez

Judy Hunt, Steve and Paula Grzenia

Jeffrey visiting with Sunshine Gearhart

Ross and Maria Nichols and Jim Lutey

Paula Grzenia and Nancy Johnson

It was rainy and the parking was full!


Jeffrey playing his Mountain Dulcimer for Drs. Matt and Cara Brown

Quinten Kaus, Ben, Marlene, and Kassie Reynolds

Kelly, LeighAnna, and Randy Kaus, Dr. Matt Brown, Marlene and Ben Reynolds, Dr. Cara Brown and Lincoln Brown

Kelly Kaus, Nicole and Ethan Hinkle

Manoj, Anjali, Christy Manoharan

Janet and Ardie Briggs

Sarah and Kwani Mendez, Rosie and Carrie Lucas, Faith Brown, Sammy and Timmy Lucas, Josias, Crystal Lucas, Judy Hunt

Jason, Harry and Quinten Kaus, Michael Durkee

Eladio, Carmen, and Sherolyn Cruz, Esther Mendez, Beth, Steve Cunningham, Rowen, Tonya Sickler

Kelly Kaus and Janet

The Red Wall in our Living Room

I'm sure one or two people have been holding their breath waiting for a finished picture of our red wall! Well, here it is!! Drum roll....

Here is the opposite wall, with the nice mirror and swag that our dear friends, the Kauses, gave to us. We like it here because it reflects the red wall! The swag looks perfect with the other colors in the room!

This reflective picture not only shows the swag, but in the mirror, you can see the new curtain on the deck door.

For those of you who have never visited us in person, you should know that these framed pictures hold the likenesses of our children back in the early 2000s with their names and the meanings of their names on them.

Jeffrey's Graduation May 13, 2010

It was a wonderful service, with two of our favorite songs sung: Be Thou My Vision, and To God Be the Glory, and two of our favorite heroes speaking: Colorado Senator Kevin Lundberg and Eric Ludy!
We were blessed by God's presence and His truth! Though our married sons could not come, we were honored by the Kaus family, Cruz family, Steve and Grace Cary, and Esther Mendez coming especially for our family. Thank the Lord for our 3rd homeschool graduate!

Senator Lundberg speaking

Eric Ludy speaking


Jeffrey receiving his diploma from Senator Lundberg

Turning the tassels

The graduates with CHESS administrators and speakers

Jeffrey with his proud parents

Jeffrey with his younger siblings

The Johnstown Albertsons

Emily and Jeffrey

Jason and Jeffrey

Beth and Jeffrey

Quinten, Harry, and LeighAnna Kaus with Jeffrey

Mother-Daughter Tea Party

Last Friday, my girls and I went to the Mother-Daughter Tea put on by our homeschool umbrella school, CHESS. It was a nice time of fellowship, crafts, devotions, and eating with other homeschooling mothers and girls. We were seated with Annie Nelson and her daughters, Evangeline and Annika, and we enjoyed visiting with them.

The girls and I had pictures made after we got home. The sun was so bright, it was hard to keep our eyes open. Beth is wearing a Jr-Sr. Banquet dress of her sister-in-law, Brenda. Emily is wearing a bridesmaid dress from my wedding 26.5 years ago, and I am wearing a dress made from the fabric left over from our wedding, that I made for our 25th anniversary.

Miscellaneous

Back in November, we attended a Wycliffe Associates Banquet in Ft. Collins. The missionary speaker, Kris Russel, did the chalk drawing below as he spoke. We were given the chalk drawing as a gift for the "work" I did coordinating the calls and reservations for the banquet. Recently, we got it framed and installed in our family room. It is a large picture, and needed to be behind glass because of the chalk dustiness. It is a beautiful reminder of the price Jesus paid so that we can be in right relationship with God.

A picture of us girls on the entry stairway of our home.

Gentle cream and plum raisin: our new living room wall colors. When we get the pictures hung, there will be more pictures. We have to get it back together soon! Jeffrey's party is next week!
This is very different for us, to have all of our walls painted other colors besides Country White!

Springtime on our mound with the bulb flowers we planted last fall.

Our lilacs in back are in bloom and so pretty!


Our neighbor's ornamental crab tree that we always enjoy in the spring.

Couch time at the end of a long day. We don't have our curtains and blinds up in the living room yet because the window woodwork is not finished being painted. I'm not embarrassed, just sunburned from PE that day.

Jeffrey's senior pictures--taken Easter weekend in Colorado Springs

Jeffrey is graduating with CHESS (Colorado Heritage Education School System), our private school umbrella for our homeschool (Country Acres Christian Academy) on May 13, 7 pm at the United Methodist Church in Greeley. On Friday, May 14, we will be having an open house celebration for Jeffrey from 6-9 pm at our home in Johnstown.

From the back of Jeffrey's graduation announcement:

To Mother and Daddy: Thank you for loving me and loving God. Your consistent, godly lives taught me how to love the Lord, and I believe that was the most effective part of my upbringing. Thank you for loving God, and living your lives completely for Him. Mother, thank you for paying attention to my textbook work; for making sure I understood it. Daddy, thank you for the practical instruction in areas like working on the car, building a shed, painting, plumbing, gardening, and many other things.
To Randy, Tim, Beth, Jason, and Emily: Thank you for being my loving siblings. Thank you each one for what you have taught me!
Most of all though, God is worthy of my praise! If He had not blessed me and personally worked in my heart and life, I would not be here. I thank Him for redeeming my life, and saving me from sin. He is my Hope.
My future plans… I am currently working at Johnstown ACE Hardware, learning more than I ever imagined. I plan to start an online course from God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, OH in August, working toward an Associates degree. I am most interested in a life work in missions.

- Jeff Albertson