proud squaw

I'm proud of this man of mine, Sparky, as he's sometimes referred to.  He worked his tail off this past year, earning his MBA (with honors) from William and Mary.  

I quite enjoyed keeping him company through his late nights studying.  (Ok, I wasn't always up for the late night part, but until the part where I caved and went to bed it was fun... reading, sewing, or knitting beside him; listening to excerpts of ridiculousness from his reading.)   

The experience has opened a whole new world for us, a new perspective.  He's spent the last 12 or so years completely immersed in the Army.  This first taste of 'civilian' life was... well, a refreshing one.  At the very least, it offered great fun in the form of hair experimentation - mow hawks, braids, comb overs, various beard lengths!  It shook things up a bit and gave us something to chew on as we make decisions over the next few years.

[For the record, I love asking my family to take a family photo.  If I give enough reminders and hit the right tickle spot on JD, he grins...  Of course, that grin only comes in the photos when the girls look like they're awaiting a death sentence.  But I just can't resist, especially on the occasions when they're all awake and in smocked dresses!]

The ceremony was quaint - short, sweet, and to the point.  Which I immensely appreciated as it was held during nap time for the Littles.  Being that it was nap time, it was also a ceremony filled with lots of ear snuggles and lots of helpful big sister hands, promises of cake and lemonade, and a hand made bow tie!

  

We enjoyed having his mom, oldest sister, and nephews with us to celebrate the weekend.  And we enjoyed a refreshing bit of summer rain after it was all said and done.  A perfect end after a lot of hard work (and stuffy clothes)!

Congrats, Sparky!  You act like it's no big deal, but it's pretty awesome all that you've accomplished during the year... namely spending a ton of extra time helping tutor classmates so that they could make it through exams without sweating bullets.  I love your giving spirit, your amazing will power, your ability to plow ahead despite obstacles.