Lacey Nicole is COLLEGE-BOUND!

It's so hard to believe that my niece Lacey was Jack's age when I first met her. This May, she graduated from High School!

Just so I am not the only one who feels old, I wish to quickly point out that she was born in 1991!

The festivities began when we hosted a "Fiesta de Lacey" at our house to celebrate her 18th birthday. Jack painstakingly decorated her brownie cake and it is fair to say he was pretty proud of the end result. He reminded me that he is allergic to EATING brownies, but is definitely NOT allergic to DECORATING them.

The sparkler candles were a hit, but it took Lacey, Jack, and eventually even Hope to finally blow them out.

Hope with Nana after we enjoyed about 10,000 calories of nachos and ice cream sundaes. Jack giving Lacey her hand-wrapped gift. We rounded out the evening with a good old-fashioned game of "keep the balloon from hitting the ground." A game that, as Jack claims, he made up.

The following weekend, we went to the Gracepoint Church Graduation banquet to celebrate the seniors in the youth group and Jack felt honored that he was allowed to go. His behavior was AWESOME througout the ceremony. We were so proud. Here he is praying with the graduate.

Left: The proud parents, Melody and Van. Right: Lacey with Andy, the "other Dad" to many of the youth. He was a loving, effective youth pastor and will now continue to inspire them as the college minister at Gracepoint. He gave an inspiring speech at the banquet and any time he referred to his son Brady, one of Lacey's best friends and fellow grads, there were many people reaching for the tissues.

The Gracepoint seniors wearing their gowns from their different high schools. I hope these friendships last as long as my youth group friendships have. I think they know these are very memorable times they've shared together, but I have a feeling they won't realize just HOW unique and special it was for several years. There really is nothing in adult life that can compare to what you experience in a close-knit church youth group.



Jack Everett, armed with some Playaway Books, was ready for the ceremony to begin! Aunt Mel just introduced us to these and I cannot believe I had never heard of them. They are awesome, portable, and you can check them out at the library.



Lucky for us, Health Careers High School has a relatively small graduating class, and Lacey was easy to spot with her blonde hair and shiny yellow shoes. We yelled, "Go Lacey!" when they called her name and announced she'd be attending Nursing School at Angelo State University.

Looking out over the group of graduates, I found myself fantasizing about yelling out to them, "DON'T GET A CREDIT CARD!... AVOID STUDENT LOANS AT ALL COSTS!... DON'T EVER TAKE A SEMESTER OFF!... DON'T FORGET TO THANK YOUR PARENTS!... FIND A CHURCH IN YOUR NEW TOWN RIGHT AWAY!... FOLLOW YOUR BLISS, NOT WHAT PAYS A LOT!... DON'T GO TO PARTIES WHERE THERE MIGHT BE DRUGS!..." Instead, I just calmly cheered for Lacey when they called her name.



Lacey with her proud Auntie M and her very proud twin, uh, I mean, Mom. I know Lacey will make good choices and be a light on her college campus. I just wish I could go with her to watch over her. I wish I could protect her from all that I know is out there waiting for her. I can't imagine how her parents must feel.



Little Sister Hope will follow Lacey's footsteps at Health Careers High School this coming year. Left: Hope, Lacey, Nana and Jack. Right: Lacey and some of her very best friends, Jackie, Ashley, and Brady



We then headed for a very memorable dinner at the Rainforest Cafe downtown... at 9:30pm. Yes, with Jack Everett in tow. He was so excited because he LOVED the Rainforest Cafe in Houston just a couple of weeks earlier. Well, as soon as the creepy Crocodile scared him and a huge python almost came down and hissed on his head, he was PETRIFIED. I have never seen him like this. After a one-hour stand-off in the hallway, I had finally decided we were going to have to leave. He was crying off and on, clinging onto me, and would not even look around the corner because of the "mean gorillas." He was hunkered down in a fire exit corridor and would not budge. The hostess even came over and gave him a toy crocodile to hold and assured him that she had turned off all the animals just for him so he could walk to the table. He gladly took "Nile, the Crocodile" but pleaded for me to just take him home.

I finally sent Andy (the aforementioned "other Dad" who happens to have four boys of his own) to talk to Jack. Before we knew it, here came Andy from some secret hallway... carrying JACK! We all clapped! Andy had apparently talked to the restaurant manager who took them out of the building, around the back, and through the KITCHEN of the restaurant... apparently an animal-free path! So, the rest of the evening was awesome! Yea, Andy!!!

Finally, Lacey could open her personalized gift (a DVD player for her dorm) from us. The wrapping paper read, "Way to go, Lacey! We will miss you!" If you click on it, you can see that there is a red house on it with three yellow people in it. Jack explained to the whole table, "It's ME, DADDY, and DAVIS!" Of course, they ask, "Where's your MOMMY?" to which he replied, "The house was not big enough for her." Thanks a lot.

Lacey designed a shirt to wear to her "John Deere" themed graduation party at the lake, and was so sweet to make matching shirts for the boys. On the front, Jack's says, "Felicidades 2009" which is Spanish for Congratulations! (Lacey is often teaching Jack new Spanish words.) Davis' says, "Class of 2026!" On the back, they read, "Big Cousin, and Lil' Cuz!"

They loved wearing their matching shirts to the lake party the next day.

Lacey, I am very proud of you and cannot wait to see what your future holds. I know two boys who will miss you very much... especially Jack Everett. You hold a very special place in his heart that has been there from the beginning. Don't worry, I am one phone call away if you need any Auntly advice (especially about staying out of debt and staying away from Bad Boys.) Good luck in this new adventure and enjoy every minute of college life. Just like High School, it will be over before you know it! I love you!

"Auntie M"