Sunday, May 25, 2008

Twelve years and onward to more higher learning

Oh the fun of graduation open houses. My daughter planned a slightly different kind of open house for her first born. Instead of the regular ham and cheese sandwiches and chips. She had an ice cream social, with a real industrial ice cream maker, all the toppings, plus one of those chocolate fountains with fruit, rice krispie treats, pretzels, marshmellows, and just about anything you could think of to dip into that.





This is my grandson standing so proudly in front of a quilt his mom had made out of all his sports shirts over the years. He has always been very athletic and in sports from grade school on through high school so the shirts have been hoarded by mom until now to be converted into a memory quilt to keep. This is something of a tradition in the Cadillac area and most of the graduates have one made and display it at their open houses.


There is one in the upper right hand corner that is unique and was made before he was born. There was a fun rivalry between the two grandpas to be, that this child would be named after them (boy or girl) so the shirt was made with both grandpa's names on it with the fun notion that the baby would be named Ralph-Bob. Enough shirts were made so that when he was born the whole family wore them up to the hospital. Made for a good laugh from all, including the staff on the maternity ward.




As you can see he was named Brandon much to the approval of everyone..



This is the proud family. These parents have their work cut out for them with three teenagers. Plus right now they have an exchange student living with them from Finland. So actually there are four teens in this household. They have done a super job and made many sacrifices to raise these kids to be strong, confident and independent but sensitive to the needs of others. Each child is so different and a delight to be around.


The Lord has blessed this household with a guiding hand and the real credit goes to God. But, I have to say I am one proud grandma!!!


Brandon will be attending college in the fall and hopes to get in to communications of some sorts hopefully connected with sports. We teased him about one day being the next Howard Cosell.

13 comments:

Cheri said...

What a fun open house- ice cream and chocolate- good times!

Mari said...

Congrats to Brandon! He's done good. Congrats to you too on having such a fine grandson! I love the quilt. That's a keepsake for sure!

Terri said...

Oh, that sounds like a great open house. That's a really great idea!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful quilt! Congrats Brandon, I can see everyone wearing those shirts, what a hoot:)
nice pics. You are a very cool grandma:)
hugs
Deb

Unknown said...

Congratulations to Brandon. You have a very nice looking family.
Best wishes~ Lisa

Anonymous said...

With four teenagers in the house, there's sure never to be a dull moment.

Nise' said...

Congratulations to your grandson on his graduation. I love the idea of a memory quilt. My youngest is finishing up his sophmore year and I am already thinking about this last open house!

Cherdecor said...

Congratulations to Brandon! It looks like you have wonderful grandchildren.

Unknown said...

I have an award for you on my blog.Take care. Lisa

Lynn said...

Hi Nancy! Nice to meet you...thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit. Please come again.

I love the idea of the memory quilt. I am an avid scrapbooker, and this quilt is such a special and personal gift to preserve those memories. Congratulations to Brandon!

Cathy said...

He is so cute, Nancy, and that is a great family picture. And the quilt is such a neat idea.

Shelly said...

That is a neat idea on the quilt. Your daughter did a great job on it. I did not know went to cadillac. That is my High School. Go Vikings! C--CA--CADI--DI--DI--DILL--LL--LL--LLAC --C-A-D-I-L-L-A-C, CADILLAC CADILLAC FIGHT!!!!

Laura said...

That sounds so fun! And what a fun story about being named Ralph-Bob. Your family has a lot of fun Nancy!