Family Post: So Much to be Grateful For

This has been an eventful Spring for my family, and I hope you'll forgive me a little summary of the things that have kept me busy, and brought me joy.

Of course, there was my trip to be with family in Indiana, and the birth of Iris, my first granddaughter. This is a photo Laura recently posted. What can I say? I'm in love.

This past Saturday my daughter Carrie graduated from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University with a Master's degree. It's good to have children who are smarter than you are. Way to go, girl!

Everyone gathered to celebrate, except me, alas. It was the first "family event" for Iris--the first of many.

It was a joy to see all three of my grandchildren in one photo for the first time, Iris and her cousins Aedan and Liam. Aedan just turned 6 last week. Liam will turn 3 at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, Isaiah, who just turned 15 in March, went to his first Prom with Aspen, the girl he has been going out with for awhile. He just finished up the soccer season, and his JV team got some attention by having a better record than the Varsity.

A big event for Jeremiah last week was to get the splint taken off his hand. A month ago he and Isaiah got into a fight--I hate to say that, but they're brothers--and Jeremiah suffered a classic "boxer's fracture" of the bone above his little finger. It didn't keep him from texting, but--and this was the hardest part for him--it kept him from playing basketball, his first love. He shot some baskets over the weekend and is now getting ready for a three-on-three tournament next weekend--just before his 14th birthday.

Finally, my daughter Lidia completed her senior presentation last week, the last major hurdle before graduation. She's going to make it! Not bad for a girl who came to us from Guatemala at age 10 without ever having been in school. Way to go to you, too, girl! And she has her 19th birthday at the end of this month.

So much to be grateful for.