Last Friday evening we finished up two weeks of graduation celebrations with Jackson's party. We woke up to sunshine, but by mid-day the rains began to pour. And pour and pour… Finally, we made the decision to move the party under 'roof' and madly cleaned out the garage and arranged the front porch for seating and eating areas. It really did work out just fine, but I was sorry that it split up the groups of people into different areas. We sure appreciated everyone's willingness to 'go with the flow' along with us!
Jackson (and all of us) were honored by the friends and family who joined us to celebrate this momentous occasion. There will be a blog post sometime in the future (when I get my thoughts together) telling a bit more of Jackson's story from all these years. What an incredible guy. He has come through so much and we are very proud of him.
We shared the celebratory evening with Adrian, Jackson's best friend since the age of 5. That made the evening even more special for all of us. Good friendships like that are a special blessing.
I will caption some of the photos below to fill in more details about the day/evening. But first, I will share with you part of what I shared that evening with all assembled. (of course, I shared it tearily… I seem to do that…) ;)
"Marvin and I arrived here with our crammed moving truck and our 4 month old son on June 1, 1996. We came here because we knew we wanted the lifestyle that this small town could offer. The birth of our son, Jackson, had caused that to be a more urgent desire. Each of you here this evening have touched our family's lives, Jackson's life, over the course of the last 18 years. We cannot thank you enough for being 'community' for him, for us. A town like this one offers all of us an important opportunity - to truly make a difference in the lives of those around us. Thank you to each of you for continually answering that call.
Tonight we celebrate the end of one part of Jackson's journey - and the beginning of so much more. We also want to celebrate Adrian, Jackson's best friend since they were 5 years old. Our family has been so blessed by this friendship over the years. We are so thankful for you, Brinda, Tim, Heidi, and Adrian!
Thank you all for coming this evening. We are blessed beyond measure to have each of you in our lives!"
Earlier in the day a remarkable team of women - Brenda, Linda, Megan, and Melina - showed up to decorate the house for Jackson's party. What on earth would I ever do without them??? They are amazing! Brenda came up with the theme of 'Hollywood'. She said she was inspired by Jackson and Brianna's photos from
Prom night. :) They set up a 'Wall of Fame' that listed various persons graduation years, designed movie titles geared specifically toward Jackson and Adrian, posted famous movie quotes all over the walls, used the cutest little movie inspired cutouts to decorate, and much more. Thank you so much to them, AGAIN, for all the work they put into helping us celebrate. The truly sad part was that most of them were unable to attend the actual party because they were at dance recital rehearsal. :( Thankful that Linda and Bill were able to come and represent everyone. :)
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| The amazing women decorating for the party! |
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| Linda and Brenda |
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| Jackson was so pleased! |
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| Brenda and Linda with the Wall of Fame. :) |
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| Famous movie lines |
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| display on the piano |
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| main display |
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| card baskets and memory book |
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| Brenda, Linda, Jackson, Melina, and Megan |
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| Linda, Bill, Laura, and Marvin |
We had 2 video presentations playing throughout the party. The one pictured below (the computer on the table) was a Memories video. I will share both videos at the bottom of this blog post.
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| Adrian and Jonathan watching the 'Memories' video |
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| I just love how the cake turned out! And it was yummy, too! |
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| Adrian and Jackson |
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I had snuck Jonathan on the cake in one photo -
it was his 8th grade graduation, too! :) |
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| Jim, Lynae, Brinda, and Barry |
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| tables set up in the garage |
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| You can't take Jim anywhere! ;) |
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Brianna and Jackson (thankful to Tim G. for taking photos like this one!
I didn't get many taken that night myself…) |
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| Marvin, Keith, Marilyn, Mama |
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| Jeremy, Jim, Daddy |
Love these two! And what a hoot to watch them try to figure out Jim's phone. :) I have ALL the photos in this sequence in the larger photo album
linked here.
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| Jackson and Jim trying to figure out Jim's phone |
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| Jim just took his first 'selfie' with Jackson! :) |
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| Jackson and Jim |
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| Emma, Gigi, Jackson, Nils, Victor |
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| Rolena, Bill, Dane, Kathy, Dustin |
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| Kendra, Ella, Jeremy, Shonda |
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| kids on the playset in the backyard |
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| Ultimate Frisbee in the front yard |
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| Deb, Bryan, Miles, Victor |
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| The B. family! |
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| The B. family shoes! (this was too cute to pass up taking a photo!) |
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| getting the bonfire going |
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| Brianna, Jackson, Adrian, Jonathan, Gigi, CJ |
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| Three 2014 graduates - Adrian, Jackson, and Brianna |
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| Jackson and Adrian :) |
Here is a link to the complete album of photos. There are so many good photos that I just couldn't fit into this post. And a big thanks to Tim G. for taking so many photos that evening. I didn't get too many taken and he graciously shared all of his with me.
And here are the two videos that were playing throughout the evening. The Memories video was playing on the laptop on the main display table. This one makes me cry (tears of joy!) every time I see it. And yes, while creating it I often had to stop and clear my eyes in order to continue. :) Such wonderful memories and great wishes for Jackson (and ALL the 'kids') moving forward.
And this one was streaming to the television in the living room. It is a sampling of Jackson's photography over the last 7 years. I made it in hopes that Jackson will resolve to never put down his camera. I truly believe he has a gift and a unique vision. No matter what else he does, I hope he will always continue to take photos of the world around him.
By the way… here is a listing of the songs used in each video, in case you are interested.
Memories Video
Godspeed by The Dixie Chicks
Seein' My Father in Me by Paul Overstreet
Child of Mine by Carole King
Find Yourself by Brad Paisley
My Wish by Rascal Flatts
Photography Video
Seasons by Nichole Nordeman
Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens
Hymn Medley by The Three Lassies (my sister-in-law Candace, nieces Rachel and Hannah)
Hannah Dances by
Eric Barfield
Candaces Strength by
Eric Barfield
Eric is a dear family friend and incredibly talented musician. He wrote those songs in honor of my niece, Hannah, and my sister-in-law, Candace. Beautiful music!
