Congratulations Class of 2009!

Wednesday was so nice and the graduation was great! Everything worked out really well and we all ended up where we were supposed to be. Getting to and from the stadium was a bit of a mess logistically, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of exercise!

President Obama spoke at the graduation. Regardless of your own personal political views, it was a really neat experience to be in the same place as the President of the United States of America and his speech was pretty great. We had great seats, but the view of the podium was blocked by the speakers. Nick said that his view from the field was blocked with teleprompters, so I guess it didn't really matter where we sat, the big screens were probably the best way to see.

I didn't take my zoom lens becuase I was afraid that it would get broken in the crowds so I didn't get great close up pictures, but I wanted to share some of what I did get. I hope you all have a great weekend!

The individual school graduation is tomorrow and they will call Nick's name to go up and receive a fake rolled up diploma (they mail the real one), and I will definitely post pictures of that too!

Happy Friday!
a

I would try to point Nick out, but really... all that matters is that he's down there!

Pat (my stepdad), me, Susan (Nick's mom), Lindsey (Nick's sis), Barb (Nick's stepmom), Virgil (Nick's dad)
I thought it was funny that they asked people to turn off phones and pagers... who has a pager?

At the back of the stage, btw the two flags are Obama and the President of ASU

Obama speaking

Obama comissioned the ROTC graduates, which I thought was really neat. Gore spoke and comissioned Nick when he graduated from West Point. You can see all of the ROTC grads in from of the stage. Such brave men and women!

My graduate!

Maroon and Gold...

Today is such a special day for us; one that we have been looking forward to for two long years... today Nick graduates with his MBA from The WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University!

Nick has always wanted to get his MBA, (I remember talking about it with him before he even graduated from West Point!) and two and a half years ago we made the decision that the time was right for our family. The kids were young and the two nights a week in class were "do-able" for us with little activities such as sports and school events. We knew that it would be really difficult at times and that there was no turning back and no giving up once we started... we were in it for the long haul.

I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am. Nick gave up so many things that he wanted or wanted to do because of school and he had the best attitude the entire time. There were countless days that he had to skip family funtions, stay up until midnight or later (on top of working full time and the four hours in class two nights a week), so many weekends given up for group projects and meetings, electives that he was in for four hours four nights a week and then eight hours on Saturday (during the holidays), and he would sit at the table or lock himself in our office when the only thing he wanted to do was play with the kids or sit back and relax. There was a week that he had to be in Tucson for a training session for work, but he also had to be at school in Phoenix on Tuesday and Thursday. He worked all day, drove the two hours to Phx for class then drove back to Tucson after class for training the next day. He made up classes when he traveled, which sometimes had him away every night of the week and he studied while on business trips instead of enjoying time to himself or with his associates.

He walked a fine line with a smile on his face and I could write all day about all of the sacrifices that he made for this dream, but I can't tell you what this has meant for our family and I will never be able to put into words how proud I am of him for this!

Go Devils!
a

happy monday!

i'm kind of a monday girl. i like the start to a new work (or not) and school week. i like that it feels like a fresh start with so many things to do throughout the week and i'm ready to begin! so many great opportunities to laugh, have fun, be kind, take pictures, smile, play, show the love of Jesus to others, smile, give thanks, read, plant flowers, smell flowers...

my cuties on easter

i love my flowers

happy monday!
a

wordless wednesday

i've been playing around with photoshop and i like the brightness of this picture!
also, this is my 123rd post... one. two. three. is significant in our family, thanks to kevin!

happy wednesday!

a (123)

happy birthday honey!

31 things that i love about nick (because 7 just isn't enough!)...

1. he would rather spend time with me and the kids than do anything else

2. he is courageous

3. he has the ability to step back and look at situations as an outsider

4. he never loses his temper

5. he doesn't make fun of me for taking a glass of water to our room every night, even though i never drink any of it

6. he doesn't mind if i misplace his chapstick

7. he's smarter than all get out

8. he has more motivation than anybody i know

9. he puts his dirty clothes in the laundry room

10. he loves his mom

11. he tears up when the kids do something cute, or when em writes him the sweetest notes

12. he notices when i get new clothes

13. he can make me laugh even if i don't feel like it

14. he responds, he doesn't react

15. stucco

16. he bought me a great camera when i said that i was tired of my pictures not being "scrap-worthy"

17. if i were to ever accidentally hit somebody's car in the parking garage and he had to take the guy a load of cash to cover the repairs, i'm sure he wouldn't get upset with me (this is just a hypothetical, i have never done such a thing)

18. he likes disneyland as much as i do

19. he thinks i'm a great cook

20. he wants to be on the amazing race with me

21. he's super handy

22. he tears it up on rockband

23.he took me to get my nose pierced last may and he went in with me for support, but then said that he couldn't believe that the guy was going to stick a needle that big in my nose ;)

24. he gives really good back massages

25. he proposed to me at the same place that we first kissed

26. he fought for our country

27. he makes the world's best burgers and i'm not the only one that thinks so

28. he loves my mom

29. he doesn't make fun of me for repainting a room for the fifth time

30. he always has something fun planned to do with the kids

31. he just loves me...

happy birthday babe!

a

i finally added pictures to em's birthday post! yes, it's 1am. no, i can't sleep.

happy thursday!
a

trip to the zoo

ethan and i took a trip to the zoo with some friends today. it was so beautiful outside and we had a great time! i wish that emily would have been with us. i gave her the choice... zoo or school... what second grader choses school over the zoo? mine.

happy tuesday!
a

although i'm more of a daisy girl, i had to get a picture of him in the rose garden

he wasn't so happy about standing with the farmer
enough pictures, mom

Jesus HAS overcome...

Happy Easter!
The Kahler Family

Remember to pause the music at the bottom of the page

seven on the seventh...

today is our seventh wedding anniversary! in honor of seven years, i decided to write seven things that i love about nick, although i could write for days about how much i love him...

1. he is the best dad on the planet.

2. he is selfless.

3. he stands right beside me no matter what.

4. he listens to me vent

5. he has a hard time going to sleep if i'm not in bed with him; we have gone to bed at the same time almost every night that we have been married.

6. he wakes me up every morning to kiss me before he goes to work.

7. he shined my kitchen sink before i got home from vegas sunday... those are really two... he wants me to have my girl time and he values the things that are important to me.

my dad was right... i couldn't have done any better ;)

happy anniversary honey!

a

us, of course

yes... 21 people!

my flower girls... look how little em was!

he was singing to me... couldn't get any sweeter than that!

wordless wednesday (sort of)

pause the music at the bottom of my page if you are going to watch, it is so worth it!

happy wednesday!
a

daddy's big helper

the other day ethan helped nick get his quad ready to take a trip to the dunes. he was so proud of himself!

i'm ready to help you, daddy!

love the tongue sticking out!

notice the walkie-talkie, he would pick it up and say random things into it to nick!

all finished!

Go fly a kite...

today was the perfect weather for flying a kite...
happy sunday!
a

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Kahler Family

eight years of sweetness...

happy birthday little miss mae! you are such a treasure and have brought so much joy to our lives and we are so happy to celebrate you turning eight today!

happy birthday!
daddy, mommy and ethan

it is so clear that he totally loves her! (before opening presents at home)

first time on the ice and she rocked it! (ice skating party with 6 friends!)

yes, her smile can light up a room!

family party at home
my brother and em have this "you owe me a dollar" thing going on and have for years... when I was pregnant with ethan they bet on what the baby would be (we didn't know), and she said a girl, mike said a boy. the wager was a dollar. her card from them said "we were going to give you $20 for your birthday, but you still owe me a dollar... here's $19!" she loved it!

of course, a hannah montana card :)
em with papa (my dad) and his gift. i take no credit for the socks or the fact that she is wearing heelys while on an electric scooter (i made her take the wheels out pronto)... at least she has a helmet on!
us four and our nephew carson

there are days...

days that i feel like all i'm doing is laundry, tripping over toys that i just put away, feeding little people that i just fed, breaking up fights, saying "close the refrigerator", "no, you can't have fruit snacks for breakfast", repeating myself, going to another birthday party, attending another playdate, repeating myself, singing the song from mickey mouse clubhouse, repeating myself and wondering when my last shower was, all while dreaming of lying stretch mark free on a beach somewhere.

we all have those days, right?
please tell me you have those days.

i've been swallowed by those days lately. me and my kids haven't been getting along too well lately. translation: i have had no patience lately and i haven't been the kind of mom that i want to be. i haven't been the kind of mom that i know God wants me to be. that's tough to swallow and it's hard to admit. even more, it's not a fun place to be as a mom.

yesterday lysa terkeurst wrote a great post (like always) and urged her readers to leave a verse that encourages us in times when we are acting less than encouraged. times when we snap at our husbands. times when we want to put a for sale sign around our kids necks and stand them on the corner.

as i read through the comments and verses left by others, i was struck with the realization that the recent struggle between me and my kids has little to do with my kids behavior and more to do with me. the comments and verses reminded me that i can't try and go this alone or my life will be filled with "those days". i don't want that. i don't want that for my kids.

i am a reactor. too often i react to something my kids say or do without thinking about my actions that follow, and too often i end up wishing i would have acted differently.

i want to be a responder. i want to stop, see what God is teaching me and what He wants me to teach my kids. i want to pay attention to what my kids are really saying to me and when i kiss my kids goodnight i want to be thankful, not regretful.

i encourage you to read the post and comments here. lysa was kind enough to quote me here, but more importantly, she reminded us that we are all in this together.

if you're having one of those days and you need a good laugh, go see "confessions of a shopaholic". it is a great movie with a dancing scene that made us laugh so hard we cried! somebody in the theater even snorted and that made us laugh even harder!

happy wednesday!
a

makin' mama cry...

today emily brought home a lot of work from the past quarter, including some projects that they did for christmas.

i cried when i read this...

i think the true spirit of christmas is...
"beleiving the Holy Spirit. spending time with your family. praise the lord. know that Jesus died on the cross. know God will forgive our sins. merry christmas! emily kahler"

she gets it.

happy friday (again)
a

economic stimulus

i heard something on the radio today that shocked me beyond belief and i am still astonished.

it has been determined that if our country spent one million dollars every day since the birth of Jesus that we still would not have spent as much as congress is spending on the economic stimulus.

that blew me away. i pray that it actually makes a difference. that is a lot of debt for my children to carry.

happy friday
a

and please, i didn't write this to start a political comment wars, just some facts and my own little opinion.

wordless wednesday

...is a pretty lucky guy to have a sister that loves him

enough to make his name out of legos.

happy wednesday

a

NBA Jam Session

nick took emily to the nba jam session in phoenix on saturday. they had a blast (thanks aunt linda), and both agree that it was the perfect way to spend valentine's day! it's so sweet that they go on fun little "dates" like that, she's such a lucky little gal!

here are some pictures of the day; you can definitely tell that they had fun!

i love that it looks like she has thrown the large decorative ball... so funny!

white girls can jump (i know, i know, but i couldn't resist)

lebron james' shoes

happy tuesday-ish
a

ps... i'm digging the lowercase, even thought it's not entirely intentional... i think i may need a new keyboard (or my kids need to figure out what they did to make only certain letters capitalize and my control button not work). who knows. and yes, i typed the title before the fateful round of computer time for my kids.

Who are you people?!

I'm sure that a lot of you out there, especially bloggers (because almost all of us have one!), know of this little thing that I love called Sitemeter. It is a site that has the capability to track who visits my blog, what pages they look at, how long they visit, where they are, what page they exit to, etc.

So, my question... who are you? I know who some are; if you check from work your company name shows up and the locations sometimes give it away too (I only have two friends in Chile!). Technology is amazing to me!

Anyway, leave me a comment, I would love to know who's dropping by. And I know there are a lot of you... the numbers don't lie!

Oh, and now that I mentioned technology it reminded me of a video that totally blew my mind. I'll have to post it later. Right now I have a little guy with ear infections that needs some snuggling!

Happy Monday!
A

Wordless Wednesday

My favorite flower in my yard right now.
Happy Wednesday!
A

The "No" Alternative

Ethan and I just had a little "chat" about him not telling me "no" when I ask him to do something. He agreed... success!
Just a couple of minutes ago I asked him to do something. He looked at me and shook his head. Shook his head. I gave him "the look" and said "Eeeeethan" you know, I had to draw out the name to give myself a little more time to figure out what I was going to do next. Kind of like when you're counting and you say "before I get to three"... "one, two, two and one eighth, etc".
He looks at me, shrugs his shoulders, arms out in front, palms up (I wish I would have snapped a picture!). "Me not SAY no, me just shake my head." Then walks away.
Lord help me. He's only three.

Happy Monday!
A

Prayer request for friends... Update

Updated: Matt and Niki are doing well and there are talks of them going home today! Please continue to pray for their recovery and no complications. Thanks!

We have some friends, Matt and Niki (whom we met through our friends the Andersons!), that will be undergoing serious surgery tomorrow and we ask that you remember them in your prayers.
Niki is in need of a liver transplant and Matt, her husband, is a donor match.
This is a very serious surgery and we pray that Matt and Niki both come through the surgery free of complications.
Please pray for the medical teams as they operate on both husband and wife tomorrow.
Please pray for peace and comfort for family and friends, especially their two very young daughters.
Please pray that Matt does not experience any complications as it is known that the donor may have a more difficult time than the recepient.
Please pray that Niki's body does not reject Matt's liver and that she heals completely so that she may live a long, healthy life free of the pain and complications that have gripped her for so very long.
I will update when I hear how they are doing.
Thank you for praying!
The Kahler Family

Right Now...

Out of my window: It is sunny and beautiful outside; a crisp cool day that started out with rain, one of my favorites.
I am wearing: Jeans, a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, going to put socks on because the tile is cold and I have been freezing all day long!
I am hearing: The after school chatter and my kids crunching tortilla chips, the healthy afternoon snack of choice!
I am thinking: That there is still some fudge in my fridge that is just calling my name. That I am going to make some chocolate chip banana muffins with the bananas going brown on the counter, or I may just toss them like usual.
I am thankful for: Emily being so happy to go back to school today! My God, my family, my friends, my warm home, the hundreds of thousands of dollars that our church collected for Darfur and clean water over Christmas, the decorations nestled all snug in their bins until November, and the overflowing bin of things to take to Goodwill (where does all of this stuff come from? Seriously, we take a bin to Goodwill at least every month).
I am creating: Project 365, the idea of taking a picture every day and journaling just a little bit, so that I will have a record of an entire year with little work... really great idea! A plan for taking pictures of my friend's one week old son tomorrow. I have so many ideas, I have to get them all on paper so I don't forget!
I am going: To fold the sheets that just finished drying and get Em started on homework.
I am hoping: That Game Crazy still has the Rock Band 2 game for Wii, we've gotten through all of Rock Band 1 and can't wait to play the new songs.
I am reading: Magazines that were passed on to me. I didn't get involved in any books over the holidays and the library changed hours and was closed today.
Around the house: There are signs of the happy family that lives here and the love that we share!
One of my favorite things: Drinking hot chocolate on a cool day like this, snuggled inside with my family!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Photoshoot tomorrow of sweet Jack (maybe some of Max too!), hopefully re-painting Emily's room, maybe re-painting master bath, more sorting and purging, creating, playing with the kids, taking my mom to the ortho for her check-up (she broke her humorous bone (the ball of her shoulder) in three places on Dec. 19 and isn't able to drive or work; finish Christmas thank yous, relax and enjoy the start of 2009!

I saw this idea on one of the blogs that I read and thought it was a great way to post without putting much effort into thinking of a subject!

Happy Monday!
A