Class of 2013 - celebrated

So over the weekend we celebrated the successful completion of high school by none other than Kyler Warren Goins...

We were blessed by a crazy houseful of people who came to help us celebrate... I did a terrible job of taking pictures of the guests, but I did get several pictures of the party décor and the graduation itself.

I LOVE throwing a party - especially one where I can decorate - and this party came together just the way I'd hoped.

Kyler's high school colors are orange and black and their mascot is a tiger... it was fun to pull together decorations around that theme....

I asked a friend who has a cake business to make his cake - she used his varsity letter to decorate the cake and then made white and oreo cupcakes... we saved the cake to eat after the party - it was for sure one of the best 'decorations' on the table and I didn't want it to get ruined by cutting into it.

 

Paper mache letters and glitter paint made a fun sign for the front porch!

I spent some time in the preceeding weeks making tissue pom poms, a big 'grad' sign for the front porch and getting all his memorabilia and art from over the years organized. I used the backyard clothesline to hang up all his cross country, track and race shirts from over the years... he had SO many of them and they made for a great backyard decoration.

In the end, it came together beautifully and we had loads of people stop by to wish Kyler well and congratulate him.


Right now I have an empty room we were able to use to house all his memorabilia - it became known as 'The Shrine."

 

I even painted the closet door with chalkboard paint so people could leave a 'congrats' message for Kyler

The morning of graduation, we had close family and friends here for a brunch. We asked several people to share something to encourage Kyler... I think often there are things we would say to someone if we had the chance... but that often those kinds of things go unsaid. I knew the 'big party' wouldn't be very condusive to those kinds of intentional words... so I wanted to create a space and time for that to happen.

And again, it went beautifully. Both of Kyler's grandfathers were able to encourage him with words about his heritage and his potential, some older guys that have mentored him had words of support and advice, his brother and sister both weighed in... it was such a lovely morning full of lovely words and affection for the person he has become.




Kyler's two grandpas... full of wisdom... it was such a blessing to have them here

I am so thankful for the community of friends and family that have helped make Kyler the young man he is today. I was reminded over and over again this weekend how blessed we have been as a family to have SO many people build into our kids. Asia and I have always been intentional about opening our doors to anyone who needs a soft place to land - and those people have in turn given back more to our family than I could ever quantify. We have a 'family' that goes far beyond blood and are blessed by so many.

Happy graduation, Kyler. I'm so proud of you. You have SO much potential and are SO original. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you.