2017 Michigan Japanese Language Speech Contest

It was a great experience for Ben to compete in the University Category. He did not win a prize but he will always be a winner to us. 

First International Flight

Japanese Elementary School Visit

Ben's Homeschool Graduation and Open House

Ben's Graduation and Open House

Our First Homeschool Graduate 

Highlights from Ben's Open House

 Next stop Japan!

More Graduation Party Decorations

Only a few days left before the graduation party. I thought I would share more of the decorations I have been in my craft room creating.

Continuing from an earlier post of me sharing the design. The above two pictures are showing the labels I created and had printed at Staples. The water bottle labels were printed on water proof paper which allows me to put the bottles in ice.

These two pictures use the paper design I found online that coordinates my vision of this party. I also had this paper printed at Staples.

To help everyone enjoy the food, I made food labels with English and Japanese translations.

I needed to add dimension to the decorations so I made these paper rosettes.

I needed something for one of the backgrounds that seemed boring. Using my Cricut Machine I cut out 2" circles of gold glitter paper to make a garland. I used my sewing machine and clear thread to sew all the circles together.

I needed a banner to pull everything together. I used my Circut to cut the banner pieces then embossed them with my Cuttlebug.

For some outdoor fun I made backyard size Yahtzee and Jenga.

I used acrylic paint to paint the pieces to coordinate the party.

Finally I needed a bucket for the Yahtzee game. I made a quick trip to the dollar store and found this black one. Using my Cricut I cut out some vinyl and applied it to the bucket.

Graduation Party Decorations

Graduation day is approaching fast not to mention we will have a party the week before. I was glued to my Mac this past week designing. Over the years I have done projects like this for others so it feels good to finally do it for my own child. My goal is to have most of the decor done a week before the big event. Here are a few of the projects I have completed so far. The theme is "The Places He Will Go!"

 Photo Confetti

Engineering prints of Ben through the years mounted on foam core board. These will be displayed on the walls.

Personalized Hershey Nuggets

Personalized Water Bottles

Chopstick Sleeves to go with the color theme.

Opportunity Knocked

Excited to announce that Ben received the opportunity of a lifetime. He was selected to teach ESL in Japan for 3 months. He will be provided with a plane ticket, housing and a salary. We are so thankful to God for this opportunity for him to pursue his passion while working for the Lord.

He will be traveling to and from Japan the next few years for business and pleasure. We are so thankful for the opportunity that homeschooling has provided for us. Bennett has devoted a lot of time and effort into pursuing his passion of learning all things Japanese. He has volunteered locally teaching ESL to Japanese business men for the last three years. His community service has allowed him to establish many networking connections.  

This is a journey that I did not imagine our family would travel. By allowing God to lead us all things were made possible. Bennett had a desire to learn a language that opened many doors for him. Allowing him to follow his passions and not my own has been very rewarding and eye opening. Our job as parents is to introduce our children to different things. While giving them the opportunity to find their own way.

From homeschooling to world schooling enjoying the journey.

Ben's Graduation Photo Shoot

Sharing our graduation journey as it unfolds. Excited to have our first homeschool graduate.

First Blender Lesson

Ben has really been having fun learning Blender 3D software. Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation. This is his first project a coffee cup. I really love how he added all the shadows and reflections of light.

Ben was maxing out his CPU making this cup. But because he built his system he put a nice graphics card (Nvida GTX 750ti) in it. So he switch to GPU rendering which his graphics card supports. So basically he told his computer graphics card to handle all graphic programs.

Happy First Day of College

When I see you....

When I see you, I see a combination of your father and I.

When I see you, I see our dreams for you coming true.

When I see you, I see hope for our next generation.

When I see you, I see strength and determination.

When I see you, I see our love manifested.

Wishing you much success on your new journey. 

Happy first day of college.

Mom

Transitioning

I am happy to report we are transitioning our oldest son Ben from home school to college. Ben is a senior this year and will be dual enrolled in classes this fall at our local community college. We are extremely proud of him for passing the Compass Test.

I know some may say that the compass test is not that big of a deal. But in our house on our journey it is major.

This journey has not been an easy one. It was filled with good days and bad day. So thankful that God did not allow us to give up on our son and gave us much direction.