~Siobhan's Graduation~
To celebrate my graduation, Mom and Dad had a big graduation party for me. I had a wonderful day celebrating with my family and friends! A huge THANK YOU to Steph who took these pictures for me :)
Mom bought cards on Etsy that had a place for people to write 'Graduation Wishes' for me. We also picked up a potted willow tree for people to hang the wishes on.
I love my diploma and photo portfolio!
Ethan put together this amazing candy board for me, with a message made out of candy:
Counting Beans Book Worms Smartie Pants
Thank you Kisses Class Rings
One Smart Cookie
For the food Mom served a cheese tray, bruschetta, chips and dips, fruit kabobs, and a fondue bar!
Yard Games: Lawn Twister (above) and Water Balloons, Water Guns, Bubbles, Badminton, Ladderball, Kan Jam, and our Trampoline
Cade
Baxter
~My Graduation Ceremony~
Welcome. Thank you so
much for joining us today. We are grateful that our family and
friends, who have shared in Siobhan’s journey from preschool through high
school, could help us celebrate her graduation.
If you haven’t already done
so, please remember to sign one of the keepsake bookmarks with your advice and
well wishes for Siobhan to bring to college.
I’d like to spend a few minutes recognizing Siobhan’s accomplishments and
offering her my last words of exhortation as her teacher.
Today we’d like to congratulate Siobhan, who is graduating with 49
credits as valedictorian of her class at Sylvan Classical School. Siobhan
maintained a 4.0 grade point average through high school, completing a
classical education of 10 years of Latin, followed by 3 years of Logic and a
course in Rhetoric. Siobhan also participated in a wide range of volunteer and
extracurricular activities including 7 years of Destination Imagination, 3
summers as a teen intern for the Franklin Area Children’s Theater, 5 musical
theater productions, 4 years of piano lessons, 3 levels of Wilton cake
decorating courses, and 2 seasons with the Granite State racing team. Following
the couple hundred books she read during elementary school, Siobhan
completed 5 years of Omnibus, reading a total of 172 books since 8th
grade. Siobhan ranked 96th percentile for her SAT scores. She was awarded a merit scholarship at
Covenant College where she plans to begin her bachelor’s degree in biology and
nursing this fall.
I’ve had the privilege of homeschooling Siobhan for the past 12
years and would never have made it to this day without the guidance and encouragement
of all of you. Today I want to thank her
youth group leaders (Cassie and Laura) and DI team managers (Heidi and Suellen). and our extended family and our closest
friends who have cheered us on and made this journey a lot of fun.
Stephen, I want to thank you
for taking over Siobhan’s math instruction in high school and tutoring her in Calculus
and Physics. Thank you for reminding me
a million times that our worst days of homeschooling would ultimately pay
off. You were right, and today we want
to recognize you as our home school principal with this gift.
Finally, I want to thank my mom for offering us the most creative form
of help. When Mom learned that we
planned to use the Omnibus curriculum through Siobhan’s high school, she thought
we were getting in over our heads. After
praying about how she might help me manage teaching this rigorous course with
so many little ones, she came up with the idea of reading aloud and
recording Siobhan’s books for me to
listen to. Thanks to mom’s reading, I
have had the privilege of participating in Siobhan’s education and discussing so
much incredible literature. I thought it
would be fun to add up the number of hours Mom has spent reading for me over
the past 4 years, but I lost count after about 500 hours. So today we’d like to thank you again and recognize
you with this gift.
When I consider the things I appreciate most about you, Siobhan,
it’s easy to come up with a long list of interests we have in common and
experiences we’ve shared. We’ve spent countless
days in the kitchen, cooking regional meals, making fondant flowers, filling
the freezer with dinners before our babies arrived. Together we’ve planted gardens, planned all of the Christmas gifts
and birthday parties. We’ve gone to
track workouts in the pouring rain.
We’ve read and discussed hundreds of books. The list goes on and on… But even more than all of the interests we
SHARE, what I’ve grown to appreciate most about you are the character qualities
and skills that are ALL YOUR OWN.
Siobhan has
known her own mind ever since she was a little girl. For instance, I always thought she would bond
with the favorite doll I had played with as a child and saved for her, but she
preferred a life-size Teletubby from her aunt Kathy and insisted on carrying it
everywhere. I’ll never forget the time
when she was trying to decide what to wear and held up 2 dresses to see which I
liked better. When I told her I thought
she should choose the pink dress, she cheerfully replied, “Okay, I’ll wear the
PURPLE one then.” On another occasion when Siobhan was a toddler, Siobhan realized
that her dad had left for work without the movie he was supposed to return on
the way. When I turned my back for a
minute to change her baby brother’s diaper, she escaped from our apartment and
headed down the road in her sleepers with the VHS in hand. Thankfully a kind lady saw her in the snowy
street, figured out where we lived, and returned her to us (along with the VHS). Those
who know Siobhan best can relate many other stories, illustrating Siobhan’s
courage and independence. Siobhan has always
faced challenges head on and conquered obstacles with creativity and
determination.
When Siobhan was 14, she learned that she would need major
back surgery with metal rods and bone fusion to fix her scoliosis. For several weeks I watched her process this
news and realized that the only comfort I had to offer was the mysterious
reality that the God who had formed her and numbered her days, had ordained
this pain and that He promised to turn it into something good.
Siobhan has
given me permission to read some words from an essay she wrote after her surgery. Siobhan wrote, “I needed to have my security,
health, and self-confidence taken from me.
I thought I was strong, but God showed me how weak I really was. I thought I was able to take care of myself,
but God gently laid me down in a hospital bed, unable to perform even the most
basic life functions. I thought I had a
secure trust in God, but God showed me how unstable my faith was. He took away, and then He gave me back so
much more. Yes, what He gave me came
with pain, but it also came with the ability to go through that pain through
hope and faith in Him.”
When I considered
the dozens of books that Siobhan has treasured most over the years, 4 favorites
came to mind. All of these books contain
main characters who, like our Siobhan, were wounded and carried painful scars.
The first is “Madeline, a little
French girl, who (like Siobhan) is a brave leader. One night Miss Clavel fears something is not
right. Poor little Madeline has a pain
in her stomach and must go to the hospital, where she has her appendix taken out. When her schoolmates visit her, she proudly
shows off her scar and is the envy of all the other girls who cry, “Boo Hoo, We
want our appendix out too!”
Another book
Siobhan has read again and again is “The Horse and His Boy.” The mystery of this story has always captured
my heart – especially the part where Aslan (the Lion who represents Christ)
chased down one of his own followers, Aravis, and tore her back. As her body healed, Aravis experienced a
transformation in her spirit – a humility and softening born of pain.
The next
book is ‘Till We Have Faces’ – This is a story of a queen who wrestles with
the injustice of the gods.“ She writes
an angry complaint, which she later withdraws as she acknowledges her own flaws
and confronts her true identity. As she
sees herself more clearly, she understands the wisdom of God in causing her
pain. She writes, “I know now, Lord, why
you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions
die away. What other answer would suffice?”
The final book,
“That Hideous Strength,” tells of Ransom who has a wound in his foot, received
on Venus, that will not heal till he returns there. Perhaps this points to the fact that we are
not made to be whole in this world.
Siobhan, if
I had had my way, I would have spared you the emotional and physical
pain that you’ve gone through these past several years, but then I would have denied
you the growth and strengthening of your faith as you’ve been learning to
transfer your dependence from your parents to God.
C. S.
Lewis, the author of Siobhan’s favorite books, puts this beautifully is
observing, “We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings…
but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive
armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in
which they should break, so be it.
He also
writes, “I suggest to you that it is because God loves us that he
gives us the gift of suffering. Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
You see, we are like blocks of stone out of which the Sculptor carves the forms
of men. The blows of his chisel, which hurt us so much are what make us
perfect.”
Siobhan, when
your heart hurts or your back is in pain, I would urge you to draw
your mind back to Christ who “willingly took on a body and entered into every
form of physical and emotional anguish you would ever experience, taking on
scars He would wear for all eternity, so he could extend comfort and grace to you
in your times of need.”
Watson
wrote, “Our heavenly Father has deep affection for us. The affection of parents is just a spark from
his flame. His love passes knowledge and
exceeds all dimensions; it is higher than the heaven and broader than the
sea. We are precious in his sight…He is
full of sympathy, and pities [us in our] infirmities. In [our] injuries, every blow goes to his
heart. He did, as it were, bleed in our wounds.” I am so thankful that our Lord has carried
your sorrows, written every day of your life in His book, and that He loves you
even more than I do.
Before Dad says a few words, Shaila and I want to present you
with some gifts.
Here is the
second volume of our homeschooling blog, Alma Mater, with the family
pictures you’ve taken. You’ve captured so many of our best memories, and we
hope that you treasure this.
And finally, Shaila would like to give you her Madeline doll
to bring to college with you . This doll
can be a reminder of a brave little girl
who proudly wore her scar and of the sister who has been your roommate and best
friend.
I cannot believe my high school journey is complete! These last four years have been so full, and I have learned so, so much. I couldn't have done it without my parents who have taught me and loved me unconditionally, or without the support of my amazing family and friends. Thank you so much to everyone who has motivated me and helped me to succeed. I couldn't have done it without you!
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