i suppose this is it.

i'm officially educated.

at least, that's what i'm told.

the graduation ceremony was long. looong. i was wishing for a pellet gun to start picking off some of the speakers after about an hour. isn't that horrible?

the truth is, everyone said it was a very nice ceremony and i didn't hear any complaining (haha - except from myself). i suppose the problem for me was that all the graduates were behind the speakers instead of in front of them on the floor. i couldn't hear a thing that was going on. being up on stage was kinda cool - getting to see everyone in the audience.

Lise's family came in from Toledo. Mom picked up my Uncle Glen and navigated the city without directions. Dad and Karen cut their month-long trek through the southwest short by a day or so to get back in time. my Grandma was there. my brother was there, too! zow! several good friends like adrienne, eric, ema, rick, denise - they came as well!

these pictures, in order:

jon weatherly and i - he's been a big supporter (not to mention a stellar professor and dean). i was trying to do rabbit ears on him but it ends up looking like horns. hmm. so many directions i could take that, but i won't.

dan dyke and i flashing the sign he flashed at me just before i got my diploma. unfortunately, with this being a family blog, i'm not at liberty to explain what it means. i can't say enough about dan as a professor and a friend. of all the good things i can say about my time at CCU, the relationships i've built with people there are probably at the top of the list. dan's been a phone call away many times. he's also in the top three of the finest professors at CCU.

me, my mom and my uncle glen. they're twins (no, i'm serious). they rock. they've been encouraging and supportive through the whole thing.

my dad, myself, and karen. they've been HUGE supporters over the last five years. they took us in for a year when we moved back from maryland, they've supported us financially for a spell when we were going through lise's cancer and lise's position had been cut at the school. they've been encouraging and always available. it's definitely true that if it wasn't for them (and especially karen), i wouldn't have graduated yesterday from CCU.

and most importantly: me and lise. she's the greatest wife on the planet. i can't imagine being anywhere else than with her, wherever that might be. over the last five years we've faced the biggest challenges of our sixteen year marriage with multiple life-altering illnesses, college for me, buying a house, etc. but we've come through it all in one piece. she is the coolest, most gorgeous and awesomely supportive chick i know. she is another huge reason i made it through the last five years of school.

it's been a wild five years getting to this point. feels good to be here.