Beyond Bringing Up Boys

Circa. 1973  Circa. 1977 4 siblings, 3 spouses, 1 boy friend, 11 children, 1 son-in-law, 7 dogs, 5 cats, 2 birds, 2 peacocks, 15 chickens, 2 geese, 1 goat, 1 guinea pig, 1 chinchilla, 1 snake, 1 hedgehog, 1930 combined miles, and diversity galore. Our family is not perfect. We argue. We fight. And sometimes we stop talking to each other, but we're family and when it matters, we are there for each other. And so, it was notably special that each one took time out of their active schedules to celebrate Zachary's achievement. I love you all!

It's been awhile since I last wrote. A long while. And, as in most families, a lot has happened in that "long while."  Over time perhaps I'll get to that, but for now, I just want to try entering the blogsphere again. This used to be a place where I expressed my thoughts or updated the events of our family, but slowly, other forms of social media took over and my voice here has been silent. May 23, 2015 was a very big day in the life of the Balty's as our oldest, Zachary, graduated from Eagles Landing Christian Academy that day. I'm looking quite glamorous in the photo booth picture above, but Dr. B is looking stunned; I think he received the first bill for college tuition.