# my pride and joy....



## aprilraven (Mar 19, 2006)

i am not sure if these should be snapshots, or bloopers...with me taking shots, and crying at the same time, i think bloopers.... 

my son graduated the air force basic training, at san antonio texas...







this is how he looked to everyone else.......






this is how he looked to me.....i could see him in his little air force flight suit i had for him when he was not even a year and a half..... 






maybe i had an intuition...?????

nah, i doubt it...but i was shocked at how 20 years with me, and the airforce had him 7 weeks, and totally changed him!! i could never get him to keep his room clean.... 






now he is spotless!!

and the poor thing, not only is his mother like morticia adams...his daddy is like jeff foxworthy from the 70's...!!! tell me we didnt stand out!!!






(daddy always has the cigarrettes on hand....) :er:

his grandmother's reaction when she first got a glimpse of him!!






and the mascot of the fighting 323...they are the vipers!






and this shot made me think of jonmikals shot at the tomb of the unknown soldier...
at 1700 hrs..( 5.00 pm..) they play our national anthem...and no matter where you are on base, the boys stop and salute....after taking this shot, my son turned around and said, you were supposed to cover your heart... i said,  was to busy covering my son...!!! 






him at the alamo.....







and ofcourse we had to have a shot of home!!!







there has been nothing in this world that i have done or been a part of, that 
has made me prouder than i am of my son...it has had nothing to do with me..
he is just a spectacular person...and i am proud to be a small bit of his life..

sorry for all the shots....but i thought i would get them over with and you
wouldnt have a couple of threads to go thru....
btw... he now has access to the web, since he is outta basics...his name on here
is Knot Fan... and he called me today and asked why i have not put these on here, yet...

so caleb..( aka Knot Fan...)  love ya... and you can leave me a message here if you finally see this....thanks for being such a blessing and joy....( even if you seem a tad bit bossy, now..)
call me soon...


----------



## DestinDave (Mar 19, 2006)

Super memory moments...
Great series of shots - especially including the one when he was 1-1/2.  Auto-focus comes in handy when the eyes are all watery huh?


----------



## Peanuts (Mar 19, 2006)

Congratulations to your son AprilRaven. You must be so proud of him yet it must be so difficult all at the same time. Earlier this month I went down to Arizona to watch my cousin graduate from F-16 Fighter Training "School" and I believe in early April he will be heading over to Europe. It has been amazing to watch hissite and see him progress from OTS to where he is today 

Once again, congrats


----------



## aprilraven (Mar 19, 2006)

destindave, thank you, and your right...watery eyes are hard to get over...

and brittany, congrats to your cousin... that is a great accomplishment...

i think every american should go sit thru one of these services...when my son took the oath, with over 750 other men and women, it was the most gut wrenching thing... the whole audience was in tears....just beautiful..makes you proud to be an american....


----------



## Arch (Mar 19, 2006)

Good job raven you've captured the day brilliantly, we do things a bit differently over here, but i can tell what the atmosphere must have been like. Your son look like he'll go far, and what a cool mascot!... i mean they could have been 'The Hamsters' or something.... that would be unfair!... vipers definately cooler  Good to see this stuff raven :thumbup:


----------



## nitefly (Mar 19, 2006)

Congratulations to you and him!  

You must be very proud


----------



## Raymond J Barlow (Mar 19, 2006)

so cool, great story April... great shots, and I would be so proud too!


----------



## photo gal (Mar 19, 2006)

Oh....these have all touched my heart Rave........:hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:


----------



## Antarctican (Mar 19, 2006)

Wow, Aprilraven, what a moving post. The deep love and pride you have for your son shines through in what you wrote. He is the spectacular young man you describe based largely on the upbringing he received. How incredibly proud you must be as he moves on to this new stage of his life. But I'm sure it's also tinged with some sadness, as your 'baby' is all growed up now. Hugs to you, girl.  :hug::


----------



## Chiller (Mar 19, 2006)

Wow, April.  What a great series.  I remember the posts of Caleb from before(when he had hair:lmao: )  What a difference.  
 Im sure you are proud of Caleb, but I think everybody should be proud of the people who are willing to give up their lives to keep us free.  He will serve his country fine.  He is an awesome man. 
  Thanks for sharing these.  :hug:: :hugs: :hug::


----------



## elsaspet (Mar 20, 2006)

Hi April!  My son just graduated last year.  Yeah Air Force!!!!!!!!!!!
What a handsome guy.  I bet you are super proud. What squadran was he in?  Mine was in the Wolfpack. 
Big Hugs!
Cindy


----------



## elsaspet (Mar 20, 2006)

Opps I see....Vipers.  Yeah Vipers!!!!


----------



## LittleMan (Mar 20, 2006)

How did you like San Antonio? 
The photos are great! Great coverage! :thumbup:
Congrats on your son joining! :thumbup:


----------



## aprilraven (Mar 20, 2006)

thanks ya'll.... i appreciate the comments...

i remebered elsapet when your son joined... and i thought, that has to be so hard..now i know...it is hard...

oh, and littleman, where have you been, boy?? i missed you...
i was gonna try to hook up with ya at san antonio...but i figured just me would be more than you could want, the whole adams family might just send you over the edge...( husband is cousin it...see above!!) 

i loved san antonio....loved the river walk.... its was so cool...next time ..me and pallie will go by ourselves to visit.... the people with me were too nervous to enjoy it....!!


----------



## Calliope (Mar 20, 2006)

Wow!  Beautiful shots!  Your son is a handsome young man and looks very sharp in uniform!  I can imagine how very proud you must be!  Thanks for sharing these!


----------



## Antarctican (Mar 20, 2006)

P.S.  He sure is a good looking young man. And I loved how you included the shot of him in his air force jump suit at age one  - too funny!


----------



## anicole (Mar 20, 2006)

Sheesh, Rave ... you could have given me a heads up on this ... I sqwalled through the whole thing ... I know you told me you posted some shots, but GEESH!  Tell me next time to have some kleenex ready!

I tell you often how cool he is, and how proud I am and you (and pretty much everyone else on here  ) knows how fond I am of those who serve, but I'll say it again ... his willingness to give his life for his country and especially for me, is amazing and I have nothing but profound gratitude.

I had a whole bunch of other stuff written, but I deleted it and I'll just say this:

Your parenting time isn't over ... you get a bit of a breather right now, but in another year when all the tech stuff is finished, then it'll be 'Mom, I've met someone ... Mom, we're getting married ... (and later ... much later !...)  Mom, you're going to be a grandmother! ... Mom, the baby won't stop crying' ... but it'll always be 'Mom ...'  

Oh, and nice shots, too!  :heart: :hug::


----------



## LittleMan (Mar 20, 2006)

aprilraven said:
			
		

> thanks ya'll.... i appreciate the comments...
> 
> i remebered elsapet when your son joined... and i thought, that has to be so hard..now i know...it is hard...
> 
> ...


busy... as I am today... 

yep, next time you're down here go ahead and shoot me an email. :thumbup:


----------



## aprilraven (Mar 20, 2006)

i mean to say thanks to you chiller, any time you comment, it makes me feel all thrilled..

nicole, you cry over telephone commercials.....i knew this would kill you...sorry, should have warned ya...

little man, dont worry, i will contact you!!


----------



## JonMikal (Mar 20, 2006)

thanks for sharing your emotional day with us Nancy. you captured the day well. we all appreciate what he's doing for his country...he's a man stepping up to the plate and not looking back! awesome courage! :salute:


----------



## Alison (Mar 20, 2006)

What fantastic shots! Your love for him just shines through in these. I am sure you are so very proud. Thank you for sharing these...makes me remember to appreciate the trials of raising sons...they grow all to fast :hug::


----------



## Hertz van Rental (Mar 20, 2006)

It doesn't always seem like it but there are definite up sides to being a parent - this is one of them.


----------



## aprilraven (Mar 20, 2006)

oh my gosh! hertz wrote on my thread???  thanks hertz..your way too sweet...i know its only cause i begged you!!! 

alison....kiss your sons as much as you can...they grow up too fast...and then you cant kiss them...only in your mind and heart...thanks for you comments.... your saying something means so much...

jonmikal.... you know how special it is to me that you look at my stuff...
i adore the fact that you have been thru this too... share and share alike..
thank you...
thank you all for looking.... and yes, i am way too proud of this child... but he is so worth it..

( ps .. caleb... you better reply to the pm's your getting, you little sh*t hook... i can find you...!!!)


----------



## Knot Fan (Mar 20, 2006)

hey thanks for the comments. hopefully i will have my own camera and show pictures of my travels.


p.s. mom its airman sh*t hook


----------



## Calliope (Mar 20, 2006)

Knot Fan, I've heard so much about you, I feel like I know you personally!  I'm soooo proud of you too!  Get that camera and snap some shots!!


----------



## danalec99 (Mar 20, 2006)

Congrats! :thumbsup:


----------



## hobbes28 (Mar 20, 2006)

Awesome pics there Aprilraven!  It brings back so many memories.  Of course your son, raised in the sticks of the Ozarks would walk away with a marksman medal.   You must be so proud.  I'm probably proud enough for you too. 

Caleb.  Just in case you don't hear it enough, thanks for serving.  If you have any questions along the way, feel free to drop me a PM.


----------



## Antarctican (Mar 20, 2006)

Knot Fan said:
			
		

> p.s. mom its airman sh*t hook


 
:lmao: 
[Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?!]

Caleb, it's an awesome thing you're doing, to step up to serve and protect your country. We all look forward to pics of your travels. 

Go Vipers!


----------



## anicole (Mar 21, 2006)

Knot Fan said:
			
		

> hey thanks for the comments. hopefully i will have my own camera and show pictures of my travels.
> p.s. mom its airman sh*t hook


 
If you'd be a little sweeter to the people that actually write you ... send you money ... support your sorry little airman sh*t hook arse ... you might get a little MORE cash for the camera!  But oooooohhhhh no .... I don't even get a 'hi cousin ... love you ... mean it ...'

:sniffle:

 :heart:


----------



## sfaribault (Mar 21, 2006)

Great pictures AprilRaven.... All grown up..  :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Steve


----------



## aprilraven (Mar 22, 2006)

thanks ya'll....as you can tell antartican, he is an awful lot like his mother...( for good or bad...i'm not sure...)

(airman shee*t hook... remind me to tan your hide when i finally get to see you.... i brought you into this world and i can take you out...)


----------



## Chiller (Mar 22, 2006)

aprilraven said:
			
		

> (airman shee*t hook... remind me to tan your hide when i finally get to see you.... i brought you into this world and i can take you out...)



NIce one.


----------



## Fate (Mar 22, 2006)

hehe nice series! Be proud!


----------



## macawlvr (Mar 23, 2006)

Aprilraven I know how you feel as a mom and how proud you are of your son.
I have 3 sons..30,29 and 24 the youngest is in the Navy, went to his graduation in Chicago..I know all about watery eyes.
My middle son is in Iraq as a private contractor..once again those watery eyes. 
And my oldest is giving me a grandchild..watery eyes when I seen the sonogram. 
I love you series of photo's...keep us posted on your sons tour in the Air Force....


----------

