Don't Forget to VOTE!

Heading to the polls anytime soon? Well don't forget to vote for your favorite candidate. Here is an up close look at mine.

Isn't he handsome. Tanner is a candidate for class president at school. He has a campaign team and everything. Today his wonderful teacher arranged for a debate. It was complete with a platform speech about needed changes and a question and answer session. He did a great job of staying composed, which would have been the challenging part for me at that age, and delivering his message.

I was proud of him, of course. But I was proudest when I saw him go over to a classmate after the commotion and talk to him. Tanner could tell that his friend was having a hard day and he tried to make him feel better.

I feel so lucky to be his mom. No, not lucky. I am so blessed.

Heart Attack

Last night for Family Home Evening, which we try to have every Monday night, we gave our kitchen a heart attack. We each wrote things we LOVE about each other on hearts and hung them up. I totally remember doing these at youth church activities growing up and then later to friends in high school. They are still fun! This one was made really special when the kids decided to include illustrations on some of them.

Notice the animals in Meg's? I think those are some of her favorite stuffed animals. And who doesn't love a 4 year-old's depiction of her brother holding her hand? But my favorite is Tanner's picture of Dad with muscles!


But the best part was reading them aloud to each other. The smiles could not be contained when the kids heard their siblings listing good things about them. (Hey, I liked it too!)

Dreaming of SNOW.

We are having such a warm winter and I am definitely not complaining about it. February is usually a dreary month for me. With it being close to the end of this pregnancy (a time when I tend to be completely impatient anyway), I was really not looking forward to it this year. But it has been so nice to have sunshine and grass that is still green outside. The kids can still go out after school and jump on the trampoline or play soccer when it is not too muddy and I just love that. So this little rhyme, delivered by the oh-so-charming-preschooler in our home, is about as close to building an actual snowman as we can get these days.

The new "do" for Margaret

Looking too grown-up for me, Margaret loves her shorter haircut. I am still going through braid withdrawals.

Gingerbread Tradition

I love that we were able to make our traditional gingerbread house this year. The kids loved that they were able to gorge themselves and eat it on Christmas Eve.

Andrew turns SEVEN!!!

We celebrated Andrew's 7th birthday this past weekend. Boy-oh-boy did he feel the love. Andrew is not one for limelights and attention, but he was much more at ease about the whole thing this year. If you look hard at some of his pictures you can see the joy of the moment shining through.

We headed over to Cape on Thanksgiving night and spent Friday baking and playing with cousins.

The fun continued on Sunday. We celebrated with the rest of our cousins.

Finally! On his real birthday we continued the tradition of opening one gift before school and then enjoyed cookie cake together that night. Yes, if you counted that was three different cakes and sets of candles. A little much, I agree. But there is no doubt in Andrew's mind how much he is loved by all of his family.

Andrew is our middle child (at the moment) and we just can not imagine life without him. In honor of his 7th, here are 7 things we love about Andrew!

1. His smile, which happens to be missing 4 front teeth at the moment. It is a precious thing.

2. Andrew's bear hugs are like gold. He has always been a cuddler. I am talking about since his first week on earth. I am so thankful for his hugs.

3. Andrew loves animals and memorizes fun facts about them.

4. He is our non-fiction child. Give him a story book, and he'll drop it in a minute. However, hand him an encyclopedia of how things work, and he is hooked.

5. His laugh is contagious. It may not be often , but when he gets really tickled about something, there is no stopping it. You have to join in.

6. Andrew is a spiritual barometer in our home. If we are off balance and too busy, he has ways of letting us know. When we remember what is most important and keep our priorities straight, he shines. I am thankful for this aspect of his personality, because it keep me in line.

7. He is generous. He would do anything for the affection of his big brother, and shares all that he has.