Ethan James - Yesterday and Today

Today is Ethan's 11th birthday!

Ethan is an important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

I wrote about Ethan in these previous birthday posts:  2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

So they tell a lot about Ethan 'through the years' and these pictures show how his appearance has changed in that time...

but now I want to talk about Ethan in just the past year.

He's always had a great imagination and he's always been very creative.

and loving and protective of his younger siblings

He continues to be a great student and is in advance placement classes in school  where he consistently lands on the honor roll.

He had a very successful cross country season

despite the fact that he powered through all but the last meet with a developing stress fracture.

He got contact lenses this year 

And he and his family visited Hilton Head during the summer

And Gulf Shores over the Christmas break where he couldn't enjoy the beach quite as much because of the stress fracture however he always made the best of it

And he did a good job faking the jump during the famous grandchildren jump shot!

So you can see what a wonderful boy Ethan is!  He's sensitive, loving, smart, and creative; and he makes the best of the most difficult situations!  We're very proud of him and love him very much so we're wishing him his best birthday ever but one only half as great as the many more to come!

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Matthew Clinton - Yesterday and Today

Today is Matthew's 14th birthday.

Matthew is an important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

I wrote about Matthew in these posts:  2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

So they tell a lot about Matthew 'through the years' and these pictures show how his appearance has changed in that time...

but now I want to talk about Matthew in just the past year.

As always, he's been popular with all his cousins but particularly one of the younger ones.

And he's continued to be a great helper to his dad (or anyone else that needs a hand),

and a friend to animals

And birds (I think),

Also, this year he's taken a hiatus from volleyball to concentrate on basketball.

He was Master of Ceremonies at his brother's Eagle Scout induction ceremony.

And this year he was inducted into the Order of the Arrow brotherhood.  The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America.  It uses American indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of scouting - including leadership and service.

He visited Myrtle Beach over the summer and of course Gulf Shores over Christmas.

And he's continued to be the all-around, wonderful, engaging, athletic, smart, and sweet boy he's always been.  Only now he's 14 and we're wishing him his best birthday ever but one only half as awesome as the many more to come!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Patricia Jo - Yesterday and Today

Yesterday was Patty's Birthday!

Patty is a very important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller large family.

I wrote about Patty here:  2011, 2012, 2014, 2015.  These posts tell you a lot about her over the years but now I'm going to talk about Patty in the past year and the present.

She has always been and still is athletic - keeping herself in great shape through the years.

She has always loved animals and it's obvious from this picture that the feeling is mutual.

She's a devoted and loving mother.

And wife

This year, Patty's oldest son became an Eagle Scout.  Not only did she plan and organize his reception but she worked hard to make sure everything was perfect.

And this year her husband ended his Battalion Command.

During this momentous ceremony, Patty was there with love and support.

And this year Patty had to be even more super organized than usual because for a good part of the year, Dave has only been able to be home on weekends.  

This year Patty has worked a lot with David helping him apply for college next year.

 And she's continued to work long hours as an Assistant Principal.

She's spent many weekends out of town for volleyball tournaments with Katie and David.  Tournament locations this year include Richmond, Denver, Newport News, various Maryland locations, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Orlando, and Pittsburgh.

She and the family vacationed in Myrtle Beach last summer.  (Of course this is not Myrtle Beach but it is near water and I know Patty loves being near water.)

And they visited Orlando

Before heading to Gulf Shores for the family Christmas vacation.

So that about sums up Patty's year.  We're proud that she is so competent and so efficient and such a wonderful mother and wife.  She's also a valued and loved family member - always willing to help and ,oh so popular, with all her nieces and nephews.  She fits right in as a sister and a daughter and we're proud and happy that she's part of our family.  Happy Birthday, Patty!  It's a little late but it's heartfelt and we're hoping the coming year is perfect!