Ethan James

Today we're celebrating our 14th grandchild's 9th birthday.  Ethan was born in Louisville KY and was our 9th grandson.

He's an important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this family.

Here he is pictorially 'through the years'.

Ethan is one of the sweetest, smartest, most talkative, and engaging kids you'd ever want to meet.  He's a sweet big brother, a wonderful, bright student who has just been recommended for the advanced placement program at his school, and a potential long distance runner.

Today we're wishing him a happy birthday and a year filled with running, more successes in 4th grade, and a summer filled with swimming and diving.

here, here, here, and here

Matthew Clinton

Today is Matthew's 12th Birthday.  He was named after is maternal grandfather and was born on our 34th wedding anniversary.

He was our 11th grandchild and 7th grandson and was the best anniversary present we ever got! He's an important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

And here is Matthew, pictorially, 'through the years'.

Matthew is a smart, loving, athletic, and sweet person.  He's in the gifted and talented program at his school and he's a dedicated, natural athlete who excels in every sport.

So Happy Birthday, Matthew.  We're wishing you a year with achievements in middle school, Boy Scouts where you'll become a star scout, and lots of fun and success in travel basketball.

Previous posts about Matthew can be found here, here, here, and here.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Week 5

This is Week 5 of Bacardi Mama's Hit Me With Your Best Shot photo challenge and once again I was able to turn to my backyard to find my best shot.

I'm not a fan of squirrels.  I never really have been.  Oh sure, long ago I thought they were cute and I wished we had some in our neighborhood but since then I've heard of them biting children and I've seen how destructive and obnoxious they can be.

So these definitely aren't among my favorite shots of the week.  My best shot came when I spotted a squirrel burrowing through the snow to find random bird seeds left over from when we religiously fed the wild birds in the backyard.  This guy would burrow in the snow, then stop and throw it all over the place, before he paused long enough to devour his treasure.  These antics led to this, my favorite shot of the week.

And here is the sequence that I caught to visually describe the curious antics of one adventurous, quirky little varmint.

 And finally I'll concede that although overall squirrels are not cute, on occasion they can be quite entertaining and, yes, appear pretty doggone charming and delightful.

Happy Birthday, Patty

Our daughter-in-law, Patty, is celebrating her birthday today.  We can't be with her since she's so far away but I've spent the afternoon browsing through her pictures to find the ones that best depict what a wonderful person she is.

First of all, I'm reminded that Patty is hard-working.  She was a teacher when we met her and she still works for the school system only now she's working toward an assistant principal's position.  She's a natural though...

and she's not just hard working on her job.  She works tirelessly for her family and anyone else that needs a hand.  Here she is helping us with our outdoor renovation project last summer.

She only paused long enough to enjoy a small cone and then

 she was right back at it.

  She's always been great with kids.

And is an amazing mother who loves nothing more than spending time with her children.

And her husband - our son, Dave.

When Dave's deployed, she works hard to fill his shoes - all the time chuckling about how he would be laughing at her as she carefully follows the instructions.

But she knows how to make him proud at military formals.

And she loves to laugh and is awesome at a party!

All in all, her pictures remind me that Patty is sweet, loving, thoughtful, conscientious, and one of the hardest working people you could ever know.  We're wishing her the happiest of birthdays and a year filled with joy!

(Previous posts about Patty can be found here and here.