8 is GREAT.

All I can say is the years fly by! It seems like just yesterday I was waking Rebecca in the twilight to take her to the hospital for the birth of our son - Alexander - and now in the blink of an eye he is 8 years old. I decided to go through some of our digital pictures and picked out some of my favorites throughout the years. The one thing that stands out the most as I looked at these is the constant smile on his face!

Alex,

Happy Birthday son. You are very special to me and as I sit here typing this I can't help but reflect on the memories we have created during the past 8 years of your life. I remember the day I found out you were growing inside of your Mamma's belly and the nights spent talking to you and feeling you kick against my hand even though Mamma was trying to sleep! The day you were born you amazed us all when you rolled yourself over on the delivery room table - I knew right then an there you were all Boy! It has been 8 years since that day and you continue to amaze me as I watch you grow. I have great memories of time spent together as father and son, time spent sitting on the side of a stream fishing, on the rock wall hunting deer, sitting around the fire camping or in the back yard; time spent playing board games at the kitchen table, building Lego creations, playing baseball in the back yard, or just cuddling under a warm tee-tee they have all been precious to me. I am proud of the kind young man you have grown to be and although I wish you could be my "little boy" forever I look forward to watching you grow into a man and the loads of new memories we will create in the coming years. For now I pray that you will enjoy your childhood and especially the upcoming year, Happy Birthday Son - I Love You!

Daddy

Doggy days of winter

For her 10th Birthday, Ariel received a sewing machine and has been taking weekly sewing lessons from Mom Rathbun - A.K.A. Grammy.

Over the past few months she has made herself an outfit, little pillows for everyone and most recently a sweater for Gabriel - our Min Pin.

Most of the people who read this know that Gabriel had an accident as a puppy and as a result does not use his right leg very much. Supporting his weight with and relying on only 1 front leg has caused him to develop the muscle mass of a bull dog rather than that of a little lap dog!

Now I am not a big fan of dressing up animals but you can't help but feel bad for the little guy when the mercury drops and after his morning jaunt he curls up in a little ball and shivers in a feeble attempt to warm up.

We tried a couple of different store bought sweaters that we found on the mark down rack but due to his massive shoulder muscles they just didn't fit comfortably and were a pain in the Hiney to put on and take off.

Rebecca decided to do some research and ended up finding a pattern and after taking some measurements passed the project over to Ariel. Below are some pictures of the finished project. Needless to say - as a man who attaches loose buttons with a fishing knot and has no understanding of how a sewing machine works - I am very impressed and look forward to seeing her talents progress.

Top view

Bottom View

Getting warmer

Our little "hot dog"



Now he might not look too pleased in the pictures above but after feeling the warmth return to his achy little bones he was happy as a "bug in a rug" for lack of a better term!