Happy Birthday to my firstborn

Today my first baby turns 17!  Hard to believe this 6'2" boy on the verge of being a man once lived inside me, that there was a time when Mom was the only girl in his life and all it took to bring a look of sheer joy to his face was to tell him Daddy was home.

I am so very proud of who he is and excited to see what path he chooses in the coming years.  At the same time, how very much it hurts to see him begin to stretch out his wings in preparation to fly this nest,  'because being a mother is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body' (Elizabeth Stone)

This photo is from his birthday last year, with Fr. Gordon, with whom he shared both a middle name and birthday.  It is the last photo I have of them together, and Fr. Gordon's last birthday on this side of eternity.  Memory eternal, and many years to my not so little boy!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

 

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Memory Eternal Fr. Gordon Thomas Walker

4H Wildlife Competition

The past year the kids have delved into the 4H Wildlife/Forestry/Fishery Project.  It was the first year for our county to have a senior Wildlife team, and the crocodile hunter was in his element.  I am amazed by what they had to learn - the ability to identify 45 species of animals from their skulls/pelts/calls, answer questions concerning the habitat and life of these animals, determine wildlife management practices to manage a piece of land for certain species, and finally - with a team of 4 create a plan to manage a specific piece of property (several acres which they must explore on their own) for 5 to 6 species - writing a two page management plan detailing their recommendations.  They must then each defend that plan orally before wildlife resource management agents.

Dr. Harper teaching the kids about sericea lespedeza

We have spent many hours over the past year studying pelts, learning the differences between a raccoon skull and a red fox skull, discerning the difference between the many sparrows by feather and call!  We trudged through forests and wetlands, we practiced scenarios for management.  The result was our team of high schoolers went to the regional competition and competed against teams who have years of experience - and we managed to squeak in to qualify for state!  

So, off to the state competition where I learned that my bladder can go 7 hours without a bathroom and I became very comfortable with the presence of timber rattlesnakes!

And while they didn't win state, our group of kids managed to place 6th among 11 teams who have all been doing this for 3-5 years!  We are incredibly proud of them, and look forward to seeing how they do next year.

headed out to evaluate the land a create a management plan

walking!!!!

our sweet little one - he has mild hypotonia/muscle weakness (which the little princess also suffered from) which results in delays in gross motor skills as well as contributed to his visit to the hospital last fall.  So it is with great joy that we get to see him taking his first steps as he nears his second birthday!