More art from Hannah

 The artist has struck again... this was a new genre of art for Hannah - she had never done pen and ink before, and she was (of course) amazing at it!  She drew this from an antique doll.

And I have to say, that this makes my top 5 favorite paintings ever that she has done.  It is absolutely stunning.  LOVE IT.  These were both done, by the way, with two different art teachers.

Happy Valentines Day

My faithful Valentine brought me roses and chocolate.  I don't think he has missed a year of Valentine roses since the day we were married.  I am so blessed. Not just for the roses, but that I get to be married to my best friend in the whole world.  And amazingly he loves me!  Despite all of my MANY flaws and shortcomings.

We had a bit of snow this morning that looked so beautiful, but was gone by noon...

I spent the entire morning making these "cauldron cakes" for my three younger Valentines.  It was so much fun!  I had never made chocolate mousse before, and I was so afraid it wouldn't turn out.  These do look almost exactly like the cauldron cakes we got at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but the true test won't come until tonight after dinner.  When we taste them...

So many nights, I open the door to Hannah's room, peek my head around the corner, and this is EXACTLY what I see.  She is either doing a game on her DS, or scrolling through Pinterest on her phone.  Or texting her brother in the next room.  Love it.

Sap Time!

Yesterday Danny, Hannah and Ryan went outside to tap the trees for our annual attempt at making maple syrup.  The jugs were all set to go.

Handsome hubby preparing these same jugs

And lo and behold - within TWO HOURS the jugs were half full!  (this picture below was taken before the two hour mark.)

As of today, after 24 hours of tapping the trees, we already have over FIFTEEN gallons of sap!  It's gonna be a good syrup year!!!

And then, just to be random,  there's our cute little Indy.

UPDATE:  As of 8:30 pm on Sunday, we have 28 GALLONS in just two days!!  We got three the first day, and 25 the second day!  We can hardly keep up with it...

The blossoming artist...

The following pictures are all the art projects that Hannah has done so far for this year in her Art 3 class.  I am predicting that this is going to be a big part of her future somehow... there is such God-given talent apparent in each of her pieces.  Every time she works on a project (whether for art or just for fun) I am truly always DELIGHTED to see it!  And I am always AMAZED!!  

Senate Hearing in Annapolis

Danny and Jacob went up to Annapolis yesterday to sit in on the Senatorial Hearings on the new anti-gun laws that Maryland's Governor is trying to put through.  They listened to hours of testimony of citizens both for and against the gun laws... they said it was very interesting.  I never dreamed that one of my kids would be so interested and knowledgeable about the legal processes and have such convictions about important things - both legal and moral.  I have no worries about Jacob when he leaves the nest and heads out into the world.  He is strong about what he believes in, his convictions are  unshakeable, and he has no problem defending them with his opinion and facts.  He would actually make a great lawyer!  I say "Watch out world!!"  There's a mighty force about to be unleashed!! haha

Can someone tell Hannah it's February?

She just can't seem to let go of her flip-flops.  Even in the snow.  Even when it's 25 degrees outside.  Sigh... I think Hannah belongs in AZ or something.

Future Engineer

Whenever Ryan gets "bored" the first thing he gravitates to is building something out of whatever he can find.  He has been doing this since he was little.  Since legos.  Nowadays it just looks a little different than it used to.  One day recently he built one of these creations with my feet as the foundation and told me not to move - of course then that's all I could think about!  Obviously I couldn't get a picture of THAT beauty....  but here are a couple others. 

The rest of 2012...

As quickly as 2012 arrived, it slipped away... but it left behind a year full of cherished memories.  Memories that I had little time to record.  This post, therefore, is my feeble attempt to finish out the major highlights of the year.  There are many moments now forgotten, but we will hang on to the most precious ones in our hearts.

In September, Hannah and I flew to Minnesota to celebrate my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary.  The trip was filled with some sweet moments, and maybe some not so sweet... but I try not to remember those.  And so, I am only going to say that their Anniversary Dinner was absolutely beautiful.  

Hannah had worked so hard in the weeks leading up to this celebration making a beautiful album of their years together, as well as a video.  She also put together precious gifts to give to them - a framed letter from my dad to my mom, memoirs of grandpa's heritage, as well as painting a beautiful picture that grandma had "commissioned" her to paint for grandpa.  It was stunning.

While we were there, it also happened to be grandpa's 75 birthday!  Hannah and I took them into Minneapolis to see Cirque Du Soleil - it was absolutely amazing, and we had a great time with them.  I even drove into the city by myself, with grandpa navigating.  I was quite proud of my accomplishment!!

At the end of summer, Jacob, Hannah and I went to the Chesapeake Bay for a four day youth retreat.  It really was so wonderful for them - we heard some great teaching, and since Hannah didn't know anyone really, Jacob so kindly gave up spending time with his friends to "escort" Hannah and I around for the weekend.  That is selfless love.  That is serving.  That is one of the character qualities that make up this wonderful boy I have.

In November, we spent a lot of time focusing on politics.  We even took a day to travel to Virginia and go to a Mitt Romney rally - which was something I had never experienced before.  This happened to be the day before the election (and also our wedding anniversary! Shows how much it meant to us!) and we were just so sure that he would win the election!   Needless to say, we were utterly devastated when he lost.  Our hope for change in this country died with his loss.  We understood, better than ever before, what it meant for Obama to be re-elected.  We literally felt sick.

Then came the almost comical madness for a box of twinkies!! haha  Who knew??

In November, we took a day trip up to Annapolis to see the town, the Naval Academy, and go out for breakfast.  What a fun little family-day that was.

We celebrated Hannah's 15th birthday with a cake, breakfast at the Music Cafe, and then off to some antique shops for some shopping.  This cake displays one of Hannah's greatest masterpieces made in frosting!!

 In this "season of Jacob" (as we have come to call it) there has been much excitement and focus on him working toward his dream of being accepted into the Air Force Academy.  The left picture shows his bedroom with study notes on a chalkboard wall, and the right picture shows one of the many occasions he has had to go to class or an outing dressed up. We sincerely hope and pray that after all this hard work, his dream becomes reality.

Then there was Christmas!!

Jacob participated in a 5K race this fall in Annapolis to benefit wounded veterans.  It was a blast driving up early in the morning and watching all the runners participate!  It was his first one - and he actually had a really good run time!  So proud of him!!

Here he is with Lance Tang and Nate Dreier - his buddies who ran it with him.

Go Jacob Go!!