Cole is how old?

Look at that handsome little face. Can you believe he is already three? Saturday our little Colie had a big birthday. So many things have changed over the last year. When he turned two, Cars were the big thing. Now it is Star Wars. He made out like a bandit this year and acquired quite a collection of "guys" as he calls them. We even outfitted him with his own light saber (life saber, as he calls it). I especially love it when he runs around with the light saber and sings the Star Wars theme song. What a little champ.

Last year Cole wanted a Lightning McQueen cake and I did a decent job. This year he wanted Yoda and I was pretty pleased with the outcome. I regretted after I was finished that I had used chocolate cake instead of red velvet cake for the Yoda head. That would have been awesome when we cut into it! Oh well.
The whole day was great. We went with Buddie and Boppo to see Madagascar 2, took pizza to Grandpa Gombert's house, ate cake, opened presents and then went home and watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What a super great day with just our little family.

We are so grateful for you, Colie, and are so happy that you are such an important part of our family. You are our favorite three year old.
Happy Birthday, Little Jedi!!

Happy Halloween, Aarg!

I see because of the obvious lack of comments on my last post, except for Nancy (thanks!), I need to return to the lighter side of my life for my blog posts. So here's our official Halloween entry. We decided this year to go as pirates and have Cole dress up as Peter Pan. He's pretty fierce with a sword, so we knew he was up to the challenge. Halloween is the beginning of my favorite time of year. October through January are the months that I long for every year. I love the spirit in the air and in my home and look forward to all of the family time we get. It is just so warm and toasty all over. Hmmm, toast.It was actually my first year to get "Halloween-ed out." Between parties with friends (Rogers throw a wicked party), school parties, church parties and the actual Halloween night, I was pretty tired of being the "Buccaneer Beauty," although my sweetie seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. We are very fortunate to have children who only enjoy trick or treating for about two blocks. Then, when their buckets are about halfway full, they declare themselves done and we head home. I love that the greed of Halloween candy has not set in. I hope it never does.Well, I hope you all enjoyed this entry better than the last one! Have a super fun Fall! It is the shortest season of all but, in my opinion, by far the best. Love you all!!

A New Day...

Alright friends. Buckle in because I'm going to write some unpopular things in this entry. But, when my children look back at this family journal, this is one event that I want them to remember. I want them to know how their mom felt and the special memories our family shared on November 4, 2008. And while I know that I am publicly outing our family as Democrats, those of you that really know and love us, and I mean really know and love us, will understand and it will hopefully give you pause to think.

At dinner time on November 4th, we turned on CNN. We don't usually have TV on at dinner, but we considered this a special exception. We explained to the kids what we were watching. That the new president of our country was going to be decided tonight. Unfortunately my kids did not get the chance to see us vote. We took the opportunity to vote absentee through the mail to avoid the lines. However, in the spirit of celebration that we were making our marks, that we were showing appreciation to all those who lived and died and continue to do so for our freedoms and rights, I walked out to the mail box, placed my ballot inside, raised the red flag and yelled into the empty street "Rachel Sutherland has voted!!!" and silently said a prayer that this election year would be different.

So, back to election night. We pointed to the lower right corner of the screen where electoral votes were being tabulated. We explained to the kids that Obama needed 270 votes to win. At that point the count was 8 to 3 in favor of McCain. After dinner the kids ran upstairs to play Candyland while Damon and I settled in to watch till the bitter end. Periodically, Jonah would run down the stairs and look through the banister to check the count on the screen. However, the kids had to go to bed before the results were announced and the next morning, Jonah ran into our bedroom, jumped on our bed and asked "Did Obama win?" I gave him a hug and said yes to which he said, "I vote that Obama will have a great time as president." I vote for that too. Just not too much fun.

While some may only see that a Democrat has won over a Republican, I choose to see the amazing change that has come over our country. The vast majority of citizens actually feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves, that their votes actually matter. There is a sense of hope, of risen spirits that our country desperately needed.

It is time to set aside our fear. I know that it is comfortable and easy to do what we have always done, to vote the way that we have always voted. That luxury is gone and was never really an option in the first place. What a blessing we have in America and in the Gospel that we have our agency. That those of us raised in the church can take what we have learned, what we know to be true and put it to work to make good decisions, ones that ensure our freedoms and please our Heavenly Father.

Do I think Obama is perfect? Heck no. He's a man and he's a politician. Not the most stable of combinations. But right now, he is our best shot at making the necessary changes that need to happen to our economy and our government. The fact that our family chose to vote Democrat has zero bearing on our testimonies and our beliefs. It doesn't make us any less in our Heavenly Father's eyes, simply because we didn't do what everyone else around us was doing. Our excitement does not only come from who was elected president, but at the prospect of something new and different for our world. Nothing great was achieved by people who simply did what was done before.

I want to live my life like the famous bumper sticker, "Quiet women rarely make history." I challenge you to back away from gossip and assumptions. Do your own research if you have a question. I know it is much more interesting to listen to radical statements and assume the worst about someone, but instead, encourage the wave of positive thinking that is sweeping the country and do your part to keep it moving.

I pray that I'm right. I hope that my children look back at this entry and say, "That must have been hard for Mom and Dad to do, but I'm glad they did it."