On the heels of Jeremy’s birthday is that of Kim Davis. That makes two birthdays in two days for two remarkable and wonderful human beings.

Happy Birthday Kim!

I can hardly believe it, but Jeremy’s now a teenager. Of course, at 5’9″ he certainly looks the part.

I know the term “truly blessed” is as over used as the term paradigm-shift was during the dot com boom, but I do feel truly blessed to have a son as wonderful as Jeremy is. Those who know him, understand what an articulate and sensitive young man he is. He is sophisticated beyond his years, particularly when it comes to politics. Just yesterday he was asking me what I thought about the Democratic Presidental Debate from the day before. Turns out he watched it, and not because someone else had it on, he watched it by himself. I asked him why, and he replied “Dad, I want to know about the candidates!”

This kid will go far…

Last week, my dear friends, Aaron and Lidia, had their first child. Jonah Forrest Kraft was born Thursday, April, 5 2007 at 12:26 am.

Less than a week old, Jonah is already an exceptional young man. Not only is he beautiful, and blessed with two of the kindest and most giving parents a boy could ask for, but Jonah also has his own website!

Head over to Jonah’s website, take a gander at some pictures and leave a message for his mom and dad.

My baby girl turned 16 today!

Man oh man how the times flies.

First thing she did this morning was to go to the Secretary of State and get her drivers license. Tomorrow it’s off to the band to open her first checking account.

Happy Birthday Sasha!!!!

My formerly little and currently long-haired guy, Jeremy turns 12 today!
As Jeremy gets older (and as his feet get closer to being bigger than mine), I find myself watching this sweet little guy turning out to be a wonderful young man. With a passion for politics (and a serious dislike for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales) and a hugely diverse knowledge of music, Jeremy is already more interesting and learned than many adults I know.

It’s hard to believe but my little daughter is now 15.

Not only is Sasha in High School now, but she’s been driving for months now. Despite the fact that she shows no signs of changing her sassy behavior, she’s a straight-A student, so I have no worries in terms of her schooling, but it’s her friends that worry me. She’s chosen to surround herself with a rough crowd of near deliquent girls who are always looking for trouble.

P.S., Hi Shoshi, Cassie and Faith.

Hanson Rules!

Happy December 16th,

The 1,291st anniversary of the death of Pippin Herstal, mayor of the Palace of Austrasia

The 235th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Van Beethoven

The 45th anniversary of the day two jet planes collided in mid-air over Brooklyn.

Milla Peterson, my ex-mother-in-law and Sasha and Jeremy’s grandmother, passed away last Tuesday at the too young age of 70. Diagnosed nearly a year ago with Ovarian Cancer, the kids got to spend lots of time with her in the last year. Their whole family took one last trip to Maui last spring so Milla could make one last visit to her favorite spot on earth with her husband, two kids and five grandchildren.

You can read Milla’s obituary here.

Today marks the 135th(!) anniversary of the birth of my maternal Grandfather. Needless to say, he died long before I was born. I’m always amazed that I have a grandparent who was born soon after the civil war ended. Amazing how much the world has changed in two (granted longer than normal) generations.

Frederick Pearson Rogers
b. August 19, 1870- Liverpool. England
d. March 1932 – New York, NY

I’m back from a week up on Beaver Island with the kids. Lots of reading (Sasha was cranking through more than a book a day!), playing on the beach, playing board games and Geocaching.

While Geocaching, we came across something called a geocoin, which you transportfrom one cache to the other.

For those who don’t know it, Beaver Island is an island the size of Manhattan that sits 20 miles off the Michigan shore in the middle of Lake Michigan. It’s as beautiful and relxed a spot as you can find here in the Midwest