M & M's

Not only are M & M's one of my favorite candies, it is also the first letters of my two middle children, Marissa and Matthew who have birthdays this week. We jumped the gun a little because of our schedule this week and gave both of them their presents yesterday. Marissa got a new adult-size purple bike and Matthew got to go to a really cool store (http://www.ridemakerz.com/) and build his own car. It was a really fun day.

Marissa, as those of you know her can testify, is a sweet girl. She is generally our peacemaker and all of her brothers adore her. She can be silly and fun and also serious. She loves animals, especially horses and loves to be outdoors. However, she also has another side. She is an extremely motivated hard worker who is also very smart and curious. She blows us away with what she is doing at school. As Lee's mom says "How does it feel to know that your kids are smarter than you?" We expect to see amazing things from her someday.

Matthew is our passionate child. He feels every emotion deeply. I love the way his whole face gets involved when he smiles. He can also be our "absent-minded professor" who can't find his shoes when they are right in front of him. He and Seth spend hours making up elaborate characters and story lines which they plan to make into a movie someday. He has an amazing memory for details which is almost freaky. He puts his whole heart into things that he loves and it is inspiring.