David McCullough for President

Now that Romney's out, I am exploring my options. I may be moving to Canada, folks. We'll wait and see. In the meantime, I think I've found a pretty good candidate of my own: Mr. David McCullough, the renowned historian and author. I had the opportunity last week to perform at a fundraising function at the New York Historical Society in Manhattan, where he was the speaker. He is such a cool guy! Hearing him speak about our country's history and founders made me feel so proud to be an American, as cliche as that sounds. He spoke of the desperate need to educate young people in the foundations of our country. He is promoting an organization called The Constitutional Sources Project, where all of the Founding Fathers' letters and documents can be viewed, for free, online. This is actually a really great idea. Check it out if you're interested: http://www.consource.org/. Living in Philadelphia has lit a fire for me and Nate: we want our boys to appreciate and love our country and recognize the sacrifices for our freedom. What better place to live and relive American History, and how awesome would it be to be able to pull up any and every letter that Washington, Adams, or Jefferson wrote, right on our computer, for free? Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, any McCullough fans out there will be interested to know that he and Tom Hanks co-produced a mini-series coming out, based on his John Adams book. Mr. McCullough said he's never been so excited about anything! We'll be tuning in for sure, and I think I may consider this true patriot a great write-in on my ballot come November...

The "My Teacher is a Real Person" phenomenon

Pardon another entry about the Grantster, folks, but this one's funny...

Grant's been sick this week, but today he took a turn for the better and was teasing Jack, so I knew we were on the road to recovery. I thought I'd venture out big-time and run into the grocery store with the boys to get some milk and tortillas. (Turns out, I was halfway through making enchiladas when I realized that tortillas are kind of an essential ingredient...) I said, "Grant, just throw on your fleece and your dinosaur boots; it's okay if you're in your pajamas." He complied without any protests initially, but as we pulled into the parking lot, he became slightly anxious. "Mom, but people are going to think I look weird." "No, sweets, you just look like a cool army guy." But he insisted on laying on the floor of the backseat so the old couple unloading groceries into their car wouldn't see him.

We finally made it into the store, and he went in like a secret agent on a stealth mission, clearly hoping he was invisible to the general public. But alas, it was not to be. As we rounded the corner into the dairy aisle, we heard the following:

"Grant Richards! At the grocery store in your pajamas, after missing school this week? What a surprise!"

Grant literally froze in his tracks. I could see the color draining from his face, as he turned to meet....

his Teacher.

I tried so, so hard to keep a straight face. I carried on a pleasant little conversation, while Grant fought a multitude of emotions. I'll bet this was one of the most emotionally charged moments of his young life. He courageously managed to squeak out a farewell, and off we went, but as we left the store, it wasn't "How embarrasing!" or "I can't believe she saw me in my pajamas!" Oh no, the final thought was

"Mom, Mrs. DePaul goes to the GROCERY STORE?"

Grant, we love you. (Of course, didn't we all wonder that as kids?)

{one of many} Life Lessons from Granter

Llanerch Presbyterian Preschool in Havertown, PA is doing something right. Not only do they incorporate math, science, reading, and Christmas (yes, you read that right) into the curriculum, they now have introduced my young son to the world of healthy eating. Serious, disciplined, healthy eating, unlike anything Grant's mom has ever attempted.

I'm kind of a processed-food junkie. I read recently that one should stick to the outside aisles of the grocery store for the freshest, healthiest options. I recognized the validity of that statement, with some acknowledgement of guilt, as I hunkered down in the dead center of the store, analyzing price differences between Kraft and generic brands of macaroni and cheese. I'm a real Froot Loops kind of gal, if you catch my drift. So when Grant came home from school the other day and started cleaning out the cupboards and announcing all the unhealthy items contained within, I was nothing short of astonished. What? No more Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast? The Twinkies have got to go, too? C'mon, bud...

This morning, Grant declared that he would like a toasted bagel with butter but no jam (apparently, jam has too much sugar), a glass of orange juice, and a glass of milk, for calcium. I finally talked him into Cheerios, because as usual, we were short on time. "Okay, mom, but you really can't put any sugar on them." Needless to say, I ate my Frosted Flakes a little sheepishly. Apparently this afternoon he was letting his buddy's mom know that the snack she was serving wasn't super healthy, either.

Do any nutritionists out there need a little assistant? He is super cute, after all. Actually, maybe I'm the one who should start heeding his advice...

What if....

Those of you who know me well know that I get quite emotionally involved in presidential campaigns. (I had to turn the CNN debate off the other night because my adrenaline was pumping so fiercely and my loud, angry accusations at the screen were interrupting Nate's studying...) This time around, and for the time being, I've given my vulnerable political heart to the Romney campaign, while there's still hope. Those of you who share my sentiments will enjoy the following hypothetical scenarios, courtesy of my friend Julie Page...

If Mitt Romney became President of the US (code name POTUS)....

What Ward would POTUS be in? If you are his new Bishop, here are some questions:

1. Will you allow an inaugural ball to be held in the cultural hall? Do you mount security cameras on top of each basketball rim and have a secret service detail stationed on the stage?

2. Can you call Mitt and Ann as the Nursery leaders... even if you really feel inspired?

3. Who is going to home teach them?

4. If Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are in the same High Priest group, will you need to be there to keep order?

5. Exactly how will tithing settlement work? Will the Secretary of the Treasury come too?

6. Will you be in viting the new Romney family to speak in Sacrament Meeting... and if they go a little over at what point do you ask them to sit down?

7. Will the Secret Service do a sweep of the building before each meeting?

8. Can you call the Secret Service agents to help out in Primary?

9. If you give Mitt a calling and the two Democrats in the Ward raise their hand AGAINST sustaining him - partly out of habit - does the Supreme Court need to be involved?

10. Will the Secret Service have to screen the temple too?

1 1. If the President wants to hold Sacrament Meeting at Camp David or the White House for security reasons, is that a conflict of Church and State?

On Becoming Thirty

What a week! Nate was on one of his four vacation weeks (aka keep-me-sane weeks) and despite a couple of us being sick, we had a great one. Within the week, both Nate and I turned 30. Finally, we feel like we are as old as we should be, and yet we continue to remain as immature and ridiculous as ever. Any answers to this preposterous dilemma?

As for Nate's birthday, thanks to all of you who stopped by his parents' in Utah over the holidays to sign "THE BANNER", which graced our dining room mirror as the centerpiece of our surprise party! About 30 friends showed up to pat the old man on the back, and I must confess, the look of utter surprise on Nate's face as we entered the dark house to be greeted by a screaming crowd of celebrators was PRICELESS...

Our weekend was spent on a childless venture into our past (thank you a million billion mom and dad!):

We will always be homesick for this place! I'll never stop trying to conjure up scenarios for us to move back there. I may just have to settle for a glamorous retirement on 85th and Riverside. By the way, if you're ever in the mood for a really great breakfast and find yourself on the Upper West Side, try some crepes at Artopolis. A new little gem we discovered, and my life as I know it will never be the same.

All in all, it was a good week of reflection and celebration and recharging. I love Nate so much and am the luckiest person in the world to be his wife. Here's to 30 years more, and 30 years more, and..(not 30 more, I hope!)

This is a great pic taken by Jenny's sister, Laura, while she was here recently.

Now that's something to come home to, eh?

enjoy.

-Nate

2007: A Year of Plenty...

Happy New Year! As 2007 comes to a close, we celebrate by sharing a few of our 2007 FAVORITE THINGS!

*Visits from family... how lucky are we? 2007 brought Grandma and Grandpa Richards, Grandpa Preston and Grandma Jamie, Matt and Debby and kiddos, John and Ang (and sadly, no kiddos), Dave and Mere, Rose and Todd and Emily, Becca and Matt, Jason, Sarah, Laura, Matt, Andrew, and Emilee! WOW! (Spence and Molly, it's your turn again.) Dang, does this mean 2008 is going to be a dry spell?

*Dan and Hailey and Preston the Studmuffin. What would we do without you guys? The Valentine announcement tops the list, which also includes 3-hour long Sunday dinners, long walks, not so long bike rides, shopping trips, the toffee making frenzy, Xbox (of course), the blizzard to and from the 76ers-Jazz game, Chili's nachos on a rainy night in DC, finding a way to catch every BYU game, waiting and waiting for the fireworks to start, many great dates thanks to you, car swapping experiences, some serious hair-dyeing sessions...the list could go on and on!

*Popping down to DC to greet the cherry blossoms, and then again for the temple lights at Christmas

*Disneyland with one grandpa, one grandma, six uncles, six aunts, and nineteen cousins

*Flag football Saturdays in the spring

*Catching fireflies in our jar

*Bike rides to Ritas, Ritas, and more Ritas

*Backyard BBQ's with the tiki lanters lit

*Our re-finished basement....thanks DAD!

*Jack declaring that he is a "huge, huge human"

*253 surgeries completed... go Nate!

*Road trips to Lancaster, Crayola factory, New Hope, and of course New York

*Hometown Havertown and the blow-up lawn creatures

*SCOUT CAMP with Grant's best friends in the whole world... Cort and Peter

*Whale-watching on the Atlantic with Grandma Jamie on her birthday

*5-day Pre-K and Grant's reading explosion

*Mornings with "just Mom and Jack"

*Leon Fleischer and some really great Bach

*A bunk bed with both boys in it

*Mini-golf, Grant's new favorite sport

*Jenny finishing her first half-marathon and realizing with immense clarity that she will never run a full marathon

*Great friends around the corner, around the town, and around the country

*Movie nights with two boys and one mom

*Wawa on Saturdays with Dad

*Our first quiet Christmas in our own little home

And finally, our gratitude to God for all of these blessings. We love you all, family and friends. Thanks for the ways you add brightness to our life. Happy 2008, everyone!