Brothers: Formal Day

These two.
Only six months apart in age.
Couldn't be more different in most things...
Yet have a very special relationship.
And they dress up pretty nice, don't you think?

Jadon is 9!!

We celebrated a special day for the youngest Tapper! A few pictures here capture Jadon's last year.
I tried to think of a few things that make Jadon so unique--here are just a few of his special traits among the Tapper kids:

1) Most likely to ace a math test
2) Most likely to wear the same shirt to school every Tuesday because "it's tradition!"
3) Most likely to make a pun, on purpose, or catch someone else's unintentional pun
4) Most likely to be able to tell you about some small part of his day in 1000 words or more
5) Most likely to say: "This is the BEST DAY EVER!"

His enthusiasm for life, quick wit, and love for others is incredible. Happy birthday, J.D.! We love you!!

A Teenager in the House!

Happy 13th birthday to Andrew! We've seen this young man growing by leaps and bounds over the last few months--certainly, physically--but also in wisdom and character. He is loved by many (you can see a few of his biggest fans in the picture above), and we feel blessed to be a part of the adventure of living with a really awesome teen!

It is that time again--time for the annual Tapper family jack-o-lantern guessing contest! Check out the cool designs created by the kids, and try to figure out which made which...

1) Minion
2) Hi!
3) Owl
4) Upside down Jack-o-lantern

This is one of our family's favourite traditions, and the kids LOVE to see who guesses what! So, give it your best guess!

Double Digits

 

Abby Hope turned 10 today! What a great decade we have shared with this precious gift! Abby is full of creativity, generosity, determination, and style! She catches frogs and makes scarves and stops goals and writes songs and . . . so much more! We consider her to be a very special young woman, and we thank God for her life.

 

Happy birthday, Abby!

Lives By Example

I am so proud of my Dad, who finished a dream trip, riding his bicycle from Northampton, Pennsylvania to my brother's house near Marion, Indiana. That's over 1000 kilometers (650 miles) if you take the highway, but he had to make his own route on the back roads! He left last Sunday and arrived today, just a few weeks before his 68th birthday. What an amazing man!

And what a great example to set before my children! I was so excited when I got the text from Mom that they had made it to their destination (She's been driving their camper from meeting spot to meeting spot each day.), so I was whooping it up a bit with the kids. Andrew's respect for his Pappy was obvious: "He is not afraid to do hard things. And he doesn't take short cuts. And he doesn't care what other people think. He just does it."

Thanks, Dad, for being you.

First Day of School 2015-2016