"Uncle Tim for School Board"

Caleb got his first taste of politics last week, when he helped Tante campaign for a seat for Uncle Tim on the Williamson County school board. How great it was that Tante involved Caleb so much in the campaign process. His love language is quality time, so being included and helping out in such an event is quite the deal for our little guy. He got to participate in early voting and hold signs and shout, "Uncle Tim for school board." Every time we would drive by a yard with an "Uncle Tim" sign, Caleb would throw his hands up (as if holding his own sign) and say, "Uncle Tim for school board." But the highlight of whole experience for Caleb was last Thursday, on actual election day, when he got to take his Lightning McQueen lawn chair, along with his lunch and fireman hat, to the polling site and hold signs and help Tante pass out suckers to people after they voted. "Thanks for voting," he would call out to voters as they left the site with their sucker in hand or mouth. What a big task for such a little guy...I mean big guy. He must have worked extra hard, because he came home exhausted.

Caleb loves his Tante (German for aunt). She has put so much love and energy into him and makes everything they do together such an event. He gets as much joy out of mowing the lawn with her and picking up rocks in the yard as he does going to the wave pool or McDonald's play land with her. As long as he is with his Tante, it is an experience to be savored.

God blessed us greatly four years ago with additional "family" when we moved to Franklin and our closest biological family members were over three hours away. We are very close to our own family and miss them so much. We knew it would be hard to make our home, start a new life, and grow our family apart from them, especially since I was 29 weeks pregnant when we first moved here. God heard our cry and knew our hearts.

Enter the McLaughlins. Tim and Sharon McLaughin "adopted" us into their beautiful family and even opened their home for Eric to live with them when he started his job in Nashville and I still had four more months of graduate school/clinic in Iowa to complete. Tim and Shar have loved us and our boys and encouraged us in parenting our children, loving each other in our marriage, and drawing closer to Christ and strengthening that relationship. They have taken the boys numerous times to give us some much needed date nights, included us in their special family events, like birthdays and Thanksgiving, allowed us to borrow their home to host our own special events, drove over 20 miles (without hesitation) to pick us up when we were stranded on the side of the road in downtown Nashville (Not to mention, it was the night before their daughter's wedding, and they had just driven home from the rehearsal dinner in Nashville), and countless other things over these past four years for which we are so grateful. To us, it attests to the fact that God will always provide for us, wherever he sends us.

Oh, and how did Uncle Tim fair in the election? All of the campaigning efforts of the McLaughlins (and one little Workman, I might add), along with Tim's impressive credentials, vast knowledge and experience, solid ethics, servant's heart, and most importantly, fervently sought guidance from the Holy Spirit resulted in Tim winning the seat on the school board. I can not think of a more faithful servant for God to use in this position. Knowing the McLaughlins for over four years now, we know their hearts are true and motives for desiring this position are simply to serve God first while serving the people of Williamson County. That is definitely worth my vote!