Andrew is an Eagle Scout!

February 22nd was Andrew's Eagle Scout court of honor.  We had a great day celebrating his accomplishment with family and friends.  I'm so proud of Andrew for all his hard work in accomplishing this.  He had some great leaders who helped him on his way but I can honestly say he did the work himself.  He was so motivated to work hard on his merit badges and rank advancements.  When it was time for his project he decided he wanted to help kids at an under privileged elementary school who didn't have books to read at home.  He collected over 1,800 books and every child in the school was able to take several books home and enough money that each child received a new book for Christmas.  The reading specialist said some of the kids were so excited to get their own books.  His project really made a difference in a lot of lives and he took charge and became a great leader organizing his troop to collect and deliver the books. Boy Scouts of America is such a wonderful program that teaches boys so many good things.  Andrew loved his experiences with scouting and the fun times at scout camp.  He was blessed to have a great group of friends in his scout troop as well.  I was putting together a slide show for Andrew and his friend, Caleb, who also received his Eagle that day.  As I looked back at pictures of them from when they were eight and just starting cub scouts it brought tears to my eyes to see how much they have grown in such a short time.  Although I miss that cute little boy with the dimples dreadfully, I'm so proud of the fine young man he has become.

A few days before the court of honor I asked Andrew if he had picked his mentor.  He said he had picked his dad but not to tell him because he wanted it to be a surprise.  The night before Jason said to me, "I hope Andrew picked me for his mentor.  I think I'll feel bad if he picked someone else." All I could do was hide my smile.  Here he is pinning the mentor pin on his dad.

And here he is receiving his award and pinning on the parent pins.

It was great to have so many family and friends there to support Andrew on this wonderful day!

Jason gave Andrew his own fly rod as a present for his Eagle award so they can continue to have a lot of great adventures together.  Here Andrew is with some wonderful past and present scout leaders that have been a great example and sacrificed so much time to help him get where he is today.