Members of our family announced that they have a baby on the way...great news! A new baby to love! A new little soul for God! Now who could it be? Not sure I'm supposed to spill the beans yet...
Madeleine went in to get tubes in her ears this morning. We went into the surgery center at 7:00. The staff was very good; the nurse who took her to surgery told her that she was Princess Jasmine taking a magic carpet ride and sang 'A Whole New World' all the way down the hall...and this was a man singing to her! She did wake up from surgery crying and was pretty weepy until we got home. I'm glad that the anesthetist told me about the weeping thing ahead of time or it would have worried me a little; Madeleine does not usually cry like that. 
She chose to watch Free Willy 2 and so is resting on the couch with her apple juice, crackers, an assortment of stuffed animals, and her blankie. She's a little groggy but should be fine after awhile.
The dishwasher in the kitchen is working well. It's a Maytag Quiet Series, stainless steel on the inside, lots of room and easy to load. At supper time, I found that I have a new dishwasher in the house. It's a St. Elizabeth Very Noisy Series, bottomless pit on the inside, lots of room for sweets, and somewhat difficult to load with vegetables.
"See, Mom? Right back in the cupboard. Why are you putting in the dishwasher? No, Mommy, in the cupboard! I cleaned it for you!" 
Isaiah almost always sleeps with his head and body covered and his feet sticking out.
Many of you whose blogs I read are able to take pictures of deer in your backyard. Well, there are no deer in our backyard, but there are some Elk at a nearby park!
Noah found this beetle in the backyard yesterday. It looked much neater before it came to be Noah's plaything. To give you an idea of size, this is a small 3 1/2 year old hand.
Our rosary group gathered Sunday for a cook out. We included our husbands this time! It was fun to meet everyone's spouses. Our rosary group is made up of 8 moms and 22 children with 3 on the way. This evening, two families were unable to attend and we still had quite a crowd! These children are the older ones who can feed themselves; the others were inside with moms or being held by their parents.
This was the circle for our before meal prayer. I know, I know...I should have been praying, not taking pictures.
This is Isiaiah with the host family's dog, Gauge.
Dave grills and our host, Robin, looks beautiful with only a few weeks of pregnancy left to go (Dave's and Robin's spouses are not pictured here).
My other favorite aunt is in town from the Pacific Northwest. Trudy and I are a mere five years apart in age, so we spent a lot of our childhood together and were even at the University at the same time for a short time while she was in grad school and I was just beginning. In fact, I remember making study dates together which didn't really work because we were too busy sitting in The Crib giggling. When Trudy was married, I was her Personal Attendant and five years later, she was mine. 
She came up with my grandparents today to spend a few hours and see our house. It's always good to have her home. We had a tour of the house, then we made supper together, ate on the deck, and visited and played for awhile. As tradition goes, she brought me some special grounds from a special city. Can't wait to brew them. Thanks, Trudy!
My grandpa is pictured with Jeremy and Isaiah; Grandpa brought this swingset to us several years ago and then single-handedly moved this swingset from our rental house to this house right before moving day.
Yesterday was Morgan's first day of first grade. Today is Madeleine's first day of kindergarten. There are two all day kindergarten sections; one goes Mondays, Wednesdays, and every other Friday and the other goes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the other Friday. So today, the girls go to school together and Dad gets to take them there. This is very convenient; our parish is on his way to work! The school had half days scheduled for yesterday and for today. Yesterday, it didn't get too warm, but today it's supposed to get up to 91 degrees and the school has air conditioning only in the library (thus the half days). The girls are excited for this school year. 
We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.
We got together this morning with my friend Kim and her children. Kim and I have matched each other child for child throughout the last six years. Together, we have eight children six and under. Each of the children has a playmate near his or her age. The children play well together and it's always good to have adult conversation for a morning! Thanks, Kim, for great company and a great lunch! 
Isaiah and Maggie were both running around in swim diapers trying not to get wet. It seems here like Isaiah's telling Maggie, "shhhh...don't tell them that I pinched you!"
Noah and Maddie have fun on the swingset.
This is Isaiah's newest trick: look for a pulled-out chair and climb up onto the table, stand up, make Mom freak out, then wait for her to get you down. Here, he's testing Kim's table out.
This Praying Mantis (below) is the center of attention in this photograph. (Hey, Dad, I finally figured out where the close up button is on the camera. The sad thing is, I knew all along and had just forgotten!)
Joe and Abby smile together; they are Morgan and Madeleine's ages.
Madeleine visits with our 95 year old neighbor, Mr. H. He was a World War II fighter pilot. When he told me about the war, he spoke of it differently than I've ever heard it spoken of, saying, "well, you heard of that Hitler guy, right?" when he was telling me about how America had ended the war. Since he is a widower, we try to bring him lots of treats (he loves chocolate) and visit whenever we can. God bless our veterans!
My brother Seth leaves tomorrow for Everett, WA, after which he will be flown to his air craft carrier. The location of the ship and the duration of his deployment remain a mystery. Tonight was our last call, so to speak. 
, conversations in the family room and on the deck, frisbee and soccer in the back yard, and a 1953 Kaiser in the street. Sorry, everyone, about the sprinklers coming on while you were saying goodbye in the front yard! 
Gaylord gets ready to go home in his 1953 Kaiser.
Isaiah reacts to a "no" from Nana (my mom). He was getting ready to walk out into the street.
Jeremy helps the girls add their names to Seth's wish book.
Madeleine receives a tickle from Grandpa before he leaves.
My grandpa (a proud veteran) says goodbye to Seth before leaving while friend of the family offers her best wishes.
Gaylord, Sue, and Phyllis visit in the living room.
Shirley and Karl enjoy their supper on the deck.
Madeleine andMorgan work on their dessert and supper at their picnic table.
Grandpa and Karl shuck corn and talk about crops and farming. 
Morgan attempts to tickle her aunt Brianna.
Morgan, Madeleine, and Noah went camping with Grandpa (Jeremy's dad) this week. I dropped them off out at the lake on Wednesday afternoon. They got their bikes ready immediately and began riding. I stayed about an hour to let Isaiah run around before putting him back in his car seat. While I was there, 
Noah took a tumble off of his bike and scraped his knee, his elbow, and bumped his head. Since he scraped his head as well as bumping it, the lumpy bruise had a nasty look to it, but he was okay. They stayed overnight Wednesday, all day Thursday and overnight, and Isaiah and I came to pick them up Friday afternoon. Grandpa said they took lots of walks, played with squirt bottles, made lots of fires (Noah's favorite), swam with the "neighbors" in the pool that the neighbors set up, roasted marshmallows, made s'mores, used the shower house, and rode bikes. 
Grandma came out once or twice between her work meetings and took pictures which she was generous enough to bring over for me to upload. She got a kick out of how messy Noah was because he had been outdoors all day, had gone swimming and played with water and dirt, had played (supervised) with the fire, and had eaten meals. She said that she tried very hard to get the messy face in a picture, which I included. Messy little boy pictures are so funny. Morgan brought home a butterfly and an iridescent beatle that she had found before we got to the campground. Madeleine brought her baby doll and pushed it around in the doll stroller while she was there. Morgan mastered the art of getting onto a bike that is taller than her. When we got there Wednesday afternoon, she couldn't get started by herself. When I came to pick her up Friday afternoon, Grandpa had helped her more and she said, "Mommy, look at me!" She picked up the bike, used the pedal to start, and took off. I bet that the kids will talk about this trip for a long time!
We're taking advantage of the last days that Seth is home on leave. He reports for duty Tuesday. After this, he'll be flown out to his ship. He joined us at the zoo on Wednesday morning. 
The older three children were very squirrely this day; they knew that they were heading out to the lake that afternoon to camp with their Grandpa, so I think that their hearts were not at the zoo but on the way to the campground. We skipped half of it but saw bats, petted a rabbit and a mouse, watched the Harbor Seal demonstration, went through the butterfly house, had a snack, and went into the entomology (insect) exhibit. We also squeezed in a train ride before we left. It's nice to have Seth home!
