Madelyn is a first grader

Today was Madelyn's first day of first grade. We were all excited about the day, and she definitely had a great day because she hasn't stopped talking about it. I think her teacher will be great, and I know that uniforms are fabulous. As I looked back through the pictures from the morning, I couldn't help think how grown up she looks. Seriously, 6 going on 16.

All proud in her uniform:

Showing off her new back pack and lunch box:

Just because he was willing and is so darn cute:

Partial family picture:
Another partial family picture:

Another picture before heading into school:
Waiting for the school opening chapel to begin:
Mrs. P making sure everyone is there:
Standing outside her classroom:We're all looking forward to a fabulous year!

Earthquakes, hurricanes,and no power. Oh my!

So, on Tuesday, just after I had put the kids down for rest time, I thought my washing machine was off balance. But, I quickly remembered I wasn't doing laundry. Then, I thought some military planes or helicopters were flying above but realized that wasn't the right sound. Then, I looked up and saw that our light fixture was rocking. Holy smokes! Earthquake! This was my third earthquake experience, and this was the biggest. As I stood frozen in the kitchen waiting for the noise and shaking to stop, I realized I needed to get the kids to safety because the shaking wasn't stopping. So, I ran up the stairs to put Pierce under his bed and grab Isabel, but by the time I got to Pierce's room, the shaking had stopped. I realize that a 5.8 magnitude earthquake is minimal, and we had no damage in or to our home, but the experience is still unnerving.

Then, after the media went on and on about the earthquake that I had just experienced, the focus turned to the hurricane that I was about to experience. We started getting rain around 10:00 yesterday morning and the rain didn't stop until about 8:00 this morning. The rain was hard and a lot of it fell, but the wind was something to behold. I couldn't sleep because of the wind, so I came downstairs to read and watch news reports. Around midnight, we started getting tropical storm force winds, and I realized then and there that I never want to experience hurricane force winds. We lost power around 2:00 am, but kudos to Dominion Power because it came back on around noon today. We drove around a bit today, and friends whose power was still on (Thanks Billy and Sarah!) invited us over for showers and lunch. We saw three trees that had not just fallen but had been picked up by the root ball and fallen into the yards. JD's uncle has three trees on top of his house. I couldn't help but be thankful that we only had branches and leaves to clean up.

Matthew 8:27 --The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him.

I kept thinking about this verse last night and was comforted by knowing that Jesus was in control of this situation even though the wind seemed so out of control. I'm so thankful that He is in control of every situation whether it's a hurricane, earthquake or a trip to the store. Now, I'm off to take a nap since I slept all of one hour last night.

Backyard Water Fun

A few nights ago, Sarah and Philip came over for dinner, and we ate outside on our deck. After dinner, the kids asked to turn on the water and play with the hose. This is how it went:

Isabel was loving it:


Pierce and Isabel loving it:


Still loving it:



Pierce trying to pop out his eye balls:



Trying to share and not fight:


Isabel's gettting really wet:




Madelyn realized she was missing all the fun:



And then things went wrong (click on the photo to see a larger version):


and Isabel had to warm up:

The making of a photo with all the kids

The following photos were all taken within a minute of each other:

Evening on the Potomac

We spent the evening with Philip (J.D.'s younger brother) on his boat last night cruising up and down the Potomac. We included a bonus stop for ice cream on the Georgetown Waterfront. We took lots of pictures. You can click on the photo below to see the album:

Evening on the Potomac

Thanks, Philip, for a great time!

Madelyn on women's work

Madelyn: Mom, why do women do all the work?

Me: What do you mean?

Madelyn: Well, like with people, women have the babies. And with animals, the girls have the babies. Some animals don't have live babies, but the girls lay the eggs and take care of the eggs until they hatch. Then, it's usually the mommies who feed the babies and take care of the babies until they can do it themselves.

Me: Well, God made women to be the nurturers in most cases, but that doesn't mean men don't work. Dad works very hard.

Madelyn: Well, I do know that it's the boy seahorses who take care of the babies because they have a pouch for the eggs. Do they make the eggs?

Me: No, the girls make the eggs and give them to the boys to take care of.

Madelyn: See, I still think girls do all the work.

Foot loose and cast free

Isabel's cast was removed on Friday, and we are all very excited about that. Other than panicking when they sawed off the cast and being a bit wobbly for an hour after it was off, the transition has been smooth. The doctor said her tibia was healing nicely. I saved her cast as a souvenir, and the big kids decided they needed to try it out.

Isabel trying out her good as new leg:


The bigs try it on:
Isabel, can you straighten your leg?

Singing in Heaven

We were singing on the way home from vacation Bible school this week.

Pierce: Will we sing in Heaven?
Me: Yes, we will sing a lot in Heaven.
Pierce: Will you sing better in Heaven?
Me: I hope so.
Pierce: Yep, me too.