WOW!

Oh my goodness. I'm... wow. Speechless. You folks know how to make a gal feel warm and fuzzy! Thank you, all, for your kind words and warm thoughts. The prayers mean a lot. The humor is always a plus! (Tips on making the transition, as well as donations for college funds, are also always appreciated!) I can't express, not even in my wretched grasp of three languages all mushed together, how much good it does my heart to be in contact with folks who don't look at me like I'm an alien when we announce our excitement over having a fourth child. Y'all may look at me like I'm an alien for other reasons altogether, but I'm good with that...

Eh, well, so much for speechless.

Today was a splendid day all around. I remembered not to do Latin in conjunction with anything involving food. What a difference that makes! Not only in the boys' articulation, but in the mess afterward.

The boys and I made salt dough ornaments. They made some truly hilarious concoctions, very few of which a mere branch on a Christmas tree (even a stout one) will be able to support. We have a hulking dinosaur nest, complete with twenty-some-odd eggs; a gigantic self portrait of John as a baby; a truly Calvin-esque (as in, "& Hobbes", not the theological leader) snowman, down to the limbs akimbo and a wide-eyed look of sheer terror. Tomorrow we will paint them and hope they dry before we head out on our voyage.

Voyage, yes, we are embarking on yet another adventure. This time it's a visit to see the family in New Mexico and Arizona. We're so excited that the mere details of the trip have yet to sink in. Packing? Pfft. We can do that tomorrow night. Plan the route? Eh, it's mostly, well, "West". We can pull a Chief Dan George on that one. The one thing that is ready to go is a full tank of gas and a ton of enthusiasm.

OH! And you will get *ta-da* Pictures! Yes, our new camera came in yesterday. We've played with it a bit, and will have to install the software. Then I just hope y'all aren't stuck on dial up like we are, because it's gonna be a photographic extravaganza! (We still can't get James to make a normal face for the camera, and John has taken to assuming an "I didn't see who did it" expression, so don't expect too much in the way of "adorable". I'm thinking more along the lines of, "these children are en route to either a frat house or an asylum.")

Zorak's new coat came in yesterday. He is a warm and happy daddy! I know he's a big boy, but I feel better now, too.

And ya know, just when I think I had no genetic input on our children, one of them does something so entirely ungraceful that I am convinced that at least that one's mine...

Jacob was dancing in the kitchen this morning. Gravity shifted, a stray atom caught him broadside and down he went. He caught himself with his hands but then, erm, changed his mind? Gave up? Not sure why, but his hands went out from under him and he caught his head right on the inside corner of the decorative molding on the cabinet doors. Shaved off the top few layers of skin. (Who knew those things were so dangerous?) He's now sporting a lovely Clive Barker-style pulsing sore on his head. I've daubed him up with arnica and some Motrin, which seem to have worked. It looks, well, it just looks wrong to see him scampering about, so happy and in love with the world, sporting that flaming red thing on his head. Poor Smidge.

The boys are clean and snuggled and tucked into bed. The kitchen is cleaned and ready for tomorrow. The house is almost vacation-ready. It's cold out and I need to go see what Jack and Stephen are up to (Desolation Island). These books are truly engrossing! If I don't read now, I'll just have to read while I cook tomorrow so I can get the next book for our trip... So, novel concept, I'll stop talking now! :-)

Thank you, again, for coming onto the porch and joining us in our celebration! All of you I consider friends, and the new names I've heard today, as well. Thanks. :-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy