so you want more of the kids

I've had several requests for more pictures, particularly more pictures of the kids.

Well, that is all fine and dandy but what about Eric and I?

Doesn't anyone care to see us?

What is up with that?

Do we mean nothing to any of you?

Okay, I get it - we are not nearly so cute.

So you want cuteness?

Here is some cuteness....

Lucy are Mia are posing with their artwork. This is actually from a while ago - one of the projects to make our house a home, while at the same time keeping the kids busy and/or distracted in the long. lonely summer.

I bought each of them a canvas and a bunch of paint colors that matched our "aquarium" (um.... can't remember if I have mentioned the aquarium yet.... Essentially, it is our family room. A small cozy room that has one wall that is all windows and the opposing wall is almost all glass, including a sliding glass door. When we first moved in I said that it made me feel like a fish in a fish tank, so we started calling it the aquarium). The kids then painted fish-ish pictures (again - get the aquarium reference?).

Their pictures, clockwise from the top right:

Lucy, Mia, Cade and Maddy

Yes, Lucy did very well for a five year old..... although she did have a great deal of assistance!

This is Cade yesterday after school.

We walked home from school in a torrential downpour.

- Eric made me go and get the kids while he sat at home doing nothing. -

I brought their raincoats along but we were still extremely cold and got very very wet. There was an awful lot of rain - almost Costa Rican like.

- Eric said that it was my turn to go and get them while he stayed home all snuggled up in a cozy blanket. -

The kids were complaining a lot, their little teeth were chattering, their cute and precious lips were turning blue. My fingers, because you see, I have raynauds disease, were turning white and I could hardly move them. And yes, we were walking up hill, of course.

- Eric fell asleep on our soft sofa, cozied up with the kitty, snoring in blissful ignorance. -

When we finally managed to struggle home, fumbling with the keys with frozen fingers, pulling the cold steel gate open and falling, with utter exhaustion into our yard, Eric managed to rouse himself long enough to throw out a few towels to us so we could dry off.

So kind.

Okay, but seriously...

It was cold and we were soaked.

So we all pulled off our wet things (they are still in a pile by the kitchen door - still no gas, and it is raining, so we don't really have a way to dry things), got all cozy in our jammies, made some hot chocolate (heating water in the microwave - still no gas, so we couldn't heat it on the stove.... thank you Lord for electricity), quickly did homework and watched a movie.

The picture is of Cade after we got all cozied up.

The mouse ears must keep his head warm.

This is Lucy eating dinner last night.

She is very good at multitasking (albeit not so politely!).... she can eat spaghetti and talk on the "phone" at the same time. One of her favorite toys is an old cell phone.

She, unlike her mother, enjoys talking on the phone.

You may notice that she is wearing a sundress.

She also is barefoot.

That is her version of changing out of cold wet things and putting on something warm and cozy.

Those are the first words that come to my mind when I think of sundress: warm and cozy.

Okay, well she did snuggle up with me and a blanket during the movie.

And yes, we did have a homemade meal in spite of not having gas.

Fortunately we had frozen spaghetti and frozen sauce which we could defrost in the microwave. Otherwise it might have been another pizza night (we ordered in the night before).

And just so you know, with the gas, or lack-there-of, issue, we are still showering when necessary.

"Necessary" just has a bit of a different definition than it used to!

And okay, no, this isn't a picture of one of the kids, but it is a picture taken by one of the kids.

Mia, knowing my love for our beautiful Cotopaxi, took this picture from our window this morning (while I was still in blissful slumber).

Just the tail end of the sunrise.

A wonderful way to start the day.