Bill's quiet and thorough personality have made our new house hunting adventure much less stressful than it otherwise would be. In a few weeks we hope to be homeowners. To increase his personal fitness, his new workout plan involves lots of push ups. He has all the kids participating too, so anytime one of them crosses from the carpet to the hardwood in the kitchen, he/she falls to the floor to do a few. It's been pretty funny watching Joseph rock on his stomach trying to get it off the floor.
Rachel usual scattered approach to doing all things necessary is getting an overhaul by the Mother's Rule of Life. She's hoping that in a short time she will have learned to keep the house clean, the kids schooled, the aprons sewed, and the Christmas cards done in a timely and orderly manner.
We have Thomas (11) who is fairly outgoing and friendly and in that preteen stage where he takes things seriously. He loves legos and reading and taking pictures. He is a little shorter than Anthony which helps telling them apart if they are together.
Anthony (11) is the compliment to Thomas so he is a little more serious and introverted and contrariwise. He is also the one who talks about his faith more and tries to tell a lot of jokes. He often has two problems with whatever you say and loves to tell you what they are. He's also very gentle with small kids and seeks out the child that everyone else ignores.
Maria (10) LOVES babies and will ask about a billion times to hold any baby she meets. She's artsy and enjoys sewing and singing. She and Cecilia are involved in an American Heritage Girls group at our parish which is her one activity. She and Thomas and Anthony look and act like triplets a lot of the time. They are the "big kids".
Charles (8) is quiet and social, however those two things work together. Everyone plays legos here, and he's probably there in the Lego zone if he isn't wrestling someone on the living room floor and driving his mother crazy. Charles, Anthony and Thomas are all Scouts.
Cecilia (6) is sunshine. Or she is a golden retriever bounding up to you with her tongue hanging out. When she is tired or asked to do what she thinks is an insurmountable task, say, sweeping the kitchen, she is a very rainy rain cloud. She's also quite "sporty" and used to take me running when I was 9 months pregnant with Joseph.
James (4) looks either like he thinks the world is going to end or like he just won the lottery. This week we've had a lot more of the lottery winning face which has been nice.
Joseph (2) compares well with a butterball turkey. He and James both wear 4T clothes and play together a lot, often with Joseph as lead trouble maker. He's also my very cuddly guy, and I love to sit with him on my lap and just hold him. He has just started to talk more, so if you speak monkey, you will understand everything he says.
and the new baby:
Thirty minutes later the tortoise arrived, and he did not disturb the rabbit so he could win the race. So he started back and then the race had only 30 minutes to go on for. So the tortoise did a little bit faster so he could be there earlier. When he got there, the rabbit was behind him, and the judge said, "Slow and steady wins the race." And he got the first place cup, and then they went home. 
Did I mention that his favorite color is green?
