We're Still Here

After nearly five weeks of battling a cold/sinus infection, I finally feel as though I'm turning a corner. The two little boys are finally over their ear infections and our household has stopped going through a box of Kleenex a day. Two days ago, I would have said we'd finally kicked the snotty noses and cruddy coughs, but yesterday morning Matt woke up with the sniffles. Uugghh! This has to be the longest cold season our family has ever been through. We're praying that Matt heals quickly and he won't share whatever he has with the rest of us.

Our septic is officially done, though it still needs to be inspected. We're expecting no problems with the inspection and once it all gets o.k.'d, the sod will cover the twelve inches of dirt that's covering one quarter of the back yard. We'll have what might be the world's largest pitching mound once it's all said and done, but at least we now have a fully functioning septic system--no small luxury for a family of eight.

We had several get-togethers with family and friends over the past week. Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dianne shared a turkey dinner with us on Tuesday. In honor of Purim, Grace and I made Hamantaschen, or Haman's Hat cookies for dessert. Daddy read the book of Esther to the kids and they yelled the traditional "boos" every time Haman's name was read and the traditional "Yeahs" whenever Mordecai was mentioned.
Friday night we invited a family from our church over for dinner. Lydia helped me prepare turkey soup by chopping up carrots. I was amazed at how evenly she chopped them. She's a born chef (head chef that is, not sous chef).
Saturday night we headed over to Grandpa Bob and Grandma Dianne's for our monthly extended family dinner. Grandpa Bob made Irish stew, so Grace and I made Irish Brown bread to accompany it. The recipe said it served four, so I quintupled it to make it work for a crowd of twenty seven. Let's just say that ten loaves was a bit much, but it worked out in the end because each family got to take a loaf home.
Tonight we celebrated my Mom's and Dad's birthdays. My sister Emily helped me put together two pans of chicken enchiladas with all the fixings. Grandma Jane brought down balloons for the kids. They were the kind you shape into different animals and such. The balloons were the hit of the "celebration" (as Lydia kept referring to it). Fashionable hats, sword fights and staticky hair kept the kids well entertained for most of the evening. I think they probably had more fun than the birthday boy and girl did.

Here are some more pictures from the week:
Baby Jude--at 22lbs, he's just 6 lbs lighter than his big brother, Joel. You've got to admit, he's a cutie, though.
Grandpa Bob, Grandma Dianne, Paul and Bernie
The egg basket--fuller than usual as my boy forgot to collect the eggs for a couple of days due to being terribly distracted by all the work on the septic. Thankfully it was quite cold here this week and the eggs didn't spoil.