Halloween at the Library

The Columbia County Library held a small event last night where the kids could come dressed up, play some games, listen to a story,do a craft, and leave with a piece of candy. We love free outings, and Madeline couldn't wait to wear her costume, so off we went.
Here she is before we left the house giving Daddy a hug. She asked Daddy to dance with her and it ended with a hug:
She was SO happy to be in her princess costume!

The new face she discovered how to make:

And who could this little fish be???

Of course!! Ethan!

Playing "games" before the story:

Madeline was so happy to see her friend, Owen at the library! They hadn't seen each other in a couple weeks, so it was good to have these BFF's back together again:

A lot of people showed up for story time!

...but Ethan wasn't interested in a story:

so we just cuddled:

Madeline loved listening to the story (can you find her?):

This was the first time I had to walk over and tell her to sit down:

This was the second:

Needless to say, I will be taking Madeline to more story times now that I know how much she loves it!

I tried to take another picture of me and Ethan (by just holding the camera in front of me) and when I went back to look at the pictures, I was surprised to see another face pop up!

Here is our little princess ready to leave the library:

More Ring Around the Rosey

Goodnight Prayers

The other night I was cleaning up the kitchen while Doug was tucking Madeline into our bed (yes, that's where she falls asleep these days. Our trip to MD got her a little spoiled, but it's OK, we enjoy it and we'll get her back on track). I could hear Madeline and Doug talking a lot which I knew meant they were praying, not reading. I wanted to catch a picture, but my camera isn't the best so by the time it actually took the picture, they were both staring at me:

Trying to fill Mommy's shoes

Ethan loves to have his socks and shoes put on...he sits soooo nicely for it. Recently, he has even tried to put shoes on himself...just not always his own shoes:

He's such a boy...

...never too tired to eat

Thanks for all the prayers!

We made an unscheduled visit to Maryland last week to visit Doug's father who was in the hospital. He has been receiving treatment for prostate cancer and about 24 hours after receiving his last treatment, he became very ill, going to the hospital (for the second time) with a fever of 107.8. Things were very scare that night. Doug and I wish we could have been there with the family that night, but we're so glad that Roger had so much family and friends by his side as he put up a big fight. It's been a slow recovery, but Roger is amazingly doing quite well considering what typically happens to those with that kind of fever. They later discovered that he apparently became infected with E-coli during his last radiation treatment.
We left a couple days later to go spend the rest of the week with him and the family. We didn't get in until about 4:00am, so we didn't visit the hospital until a little later that day. Roger's mother had moved in with them a few days prior to him becoming sick, so here we are saying good-morning to Mom-Mom (Madeline was at my parents for a couple days):
Doug's sister Mary watched Ethan that morning while we went by the hospital to see Roger. Madeline, Ethan, and I went to the store so we could pick out a get-well gift. Madeline picked out a game of chess and another box-o-games. It didn't take long for Doug and his Dad to start playing. Doug hasn't really ever played and barely knew the rules, so his Dad had to do a lot of teaching:

As you get tell by their faces, it didn't take Doug long to catch on:

Roger was not happy that we brought him a game and then didn't let him win:

Doug took his Dad for a walk. This was the first time (Wed.) Roger had been out of the bed since arriving at the hospital:

Doug and his Mommy:

I went back to the house to pick up Ethan and take him over to my Aunt's house. When I got back to the hospital, Doug's cousin, Rachel was there (far left). One of the nurses saw me taking pictures and asked if we wanted a family picture...well of course I did!!

OK, so this next picture is kinda weird, but if you know Roger, you know his sense of humor. This was a good sign of how well he was feeling. (By the way, he was insistent that this picture needed to go up on the blog):

This picture cracked me up because Roger looks completely uninterested in what Rachel is saying (sorry Rachel...this picture just cracked me up):

On Thursday, we were able to bring Madeline by for a REAL quick visit. Since she heard Poppy was sick, she kept saying she wanted to give him medicine to make him all better. Well, she brought him a little bag of candy and some pictures that she drew for him (while staying at her Marmie's house). She also brought many smiles which will make even the sickest feel great!

Reading one of her cards:

Madeline was excited to see Aunt Mary there:

Doug, his sis, and Madeline keeping Poppy company:

Madeline was a little nervous in the hospital room, so I got one more picture, and then headed back to the Grant's to get Ethan.

All things considered, we had a nice visit. We're so happy we were able to spend that time with Roger and watch him get stronger with each day. It's amazing how well he is recovering, but with all the prayers he received from my family and friends, my Mom's group, Doug's family, friends and co-workers, Mary's friends from Mount St Mary's, the faculty and students at Mount de Sales Academy, the faculty and students at St. Jane Frances School, and many others, I guess it really shouldn't be too surprising. :)

We're still thinking of you each day Poppy!

Here's the kiddies on the ride home:

I thought about getting a maid...

...then I remembered we had kids:Never too young to start learning:

Some words from the wise:

Madeline getting prepared for some deep cleaning:

...but not too happy about it:

Taking off her "handana." She quit! She said the labor was too hard and the pay was awful. Well, I still have Ethan :) He'll just have to pick up the slack.