Howdy Clan. :)

Hi everyone,

We haven't been very good about writing in the BB lately. Thanks so much to Mom and the other folks that do. I want to be better. We miss all of you guys so much. It's wonderful to have Zach and Mary and their little dumplings out here relatively close, but we miss the rest of you. I hope maybe some of you all will write something this month too to let us know what's going on in your lives since we're not good at calling due to time zone changes and crazy schedules. We keep Steve and Rachel's family in our prayers as well as all of the cute little pregnant aunts. Hope everyone is doing well.

As far as we go. . . Dave has really been enjoying his new job teaching at the College for Creative Studies. The only drawback was last week when his laptop got stolen. -ouch- Ah, the perils of working in a city like Detroit. The good news is that he's teaching fun classes: character design, 3-D environments and the Senior Studio. It's nice to be employed with a steady paycheck again. Happy days! Since this job is only for another 8 months it'll be interesting to see where we end up next.

Josh is liking 5th grade even though it has a beastly amount of homework. He is hugely into Bakugan right now and trades with his compadres at school. He and Maddie had a blast this summer with everyone, thanks again. Speaking of Maddie, she thinks 4th grade is. . .okay. She dreams of a school-free utopian existence where she can stay home and play stuffed animals with Josh all day. It's good that at least she has a buddy that can keep up with her imagination at recess. Jakey says his name is "Big boy." He is having a tough time adjusting to all of the craziness--suddenly Maddie and Josh are at school all day and Dad is gone to work, and all he's left with is a Mom who is postpartum nuts and has a baby dividing her attention. I think he'll adjust though. AJ started smiling and he's had two nights where he slept for 8 hours straight! Oh bliss! Of course they were followed by a night where he slept for no longer than an hour at a time. Ah well. We'll take what we can get.

Kid Quotes:
"Don't mess with the worms!" -Maddie [After reading Acts 12:23]
"They're like the spiritual assassins." -Josh [same]

And then when we were all going someplace in the van once Dave was talking about Steve's driving when he was a youth. I'll let Dave tell what he said specifically (I personally think Steve is a fabulous driver), but the conversation went like this afterwards:

Dave: Uncle Steve's a much better driver now.
MADDIE: Yeah, because he has a wife now that will get him in trouble.
Mom: Does Dad get in trouble with Mom?
Josh: Oh yeah, like when she whacks you with a pillow.

Hmmm. . .

Have a great month familia.

Love,
DKJMJ&AJ