SICK KIDS AND A FAUX FIRE DRILL

I've discovered that as a parent, there's nothing more distressing than the midnight cry of a child who is sick and confused as to what is happening. Gabriel came down with the flu this morning at about 2:30 a.m., while I was up feeding Asher. (It was quite the "party" at our house -- EVERYONE was up and awake!) He's feeling better this morning, and we considered taking him to school, but it turns out he was still sick. So Gabe is now ensconced on the couch, sipping water and buried in an afghan, watching Toy Story 2 and eating toast. He's a trooper though. He says he's already feeling better! Wish I could say the same for myself! The joy of families is that every germ is shared!
The picture posted is one that I took of the boys yesterday while I was vacuuming the area rug in the living room. Ash was playing on a blanket on the floor, batting at some toys overhead, so I had to move him in order to clean. Gabriel gallantly offered to hold him for me and eagerly jumped onto the couch and arranged the pillows under his arms and held his hands out for the baby. Asher went willingly, if a bit nervously, into his brothers arms, and the two stared at each other while I vacuumed up. This was quite a sacrifice for Gabriel, as he had to postpone the eating of three hershey kisses he had been about to devour when he made his magnanamous offer. It was cute to see them sitting together. Gabe always wants to see Asher's eyes. Everytime I have the baby, he asks me ... "Can I see his eyes mama?" I can understand why! Ash's eyes are huge and starry -- full of love and laughter! (Especially, when we "beep" his nose and make him smile uncontrollably!)

The other photo shows what happened on my day at work on Monday! The fire alarm went off and we all grumbled as we got into our coats in the newsroom, thinking it was yet another fire drill ... none of us were too pleased at the thought of going out into the cold and standing across the street in the US Bank parking lot. But we did -- grabbing our coffees or whatever else we thought to bring, and heading out. And then to our amazement, we heard sirens... and it wasn't long before the fire engines and squad cars came to a halt outside our building! As it turns out, it was some kind electrical malfunction caused by water damage or somesuch thing, that caused the alarm to go off. So it was real... not a real FIRE, but still real! We all had a good laugh about it while we huddled in wait for the all-clear. I had grabbed my chocolate flavored coffee, but not my purse. I felt rather foolish for that. Forget about the wallet and the keys .... I need my cafe mocha!! :-) This photo was taken by our wonderful staff photographer, Bruce Halmo, who graciously emailed it my way ... it shows all of us hiking across the street, to wait out the "fire." I've been through it all at this newspaper now ... a system crash that lasted all night, a blackout that also lasted all night, a blizzard, during which I skiied to work, and now ... a "fire." What excitement!