Two weeks late

I know that these pictures are two weeks overdue but they were stored in some mysteriously inaccessible internal memory on our camera. Dave broke the code last night and was able to load the 2010 March for Life photos.
I traveled solo to this event ... well, I had four children but no husband. There were a few times on the over two hour drive that I questioned my decision to go; but I had plenty of confirmations along the way that I had decided correctly.
You see, our first stop was a little over an hour from home at the nearest Tim Horton's where I planned on picking up lunch so that we wouldn't have to scramble for an eatery in the big city. When I pulled into the TH parking lot a group of students plus one professor from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy were taking a coffee break. They graciously agreed to watch the children while I ordered multiple bagels and chocolate milks. We then departed for the last hour of our trip.
When we reached the city we prayed for a parking spot and found a packed lot on our second try. Thankfully, the attendant guided me into a spot that looked two sizes too small for our van and we ate lunch in-vehicle. We then de-vanned and employed our second vehicle, the trusty double stroller. My plan was that the two youngest would sit quietly in the double jogger as we navigated our way through the busy streets. Benjamin would have none of it until the sheer overwhelmingness of the big city simply overwhelmed our genuine country boy. He pulled his John Deere cap a little lower and demanded that the stroller cover be used for the majority of the walk so that he could be truly hidden.
My next task was to find a bathroom because, after all, I am quite pregnant. The closest bathroom was down a long set of stairs that clearly could not be negotiated by our stroller. So, what did I do? I found the first available group of Knights of Columbus (caped and feathered) and asked them to guard our stroller. They were more than happy to. When we returned from the bathroom I found these older gentlemen taking turns sitting in the stroller while snapping pictures with their digital cameras. (They clearly hadn't taken the time to read the weight restrictions.) This story only firmed Dave's resolve to never wear the feathered hat.
We then made our way to Parliament Hill where we promptly ran into some staff workers from Madonna House who had taken the same bus to the March as Dave's father. Thus, they had a general idea of where I could find Grandpa Mike on the crowded Hill. Around 15 minutes later we found Grandpa and stuck close to him for the majority of the March. His help was invaluable as corralling 4 children amidst 13,000 people is a significant task.
As we neared the end of the March I lost Grandpa only to be immediately found by Joseph's godmother who stayed with us until our return to the Hill. She commandeered the stroller as Joseph, by this point, was demanding to be set free and held by Mommy. When I bid farewell to the lovely Marion in order to find our van, I literally bumped into Jacob's godfather to whose house we were planning on stopping before heading home. Amazing. From the moment we left home until our return we were provided with extraordinary help at each step.
The exertion of the trip was worth it and the kids are still chanting, "We are the pro-life. Mighty, mighty pro-life. If you can't hear us, we'll shout a little louder." And, one great sound bite emerged from the whole adventure a few days later.
Jacob had been handed a card with the picture of a 20-week old baby in the womb. Underneath the picture a caption read: "Just a blob of tissue?" The next day Jacob and Hannah felt the baby in my womb kick for the first time. Hannah, in great excitement said: "You should get those people who think that the baby is just a piece of Kleenex to feel that!"Waiting for the March to start.

Jacob with the flag that Joseph later rammed into the top of his mouth when he fell on the stick while running. Oops.

Benjamin in his hideout.

Grandpa trying to coax his grandson out from his entrenchment.

What else do boys do while waiting to take part in a protest March?

Hannah putting up with her brother's antics while defying her mother's orders not to wear her flip-flops. Fashion at all cost, even that of flip-flop loss during protest march.

Two views of a very small part of the very large crowd.

The view from within.