Snippets of family life

 I find these sorts of posters lying around the house on a regular basis.  The no-displays-of-literacy clause never fails to give me a chuckle.  Yes, these invitations to the sideshow are courtesy of Jacob.

 Speaking of other things that I find on a regular basis:  photos taken by either Isaac or Sarah on the iPad.  I have absolutely no recollection of this one being taken but it reminded me of my parents' experience of Facetime with the Afelskie grandchildren:  Isaac's teeth loom large.

 And another shot by one of the two youngest.

 The piece de resistance, a still life.  This photo is so superb in its quality that there are several of them in the iPhoto archives.  There are even three movies of varying lengths, all short clips, all still lifes.  To delete or not to delete, that is the question.

 What is a post without mention of the weather.  The polar vortex looms as large in our lives as do Isaac's teeth on Facetime.  These photos are real-life representations of the Afelskie children getting ready to go to school in January.

 The four oldest don their winter protection, buckle on their backpacks and wait in line at the door until the first in line yells, "One, two, three, go!" at which point they whip open the front door, bravely throw themselves into the elements and run to school.  It's all a little like exile under Stalin.  Did I mention that one of the main roads in our town is called Siberia Rd?  It provides the only access to the hospital.

 Scarves are technically illicit outerwear on the schoolyard what with the potential for strangulation.  I have yet to receive a warning.

 Isaac laughing in the face of the winter temperatures.  Just wait until he starts school.

With the outdoors somewhat removed as a viable arena of play, the kitchen sink becomes an alternative.

 Backward pants and all.

I am finding these two playing together a lot more now that Sarah is close to two years old.  I feel somewhat vindicated as I watch their friendship grow.  Why, you ask?  When I was in the early stages of my pregnancy with Sarah, I went to my first prenatal appointment where I anticipated some raised eyebrows about a sixth baby.  Thus, I steeled myself for disparaging remarks and formulated a reply.  The disparaging remarks never came and my doctor was as gracious as she always is.  However, I still felt that my pre-formulated reply was too good to be left unsaid.  So I began, "Well, Dave and I felt that all the kids are in pairs:  Jacob and Hannah, Ben and Joe.  So, we decided that Isaac needed a buddy."  My doctor didn't miss a beat, arched her eyebrow and smilingly asked, "So, Isaac was lonely?"  Touche, dear doctor.  Nevertheless, I still feel vindicated as Isaac is clearly not lonely; moreover, he is part of a beautiful relationship with his little sister, his "Sa".