Earthquake. Really, we had one.

This morning around 4:30am we had an earthquake that measured at 5.2 on the ole Richter scale. Later, around 10:15am an afterhshock measured around 4.5. Both were centered about 130 miles from St. Louis in Illinois. Now, I know those of you who live in the West are thinking, "Big deal they happen in California and these parts all the time." Well, according to the U.S. Geological Survey the ones here can be less powerful, but can be felt more and cause more damage. Because of our soil differences, we have more shaking and vibrating and less of a feeling that the ground is rolling. Also ours tend to be more shallow in depth. I know my brother-in-law is rolling his eyes and thinking, "And you want us to move there? You have droughts, floods, tornadoes, humidity and now earthquakes! Sheesh" Yes, we do,but you still live in a desert. (Sorry for the digression)

Anyway, around 4:30am, Andrew and I both woke up to the house shaking. As we were wondering aloud if it was an earthquake, here came Adria and Colin asking what was going on. Colin had slept in the basement (he'll do anything for cable) and felt the foundation bounce him around. Eva and Liam slept right through it. Later that morning Liam and I felt the house briefly shake again.

Not really any damage. Our house is fine, but some of the older homes have some cracked windows. St. Louis is always preparing (at least mentally) for the Big One. We sit on the New Madrid fault line which produced the biggest earthquakes in the U.S. back in the 1800s. If something like that happens again, St. Louis won't be so lucky. What a cheerful thought.

We've entered the 21st Century!

Much to the delight of the kids, we have entered the 21st century and installed cable. Yes, yes I know what you are thinking. How could a family that has a wireless network in the house, owns three laptops and five IPods NOT have cable?
Well, Andrew has managed to find ways through research accounts and teaching technology grants to acquire them. So the kids no longer have to fiddle with the rabbit ears and tin foil. Colin is excited at the prospect of watching reruns of Cops. Eva and Liam loves having multiple Disney/Nick/Cartoon channels. Andrew loves the Sci-Fi channel so he can watch the current Battlestar Gallactica. I am happy that ITunes is no longer nickel and dime-ing us to death.
Thank goodness we don't get the Game Show network that being one of Adria's guilty pleasures!

Liam the Superhero

Lately, Liam is seldom without his cape. It is a hand me down from Colin. Recently, Liam saw a picture of Colin wearing it when Colin was around four years old. Liam became upset that someone else was wearing the cape. Last night I decided the much worn cape needed to be washed. I tried to hide it while putting it in the washer, but Liam's eagle eyes spotted me. He became distraught, jumping up and down crying, "Mine, mine, no, no". He was reunited with the beloved cape this morning and all is well. Of course, this means he is back to jumping off chairs and running down hills just to feel the cape billowing behind him.

In the family pic, Eva was a little hidden behind Andrew. And, let's face it, the pic was old. Here is a current pic of her. She has a great teacher(Miss Toybes) who is always taking pictures of the kids and placing them on the class website. Instead of a holiday party in December, the class had a New Year's Eve party complete with dancing. It was hilarious to watch 15 kindergarten kids dance which mainly involved jumping around and bouncing off one another. What was their favorite dance tune? "I Like to Move It" from Madagascar.

Our Crazy Family
I thought I should give a quick run down of our family.

Liam is our youngest. He will be three in May, is absolutely spoiled, and we all love granting his wishes. He loves cars, dinosaurs, capes, getting dirty and playing with Colin. Liam will swing, crawl or jump off of anything hence his nickname, "Monkey Boy". He has so much energy that sometimes I ask Colin to wrestle with him.

Eva is six years old and one of the most cheerful, bubbly children you could meet. Beware though, behind that gregarious outerlayer is a will of steel. She has been hardened by years of older sibling torture. Eva is our girly princess. Disney came along with their princess marketing just in time for her. Eva loves reading, school, anything to do with art, Hayao Miyazaki movies, and reminding everyone that we forgot family prayer.

Colin is eleven years old and already on girls' radar. He has an amazing sense of humor and has a knack for summing up the moment in succinct, hilarious ways. He is currently playing the violin, but will switch to the guitar next year. He loves old movies especially those with Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers, and 80s movies( Ferris Bueller, etc). Colin's taste in music runs to The Clash, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Weird Al, and generally music Andrew doesn't have a taste for especially current music like Foo Fighters.

Adria is fourteen and a freshman in high school. This is her first year of seminary, and the early morning has been hard on all of us. Okay, harder on Adria and Andrew who takes her, but I don't enjoy hearing the shower running at 5am. Her interests run towards politics, history, and literature. Of course, boys are also a prime interest. She gave up the flute this year and is concentrating on piano. She will always have a calling in church!

We are happy to say that Andrew just received tenure. This takes a lot of stress off of the family, but it has been replaced by the stress of being Bishop. His job has him traveling a lot. He just came back from Argentina and will head to Europe in May. This summer we are all going to Vermont where Andrew will be teaching a graduate course at Middlebury College.

I am at home with Liam and the cat(Midnight) most days. Aside from a chef, I am also working as a chauffeur, receptionist, tutor, domestic servant, decorator, nutritionist, handyman, gardener and counselor. Motherhood keeps me busy. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up this blog.

~Amy