Congratulations!!!

Jess and Tony, that is so great about the roof. I mean the baby. I love little girls and I know you two are going to be great. After all Tony is Sadie's "big boy," he has a way with girls. Is anyone worried that we are going to run out of really good girl names in this family? I mean the Bennett girls haven't even started and I have a feeling that the girl/boy ratio is going to be steep. I know you will probably be really excited to get the nursery ready- as soon as the roof is done. I wish we could be there to help. I feel your pain. Good luck and I hope you get lots of helpers, you know if Cameron isn't in the midst of replacing carpet and doorjams. That makes three of us with house problems. All of the rest of you should be in the clear, knock on wood.

Meags, how are the babies (our friend Patty had her twins yesterday)? I was going to call them last night on Rob's cell but I figured I would give them a day or two. When you talk to them give them my best and tell them I will call soon. Is it still Luke and John? By the way, when is Ellynn going to post?

Geof. and Darla, how are you? I miss you guys and I want to hear from you. Mindi, I love all of the pictures you've posted. They're darling.

Okay, once again. I have a novel to post. We might have taken some beautiful pictures last Saturday and enjoyed an afternoon of peace and quiet but that was IT for about three days. Ellyn had a mild fever and so all weekend if she was not sleeping or trying to watch whatever movie SHE felt like watching ( a bit tricky to guess in the midst of hysterical screaming) she was, that's right- screaming. Finally, Monday morning I discovered that while she appeared to be feeling better she was covered in a lovely rash. So... we took her into the medical clinic where she continued to scream and after being forgotten and two and a half hours later we came out with a bag full of medication and a positive strep culture (which they had to do twice). The poor kid. Mike and I were at a loss during the weekend. We knew a lowgrade fever was going around and lasting for about two weeks. Saturday night Ellyn finally fell asleep at four in the morning after we had been up all night and Mike took her for a forty five minute drive while I was frantically reading about how to deal with melt downs with autistic children. So slowly but surely she has been doing better. Our biggest problem is that she now thinks that watching tv 24/7 is a good idea. While there is alot I could get done if I let her veg, we have been doing our best to wean her away. She has been pretty happy almost all day today, which is a relief. Do you ever think that your ornery, sick, child, or self for that matter, will never be the same again? That's how I was feeling.

Sadie played a soccer game last night in the pouring rain. I ran over to the car to get the treats and as I'm leaving Sadie runs across the whole field to give me a kiss. Too funny. Mike was torturing her today, chasing her through the house with these gummy fingers we bought at the PX this morning. After he left I took out all the misc. body parts and attempted to desensitize my four year old for when daddy gets home tonight. It should work. By the way, I'm fully aware these aren't the best sentences in the world. I am having difficulty finding the correct words, phrases etc... Just bear with me.

Jane has so much homework our whole family is going crazy. Mostly, it's because math takes her a long time but honestly, it is taking the whole night. We've postponed piano lessons until next month when soccer is over and hopefully we have a better handle on our homework technique. We'll see what happens. Pretty soon I'm just going to go for the good ol' Bennett technique- ignore it, don't do it, "forget about it." Worked for me, I'm not homeless, I just have a really smart husband that brings in the dough. He married me for my incredible good looks anyway, not for my brain.

Life is not doom and gloom, it's just been really exciting the last few days. We all have a four day weekend coming up and we're thrilled. I think we're going to do a couple of day trips so that Ellyn can stay on her sleep schedule for another week or so. We'll keep you posted. I hope you are all doing well. I love you and miss you all. The whole "I have no friends" thing is setting in. I do have one friend. She is great, we just both have really busy schedules and her in-laws are here for a month. I'll be fine. Don't you worry.

Love, Brooke

















Love, Brooke