It’s been a very busy time since we’ve been home; I’m trying to get caught up on everything, but I’m afraid posting here has fallen behind a bit. A few pertinent items:

• Today was the first day of school for the kids. [Emily->], [Abigail->], and [Liam->], with varying degrees of excitement at the prospect, all made their ways off to their respective classrooms today. I think it should be a good year for all of them. Emily and Abby are very much looking forward to seeing their friends again, and I think Liam will enjoy school more now that he’ll be in the Gifted/Talented program and will be a bit more challenged academically. More details to come in a week or two, I expect.
• We celebrated Abby’s birthday officially this past weekend. She had a few of her girl friends over on Friday night, followed by a lunch with some of the extended family on Sunday. Everyone seemed to have a good time and to enjoy my latest chili concoction (this batch included cocoa, coffee, and Guiness on the ingredient list).
• A number of other things, including a wedding at which we helped and a work friend’s birthday party, soaked up our Saturday in worthwhile ways.
• I helped out a bit with the kids’ classes at church on Sunday. The director of the program was working to teach them Bach’s “Dona Nobis Pacem,” which is Latin for “Give us Peace.” My suspicions that this might be a bit ambitious for the 8 and under set were confirmed when I noticed that [Liam->] was belting out what could hardly be considered a blessing — “Dona Nobis Possum.”
• [Christina->] reports on [Daniel->] and [Fanny->]’s wedding. One of my favorite bits — Darth Vader with a fiddle. This way lies the Dark Side.