I was here and then gone again. What was up with that?

You know, I can't really tell you the exact reasons why it has been nearly 3 months since I last was here.  I suppose the easy posting on Facebook and Instagram is one excuse.  A couple clicks and I am done within minutes.  Opposed to here, where writing seems to take me FOREVER.  But ease of posting elsewhere would only be a small portion of the reasons I have been away.  Let's see if I can catch, those who care, up to speed in a somewhat speedy fashion.  And along with that, an apology for a whole lot of repeat info and photos for some.

First off and most importantly, our crew has expanded by one.  A beautiful, perfect, little one. My granddaughter Olivia Grace arrived April the 22nd and her arrival has proven to be a messenger of healing for our family since we lost her older sister Grace Margaret 17 months ago.  Her mom and dad and big sister Charlotte are over the moon in love and so are the rest of us.

And come June of next year, we will add another to our crazy bunch.  In April Taylor and Leo became engaged and we are all thrilled and so very excited for the life that lies before them.  They are both incredible teachers and have such amazing hearts for each as well as this world and they truly are so, so good together.  And as a mom, to see that love and commitment, well, I couldn't ask for anything more.  I am 3 for 3 in the son in-law department. How lucky am I that 3 men are loving and caring for my girls in all the ways I ever dreamed for them?

Lets see. What else.  Oh, Zoey did indeed get one of these. However, she hates it.

We will just keep trying and in the mean time, she is doing so much more of this and we hope with the strength gain in her legs and her desire to be upright, that once her balance kicks in, maybe, just maybe, walking may really, really happen.

Let's see. What else?  Oh. There were an awful lot of happy  hockey fans in the house as we watched the Kings win yet another Stanley Cup  All were happy.  Except I venture to say, my son in-law who's hometown Blackhawks missed out on a bid for the Stanley Cup, losing to the Kings in the semi finals.  Poor Matt.  So out numbered.

The kids and I just arrived home from a week at the beach.  Mark unfortunately couldn't get the time off as a new season of a show he works on just started back up.  So I braved it on my own. Which was, well, brave.  I survived.  And the kids did also.  And Charlotte even stayed a few nights, as did one of the boys friends and the week actually turned out to be lots of fun.  The reality is, taking Zoey anywhere is not an easy gig.  Its hard.  Really hard.  But the beach is one of her favorite places and I was not going to not do this.  With that said, next time, we all go together.  Not so much for the the help with Zoey but for the entertainment and supervision of the boys.  We often have to divide and conquer because there simply are things Zoey cannot do or that we cannot do with her.  Just the fact.  And so we adjust and adapt and the last week I did a whole lot of adjusting and adapting and maybe, just maybe, may need a vacation from my vacation.

So there you go.  The beauty that has been happening over the last few months.  It's always a wild ride in these parts.  Complicated and difficult on some days but I still choose joy most every day and choose to not let the heavy stuff push out the good stuff.  I find that the faster the days pass the more I cling to the abundant blessings.  The rest of the stuff, the heavy and the hard, seems much more doable when love and the light are allowed to rise to the top.

I'll be back.  Sooner rather then later.  Promise.