I'm back.

So…we had a nice Christmas. Good grief, I’m one of those people who just drops off the face of the blogosphere with no rhyme or reason, aren’t I?

This is the Cliff’s Notes version of the past almost 4 months.

In December we did some traveling with our Maddie girl who evidently suffers from carsickness. Not pleasant. I am now an EXPERT at taking apart a carseat, washing every nook and cranny, and reassembling with no extra parts. I am a woman of so many talents. One of them is cleaning up vomit using McDonalds napkins and bottles of water. You can bet that one is going on my resume.

In January we said a sad goodbye to my Aunt Jan who had suffered for a few years with dementia. She was way too young, but we have such peace that she is in a better place – with the God who fully healed and restored her.

In February, I had a fantastic birthday celebration with my sweet sister-in-law, Angie, as our whole family celebrated in Des Moines. Also, I might be severely addicted to Old Chicago. Honestly, just thinking about it makes me salivate. Not a pretty picture, is it?

In March, I did a lot of reading and even more writing. I may have written my third book. These things just seem to keep happening. Just to clarify: I have no book deal and not a single living soul has read any of my books. And I am completely okay with that. These are stories I love to read. And one day when I get them to the point where I am not totally horrified at the idea of someone else reading them, I will pass out a few copies and see what happens. But I’m in no hurry. It really is just fun for me to write regardless of the outcome.

And now, here we are in April.

For Easter we hosted my whole family and that was a joyous thing. Little Josiah is not quite as little as he was. Reagan and Maddie simply adore him. The last time we celebrated Easter together was just before Maddie was born. It was really neat to be together and to celebrate with our whole family around one table.

It’s hard to believe, but summer is just right around the corner. The tulips are in full bloom here and we have gone on countless walks this spring. Reagan is in the home stretch of preschool and tomorrow is our last day of Coffee Break. Maddie is almost three years old though she has the vocabulary of a MUCH older child. Life marches on and kids grow up faster and faster all the time. It’s hard to soak it all up and enjoy it. I’m drowning in multiple pictures that Reagan and Maddie draw for me every single day and after a while I sort of numb to the wonder of it all. But it is good and it is all a gift. And I am determined to be grateful.