Don't worry, I didn't die

In case you were wondering, I didn't die, I just vacated blogland for a bit. 

Now I'm back, refreshed and focused...or something like that. 


 Are you wondering what's been going on that has kept be away from writing and sharing with you all? Well, because I like you folks, I'll spare you the ugly details and summarize in photos and a bit of commentary.  Maybe even a little stray video to cause you to further question my sanity.  We'll see...

 After months of searching for "A Bear Cup" for Emily, I finally found one.  It was the one thing she kept asking for over and over at Christmas, finally, near Valentine's day, I found one.  As you can see, she was overjoyed and physically unable to sit still for a picture.  Enthusiasm is one of her great skills.

 Fast forward to April...  Mom flew in so we could go to Ft Wayne, Indiana and attend the Vera Bradley Outlet sale.  Whoa....lots of handbags, lots of women and it was LOTS of fun!  The hotel we stayed at the night before had folded all kinds of things into fan shapes.  Here is the darling bath mat and washcloth.  They had also folded the Kleenex, the hand towels by the sink and even the little plastic baggie for the ice bucket into little fan shapes.  Clearly, I need to get out more because I was surprised at delighted by each of these things while others I shared it with said "Oh, ya, I've seen that before".   Nice.   Anyway, we had a great time together and scored some pretty sweet deals. 

 Of course, this is a picture of the "Little Kids Puppet Show".  Helmet Mickey and "some red, girl bear" and a spare bed sheet over the back of the rocking chair was all they needed to provide each other with squeaky voices and silly stories.  This also resulted in uproarious laughter and a tiny little bathroom accident, but I won't go into that.

 Here we find baby "Jella" who was in a heap of trouble with Mother Emily because she got into Grandma's (Mine) purse and got into her lipstick.   How then could I blame Emily for getting into my purse when it was "Jella" who had the lipstick on her face and not Emily?  I say, this girl is tooooo smart!  or so she thinks. 

 After months of working and reworking, I finally finished painting these butterflies on canvas and affixed the butterfly mob to the wall in the girls room.  Actually, Brian helped me with the butterfly mob, since he's taller and better at placing things randomly.  It was too hard for me to lay aside my yearning for precise placement that was supposed to look random and skitterish like the flight of a butterfly.  Mission accomplished!!

We had a break in the monsoon one day and stole out the park before we needed to hail a water taxi.  

And last, the saddest picture of them all... The little dead soldier girl.   Emily and Titus were playing Johnny Tremain.  Yes, they were role playing Johnny Tremain, really.  We recently watched the old Disney version and they were thoroughly taken with the whole movie.  One morning as I was schooling with the older kids there was a "battle" and Emily was wounded as a result. Tragic. 
 Please note: No toddlers were harmed in the making of this photo.  


So, now that you've had a small glimpse into our life you know what I've been doing.  Crazy as ever and loving every minute.