Hellooo, I'm Baaack!

a photograph taken this morning around 9:30 am in our village (as always please click on the image for a bigger version)

Hello family and friends! I am back - in all sense of the word!

I am truly sorry that I have not posted for such a long period of time. Not such a long absence like Summer last year, but I felt I should have at least made an effort to post a greeting in the holidays that passed.  We were all ill, that for the first time I skipped sending anyone - even in our immediate circle - a Yuletide greeting.  Perhaps the family and I could make it up somehow in the next weeks.

Each family member battled with the flu virus one after another right after our marathon birthday celebrations concluded in mid-November. P and I made the best we could do to observe Christmas with girls, without regrets on missing on so many plans we wanted to do during everyone's holidays. The focus the entire of December was to get better!

Luckily, we all recuperated and got to spend the first day of the New Year with P's mom, and the rest of the family - sisters, their spouses, their children and even relatives of P's brother-in-law from the USA, who came for a visit. I count us very lucky to be a part of our adopted family. Having B, P's mom, as the girls surrogate Oma is a precious gift in living here in the Netherlands.

Yes, we are back in our healthy bodies, back to biking daily to school, back to the daily grind. :)

It's beyond mid-January, and as usual, I am creating projects to not leave me with the feeling of being rushed through the year. I consider it a luxury that all should treat themselves to - simply stop and create a work of art (drawing, photography, poetry...whatever floats your boat!) to capture time, express this effort in a form that you can somehow grasp, as time won't let us.

Today after weeks of weeks of not touching our camera, I took pictures again, stopping here and there while biking on the way to the girls school, on the way back home and after I picked up the littlest from school.

Originally, the littlest and I wanted to go the playground at the entrance of the protected woods near us. On the way home we changed the plans of waiting for the girls and having a picnic with them there instead. But that too got changed when littlest fell asleep as we arrived at the entrance of our village. lol

There are many opportunities coming along our way, and most of it I can share when it's more concrete. I feel excited, happy and terrified all at the same time! It's great to wake up with the feeling of, "I am alive!"

Okay, I rejoice with these words after groaning, "Ugh, one more hour of sleep, please!!!" LOL

With this blog, which I decided to write early to prepare myself to turning at a decent hour tonight (!!!), I would like to express my joy over the ability to write again...just simply writing...blogging. Also to have something to come back to when I find myself in the throes of self-doubt: everything DOES get better in time, with patience, with faith, with love. :)

P.S.

I am attempting once more to blog regulary here, not daily but at least once a week.  So, please do come visit this page, when you can!  I plan to go a different direction with this blog, and I hope you'll come along for that journey.