“Be aware of what season you are in and give yourself the grace to be there.”

K. Dalton

It has been a while since I have written. I received an email recently informing me of my upcoming due date to renew this blog, so I am taking a look at the stats, drafts, and published work wondering whether or not to keep up with my writing. There are so many things I have shared here that I do look back on now and then and I would hate to lose all of that. Nothing has been written since last December for good reasons. So much has been happening with John’s health and with my dad’s as well. John is having tests done to investigate the cause of his migraines. He has ongoing pain management care which has included physical therapy and soon, he will be getting shots to relieve back pain. He also had ankle surgery in February which was a long ordeal in healing. My dad is having testing done for memory loss which means quite a few doctor appointments. Some days, my dad is just fine. Other days, he has trouble remembering how to get to a place he has been driving to for years or difficulty doing something on the computer he had no trouble with in the past. This has been a season of doctor appointments one right after the other and I have had to let some things go in order to be all here – present. This meant letting go of Facebook and trying to keep up with everyone. It meant burgers or pizza for dinner sometimes because we weren’t home all day or I forgot to put something in the crockpot. It means a lot of things for peace of mind. We try to be easy-going and take one day at a time.

Jonathan is doing well and is in a season of big decisions. He has been volunteering for the local Historical Society since he graduated from college last year. He may be leaving that position soon to look for a paid position elsewhere. He has enjoyed his time there very much and has learned so much! He still lives at home and is a HUGE help to us all.

In the midst of all that, I received orders one right after another for handmade cards! In a few months span, I made over eighty cards for friends and family and still have an order of birthday cards to complete. So exciting! Writing has been on my mind, too (somewhere way back there), during these months but I just have not had the time to “be there” for all my creative pursuits and for family and home life.

I am still keeping up with stray gifts and collecting them from friends who share their own gifts with me through text messages.

Left Row: Top: We believe this is a grackle egg. It’s so tiny! Bottom: There was a train exhibit in town last weekend all about how the train affected El Paso’s history. There was even a skit performed by a group called, “Six Guns and Shady Ladies”. It was a reenactment of the first deadly train robbery in the west. We enjoyed our time out together.

Right Row: Roses, Chrysanthemums, and Star Jasmine are a few of the beauties in our yard. We also have honeysuckle and alyssums blooming.