Egads!: Ok, I May Be Back Into Blogging..... Baby Steps Anyway....

We'll see how this goes.... So much has happened this year, I must say 2013 has not been the best for my family. I lost my mom in February. After many year of fighting Parkinson's and dimentia, she fell quite ill and eventually passed in hospice February 7th. I miss her terribly. The silver lining if there ever is one, was to watch my father with her in those last days and then planning her funeral and eulogy that he wrote over and over again. Somehow, he managed to stand up at the funeral mass and speak about his wife of 47 years. I didn't think he could, I had my husband practice the eulogy just in case my dad couldn't finish it. But he surprised us all with humor and deep respect and love for his wife. I will never forget that moment.

Since then, in the months that follow, we have struggled to define a new normal. My dad is still, at 80, fiercely independent. But I worry. There will be a time that he needs to move in and we have to be able to decide when that is. I have convinced him to have dinner with us once a week. He doesn't always come, but it's a start. Billy and my dad have become closer, something I never thought I'd see. They have always been pleasant and friendly, but since Dad is around more and they have started really talking, I see a stronger bond between them. Maybe it's because Billy's dad passed away and my dad is filling a void, I don't know.....

The kids are doing well. Kevin found out that he is pretty good at the pole vault, and ended up at the district meet. At 13, he's 5'7" and looking down at me. Where has the time gone? Aaron is still slow on the growth chart, only 5'2" right now. I'm hoping he has some kind of spurt to catch up with his twin... Olivia is immersed in being a tween, watching endless youtube clips and asking me to go shopping 24/7. And my last catch up are my 4 year old babies. Ahhh, no babies here they say to me.... Simon is still in occupational therapy working on fine motor skills that he struggles with. Emi, oh this girl is going to be the death of me as a teenager... She is sporting an awesome brace after breaking her collarbone playing "Ring Around the Rosy" too wildly.... 13 years of being a mom and that's our 1st broken bone....

That's my toe dip into blogging again, it felt right to return, but of course now I have to bore you with family summer pics....