Back on the beach

Wow, Illinois sounds like a long time ago. Lots happened. Brian's job went south fast, and we headed to Florida.

Brian and Robin headed to Chicago to stay with her sister while they looked for jobs. Brian found one in Tennessee.

In the meantime, Ray and I headed to Florida. We house sat in Atlanta for a few days, then headed "home". we stayed with Sondra for a week, then went to the Villages in central Florida to house sit.

In the meantime, I was hired on another contract by AARP, so yay! Robin landed a job in Pennsylvania. They had plans to do that until the end of the year, she in PA, Brian and the girls in Tenn.

Ray went to Tenn and stayed with Brian and the girls for a little more than a month, then he helped Brian move to PA.

I stayed with Sondra for that month. Ray came home, then we headed to St. Croix to contemplate a job offer. Beautiful, but health issues and concerns made me turn the job down. Bummer. But no regrets.

Moved to our own place after spending a month in a vacation rental. We were in the new house a week before Christmas. It's nice to have our own home. Tiny, but our own.

Who knows what adventures lie ahead?

Along two months

My summer is not going as I planned. In early June, we learned my dad had cancer. The doctors said it was a fast-moving cancer and though we could choose to subject daddy to intense treatments, in the end it might prolong his life only a month or so.

He opted to go home. He came home on a Thursday. I arrived on Sunday in Texas to help care for him. My brothers and sisters and I shared the responsibilities. Never leaving Daddy alone. Always one person dedicated to his every need. He died the following Sunday morning. It was father's day.

After the funeral, I rushed home. We had to move, and we had to help my son pack up his house and move. We're not thrilled about that. He and his family have left Florida for a new job opportunity. That's good for them, and we support them. But we're sad.

Because Robin had to stay at her job for two weeks, Ray and I helped with the move. We're still in Illinois. We're still at loose ends.

No house awaits our return. No jobs await our return. I'm still freelancing, so my job moves with me. But I miss Florida.

Who knows what the future will bring in the weeks ahead. We're just along for the ride.

My kids

Ah, they grow up too fast.

Beach Baby

She has a way of making us smile. When we moved here two years ago, she was just a baby. Brian would slather her in sunscreen, put on her little cap and tuck her under the cabana on the beach. She fell asleep drinking her bottle and listening to the waves.

Two years later, she runs straight into the big waves and giggles with delight as they crash over her head. She's our beach baby.

Willow

Willow loves this photo. She got excited when she saw it in a frame at my house. "Look, it's The Willow!" Indeed, it is.

Changes

It's almost April -- 2009. How did that happen?

This blog is going to change as of tomorrow. It's now going to be a photo blog with captions. That's it folks.

Photo of the week

I'm bound and determined to make this family blog work, so dang it. Start contributing.

Easter bunnies