Absence

My computer time is limited these days due to the fact that my own personal notebook is, well, still broken. I have no one to blame but myself for this; I am, after all, the one who knocked it off my bed and squarely onto the power cord, breaking the power jack and rendering it useless once the battery was fully used up (basically, about 4 hours of use later). Honestly, I don't complain a bit about the fact that I only get to use a computer when Daniel's is available for my use-- that is more than I deserve! And I am beyond grateful for the online updates I grab here and there throughout most days thanks to Daniel's kindness in leaving this home as often as he possibly thinks he can go without it.

But the truth is, I don't have computer access during the day. And when I do have it, I frantically gather recipes from websites that used to be available to me at the simple stroke of a key. I respond to emails. I order the miscellaneous items that I purchase for our home each month online. I check my gcal in an effort to keep my life together. I try to keep up with our family photos by getting them saved into albums that can be easily printed.

I don't blog.

And certainly, my lack of blogging is definitely somewhat due to the limited computer access I am granted. But it's also because I find that I'm less inspired when I try to sit down and make myself write. Blogging is fastest and most efficiently done in the moment of inspiration. Making myself write simply because I have a computer with which to write seems to take forever. And besides, where, may I ask, is the fun in that?

But be assured, readers, we are alive.

We are busy, but happy. We are laughing a lot and crying a bit, too. Homeschooling is keeping me thoroughly engrossed. Our calendars are filling up and our hearts are ever expanding. We're reading more. I'm eating sweets less. My floors aren't getting cleaned as often as they should, but the laundry is caught up. Claire is growing and getting the fattest cheeks. Aubrey keeps us laughing. Jackson says the sweetest things. Bronwyn is learning what it means to pray from her heart. Gabriel never stops drawing and creating the most amazing things. We are singing together, playing together, learning together, working together, and growing together. All of us.

It's just not showing up online.