Happy New Year!

Hmmm. I suppose 6 months is a long time to be away from a blog, isn't it? Probably no one is still looking for us. I've been sucked into the vortex that is Facebook, and contrary to others who decry it, I kind of like it. I like seeing the little snips of other peoples' lives. But then, I'm the kind of person who likes to walk and glance into other peoples' windows as I walk. I like seeing their dining rooms all lit up and wondering who eats at their tables. I like seeing families in living rooms, talking to one another. I like wondering who those people are, and if they are happy. Imagining lives for them. And yes, even praying for them. Even for the guys on the corner who are resolutely unfriendly and odd. (And what DO they do for a living, anyway? Do YOU know?)

Anyway, that went off in a strange direction. Ahem. Back to the main thrust of the post. I'm coming back to blogging on a regular basis. I need a place to write about the things in my life: the books I've read, the movies I've seen, the things I create, the things that make me happy and sad. I'm not a prolific picture taker or journaler or scrapbooker, so I need somewhere to jot down my life. To preserve little bits of it--so that I don't forget. And if you want to peep in and see, then I'm happy for you to do that.

Lots of changes in my life over the last few years. I've lost both my parents. I've moved. My beloved son has married (a wonderful girl!). I've rejoined the homeschooling fray with my nephew, my niece and the McKid. And now, as the cherry on top of the "my how things have changed" sundae, the Zman and TBC (his wife) are going to have a baby. Yep. Coming in May. Color me EXCITED!

Half a year of not-blogging has meant that I had to rethink the whole blogging idea. And I'm still rethinking that. One of the changes is that you will probably see very little of the other SummaMamas. We're still here. We're still close friends. But the Smock has 7 little 'uns, spread out over 3 schools. Oldest in high school all the way down to 2 in kindergarten. One at home full time. She doesn't have much time to think, much less blog regularly!

And LaMamacita is expecting baby #4 in March. She also homeschools the other 3, so between that and carrying around an increasingly large chiquita-to-be, energy levels don't leave much extra for blogging. And when the 4th baby hits the ground, all bets are off!

That said, both of the other Summas will still be encouraged to post, but we can't expect it. It's not a time in their lives where daily writing, or even *weekly* writing can be expected. So when they pop in, we'll be THRILLED. But we won't *expect* anything in particular. Then it'll be like a happy gift when It happens.

So, what you'll have, mostly, is just me. And I'd say that's a drawback for you. But I'll report on the other Summas doings and fill you in where I can. And otherwise? Let's start looking to make 2011 a year of love, peace, grace, repentance, forgiveness, work, and play. And let's talk about it a little. Shall we?

Happy New Year, ya'll.