Belated Wishes …

… to you, my blog friends. I hope your Christmases were the merriest and that you are anticipating the New Year with hope and joy.  Before briefing you on what transpired during my unintended (but necessary) hiatus from the blogosphere, I’ll tell you about our most recent and blessed event.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the newest member of the Carlson family. Named for her maternal grandmother, Marla Jean was born Sunday, December 26, at 8:06 pm. Little “Mari” weighed in at 6 pounds, 13.3 ounces and was 19-1/2 inches long. Not quite an hour old in this photo, she was wide-eyed and very attentive as she got acquainted with her Daddy. According to Dusty, who described the day as “intense,” Mommy did great throughout the day and the birthing process. Their joy was obvious. Grandma and Grandpa are – once again – overwhelmed as we welcome another precious little one into our family.

OK. I left off on the day of my cousin’s memorial service, which I attended. Sad and yet a good day for a family to be together. It was an opportunity to get to better know the families of my surviving cousins and spend time with my aunt. It was a good reminder that we should not wait for troubled times before getting together again.

After that, I got caught up in the busyness of Christmas. I shopped, wrapped, made treats, cooked, and shopped and wrapped some more right up until “show time” on Christmas Eve. Oh yea, I worked throughout most of the week, too, and we managed to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary on the 23rd. It was a non-stop whirlwind of activity.

And then, it was calm. We spent a wonderful Christmas Eve at Mom’s with my sister and her husband and Cameron and Sarah. Christmas Day we all (Marv and I, Cam, Sarah, and the boys, and Marv’s mom) went to Miranda and Dustin’s house for a 5 o’clock dinner and once the dishes were done, our gift exchange. Dustin made ribs, and I brought the rest of the food. It was a great time, and when we left around 10:30, there was no indication that the final – and best – gift of this year’s Christmas would reveal herself the very next day. In fact, when I woke up yesterday, I thought I might actually have a chance to catch my breath and relax. That lasted until the phone rang at 11:04 am – Dustin calling to tell us they were on their way to the hospital. By 12:15, I was rather frantically asking Marv, “Why hasn’t he called?” That’s when my husband reminded me that having a usually take more than an hour. LOL. It’s also about the time Dustin called to ask me to bring him some food, which I did.  The rest of the day, we received intermittent reports via telephone and text message. Then, we didn’t hear anything for a while, and it was Grandpa who rather frantically asked, “Why hasn’t he called?” around 8:20. The phone rang within a few minutes. Mari was here and anxious to meet her grandparents.

I have yet to catch my breath but will within the next day or two. I am also going to place a stamp or two in my hand and catch up on the 1500 or so blog posts that I am behind. I am also going to take the time to finally enjoy the beautiful handmade cards I received and acknowledge them. To those of you who sent them, thank you.

For tonight, I am off to enjoy a leisurely soak in the tub before climbing into my nice soft bed for what I hope will be a full night’s sleep – the first in a while. Take care, my friends. I will be “seeing” you again soon.