PLAYING CATCH UP

Geez, not a single blog post in the month of January & half of February. I must apologize. There is no excuse but there are explanations. We returned from our cruise, jumped right into the holidays & I've been playing catch up ever since. Hopefully, things will settle down now.

Perhaps, the best & biggest recent news is that our adorable little sweetheart is now walking! She stood on her own one day, took her first tentative steps the next, then a couple days later took a few more. One week ago today she walked across the room & hasn’t slowed down since! She walks everywhere now, no more crawling for Charley Ellen. It is so cute & she is so pleased with herself. Amazing!

Our Charley is on the move!

Even though our 49ers lost the Super Bowl, it was a helluva run in the playoffs. They did a great job & we’ll get ‘em next year. Congrats to the Ravens – they were a better team on Feb 3^rd.  Personally, I still think Jim Harbaugh was wrong to replace Alex Smith when he came back from an injury, but that is my opinion & I’m sticking to it!

We had some minor camera issues so the Super Bowl pix aren't up to our usual standards, but you get the idea - there was lots of red.

At this point she would hold one finger & walk all over. About a week later she took off by herself.

We had our token Ravens fan - Allison likes them since Michael Oehr from the movie, The Blindside, plays for Baltimore.

Most of my stress this past month was due to the fact that I have been immersed in yet another caregiver search for my father. It seems no one stays beyond 6 – 8 months lately. BUT I am optimistic & hopeful that we have found a wonderful, young woman who may turn out to be the best one yet. Her name is Jolene (yes, her mother was a Dolly Parton fan) & she seems genuinely happy to be taking over next week.

I cannot tell you what a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders with the promise of a fresh start with a new caregiver. As I shut the door when she left after hiring her, my father exclaimed, "I think we hit the jackpot with that one!" I sure hope he's right.