Happy New Year!

Yes, I'm back.  Sorry about the long silence.  The end of last year was busy to say the least.  October began with a family reunion in Ohio, followed immediately by Zack's visit home.  I spent my time during those two weeks trying to enjoy every minute with him, with a great deal of success.  When he left, it was suddenly Halloween.  Then I think I blinked and missed most of November.  Suddenly it was Thanksgiving and I was running an 8K and then eating delicious food.  Then there was Christmas to prepare for, which was complicated by trying to send something Zack would appreciate (mission accomplished) and the process of trying to make things both special and even for two little girls who don't really need anything.  By the time I got all that sorted, it really was Christmas, and I was playing bells and enjoying family and eating even MORE good food.  So now it's a new year, and we're counting down the weeks until we get to see Zack again.  And to distract ourselves in the mean time, I've got a few things planned to keep us busy.
First up is the somewhat ambitious New Year's Resolution I've set for myself.  My goal is to run 500 miles before the end of the year.  I figure now that I've started running, I need a solid goal to keep me going.  That, combined with the occasional 5k or something that looks interesting, should do the trick.  I have attempted to talk Zack into joining me, and while he readily agreed that 9ish miles a week was nothing for the moment, he's not sure that he can keep it up once he moves to the ship, so time will tell. It may or may not be the year of 1000 miles for us.  So far, we're both on schedule.
At the moment, my folks are off having fun, so Ela, Lily and I are house sitting.  I'm also helping out at the church where Mom works, covering for her a little bit.  It's my good deed for the month.  Ela is becoming a pretty decent dog letter outer.  Since Mom has a tendency to cook for me when she's home, I find myself suddenly much busier than usual.  :-)
Once Mom and Dad get back, my room mommy duties will be heating up for a little while.  There's teacher appreciation, followed by a Valentine's party I agreed to help with, and then the biggest fundraiser of the year for preschool.  Before we know it, there will be birthdays to plan and homecomings (don't know yet exactly which order, but we'll sort it out).
So things will still be going awfully fast, but I am going to try to get back into the habit of writing.   I hope to post some pictures of my girls before they become unrecognizable.  Happy New Year everyone!