Our trips to Florida were behind us and it was time to move on to our next adventures.

Several months ago, a family member (FM) contacted us. I won’t share details here as it is private information, but after the initial conversation we had a family meeting which resulted in an invitation to have our FM relocate to Texas. Our new home is 5-bedroom and only needing 4-bedrooms on a regular basis, there was an extra we could set up for an occupant. The invitation was accepted, so Naomi and I took care of packing up the van and we now have 6 in our home.

While the transition has certainly had its challenges, which we fully expected, we are finding ways of making this arrangement work. We’re finding our new normal.

Not long after we moved FM, the girls and I headed to Illinois for our annual visit with our bonus kiddos. Last year we weren’t able to see them due to COVID and we really missed them. So with most of us vaccinated and precautions put in place (masks and lots of hand-washing), we picked them up and brought them back to Texas. There was a birthday celebration (mine) in Fort Worth

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much laughter, games, exploration and a trip to South Padre Island. Having never been to South Padre Island, it was a first for all of us. All except hubby who still hasn’t been there since he stayed back to work.

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We wish the visit could have been longer, but we will be seeing them again in February when we all head out on a short cruise together.

Now we’re home for quite awhile and with COVID cases on the rise again with more new variants and our little one who isn’t able to be vaccinated yet, staying home is not a bad thing.

The girls are now back to full-time homeschooling and after a year of stressing over Lili’s high school curriculum, I finally made a decision. We do year-round school, so she is finishing up now and soon we’ll be getting her new curriculum so she will officially be a high school student.

It’s been a beach kind of year and in the not too distant future I’ll give my views on South Padre Island with more photos.

Until then . . . .