Coming Out of Hibernation?

Wow.

So, here I am.  It's been awhile!  I know I've been gone a long time.  Does anyone know how long bees hibernate anyway?  Could my absence still be called a hibernation after all these months?

We've had some big changes.  Some I can talk about, and some, as I'm sure you'll understand, are best left to a personal chat over a glass of wine on the back patio.  I will say that it's been an incredibly rough few years, starting with our move to California in the summer of 2010.  In some ways I feel like an entirely different person, but I guess hard things will do that to you.

In the good news department, though, it turns out I am still the Queen Bee!  In June, we were able to finally move back to Cincinnati, Ohio!  Here's a photo of us that we took mere minutes after crossing the Ohio River.  It's not the most flattering picture of any of us, considering we had just completed a LONG cross-country drive from northern California, but I will always treasure it because I know what emotions I felt when we drove across the bridge and saw my hometown again, knowing that this time I was here to stay.

My husband's job has taken us from Cincinnati (where we met, got married, and had Nina), to Colorado (where Henry was born), and then to California.  We've been gone for over five years.  I didn't always know that I wanted to return to Cincinnati, but as time wore on, it became obvious to us that we wanted to be back in the Midwest, close to family and friends.

Within a few days of moving back, we found ourselves at the Fourth of July parade in downtown Madeira, which is a small Cincinnati suburb.  This is where I grew up and where I always hoped to live again.  People call it Mayberry, and for good reason!

As you might have guessed, I am back on my blog because we are homeowners again!  It's been so fun after being home renters in California. We bought a fabulous family home in Madeira on a cul-de-sac, one that had been owned by the same family for over 30 years.  I'm so happy to know we're coming into a place with such wonderful memories within its walls.

I am so happy to be home, and I am slowly feeling more like myself again.  I'll be around periodically to share our home renovation projects with you.  That is, if there's anyone left out there to see them! :)