Don't wanna jinx myself...

...but I think I'm back.

That's right, almost completely better. I still have a little lingering nasal echo (you know what I mean, right?) when I talk, and if I'm even slightly late in taking a dose of my meds, my head starts to constrict in protest, but I'm back to life, back to reality. Which is actually good.

One of my very first orders of business was to strip and remake all the beds. It had been almost two weeks and if there's one thing I'm rather anal-compulsive about, it's the making of the beds. It actually felt good to get everything freshly laundered and smoothed back on those beds properly. And, of course, nothing in the world feels like slipping your tired body into a cool, soft, properly-made bed. Ahhhhhhh.

So, several things happened while I was gone. Valentine's Day came and went so I missed the opportunity to post my usual V-Day snark.





In case you can't tell, I'm not a fan of V-Day, or VD as I'm fond of calling it. I'm not overly hostile toward it, like the stereotypical, lonely, old-maid variety of VD haters, but I just think it's rather silly. It was fun when The Viking and I were dating, and then newly married, but I guess it's just sort of lost its charm. I just hate the thought of all those poor men having to scurry around to find their obligatory dozen roses for their lady-loves. I would hate for The Viking to have to do that. I'm much happier celebrating our birthdays and our anniversary and leaving Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day out of it. I could go on a long diatribe about exactly what bothers me about those holidays, but I won't. It won't entertain or inform you anyway. I'll just leave it with my silly, homemade conversations hearts, which, if you're interested, you can make here.

In much more important news, on the day before Valentine's Day, my sister, Dharma, and brother-in-law, Vance, had their day in court to have Baby Bee's adoption legally finalized!

There they are, all dizzy with happiness. I don't think I can tell you how long we all have longed for this. They've been through so much for and to finally have their daughter is nothing short of a miracle. I haven't seen either of them this happy since their wedding day.

We couldn't be with them on court day, as it took place in Missouri, but Daria was there and Mom flew out for the occasion. They said Baby Bee hopped up and down in Dharma's lap, clapping her hands and charming the judge during the proceedings. And then the gavel went down and they all went out to celebrate.

Baby Bee had her first taste of cake. She was more interested in playing with it than eating it.

This is one of my most favorite photos ever. I just love how soft and radiant they both look. And I've longed for years to see my sister smile like this at a child of her own.

Aren't they all beautiful? Vance is about to complete his defence for his PhD in Chemistry any day now so we're all planning to gather and celebrate when that's over. I simply cannot wait. I miss them all so much.

So now it's official. Baby Bee is irrevocably and forever ours. Now that's fitting for Valentine's Day, don't you think?