Anastasia

The title of this post (Greek name meaning "resurrection") refers not to the christening of our next born but to the long, long space between this and our last update.  Perhaps it's proof that I'm an optimist that it was just good to see we had recorded anything that had happened while we live in this house!!!

There are several pressing reasons for a revival of our blog. 

The first reason: Collings Cutie #6 arriving in just a few weeks!  (Julia labeled that; we're not quite at 9 months yet.)  We want to attempt to preserve something of her babyhood.

The second: WE'RE MOVING TO ITALY!!!  Just for six months for Justin to fulfill his Fulbright.  We'd love to have a good record of our adventures, and we'd love for you to visit us in Florence the first half of 2019!

The third: so many people that we love and who have loved our children are far away from us now, and sharing their growing up via blog seems the most efficient way to share our experiences with them.  (I was anti-FB even before Cambridge Analytica.  It's so very, very fake.)

The fourth: our kids are so cool, really, and the oldest three are old enough to help with the burden of a blog, so we'll get to hear their writing voices and watch them develop.

So!  Here's our first revival post.  Hopefully sometime in the near future (very near future, since I'm due in three weeks!) we'll get a record of Abdiel and Gwyn's soccer season; Elisabeth's 12th birthday trip to the Salt Lake Temple; Julia and Katharine's Irish dance recitals; Elisabeth's harp festival; some of our half-homeschooling adventures; and just the everyday fun that these cute kids provide recorded.  (i.e. This morning at breakfast Elisabeth was recounting how productive she had been by arising early.  Justin congratulated her by observing that the early bird does get the worm.  Gwyn, blue eyes opened wide, looked round the table and uttered gravely, "Never, ever be a worm!  Otherwise a bird will EAT you!")