Apologies for our absence, and for our silence about it. We've been through some rough stuff in the past several weeks, including the tragic passing of a dear friend. Her death merits a discussion we'll have here soon, because it could happen to someone you know.

In the meantime, however, we are also embracing life. Over the past two months, we have:

• Nursed six abandoned kittens to self-sufficiency and given a seventh a loving burial, placed three in homes and two with a rescue organization, and decided to adopt the last, which Z dotes on, has named "Darla Dimple," and does not yet know we plan to keep (shh!)


• Rescued a frog from certain death and set him up in a cushy winter home on the kitchen counter


• Discovered how to keep hundreds of pillbugs/sowbugs/rolly-pollies alive in a jar after much trial and error with smaller populations


• "Adopted" a recuperating orangutan through the Orangutan Outreach project in Indonesia (not as random as it might sound - we'll explain our reasons for this in a future post!)


• Enjoyed a respite from blogging, and thought long and hard about what this blog means to us and what we want to achieve with it

We are rested and ready for what lies ahead. Stay tuned for succinct reviews of the best things for your favorite little ones, and for our occasional thoughts on parenting, on staying connected to the things that matter, and on letting your light shine as a citizen of the world and an advocate for its children.

It's amazing how some people have the gift to perfect capture the soul and the essence of a person. My grandmother was one of those people, and photographer Hal Samples is too. He took this stunning picture of our Z, just weeks before her sixth birthday, while we were on vacation with extended family. The background was set up to take family portraits, but as the evening wore on, the photographs got sillier until people of all ages and sizes were jumping up and down getting mid-air shots of moms and dads and brothers and sisters. Z wanted to take one on her own and this was the first one.

This is our daughter. She is vibrant, funny and spontaneous, and has a boundless energy that has us constantly shaking our heads in amazement. This photo was taken well past her bedtime on the last night of a trip where she stayed up late most nights and popped out of bed early most mornings to play with cousins and new friends.

Happy Year Six, sweet Z. I hope you keep this joy and energy and love of play in your heart for all your days.

Ever wonder how? This is how.

And this is how to run to show them to your cousin...

Z was a fairy princess riding a unicorn for Halloween. Jenni made the cape (it has wings attached) and we had planned to retrofit her cowgirl horse to unicorn status, but it was looking awfully brown and we found a pink unicorn at Target on sale a few days before Halloween, so we sprung for it. We spent the evening "trick-or-treating" at a local church carnival.

A few more photos from the last few weeks:


At the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, a few weeks ago.


It was warm. Still is, some days, here in central Texas.


Yesterday we went bowling with some friends. It was Z and her four-year-old friend's first time, although Z has played a video-game version of bowling before.

This matter has been settled out of court. Thanks to all ZRecs readers for your support.