Spring 2021: We're Back...And Wow!

 Hello there!

How have you all been?

I hope you are all warm and safe!

If you're in Northern Alberta, you just might be thinking of a Christmas carol or two right now.

Like maybe this one:

And I saw from peeking at the news this morning that most parts of North America are experiencing some form of unseasonal weather right now.

So again, stay safe!

But I have news!

When I signed in to the blog and looked at the view counts for the posts...

...I saw that hundreds of you have been reading the individual ones in our absence!

And as a group, for all the post views combined, there's over 6,000 of you reading This Is For You Annie!

Wow!

Wherever you happen to be in the world, thank you so very much!

When Jacquie and I started This Is For You Annie, we envisioned it as a way to honor our dear mother Annette Hebert Autio, who passed unexpectedly in 2015, and her love of family and genealogy.

We honestly did not expect  anyone but family and friends to see it.

And for a while, that's exactly who did see it.

Then we decided to do something with the notes that Mom took during the trip that she and Jacquie took to the Maritimes in 2013.

And the view counts steadily increased.

And that made us smile.

Then life got crazy during this pandemic that we are in, and yesterday I looked at this special blog for the first time since last July.

And what I saw regarding the visits truly made my day.

So thank you again everyone, near and far!

I can't help wondering about what Mom would think about the times we live in now, if she were here.

And the more I think about it, three things keep coming to me:

Faith.

Family.

Friends.

And really, with much of the world slowed down, if anyone in the world has any of these attributes in any combination, then I'm sure that she would think that they will help sustain us, and eventually help us through whatever is ahead.

We love you Mom!

This one's for you.