i'm back!!

so let's get right into it, shall we? i've been gone for a while. i stopped posting on social media, stopped blogging, and stopped publishing. you may be wondering why. well, i'll tell you. it's probably not as sad and dramatic as some may have assumed. it had nothing to do with being in china. it wasn't over my writing at all. no big family tragedy or divorce or anything. not a big deal at all. i just...you know...

HAD A BABY!!

now, most of you don't know, but my husband and i had trouble getting pregnant after our third. years went by with either no pregnancy or a miscarriage. we'd given up and were considering adoption. our youngest at the time was already nine, our oldest was twelve, and one more in between. we figured we just weren't meant to have another. SURPRISE!

"but, randa. being pregnant shouldn't stop you from writing." well, random voice of my readers, you're right. ordinarily it wouldn't. but this was a very difficult pregnancy. i'm not talking horrible morning sickness or swollen ankles. i'm talking several trips to the doctor for complications, months of bed rest, painful injections, tears, anxiety, stress, and anemia kind of difficult. (side note: i did not know anemia was so awful! i thought it made you a little tired or something, but it's terrible. i was so weak, taking a shower required a break in the middle and completely wiped me out by the end. no joke, i had to nap after a shower.) anyway, i was sapped. so i kept notes of things i wanted to do and write about in a notebook, but had to put the rest aside in order to take care of myself and the life inside me.

and then, i had our little boy. so, WORTH IT! now, i don't know if you know this, but babies really take it out of you. add on that his three sisters and a husband who sleeps like the dead through newborn cries at night (to be fair, he's also busy getting his company up and running and keeping it going), and you get a chapter written every few months...if you're lucky.

my little miracle baby (miracle because he survived the incubation period, despite the odds being stacked against us, as well as being a boy...we never thought that would happen after we'd had three girls and my sister in law only had girls) is two now. he's a happy, healthy little boy who is now going to daycare for half days for the socialization and language exposure (because i can not teach him chinese). and so i am back in the game!!

i'm so excited to be back doing what i love, you have no idea. i have plans. big plans. lots and lots of big plans! that's what happens when you are stuck in bed for months at a time. it all gets bottled up until it finally bursts out in the form of social media and giveaways!

so, be ready. i've got a new website, a couple of new social media accounts (instagram, snapchat, and possibly...youtube), and, best of all: A NEW BOOK!

book 3 of the magically yours series is off to the editor right now and it should be finished in time for new years, if not sooner! i'll be having giveaways when the time gets closer. stay tuned for updates.

and here's a little miracle for you for reading: