signs of spring....

As we settle in back home with unpacking, laundry, cleaning, and finding our spaces again in our house, the kids have been spending a lot of time outside.

The signs of spring that we are all finding are making our transition a little bit easier. I am thankful for the timing of our trip, knowing that the cold winter is behind us and the darkness is quickly turning to light but still giving us a wee bit of time to prepare for spring.

The weather is still in its confused state, bouncing from cold and cloudy to sunny and mild even in the same day. Today is cold but the air is refreshing and it's not stopping the kids from venturing out and playing.

The cold days will soon be behind us and the warmth of the sun will return, the grass will turn green once again, the flowers blooming, and the garden will grow in size, with a season under our belts now I feel more confident in our growing this year, even a bit ambitious. Soon the indoor play will be replaced with mostly outdoor play and weeding and sowing of seeds, and planting of flowers and bushes and smalls veggie plants.

Soon our schoolwork will be taken outdoors to the shady spot under out cherry tree. Soon baseball season will begin to interrupt our evening dinners and Saturday mornings, and with two players this year, Mama and Dada will be stretched just a wee bit in juggling schedules (though hopefully not too much!)

We are noticing the small changes now the small bursts of color that are beginning to peek out from the brown dirt, the greens, purples, whites, yellows are all catching our eyes, and we are giddy to see such beautiful colors, such is the way with the seasons, they allow us to be excited about the same things year after year, season after season. They allow to see the same thing with a newfound appreciation each time. The cold snowy winters allow us to be thankful for the warm sun and colorful pops of color showing through the dirt, just as the hot sun, and dying grass allows us to marvel at the bursts of color of the leaves on the trees and the fresh cool air beginning to blow, which allows us to marvel at the first snowflakes falling from the sky coating everything with their tiny specks of crystallized drops of water. Truly we are blessed with the change of seasons and as much as I loved visiting Florida and soaking up the sun and the beach, I wouldn't trade it and miss the seasonal changes we get to experience month after month.

So as we wait for spring to fully arrive, we will soak up this quiet, this time of rest before our days are once again busy and full of work and play and in between.