It Can't Last

There's a bit of snow today. Just a bit. And it can't last, at least I think it can't last. Far be it from me to tempt fate or mother nature!

On Friday it was nice enough to play outside with little Audrey. We sat on the porch swing enjoying an ice cream cone. The ice cream was a bribe to get her off the swingset because I was tired of pushing her higher. It was supposed to be a calming transition to an afternoon nap. Yeah, right, that didn't work out. Turns out there's only one of us who wants an afternoon nap, even though we both need one. Oh to have the energy of a two-year-old.


That was Friday. Saturday went from sunny and warm to cloudy and windy. The wind blew in cooler weather and rain that fell steadily on Sunday morning. A short burst of sunshine tricked us into thinking the promised rain (and snow) wouldn't show. But it was just a trick. It rained and snowed.

Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away

Do they still sing that on Sesame Street? I'll have to ask my little Audrey.

Anyway, it's a gorgeous sunny day here, chilly, but oh so pretty. Crocuses (or croci if you prefer) are in bloom. The daffodils are a couple inches high and beginning to show tight buds, and tulip stems are poking up through the dirt. After a long, cold, bleak and barren winter, new life never ceases to amaze me. When we were in Florida in February our senses were bombarded with all the wonderful outdoor smells of life. Grass, leaves, flowers. And now here it comes for us to enjoy up north. New Life.

Speaking of which...Tom and I got a brand new great nephew. From the pictures he looks oh so sweet, absolutely adorable. His momma looks terrific too. He's only hours old in the pictures we saw, which means she was only hours from that exciting, exhausting, exhilarating, uncomfortable experience so benignly called labor. They both look like it was no more than a walk in the park. We moms know better, and, mercifully, babies don't remember.

"Oh sing to the Lord a new song..." Ps. 96:1
"...behold, all things are new..." 2 Cor. 5:17

The fresh and new has come! Just go outside and breathe it in for yourself. New life has come, go hug a baby if you should be so lucky to have one nearby!

#3 is 29

Of course the picture is from last year when he turned 28. This year we don't get to see him for his birthday...more our fault than his. So in lieu of face-to-face, here's a written out warm wish for a good day and a fantastic year. Happy Birthday Adam! (The card's in the mail.) I love you more than I can possibly say. Mom

My Best Thought -- Every Day

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.

Be thou my Wisdom, and thou my true Word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

The words of this ancient Irish hymn were written possibly as early as the 8th century. Be Thou My Vision was translated by Mary Byrne in the 1800's or very early 1900's, and later adapted by Eleanor Hull. When the music is added (an Irish melody) the song is both comforting and haunting, uplifting and soulfull. Today the words remind me that I'll be fine, more than fine, if I rise above my "I" trouble.

MARCH

I love March. But I'll tell you what...it's dang cold this year. Freezing cold. Look at the lonely sap buckets. There they sit, waiting for the drip, drip, drip of sap. Yeah well they're going to have to keep on waiting. Nothing's dripping. Absolutely nothing.