SPRING IN MY YARD

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!

I think spring has officially arrived in Maryland! Everything is so beautiful right now - the trees are all covered with beautiful flowers that are just starting to gently float in the breeze as the new leaf buds are emerging. The trees behind my house are just bursting with green, more and more everyday.




This is a beautiful tree in my yard - the same one that I have a picture of covered in snow just a few months ago. I should know what kind it is, but I don't - any guesses anyone? They are everywhere around here. Is it some kind of maple tree? I was sitting at my kitchen table eating lunch with Emily the other day and I noticed the tree through our window and thought it made a very interesting frame for it.

QUESTION!!

Will everyone please leave a comment and tell me if you are able to see the whole pictures now that they are big? I have had two people tell me they are only seeing part of the pictures that I am posting. Has this issue been resolved?

PINK, PINK, PINK

Miss Emily is in a pink phase right now. She can only wear pink shoes, pink clothes, pink bows in her hair. She can only drink from a pink cup and eat off a pink plate. She even requested that we get a pink puppy! She is turning into such a little lady. I always thought Kirsten and Hannah were pretty "girlie" when they were little, but Miss Emily wins the "girlie prize" for sure! She has even started to bypass the Cinderella dress so that she can opt for something "more pink" now.

Thankfully I can add MY favorite color to pink, I love the combination of pink and brown. She looks just like her bedroom in this picture!! I actually had this dress hanging on her wall because it matched so well. Now she would wear this every day if I let her!

AUDREY CAROLINE

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

This is the family's blog of the lead singer in the group Selah. It's an amazing account of a very sad journey, still in the making. Be blessed when you read it, of God's unending power and grace. Have your tissues ready. Actually, you will need the entire box.

I have spent hours this afternoon reading through these pages. I had to go back and start at the beginning and there is still so much more to read. I had to stop for a while and regroup. Wow. I have experienced just a very small taste of what she is going through in my own life. To read her words brings the reality of those long ago days back so clearly. It is so very refreshing to know that He is in control of the tiniest details of our days, as well as the things that are so huge we can't even put them into words. I am overcome with so many thoughts - from overwhelming sorrow, to pure joy, to resting in His loving arms, to the unanswered questions that will always remain, knowing full well that He has a reason that they are unanswered. To the sheer overwhelming presence of Him in my life.

In this life, we are going to be disappointed. We will hurt. But there is great joy in the shadows if you know where to look. I pray that my family will always be willing to struggle "through the rain", for it's the rain that makes the grass so very green.