Watching Tali play with her cousin Gator – holding hands, laughing, running…

Seeing Grandmother’s clematis vines beginning to flower at what is now Hollie’s house…

Holding Jack Thomas…

Jen’s chocolate cheesecake on Mother’s Day…

Pushing Tali “Higher, higher!” in the swing…

Feeling a cool – not cold - breeze on my arms and face and being sure that spring is finally here…

Finally dismissing hat, gloves, and scarves to their storage box for a season…

Knowing that God’s promises are always true.

Jack Thomas is finally here! He switched sides of Cori’s tum on April 30, healthy as could be. We’re all jealous of Uncle David (my bro) who gets to share his birthday with little Jack. Jack Thomas is perfectly beautiful – 7lbs, 10oz, 19.5in – and Mama is doing just fine. We had a small crowd in the waiting room anticipating the birth and got to see Jack about an hour after he arrived. Tali and I went up to the hospital again the next morning and both got to hold him. Crazy how time flew while we looked at him and talked to him and looked at him and admired him. So sweet and handsome, in spite of his resemblance to his dad. (Just kidding, ahem, sorta.)

Our moribund tree is gone, our garden plots are tilled! BIG thanks to a hard-working Dad.

We’re so glad to be rid of our unsightly tree. Tali feels a little sad about it, but she’s very gracious concerning the cause. “The bugs didn’t mean to,” she said of the bugs who ate our tree alive. No, they were just very hungry or something. I’m sad that the bunch of birds who loved that tree, which was just outside Tali’s bedroom window, will have to find new homes out of our view.

After pushing down the tree, Dad expanded our former veggie garden and got a new plot tilled and ready to plant, revealing our sink-your-feet-in black-as-night sandy loam. (Talk about messy but free fun for Tali today.) I can hardly wait to put in our potatoes,  but again, I feel a little sad about the dirt-digging critters whose lives and homes have been drastically altered… I do hope they recover soon so they can get to work in my garden!