Spring has brought us time working on the yard and house, time with friends, and time with our church community.  The kids and I have been taking walks in the woods by our house many days of the week, which has been great for each of us, Addie included.  Spring gave us a ten-year-old boy with not one but three new ear piercings.  He had a sleepover and fried ice cream at the Mexican restaurant for his birthday, and got a big haul of paracord which he (rather obsessively) uses to tie all kinds of bracelets for everyone.  Spring has been mostly rainy still, with the occasional full day of sun, but mostly not.  Once in a while it’s even gotten close to 70 degrees: On those days, we try to head outside to the park or just out the door to roast hot dogs in our fire pit while enjoying the gorgeous bounty of flowers all around our property.

This spring we enjoyed multiple easter egg hunts with family and friends, we discovered Cedar needs glasses for near-sightedness, and we started participating in a homeschool co-op where they get to do cool things like walk on water with homemade water shoes.  Ashton finished up her homeschool choir season with a final performance.  She worked hard, showed up for practices, memorized her parts, and did amazing. I am so proud of her for facing her fears to perform in front of people, and for being brave enough to invite all our neighbors and friends to come to her concert, even when she was super nervous to perform…. and our friends and neighbors DID come!  It is just so darn wonderful to have so many people in our life who love and support our family.

Spring also brought one unusually warm, humid day in which we discovered a hidden waterfall with our friends the Burtons, with whom we enjoyed being outdoors and playing in the cold water.  On our way out of the woods, it started to thunderstorm right on top of us, with giant booms and lightning and pouring rain…. but warm, bath-like, Florida-like rain.  We got totally soaked.  Once home I stood outside watching the lightning strikes, feeling the warm air, listening to the birds, watching a possum cross the street, and smelling the wafting aroma of lilac.  I felt such longing for Florida, the sun, the aliveness of life there in day and night, and the warm ocean… and thankful for the opportunity to be here in this place, in my lovely little backyard surrounded by beautiful flowers.

Spring has also given us an opportunity to be stationed in Naples, Italy for three years beginning this fall.  This means a lot of learning, preparing, logistics, and sadness.  We are getting ready, in all kinds of ways.