Insta-Friday...

Our week in photos...

When Vic saw this picture, he said that he never noticed the red in a dandelion...proof that, although beauty can always be found, we may have to look for it.  

 The season of picnics...my favorite.

 Ellie made an appearance once again in Little Miss' artwork.

 Mem.

 Selfies.

 Another nest.

 This little girl makes me smile. 

"If you take the time to look at simple things, you will come to realize they really are beautiful."

Insta-Friday

It's looking like spring around here.

Little Miss can usually be found lounging in the hammock on our front porch.

"If dandelions were hard to grow, they'd be most welcomed on any lawn."

-Andrew V. Mason

Selfies by E and Sparkee

Every year we are able to see a bird's nest in our yard.  This year I have counted 6 nests so far.  Here is a quick video of some of my instagram pictures of the progression of one of the nests.

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." - Franz Kafka 

 Happy Friday Everyone! Enjoy your weekend and be sure to find the beauty in your own backyard.

Dance with your heart...

 Maybe I shouldn't actually type out the words, but, I'll whisper them, "it's starting to feel like spring".

A new dress and beautiful weather calls for an impromptu "dance in your backyard barefoot" party. 

 This may have been another rendition of "Let it Go".  

 I'm looking forward to continued and complete healing from my last surgery so I can get out in the yard and get my hands dirty, another form of therapy for me.

 For now, I'll open the windows, let the fresh air in, and maybe, just maybe join my Little Miss in singing and dancing.

Happy Monday!  May your day be filled with impromptu dance parties.

"Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another."

Spring has sprung...

I don't know about you, but I've been ready for Spring for about a month now.  It's time for the sun to warm the earth, melt the rest of the snow and urge the flowers from the ground.  We walked around the yard the other day and saw some of the first signs of this beautiful season.  

 Happy First Day of Spring!

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.  ~Anne Bradstreet

Hmmm, I especially love this quote.  Another one of those signs I may have missed before the Big C.  But now I find myself so keenly aware of these reminders. I am living the life I'm supposed to be living, muck and all.  Each experience has something to teach me, something I can choose to grow from.  I try my best to be thankful for all of it, even though sometimes I am knocked on my behind.

Finding rainbows...

A couple days after I wrote the post about my memere, there was a beautiful double rainbow outside.  Do you think that is coincidence?  I'm sure some would say "yes", but I can't help but think and hope that my mem had something to do with it. 

  I had trouble getting the double with my lens (the first picture was taken with my phone) and the pictures don't do it justice, but it was an incredible sight to see. 

And then yesterday when I went for a walk, there was another beautiful rainbow, made even more vivid when I looked through my sunglasses.

"Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray."

Lord Byron

Pink Tulips...

Spring is definitely my favorite season.  After winter, I look forward to the warmer weather and and things starting to bud and bloom all around me.  I enjoy watching the gardens in our yard start to come to life after being dorment for the entire winter.  

About 2 months ago, I noticed some sprouts in the yard that I hadn't noticed before.

They looked like the start of tulips, but I knew I hadn't planted any, so I really wasn't sure.  After a week or so, they started popping out EVERYWHERE, all over my front and back yards.  Then I started thinking...I texted my cousin and my aunt and asked if they had planted anything when they helped me mulch last year, my cousin responded that she had not.  

For the next several weeks we watched as the sprouts grew bigger and indeed revealed themselves as tulips, but where did they come from?   I started to believe a miracle had taken place...

...and then my cousin and my aunt came clean.  They had indeed planted the bulbs, 500 bulbs to be exact.  Because they didn't plant them on the day I originally questioned, they really weren't being dishonest when I asked about them and I guess they wanted to hold out just a little bit longer.  I was started to feel like I was going a little crazy, so I'm glad they finally told me.

Now several weeks later, here are the blooms.

This is the view from our front porch.

They are beautiful, and when I see them I am reminded of the amazing people I have in my life and how great it feels to be loved. Thank you Aunt Jeanne and Beth! xo

And, if the pictures weren't enough, here's a 3 minutes video tour of my yard of pink tulips.  

A heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much 

you are loved by others.

Frank Morgan

Easter

I know I'm a little behind, but better late than never.  Here is our Easter in pictures.

E hunts for eggs too; he's just too darn quick and it makes it difficult for me to get a picture of him. 

 The hunt for the baskets begins...

The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise.  

~Carl Knudsen