Saturday, March 13, 2010

A Prayer in Spring



"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill."

-Robert Frost

I have had my hands in the dirt again and I couldn't be more thrilled! I've been weeding my garden and planting seeds. I even added a couple varieties of irises and poppies to the array of perennials surrounding our swimming pool.
One afternoon this week, I was pleasantly surprised as I looked out my window to see daffodil sprouts shooting up throughout my garden. When I went out to inspect, I also noticed almost all of my perennials plants reemerging through the soil.
I'm definitely an amateur at this gardening thing, and I wasn't sure if my plants would come back again. The stems and leaves that remained after their winter pruning were terribly brown and lifeless looking. At the sight of the bright green leaves at the base of each plant, I couldn't help but think of the new life God creates in our hearts when He regenerates our souls from death to life. What a beautiful picture to see!
I'm so grateful spring is finally here! (I was starting to think it would never come!) What a glorious season to enjoy!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Candy Girl

I couldn't help but think of my Boo when John showed me this Seinfeld video (except I don't think she has a moron, idiot brain!). Recently, Alyssa and Julianna saved up all their candy for a trip we were planning to take. Both of them had a bucketful by the time we left! Seems like every time I turn around one of them
is chomping on some sort of treat, or I'm stepping on candy wrappers! Julianna, in particular, is always looking for ways to earn or scheme a lollipop or a pack of gum. In fact, candy was
all she wanted for Christmas this year. She is officially our
candy girl.