Glimpses of Spring

It's officially the last week of winter and we're anxiously waiting and looking for signs of spring...

Shivering in jackets and mittens, burning cheeks and numb noses, we have felt relief in the upper 30's (and 40's! And even 50's!) and wandered the local parks celebrating in the green patches between grey and white.

Wet slushy side walks on 40 degree days feel like summer after weeks (months!) of being frozen and walking carefully across crusted ice.

Roo apparently finds 40 degrees perfectly acceptable jacket-free weather!

While the cuddle bugs shiver in winter jackets and keep blankets close...

But we're still celebrating! Spring is coming! 

 

From today...The snow is losing!

From our trip to the park today...

This was all buried in about 2 feet of snow not 6 days ago! 

Spring is a glorious thing! We're so excited! I think my favorite part of raising people and being around kids is their ability to bring us back to really appreciating the seasons. I am so glad we live where there are 4 seasons. Winter is hard, but in a way it teaches me to rest, to appreciate the shorter darker days. This winter especially I embraced the rest of winter in a way I haven't really allowed myself to ...ever. I needed the rest, we need the seasons of waiting and rest. But there comes a point where the long dark days drag on, it feels like a terrible transition- stuck in between knowing things have their proper seasons- and desperately ready to move on! Winter, there is some discomfort in the long darkness, there are lessons and joys as well. 

Because...When spring finally does arrive, you wish you could kiss it in welcome! You're so happy n a way you never could have remembered if you didn't know the winter so well. And the thrill of seeing buds on the trees, the smell of the ground waking up after a long sleep. You remember it hasn't always been cold silence. The days are longer and it feels delicious to be tucking little ones in bed and knowing that the day is not really ending. I could wax poetic about this way longer than I will. We're so happy, SO happy to welcome spring this year.

Especially this year it feels like the waiting time has passed, now it's just one fun leap to prepare for all that's next. Spring! To make the yard beautiful.  Spring! To grow our garden. Summer! To eat our fruits and veggies and listen to the buzz of the the cicadas and the sound of the sprinkler. The hum of the air conditioners and the cool family room during rest time on hot July days. To know that soon we'll be  welcoming some one new. That our autumn will be full of just as many changes as the trees, and our winter will come again, well won rest. 

To spring! Yes, we're so excited we would kiss it! 3 more days!

WInter's End

March came in like a Lion this year dumping another 8-10inches of snow on us in the first week!

It was a real snow, and the first weekday storm of the season that kept Daddy Joy home from work!

There was some snow play, but it was pretty bitter cold and every one was fighting off yet another cold virus...

A common sight the last month...

 This not so much...I just find her sleep habit of folding her hands completely adorable...

 We've also been doing a lot of crafting (well 1 of these is from February as are the flowers from Valentines Day from Ryan).

THinking SPRING! Nothing says spring like marker painted Coffee Filter Suncatchers! :)

We made these heart decorations the week after Valentine's Day.

Goomba playing her silly games.

Tea Parties are the best part of winter. Making cake or cookies, making a  pot of tea...setting the table...settling in to enjoy the slow quiet time of year.

I snuck out after the snow storm to the paint shop down the street and painted some SPRING inspiration! A Cherry Blossom Tree, always pink and cheerful any day I want it to be!

Pip also draws great Cheerful people...frame...grass...sun and all

I mean, Happiest people ever!

 

Today was lovely!!! 40+ degrees and we took advantage with a walk at the park, our first trip to a park this year!!!

Traditional shot of the 3 of them together...

At least I know 4 kids will fit in the shot in a year or two! :) That's M our bonus kiddo who is with us M-F during the school year.

And yesterday...Yesterday I had my first OB appointment. I kind of put off making the appointment... 4th time going through morning sickness, I was in no rush to go feel sick some where besides home. I scheduled it for 14+ weeks.

The appointment went really well! And we were surprised to be able to get in for an ultrasound and see our baby.

Baby profile little hands rubbing the face, sweet little torso that looks so much like Roo and Daddy Joy. Measuring a few days ahead (I'll be 15 weeks on Thursday), and doing fantastic! Since we were there and the girls have been dying to know what we're having (and arguing about it quite a bit, truth be told), and technically the gender could be detected as early as 13 weeks (and baby was measuring right around 15) we decided to take a peek between the legs and see what we could see. It was a 3D ultrasound and we could have been wrong, it *very* much looked like a baby boy.
Maybe Pip was right with her little "baby brudder" story after all! I Either way, girl or boy, that little baby has all of our hearts. Watching the girls oooh and awww over him (her?) was just the best. Roo has curled up with the print outs they gave us several times today just grinning over the pictures. She is so excited! I mean it's hard not to grin at that picture (above) in particular. This is the sweetest baby, I've felt it from the start. And getting to watch him (her?) on the screen yesterday, with all the magic of 3D technology, it made it feel so REAL! Another true little JOY to add to our bunch (and if it is a HE, you can bet he's going to have a Joy name that can't be beat! :D And if it's a she, we can't wait to add to our bunch of sisters as well!).