Yearly Firsts

Every year in Maine the Winter seems to last so long. I don't know about you, but I find myself wondering in mid to late Winter when I will see the grass again.  I feel as though I have forgotten how to leave the house without taking 20 minutes to put on coats, or how easy it is to not wear shoes.  So when Spring does arrive I start to get all excited for the first of everything. You know what I mean... The first cookout, fire, tractor ride through the woods.  I relish in hearing the first sound of the bees looking for delicious pollen, and the sounds of the birds and peepers.  Unlike last year Spring came right on time this year and we were able to celebrate the new life given to us by Christ's sacrifice alongside the sounds of life coming from Spring in our backyard.

The first picnic lunch on the deck. I love this because the boys eat well, get some good air, and don't make a mess of the house during lunch. Do you not love my new camping dishes? I want to use them everyday, but I have restrained myself and am only using them for eating outside at home and camping.

Joshua and Josiah at our first fire of the year. Below is the wonderful fire that Tyler built and Joshua maintained. I love having Josh over for a fire because he does such a good job keeping the fire nice and big.  Even if it supposed to be a "cooking" fire.  Hey I could cook on that...

After Andrew ate his hot dog and chips he proceeded to lick the plate clean. There is no better way to celebrate Spring than to have a wonderful fire, eat hot dogs off the grill and get mustard all over your face from licking your plate. Ahh... this is the life!

Sharing with the Future Generation

I recently finished a book called "the Middle Place". The content and interest in this book is not what I want to talk about today. But rather I want to share with you the meaning of this phrase. This phrase represents the place that a lady finds herself when she is simultaneously a daughter and a mother. I have found that this transition into primarily motherhood is slow, gradual, and at times breathtaking.

This transition manifests itself when I see parts of my childhood pass to my children by my parents. Every Spring growing up we would walk to the brook behind our house and search for pussy willows. My mother loves those little gray fuzzy buds and in so doing has taught me to love them as well.  We would always sing the "pussy willow" song and for days afterward there would be a vase of a dozen branches from the special willow tree in our home.  This year I arrived at my mother's house to discover that my parents and two oldest boys had done this exact thing. Only this time I was the mother receiving the delight instead of the child giving it. 

 The Pussy Willow Song...

I know a little pussy

his coat is silver gray

he lives down in the meadow

not very far away

he'll always be a pussy

he'll never be a cat

'cause he's a pussy willow

now what do you think of that?

My Children's Heritage

"Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly"

                                                                                              John Adams 

John Adam's pride in his family revealed through a letter he wrote; this particular excerpt is found in the book John Adams by David McCullough.

"My father was an honest man, a lover of his country, and an independent spirit and the example of that father inspired me with the greatest pride of my life.... My father, grandfather, great grandfather, and great, great, grandfather were all inhabitants of Braintree and all independent country gentlemen.  I mean officers in the militia and deacons in the church.... The line I have just described makes about 160 years in which no bankruptcy was ever committed, no widow or orphan was ever defrauded, no redemptor intervened and no debt was contracted with England."

Oh that my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren etc. would be able to say these things about Tyler and our sons. Well, maybe except for the inhabiting Braintree, MA part.

A 5 yr old's Humor, Logic, Bowling

As I am sure that you know, Tyler and I had the privilege of taking three wonderful boys bowling in a celebratory manner. I wanted to share with you some of the silliness that we were presented with.  First, after each ball bowled we had to witness some very interesting "victory" moves, and when not all of the pins were knocked down we were sympathized over.  By the time that we were ending I was tempted to share with our sympathetic companion that, although knocking over all of the pins is the objective of the game, 9 out of 10 isn't that bad of a score.

Jokes Told:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side (why is this funny?)

Quirks Observed:

Ethan claps for himself.

Jed holds one position until the slow traveling ball finally reaches its destination.

Elijah continually ends up on the floor after releasing a ball.

Come to think of it they all routinely did all of these things. We received many high fives, clapped our hands, and were constantly wondering if they were hurt from throwing themselves on the floor yet one more time.

Yet, another Joke:

Why did the gum cross the road?

Because it was stuck to the chicken.

I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob.  With all silliness aside; as we were heading towards the door to leave and the boys raced each other to our destination all I could think of was how great it was to be a part of this with them.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful little people in my life; each day just keeps getting sillier and sillier: I love it!

One more Joke for the road:

What do you call a crazy chicken?

A cuckoo!

(sometimes I feel like a crazy chicken, but I ain't no cuckoo)

Ushering in Summer

Every year my husband buys me some daffodils to brighten up our home and help get us over that last hump of Winter and into the planting season. Of course, now that I have said that, he probably won't buy me any next year. Combine the lovely daffodils with our blooming lobster cactus and for about 7 days we have a bright, green, flowering home. 

Mud Season... Need I Say More

Josiah is an old pro at making rivers in my driveway.

Andrew's first mud season on his feet is a huge success. He doesn't like his hands dirty, but feet in the mud is a sensational experience.

Can you find Elijah's mud boot?

Sticky Snow, Sticky Mud, Just Plain Sticky

Ahh Spring! The onslaught of warmth and sun brings with it the never ending mud, dirt and grime.  I know a wonderful lady who apparently does not like Spring. I cannot imagine anyone not liking Spring, but I must confess that my love of Spring is shallow. I only love Spring because it is a sign of the earth warming up and Summer fast approaching. If you know me at all you know that Fall is actually my favorite season. Anyway, seasons aside, I want to share with you today something that happens in our yard most years in late February and March. This phenomena is called sticky snow which among other things leads to sticky mud.

When the warm sun starts penetrating the earth in late February all of that Winter snow that we have received starts melting. This is no grand melting pot session that you may imagine, but more of a slow gentile process that warms the edges of the snow just enough to make the snow suitable for... snowball fights, and other sticky snow ventures.

This warmth also makes the days comfortable for ventures out with snowshoes, and makes the first ever snowshoe experience pleasant. As you can see Josiah did awesome for his first big foot episode. 

Although the weather in March turns into the infamous mud season the bright sun that lingers in the sky invokes a pleasant feeling in us all and we receive pleasure in the form of watching snowmen melt, throwing snow at each other, and digging out our soon to be blooming bushes. In fact I own a t-shirt with the depiction of melting snowmen so that I can enjoy this "Spring is around the corner" feeling all year long.  And although Spring is not my favorite season, I think that all of us can find joy in the warm sun that is shone around us even if it does lead to mud.