This winter I declared I wouldn’t live in Nebraska forever.
However, since I’m not in any way prophetic and since I can’t package up my family, friends, and basically the entirety of Lincoln, Nebraska, my declaration is a little weak.
Instead I should declare that, a thousand times over, I adore warm weather. And the color green, I adore that, too. And oceans with vast beaches. Surely I annoy people when I tell them that nicer weather is in my genes, but it’s true. My mom is from Miami and my dad is from Santa Barbara. It’s a wonder any of us survive the winters here.
Today I went hunting for spring and I found it. Thank you, Lord, for spring and for sunshine. It. is. time.
This darling girl has been charming Jeremy, Liv and me since she came into our household last week. She’s the daughter of our friends Sarah and Matt and her squeals of glee have brightened up the walls of Chateau Prairie Box.
There’s something to be said for communal living, for sharing space with one another and connecting over coffee or a bowl of cereal. Dishes become much less of a chore when there’s someone to talk to while I get my hands wet and just knowing someone else is around when Jeremy’s gone makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I’ll miss this sweet family when they go home again. Sarah, Matt and Ambrose, we’ve enjoyed having you here!
My body is moving slowly this morning and my head is congested, but I found two gifts waiting for me when I awoke. One, a cheerful and sweet daughter who obeyed and easily got ready for school. And two, an outdoor landscape transformed by frost. Both gifts are life-giving and one lent itself to the other being enjoyed. While Livia ate her breakfast I wandered the yard in my slippers, grateful for something new to see at the end of winter.
Spring is coming.
It’s a wonder I ever have a complete conversation at women’s events at church anymore with little faces like this looking in my direction. I’ll often try to leave my camera in my bag (women get really weird about being photographed, for the record) and live in the moment. You know, engage in the present and all that. Jack’s enormous brown eyes, though, were too much to resist. This little guy is so cute and so precious that I was powerless against his charm. I expect to soon be laughing at his antics as his mom is one of the funniest people I know.
