Old Man Winter...NEVER showed up!

As I sit here to write this post, I am still amazed we are, literally, months into enjoying spring/summer here at our house! We have been so blessed that our winter was amazingly short (folks we are talking about mere weeks, it seems like)! In so many ways, we don't look forward to those few months after Christmas when the days seem to drag on and on. The bitter cold and gloomy weather seems to bring a layer of "gloom" to our school days too!

Our beautiful yellow daffodils (that i seem to forget about each year), began popping up in early February and we feared that in a single frost, they would be wiped out. But God's bright, warm sunshine prevailed and they blossomed without a hint of fading, bringing a welcome sign to the front of our home.  (This picture was taken on my birthday, February 2, and you can see by the kids clothing choices, it was a warm day, and this was AFTER the groundhog had seen his shadow!:) I don't think he was right this year!)



Each day, the weather began to get warmer and our winter wardrobes were quickly getting changed out of the closets for shorts, short sleeves and best of all FLIP FLOPS! :)  After several days of pink cheeks and mildly painful shoulders, I found myself scrounging through the pool bin for the last of the 2011 sunscreen. Really, is it time for me to start shelling out money for the goopy white stuff again!

We have enjoyed daily bike rides in the neighborhood, picnics on the driveway and spent hours each week at our favorite park with friends! I must say, the warm weather has lifted our spirits out of the winter funk! We drive all over town with the windows down, singing along to Andrew Peterson at the top of our lungs and being thankful God gave us an early spring! He gave us crazy wind and rain storms that have ended in the most beautiful blue skies, stretched with gorgeous rainbows. Butterflies, Bluebirds and Bees have adorned our lush, green yard and I love seeing and hearing God's creation through the open windows of our home. We pray God is blessing your time in His creation each day!

"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."--Philippians 4:11-12