A day to remember . . . always

Happy Anniversary my dear one!

- Jody, I need a good picture of you and Rob. Somewhere around here, I have a picture of you and me getting ready on your wedding day but I cannot find it right now. I love you. Hope your day is special as you remember the day that forever tied your souls together. (As if you needed a specific day for that!)

On the move

It won't be long now. . . Annabelle loves to push anything she can get her hands on. She's a bit timid to take that first step alone though.

Not moving to quickly in Daddy's cowboy boots though.

A day for mothers

In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.
Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.
When Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. In 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother’s church, St. Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia—one for each mother in the congregation. The first Mother's Day service was celebrated on 10 May 1908, in the same church, where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Anna chose Sunday to be Mother's Day because she intended the day to be commemorated and treated as a Holy Day. Even though the day has become severely commercialized, it is a beautiful opportunity to let our mothers know how much, how deeply they are appreciated.

My children bought me a big, beautiful planter for the front porch. They know me so well.  And I have a few more pieces of original art for the gallery. 

My love took us out to lunch, joined by Mom and Dad and my brother's family. Three moms in our little group. My sister sent flowers from Boston to surprise Mom. It was a very sweet afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed your day of celebrating mom.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom and me


My brother and sister
Mom, my best friend

Everything that I am, I owe to you mom.

Alone on a Saturday night

Annabelle has a fever. I'm staying home with her.  Josh, Noah and Bronwen went visiting Grandma Becky for Mother's day. While they enjoy s'mores and a big bonfire, I am reading a new blog I really enjoy and getting things ready for church tomorrow. I came across this little quiz and of course had to find out which Austen heroine I am.

Take the Quiz here!

Bronwen's tricycle

Six Bartlett Pears

On the mantle. Realizing that there is always something beautiful to display.

After the rain

He is like the light of morning at sunrise 
on a cloudless morning, 
like the brightness after rain 
that brings the grass from the earth. 2 Samuel 23:4

Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants. Deuteronomy 32:2

Befriending balloons

I am simply taken with this little story and the illustration of Emily's Balloon by Komako Sakai. It was actually more the art I was first drawn to, and then I fell in love with the story. Of course the little Emily reminds me very much of my own Bronwen and Annabelle. 

As I am sure it is with most children, balloons hold such a magical excitement for my little ones. And if I'm honest, for me too. Do you ever remember befriending a colorful balloon, carrying it around all day long,

Being so sad to find it on the floor the next day, the air having escaped in the night. Or worse yet, watching helplessly and with deepest sorrow as it floats away - just beyond your reach and then higher and higher into the clouds - having escaped your fingers.

As a parent I have many many times tried to turn that awful moment around for my weeping tot, describing the wonderful adventures that balloon is about to have. After awhile a little voice joins mine adding to the narration with more ideas and soon there are giggles instead of tears. 

And of course the promise of another balloon

When I was young I watched a movie that made such an impact on me, I still am moved when I think of it. If you've seen The Red Balloon you know what I am talking about. (By the way, I recommend this short but powerful movie by French film maker Albert Lamorisse. His son and daughter both have roles.) I don't know if the library still has a copy of it. We got it from there back when you could check out movie reels and projectors.  It is available on Amazon.

Wacky Wednesday

My oh my what fun you can have with a photo booth!

Sisters

The girls are beginning to play together. Bronwen is showing more interest in her baby sister, and enjoying play now that Annabelle is so much more active and responsive. Her nurturing heart is evident and it makes me smile.

Walking in the garden

Springtime doesn't last nearly long enough. All too soon the delicate blossoms fade and scatter with the breezes. The vibrant greens of new growth deepen and darken as they mature into summer plants. The tender young branches grow sturdy and firm. I do wish that it would last a little longer.

The giant crabapple tree whose branches held my brother and sister and me during the countless hours of playing and pretending when we were young.

These cheery tulips are posted at the entryway to welcome visitors lucky enough to spend time at my parent's home.

The snowy white blossoms of a cleveland pear tree.

A single, stray violet has wondered away from the myriad clusters growing socially around the garden.

Hosta unfurls like so many small flags, celebrating spring. How amazing are the crisp green leaves.

Beauty in abundance wherever the eye may fall.

Ghost leaf set for the ages.

Incredible pink hues stand out so vividly against the shades of green. Why are the hearts bleeding?

Smokey purple violets by the bunch.

Who needs blossoming buds when you have lush incredible foliage like the beautiful variegated hosta?
Elaborate fern fronds beginning to open. Who would believe that the broad beautiful frond could be so neatly folded up like this?

Just a little off the beaten path

A jewel in the garden: the lacy leaves of the brilliant red Japanese maple play with the sunlight sending it dancing all around.

Pale pink, delicate blossoms cling to the freshly pruned peach tree.

Another joyful match of colors: emerald green and gold

Who could possibly feel the cares of this world while walking in the garden?