Give It A Try

I am an admitted photo junky. (grin) No surprise there for anyone who knows me or reads this blog! And as such, I spend time online every week looking at flickr and photography blogs. I recently stumbled across a happy marriage of the two. Allow me to introduce Madeline Bea. In my humble opinion, her photography is beautiful. What is more, she seems to be an extemely real wife and mommy. But my specific reason for bringing her up is because she posts a regular feature on her blog called Realities & Blessings; and it's something I'd like to try over here on my own little blog. It is an honest, no frills statement about something going on in life - that's the reality side - followed by a positive, silver-lining type of comment on the same statement - which is where the blessing part comes in. In essence, it's all about being a glass half-full type of person and acknowledging that God can use all things together for good. So indulge me while I give it a try...

REALITY: A wet and gray weather forecast is stretching out before us this week
BLESSING: Around here, it's usually just a drizzle that won't soak you, even if you do get caught outside. Plus, there is often a window or two in each day when the clouds part and the sun peaks through. I had a moment like that this morning that I was able to squeeze my run into. AND...we have beautiful, lush grassy yards and flowers popping up everywhere thanks to those same rains.

REALITY: My floor is in a perpetual state of needing to be swept.
BLESSING: I am blessed with three active kids who are learning to be independent. Their being able to get up and see to their own breakfast is worth the crumbs on the table and the cheerios on the floor.

REALITY: Our house has been on the market for over a month with no bites on it yet.
BLESSING: We aren't on a time frame. We really have a year (or more) to see what will happen. I wanted the kids to be able to finish out the school year in their current classes, anyway, so this saves me from driving them in daily from who knows where. Plus, I figure God is using this time to line up the next house He has for us. Maybe that house hasn't been listed yet, or perhaps it's on the market now and the price will have gone down by the time we are ready to purchase. Oh, and truth be told, we needed this extra time to button up the baseboard trim in the closets!

That's all for me (for now). Thanks Maegan, aka Madeline Bea, for such a great idea. I think a little more time spent on being thankful and positive does wonders for a person's outlook. Happy Tuesday everyone!

A Glimpse of Sun

The mud puddles have evaporated and the rain clouds have moved on, leaving us to enjoy a few blissfully sunny spring days. The kind that beckon you out into warm golden rays and leave your nose kissed with pink. Days that provide glorious climbing trees, beautifully covered in April blooms...

And quiet, relaxing moments, stretched out in the sun.

I know the rain will make its way back (and at some point I will HAVE to stop blogging spring photos!), but until then I will take each blue sky day gratefully. Let the sun shine in!

Spring's In Bloom

Here are a few more spring-time photos. These first five days of April have had enough of the "April showers" (or nasty, windy, stormy, instant mud puddle, get soaked walking from the car to the store type of rainy days) that I hope we are rewarded with plenty of "May flowers". That is if the old adage proves correct ;^)