Cardinal in our cherry tree.
Lo! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.- Song of Solomon 2:11-13
Okay, first of all, I know that this passage of scripture is not just about the changing seasons of weather outside, but I do find it quite fitting experiencing our first true winter-to-spring transition in many years now that we are back “in the north.” The rain isn’t quite gone yet, but spring is on the way. Despite a wintry mix this weekend, and plummeting temperatures, in general we have been truly beckoned by the call of Spring outside our doors in the last couple of weeks. It feels good for our souls to have this physical transition from winter to spring happen all around us, and we look forward with hope and anticipation of what’s to come.
Today had its own interest and beauty, although the damp cold temperatures were unwelcome. I snapped a few photos of the trees and plants in our yard that were beginning to bloom due to the warm temperatures and the spring showers. The grass is greening up and the blossoms are bursting forth. The birds are swarming our bird feeder and we’re noticing more varieties than we have seen this winter. Our son is really enjoying all the activity, too, but he and I can hardly keep the feeder filled!
This is our first spring in the new house, and we are thankful for a pretty well landscaped yard, but know not what might come up where! So the excitement for seeing what may bloom forth from each corner of the yard is an exciting adventure in itself. We’ve done massive pruning to several shrubs and trees, hoping to encourage even more wonderful fruits and flowers this year.
Another Winter Passing
In many ways, I am noting that this Spring seems to be bringing a true passing of a different kind of winter in my life, and my family’s. A year and a few months past my mother’s passing, and a year after beginning intensive counseling to recover from the difficulties and struggles of my past few years, I am feeling at a very different place (physically, spiritually, and emotionally).
In Florida, the skies were so big and open, you could see storms coming at their fast pace towards you. Often you could not predict if they’d come directly over you or pass to the side, but you could watch it happen right before your eyes all the same. We watched the fronts of hurricanes come upon us, as the winds began to gust more strongly, and the circular wall of clouds that wrapped across the sky came with great foreboding. But of course, many days in summer, great storms of dark ominous clouds, with their frightful fingers sticking down and their green cast, also came and swept up at a quick pace.
While I became somewhat used to these occurrences, and gradually less panicked at first sight of them, my heart always reacted, wondering what the seemingly “end times” caliber storm might bring. Often the worst would pass just aside from you, and you could sit and watch the storm rage down on the next county over (or next neighborhood). Anyway, with that imagery so engraved in my brain, the figurative storms that have passed over me in the recent past are palpable for me, and I can see them now in the distance behind me. I was not left untouched by them, although I know that many of the fragments and scattered debris have been picked up, and many wounds have begun to heal. I have cleared them and come to the bright sky on the other side. Not to say there are no potential storms ahead. But I am thankful at least for these to have past. Lo, the winter has past, and the spring beckons me forward into new life.
Literal New Life Ahead
Caryn entering the third trimester
We’re counting down to June for other reasons aside from weather since that is the due date for our baby girl. Entering the third trimester, I am starting to get more excited about the coming of this little gal. It has been much harder to think about it than the first since I have a busy time keeping up with our everyday life and our toddler! It’s such an active and exciting stage for him, it hardly leaves me time for dreaming about little baby girl. I think it’s now really sinking in about her being a girl and I’m starting to be really excited for that aspect of our new adventure.
We are starting to receive clothes here and there from folks handing them down, and for that I am excited and thankful. It’s quite a mysterious new world of girls baby clothes: leggings, dresses, skirts, and frills. There sure is a LOT of pink, but I’m glad to bring it on. I’m glad that a sort of eclectic style in girls clothes seem to be popular; I hope that will continue and give me some grace for learning how all these little mini-outfits work together! Little girls’ world, here we come!
We had an early Christmas over Thanksgiving with the Broadway family in Wilmington, NC. Josiah was eating up the attention from his grandaddy, Aunt Jenn and Uncle Chris. He also quite enjoys the cat, although the cat still doesn’t quite reciprocate his affections.
