Silver Linings and Lemonade

God promises to work good out of all of our situations. Sometimes, to me, it seems the good is too long in coming. And sometimes I'm too wrapped up in self pity or frustration or 'half-full' thinking to see good that is on display right in front of me. But right now, I am living fully aware of the goodness filling our home in the form of early morning snuggles and the pitter patter of two extra pairs of little feet. We wouldn't be living in the middle of this if we hadn't walked through something hard, something I would never have chosen to walk through. But here we are already experiencing good that is bringing with it unplanned and unexpected blessings.

"That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." -Romans 8:28, The Message

Enjoying an extended visit from our cousins- Friday, April 27.

Fun at breakfast.

I like the version of the story his shadow is telling- Monday, April 30.

Farms Stink

I accompanied Little One and her preschool friends on a field trip to a little local dairy farm. Until the day before the trip, Little One insisted she was not going on the field trip to the little local dairy farm because, and I quote, "Farms stink and I might step in poop." I tried in all my motherly wisdom to convince her it would be fun, but no matter what I said, she kept coming back to her original two objections, to which I could say nothing but, "You are right. Farms stink and you might step in poop." Then the night before the field trip, as we were getting ready for bed, we were once again talking about all things smelly and farmish (I don't think that is a word, but I like it and it sounds like Amish, so I am going to use it). My arguments exhausted, I happened to mention something about us wearing our muck boots and being able to hose them off if they got dirty. And just like that Little One gave up the fight and decided it wouldn't be so bad to go to the farm.

While at the farm she refused to pet any animals, except the cute white rabbit that was sleeping on the farmer's lap. She kept eyeing the door of the barn, plotting her escape, as the farmer's wife told us all about the animals living on her farm. She also spent the entire day (except when she was petting the rabbit and drinking her free milk in the little store) like this-

Little One tolerating her trip to the farm- Wednesday, April 25.

Bunnies must not be that stinky- Wednesday, April 25.

 This cute Starling had a nest up in the ceiling of the baby cow barn. She would fly out to the fields, come back in with a mouth full of worms, and perch on a bit of railing. Then, when she thought no one was looking, she darted into a little round hole in the ceiling. Within a few seconds the glad chirping of a nest full of baby birdies could be heard below. Then just like that, momma bird would pop out of another hole closer to the back of the barn and start the process over again. And I thought round the clock feedings every two hours was tough- Wednesday, April 25.

 I liked the light coming through the floor boards. This was the ceiling of the lower level of one of the barns- Wednesday, April 25.

 Silos and clouds. I thought this was cool because at first glance this could be the smokestacks of a factory- Wednesday, April 25.

This image was a great shot just waiting to be taken. And believe me, I took lots of pictures of it. The problem was, there was a silver SUV parked right behind the front wheel of the tractor and a yellow bucket on the wagon. Try as I might, I couldn't get a shot I liked without annoying pieces of both of the above mentioned items. So I spent a little time in PSE today and am pretty happy with the results- Taken, Wednesday, April 25. Edited, Monday, April 30.

The original. Nice bucket- Wednesday, April 25.

Our Side of the Fence

I've heard it said the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but I wouldn't know from personal experience. I can't actually see over our neighbor's fence unless I am staring out The Oldest's bedroom window and then I just feel like a peeping tom. The fence that divides our yards is about six feet tall. Our neighbor told us they put it up because of their dogs, but I have never yet seen their dogs jump anywhere close to six feet in the air. I actually think they just really like their privacy. There was one spot right up against the house that the fence was just a little picket style. You didn't notice though because there were massive evergreens growing behind it. The little picket fence served as an official boundary line, doing nothing to help in the quest for privacy. But one summer our neighbor decided to cut down the trees behind this little picket fence part. This posed a problem, not so much for us because for the first time in nine years I had sunshine streaming in my kitchen window, but for our neighbors. You see, now we could actually see right into their back yard. This evidently made them feel very uncomfortable. We tried our best not to stare, but it was as if we were standing in Berlin on the day the wall fell getting our first glimpse of a land we had only before heard of in stories (And through brief glimpses out The Oldest's window, but we really tried to limit those. How horrible would it be if you were caught by your neighbor- especially a neighbor who apparently likes to keep the affairs of their backyard very private- peeping into their backyard!) Well, our neighbor isn't one to waste any daylight and soon had remedied the situation. In place of the towering trees, he took two sections of six foot fencing, sawed off the very top of one and stacked them on top of each other. We now have what I believe might be the tallest fence in small town America. As with all things that make you stop and tilt your head a bit, we gave this marvel of back yard construction a name. If you can't make it to any of the real Seven Wonders this summer, feel free to stop by and visit "The Great Wall of Stan*" right here in a town near you.

I don't actually have pictures of the Great Wall of Stan* today, just one picture of the measly six foot section that I had fun tweaking in PSE. The discourse on the G.W. of S.* was just a bonus. You're welcome.

Original. 

I took it because I liked the light shining through the slats and the little knot hole.

 Black and white.

 Increased saturation, highlights, color hues, other stuff.

Sepia- Tuesday, April 24.

*Name was changed to protect the privacy of someone who really likes to have their privacy protected.

Birthday and Baby Shower

Saturday, April 21st brought us two very exciting family events. We were awakened ever so early by a very excited birthday girl. First Grader turned seven and was sure we needed to be out of bed in order to properly celebrate. In hindsight, I guess she was right. With doughnuts for breakfast, the unveiling of her new lime-green DS, and the presentation of her annual birthday flowers from her daddy (My Husband gets each of the girls flowers in the number they are turning every birthday. He's so sweet!) we shifted gears to exciting family event of the day number two- baby shower for my adorably cute and very pregnant sister-in-law. She looked adorably cute as usual. I actually won a game at the shower because I was so busy checking out how cute she looked when we were 'supposed' to be looking at assorted baby items on a tray. The questions ended up being all about my sister-in-law and not at all about what was on the tray, so I nailed them all! Baby shower all wrapped up, we headed back to Nana's house for a birthday dinner party for First Grader, celebrated with cake and lots of presents, and then packed up and headed home. Happy day all around.

Daddy and his seven year old sweetheart- Saturday, April 21.

The guest of honor skillfully (and adorably) holding two babies- Saturday, April 21.

Baby shower presents waiting to be opened- Saturday, April 21.

 Flowers, fresh cut and ready to plant- Saturday, April 21.

First Grader (aka The Birthday Girl) and her Nana enjoying the shower- Saturday, April 21.

Back to birthday business- Saturday, April 21. 

Tax Day

Today is tax day. It would normally have been two days ago, but we can't have tax day on a Sunday or (as I learned just a few minutes ago from the Google) on Emancipation Day, which is held every year on April 16th. It is a holiday observed only in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the day Abe Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Tax day is a big deal around here, not because we enjoy waiting until the last minute to file our taxes just so we can go to the post office at 11:55pm, but because it is the day we get Daddy back. You see for three months of the year we graciously lend him to his employers. We've waited our two extra days this year and now are eagerly waiting for Daddy to get home so we can officially mark the end of Tax Season. I've even got a meat loaf in the oven- now that is a food made for celebrating if I've ever seen one.

The doorbell rang today right after we had gotten home. (Side note about another reason today is an exciting day- We were actually out at a final round of testing for The Oldest's homes chool group this morning. He had committed to the challenge of memorizing gobs and gobs of information across seven different subjects in order to be deemed a Memory Master. To accomplish this feat he had to recite everything without one mistake. To give you an idea of how much he memorized, it took him over an hour to recite it all. He finished his final round of proofing today with flying colors.) Back to the doorbell. I hate when the doorbell rings lately. We have had lots of politicians visiting our house and I don't enjoy talking with them. I couldn't pretend we didn't hear the doorbell because we have all the doors and windows open today. So, I went to the door to find, not a politician, but a delivery man with an amazing arrangement of flowers. I quickly went to my mental calendar to see what important event I was missing. Our anniversary, no. My birthday, not yet. Then it hit me- tax day. My Husband, who has been the one to quietly get up at 4:00 every morning, get dressed in the dark, work non-stop until he comes home for a late dinner, listen patiently to the girls chatter about their day, talk with The Oldest about whatever he has found interesting or exciting, help with baths, sing bed time songs, and fall in to bed to do it all over again the next day, sent me flowers. Flowers with a note thanking me for supporting him through tax season number ten. I started to feel a little bit bad that I didn't get him anything and that all I have in the oven right now is a meatloaf, but then I just stopped and decided to be thankful for a gift from My amazing Husband who somehow just worked close to like a million overtime hours in three months, all while continuing to be an attentive Daddy and supportive best friend. {Love you, babe.}

My beautiful flowers. Boy, they smell really amazing, too- Tuesday, April 17.

Little One has mastered pumping herself on the swings. (Notice her crossed legs. I think that is so cute.) She informed me that she learned this from The Oldest while I was busy. Thank goodness for older brothers- Tuesday, April 17.

 Yesterday's sunset with some birds- Monday, April 16.

I Found Something to Say By the End

I still haven't worked my way back to daily posts. Not sure when or if that will occur. But I am glad to be sitting here today, in a space carved out of a day full of to-dos, working with pictures that have found their way from my camera to the computer. I have no clever way of tying this quite random collection of photos together, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking today.

 Driving down some back roads the other day we came upon a gathering of vultures. They were kind enough to scamper into the grass at the side of the road, but only after I had to come to a complete stop just inches from the site of their mid-morning feast. Since I was just sitting there totally stopped, with my camera riding shotgun, I snapped a few pictures. Vultures really are dreary birds. They blend in terribly with their surroundings. So I worked at adjusting their hue and the saturation of the background to make them stand out a little- Tuesday, April 10.

 This is The Forum in Harrisburg. It is an ugly, round, cement building, but it hides the most beautiful interior. The ceiling is done in gold and black and depicts the night sky full of constellations. The lights are star shaped and tucked in amid artistic images of Pegasus and Orion and their other nocturnal companions. Quite beautiful, especially when listening to the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra- Friday, April 13.

 I liked the light and shadow- Friday, April 13.

 I did not take this picture. My poor, very pregnant (and still adorably cute) sister-in-law, got roped into trying to take a picture of our family. She did a much better job of framing us up than we did of actually looking at the camera. In the original of this image, both Little One and My Husband were looking off to our right at something that was apparently more interesting than our poor, very pregnant photographer being forced to stand up on her very pregnant feet. Little One looked cute, but My Husband just looked like he was eyeing up the closest exit. So I messed around trying to move his eyeballs. I'm still not satisfied with what I've got,  but I'm done messing around with My Husband's eyes for now. He'll be left staring off into space until I make it back to PSE. At least he is sort of looking at the camera now- Taken Saturday, April 14. Edited Monday, April 16.

(It's 8:30, the kids are in bed, and My Husband is at a meeting. I still have the dishwasher to unload and reload and laundry to fold, but the eyes were bugging me. So, I tried again. Call me crazy, but I think they look better here. Maybe they don't look any different and it's like one of those optical illusions that you stare at for so long, you begin to see things moving and popping out at you. I'm going to call it quits before I start seeing rotating spirals- More editing Monday, April 16.)

I wasn't going to, but I'll go ahead and post the original and a funny mid-process save just because it will be funny. Hopefully My Husband thinks so. You'll have to click on these to see the eyeballs. 

This was the original. Eyes are saying, 'Yup. I'm done. See that door? I'm ready to walk out of it'- Saturday, April 14.

This is the humorous (at least I think so) mid-process save. The eyes are either saying, 'There is a fly on my nose' or 'Who's the other really pregnant lady trying to take our picture?'- Saturday, April 14.

Play dough alligator on a Florida beach, by First Grader- Monday, April 16.

Play dough bear by The Oldest- Monday, April 16.

I am always sad when the flowering trees begin to loose their blooms. I secretly wish every year that the flowers would not so easily yield to the budding leaves, that they would hold fast to their position of honor and  refuse to make way for the green that insists on swallowing their delicate beauty. But then as they continue to fall against my hopes and plans, I stop to realize once again that beauty that must be enjoyed for only a short season is truly the most beautiful of all. Because I do not know which day may be the last of the full Spring splendor, I am purposed in my enjoyment. I stop for long looks and deep smells because I know very soon the Spring breeze will no longer carry with it the delicate scent of a tree in bloom, but instead will be carrying with it the very last of the flower petal confetti. Deep down I know that if the trees held tight to their blooms, my awe would fade to acceptance and my delight to daily dismissal. I would come to walk past this beauty the same way I walk past the beauty that stands surrounding me, unchanging, just waiting to be noticed. So it is with just a twinge of regret and an expanse of hopeful expectation that I say farewell to the blooms of this year's Spring. I am thankful for their place, for the splash of color, on the canvas that is my life- Monday, April 16.

Today (and Bits from Some Other Days)

I'm not sure what the weather forecast was for today, I'm never very well informed in that area. I tend to wake up and get dressed based on what the weather was like the day before. This system doesn't always work out like I would hope, but I compensate by almost always dressing in layers. Whatever the weathermen predicted for today, I am sure they were correct, at least in part. I believe I witnessed just about every type of non-catastrophic weather today. We had beautiful blue sunshine, dark and foreboding skies, rain, snow, gusty winds, and even hail. The strangest part was we had all of those things at the same time! The sky looked like a quilt- one patch white, puffy clouds against a vibrant bright blue, the next square intense and eerie gray. Then a little way over in the design there were dark clouds that looked like they were dropping huge amounts of rain. (I am not sure if there really was rain, or if the clouds were formed in strange vertical stripes in that particular patch.) Then there was the part of the sky that dropped snow on our windshield while The Oldest and I were waiting to pick up Little One from preschool. Not long after, we found ourselves underneath a patch that saw fit to shower us with little balls of hail. Then right after that we looked up to see the vibrant blue again. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a complicated pattern in the sky before. It sure made for a day full of interesting images, and lots of layering and un-layering of my outfit of choice. You can never go wrong with layers, no matter how crazy the weather!

Hail on the trampoline- Wednesday, April 11.

 Pretty tree, eerie sky- Wednesday, April 11.

 Same tree, sunlight- Wednesday, April 11.

 Tree, blue sky, and clouds- Wednesday, April 11.

 As I was taking this picture, I noticed a large, soaring bird flying across the viewfinder. Having just read a tip on another blog comparing taking pictures of flying birds to shooting birds with guns, I attempted to trail the flight of the bird with my lens before I shot. But I didn't think about the fact that the focus was already locked in on the flowers, so I ended up with a really blurry, little bird in the background and some very unattractively framed flowers. But look at that cloudless, blue sky- Wednesday, April 11.

 Bleeding hearts in bright sunlight- Wednesday, April 11.

 Eerie sky again, though it made a great contrast for the light green of the new leaves- Wednesday, April 11.

 Another corner of the sky- Wednesday, April 11.

The mysterious vertical clouds that looked like heavy rain in the distance- Wednesday, April 11.

Except for the image of the hail (that was taken at 12:08pm in our backyard) the rest of the photos from today were taken between 3:59 and 4:24pm in my front yard. Including this one-

Nothing to do with weather. Just Little One pausing long enough in her purple bike riding to pose for a picture. Cheeky little bugger- Wednesday, April 11.

I did snap a few pictures during my absence from the blog. Here they are.

Sunset through a tree (At least that is what I called it when I saved in on the computer. Not sure how I came up with such a creative name. I amaze myself sometimes)- Friday, March 23.

The Oldest helped to create this entry for the Westminster Peep Show. They received an award for 'Best Reason for the Season Display'- Friday, April 6.

Easter Sunday. Just to set the record straight, no arm twisting was required to get The Oldest to wear the pink shirt. If you don't believe me, look closely. See the wrinkles?- Proof it had already been worn, washed, and not ironed- Sunday, April 8.