April in Arizona.

Spring in Arizona. It's why people live here! So that's what we've been doing...

 

snuggling. eating waffles. seeing beauty. painting. waffles...yummm....bringing joy to little hearts. playing with cousins..and friends. hiking.walking in Grandaddy's boots. PA-racing on climbing walls. imagining. baking cakes. celebrating little boy birthdays. group homeschooling. playing princess. seeing beauty. swimming (well...some of us!). falling asleep while listening in to Mama & Megs. accidental science experiments. seeing beauty. ripping off fingernails in playground (third kids...I tell ya!!)."reading". celebrating. fighting croup.

living life. seeing beauty. everywhere.

Autumn

I love this time of year. I don't think I can put my finger on why, exactly...
maybe it's because of the memories
of bonfires and the sound of quads echoing through the air (that's the band geek in my talking..) and football games...
of parades and cross-country meets and long runs in sunny, crisp fall afternoons
of bringing home our firstborn son to trees just beginning to turn to gold
Maybe it's because I'm a child of the autumn (I turn 27 on the 27th of this month!).
Maybe it's because the crisp nights and warm days bring with them an anticipation of the holidays...which I adore.
Maybe it's because of the little-girl who comes bursting out of me
when I see carpets of red and gold leaves begging to be jumped in (confession: I use my 3-year-old as an excuse to be about 8 again when I see leaves on the ground...)
Maybe it's because it was this time of year- 7 years ago- that I found myself falling in love
with the wonderful man who would become my husband.
Or because 4 years ago (in about 2 weeks) my then-boyfriend proposed to be in the middle of a beautiful Colorado autumn.
against the backdrop of a autumn-blue sky (as only Colorado can do an autumn-blue sky)
Maybe it's because of the insatiable hunger for color inside me
that the reds and golds and greens
satisfy like no other season does.
Maybe, this year, it's because I don't know if, 2 years from now, I'll be in a state that "does" fall like Colorado does.
Whatever it is--I'm reveling the fall this year. Can't wait to go hiking tomorrow to see more beauty. And am seriously considering another trip to the park this afternoon, where I spied a fresh blanket of gold on the grown last night...
anyone want to join us for a jump??

beauty.

We had snow about a week and a half ago, just as the lilacs were blooming. I was sure they were toast.

But they weren't.

Such incredible beauty, right outside our back door...I love God's creativity.