Blooming Woods

 The woodland flowers are starting to bloom with warmer weather. It was an amazing difference this week when I went for my walk in the woods. The purple leaves that were sprouting up last week opened these purple blossoms this week. I am sure that there will be many more blossoms when I get back to the woods in another week!

Family Baptism

 This was a special family gathering to celebrate Saela's baptism. It was a perfect day. The baptism went beautifully even with all of these little ones in the first few pews at church. My great nieces and nephews; Weston, Izzie, Saela and Brecken seem more interested in sitting than Lincoln but we made it quick. It was fun to see all of my parents great-grandchildren in one place!

 Ashley and Travis were sponsors for little Saela who is almost three months old. Saela is the fourth grandchild for my brother and sister-in-law and number five is due this summer. I just love having all these little ones in the family. It brings back so many memories of when our kids were little and getting lined up for photos. My mom was reminded of lining us up with our cousins for photos back in the sixties! Maybe I will do some scanning and post some cousin shots through the decades!

Overnight

  Lincoln and I got another overnight visit and we packed lots of fun and adventure into our time together. The first afternoon we visited two parks. One had great rocks, big rocks and little rocks. There was also lots of water and birds. Lincoln was most interested in the rocks. The other park had lots of sand, huge areas of sand and good sticks too. We had a great time both places just quietly playing. I loved seeing Lincoln venture off to explore then head back to me for a quick hug or chat, just checking in at home base.

I love jammie time. It's the best part of overnight visits. Lincoln and I slept well and had plenty of energy to clear out toy cabinets after an oatmeal breakfast. We went to the book store and the grocery store before heading back home for some gardening.

 Lincoln is working in my Mollie garden and enjoys digging in the dirt. He does love the dirt!

This last shot is for Great Aunt Cindy. Lincoln does like stomping in the puddles! I spent a night with Lincoln and Ashley when Travis was away. It was fun to watch TV and relax with Ashley in the evening and I loved the chance for jammie time with Lincoln. It was warm out and he seemed to need some activity so I pulled his boots on over his jammies, got his coat and headed outside. We stomped in puddles, found worms and went for a wagon ride. It's so much fun to stomp in puddles with Lincoln. All this fun makes me very glad that winter is finally over. I do love an overnight and jammie time.

Spring Yellow

When yellow blooms it really feels like Spring. When I left the house today about noon it looked like the daffodils were close to opening. Four hours later I came home to find some open yellow flowers. A long winter makes me really appreciate and celebrate Spring even if it is a bit late arriving!

Hiking Boy

 Lincoln's first hike in the woods was wonderful for both of us.

 There were plenty of sticks, dirt and leaves which was very fun. He was very observant and pointed to lots of things including all of the tall trees.

 Happy Trails

 Are you coming, Grammy?

 This boy cracks me up!

It really warmed my heart to be in the woods with Lincoln. I was just thrilled at his response. He was so content and cooperative. It's my hope that he can learn to enjoy and appreciate the woods and hiking as much as I enjoy them. He walked lots but we had a stroller along too. I did take a little time to look around at the changes and saw very little. There were some new green sprouts but not much change from last week. This walk was the best by far!

Bridal Shower

Oh what fun to gather and celebrate Briana's bridal shower. Ashley hosted on Saturday with lots of family and a few of Briana's college friends. It was a fun group and a great party. It was so fun to get to know some of Briana's out-of-town friends.

Jay stopped by to see his aunts and grandma but the day was all about Briana, as it should be! Jay took Lincoln on a very long wagon ride while the ladies celebrated. Four of Jay's aunts attended as well as grandma, a cousin and the little ones too. It was another multi-generational family fun day! We loved it.

Smiles and Songs

A rainy day visit from my smiling piano player made my day! He is quite the entertainer. I also get pretty excited about those sweet wisps of hair showing up on a bald baby. He does melt my heart!

Second Woods Walk

Although I did have to look closely I did see some signs of new life during my second weekly walk into the woods. I walked right past this purple leaves sprouting from the ground but noticed them on the way back. I wonder if they will have flowers. I look forward to next week's walk.

The woods are still very gray and brown but there are signs that all of that will change soon.

Last Stiches

This blanket was on the needles for over a year. It's been a pleasure to watch it come to life but it was time to stop the stripes and start the border. This is my first time doing an "applied I-cord" border and I love the way it looks more finished. This chocolate colored border around my kaleidoscope of color seems like the perfect combination.

It was hard to cast off after all these months with the project beside my chair. I used more yarn than on any other project and it's big enough for curling up on the couch so it was time. There should be a finished project in a week or two!

Pinwheel Pillow Top

Remember the Family Pinwheel Quilt that I finished last year? It took me nine years to finally complete that quilt but the pillow sham waited another year. A friend taught me to hand quilt and although I wasn't sure I would like doing an entire quilt I did decide to hand quilt the pillow top. I did not love the hand quilting back then but it went better when I picked it up this time. My stitches are pretty uneven but they are good enough to hold it together.  I dug it out a couple of weeks ago and spent last weekend hand quilting and this Friday turning the pillow top into a pillow sham with an envelope back and a piped border. I even bought a twin bed last month when I rearranged my bedrooms.It feels very good to finish a project that went unfinished for years.

April Chill

Temperatures have dropped this week and it's hard on my walking schedule. We have also had plenty of rain so instead of walking at least once a day, I completely skipped three days this week. This morning when Ashley, Mowgli and Lincoln came over we decided to brave the cold and walk around the block. We bundled up well but were glad to get home. Even with the temperatures in the thirties it was nice to get out with them for a bit of exercise and some fresh air.

My Birthday

 It's no secret that I love my birthday! It's not that I need to be the center attention and get lots of gifts, although I can do that. I think it's about the fact that I get to be around and hear from so many people that I love. I had a wonderful birthday dinner tonight with all of my kids. I got birthday kisses from Lincoln and cheese cannelloni from the Brown Bottle. This has been a wonderful two day celebration. Thanks to all of my wonderful family!

Sister Celebration

My sisters all came down to help me celebrate my birthday one day early! OK, one is a sister-in-law, but certainly a sister after all these years! It was a wonderful day. We had so much fun just spending time together. Ashley and Lincoln joined us for part of the day and he seemed very happy to have three great aunts giving him lots of attention. I so appreciate that the ladies drove down and spent an entire day with me. We even got pedicures, on my patio, given by Sandi! I hope my new neighbors were not nervous about all the cackling and laughing coming from my yard but we were having fun! It was actually seventy degrees, a perfect day for a sister celebration.

Weekly Woods

 I love spending time in the woods, walking or hiking or relaxing. It seems that I had forgotten that recently and today I decided to refresh my memory. There is a park only about a mile from my house with an easy trail into the woods. When I moved here I thought I would go often but it's been months since I walked into the woods. Today Mowgli was my companion and we had the woods to ourselves. Although it was over sixty degrees there were not many signs of spring. There was still ice on the pond and no buds on the trees. No woodland flowers have peeked through the leaves on the floor of the woods. I will keep watching. It's my plan to try to get into the woods for a walk at least weekly so that I can enjoy watching the transition from winter to summer. I think the woods and the walking are good for my soul and good for my body. It's a good thing.

Hello, Gray

With thoughtful consideration, well maybe too much thoughtful consideration, I have decided that I want to stop coloring my hair. I made the decision in December and have had second thoughts many times but I think it's the right thing for me. I think about what to put into my body and I am trying to be more healthy and eat fewer chemicals yet I dump chemicals on my head at least once a month. It's a gradual process and I am getting professional advice from my hairdresser. I have been seeing her for almost twenty years and I trust that she can get me through this without looking like a skunk. The plan is to gradually go lighter until the gray hair isn't as drastic of a change. I was just coloring the top layer which gave me an opportunity to see the new color underneath. My hairdresser assures me that it is a beautiful white, but whatever it is it will be there for good by the end of the year. I have been coloring my hair since shortly after Ashley was born because I had so much gray. That's more than half of my life. This week I colored all the gray a lighter shade and will continue with the transition. I am amazed at how big this decision felt, but not amazed that I over think the entire process!