The sun comes up behind my house every morning.  The bright hues of orange, red and fuschia are a fantastic explosion of energy to begin my day...when I notice it.  But, truth be told, I don't enjoy this beautous sight every day.  I only notice it once in a while, and on those occasions I ask myself "Why don't I notice this more often?"  I think that there are many instances where the good things happen every day and yet I am moving so quickly that I don't see them.  The little things that make life amazing are all around me and happen more frequently than I take them in.  Just like my desire to observe the sunrise more often, I want to take in the beauty and enjoy the little things all around me so much more than I do.  

You would have thought that the calendar stole more than just an hour form us a couple of weeks ago .  Its taken all of us more than two weeks to recover form Mr. Daylight Savings.  For a whole seven days we walked aorund in stupor-like fashion, complaining of being SOOOOO tired and having our attitudes reflect as much.

In those few weeks we performed in the talent show, we tried out for highschool dance/pom team (and MADE IT!), we aced spelling tests, we sang in a voice recital, we rocked it out at soccer practice and socred big at volleyball practice, we even celebrated getting our braces taken off!!  Even in our "exhausted" states, we kept living each day to the fullest!!   Nothings going to keep this family down!

We spent a week recovering from our time trauma enjoying Spring Break on vacation in Moab, Utah and have now come home refreshed.  Now, we are enjoying the longer and warmer days as we move our little selves in to spring.

There are a few delicate flowers peeping their heads up through the dead grass and left over snow, the trees are beginning to brag with buds on their branches.  The promise of spring is coming to fulfillment.

As the sun rises each morning, I'm ready to embrace the hours and moments that make up the days.  The colors might not always reflect vivd brightness, but even in the more subdued shades, I know that I will find beauty.

One by one, the boys hopped into the van.  Michael greeted each one, so excited to get to play his favorite sport with his favorite buds.  Water bottles, soccer balls,  sweatshirts and excited boys filled the van.   I was taking Michael and 3 of his buddies to soccer practice and the chatter in the van swung from "Dude!" to "I can't wait to see Coach Izzie".  All 4 of the boys still sit in booster seats because they are 7 years old and their height/weight combo doesn't quite add up to a regular seat yet.  Another mama was picking them up from practice, so the boys all had been instructed to take their seats out on to the field with them.  We pulled up to the soccer field, and the boys jumped out, once again lugging their ball,  water bottle and now booster seat.  They raced to round the corner of the school we were practicing at.  Coming towards us from the other side of the building, out of our sight until we met up, was a group of 16 year old soccer players that Coach Izzie also coaches.  These boys were sweaty, boisterous, jingling car keys, and speaking with voices like that of a man.  As soon as my boys saw them, they slowed down, gazed in reverent silence, their eyes widened to the attraction of these older soccer players.  I heard one of the young men say "Look - they all have their car seats..." and just like that time sped up right before my eyes, imagining MY little guy as one of these big boys.  Not so long ago, a mama dropped these guys off at soccer, juggling their water bottle and booster seat, wishing for the day he was old enough to sit in the car without it.  And in the blink of an eye, that boy is now driving himself to practice, probably has a job or a girlfriend, wears a bigger shoe than his mom, studying math she only vaguely remembers.  I got a glimpse into the future on Sunday.  The slow motion move that day around the corner of the school, revealed to me what is just around the real life corner to our lives.  My boy will one day be a young man, and what I saw that afternoon on the soccer field  a few days ago is so much closer than I think it is.  One day, my son will drive himself and his friends, he will have independence and skills and an-almost-grown-up- life.   I'm so grateful to be a part of Michael's world and watch him grow up.  I have the best seat in the house. 

 Daisies are my favorite flowers.  They are cheerful and in my imagination they smile at me. 

The weather forecast was for more snow over the next few days ,

 so I went and bought some sunshine to put some happy into our home.

 Last Monday, I noticed that this plant that hangs out in our bathroom was blooming.

It only blooms a couple of times a year.  The scent gives it away a few days before it actually blooms.  It is one of my favorite plants and brings hope that spring is on its way!

This weekend, we had company.  My sweet sister-in-law brought me this beautiful purple plant.

It is now gracing the counter of one of my favorite little spots in my house.  

 It is so wonderful to have blooming plants around.   Plants have so many similarities to life.

The other day, one of the girls and I were talking about the snow.  We discussed how it is covering the ground and how we were waiting for the day that spring comes and the snow melts.  And then it occurred to me that right now is when the magic happens underground.   We wouldn't have the magic and loveliness of spring without the wet and cold of winter, so maybe I should have patience with it rather than wishing it away.  Sometimes my heart needs the reminder that the magic is going on in me too, even though it might be happening on the inside where nobody can see.  And in time, when conditions are ideal, the magic produces blossoms.