Thoughts of Spring.

After so many days of snow, this little flower makes me yearn for spring and warm sunshine and flowers growing outside, nurtured by the warm spring rain. Yes, we had our second snow day in a row today, so coupled with being virtually snowed in for the previous three days, we have now been cooped up for five days straight. The kids seem to be handling it OK, but I am going a bit stir-crazy. More mentally than anything. The snow is gorgeous--like a fluffy pure-white down blanket--but it is bone-chilling cold. The kind of cold that makes your nostrils stick together. The kind of cold where you definitely don't want to be putting your tongue on the cold metal swingset pole (OK, this story is for another time!). This red flower sits on the counter in our bathroom and has become a symbol to me, in the last few days, of the promise of spring. I painted this bottle at a create-your-own art studio that has since closed, but I love the colors that it adds to our otherwise chocolate brown bathroom. It was kind of a "spash every color that you can on this bottle" kind of moment, and I love the way it turned out. It reminds me to take time everyday to create, even if it is just painting on an old recycled bottle. I have come to realize that when you surround yourself with things that you love and that have meaning to you or that you have created with your own hands, it is far, far more valuable than the latest look from Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware. And, I could have picked a yellow or green or pink or orange or any other-colored flower to go in this bottle, but I went with the red just because....well, just because! Come, spring, come quickly!

Well, the deadline for the CK Hall of Fame contest is Saturday, and once again, I have decided not to enter. I really wanted to this year, and I am very disappointed with myself for procrastinating, but life has just happened over the past month, and I just didn't have it in me to pull the all-nighters it would have taken this week to finish my entry. So, I will save some of these pages for next year's contest. For me, the idea of "deadlines" for scrapping goes against the very essence of why I scrapbook....to get lost in the flow of creating, to bypass the pressures of the everday, to focus intently on the true fabric of life.....so I'm not sure about this whole contest thing. I create for me and for my family, ,and I really don't want my satisfaction with my creative work to hinge on the approval of others. So, we'll see how I feel about it next year.....

Have you ever had one of those days when the day-to-day grind just really gets to you? That was today for me. The pressures of work and parenting and finances and upcoming trips and budgets.....it just really piled up today. Around 5:00, I had to take a break from my task and just say "God, change my heart. Help me see You right now. Reassure me that you are in control. I need your presence now." And, you know what? He delivered. As He always does, time after time. I don't understand the peace. I don't understand His grace to be with us in the everday mire. But He is there. Thank you, God.