Can't Hardly Wait

It has been a very long winter....VERY long. I think it may have something to do with the fact that the snow started in early November and never really went away! Usually we've got some big thaws where all the snow disappears and there is a respite from shoveling, but besides our trip south, I'm not sure that I've seen my back yard completely since last year, how sad. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a place that experiences the changes in weather with the seasons. I look forward to the beautifully coloured falling leaves in Autumn, I feel giddy with excitement when we have our first snowfall of thick flakes falling gently...but I'm ready for my favourite seasons now, and I CAN'T WAIT! One of the moments I look forward to most of the entire year is the first warm day in the spring when you can finally put on some shoes and go outside without a coat on: makes you feel like you're feeling the warmth of the sun on your face for the first time in your life! Those moments are even more precious now that I'm an adult and I have my own kids who can join in sharing my excitement!! You know what I'm talking about: the day you finally pull out the bikes, the baseball bats and the balls that have been lying in your basement all winter long, and put them to use. Hearing the birds singing their praises to their Father for the blessing of yet another wonderful season. I am aching for that day now.

I have been booking camping trips for over a month now; looking ahead with excitement and dreaming of the days when our family will be all together and far, far away from the phone, the tv, the internet. When all we've got is each other, and the great outdoors. I yearn for those days. Almost daily the kids ask me how many days until our first camping trip. I LOVE that they all enjoy camping as much as Joel and I do: how could they not though, there's no better family time on earth than those shared during our camping trips. I love our many trips: with Ramers, with the church, with our larger extended families, but I think my favourite of all is the 4-6 days that we spend with just the 5 of us. They are RICH and sweet. I am forever grateful to God for a family that shares this passion with me and I pray that as the kids get older they will still enjoy our family trips together as the years pass by.

This past week we've had some wonderful days of sunshine, despite the freezing cold that has accompanied it. There have been moments when I've stood in the windows and basked in the sunlight as it streamed in wrapping me in warmth. I look forward to the next few days where the temperature is supposed to stay above freezing and I hope for the dirty snow to melt away. I can't wait to grow my own garden of veggies (although my backyard really stinks for gardening because of all the trees...but I LOVE the trees!). Just this week I was telling Joel how I was craving a juicy fresh tomato from the garden...you know, not the ones that have to ripen on the truck on the way to Ontario; the ones that ripen in the sun in your own backyard...nothing beats that flavour. Or those first few fresh strawberries of the season...yum!! I'm getting hungry just anticipating the summer :)

It's amazing to me as I get older how much more I appreciate and notice all those little things. How I treasure them when they are here, knowing that before long, that season will be over and a new one will take it's place. Life keeps flying by. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride :)

Mel
A laundry line of clothes in one of the first warm days in spring of '07. Although sunny this week, those days were just too stinkin cold for me to hang laundry

Oh yes, the glorious days of summer...they're coming!!!