The Promise of Spring

Easter in March. . .what a tease. On Easter we celebrate Christ's resurrection, the triumph of life and hope over darkness and despair. It's all about light, warmth, and life returning to the world after a cold, dark winter. Well, for me it's a little harder to catch that vision when it comes so early in March that there's still snow in the church parking lot come Easter morning.

Really, though, we did have a lovely Easter. We attended church bright and early in the morning, came home to dye eggs, and then had Holly's family over for dinner and the egg hunt. As usual, I didn't think to take any pictures of the family party, but I did make my girls pose for a few photos before I let them out of their Easter Sunday finery. . .





The week before Easter, we planted some seeds for our garden. They're, um, actually seeds from last year--I bought a bunch with high hopes for planting a vegetable garden in our spacious new backyard. Riiiight. . .Anyway, we thought we'd give the seeds a try again this year and stuck them in some peat pots. Elizabeth helped color the marker-thingies:


Ever trusting, Elizabeth believed us that plants would actually grow from those tiny seeds we tucked into the soil, and she has patiently watched and watered the pots, checking each day for signs of growth. Just when I was starting to fret that nothing was going to grow, we saw a teeny shoot of green. . .and then another. And then we woke up today and found this:


So spring really IS coming. Our little peat pots are certainly a testament to that. The crocuses that I forgot I'd planted have bloomed, and the daffodils are close behind. The air is filled with birdsong, we've spotted quail scurrying around the backyard. . .and that pile of snow in the church parking lot is officially gone.