New Arrivals at Our House

A few weeks ago, Phil found that we had a nest in one of our ferns on the front porch. I'd seen a wren flying in and out of the fern so I wasn't surprised. There were three small eggs in the nest. That night we had a huge storm and we awoke to find the fern on the ground and all but one of the eggs was broken. We were sad.

About a week later Phil and Eden discovered another nest in our other fern. This one had five eggs. Now we have five adorable (actually they are pretty ugly) new arrivals at our house:

Jammin'

I love making freezer jam! It is pretty easy and quick and tastes so good! You start with these ingredients:










Make this kind of mess:











And end up with this:

I made two batches of strawberry and one batch of blackberry. I got my berries at pretty good prices too! On Monday (Strawberry day) Mechelle (one of the Laurels) came over and helped. It was great fun!

Seasons

It is actually finally starting to appear and feel like fall around here. Some of the leaves are changing (last fall was absolutely beautiful - rivaled New England) and the temperatures are cooler (although we are still hitting the 80s in the late afternoon). I LOVE fall. I actually really enjoy each of the seasons but there is something magical for me about both fall and spring.

This is a picture of our backyard a couple of weeks ago. Many of the leaves have since dropped. This makes our deck a big heap'o leaves, twigs, acorns, and pecan shells. Of course the squirrels love it.

This morning I watched as a squirrel tried to wrestle a twig - about 2 feet long - up the tree to add to her nest. She did quite the dance with the twig and for a moment I thought she had won but alas, the twig remains on the deck. The squirrels are fat from all the nuts they've eaten (as evidenced by the shells carelessly tossed onto our deck). They are such funny little critters.

In the spring (which came at the end of January last year), the daffodils will greet me. The former owners of our house must have loved bulbs because we have daffodils and irises and day lilies galore! Summer is a little less wonderful to me but I still love the magic of summer with the kids that suddenly appear as if from nowhere. I love the sounds of children playing in the streets (I wish more kids did that these days - I wish it was more safe for them to do that).

Of course winter is wonderful and I'm so grateful that we get to experience a few weeks of winter in Utah each year. I love the feeling of sitting by a fire, sipping hot chocolate, and reading or snuggling as the snow falls outside. Cozy is just the right word for it! (this is actually a picture of the snowstorm we got stuck in on our way home to 'bama last December - I think this is Albuquerque)

I've been thinking about other seasons lately too. The seasons of my life. Sometimes when I read about the lives of some of my single friends like this one or my friends who don't have kids yet, like this one, I think, "what am I doing with my life?" I wonder if I am developing my skills and talents. Then I recall that I am changing diapers, singing songs, loving and (I hope) encouraging my husband, making meals, buying groceries, cleaning the house (although not often enough), and so forth. I am also learning some new things along the way. Most significantly, I'm learning about faith, service (on the receiving end as well as the giving), and friendship. I enjoy this season of my life. I hope that I utilized my time in prior seasons in a good way. I hope I served and developed talents and enjoyed unique experiences. I don't think I wasted too much time pining away for another season. I hope not. Now another season is upon me and I hope I don't long for those days of "self development" too much and instead enjoy this season.

Of course, the real miracle of the seasons is that without the buds you would never have the blooms and if the leaves didn't fall new buds couldn't develop. Each season depends on the ones before. They also prepare the way for the ones to come. Enjoy the seasons - Eccl. 3: 1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."