Expecting!

Mike and I have news.....we are expecting....a puppy! We've made the decision to expand our family and will be joined by a little girl puppy at the end of May, she is an English Springer Spaniel and we met her for the first time yesterday. Once she is ready to be separated from her Mom she is ours and we can't wait! VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE NAME (on the right side of this blog) please!

Here are some pics, by the way she just opened her eyes for the first time last Friday- imagine that! I don't know if I've ever actually held a puppy in my life before yesterday- I highly recommend it but only if you are ready to buy one because, seriously, who can say no to this? We sure couldn't.

j'adore les fleurs

I couldn't help myself! I may have jumped the gun a little bit but I've already planted my flower pots and baskets for the spring & summer! This is what I was up to Tuesday night:

and check out the awesome flower stand my Mom, sister & I picked up at this cute shop near Kalona on Saturday- I think it adds some character to my little garden

working for the weekend

What a beautiful day today is! Thank goodness I have a window here at work or I may not make it through the day without being able to stare out it for long periods of time and daydream...

I've been looking forward to and working for this upcoming weekend all week now. Fun things in store...tonight Mike & I head to a rehearsal dinner and tomorrow the wedding of a great family friend of ours. First, though, my whole family will gather and spend the day having fun together around Iowa City before the evening wedding and reception. What to do? Here are my ideas: Frisbee golf around Sugar Bottom, shopping/lunch in Kalona (cute Amish type town nearby), Devonian fossil gorge near the Coralville Res, Ped Mall wandering & shopping, regular golf, exploring the Hawkeye Hall of Fame, a walk around Lake McBride or even a trip to historic Sutliff. The list may continue to grow as I gaze longingly out my window today...

Do Your Soul a Favor and Read This!

The Shack. This is an UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING book by William P. Young that I just had the pleasure of finishing on Good Friday last week. It has changed/sharpened/expanded my views and thoughts on the Holy Trinity and the form(s) in which God makes Himself known to us and the utter miracle and gift of love, relationship & forgiveness. Awesome.

here they are- my very own spring signs of hope and new growth!

signs

Last week I started writing this....

A couple weeks ago I discovered the (still amazing every time) first signs of growth in my garden! Little green shoots are defying the odds and making their way up through the dirt & mulch, much to my delight. First I saw the lilies and just recently the miniature daffodils I planted last year and forgot all about! It seriously brings me so much happiness & hope to see this- something that must be inherited from my mom, a master gardener in her own right. What is it about these small signs in nature that have the ability to inspire in me hopes of my own new kind of growth?

and then it snowed an inch yesterday....so I'll post a pic of my little green shoots soon, when they are defrosted.