"Hoewee Moewee!"

Yes, that is how we pronounce "Holy Moly!" around here.

It has been far too long since I've written, and really, I have missed it.  I'm not sure if I had blogger's block, or was busy trying to be a really good Mom, or tired, (maybe all 3?) but I'm back and I'm excited about it!

I have a tendency to get real excited about something and then gear up for it in all sorts of ways, and then I become too preoccupied with the excitement itself that the great plan I had just flops.  Perhaps that's what happened here.  I have so many great ideas about my blog, and thoughts or stories to post, and then it fizzles.  Or, maybe I fizzle.

So, I can't promise that I won't be busy or tired or stumped about what to write about again, but I can say that I'll try to not go so long without posting if the above, does in fact, happen again.  :)

..........................Onto more exciting things..............................

Spring is here in WNY, and it is B-U-TEE-FUL!  I remember disliking Spring when I was younger, because it was always so rainy and muddy.  It seemed very dreary.  I wanted to skip past the season, because it really didn't matter much to have this yuck and muck for weeks on end.  Summer needed to come, fast!  

But oh, now I'm older.  And wiser.  I'm 31 now, you know.  And let me tell you, I really enjoy Spring!

It started while I lived in Maryland.  The warm weather, the fresh rains that washed away all of the winter grime, the crisp air that blew the winter stink off of you and out of your house, the cherry blossoms, the buds as they turned into beautiful springtime flowers, full of hope and promise.  Yes, this is when I learned to love Spring.  

Now that I'm back in upstate NY, I don't feel quite as lovingly towards Spring as I did for the past 3 years, since the weather can't make up its' mind and the season starts much later than in the South, but I'll still take it!  I don't love it, but I do like it.  

There is a sense of hope, of promise, in this new season, don't you think?  

We are emerging from the winter season.  A time of rest.  Everything turns inward during winter, to rest for the season.  Days are shorter and nights are longer, the trees are barren, flowers die and recede back into the ground to protect themselves from the cold, animals hibernate, people cuddle up with sweaters and blankets and comfort food, and life seems to march a bit more slowly.

A few long months later, the thaw comes, and we can see the tiniest speck of new life surfacing. Those first few days of warmer air is like a heat wave, and winter coats are shed and windows crack open, just to get a fresh air scent in the house.  For me, when the birds start to sing, is when my excitement comes.  I love waking to their songs, and love seeing robins pecking the ground for worms.  (When my Grandfather died, we found a notebook that he used to jot quick, daily thoughts on.  One of the last things he noted was seeing a large, red-breasted robin in the yard, and he wrote that Spring was 'round the corner.  I can't help but remember my wonderful Grandpa every single time I see a robin.)

Each year, I look around at all of the trees as I drive by, and there is always one specific day where they seem to POP!  A fresh, lime green seems to have colored the tree scape and it is then that I know Spring is officially here.  The old has gone, the new has come!

The sense of newness in Spring doesn't stop with nature.  I sense a newness in me, every season, and I'm pretty sure God intended it to be that way.  Ecclesiastes 3 states:

3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

There is a time for everything!  I'm thankful that with every season, God refreshes and renews me.  I need it.  Don't we all...

All of this new life is so exciting, but the most exciting thing about Spring for me is that I get to worship the risen Christ on Easter Sunday!  You can't get any more renewed than that!  Talk about newness, about beauty, about hope.  There is no hope greater than Him.  And every year, I get to praise Him not only for who He is and what He did, but for what He has done in and through me.  What a privilege.  

As this Spring season rounds out and makes way for Summer, I am excited about so many things.  

It feels like I have been in winter for far too long, figuratively speaking.  There is only so much transition that one can take before it begins to take its' toll on a person.  I am that person. Having felt like I lost my self on so many levels the past few years, I am finally feeling like I am found again, and found as an entirely new person, at that!  Scary, exciting and wonderful all at the same time.  Yay for the promise of a new season, for the promise of new beginnings!

More to come...