Is it really Spring?

While waiting for Mother Earth to warm up and dry out, we've been busy doing things either in the rain & cold or in spite of the rain & cold. We got our first phone call from Alli in Europe this afternoon, and she wanted to know what's been going on at home. Here's what we've been up to ...



Watching the progress of the new HWT store that's going up in Elkhart. And lucky me ... I've been assigned the task of picking interiors, and have somehow been sucked into the selection of exteriors also.




Abbi and a friend spent a few rainy moments on the barn roof trying to stay dry!



















Dave & I spent a few blissful days in Florida recently. He had some meetings to attend to while I pretty much did nothing. The highlight for me was spending a day all by myself at Disney Village! Disney does everything right and I had the best time! My dream has been to see a Cirque du Soleil show. I guess you could say it's on my Bucket List. I knew that they had a show in Orlando, so I investigated and bought a ticket on a day when Dave was in meetings. I didn't want to drag him along to something that he had no interest in seeing. The name of this particular show was La Nouba, and it was in a huge building made to look like a large circus tent. Cirque du Soleil is something about "circus" in french, and the show literally is a breathtaking circus sans animals. Absolutely amazing! A must see if you ever get the chance!!! While at the Disney Village I also ate at the Rainforest Cafe. This in itself is not outstanding, but what made me smile was that the place was fairly empty and they seated me right beside a family with a screaming toddler! 'Nuff said!






One unusually sunny day we babysat cute little Cooper!

The women in the family celebrated Mother's Day with a wonderful brunch at Prarie Trail Farm south of Goshen, in the week following Mother's Day. This farm is actually a herb greenhouse along with some cool llamas grazing on the property. Our brunch consisted of scones, hot and cold mint tea, wonderful strawberry w/ lettuce salad, egg dish with fun herbs sprinkled on top, and awesome cake and a warm mixed-berry dessert. This was a great way to honor the Matriarch in our family and also to celebrate the Mothers that most of us have become. In addition to those pictured are six more of the female gene.

I've put the screens in the windows, mulched the flower beds, mowed the lawn a few times, hung wash on the line between rains, and have simply just been waiting for the warmth to come to us. I haven't planted garden yet and have only planted flower pots. I can hardly wait to dig my hands into the warm soil, and then watch my seeds become plants worthy of eating! Until that happens I will continue to work on the many details that still need to be looked after for recreation at the Mennonite Youth Convention in Columbus, in July. And of course, anticipate the return of my oldest!