Spring Inspiration

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. 
~Charles Dickens

Spring has arrived, windows stay open all night and we can wake up to the sound of this.....

Kate said the other day, "The birds sure are happy this morning!" She is so right, they start our day with such a beautiful song! They are enjoying the fresh blooms on the trees, courting/relations:) and building nests. I love it!  I found our first nest this week in our Peach Tree.

The beauty outdoors motivated me to beautify the indoors.:) I have spent this week cleaning out closets and drawers; lugging tubs of Spring/Summer clothes up the stairs to replenish the girl's wardrobe, bagging up all the outgrown Winter wear to take to consignment and the AMEN House.  I washed down walls and did some rearranging of furniture...I always do this, every year...Spring is a time of purging for me....a time to simplify....a fresh start!

I enjoy looking through the old boxes of mementos I keep in the top of my bedroom closet.  I pull them down wipe the dust off the top and peek in as though something new is going to be in there.  I sit right in the middle of the closet floor and reread old love letters from Greg when we were dating and letters from friends that I have saved since middle school. The familiar handwriting on lined notebook paper brings back memories that still make me laugh (or cry!)  Last year when I was going through this yearly ritual, I decided to take several of the letters that Greg and I used to write to one another and display them in a big glass jar that I keep in front of our fireplace in the living room.  I wrote a sweet little quote on it and sometimes we will just lay in the floor and read them together....the girls like to listen too.:)

In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people's lives. ~Anatole Broyard

Greg has always been great at writing me letters, drawing pictures and to this day, for most special occasions, he makes me a homemade card (the best kind)....sweetness. xo

Now, that's Art that speaks to my heart!

I was thinking this week that when I was in grade school, the ages my girls are in now, my friends and I would write letters all the time and play little games like MASH that would help decide our future, Ha!:)  Do any of you all remember this?  I became a little sad thinking about how kids don't really write letters....they don't even learn cursive anymore for that matter.  It's all about technology now...texting, email...I get it!  I enjoy this modernization as much as anybody but, I feel like it would be an injustice to my daughters if I didn't at least teach them how to make the special fold and let them in on some of the cool sayings that we used to write on letters.  I don't know if it's something they will ever put to use but, at least it's up there for reference if they need it!:) 

Take note of the fold people, Ha!  4 UR Eyes Only! I will cherish all of my letters forever....they are now one of my collections I display to share the sweetness with others.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful week! 

Love~

Dana