One Year in our New Home

I can hardly believe a year has gone by ...

a year like no other, for many reasons.

One would wonder if it feels like home yet and, yes, 

there are times I still feel like I'm on vacation here.

Not really a bad thing.

I heard this week from friends who also moved and

they noted that a home only feels like home once you've made memories in it.

Something harder to do when socializing is limited.

I remember not wanting to wait to have friends over last year,

and I have been so thankful for the ones we squeezed in before we had to stop.

Making shared memories is a big part,

at least for us, to make it feel like home.

Family has been about for the most part and that has helped.

New to our visitor list are the deer!

Last year I was so frustrated about my first buds being chewed off,

but this year, with some extra care, they have not done too much damage yet. 

We put lupine seeds into the ground last year

and I think we'll have them for good now.

This year they came back in full force, with many blooms on them!

I love the color combinations

and it's been fun to bring them inside as well.

When I think about this past year, 

I can compare it to just that - the planting of seeds

that will produce in due time.

While I've been in a waiting room of sorts, 

preparing, hoping and wishing to share our life and our home;

it's also been an unplanned way to rest

and to truly appreciate our new space and season in life.

What I Always Want to Remember

His sweet, happy smile when his pre-school teacher sees me in the pick up line and lets him leave the class. I observe his confident gait, proudly holding his latest artwork in one hand while the other takes my hand.

Oh, and the ride home, peeking in my rear-view mirror and listening to him chat about life from his four-year-old perspective. It would be a good idea to find a slow way home.

 "So what are we going to do when we get to your house?" he wants to know. I tell him that I have bun dough rising and that we can bake buns. I suggest that we can make chocolate muffins if he wants to and tell him that we can play games and maybe watch The Donut Man.

"Those are four plans." he says, processing just a tad ahead of me.

He talks for a while and suddenly I hear, "and that's the end of the story ... but now I want to tell you something that's not a story." Too late, I realize I missed it.

He wants to know what I do when Papa and he are not with me. Good question.

Is it possible that he enjoys entertaining me because he doesn't have to compete with three sisters on this ride? I hear him make mention of his job site. Although this is familiar language in our family, I am surprised how young they start these days! I ask, "you have a job site?" to which he responds that he has seven job sites! Obviously I have some questions about his involvement!

At home we work and play together, from pinching buns to reading a stack of books of his choice, which is most likely my favorite thing. His mind, like a sponge, taking it all in, every picture, every lesson, every detail. Would that time could stand still!

I treasure this time, knowing that in reality, one day, after many other days, I may barely remember it! So how will he? And yet, specifics remembered or not, life has a way of taking that invisible thread, gathering experiences and love shared, to play a part in who we become. No matter how far he goes, may this love go with him all his days.

❤❤❤

Tribute to my Mom

 A gift more precious than gold. 

First Spring

Although it's close to a year since we moved, 

this is the first time we get to watch all that died over the winter

come back to life. 

We had some amazing weather after Easter;

it felt like a promise of wonderful days to come. 

I planted these tulips in a planter by our front door,

a mix of cheer, even for the few that enter. 

Just off our porch we watched the small magnolia tree 

blossoms open for the first time. 

The joy was short lived, but it will be green all summer

and I love green. 

Beside the back porch we have this landscaped area 

leading to our bedroom window.

Oma's rose bush is one we tranplanted from the other house

because of its sentimental value.

Many years ago my mom gifted us with a stem cutting from 

her rose bush called by that name, in lieu of her mom, namely our Oma. 

A new to us climbing vine is this wisteria.

Since planting it, some have warned us of its intrusiveness

but we hope to keep it in check.

I'm trying to convince my H to let it grow up onto the Juliet balcony. 

Wouldn't it be beautiful?

We can always chop it where it strays.

Those are my thoughts.

The back yard slopes quite a bit, so these retaining walls

were made to create some stepped areas with some landscaping.

This area is our very tiny orchard, that includes

apple trees, a pear tree and a plum tree.

Inbetween, there are blackberries and grapes.

Coming around the bend,

some blueberry plants as well. 

At the very back/bottom of the yard 

a small dogwood tree has shown off it's blooms this past week.

And that's it for today.

This first year is an exciting time of discovery,

kind of like a honeymoon stage,

and I may find myself posting updates. 

 

 

Beauty of the Season

About a week ago Tehya drove us to Vancouver

so that she could practice her driving in the area where her road test was scheduled for.

It's been difficult to book locally, so our carefee, brave girl opted for the city.

One of the things I love about Vancouver in spring are the blossoming trees.

I am so happy to see that they let them just arch over the street.

I could not get enough of the view.

Once we were done with locating the school zone and practicing parallel parking,

she decided to drive through downtown to Stanley Park. 

Stanley Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world, mostly surrounded by water.

It borders the downtown of Vancouver and that is one of the beautiful things about it ...

an oasis in the city, which literally keeps the city from expanding.

We walked the seawall for a ways on this beautiful day.

So special that she didn't mind spending the day with us, when she had other options.

Two days later, I drove in with her again

and I got to see her return from her test with a big smile and thumbs up!

Nervousness was replaced with the thrill of achievement as

we savored our coffees and banana bread on a sidewalk bench before driving home.

(The picture that never got taken but remains in my heart.)

What a joy and privilege it is to be able to be part of this season of her life -

even while it takes her one step closer to freedom.

❤❤❤

 

When the Children Returned

Before Easter, Jack asked if they'd be looking for eggs at our house this year ...

did he remember last year?  

Most likely last year was one they will all remember ... 

maybe not the fact that we did not eat dinner together, 

but looking for treats we had hidden in each of their own yards, still made it special.  

This year, on Good Friday, we celebrated our first Easter in this house.

There were plenty of new hiding spots and

we were all grateful that the rain held off.

The goal was to find a basket or treat bag with your name on it

and keep quiet if you found someone else's ...

and while they looked, they collected individual eggs strewn about. 

Someone found theirs! 

I tell myself that next year I will not take pictures but simply catch the 

feeling I sense when they have gathered their loot.

Or is it the photos that bring back that feeling?  

A new yard, a new place to sit and unpack

and start reading

or merely get to the bottom of the bag.

New frisbees soon went sailing across the yard and the rain still held off.

It was so good to be together ...

the smallest ones coloring,

girls whispering secrets in the playhouse,

boys getting out the basketball,

adults visiting ...

and then we had a second meal, even if just leftovers.

Just the way the adult kids remembered it to be 

back in their own childhood. 

And we all took for granted that Oma never ran out of food. 

❤❤❤