What Spring Means For Us

SPRING

 

 

Spring is the time of year I find myself just itching to start fresh, clean out the old to welcome in the new, and celebrate my birthday.  Yes, I am a grown woman and I still love love my birthday!

 

 

This spring I started off with a gazelle like intensity.  My first chore was to drag down many totes out of the attic to begin sorting through which clothes will fit which child.  My bins are categorized by gender and size so that helps but let me tell  you what it is like trying to get all the little ones to keep trying on clothes so I know if they will work or not.  Reagan looked quite excited at first but after the 8th pair of try ons she looked at me and said, "again?"  Well, thanks to the help of Sarah I was able to get this task finished in only 3 1/2 days instead of the usual week.

 

 

The kids and I cleaned out the old flower beds of plants that were overgrown and also transplanted others to places we felt were much better suited.  Then of course came the fun part of dividing all of my bulbs and planting then in areas that were less full.  I also was able to thin out my canas plants and gave some to Sarah's folks for  their home.  Reagan loves to help so I gave her a small rake to get all of the dead leaves out of the flowers.  She was having a great time and all the while working on one of her PR goals of reaching down while doing something in her chair.  While digging I of course came across our beloved worms.  Evelyn did not like having the worm on her hands despite being a sensory driven child. Her thing is that she likes intense sensory and the worm was not all that intense I guess.  For Reagan it is a time where we practiced talking about what was happening in complete sentences.  She struggles with answering the "wh" questions so we must work on those with so much repetition. At times I must admit I get frustrated, not with her but with myself, because I have tried so many ways to help her with this and no one way works all of the time.  SO, what I have decided is that we will talk about that one thing and share it with everyone we know so that it becomes permanent part of our day.  This seems to be helping her. 



  

We also finished the new playroom for the little ones and it is such a blessing to have.  The kids do not know what to do with a whole area just for their toys.  Today we put a radio/cd player in there so Evelyn can listen to her music she loves.  I am thinking of having Bailey, a young girl from our church, come over maybe once a week to play with the little ones so they can have fun just playing and I can get a project or two done. 

 

Our fruit trees have been planted and are taking root quite nicely!  We picked out 2 pears and 2 peach trees since the little ones like those.  I sort of wish we had also picked out apple but it is too late this season to plant any new ones otherwise they won't produce fruit for a long time.  Now if I could only find a banana tree or two so that my little monkeys will be well stocked for their favorite fruit.

 

Now the best part of spring is that I get to work in my garden!!  Many years ago I started out with a bang on my garden and then the reality of the Texas summers hit me and of course I was pregnant.  Then a couple years later we hit an infestation of rats due to the neighbors behind us who were evicted and decided to leave all of their food all over the kitchen and since we are a new development the construction stirred up the rodent population.  Well after talking to my friend Yvonne and looking at all of her beautiful square foot gardens I just knew I had to get back to my dirt.  So, today Reagan and I picked out some vegetable plants we like and of course some marigolds (to keep those bugs away).  I think I will try to grow my tomatoes in pots this year to see how they do.  I love tomatoes and so do most of the children.  We also are going to start a strawberry field so the little ones will have their tasty fruit right at their fingertips. I so remember going out to my grandma's garden and picking yummy treats so I want my children to have that memory as well.    Next week I will need to get the yard raked and fertilizer spread so the yard will get nice and healthy for all the children that will be playing back there.  Our whole point in choosing this particular large lot when the house was being built is because we wanted our yard to be the place our children and their friends could play.

 

 

A friend told me to put down cardboard to keep the weeds away
so I spent a couple hours moving my soil back, pulling weeds, and laying
down the cardboard.

 



Reagan was my companion while I gardened and this is her view



Starting off manageable with tomatoes in the pots and bell peppers in
the garden bed. The little ones wanted strawberries so we planted some of those.
I was told marigolds would keep away the bugs so I planted a few of those.



 

 



Spring is such a wonderful time to clean out the old to make way for the new. A time in which the windows can let new light into any place that has set dark for a season.  A reason to let go of things collecting and taking up valuable space in your life so as to welcome the new and fresh.  A time to truly thank God for giving us a season in our lives which breathes in new life and new chances.