Just for Jeanine =)

I'd love to upload some pictures of a sunny beach or a quaint cabin in explanation of our recent failure to post.
Alas...
Our workload has just been abnormally heavy. Despite the hours of building prep, key packets, training sessions, check-ins, and check-outs, however, I feel surprisingly refreshed. Our busy days have been buried in peaceful, happy moments.

Like Saturday morning strolls to the Cannon Center for breakfast. We don't bother changing Lucy out of her jammies for the outing. Can one really enjoy one's weekend waffle in anything but soft, slept-in separates? We especially love bumping into Lucy's similarly PJ-clad playmates. I love this picture.


And then there was the afternoon last week that we took Lucy to pick out a present for the B-O-Y we've been talking so much about. We came home with a cheerful bit of blue in our Target bag and with excited smiles in our hearts.
Another evening last week we thought it needful to procure a copy of The Jungle Book in celebration of our anticipated man-cub.
(Wes's idea. Made me smile to my ears.) It was a hit. Lucy loved all of the characters - even the "penguins!" [vultures] at the end.
The general effect of all the encouraged boy-enthusiasm is that Lucy now readily and happily admits that there is a baby brother inside of mamma's belly. (Although she still holds that there is a baby sister inside of her own.)
And even with all of the boy talk around here lately, last week featured a few happy doses of female company. Due to my busy work schedule, I couldn't attend all of BYU's Women's Conference with my mom and sisters, but the time and sessions we did snatch together were WONDERFUL.

In other news, Lucy had her first haircut last Sunday. You likely won't be able to tell the difference, but I love it! Her lengthening curls were losing the happy bounce that she has long been famous for. All it took was a few snips and the beloved bounce is back! The down side is that Lucy has a new affinity for scissors. I've got to hide all of the real ones lest her now daily proclamation, "I'll give you a haircut!" produces disastrous results!
And do you see the cute blue clip in Lucy's hair?? That unexpected and delightful gift came from a darling far away friend. THANK YOU, KATE!!
And thank you, Springtime, for conjuring up this magic at our favorite park...



Lucy may love the "twisty slide!" at Nielsen's Grove, but Wes and I love the tulips.

Well. This update, while sadly incomplete, is becoming super long. Suffice it to say: We have had happy comings and goings amid our busyness.
And the state of our souls?
Sunshine, music, springtime, gladness. All of those things are in mine. While tears of tired frustration sometimes squeeze from my eyes (ahem. We certainly had scattered showers around here this morning...) they are never terribly prolonged.
No, it is more often blessings than tears that fill and keep spilling out of my cup - and one blessing is just now walking through the door after an evening with the neighborhood's young men.
That's my cue. Cheerio!