Currently

Reading...The "Matched" trilogy.  While on a family outing to the bookstore, I asked one
of the store employees to help me find these books because I didn't have the authors 
name handy.  The very kind man said, "Oh, sure.  They are right over here in the young 
adult section".  Shawn smirked at me: OF COURSE they would be in the young adult 
section.  All I could do was laugh at myself.  Why am I continuously drawn to books 
about young forbidden love?  Especially young forbidden love where supernatural 
forces and/or dystopian societies are involved?  I just can't help myself.  To make up for 
my completely immature selections, I also picked up "The Room" by Emma Donoghue.  
I'm halfway through the "Matched" trilogy now and loving it: the concept of the Society in 
this book is so intriguing to me.  And the love story, well, you know...

Preparing...for spring.  We are busy bees around these parts as we shake off our winter
blues and begin planning all the fun things we will grow and build and repair outdoors in
the coming months.  I finally convinced Shawn to help me (let's be honest: to help my
dad) build a large raised bed garden for the vegetable garden of my dreams.  My boys did
not disappoint and, after tilling up the land this past Sunday and purchasing all the
necessary lumber, I arrived home from work to a beautiful planter awaiting my approval.
I was thrilled to see this beauty next to the barn, all fresh and ready to be filled with
compost and soil. I have a separate area near the back porch that I plan to use as a
garden space for Brees to dig and plant and play in.  And I'm also planning to jump on
the bandwagon and create a fairy garden for Belle.  She's at the perfect age for this kind
of project: so eager to choose the pieces herself and paint things exactly as she wants them.
It should be a fun and exciting spring for all of us!

{Is this beautiful or what?!  Our new raised bed, courtesy of my big ideas and internet research 

mixed with Shawn and my dad's carpentry handiwork.} 

Clicking on...this video made me cry huge tears of joy.  What wonderful kids these boys
are!

This video made me laugh until I almost peed my pants!  I felt horrible for this girl but
her facial expressions are hilarious!  As you often hear down here in the deep south, "Bless
her heart!".

This post is spot on and sparked a very lively and interesting debate among the women in
my family last weekend.

Jessica is a book guru.  This list of series to read is the bomb.

This post made me miss my grandparents so much that I cried big ugly tears.  Such a
beautiful tribute.

Kate's maternity photos are breathtaking.  What a beautiful mama.

How beautiful is baby Emory's nursery?  

Lesley is documenting her baby weight loss journey.  Such an inspirational mama!

So inspired by Ellen's back porch make over plans.

I have been loving Vanessa's Week in the Life posts.

Enjoying...this season in our lives.  I feel blessed to have my family, our home, good
health, and a job that I love.  I have come to a place where the simple, everyday
moments resonate so deeply inside me.  I try to take a moment each day to reflect on
these small yet spiritually large blessings in our lives, to thank God for choosing me to
spend my life with these people.  Yesterday, as I was leaving a patient's house, she leaned
out the front door and called out to me, "Bye bye, Mrs. Olivia!  I love you, sweet girl!".
You hear things like that, from people you barely know, and you realize that this world is
a place full of love around every corner.  We can cultivate that love, the positive energy,
and we can use it to strengthen us in our daily lives.  We can use it to make us better people.