Happy Easter! He is risen as He said!

I'm so happy that Easter has finally arrived and now it seems like maybe, just maybe, spring is also arriving too.

Easter weekend was beautiful and the last couple of days have been ABOVE ZERO! (If any non-Canadians are reading this--yes, we do get excited about above freezing weather in April.) Yesterday Isaac and I went outside three times. I love feeling spring in the air and it does a great deal for my sanity to be able to set that boy loose in the wild. Maybe "the wild" is an overstatement, what I mean is our small backyard in the city. Someday hopefully we'll live somewhere where I can talk about the wild and really mean it.

Some outdoor time has been especially appreciated, because indoors Isaac has been driving me crazy. He has discovered climbing.  I only have to turn my back for a minute and he's on the kitchen table. I started laying the chairs down thinking that he wouldn't be able to put them upright again--guess who surprised his mommy once again? Laying them down does slow him down but if he's determined he can pick them up and push them where he wants. He's also perfected opening the fridge door and is pretty good at getting up on couches. I pray that it'll be awhile before he figures out doorknobs.

Anyway, spring is by far my favorite season. Everything is waking up and stretching itself after winter. The plants are so green and fresh. And, if we're lucky, we get some nice mild days before the bugs come out.

This year I'm blessed to see spring through my little boy's eyes. In the fall he was still a baby really. He loved to go outside then too, but then he was still in his own little world, only really seeing what was right in front of him. Now he's started to discover the world around him. When he hears a bird he looks for it and might even try to imitate it. He's constantly pointing at things wanting me to tell him what they are, even things as simple as a pile of branches. Last week we took him to the park and he chased a squirrel up a tree and held it in siege there until we distracted him.

Discovering the world through Isaac's eyes this spring has reminded me why children are here. They are really a kind of spring in themselves. They make the world new because they are experiencing it for the first time and it is all oh-so-fascinating. It can be hard to take the time to appreciate every twig, the way my toddler does, but he sure makes me take more notice than I would otherwise.

Yay for Easter! Yay for the renewal that comes with spring! And yay for little children leading the way!

"Behold, I make all things new" -Rev 21:5