. . . in fact, I look up to her by more than 2 inches now.
Sarah turns 12 tomorrow, on May 1st.
A dozen reasons to celebrate, a dozen reasons to meditate.
Watching her grow into a young woman is as amazing as giving birth.
(Sometimes it's that painful too!!!)

This is the REAL reason you need to carry a handgun.
Redbud season is one of my favorites and it really makes our little part of the world beautiful.
It also means that spring is really here . . . now if the wind would just die so that I can ski!!!

Rachel didn't catch the whopper that her buddy Jay did, but the sunset that night was just as awesome.

"You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in in you." Isaiah 26:3


I was cycling through the woods the day after she died. The contrast of winter's dead leaves against the pure white wildflowers of spring reminds me that through death there is life . . .

Our neighbor's nephew, Jay Reed, tried out a new fishing lure yesterday. Four casts later, he caught a 13 pound muskie - off the end of our pier!!! Jay's dad, John, stands proudly on the left while Uncle Mark King braving holds the trophy-worthy catch.
By the way, it hit 85 here yesterday. It was great to taste summer again!

Rachel just can't stop grinning and glowing over her "new ears."
A friend called her last night and the first words out of Rachel's mouth were: "The most awesome thing happened to me over Spring Break --- I got my ears pierced!!!"

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.
Psalm 127:3
I should have known better . . .
The last day of spring break was just us girls. I thought we would enjoy the fresh air and sunshine at one of our favorite spots, Jefferson Pointe. It's a place where I can sip Starbucks and meander among the flowers and music while the girls dart from store to store munching Auntie Anne's pretzels and gulping smoothies. It's a mall that doesn't maul you back.
It was a great day. My motherly mistake was that I also thought the girls would enjoy the spring show at the botanical gardens before going shopping. Wrong! What was I thinking?!? (I was thinking how nice it would be to get some photos of the girls amidst the astounding array of tulips and daffodils.) Well, I did manage to get one photo of the girls peering between the beads leading into the tropical room, but that was the extent of their patience. (Their patience and endurance for shopping, however, was something that would make Auntie Carol proud.)

Much to Rachel's surprise, things got prickley again later . . .
(Click on photo to enlarge!)

The girls were lamenting that everyone else in school had gone south for Spring Break.
So . . . on the way home from church on Sunday, we decided to head south too! I don't really think that French Lick was what they had in mind, but when I mentioned the resort had its own bowling alley, they were sold!!! (Sorry, Larry Bird just didn't have the same attraction.)
Our travels were varied: train, horse, Jaguar, golf cart, bowling shoes and rocker. (The trolley wasn't running.) Steve and I also did some trail-riding on our mountain bikes. Whew those hills are BIG!!! It gave us (me) a whole new appreciation for northern Indiana.
French Lick is definitely a town that time forgot. That's not all bad, (I've always been partial to off-beat, time-warp kind of places) but I must admit that Donald Trump and gambling may be the only way to keep this truly one-of-kind resort alive. The history of French Lick and its neighbor, West Baden, is fascinating . . . I recommend a detour, the next time you are in the area.
Backtrack to 1974 . . . not much has changed, has it?

Pretty scary, eh?