Spring is here!

Well, Spring was here, and then it was gone, and now we are waiting for it again. It seems to blow in and out with the crazy wind that we are learning to expect every March-April.  This year it took down our swing set that Fred and Nori assembled last year when they came to visit.  I hope we can rebuild it.  At least we are out of the gray winter doldrums and are inspired by the blooming flowers and sunshine.

On my to-do list lately...
* finish the King-size quilt for our bedroom that I began in January; paint our bedroom, hang curtains, and make it a "sanctuary" rather than a laundry-folding dumping ground.
* Edit a few photo jobs... "Ella Jane Photography", the little "business" that my friend Natalie and I began in 2011, maintains a steady influx of clients.  Fall is by far our busiest season and thankfully January-February months are dead, but we've already done 6 shoots this year.  (Which is more than enough for me!)  I enjoy this hobby because it puts the pressure on me to learn new techniques and improve my skills, which I would not otherwise set aside time to do.
* Organize, organize, organize... I am considering boxing up a bunch of books, toys, etc, and storing them in our shop.  A lot of it I can't bring myself to get rid of yet, because the kids "might" use some of it again some time, but let's be honest, we have so much more than we need, and cleaning up over and over again just frustrates all of us. (In my defense, we have inherited A LOT from family and friends, and not that I'm not grateful, but I'm not a shopaholic or anything. Right?!)
*  Keep on exercising... I have been doing 30 REAL push-ups, situps, and squats a day... okay, more like 4-5 days per week. But I am seeing results! Slowly, but surely. I was just relieved to hear that my longtime friend Leslie feels EXACTLY the same way about running and fitness that I do lately... running 3 miles/ week, it's just not as easy as is used to be, plantar fasciitis and sore feet, baby belly that just won't quite snap back...
* Keep paying down debts. With a hefty tax return (that's right, blessings from paying tithing that even Uncle Sam didn't anticipate... let's hope that charitable contribution tax deduction doesn't get taken away!) we made a big dent in our consumer debt.  "Living within our means" has been a challenging lesson for us to learn since we lived for nearly a decade without any means to speak of...  going into debt for living expenses during medical school so that I could stay home with our young family was what we felt was right, and although I can't say I regret it, I recognize that now is the time that we have to make up for that by continuing to be disciplined in our spending.  Maybe I'm just now learning that no matter how much money you make, it's always easy to spend more.
* LEARN SPANISH! In just a few days I noticed my ability to speak increased dramatically when I spent time with my non-English speaking neighbor Eustolia after she had her baby.  But I know my grammar is horrible, so I need to practice with Rosetta Stone.
* Finish sprinklers system and plant grass in the remaining field! We had no idea how much work it would be to keep weeds from growing in places where grass wasn't growing... and although we already have a huge grassy yard, we have finally learned that in the long run, planting more grass will be cheaper and easier than spraying for weeds all summer long!
* Finish the school year! The kids and I have grown immensely through our first year of home-school.  We have had lots of ups and downs, but I think we are finally getting the hang of it.  Jane will go to kindergarten at the public school with her preschool friends, but I think we have a good thing going with the 3 big boys, so we will go for it again this fall.  Above all, I love the time that we have right now to be together as a family and to train the boys in ways that we just didn't have time to do when they were at public school.  I know that this isn't the way we will do school forever, but for now, I am trying to cherish it (and not lose my sanity at the same time!)