Evidence of Spring

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since I last did a blog post. My life has been so busy –so much has changed since the last time I hit the publish button.

My family has moved closer to Bermuda College’s campus to cut down on what was originally a 40min. commute each way. Now we’re living just 5 minutes away from the campus and less than 15 minutes away from town. This move makes life as a college student so much more convenient for me.

College has been going well…which explains why I haven’t posted here recently. :) I’m currently taking 4 courses and also keeping busy with volunteer work and making new friends.

One of the things I’ve noticed about college is the lack of free time in general. Remember all the time I had to pursue a long list of hobbies? Well, I definitely don’t have the time to enjoy knitting, crocheting, bird watching, sewing, etc. during the week. Depending on the amount of homework I have to complete, the weekends could prove just as busy. However, it’s still important to do something fun now and then so I make a conscious effort to do at least one thing I enjoy on the weekend.

Over all, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying my time at Bermuda College. I’ve learned so much both in and out of the classroom. I know the next couple of weeks will be busy ones. Final exams are just a month away and I’ll have lots of studying to do to prepare.

College aside, life has been good. :) It definitely looks like spring has sprung…even if the temperatures are yet to begin their annual climb. As part of this weekend’s “fun time”, I decided to take photos of some of the simplistically beautiful flowers that are blooming abundantly in our new backyard. Here are just a few of the delightful posies that I captured by photography yesterday:

		Spring Delights VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So how have you all been doing? I can’t wait to hear from all of my dear blog readers…it’s been SO long! What’s new in your life? How are you celebrating spring?

Drop me a line; I look forward to reading your comments!

Blessings,

Welcome Summer!

A lovely day in Bermuda!

Today's the first day of summer and also the longest day of the year! The temperatures have been quite warm these past few days so on Sunday we went swimming for the first time this year with some friends. Swimming is lots of fun --especially when the water is warm! :-) The water around Willowbank is teeming with fish so it's a fun place to snorkel and look around. When it's low tide, we enjoy searching the sand for beautiful seashells and checking out the longtails'(seabird) which prepare their nests in the rocky cliffs. Wading through just a few inches of water is pure fun, and I love the feeling of the gentle waves lapping at my feet. :-) Sometimes we simply relax on one of the beach lounge chairs and watch the sail boats out to sea.

I'm so glad summer is finally here! Hanging out at the beach and simply enjoying God's creation is what I enjoy most about summer. The long days and short nights make it easier to do a lot in one day and spend the evening watching the sunset! Even though the air is sometimes humid, the fresh ocean breezes are refreshing and make me feel very relaxed! :-)

Summer is the perfect time to visit Bermuda too! It would be great if you can spend your vacation here at Willowbank and I can get to meet you! I'm sure you all would love Willowbank because it is a non-denominational, Christian hotel that has two beautiful beaches, a quaint "homey" setting, complete with complimentary English-style tea every afternoon. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with lovely gardens and tall palm trees, with lots of space for children to run and play! Willowbank is the perfect hotel for a Christian family looking for a refreshing summer vacation!  If you would like to get more information about Willowbank, check out the hotel's website here. Hope to see you here in Bermuda soon!

Wishing you all a safe and happy summer,

Mom took this picture during low tide! 

A longtail flew by to see what we were up to!

Another photo of the beach during low tide!
The brown "stuff" you see here is sea grass which is
normally underwater but is visible during some low tides.

Spring Fun

Sorry for the lack of posts recently! I can think of so many excuses why I haven't done any writing here this past week or so. I guess the main reason excuse why I haven't posted anything is  that we've been having exceptionally good weather! The indoor hobbies have been somewhat neglected and in it's place, I've taken up outdoor hobbies like gardening, collecting seashells, and bird watching! A friend of mine gave me a lovely camera and I've been having lots of fun using it! So with so much to do outside, I haven't done as much writing. (Look out for details and pictures of the camera on my photography blog!)

My arm is nearly 100% better and I had my last doctor's appointment for it last week. I'm continuing my weekly appointments with the occupational therapist but am almost finished with that as well! Once again, I want to thank you all for your prayers for my arm! Now that I'm much better, I've been busy helping Mom around the home and have started doing my chores again. It's been good to be able to give Mom a helping hand and ease her burdens!

In my spare time, I've been trying to sew my first jumper dress! I've made several skirts and aprons but haven't made a dress before. I wasn't able to find a good pattern here so I'm making it up as I go along. :-) It's taking a bit of thought but hopefully it'll turn out fine. I'll be sure to post pictures when I'm finished!

Okay, so that's what I've been up to! What have you been doing? Leave a comment and let me know your favorite spring activities!

Blessings,

More Signs of Spring

Things have been quiet here, over the past few days and I haven't thought of anything noteworthy to write about. However, I've had lots of fun over the past few weeks taking pictures of all the lovely flowers that seem to be springing up everywhere. I've taken too many to post them all here but these are a few of my favorites:

The Logos Hope book ship arrived in Bermuda yesterday. Logos Hope is a Christian ministry ship that travels to different countries to sell religious books and educational materials at a discounted price. Its run entirely by volunteers and they often do further missionary work in the country where they are docked.

We're excited to have them here again because last time they were in port, we were able to purchase a lot of home school materials for low price. We plan to go aboard sometime this week, and I eagerly look forward to taking lots of photos and sharing it with you all here on my blog. :-) This a quick photo I took of the ship, while Sara and I were in town to get my braces adjusted:

Blessings,

Spring Gardening

This past week we've been blessed with lovely weather, and Mom thought it would be a perfect time to work on our garden. We spent the morning just weeding the garden --those weeds grow in quick and we had to carefully remove them without disturbing the delicate bulbs. Once we finished removing the weeds, we went to our local plant nursery and chose our favorite flowers: marigolds, geraniums, and allysums. We also purchased two lilacs that we've never grown before but I think they'll make a lovely addition to our garden family. :-) Gardening is a favorite hobby of mine and this mild spring weather was the perfect opportunity to revive our garden. 

These lilacs are so striking -we couldn't resist giving them a try in our garden!

We carefully dug around the bulbs and took out the weeds!

Mother enjoys gardening just as much as I do! Here she is carefully transplanting
a geranium plant to it's new home. :-)

I got in on the action too and helped remove weeds with my good hand. :-)

Jude planted these Allysum seeds around the border of the
garden. They should begin to germinate in a week and a half.

I've made quite a bit of progress on the mystery project, but if I post pictures it would no longer be a mystery! :-) So far, no one has guessed correctly. Hopefully, I'll finish it later this week and post pictures of the finished project and announce the surprise!

Blessings!

Just as quick reminder: If you haven't voted on my poll in the right sidebar, please do so. Thanks!

Crochet Hooks, Mystery Project, and Little Peaches

Last week, Mother took us to a local department store and we spent the afternoon there shopping. While she and the younger children shopped for some spring clothing, I went to the fabric and craft department which had a 25% sale on all their yarns and a large portion of their fabric! I already have quite a bit of fabric waiting to be made into some lovely garment, so I decided to purchase yarn and a set of colorful crochet hooks!

I've also decided to start a great spring project, but I thought you all can have a fun time guessing what I'll be working on. As I make progress, I'll post pictures of the mystery project and you can continue to guess what it is. Once I'm finished the project I'll show you the finished photos, and in addition to revealing the mystery project, there will be a special surprise announced at the end of the project too!

The yarn I'll be using is worsted weight, the project will use about (4) two ounce balls, and a size G6 crochet hook. Any ideas? I know that information won't be very helpful but go ahead and make a guess. :-)

This week I was delighted to discover miniature peaches on our peach tree! They are little fuzzy green buds that look like a tiny peach! How amazing is our Creator who makes such beautiful things for us to look at (and of course eat!).

Hope you all have a blessed week!

Saturday's Poem: Spring

This poem is actually a hymn that has been a favorite of our family for several years.  The lyrics wonderfully capture the essence of spring and the refreshing feeling it brings.

Spring Has Now Unwrapped the Flowers

Spring has now unwrapped the flowers, day is fast reviving,
Life in all her growing powers towards the light is striving:
Gone the iron touch of cold, winter time and frost time,
Seedlings, working through the mould, now make up for lost time.

Herb and plant that, winter long, slumbered at their leisure,
Now bestirring, green and strong, find in growth their pleasure;
All the world with beauty fills, gold the green enhancing,
Flowers make glee among the hills, set the meadows dancing.

Through each wonder of fair days God Himself expresses;
Beauty follows all His ways, as the world He blesses:
So, as He renews the earth, Artist without rival,
In His grace of glad new birth we must seek revival.

Praise the Maker, all ye saints; He with glory girt you,
He Who skies and meadows paints fashioned all your virtue;
Praise Him, seers, heroes, kings, heralds of perfection;
Brothers, praise Him, for He brings all to resurrection!
 ~From Oxford Book of Carols

First Day of Spring!

Today is the first day of spring! I'm so glad that it's finally come around... winter was chilly, wet, and windy. Although, most of the trees here keep their leaves throughout the winter, the high winds that we get so often in the winter months leave the trees, plants, and bushes looking burnt and dry. Of course, with the arrival of spring the gales have quickly vanished and everything is bouncing back to its gorgeous green color! Most of our flowers also bloom year-round, but the bulb plants like freesias, daisies, and spring snowflakes appear only in the spring time and early summer. These are a delight to behold and are always welcomed as heralds of the warmer weather!

I also wanted to give you all a quick update on my arm. I saw the doctor on Thursday and he said that I need to keep the splint on for another two weeks so it can continue to heal while immobilized. It's difficult trying to get by with one hand and I really look forward to when the splint can come off and I can use my hand again! In the meantime, I've been enjoying lots of wholesome poetry. I didn't know that reading poetry could be so much fun! I've been copying my favorite poems into a notebook with my right hand (because my left hand is in a sling) and my right hand's penmanship is getting better every day!

This past week or so I've been taking lots of photos of the blossoming flowers.  Photography is a favorite hobby of mine and it's always fun to capture the simple beauties of God's creation. It was hard to choose which pictures to share on the blog but here are a few of that really highlight the joys of spring:

(remember you can click on any picture to view a larger image)

If you would like to look at more pictures that I've taken, please visit my Picasa web album here.  

What do you like most about spring time? Please comment and share your thoughts on spring.

Hope you all are also enjoying the lovely spring weather we've blessed with here in Bermuda. May you have a blessed weekend!