March Faves

It's finally MARCH!  The month when Spring begins and the start of celebrating the Resurrection of our Savior-Redeemer!  It's not a favorite month of mine but it IS a favorite time of year....when all things become new again and we are reminded of the eternal Life we have in Christ..........and that He DOES give 2nd chances...oh how I wish more people would embrace that in their relationships, friendships, careers, families, churches.....the concept of 2nd chances when real change occurs.

This past week has been a very busy one.....between work, ministry duties, church meetings, school functions, that it took me a moment to find the blessings in each day.  But I'm glad I did and I am sharing FIVE of these FAVES with you and linking up at Susanne's.

What things brought a smile to your face this week??

• GREAT REPORT!  My 16 yr old had a great report from the oral surgeon last Friday afternoon. She is healing well from the 4 wisdom teeth extractions and only needs to avoid popcorn until the end of June. She was also informed by the high school principal that she made High Honor Roll again for this past quarter! We celebrated by going out to lunch to a sub place of her choice.  I love these special times with her....always a fave.

image courtesy of macysonline

• SHOPPING/DINNER DATE:  Dave informed me that this store is closing from one of the malls in the city where he works, to the west of us.  So Saturday evening after a day of chores and errands, we dashed over there to buy some work stuff and grab a bite to eat for dinner as our daughter was at a party. Most of the items, at 50%-70% off where picked over, but I did find 2 shirts for work and the above pic is one of them...regular price was $60 but I got it for $17.99...now THAT's a sale!  It was a fun evening and Dave found a few things for work as well. 

Trail (Outer loop)on Peebles Island State Park
Photo courtesy of Mona F
1 March 2015

• HIKING!  I finally got to do my first winter hike of the year!  January was too frigid. February was too much snow and too frigid and finally, on the first day of March, I was able to get out there and work my legs!  My good friend Cheryl, from my childhood hometown and our friend Mona (another hiking buddy in the hiking club I joined) drove out here to the Capital Region and we did a 4 mile hike.  It was only 17 degrees with the strong wind chill of about 3 degrees! But we were dressed in winter hiking gear including hats/ear muffs and thick scarves and gloves and away we went.  It was amazing!!  We saw 3 deer feeding in the woods near the first part of the trail.  Then we saw a pilleated woodpecker.  My very first time seeing one of these woodpeckers flit from one tree to another. They do NOT like people,  so seeing one is most unusual. And then when I turned a corner of the trail and we came to a look-out over the frozen Mohawk River, a bald eagle swooped down right in front of us!  Finally, in the last 1/4 mile of the trail, we came upon a doe standing quietly in the middle of our trail. She looked at us, we looked at her.  (I forgot my camera!!!!!) She looked at us for about 3 minutes before deciding to bound away to the woods.  It was heaven!! In some places I was up to my knees in snow on the trail but most of the trail was packed down by cross country skiers or people on snowshoes.  I was proud of us...we did it with just regular hiking boots (although Cheryl did have on crampons).  I had my hiking stick to help with any ice situations but there weren't many.  And the trail is relatively flat except for one section.  What fun we had !!  They both came back to my home for hot drinks after the hike and before they had to head back west.  This was a huge blessing as Cheryl had never been to my home since I've been married (24 yrs).  A definite fave....time with old and new friends and hiking in the woods!!

• ORCHESTRA CONCERT:  Tuesday evening was a wintry sloppy mess, weather-wise and I was dreading going back out after work/dinner but Claire had her orchestra concert that evening and the school district didn't cancel evening events.  Once we got there, I was so glad to be sitting and relaxing to watch these teens perform.  The jazz band, select chorus and 9th/10th grade chorus performed first and the evening ended with the 9th/10th grade Orchestra.  Because last year had about 135 students in the orchestra (grades 9-12) the district decided to make TWO orchestras dividing them by 9th/10th and 11/12th grades.  I could finally see Claire as she now sits right on the end of the row in the first violin section.  The music they played was beautiful......all 4 songs were very well performed.  A real blessing to be in a district that offers such an outstanding music department.

Courtney (2nd from right) and some college friends
at the Gordon Globes, Gordon College, Wenham, MA
February 2015

• HOME!  Our oldest daughter, Courtney, came home yesterday from Boston for her Spring Break.  She's staying until Sunday and then driving out to CT to visit friends and NYC, then coming back here for late next week before heading back to Gordon College for the final stretch before she graduates!!  It's such a blessing to have her home!! And a blessing she didn't run into any bad weather or traffic!

That pretty much sums up my faves.  Notice how long the hiking section is....can you tell I have totally missed this sport this winter??  Am so hoping Spring begins on time with much warmer temps and a slow snow melt.  

Whatever you have planned for this weekend, I hope you find some time to rest and refresh your body and soul.

What were some of your faves this week??