Misty mornings

After all of yesterday's rain, this morning's mist prompted different replies from my husband and me.  I looked out the window and said "ooh, it's an Indiana morning" and at the same time from the kitchen he called out "looks like a Pennsylvania morning outside".  That lovely, almost ethereal morning mist never fails to delight us and remind us of our childhood homes.  My most immediate concern was my poor lilac bushes - they only truly opened on Monday and yesterday's rain was heavy and lasted all day.  They look a little weather beaten but at least the blooms are still on...I was afraid I might have a one-day wonder this spring!

What's not to love about lilacs?  I delight in their beauty, their scent, their willingness to show up year after year and bring spring glory with them, and most of all, in the sweet, sweet memories I have of my father bringing home armfuls of them to my mother each spring.  In a word, they personify love.

We had an amazing celebratory weekend!  Our daughter graduated summa cum laude with her master's degree in Criminal Justice, with an additional certification in Victim Advocacy.  Her ceremony was on Friday night, and we then hosted a reception for family and friends on Saturday afternoon.

We were all so touched at the effort family and friends made to come and celebrate with us - my brother and nephew drove from South Dakota, and many folks drove two or three hours to join us.  We felt so blessed to have so many people want to share in our daughter's happy day!  And if that wasn't enough reason to celebrate, she found out yesterday that the Runaway & Homeless Youth Services team that she has served on for the past two years just won the state's Governor's Service Award!  We are so very proud of this beautiful, smart, capable and caring young woman.

I had fun decorating her reception with sayings that fit her to a "t"!

We followed Saturday's happiness by gathering on Mother's Day to celebrate our son's birthday...

And of course Miss Lily made an appearance...

And I felt incredibly blessed to be surrounded by those I love more than life itself.  

As the happy weekend came to a close, the lyrics of an old familiar hymn were running through my mind:

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

And along with counting our blessings let's remember that...