3 Great Things

1.  Papa is a Colonel.  Chris's dad, Grady's Papa, and my very favorite father-in-law is also a very modest man, but an amazing man.  Last weekend Eric Johnson was made Colonel in the Air Force and we couldn't be more proud of him.  He is a true patriot having joined the Air Force after 9/11 and serving two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan helping our service members in the greatest of need by providing life sustaining treatment  to those injured in the field through the Critical Care Air Transport team (CCAT). He admired his own dad, who was also a patriot and an honorable member of armed services and who was seriously injured at age 19 while serving his country in World War II.  Eric joined the Air Force to honor his country and his father.  He joined to save the soldiers who put their life on the line every day.  He is one of the most honorable men we know and the definition of a patriot.  Congrats Eric.  We love you so much and wished we could have been there to celebrate this wonderful achievement with you. 

2. Welcome Whitfields.   Doug, Elizabeth, Sophie, Cam, "Beauty and the Beast" (Sophie's  single goldfish, still cracks me up), and the lioness Louie rolled into town on Thursday. While they are on the hunt for friends, we are elated to add some of our closest friends to the list of locals.  We are just absolutely thrilled to have them here.  There will probably be a billion pictures of the kids from here on out so I will just say that I am just as happy for Grady.  To have cousins around the bend from us will be so wonderful for him. 

Double trouble and future best buds. 

Sweet sweet Sophie is so wonderful with "Gratee".  Just feeling so lucky that these kids can grow up together.

3. Spring has officially arrived.  I love the breath of fresh air that Spring swoops in with and I needed it this year.  I love new beginnings, crisp air, thunderstorms, daffodils, slow post-winter jogs, pockets of beautiful sunshine, blossoming trees, the smell of freshly cut grass, Bella's green paws, spring cleaning, the smell of rain, open windows, sandals, painted toenails, visits to the nursery, sitting on our porch, getting my hands dirty in the yard, the return of the songbirds, the smell of sunscreen and the general fresh perspective that comes with the turning of winter to spring  Spring is here and I am soaking up its refreshing qualities in a new and wonderful way.

It seems like the grass turned green in a matter of a day.