Welcome, March!

I love the month of March. It just feels hopeful to me. We start to see temperatures above freezing. The sun begins to make more regular appearances. The snow begins to melt and the grass, as wet and matted as it is, becomes more and more visible as the month goes on. I know it's not technically spring until March 20th or so but something about March just screams, "Hold on! You're almost there. You've almost made it."

This winter has been difficult for us. My faith has been tested in ways that I never thought possible. I prayed for Henry's thyroid nodule to be benign harder than I have ever prayed for anything in my life. I fasted. I cried. Alot. And yet Henry has cancer. I don't understand why and maybe I never will.

But I've learned alot. I've learned that it's OK to accept help when you can't do it all by yourself. I've learned the value of good friends who cried with me and listened to me worry over and over and over again. I've learned that there are a lot of people who care about my family and are willing to help us when we need help. I've learned to be grateful for the blessings that I have because I have so many that I can't name them all. I've learned to focus more fully on the things that are important in life. I've learned that, even when things seem hardest, I am never, ever alone.

Spring is coming. I can feel it. My kids played outside this afternoon after school. Henry organized a basketball game and Tessa rode her trike around the cul-de-sac. I stood in a patch of sunlight and thanked my Heavenly Father that our winter is almost over.