If Ever I Would Leave You, How Could It Be In Springtime?

I have lived in California for about 25 years now. I use to hate that it was so dry all the time. I swore when I grew up I would move somewhere where it was green. I met Rick and thought how wonderful it would be to move to Washington state where he is from. It never occurred to me growing up though that green came from lot's of rain. I like sunshine so that became a problem. Rick loves the sun more than me so he doesn't really want to move up there because of the clouds. We do love visiting though! Every time we come home we remember why we love the sunshine though. It puts joy in our hearts and spring in our step. Except when it reaches 112* or more in the summer. That's a good time for a trip to green places!
Still, when California is in it's spring, there is hardly anything more beautiful. When the rolling bare hills are a bright Irish green, and the lupines and poppies are in bloom, you feel as if you are walking in an opened live storybook.
I just got back from a 5th grade science camp with Princess over between San Luis and Morro Bay. It was gorgeous out there. The green hills with their igneous rock showing though and the small sections of oak forest were breathtaking. The sunshine hitting your face and bouncing off the spring grass made you want to live outside forever. Down at the ocean it was crisp and blue and the otters were playing in the seaweed beds. One had a baby on it's tummy as they lay in the sunshine together. Perfect weather the two second days. Very cold the first.
It really satisfied my craving to be outdoors that I've developed lately. I really have been feeling the spring fever this year like I don't remember ever doing. I think grief and sadness can make you numb for a while. This year I have wanted to plant flowers, fix up the outside, feel the breeze in my face, and sit out and enjoy the warm sunshine. The soil even smells good to me and it feels good to get my hands dirty.
I greatly appreciate that the public school worked so hard to get the kids out to this camp too. Many kids don't get to get out in nature and learn from it anymore. They did some fundraisers and the schooled paid what was left. I plan to write the Principal who is a great Christian man, and thank him. They watched birds and checked off in their field journals which ones they saw. They learned about looking at leaves to identify what kind of resources that plant did or did not have. They learned how the food chain makes a dependant web. How different types of rock were formed. I decided to pipe in on our rock formation discussion that Creation Science believes that these seven sisters of ours would have been created during the flood when the earth opened up and lava poured out. The naturalist leading that hike was very positive about my interjection and I plan to write the camp a thank you for her respectful attitude. "Absolutely", she said "there are different theories scientist have as to how these events occurred." I was not sure what her reaction would be since this was a public school group of kids. Of course Princess teacher herself is a Christian so she makes sure to point out that evolution is indeed a theory. Truth be told, that is exactly how the public school SHOULD be presenting science since the scientific method itself cannot be played out fully on either creation of evolution. Step three is to test and neither can be tested or witnessed personally. We can only observe and theorize. Beyond that both fall into the category of faith.
Spring break is coming up for the kids. They get two weeks starting next week. Rick has it off and we plan to do some hiking and beach combing. We hope to get out and enjoy our beloved state while the green is here! The sweet peas should be out soon too along the coastal roads. They are highly anticipated by me this year.

On a news note: Our Foster process is still ongoing and we appreciate any prayers. We are in the final licensing process that should be complete by early May.
Note also: many of my posts here will be doubled over at "Happy Homebody" unless they contain personal information such as this. So, if you read over there, the post on this end may have more details at times.