March is rolling right along. One of my most favorite days of the year is today!!! I love March 20 because it's the First Day of Spring!!! Saying goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring is such a wonderful feeling!!! I love Spring time so much!!! For the warmer weather! For green bursts everywhere. For the garden seeds that get planted. I love Spring for the birds that chirp and come to my feeders!!! Spring is usually another busy season and baseball right around the corner and school activities in high gear until the very last day!!!
There is lots of outside work that comes along with Spring. Mulching and weed pulling and mowing the lawn and edging and planting flowers!!! Flowers ... OH, Yes!!! I most times visit a greenhouse or two on the first day of Spring and I did just that today!!! I got two full flats of pansies for the first porch and a big bag of fresh potting soil!!! Ashlyn picked out a handful of seed packets and a small swan planter that she begged for her gardens. :))) The girl loves our gardens and really gets excited about planting things! We will be in the raised beds just as soon as the snow melts off of them and the sun shines just a bit warmer!!!
March has a few birthdays for my family. Fannie Lynn had a birthday last week and we celebrated her special day at The Speckled Hen!!! My sisters and mom all gathered for a fun lunch!!!
Last week with all the snow we got, Hadassah went snow boarding for her very first time!!! Jess went along and this is the picture I was sent!!! These two have a blast together and are so much fun!
The snowplows were hot and heavy last week but this week the snow is melting away!!! I loved the snow while it lasted but now with Spring really being here, I'm ready for it to all leave!!! And I'm ready to pack up the winter clothes that got laid all over the garage floor to get all washed up and put away too!!!
Hadassah played in a winter volleyball league. Last Thursday was a tournament and now that season is over. It won't be long before she can play volleyball outside again!
Going for a block here!
I took a walk out to the gardens this morning just to take a peak of what's out there. The garden beds are still snow covered and it's the First Day of Spring!!! There is a hard crunchy shell on top of the snow. The herbs and lettuce and greens that Mike bought the other week for their photo shoot are begging to be planted outside where they can thrive!!! Ashlyn and I will have such a good time in the gardens this year!!! We are so excited to add new vegetables and fresh seeds!!!
Here are the greens from the photo shoot that are trying to hang in there!!!
Happy Birthday, Jody!!! I hope this year brings you many joys in life and lots of fun!!!
Something else we did today was make our annual visit to the dentist. Ashlyn did another great job! Everyone was cavity free but her. Bummer. We will go back in a few weeks to get them taken care of!
Spring is here!!! I am so excited for a new season!!!
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And while we are talking about seasons, we entered a very difficult season in our life when Dad Lapp was diagnosed with Pancreas Cancer just a few weeks ago. Dad and Mom decided to do a treatment in Mexico. They were there for three weeks. Mike and I brought Dad and Mom home from Mexico last Saturday. We knew Dad wasn't feeling the best but thought "home" would help. We had no idea of the struggles and emotions and care that would all be needed for the following week!!! Last Sunday, most of us children visited Dad and Mom at home. Dad was weak but doing OK. Then on Monday, Dad went to Cornerstone Wellness Center for IV for a dehydration. Dad was there until Thursday evening. His digestive system is not working properly and he is ill. Getting him to a hospital around home is difficult. Hospitals around home don't know much about Hyperthermia Treatment. This is why Dad had it done in Mexico. So finding him doctors in the USA that know how to help him get well from this type of cancer treatment is tough. But thank Jesus there is a place called Envita Medical Center!!! The only and major down play about this place is that it's in Arizona!!! Dad and Mom left yesterday afternoon for Arizona and they do not know how long they will be there. Dad needs to get well before heading back home!!! This is so hard seeing them leave all of us again. But we know it's for the health battle for Dad. Getting Dad well is something we are all praying for!!! If you would like to pray for Dad here are a few specifics: That Dad could sleep and rest. It's hard for Dad to lay there all day and then sleep sound during the night. Pray that Dad's digestive system would begin to work again!!! He has not eaten much food at all for days and days. His body is getting so thin and he is weak. Also, pray that Dad would get an appetite and begin to eat foods and get nourished. He's been throwing up some because the tiny bit of foods he does get down, seems to always come back up. And then of course, pray for Mom!!! She's been Dad's nurse a lot the past few days and is doing her very best. This is such a trying and hard time in life for her. She wants Dad's health back and is trying hard to except all that God has ahead for her! She is by Dad's side all the time and she needs rest too!!! The family is so happy to finally have them back at a place where they can have skilled doctors and nurses help Dad!!! We've been praying the last few days that Dad would eat, sleep and poop. And miracles are happening! This morning, Dad woke up in Arizona with a better nights rest!!! He had a bowel movement!!! We are rejoicing in this simple and small things in life because right now they are huge for us!!! Dad is on a tough journey of fighting cancer but God is still good. God has a plan through all of this!!! We just need to be open to receive His will!!!
Thank you all so much for your texts and calls and prayers!!! Mike and I have felt the prayers and comfort of many of you!!! The whole Lapp family will miss Dad's so much the next few weeks and looking ahead it all looks like a mountain but I've reminded myself often this week that God has this all in His hands. Take only one day at a time. Trust in Him. Believe in miracles. Keep praying and never give up hope!!!
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Happy First Day of Spring!!!
