In the morning I return to Savannah to begin my last quarter of college. The very last go-round. Classes start Monday. As in, tomorrow (technically).

Home has been so good to me this spring break. (My last spring break!) Transitioning between full-throttle work and then endless rest is always a jarring shift in gear, no matter how desperately the rest is needed. But returning home to my family, to spring, and to restful contemplation of my future has been very good preparation for the quarter to come.

Spring is absolutely my favorite season. I love all of them for different reasons (though I only dig winter if there’s good snow), but every time spring rolls around, there’s no question. Green. Life and color springing forth from where I forgot it used to be. Winter’s deadness gets to me sometimes. Bare trees. Cold sky. (Not so much in Savannah, though!) Dormant life. Back in February I was home for a weekend, and I remember walking in the woods and being struck by a scene of towering, skinny tree trunks covered in ivy. These trees stuck out to me on my walk because of the green amidst all the bare trunks. I remember praying for God to clothe me like He brings the leaves to the trees. This week I have seen daffodils bloom, tulips come up from the ground to their full glory, leaves bud, trees put forth new green shoots visible from the second story of my house, and majestic flowering robes of wysteria hanging in branches all over town. The trees are now being clothed. And God will clothe me too.

I want to keep blogging. I never intend to put it aside, but things get in the way. Mainly school. I will try to stick to a goal of one blog post (at least) for each of the ten weeks I have left before graduation. This is a precious time for me. I’m in Savannah living with my dearest friends, and these are the weeks before we all scatter and part ways to begin our lives as adults. Somewhere. These are the last ten weeks I spend as an (undergraduate) student at an amazing art school. My dream school. The last ten weeks before I enter the work force. Before moving on. Moving out.

I’ve had to deal with a lot of fears this break, and some that immobilized me for days. I went walking in the rain today. I looked at those trees with the ivy-covered trunks. A tiny brilliant green inchworm descended from my umbrella into my hand. As I attempted to get him onto my finger so I could put him safely on the ground, promising that I wouldn’t hurt him and that I knew what I was doing, I felt God’s reassurance. I am that inchworm in the hand of God. I’ve got a plan for where I’m going. But ultimately He knows where I’ll be landing. And He sees a much bigger world, a fuller plan than I could ever prepare myself. Worlds.

I will trust in Him, and He will act. And I’m going to keep on reveling in all this green. It’s gorgeous, vibrant, and full of all the life surrounding me. All the time. Life: that’s what I’ve got in front of me. And He’s the giver of life. Constant. No matter what. Spring always comes.

Well hello! Oh man, I’ve been itching to blog so bad! I have so many things to share, I don’t know what to write about first! So many ideas. So check back often! There will be more to come.

My Thanksgiving was great. It’s been even more of a treasure to be home for the holidays since I’ve been at college. My brother and I attend schools in two states other than the one we live in! So family time with everyone reunited under one roof is really special. Here are some shots from my time at home so far.

We took some awesome family photos. Had a lot of fun too, if you can’t tell. Took them the old fashioned way (without my remote). Lots of ups and downs for me to restart the timer. Still totally worth it.

One of the first things we did as a family was rake the entire yard. It’s been a long time since I did that much raking. It took all four of us several hours to get the front yard done. So many leaves! Very exhausting, yet rewarding. We copied our neighbor’s genius method of raking a huge pile onto an 8×10 foot tarp and then dragging the batch to the curb. Still took hours!

Mason practiced a lot of piano while he was home in preparation for an exam. He’s got some mad chops these days. Total beast. I thought he was a talented musician before he went to college… now I can’t believe how much better he’s gotten and how much more knowledge he has!

I made a pretty sweet apple pie to along with the glorious feast Mom prepared. I always like to poke a pretty pattern for venting instead of random fork holes.

And we had a lot of fun playing some of our favorite games as a family. More to come on one of our all-time favorites so you can learn how to play too!

Also, here is a sneak peek into the ideas for future blog posts that I’ve had rattling around in my head lately. Just tiny little thumbnails to spark your interest as for what’s to come! I promise, they will come to be. They’re about to make my brain explode.

I will leave you with that for now. I need to refocus my attention on career stuff for the remainder of this week. Thanks for staying tuned, more great things to come from your favorite crazy, quirky, creative person.

I love fall! Savannah doesn’t show too many signs of it color-wise, so I got really excited today when I found these leaves. You can see the result of my happiness. It so inspired me to share a few fall things with you in pictures…

1. A garland of leaves with light streaming through

2. A drawer full of pansies & viola

3. Pretty carved pumpkins all in a row

4. And a leaf with gorgeous colors to press in a book!