We had tromped through mud and rocks for a good twenty minutes down a trail we found at a local park. We made our way to the river side, only to find ourselves thirty feet up a cliff looking down on the swift moving water below. By then the kids were tired and longing for the playground we had left behind by the parking lot, so we turned around and headed back.

The big kids were about fifteen feet in front of me and Baby E on the trail when they passed by a snake slithering through the leaves and small plants parallel to them. They walked past in ignorance, but I was worried Baby E would see it and freak out so I grabbed his hand and rushed by. When I knew we were a safe distance away, I stopped them and we went back to see it.

It was black with a white belly and it measured about four feet long. I figured it was a black snake, like the harmless ones we used to find in our garden growing up. It had stopped slithering as we approached, us still keeping a healthy distance. It stared at us for a moment and then slowly began to coil its neck back in what looked like a lunging position. We weren’t close enough for it to strike us so we just watched it for a minute. That’s when I noticed an odd sound, like a rattling. My eyes wandered down the length of the snake to see its tail violently shaking, making a rattling noise as it hit the dry leaves and twigs around it.

I’ve never seen a black snake rattle before, so for a moment I worried I had misidentified the snake and put my kids in unnecessary danger. I moved them away from the snake very quickly and when I turned around to check it once more, it was gone.

The kids were very eager at that point to be out of the woods so we booked it to the playground. As they played, I sat in the pavilion and researched snakes. The best I could come up with was a Black Rat Snake, which will mimic a rattler if it senses danger, but it isn’t poisonous.

Satisfied that my kids hadn’t been in any real danger, I relaxed and let them play for about 45 minutes. By that time other families showed up and at one point there were a bunch of kids standing in a semi circle on the other side of the playground. I heard one of them day “snake.”

I got up to look and sure enough, there was a snake. It looked identical to the one we encountered in the woods 200 yards away. Either that snaked made serious headway in less than an hour or it wasn’t alone. Either way, we had had enough snake encounters for one day. We left a few minutes later. While I absolutely loved our hike, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to refer to that place as anything other than “The Snake Park!” *shudder*

Thank you for all your prayers for my mom. She came home from the hospital this afternoon and is looking forward to her recovery here!

The hospital that my mom had her surgery in is different than the one my dad spent so much time in. Most of the rooms here are double occupancy and they don’t allow family to spend the night. They kick you out by 9pm.

Mom did well today. They had her up and walking again and made her navigate some stairs in preparation for sending her home sometime tomorrow.

Her spirits are good, but she is extremely tired. Praying she gets a good night’s sleep tonight!

Late last summer my mother was scheduled to get a hip replacement. Less than a week before surgery she got a phone call from one of the doctors saying they weren’t clearing her for surgery until she saw a cardiologist. With only a few days until surgery, she wasn’t able to secure an appointment and the surgery got cancelled.

The very next day my father was in the ER and our long, arduous ‘hospital season’ began. I shudder to think what life would have looked like if the timing had been different.

But God was in control and his timing is perfect.

Today my mother finally had her long awaited surgery and it went very well. They even had her up and moving a couple hours later, which I think is pretty amazing.

And one of the best parts about today was watching my dad sit by her side all day, like she had sat so many days and nights by his.

I love them both so much. ❤️❤️

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been asked if I’m ok recently. The truth is I really am, I just don’t seem like it. Last week my allergies got so bad, the worst I’ve ever experienced, that my doctor put me on a steroid treatment to bring it under control. Thankfully the medicine seems to be working very well in controlling my symptoms, but it’s unpleasant side effect is that it makes me a little foggy and feel a little sad. I’m only on it for a few more days, so I’m happy about that. In the meantime, I’m being patient with myself. I’m just so thankful I can breathe again!

***

I was looking through old pictures this evening and one of my all time favorite pics of C came up. It was from years ago when she was taking ballet classes at the same studio Tim had practically grown up in. I love that connection those two share and I still think she’s the cutest ballerina I’ve ever seen!

This afternoon our living room transformed into a theatre complete with stage and scenery. The kids gave us each a ticket to come and watch a special Mother’s Day Production of the CE Play (a play written and performed by C and But E.) It was a perfectly adorable gift from my sweet babies for Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day my friends!

I didn’t anticipate the emotional clobbering I would receive this evening from a book I was reading.

I had picked up “A Monster Calls” at the library book sale last week. I had seen the cover and thought it looked interesting and a quick skim of the back made me decide to put it in the bag. It’s a kids book, intended for ages 12 and up, so I figured it would be a quick read. I hoped it would avoid the shallow characters and thin plotlines that typically run rampant in such books.

I read about a quarter of it yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it was written. This evening I figured I’d read a little more, but like any truly great book, it refused to be put down… So now I’ve finished the book and it is very late. My eyes are swollen and puffy from a mixture of allergies and the tears I shed over this story.

It was a poetic, haunting, and devastating tale of a child coming of age while navigating the heartbreaking reality of loss and grief. I had tears streaming down my face.

This is one that will stay with me for a very long time.

On a brighter note, we were invited to our friends’ house today for a non-Easter Easter egg hunt. The kids had such a wonderful time playing with their friends and hunting for eggs. They wore themselves to exhaustion.

It waited until we pulled into the parking lot at the soccer field this afternoon to start drizzling. It didn’t take long for heavy rains to move through and soccer get postponed until it could blow over. Once the worst of the rain was gone, they decided to go ahead with practice.

I’m hoping we will get at least one rain-free Friday afternoon before our soccer season is over!

As I type this, I’m laying on a toddler mattress in the boys’ room. I wouldn’t say Baby E is sick, but he has a stuffy nose which could be a cold or it could be allergies. Either way, it’s making it difficult for him to sleep.

There was a time that it scared me for Baby E to even come down with a cold. His lungs were always weak and every illness seemed to settle in his chest. Many hours were spent watching him breathe and listening to the rattling of his lungs, his inhaler at the ready.

This past year he was given a reprieve from the constant parade of illnesses that used to march through our home, and as a result I think his lungs might have finally strengthened!

PS- I hope I’m not on the miniature mattress all night!

I’m not sure what it was about the park today, but my allergies were on full display.

C’s art class meets at a local park, and while they are doing their pieces in the pavilion, the other kids are free to play on the playground or explore the woods.

So, with itchy eyes and a near constant sneeze, the boys and I did a little exploring.

Even though allergies are a pain, I’m so happy the weather is ripe for adventuring!!

This past weekend our local library had a book sale. We took the kids with us and I told them to pick out some books. C came home with a pile of chapter books and this morning she finished the first one. She was so engrossed by her book that she stole every spare moment to read. I loved seeing her curled up on the chair with a book in her hands, oblivious to the world around her.