WHY I sing, why anything matters at all.............

The plumbing is essentially completed, the broken propane line is repaired and propane tank refilled, we await news of Daniel, we pray for Junior and Diamoh, and for Mary. We celebrated RESURRECTION SUNDAY with many friends and family members on Sunday.  It is my favorite holiday, Holy Day. Resurrection Day to me is the day most deserving of fire works, pull-out- all- the -stops- parades,  and huge celebrations.       "HE AROSE !!! HE AROSE!! HALLELUJAH  CHRIST AROSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! "                           
 "Alive alive alive forevermore  My Jesus is alive  Alive forevermore!  Alive alive alive forevermore!  MY JESUS IS ALIVE!  Sing 'allelujah '  Sing "allelujah' My Jesus is alive forevermore ! Sing 'allelujah'  Sing 'allelujah"  MY JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  That excites me every day when I wake up : that I serve a Risen Savior, but on the day we commemorate that resurrection? OH  I love this day!!  I love our traditional Resurrection Day greeting  at church : "He is risen!" with the bigger response "HE IS RISEN INDEED!" In those churches we have been where that was tradition, I loved it. When it was not the tradition, being  in praise and worship teams over the years, I helped it to become tradition. I don't reserve this greeting only for Easter Sunday either. Sometimes we need to remind or reaffirm to  each other why we ARE Christian believers!
 It is in my thinking the perfect day for trumpets and all things celebratory.I don't care  very much about new  Easter dresses and such;  we do Easter baskets for the children and we do an egg hunt, but this Mamma/Grammy/Friend CELEBRATES  Resurrection Day!!
  We were in Vietnam completing Naomi's adoption 8 years ago. We celebrated Easter Sunday in Saigon. It is, it was , a Sunday I will never forget as long as I live. On our way to the Catholic church where we worshipped that day, we saw huge crowds gathering at another large building...a concert hall. We could hear strains of absolutely beautiful classical music coming from that direction and I asked our co-ordinator if that was another church celebrating Easter. Her answer caused my blood to freeze in my veins and then caused me to experience mourning in a way I never had before. The government pays the orchestras to play free concerts on Sunday mornings "in competition" with what few churches are open, in hopes of luring, detouring the people away from church, to listen to the orchestral music. The very day we  were celebrating the resurrection from the dead of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and these people were paying others to exploit music I love any other time in my life, and to distract people from going to churches. Obviously they must be seeing some "Fruit" from this effort because I  was told that this happens every Sunday!!! I remember thinking that if Bethoven or Mozart had known that their music would one day be used to steer people AWAY from worshipping Almighty God, that perhaps they would not have  ever written a note. We sang  along with familiar Easter hymns, as they were played in the church we attended. The banners proclaiming "HE IS RISEN" in Vietnamese , the service done in French and Vietnamese are memories of a very different Easter Sunday. The contrast of what was happening up that street will affect the way I worship forever. "He is risen! HE IS RISEN INDEED!!"  As much as I love spring and all the blooming and new life, I know that it is BECAUSE HE LIVES that any of this matters "a fig" . SING ALLELUJAH!!!!!!!

More tulips are blooming every day!                          The peach tree is absolutely burgeoning with blossoms

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More new fruit trees are in, most of the garden is planted, the front flower beds are bursting with color, the weather is glorious. Life is BUSY putting in gardens and trees, as  if we were not already busy! Grand  Baby Charlie is crawling for real. "Baby-proofing" the house (OK kids,  Time for doing a better job on that "no more dropped sunflower seed hulls on the carpet, take your glasses and plates TO THE SINK!" routine )  has begun and new adventures  begin! No new does or bucks yet, but I expect the next three does to kid all about the same time, judging from the looks of them, and I also expect the barn cat to give birth about the same time.  Sigh........
 Charlie flashes that "Hey Baby" grin as he takes off in a crawl~

and   shows off his new skill!

Today Jael took Topsy Turvey to school for a Career Day talk on her plans to be a livestock veterinarian.

Topsy goes to school

The Redbud tree in our front yard is a  major "Bee Magnet"

And of course it can't be Easter without an Egg hunt

It can't be a sunny day, or a cloudy day, weekend day or any  week day without  a little FOOTBALL,

unless you are the Daddy/Pappa. Then any day is a good day to hold a Grand Baby, hang out and swing a while!