April!  What a fabulous month!  Seeing as how it’s the first week of May now, it’s time to look back at highlights from the previous month.  March is when Spring begins, but it seems that April is when Spring starts really showing off!

FAVORITE #1

EASTER!

Now that the kids are grown up and moved away, Easter isn’t quite as festive for us as it used to be.  But this was the first Easter we’ve attended church in years.  We’ve found a church that we’ve been attending regularly for the past year, and I have to say…Easter Sunday had the highest attendance we’ve seen this whole time!

There was not an empty seat in the 9:30 service, and the overflow watched on screens in other areas of the church.  I was amazed, and it was an inspiring service!

 

FAVORITE #2

Around the Yard

Various flowers and plants around the yard really put on a display during April!

Bluebonnets:

This here may not seem like much of a display, but it’s notable because I planted the seeds for these bluebonnets a few years ago.  The first spring they hardly bloomed at all, and the few that did bloom looked sickly like the one on the right in this picture.  Then the next spring there were NONE that we could find.  So it was a pleasant surprise to see them blooming this year, and some blooming more proudly than in the past.

Purple Bearded Irises:

Our white irises bloomed in March, but in April the purple irises performed.  All of the purple irises used to be around the base of a maple tree that was in our back yard.  When we had to have that tree removed, I transplanted most of the irises into the flower bed.  I was thrilled to see how well they bloomed after being transplanted!

 

 

 

Mom’s Amaryllis:

I’m pretty sure I show pictures of this amaryllis every year, so why should this year be any different?  😁 My mom gave me one amaryllis from her front yard in Palm Harbor, FL years before she moved to Texas.  I look forward to it’s beauty every year.

And in this next picture, you can see in the foreground that it is multiplying more.  YAY!

I plan to give one of the bulbs to my daughter Cara in order to carry on the legacy!

Rose Bush:

This rose bush was a potted plant given to me by a student many years ago.  It brings me joy to see it blossoming every year, and reminds me of the young lady who gifted it to me. 🥰

Other amaryllis:

This species of amaryllis was gifted to me several years ago by a neighbor down the street who had thinned them out of her flower bed.  I pictured them in my March Favorites post to show how much they were multiplying, and now in April they are blooming!

 

Hosta:

Last year I moved this hosta from the ground, and put it in a pot at a front corner of the house.  Over the winter, it died back to where all you could see in the pot was dirt.  I know they come back each year when they’re in the ground, but I was worried that being above ground in a pot, it would freeze more than if it was in the ground, and I thought it might not be able to rebound.

Not only did it rebound, but as you can see, it is flourishing! 🙌

 

FAVORITE #3

The Garden

Babies:

First up, I have a bunch of baby plant pictures for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first plant the seeds, and all you can see is dirt, it gives me a big rush when I finally see the baby plants emerge! 😃💖

Garden status:

All of these pictures are from the last week in April.  So far, the garden is doing great this year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAVORITE #4

On April 20th our granddaughter Helen was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society!  We weren’t there for the ceremony, but Cara sent these pictures.  So proud of this girl!

 

It amazes me how much she’s grown up in this year of 7th grade!

 

FAVORITE #5

Fun Day Out and About!

On Friday April 21st, my friend Lynn and I attended Vintage Market Days at the Ellis County Expo Center in Waxahachie.  We enjoyed browsing all the booths and picking up a little this and that here and there as we strolled throughout!

Afterwards, we had a yummy lunch in downtown Waxahachie, and then we walked around some of that area.  Very cute town!  Lynn showed me an old train depot that is now a coffee shop, and we plan to go back sometime in May and have coffee and breakfast there.  Looking forward to that!

Around mid-afternoon we left Waxahachie and drove to Mansfield to meet our former colleagues.  They carry on a tradition of having happy hour after their annual field day, and they are so sweet to still invite us to join them even after we’ve been retired for 13 years!

Love these ladies!  This is our former third-grade team minus one who moved out-of-state.  (Miss you, Andrea!)

 

Here Lynn and I are welcoming our former colleague Kim into the retirement club!  She’s retiring at the end of this year.  Kim and I were both at the school the first year it opened.  Wishing you a happy retirement, Kim!

 

FAVORITE #6

The absolute BIGGEST highlight of April was the birth of our first grandson!  I posted about that already here.  At that time, we still didn’t know his name, but now we do.  So let me introduce our amazing, precious, beautiful Leo Jasper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOVED April!  If you have April favorites you’d like to share, or anything else, of course, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!  As we head into the weekend, I wish you a good one!