Is it spring yet?

My last post was in the middle of our week of ice and snow - and now it is looking like spring! The daffodils broke ground a week or so ago and yesterday there were two in full bloom. Today, the whole row is blooming! I love it. I hope it means an early spring - but we still have to get through March.

It has been a busy couple of months. Billy came down from Iowa and was here for 3 1/2 weeks. He is still looking for a job and decided that his favorite toy, his 2001 BMW, was too much cash just sitting in the garage. He did a few repairs and then came to Atlanta to sell it, thinking it would be a better market. Turned out his cousin fell in love with the car and they worked out a deal that seems to have them both happy. Part of the deal, was that David traded him the old van, so Billy drove that back to Iowa and is now getting it ready to sell it up there.

Lisa and the kids stayed with us a week, too, while Billy was here. Her husband, David, has quit his job and is planning to start his own business, possibly in Charlotte. That means they needed to finish the work on the house so they could put it on the market. It was a lot easier to work if the family moved out - so they were here. We loved it! David's mother and a friend came in to help him that week; then Lisa and the kids flew back to Grand Junction with them. They have been out there all month. David is going out this weekend and they will be there another 10 days or so before they all come back. The house is not going to be finished, but they should have the upstairs mostly done. The big work there was gutting two bathrooms and redoing them.

I have really missed Lisa and the kids - I don't know how I will survive if they move. Thank goodness, they are planning to stay in the south! Ashby gets cuter everyday. She talks up a blue streak and loves to read. She reads to Brooks, too, so he is getting an early education from her. She is loving being with her cousins in Colorado and will probably be bored when she comes back home! Brooks is growing like a weed - literally! Last week, he weighed in at 15 lb. 8 ozs. That is at 2 1/2 months old! He has been gaining almost a pound a week. Hopefully, that will slow down soon. The real problem is that he gets hungry and can't make it through the night yet. Otherwise, he is the sweetest baby - just cooing and smiling and looking around.

I have been really busy with the Atlanta Temple being rededicated this spring. My work with public affairs means I am right in the middle of a lot of the openhouse planning - lots of meetings, emails, conference calls, etc. We are excited to have the temple open again. The openhouse is April 9th to 23rd. The dedication will be May 1.