I’ve been looking out my window for weeks now thinking, “When will I see signs of spring? Flowers in bloom, greener grass, new growth?” It occurred to me today that the beauty of Spring that I’ve been aching for was right in front of me.

Literally, it is right in front of me, perched on the window sill, a tiny cup with a shoot of green growing out of it, nearly overwhelming the paper cup it began its life in. It’s bursting at the brim of new growth and potential, over due for bigger things.

It’s also in the little things like my seven year old’s amazing handwriting and vocabulary – his new obsession with Fedoras and Batman. The tenderness of his spirit – making greeting cards for all of his friends, always laughing and grinning and joking and waiting for another chance to make you smile.

It’s in her silly smirks and quirky sense of humor. Every day she grows up a little bigger, a little sillier and wiser. She is in the stage of bursting at the seams with new potentials, learning and growing at a rapid pace that mommy can’t keep up with. Sometimes it comes through in temper tantrums and missed naps, but it’s also in the fierce cuddles and her adventurous spirit that is always up for trying something new. She is fearless.

Remember him? He was 25 pounds when we adopted him last month – a whirlwind of energy, romping through the snow. He’d never known the world outside of winter at just four months old. Now he is a whirlwind full of energy, running through the lawn, looking for mud puddles and tennis balls. He’s over 40 pounds now, bigger than BB and catching up steadily with MM. We installed a run in the backyard so that he can do his business in private and also without us sometimes. When it is raining and I’m tired of going outside every couple hours, I can reach over and grab the line, hook it up to his collar and send him out while I wait in the dry comfort of the basement (unless it’s leaking, then it’s less dry). This was not an option just one month ago.

And Spring is here, whether it’s lush and full of blooms or not. The signs of it are all around me if I take the time to look for them.