The kids have headed back to their home in Illinois and our lives here in Arizona are getting back to normal. Abbey is happy to roam freely about the house without running into another cat around every corner, although she still is very careful about passing by the open door to the guest room. I’m happy that I don’t have to keep her closed in a bedroom or stay on alert to where the various cats are, but I’m missing my girl and her husband.

Before they left my daughter and I had time for one more craft project. She made this Butterfly Shadowbox for her home. We used some of my scrapbook paper scraps for the butterflies. My gift to my sister this Christmas was a kit I’d put together for her to make a Butterfly Shadowbox of her own. These are fast becoming a family tradition!

I’ve been sitting here looking at the photo of Shannon’s butterflies and feeling refreshed. They remind me of spring flowers with all their bright and pretty colors. I think I’ll have to make myself a new one using more spring colors. It seems kind of silly to me, since I never really feel like we have moved into Winter here, but I’m excited by the thought of Spring being on its way back. I’m sure my anxiousness for its arrival stems from my childhood in Connecticut. Winters were long and cold and the first sunny days and brave little Crocus peeking through the crunchy snow were a cause for celebration. There may be a couple of months left before those days return but with Christmas and New Year’s Day behind us my mind is starting to race ahead.