April (2nd half)

 The second half of April was a whirlwind.

The CBC quartet held its final concert and graduated one of our violinists.

The honeysuckle began to bloom everywhere and perfumed every single beautiful day.

Katherine's rehearsals and performances peaked in intensity, so Aaron and I had extra opportunities to try coffee shops for our "coffee and calendar" dates.

Katherine had a cheering squad come support her Arkansas Youth Symphony Orchestra concerts.

And our hometown of Conway had FOUR cellists on the stage.

The long-awaited farmers market finally opened.

And we discovered a significant leak in the last piece of original plumbing underneath our 80+ year-old house.

The high school orchestra toured St. Louis. 

I am so very blessed to work with these dedicated teachers and students.

The orchestra has enjoyed a foreign exchange student from Spain this year.  She is a fabulous violinist,

and she turned 16 on our trip. So we decorated the bus to surprise her.

The tour to St. Louis was quickly followed by the last concert of the year. 

These seniors were 7th graders the year I taught full-time. They have my heart as I've watched them blossom as both musicians and as people.

We planted winged beans in our garden as a reminder of one of our favorite veggies in the Solomon Islands.

We also got some exciting news for the Lavukal Translation Project. Two young men have joined the team and begun the training they will need to become proficient translators.

April (1st half)

April was an incredibly busy month for our family, but we still tried to start each morning with some Lenten devotional thoughts.

Katherine finished her biology dissections for school.

We soaked and planted beans as soon as we were safe from frost.

The first weekend in April, some old friends, the Havenga family, came for a visit.

John is an extraordinary runner, and when he saw that the 20k trail race "Hoof it for Heifer", held at Petit Jean State Park, was the same weekend as their visit, he signed up.

The morning began very early, Aaron and John left to get John to the race in time,

and Lori and I came later with all the kids. After the race, we enjoyed exploring the Cedar Falls trail and waterfall.

The first weekend in April was also Palm Sunday, and the CBC string quartet played for a worship service in North Little Rock. These guys give so much of their time and energy to serve their community!

The second Sunday in April was Easter, and once again we enjoyed a house full of people.

Sarah came up from Dallas, and Olivia brought several of her friends to celebrate.

The dogwoods bloomed,

The firepit cheered.

And the kitchen hummed with life again as everyone pitched in to help.

We made our traditional Resurrection Cookies.

And even though Hannah and Benjamin needed to stay in Houston,

we enjoyed a sweet Easter celebration with lots of lovely young ladies.

And lots of extended family, too.

Quite different from our Easters in Marulaon Village.

Also different from our Easters in Honiara.

But always celebrating with coconut cake!

March

March always brings the blossoms. Hyacinths and daffodils and tulips were all in full bloom. We had so many, it was easy to share vases full of flowers with our friends and family.

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March also brought a much needed Spring Break. We met our good friends, the Hibbards, in Berryville. First, we perused It's a Mystery bookstore, then we walked around the town square to snag some ice cream at the Hometown Scoop.

We also got to see Sarah and some of her friends when they stayed at our house

during a very long road trip.

March brought Purim and Hamantaschen,

peonies popping out of the ground,

new to me music by Florence Price, an Arkansas native, with my college string quartet.

and concert assessment with the public school orchestras.

Katherine read Pride and Prejudice for school, so we found a fun puzzle and matchmaking game as enrichment.

March brought birthday celebrations. My nephew turned one,

and my cousin turned twenty-nine.

Flowers often graced our table.

Spring Break coincided with our hand-holding-versary. So we planned a few days away for cellotrio. Our first stop was Serenity Farm Bread. Delicious!

We hiked the Old Railroad Trail on the Buffalo River where you can still see the railroad bed built of stones.

We had to turn back when the trail went underneath the flooded river and its tributaries, but it was still a beautiful hike.

The three of us watched "Hunt for Red October", and Katherine nailed the opening note of the introduction music before we ever pushed play.

We got rain for the majority of our time, but God knew it was exactly what we needed. A forced rest in the midst of a very busy season. I enjoyed reading "This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live".

And I went on long, wet walks,

while the other two stayed in the screened in porch and enjoyed listening to the rain.

But when we finally did get some sunshine, we enjoyed traipsing around Tyler Bend on the Buffalo River. We hope to continue hiking along the Buffalo River and its upper, middle, and lower corridors in the future.

The park had an old stone amphitheater that made a perfect place for Katherine to practice her cello while Aaron and I explored.