Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone!

We wish everyone a meaningful day reflecting on the life and resurrection of our Lord.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud..."

"...That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."

Thus says William Wordsworth in his poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," and thus says the landscape in Williamsburg right now! There is a serious number of daffodils in this town, all over the place, right now. They are just literally everywhere you go--along the roads, near the rivers and lakes, beside driveways, and in random fields. We couldn't resist stopping and taking some photos since they were so gorgeous in the sunlight tonight...enjoy!

These are a different bunch near William & Mary:

These are outside my office near where I park every day:

And just in case anyone reading this doesn't like daffodils (although I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like daffodils!), here's a picture of something different. This is a photo of the sunset over the York River from this past weekend. It was beautiful, though the digital camera doesn't ever quite capture the way the pinks and purples really looked:

A Fresh Look

Surprise! Our blog has a new look. You might not have been tired of looking at the same old template over and over, but we sure were. Hope you like this new one. If not, let us know, and we'll try again. Anyway, spring is here, or, rather, it's peaking its head around the corner. There may still be some cold weather in store (as usually happens in the South, where the weather is rather unpredictable until June, when it becomes unbearably - but consistently - hot and humid). However, this week and past weekend represent the first relatively long stretch of warm weather since last fall.

Spring is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the sense of newness, the fresh smell in the air, the beautiful flowers and trees everywhere (despite their tendencies to make me miserable with their pollen), and - best of all - the ability to just get outside and soak in the sun again. Each season has its pros and cons, but I'm sure I am not alone in enjoying spring the best of all.

This past Sunday we went on a long walk nearby and saw these daffodils (above) on the verge of blooming - some of the few that actually hadn't bloomed yet in town. We also saw this field, which looked positively brilliant with its bright green color (and apparently it is also "the oldest continuously cultivated farm in America's first English settlement," according to a nearby historical marker):

Today after I got home from work, we also went biking (my first real ride on my new bike I got for Christmas) - just before a large string of storms ran up the coast and put us on a tornado watch for the rest of tonight. It was so nice to be able to exercise without freezing to death!

Anyway, other than that, it's the Lenton season. Neither of us decided to "give up" anything in particular this year, at least tangibly, but I have been trying to reflect a lot more on Easter and on the meaning of His Resurrection and of the entire Gospel for my personal, everyday life. It's so easy to get caught up in the unimportant, little things, and one thing we've been hearing lately in sermons is how important it is to to focus on the "big" rather than the "little" in life. The "big" is that Jesus came to earth to show us the perfect godly life, and He died for our sins so that we might have everlasting life with Him. The implications of that are huge, and it should really affect us more on a daily basis than it often does.

To comprehend better how to put all this into practice, I picked up a little, but old (and classic) book that I've wanted to read for a long time, called The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence. It talks about glorifying God in the small things - that is, finding peace and contentment in Him, but through what would normally be considered routine, monotonous, and dull. I guess you could say this means accomplishing the "big" through the "little" (which turns into the "big" when He's in it). This is a lesson I learned awhile ago, but it's one thing I think we can never quite remind ourselves of too many times. I leave you with the quote (prayer) that starts Brother Lawrence's book:

Lord of all pots and pans and things...
Make me a saint by getting meals
And washing up the plates!

Jamestown Settlement

Today was a beautiful, mild, sunny day in Williamsburg, so we were eager to spend time outside! Ben's on spring break, too, so that means just a tiny bit more free time to have fun on the weekends. We posted pictures awhile back from our trip to Jamestown Island here - aka Historic Jamestowne - which is the "authentic" location of the original Jamestown settlement. Today, we went to the other half of the Jamestown attractions: Jamestown Settlement. It includes a very large museum/gallery detailing the history of the early colonies and a bunch of outdoor exhibits too. Outside are replications of the three ships (see above photo) that the colonists sailed to the New World in. Can you name them?

They are the Godspeed, the Susan Constant, and the Discovery. Apparently, people actually sail in the replicas - they aren't just for show! The most amazing thing to me was how small they are relative to the number of people and supplies they had to carry. Can you imagine sailing halfway around the world, leaving your home, and taking virtually nothing with you? I think the risks taken are beyond what most Americans can comprehend nowadays; the discomfort and utter sacrifice of the trip is just not fathomable in our comfy 21st century minds! I think we should all have to read their writings and what they experienced so that we can truly appreciate the roots of our country. The way it was founded is truly unique to any country in the world!

Anyway, I digress. In addition to the ships, they have replica villages from the colonial times, one of the Powhatan (Indian) village, and one of the colonists' village. Most of the houses are full of barrels, furs, and weapons (bow and arrow for the Powhatans, guns and cannon materials for the colonists); others have dried food (tobacco, ham). There were also a church and schoolroom.

Above: Powhattan (Indian) village replica

Above: Furs in the Indian village.

Below: Colonist village (apparently their roof material was really good and would still be considered good today--I think it's some sort of reeds, but I can't remember).

Below: Me trying out the armor, wondering if the colonists' heads were coneshaped since that is the shape of the head armor (which was very, very uncomfortable).

Below left: Backgammon game from one of the colonist homes. (They had Checkers then too.) Below right: Demonstration by a colonial "footman"/soldier.



Below: An Indian canoe (for fishing and traveling)