I'm so excited!

Spring has officially become my favorite season of the year. There is something about the time between New Year's and April that leaves me feeling cold, frumpy, bored and ancy for fresh vegetables, fresh air, shorts and sandal season. Does anyone else feel that way?

I always loved fall the best because of the cooler weather (which was a welcome treat after the hot Texas summer sun). I also loved the wonderfully warm and inviting colors of fall and of course, Thanksgiving! Fall is still my second favorite season, but living in Louisiana has made me appreciate the springtime so much more. Bare with me as it might take some time to explain ...

Grayson and I used to travel a lot on the weekends. With so many of our dear friends in Fort Worth, my family in San Antonio and some of his family in south Louisiana, we found ourselves packing our bags almost every weekend to head out of town. While I really enjoyed those road trips with Grayson, we recently made a committment to stay in town more often in an attempt to strengthen relationships and to start making our roots go deep. A few things have helped us stick to this committment: people that we knew in Fort Worth have since moved far far away, those who still live there have recently had babies which makes getting together a little bit tough, also we joined a Sunday school here that we love and don't want to miss each week. The timing of our decision to stay in town was definitely God-driven. He has demonstrated so much grace on us during this time and has opened my eyes to see the goodness of our area.

Lately a co-worker has been generous enough to share her Ruston Daily Leader with me. Without reading our six page paper each morning I would have missed out on all that Jackson and Lincoln parish have to offer! I find myself so excited about the current happenings as well as future ones in the area. Now, instead of leavinig town for fun events, I find myself making lists of things I want to do here and people we need to invite to attend all of these great events with us!

For example, in historic, downtown Ruston several projects are under way including a barbershop where Grayson will be able to go and get an old fashioned hot shave, I'll be able to enjoy some healthy yogurt at Counter Culture and if we want, both of us can attend yoga classes at the new studio. Not just that but the farmer's market is about to open and we'll be able to purchase local, fresh produce for cooking! The Dixie Theatre is presenting a great show this month, Greater Tuna anyone? Also, in the next few months I am looking forward to a brand new complex that will have an outdoor mall, a pond, a walking trail and an ampitheatre. For a city girl like me, it doesn't get much better than that!

Lest I forget to mention it's about to be boat season which means we're getting prepped for skiing and summer lake days. Pappaw planted some of his tomatoes which means some juicy BLT's in the near future. First Friday's just started so we'll get to enjoy some art, music and other cultural things. Port-Au-Prince's season began which means we can stuff our faces with delicious catfish & steaks while overlooking the lake. Art Innovations is doing wine tasting downtown. Ah ... I can hardly stand it all!

I definitely feel blessed about the timing of all these projects and our recent committment. Hopefully this spring season we'll start new Allen Family Traditions and continue with some of the "older" ones. In the meantime, know that you are still invited to visit and if you live here, call me up b/c you know I'm game to attend any and all of these wonderful events.