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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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March 14, 2018

Simple Spring Tabletop Decorating

A couple of years ago I wrote about how much spring reminds me of ‘tweens’. And, at the time, I had only experienced tween-dom with my son. But now, here I am again, right smack dab in the thick of the tween years with my daughter. Only this time around we have a teenager too.

Lord have mercy.

But, truly, with all of it’s ups and downs, sunshine one minute, rain the next, doesn’t Spring seem like it’s getting ridiculous surges of hormones? It’s so moody and unpredictable.

And yet, there’s something pretty amazing happening within all of that unpredictability.

There’s growth.

And it’s in that growth where the magic really happens. Spring is the season of transition. There is this constant tension between the last remnants of winter and the first sweet glimpse of summer.

And so it is in this season of tweens and teens.

They’re experiencing the tension of this season where the comfort and security of childhood is still very real and yet they feel this tugging towards the future. Towards freedom and independence.

And while this stage of parenting definitely isn’t for the faint of heart, we’ve tried to embrace it in all of it’s craziness.

Just as we embrace the ups and downs of spring.

Because we know that even when those dark clouds roll in and the rain starts to pour, there is sunshine just around the corner.

And we know that the next season will be upon us before we know it so we won’t waste time wishing away the hard stuff that comes with Spring and the hard stuff that comes with adolescence.

Because the blossoms need the sunshine AND the rain in order to fully bloom.

And we are just so grateful for the privilege of bearing witness to the beauty that is found in all aspects of this season.

Thank you for meeting me here at the fence today dear friends,

2 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Easter, Good Ideas, Holidays, Spring

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  1. Sherry M says

    March 14, 2018 at 6:07 PM

    I feel very blessed to bear witness of the beauty of every season. Each unique aspect brings with it the reminder of who remains in control. I just purchased your beautiful book which is proving to be another blessing. Thank you for your willingness to share your insight and creativity. Your home is beautiful, and your blog is too.

    Reply
  2. Mary-Ann (from Canada!) says

    March 15, 2018 at 5:29 PM

    Vanessa, I always enjoy meeting you “at the fence”! I enjoy your posts so much! I love Spring! It is so amazing to see the new growth of everything after the harsh winter! We still have several feet of snow up here and we are supposed to get another snow storm on Monday — hope that weather man is wrong! It is definitely time for our snow to go!

    I pray that you will be blessed with wonderful Spring days! Blessings!

    Reply

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“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
This is one of my most favorite projects from my b This is one of my most favorite projects from my book Life in Season! 

Because, if heaven has a fragrance, I’m fairly certain it smells like lilacs.

I think that somewhere along the way the verse in the Bible that said, ‘heaven will smell like lilacs’ just got lost in translation. But it HAD to have been in there at some point, right?

When I bury my head in the blossoms (which I absolutely MUST do every single time I walk past them), I immediately feel a stirring in my soul.

It seems like I wait forever for my lilac tree to bloom. Every year I anxiously watch as the buds begin to form on the branches and then when the blossoms finally burst forth I begin that agonizing process of deciding the absolute perfect moment to snip them and bring them inside.

And then, after all of that waiting and watching it’s just over…done. Because, unlike heaven, lilacs don’t last for an eternity. So, making my own lilac room spray seemed like the perfect way to enjoy their fragrance long after the blossoms have faded.

Here’s how to make it! Ingredients: Water, Vodka, Lilac fragrance oil. Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka. Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

Once you’ve made this lilac scented room spray you will be very tempted to spray it in every room in your house. And someone may want to use it in the bathroom to cover up other less…ummmm….pleasing aromas.

But, do not, I repeat do NOT, let them.

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For he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; he has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried; yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 

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What have you done for someone else to remind them that you are paying attention to their needs?

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#palmsunday
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