Lilacs in Bloom

This is what my life was like the last time lilacs bloomed in our yard... 32ish weeks pregnant with my baby boy.

My, what a difference three years makes! This is the first time the lilacs have bloomed in our yard since the first year we lived here. They were blooming right when we moved in our house, a nice welcome.

I *love* lilacs. This is surprising because, as a child, my mom and grandma would take us up to the old, mostly empty neighborhoods in my hometown and we'd 'steal' from the bushes at the abandoned houses. I thought for sure the cops would come and arrest us for stealing the beautiful, blooming lilacs from these old, empty houses, so I'd sit in the car watching for the cops to come while everyone else was cutting the flowers. (yes- I was a very paranoid child) I really thought my mom just wanted us to go to jail even though, once we were home, I liked having my own little vase of fresh flowers in my messy bedroom. I can now appreciate why we did it: 1)my mom can never get lilacs to bloom in her yard 2) I remember the bushes bursting with the full blooms ready to fall over they were so heavy 3) the neighborhoods had a beautiful assortment of colors that no one was enjoying 4)the smell of fresh cut lilacs on the kitchen table is just the best.

So, you can imagine my joy when our good ole' lilac buds survived the cold and snow to produce these beautiful, fragrant blooms!

This is the beautiful vase that my sister gave me for Christmas. This is the first time I've used it for fresh flowers and it looks beautiful on my dining room table. Ahhh, I love spring!