"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears."

The romantic in me has always loved this quote by John Vance Cheney, and these past few days have certainly proved the truth of the sentiment. I apologize for not posting sooner a note of thanks to all of you dear ladies who have visited this blog and left well wishes and condolences for my family and I. I feel so blessed to have found such a caring community of very real friends in this little cyber world of mine, and your outpouring of prayers and support have meant so much to us. Truly, our hearts have been uplifted and we have, I think, found peace. Jennifer, I was so touched by the kind words you included in your impressive Loveliness of Gardens Fair. There has been much peace and comfort to be found in my yard and gardens during this difficult time, and if I may, I'd love to share with you all the amazing beauty I've had the joy of experiencing over the last two days.

I must first say, however, that Meghan became quite violently and alarmingly ill late Saturday night, and has remained so through this morning. I have changed more diapers and laundered more sheets, towels, and pajamas in the past three days than I have in the past three weeks combined! She is miserable, lethargic, and clingy, wanting to be held in our arms all day long while she sleeps. Concerned (to say the least), we've visited both the Emergency Room and her private pediatricians office and, as I write this, Darren is there with her again for a scheduled follow-up appointment.

Late yesterday afternoon, I was feeling pretty much spent. I was weary in body, mind, and spirit, and, to escape the chaos that had come to reign in our house as I let chores go by the wayside, I retreated to our patio with Meghan while Darren cooked dinner and Dylan and Caitlyn played inside. The fresh air was divine. The breeze played across our warm cheeks, gentle as a heavenly caress, and I felt the tension melt away. Meghan and I toured our gardens, then rested for quite some time in one of our chairs, watching as an evening storm simmered on the horizon. She fell asleep against my chest after a while, providing me with a quiet interlude in which to mourn the loss of one baby, still so small and new, while praying for the health and well being of the sweet baby held in my arms.

This morning, while she was still sleeping, I snuck outside to get a few photos of all the things which had so charmed us yesterday afternoon. Everything, it seemed, had been made even more beautiful by the relentless rain we received last night. The leaves of the chard captured beautiful droplets of crystal clear rain water, and I was thrilled to find the first of our zucchini and tomatillo flowers.

We are also very pleased to see that the first of Dylan's sunflowers (from his Sunny Skies Mixture) are blooming. He really, really wanted sunflowers...and these are beautiful!

We really love all the activity to be found in the flower bed. Butterflies are found in abundance, as are ladybugs and honeybees, which are actually a favorite of mine. (Did you know the name "Melissa" means honeybee? And one of our affectionate nicknames for Caitlyn is "Caitybug", to rhyme with "Ladybug".) The bold array of colors at the front of our bed just mesmerize me; the sight of them brings such joy to my heavy heart.

Honestly, at this time, some of the most vibrant flowers in our yard can actually be found in Darren's cactus garden. It is such a treat to see them in bloom, especially those that only flower for a day or two. Such exquisite beauty--extinguished, in my opinion, much too soon.

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.(Ecclesiastes 3:1)