Roses

I had a roommate in college that believed how much a rose blooms when given to you by a guy was in direct proportion to how much he loved her.  If the guy just happened to buy a rose that plopped over before even blooming it was a no-win situation for the guy.  He didn't grow it or even hand pick it - he was just handed it from the florist and how it turned out was pretty much luck.  To my roommate, though, how it bloomed was a telltale sign of their relationship and the poor guy got accolades or headaches from his purchase.  More often than not it was headache because college florists don't tend to stock the best roses and the heating in the dorms was atrocious.

I did not subscribe to her theory.  I was just thrilled when anyone thought to give me a flower!  I wasn't picky - buttercup, violet, carnation, rose.  Any flower would make me happy.  Still does.  I especially love the dandelions the girls give me in the spring because of all the joy they radiate when they present me their precious flower hand-picked just for Mommy!

Chris totally surprised me last week for Valentine's day with a dozen roses.  Two died, 10 are in full bloom (I wonder what my old roommate's theory would be about the mixed bag I received!).  They are amazingly beautiful!  I love to look at how they change and bloom even bigger each day.  It's been a 8 days and the photo above was taken today.  I have them on our mantle with the rest of our Valentine's decorations - well, except for when I took them down and outside to take this photo.  Chris commented the other day on how vibrant and happy the mantle looked.  I agree.  It's hard to take down the Valentine's display because most of it is homemade goodness from the girls.

But, alas, I will take our Valentine's down tomorrow or the next day.  We have to make room for the Easter crafts we made tonight at our church's Mardi Gras family craft and dinner event.  And we have loads of St. Patrick's Day crafts to make and add to the display.

Life is ever changing - just like my roses.  It is beautiful and precious.  And vibrant.