April has always been my favorite month for a variety of reasons.

First, April is the month of my birthday. What kid doesn't learn to love the month that contains their birthday? While I was at university, my birthday would fall around exams so I was either studying for an exam or had to write an exam on my birthday. But the campus in April would be so beautiful with the cherry blossoms and the weather would be so sunny that it usually made up for the exam schedule. This year, the April weather in the Netherlands has had record warm tempuratures. What girl wouldn't love to be running around in a tanktop & flipflops on her April birthday?

More recently (actually 5 years now as of the 27th), this month also includes my wedding anniversary. And like many couples, we often take a trip to celebrate our anniversary, so I have spent at least two Aprils in Hawaii soaking in the sun. I always look forward to April because it means another exciting trip. This year we went to Brussels (in Belgium) over the Easter Weekend to celebrate our anniversary. The city was beautiful, and so were the diamonds we looked at to update my wedding ring. Nothing say "I love you" like a couple of new diamonds!

And of course let's not forget Easter! This special time of year, we celebrate Jesus' victory over death, and have a time of reflection on God's Gift to save the world from sin. April is such a joyous month!

Another thing is that it seems that in April spring is actually here to stay. The cherry blossoms are out in full force and everyone is excited about summer. April is like the liason between spring and summer weather. I find in May that it often starts to get rainy again before the hot weather of the summer starts. That might only be a figment of my imagination because I see April purely through my rose colored glasses, or it could actually be true. Either way, I love it when it is finally April!

There is one other thing that has made this April quite wonderful - the birth of my new nephew and niece. Yes, it is true, the twins have finally arrived. They made their way into the world yesterday although sadly, it was not on my birthday. I will get to meet and help care for these sweet little ones next week when I go back to N. America.

So anyways, you can see why I love the month of April and I am sad that it is ending so quickly.