My garden and how it grows

No one out there will be as excited about this as I am, but the truth is, people, you don't have to read my blog.  That is entirely your own choosing.  I don't know whether you read it or not. I don't even know who you are.  Frankly, I don't even really care that much.  I write it for myself because it makes me feel good.  And I know my mom reads it and likes whatever I write.  :-) Having said that, look at my lucious garden!!!!!!!!! 

I don't know why it is amazing me so much that it actually works... you can actually put seeds (or seedling plants you buy at Home Depot) into dirt.... keep the dirt watered.... let the sun do its work... and.... food grows!  God is simply amazing.  And if you have never grown a vegetable in your life, well, I highly recommend it.  It is a very satisfying endeavor.  I feel kind-of funny saying this because my first husband loved to grow a garden and I always hated it when he did and complained about it constantly.  I don't even know why.  I was really wrong about that!

Anyway......  that was certainly a side-track I didn't mean to take!  Ha.  Look!  Tomatoes.  This tomato plant looks as though it will be very prolific!  I counted like  20 tomatoes growing!

The squash (yellow) plants have pretty much taken over with their HUGE leaves.  You can't see it, but I think they have smothered the zucchini, so I am not expecting any zucchini.  In the lower right corner is some cilantro and frankly, I just planted that to be hip.  I will probably never use it, and Rufus likes to go out there and eat it... so I let him.

Little flowers on the green bean plants!

 Squash growing!  I simply cannot wait until these are ripe and I can fry some and grill some!

 Cucumber plants.... I love me some cucumbers from the garden!

Not pictured are some green peppers.  Whenever I finally get to actually eat any of this.... I will surely be back to blog about it!!  Very exciting stuff!

Life, Death, Other Light Topics

Another Sunday night comes to a close.  And I should have mowed the lawn today.  But I didn't.  The weekends go so fast when I work all day Friday AND Saturday.  That just leaves Sunday and that, my friends, is not much of a weekend.  I shouldn't complain.  I got alot of quality (i.e. laughing) time with friends this weekend.  So it's all good.
Friday morning it happened.  Sarah reached another milestone.... she is now a licensed driver (and boater, for another $5.... and we don't even own a boat?). 

And here's some other life highlights:

-Carrying a basket of cleaning supplies to the car today, I tripped over my own feet and fell to the ground (wearing shorts) and skinned my knee just like I'm a kid on the pavement.  Jarred my back and hip as well.  Hello???
-Been neglecting my dog.  But he has a friend coming to spend the weekend.  He doesn't know, yet- it's a surprise.  Tammy's German Shepherd puppy, Nova, is coming to stay.  I can't wait!
-Two classes down, one final exam to go on Wednesday!  My summer class (just one class) starts May 30, so I have a little break.  (Yay!)
-I had some other topics to discuss when I sat down here, but I lack the necessary concentration skills at the moment.  So check back later!

Sarah's Mandatory Birthday Post

Apparently my mother, Bonnie Sue, has it in her mind that I must make a post on my blog every time one of my children has a birthday.  So.... to make her happy, here we go.  Sarah turned 16 on April 28.  Above is a picture of her after being inducted into the National Honor Society a few days before ... with her baby sister, who I do believe is taller than both of us now.

And below is a picture of her at her birthday party with her friend Mary.  This is one of the few good pictures I got of her on her actual birthday.  Isn't she so grown up and beautiful?  Tomorrow she gets her drivers license.

Happy Belated Birthday Sarah!

I Don't Know

Sunday's weather was beautiful.  Sunny and warm, with a nice breeze. Lovely.  This field is right next to the church I've been going to.  Of course, the pictures don't do it justice.  And neither do any words I can come up with. 

And I had just told Libby the day before that I didn't think it was really possible for us to understand heaven with the words that we know.

 So maybe part of the beauty in the field that particular day was having just come from worshipping God and then watching about 15 people get baptized outside in a pool set up for the occasion.

But my car was parked facing the field and when I got to the car, I stopped.  And looked out over the field as it blew in the breeze.  And took it in.  Took in God. And remembered the camera in my purse, and made the kids wait, and took a picture.  Trying to capture God.

PLACES

PLACES I SEE GOD

I love the way the leaves of this squash plant gather drops of water along the edges each morning.  

My knock-out roses (I think that is what they are called) have bloomed in all their glory.

PLACES I NEED GOD

My almost-sweet-sixteen year old opened a bank account and got her first debit card.  With a driver's license in a few weeks, I definitely need God!

PLACES I PRAISE GOD

In Burger King, thanking the King of Kings for my three beautiful kiddos.

PLACES IN MY HEART WHERE SADNESS HAS SETTLED

-The sudden death of a friend today

-The grief of my friend who was there to find him

-Watching another friend make hard life decisions

-Watching people destroy their lives with drugs

-Knowing that the Thief has come to destroy and knowing he is just so good at it

-Navigating relationships

-Reading Emily Dickinson

-Being alone

-Not being alone

PLACES IN MY HEART WHERE THANKSGIVING ABOUNDS

-Sarah, Libby and Jacob

-Freedom in Christ

-Knowing the One who came to give abundant life

-Knowing that he is JUST SO GOOD AT IT

Easter Thoughts

That picture has really nothing to do with what I am about to say.  But isn't he a handsome kid?  This was taken at sunset at the beach when we had finished dinner and were all in a relaxed mood that only the beach and the ocean can produce.  :-)

I was telling a friend Saturday night that I had gotten my kids' Easter baskets together and hidden (I don't know why they feel their baskets must be hidden, but that is what we do) and then he said I was a good mom and he told me that he had never received an Easter basket in his whole life.  I knew he had grown up in a dysfunctional family, but this revelation stopped me cold.  I looked at him, seriously puzzled, and said, "Are you kidding?!"  Nope, he wasn't kidding.  No one had ever taken the time to put together even the simplest Easter basket for this child, now grown.  Even a less-than-good mother would give her child an Easter basket, wouldn't she?  From the perspective of my sheltered and comfortable life, this makes no sense to me.  We weren't rich when I was growing up, but my sister and brother and I never went a year without an Easter basket. I suddenly felt so grateful for my "normal" childhood, I wanted to cry.

Thank you mom for always having an Easter basket ready on Easter morning for Melissa and Matt and I.  And thank you dad for working so hard to earn the money with which she was able to buy them.  I love you guys!

Seedlings!

Update from the garden.  A sunlit picture of the fence to keep Rufus out.  And Rufus, being kept out.

Peas!!!!!

Spinach!!!

This is my first real time to put a seed in the ground, care for it, and watch God make it into something good and useful!  It's pretty exciting stuff.  Still waiting on my green beans to emerge.