Thursday, September 1, 2011

How Quickly Time Passes

These last few weeks have been rather crazy and very hectic. Time has just slipped by me at the rate of hurricane Irene hitting the coast. So much has happened and so much has been left off my blog that I'm not even sure where or how I should pick up the pieces.
The weather has been warm and pleasant and the family has all been outside enjoying summer while it lasts. I have to admit that I love being outside, having the sun warm my skin is especially soothing. I've always joked that I was either a sunflower or a lizard in a previous life. Just to lean back and feel the suns warmth and to watch the blue sky is more than I can ask for, not that I give myself much time for frivolous indulgences.
I can't let the time have slipped by without adding a snippet about a very special day in the garden. You see, a year ago we welcomed the most beautiful little flower into our life. She was a small little flower, dainty and delicate but her time in the garden of our lives was to be short and bitter-sweet. She was wisked away almost as quickly as she came but her beauty, purity and innocence left us all in awe for how she affected us.
It has been one year since that day and we celebrated her 1st Birthday in Heaven. We gathered in the front yard and had pizza and cake and other fun stuff. Sweet Savannah's brothers and sister, along with her cousins raced around the yard laughing. She had her Mommy and Daddy, Aunt and Uncle, Grandpa and Grandma and 2 very special, very dear friends there, to let her know we all loved her.  It was a fun time, a happy time and that's the way it was meant to be. We all had purple balloons and wrote little messages to our heavenly birthday girl, then on the count of three, we released our heaven bound balloons with our special Birthday messages of Love, Caring and the sheer Joy of having been able to have her in our lives, if only for a moment.
Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You will always be in my Heart and in my Garden.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Whirlwind in the Fog

Another day has started and my mind is still in a fog. Yesterday was full of necessary things for the house. Grocery shopping. Food for the people, food for the dog, treats for the guinea pig. My kitchen counter is a pile of grocery bags with stuff waiting to be put away.
 AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! There goes the 3 1/2 year old tornado through the house with a handful of caterpillars, dropping them all way to the bedroom. Apparently they felt the need to go for a ride in the school bus. There he goes, back out the door. Oh no, now we have a pincher bug in the living room! Dear Lord, I don't think this posting is going to happen at this moment. Pause........................... All I want to do is go play in the dirt!
Looks like there will be no dirt today. Quiet reigns supreme now, nap time. I have a chance to grab a quick bite and maybe get this done, while eating. After lunch, we are going to prepare meals for the freezer so we can be somewhat organized and I can be in the yard.
The plants are calling from the greenhouse,"PLANT ME, PLANT ME." I have hostas, lilies, several different varieties of vines, shrubs, trees and numerous other small perennials that need to stretch their feet out in the soil. But, it's not going to happen today. Heavy Sigh! Oh Bother! The small child is rising from within and I hear this little voice questioning, "Why do I have to do my chores? I want to play outside!" Oh well, I'll make a deal with myself to get all the boring stuff inside done today and then tomorrow, I'll get to play out side. Begrudgingly, my inner child gives in to this deal but mutters as she disappears, knowing that we all have to be grown-ups at times.
For now, adult back at the reins and lunch having been consumed, it's time to close this and be creative in the kitchen. Fortunately, I love to prepare food for my wonderful family!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Everything Happens for a Reason

As I was sitting here tonight picking out songs for my playlist, I came across the song by Josh Wilson, Before the Morning. Listening to the lyrics and letting them sink in, I realized that even while I've questioned the outcome of things, usually bad, I have stuck to my belief that "Everything Happens for a Reason." This was my mantra to my children as they were growing up. I wanted them to remember that life can't be all good! The ups and downs, peaks and valleys are what makes us who we are. They build a solid core of belief, value, trust, faith, hope and love. It gives us the strength to carry on through the bad times, knowing that it "Will" get better and you know what? It Does!
I've cried and the tears dried. My heart has ached and the pain has lessened. I've felt anger only to have my heart soften. These are all what makes me, me. Just a mixed up, overly sensitive, emotional, forgiving ball of craziness.
I Love Life, People, Animals, Nature and whatever comes my way. Everyday is an new adventure, you never know what's going to come your way

Family Indulgences

I Love My Family! My Husband is at the top of my list. Without him, none of this would have been possible. What a wonderful man I got when GOD sent him my way. He is strong, handsome, funny and has done a wonderful job of providing and caring for his family. He also indulges me with most all my whims, tangents, and addictions. Yes, I said addictions!
You see, I have to confess, I am an out in the open, blatant plantaholic. I don't know how this happened but it did. It started years ago with just a little patch of bare ground and has grown over the years. We now have a couple of hundred trees, numerous perennial beds, a lupine filled meadow and a fenced in, raised bed veggie garden. It's meant alot of work, clearing brush, digging holes, digging more holes, putting in fence posts and fencing that's over 8 feet high (we have a large deer population), digging trenches for water and electrical lines, sprinklers, timers, hundreds of feet of drip lines and the list still goes on.
My dear, sweet husband, at one point in time, asked me if I had enough plants. My response was, "No, I can still see dirt." Do you know how much bare dirt there is on 3 1/4 acres of land? ALOT! I have only begun to scratch the surface. My perfect idea of our place would be having it look like an arboretum. I don't know if that will ever be accomplished in my lifetime but I am still working on it. You see, my family and my yard are what gives my life meaning, great joy and peace. I am at peace when I am out in the yard, the children are running around enjoying nature and I am head down, knees and hands in the dirt. The garden is my church, my sanctuary and a great builder of faith.
I mean, how can you question a greater power when you look at all the small wonders in your garden.





Sunday, August 7, 2011

In the Beginning

Where do I begin? Hmmmmmmm......... The thought of writing a blog about my adventures in my garden of life seemed like such a wonderful idea. That is, until I sat down here to actually write something. Well, what do I write about? My life, what else.
Hang on everybody, here we goooooooo.
Today seems like any other day in my life except for the fact that our home has increased by 5 more people and one guinea pig. That means there are now 14 feet running through the house, 70 toes and fingers (you should see my windows), 14 ears that hear "EVERYTHING", 14 eyes that "SEE" everything, 3 little mouths that "REPEAT" everything but the best of all, there are 6 little arms that give the best hugs and 3 little pairs of lips that give the best kisses.  My life is really in full bloom right now.
Each day is full of excitement and wonder. The Grandchildren have a large area to run and take full advantage of the space. Each night at bathtime, half the yard is scrubbed off their dirty, and sunkissed bodies. In just one short week of being here, they have experienced splinters, scrapes, swimming, swinging, chores (Grandpa paid them for picking up pine cones), eating vine ripend tomatos and blueberries from the garden, grasshopper and lizard safaris and bumble bee and wasp stings. Oh, I almost forgot about the split lip from the porch swing. The dog is getting alot of exercise and enjoyment from all this energy. He never tires of runinng up and down the driveway after 3 bodies on 3 bikes,  Life definately is not a lazy place around here!
As for my first entry in this blog, well it's done, gone, behind me and now hopefully things will be easier from here on out.
Got to run, as it takes a village to keep an eye on these rampant beings in "My Garden of Life"