A Walk through the Garden...

This past week has been a very welcomed break in heat-it was absolutely beautiful weather! Usually by this time in the summer, the garden starts to get out of hand due to the horrid heat, humidity and the bugs it brings with it. But thankfully this past week has been almost cool and has provided a chance for me to wrangle in the growth so to speak. I have even managed to begin filling up a journal for the garden while relaxing outside(sitting still actually-something I am practicing on) It is fun to look at the gardens and jot down my thoughts that I will forget by next year which will lead to making some mistakes twice. It will help me to be excited about the work in spring instead of overwhelmed.

The kids also enjoyed playing outside as well. They had fun creating fairy gardens in an area of the yard that has yet to get some love from us. It was fun to see them create a whimsical little land complete with trickling water features. I had fun planting little clothespin fairy doll ideas in their imaginations as well. Standing back only to see each one of them spin the idea into their own styles.

In the back corner of the yard, behind the pool, we put in new strawberry and raspberry patches. But, not much else had gotten done around them and the area has been fortunately hidden from sight. But this week I had the chance to get the mulching around them done and they are blending nicely into the rest of the garden area. There is even a nice bench to sit on and dream.

strawberries will be wonderful come next year-cannot wait...

The other project came about in a round about way. We have one of those, big, but not so permanent pools for the kids. They are fabulous for a tight budget but of course not designed too great, so the tiny little filters that come with them do not quite keep up when the temp gets close to 100. The pool began looking more like a pond with no chance of recouping no matter how many chemicals you feed to them, so we drained it(it took 7 days!) repaired and deep cleaned it and then filled it back up. Oh how nice to see the sparkling blue water again! Anyways, in that process, we decided to move the sand out of the old sandbox to under the pool giving it a better foundation. Once the old sand box was empty, I was able to dig it up and move it over to the newer garden area for next year. I wish I did not have to wait until next year to plant!

I always think it is so curious how the plants inch their way out of their confinements. Do they not understand I am trying to keep them safe;) We have a few little watermelons on their way. Just needs some more of that oppresive heat to fatten them up.

A Special Gift from A Priceless Teen...

We have a very special student from church, who let us know this week that she has a gift for our girls. The Lord is moving her family on to a new home, new job and new church family so, she had something special to pass on to our girls and she called this afternoon to see if they could drop it off. I should have had the camera ready to capture my daughters' eyes when they brought this house through the door! We have occasionally stood wide eyed in the isles at hobby stores admiring doll houses such as this, so to have one seems like a lovely dream! The girls have been studying all the neat furniture they brought with the house and finding new ways to rearrange it in the house. Even Noah is having fun pretending with Bell right now. It is such a beautiful gift- But in all honesty, I would gladly trade in the house to keep them here. It is so hard to see them go even though I know the Lord has plans for good in their lives! The house will be a constant reminder of the blessing they all have been in our lives. It will also serve as a reminder to pray for them as they make a new start and look for a new church family.

Simple Fun on Rainy Day

I do not know about you, but I absolutely LOVE rainy days! It seems cozy, slow and peaceful. Today has been a glorious rainy day-all day! The older kids have already been outside to play in it but I had Noah stay in with me. I found him playing in the bathroom sink after a successful attempt of making it to the potty! So, I decided instead of him flooding our entire bathroom, I would set up a water tub in the kitchen for him to play with his boats in. So Cole helped me fill the crate with water and we used food coloring to dye the water blue. Perfect fun for the rainy day! Well in true Noah fashion, he decided playing with the boats in the water was not quite enough and he climbed right in to "swim". We all got a real good laugh. He is still refusing to get out and will be a shriveled prune before long but he is having so much fun. Bell enjoyed it too-although she choose to remain outside the "pool".

Boy, a good swim sure can take it out of you!:) Noah is fast asleep on the couch now after a good playtime.