A Little of This, A Little of That

Garden Planted
Last week, I was alone, as my husband was away on a business trip.  I took the opportunity to get some things done around the house that I'd been meaning to do for a while, and on that list was my garden.  We had a hot stretch of weather, so I tried to pick the cooler dry day of the week to get out there, but it was still in the 80s when I went out last Wednesday evening to work my garden and plant some veggies.  As you can see, though, I was able to get almost everything in!  I purchased my peppers and cucumbers from the store, but I planted a patch of beans, four ears of corn, and a row of pumpkins.  I am waiting to plant my second patch of green beans until after the first patch sprouts, and I'm hoping to get a prolonged bean crop this way.  One interesting note: as I was digging holes for my cucumber plants, I began to notice some fine roots around the bases of the limbs we used for trellising.  Apparently, the branches are still alive and trying to take root!  Did not expect that.  Hopefully, it won't last and they will eventually dry out and give up.  We'll see!

Can't wait for everything to grow!

Little red pepper plants

Cucumber plant!

Saturday Fun 

When hubby did return Friday night, we made plans for Saturday!  We spent the morning at rummage sales, and it was a beautiful day for it.  I found a lady who was selling parts of her plants from her garden, and purchased an iris and a shoot of bee balm, which I hope to plant near my garden to attract butterflies and such.  We also found a neat little camping lantern at another sale, and were happy with our finds.  After that, we got some lunch, went to the grocery store, and came home to work on our neglected yard.  We are thinking about replacing our brick patio with a poured concrete one, because we seem to get a lot of weeds and have ants tunneling underneath.  It would be considerably less maintenance to have a concrete patio area.  After the yard work, we ate dinner and had a nice fire in our outdoor fire pit.  That was the night of the mega moon, and it did look bigger than normal.  Over all, we had a great day together.  I'm just not the same when my husband is gone--he is my best friend and favorite companion, and I miss him terribly when he's away.

Garage Sale Plants

Roaring Fire

Burning Embers

Mega Moon

Vacation Plans

I mentioned in my last post that we'd made plans for our anniversary trip.  We've decided to go to Cincinnati for several days, and we'll be staying at a beautiful B&B in Kentucky called the Willis Graves House.  We'll be staying in the log cabin, and I'm so excited!  It looks so rustic and perfect.  I'm especially interested in finding out just how a steam shower works.  We were referred to this B&B by the innkeeper of the Ivy House B&B, who said that if we were ever in the Cincinnati area, this was the place to stay.  I looked it up after we got home and fell in love.  I knew eventually that we'd end up in Cincy for something, so I kept it in mind, and it worked out to go down there for our anniversary.  We'll be seeing two Reds games, and we plan to visit the zoo and The Creation Museum.  Hopefully, we'll also have a day to do some antiques shopping and just take it easy.  I'm very excited for our trip.  I enjoy it when we can get away together and see new things.  I'll take lots of photos, of course!

Mother's Day 
This Sunday is Mother's Day.  To the mothers in my life, and all of the mothers out there, I hope you have a great day!  Thanks for all that you do for your children, even though it might take them years or decades to realize all that you sacrificed for them.  So take the day off and go shopping.  You deserve a day of pampering!

Have a virtual rose plant!

Since we will be traveling in a few weeks, I know that we'll run into all sorts of people--some nice, some strange, and some just mean.  Many will not be Christian.  Most likely, 80% of those you interact with (outside of church) are not Christians, and/or have no Christan background.  I have a hard time connecting with those who don't share my beliefs, and therefore have a hard time creating meaningful conversation with many people.  It's really something I've never been great at--I would not call myself a people-person at all!  I can work on it, but it's a character trait, and likely will never change.  I would just end up being like one of those people who make awkward, strange conversation at parties with other guests--you know who they are.  As a result, I am the kind of person who has a small but loyal group of friends.  So when I saw this passage today, it caught my attention: "Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." (Col. 4:5-6).  This is something I should be striving for, not shying away from: for while actions are necessary to share Christ with others, sometimes it is our words that can carry the most weight.  Words have so much power!

To The Moms

M-O-T-H-E-R

Hello Moms!  I know that you are all busy, so I just thought I would give a little encouragement for this weekend.

Well, I thought that I would talk about all of the hard work and sacrifices that mothers go through on a daily basis.  Then I thought I would talk about how selfless you have to be.  Then, your protective nature, your unconditional love, your discipline, and how you don't get or expect to get anything in return.  But then I realized, that's all been done already!  Still, you deserve a heart-felt and deep thanks for everything you've never done in order to raise your children, so THANK YOU!  I know that at times it's not easy to do.

I might not ever know what it's like to be a mother, and honestly I think I'd be okay with that.  But I do, of course, have a mother, and I remember what it was like to be young.  My sister and I would fight and argue with each other, and I still remember what the wallpaper looked like in the corner of the kitchen where I was sent to stand when I was just too bad (it was an avacado green and white diamond pattern, with various colorful fruits and vegetables in the middle of each diamond).  I know that we both refused to eat certain elements of our meals, and were not allowed to leave the table until said elements were gone--and we didn't have a dog to sneak our food to.  It's not that our mother was a bad cook, we were just that picky.  I remember splitting my lip open on the frame of a partially-completed playhouse in our backyard, because I was just not thinking at the time, and my mom had to try and calm me down and wipe up all of the blood.  I have heard stories of trials and tribulations, from not only my mother, but from friends who are now parents themselves.  Many seem to revolve around their young children and experiences with potty-training, cleaning food off of the walls, waking up to a sick child, and so on...and what amazes me most is that they would do it all again in a heartbeat!  Honestly, it is a special kind of woman that makes a mother.  I have to believe that their reward is the good times with their child: the smiles, laughter, "I wuv you"s, crayon drawings on the fridge, hugs and kisses.

So, to my mother, and to all mothers out there, thank you for taking the time to clean up the mountain of poo with the soldier on top, washing the never-ending piles of laundry, holding our hair back when we had the stomach flu, and being our shoulder to cry on.  Thank you for loving your children when we are unlovable, difficult, petulant, and frightened.  Thank you for encouraging us and telling us that we are the best at doing something that we are really the worst at.  Thank you for being our mothers.  May your husband prepare a delicious meal for you, and may your children fan you with palm fronds and rub your feet this weekend!





What does God think about a noble wife and mother?  Read the passage below for yourself, and see that He holds her in a high regard!
Proverbs 31:10-31
 ¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
   and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her servant girls.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
   and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
   and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Give her the reward she has earned,
   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.