It Begins.....

And thus begins our next 9 or so days of organized chaos ~

We will be working on graduation projects today,  gotta shop and buy all the food and snack items for VBS, Andy & Amy are coming over tonight (yippee), VBS starts tomorrow, we cook dinners for VBS Mon-Wed., ballet 3 days next week, Mom & Bethany come to visit, Amy bakes cupcakes for graduation party next weekend, & taking Will back and forth to work (yippee, hes working & loving it), ballet recital & then Amy & Wills graduation celebration (Emmalyn too!).

Plus the normal day to day activities of our household.

I am ready for it all to be done!

And after Amy goes home with Granny for a week, I get to travel for a couple of days with Greg, then we go get Amy and prepare for our Mission Trip the end of the month.

Our June has turned into a jam packed month.

Plus, we have 3 birthdays this month to celebrate ~ Amy Kate's, little Robert will be 1 and my nephew Benjamin.

While I am not looking forward to all the running around and busyness ~ I am thankful for friends and family who are helping and supportive!

Once Upon A Time ~

 

Once upon a time ~

in a land far away & hotter than hot,

a little opossum decided to visit the yard

with squawking chickens & barking dogs.

 

The little opossum decided to seek refuge from the

squawking and barking in a drainage tube leading from the gutters.

This refuge kept him safe from the Chihuahua ferocious guard dogs,

but gave him no viable exit.

 

One afternoon, Sir Youngest Son discovered the opossum and his predicament.

He dumped the opossum into a bucket, put a lid on it and excitedly texted the King of the Manor to let him know about the catch.

 

Then Maiden Youngest Daughter (and avid animal lover),

got into the act and snapped a couple of pictures while exclaiming how cute he was.  The maiden also does a very funny opossum imitation!

 

When the King of the Manor arrived home, he transferred the caged, cute, very scared opossum to the back of the family chariot ~ to transport it to a new home ~~~~ far away from the Manors back yard.

 

The King & Queen delivered the Maiden safely to church for an early chamber music practice when the bucket fell over from a sudden stop.  There were several tense moments making sure the opossum didn't make his escape and run wild through the chariot.

 

Then the King drove to a nice field, with a clear lake, chirping birds, and other woodland creatures and set the opossum free.

 

True story ~ I can't make up stuff this good.

 

Signed ~ The Queen of the Manor

 

And since we are a modern Manor Home ~ here is a rendering of the opossum

 

 



 

Please accept my humble apologies for not having a rendering of the Maiden and her opossum imitation ~ it is truly a vision!

 

I am linking up with ~

http://deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/ 

for their Farmgirl Friday  Bloghop!

Termites ~ Why?

Termites don't make sense.  They mission in life is to destroy wood.  And for such little buggers they do a fantastic job.  They fulfilled their life mission on our back porch.  There were some spots that were literally held together by the primer and paint.

Our whole back, screened in porch is gone ~ the more we looked, the more we found. 

The porch is completely open (like it was before) and will stay that way this summer.  We don't know whether to rebuild it or leave it, so for right now we are leaving it. 

The big colorful tiles will go back down to cover the rock/cement deck ~ its just too hard on bare summertime feet. But first we have to clean them. We are rearranging the whole setup and its wide open now.  The dogs are loving dashing in and out at every angle.

Greg & Will zip tied our outlet boxes and electrical cords to the awning frame, so we can put our colorful lights back up for the summertime.  His grandmothers old wood stove is now the tabletop for Gregs infrared fryer. 

Amy and I have taken all our cutesy statues and signs and washed them and will find new homes for them on the porch.  There were several years of pollen dumpings on them (here in the south the pollen doesn't dust everything....it dumps).  Her little play kitchen from Grannys is set up and our little Tapley friends had fun playing with everything the other night.  And they ate supper at the little table.

Hopefully, there will be some sewing time today!

Like/Hate

I am having a like/hate relationship with our new laptop.  I don't think its ever been elevated to a love/hate....there is no love here. 

Well, maybe its not the laptop, but it is with Windows 8.  I don't want apps.  I don't want to wade through apps just to get to my email.  And I certainly don't want to click on different apps to get to my facebook, pinterest, or the blog.

I also don't like not being able to easily use my swagbucks toolbar. 

I know that new things need time to "grow on you" but this is a daily annoyance.  I am not sure why windows even needed to update ~ I liked windows 7 just fine.

On the plus side (a little silver lining) ~ I do like that now I have a designated computer for my embroidery and I don't have to haul my laptop up and down the stairs.  When its running the emb. machine ~ you can't open another window to do anything else....it won't work. 

And on another note ~ I hate termites.  That is one of those creations that I just don't understand.  We knew that our porch had some water issues and Greg decided to work on the corner of the porch.  We also had some mouse issues and one had eaten through the screen on that corner.  (Mickey & Minnie are cute ~ these rodents aren't).  When he started removing the mouse eaten screen, he discovered ~ termites.  Now, the whole right side of the porch is gone ~ demolished~terminated~ by the road for the garbage men to dispose of.

What started as a "fix the corner" project is turning into a redo the whole porch project.  And while the finished porch will be great ~ the mess will drive me crazy for a while. 

I am appreciative of my hard working husband who will make this right, and who bought us a new laptop ~~~~~~~ he also has "choice" words to say about windows 8.  Glad its just not me!

More on "Why College"

First of all thanks for the feedback and comments.  Alison commented on my post, and this is what "spurned" an additional post ~ hers is under comments on the original post.

So, here goes.  First of all, let me point out that Amy just turned 17 last month and she is graduating highschool a year early.  We aren't in any hurry for her to go anywhere. 

I don't have a degrading attitude toward college, it has its place in the educational world.  If you need a college degree for a certain profession then go for it.  But many professions don't need a college degree ~ they do need drive, determination, skill, interest, etc.  I have been a book keeper, sold car/life/auto insurance for State Farm, been an office manager, and been in the underwriting dept. of the regional office for State Farm....all without a 4 year degree.  I did attend college ~ the first 2 years were ok, not great.  Then I took off a year and worked fulltime at a bank as a teller.  When I decided what I wanted to do, I applied, got accepted, went back to school and got a 2 year diploma with a 3.98 average....the difference?  The first time I went and had no clue what I wanted or why I was there, the second time I had a definite goal and interest and succeeded.  The diploma was in early childhood education ~ I worked as a preschool teacher, ran a homeday care, and homeschooled my own children for 18 years.

I've got a son who decided at age 27 to go to school ~ he passed all the required tests and attended college (fulltime) for welding, and worked fulltime also.  Passed with flying colors and enjoyed every minute of it.  But, he decided when to go and what to do.

I've got other sons who either have gone and graduated, have gone and not yet graduated, or haven't gone.  Amy and Will are the youngest of 7 children.

But I totally disagree with going just to go.  To us that is a waste of money, of time, of resources, and of life experiences.  Plus, I think its putting off real life.  The college environment isn't real life, but neither is any other public education venue. 

I disagree with getting a college education because "what if" could happen.  I am speaking from personal experience here ~ what if did happen to me and to Greg.  IF that happened to any of my children, boy or girl, and their family ~ Greg and I would be here to help in any way we possibly could. As for homeschooling and more credibility ~ I don't think it applies.

I appreciate your comments.  They were very well written and expressed.  I wish you all the best in your pursuits.  The Lord has different paths for each of us to take, and its up to us (or you with the help and guidance of your parents) to obey His Will and His Word for our lives.  There are more details I could write about our college experiences but I won't for the sake of family privacy.  I hope you have a fantastic summer!

Donna

Southern Home Security System

Amy posted this yesterday on her blog and I am "borrowing" it today for mine!

how to install a Southern home security system

1.Go to Goodwill and buy a pair of size 14-16 men's work boots.

2.Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns &Ammo magazine.

3. Put four giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bubba,
me and Marcel, Donnie Ray and Jimmy Earl went for more ammo and beer. Be back in an hour. Don't mass with the pit bulls. they got the mailman this morning and messed him up bad. I don't think killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood. Anyway, I locked all four of 'em  in the house. Better wait outside.be right back .

Cooter


Haha!  That Cooter and his cohorts keep the neighborhood safe!

Thanks Pinterest for the funny!

Why College?

As the school year is ending, and Amy & Will's highschool education is ending ~ the questions are continuing.......where are they going to college?

So I am going to reverse the question ~ why go to college?
When did automatically assuming that everyone will "go to college" become the norm for whoever graduates high school?
Can you live a successful, full, challenging life without college?
What does college really offer you that life and work don't offer?

Now, there are a number of professions that would require a college degree and more education beyond that ~ a doctor, a math professor, an engineer, a nurse, etc.  But you don't need one for such things as history, english, science, cooking, lawn maintenance, etc.  Get out there and do the work ~ you will learn much faster than in a 2 or 4 year college & beyond.  You will learn by doing, not just hearing about or reading about the job.

Assuming that everyone needs to go to college or they are somehow inferior if they don't go is crazy.  Amy doesn't need calculus, humanities, or a foreign language to learn how to make a pie crust or a new icing recipe.  What she does is need is time to experiment in the kitchen, access to good cookbooks, room to flop with a recipe, willing taste testers, time to research for new flavors & combinations.  I am not saying that classes won't be in her future ~ but they will come at a time when its necessary and important to her, not just because she graduated.

Will is entering the working world.  He is going to be out, learning about a job, how to work hard, complete tasks, make a paycheck.  He has sat through 17 hours of training so far for his job.  Today he starts the actual, on the job training.  If he needs classes later on for a desired job or position, he may certainly get them then. 

Many young folks don't know what they want to do "when they grow up", so they float along through college barely getting by, and wasting thousands of dollars.  They major in many different things but education isn't one of them.  It would be much wiser for them to work, find out what the real world is like, decide what they really want to do and then pursue that. 

So NO, Amy & Will aren't going to college.  Right now, neither have any desire for that and we know from experience that if the desire doesn't come from deep inside them, it won't be successful.

Another question ~ how many people do you know that went to college and got a degree ~ actually have a job that uses that degree?  Did they really need it?  Was it necessary or a waste of 4 or more years of their life?  Could they do their same job now without that degree?

You can be quite successful without college.  There are many, many quite successful and even wealthy folks right in this country, who never attended or much less graduated from a college. 

So I am back to the original question ~

Why College?

Preps

 

This years tornado season has been relatively quiet in Mississippi.  There was a tornado on Dec. 25th, south of us, but conditions were right on target for us to get one to ~ Praise the Lord it didn't happen.  And there have been some isolated tornadoes that popped up in different counties throughout the spring.

 

We try to be prepared ~ extra charcoal for the grill, matches, batteries for all our lanterns/flashlights, bottled water, non perishable food, etc. 

 

But some things you can't prepare for ~

yesterday was one of those days for Oklahoma....

all the canning jars full of food, flashlights with fresh batteries, and bottles of water can't protect you from this.....

(picture taken from AP on At&t homepage)

 

Those folks lives are forever changed.

And while we mourn with them, and pray for them, and states send aid and search teams ~ this doesn't affect us like it does them (contrary to what Jim Cantores said last night on the Weather Channel). 

We are praying that more survivors are found. 

We are praying that relief and aid are quickly & easily available and red tape is minimum.

Most of all, I am praying for those parents who sent their babies to school yesterday and never saw them again.
 

I cannot imagine!

 

 



Homeschooling Reflections

I loved homeschooling my children ~ but don't get any impression that it was easy ~ this is hard work. But the benefits far outweigh the hardships.

 First of all, if you children have been in a public or private school...you have to deal with all the "thats not the way my teacher did it", or "we always did language first not math", or even just your children raising their hand to answer a question or ask you a question.

 Second, homeschooling your own children will not take the entire day, depending on their ages and the number of your children, it could only take a couple of hours per day for the core subjects.  If you get done in just a couple of hours, you didn't do anything wrong ~ its more efficient to school a couple of children than a roomful of 25 wriggly 1st graders. Our core subjects were usually ~ language, math, science, history, assigned reading.  In the later grades we added typing, spanish, online or computer generated classes.

Third, you can greatly streamline your curriculum to the individual child and their learning styles.  Find what works and use that.  There probably isn't a cookie cutter curriculum that is across the board perfect for all of your children.  And because something worked for 1 child doesn't mean it will click with a younger sibling.

Fourth, if your children have a hard time entertaining themselves ~ you had better have some activities planned to occupy their time after schooling.  Either gardening, researching, lego creations, cooking time with mom, home ec day (1 of my personal favorites!), crafting time, ministry opportunities, etc.  Bored children make for really long days ~ avoid boredom.

Fifth,  you set your own schedule.  Mine was always to get up and get it done ~ I knew that if we didn't get to it in the morning, life would happen and we wouldn't get to it all day!  Do what works for you.  A friend of mine sets her school year to end early in April, but start back in July ~ her children suffer from asthma and the summertime months are too hot for them to be outside too long, so they enjoy the springtime and get back to work when the heat is really building  in Miss.  Along those same lines, what works for one family probably won't work for another one. Find what works for you.

Sixth, it takes more than  1 or 2 years to really know if homeschooling is for your family.  Sometimes, family dynamics make it harder to be successful than others.  Our first year was incredibly hard but we stuck with it.  18 years later ~ I do wonder how we got it done, but the Lord filled our very difficult days with grace & love.

Seventh, when choosing your curriculum, you can get what you want not what some bureaucrat says you have to do.  A majority of the years, we had every subject from a different publisher.  A couple of years, we didn't have a set History book or curriculum ~ we got to travel with Greg, and he always planned field trips to historic places for our little school.  We collected a great many puzzles, game books, jr. ranger books & badges, and biographies.  Why read about a Civil War battlefield when you can walk one and see where the enemy was approaching from?  I would suspect that near your home, there are many places to visit that would enhance your studies.  For several years, we purchased a National Park Pass ~ and used it to the limit and above!  Be creative.

Eighth, have fun.  School can be fun!  Play Yahtzee for math, sort M & M's for color recognition, make puppets of historical figures, find crafts for time periods you are studying about, watch a movie in place of class one day (they do it in public school), read a book together, co-teach a class with another mom, if the budget allows ~ go on some field trips, skate days, bowling, etc, cancel classes and have P E all day or reading all day or popcorn and movies day.  We didn't do the "cancel classes" too much but your children will remember the funtimes too! 

Ninth, you will build awesome, incredible, long lasting relationships with your children.  You will see them at their worst and they will see you at your worst.  But the best comes out too.  The Lord will give you grace for the hardest days and blessings for the best days. 

Tenth,  your relationship with these children does develop into a friendship.  Its not just a mom/daughter, or mom/son relationship.  It did take much longer to develop close ties with Rob & Andy than with Katie & Will, and one of the reasons was we weren't together all day.  Plus R & A went off to college, so it was harder to keep those ties.  But they are there and developed now. 

Many times during the 18 years, I wanted to quit.  It was hard, difficult, gut wrenching, tear jerking, and exhausting (just being honest).  But it was also rewarding, loving, happy, joyful, fun, adventurous, exciting, enjoyable, and full of happy tears & happy times!

Many thanks to my Mom who helped the first 7 years ~ keeping baby Amy/ toddler Amy occupied was a huge blessing!  And for going on field trips, field days, bowling, tennis watching, etc.  I couldn't have continued without your love and support!

And thanks to Greg, who supported me even when he didn't understand homeschooling.  Who let Katie & Will come home and learn with Amy and I.  Who bought all the curriculum and fun stuff that I wanted for school.  Who listened to all my frustrations and triumphs with schooling.  Who prayed for us and supported me in schooling.  Who took us on fun trips and planned great times together.

And now....its official

I am a RETIRED Homeschool Mom! 

Our graduation is June 9th! 

Picture Update!

My little quilted purse for a fair entry

with matching change purse ~ hopefully will get a blue ribbon for cuteness~!

baby squash

new blueberry Will planted for me

the blessing of peaches

One of Gregs grapevines

baby cucumber ~ its doubled in size since yesterday!

new rose bush from James

green beans are growing!

this rose bush is taking off this year!

My massive lantana ~ thats just 1 plant

our first 2 tomatoes!

Oreo, the wonder chihuahua!

"Joyfully Helping Your Husband"

Thursday at the conference, Amy and I attended the "Joyfully Helping Your Husband" talk by Victoria Botkin.  Here are the notes that I took ~

*Man needed a helper to help him fulfill his life mission, to help him with his life work.  ref. Genesis 2:18

*The foundation of a woman's Biblical role of helper is submission.
*Men and women naturally slip into roles that are opposite of what God intended.
*We can have a tendency to maneuver our husbands into what we want.
*We are supposed to help our husbands do what God wants them to do not what we want them to do.
ref. Genesis 3:1-6

*What kind of mindset would help us to submit?
Submission = obedience to God ref. 1 Peter 3
God tells wives to submit to their OWN husbands (not to anyones elses husband. ref. Ephesians 5:22,24 and Col. 3:8

*The thing that makes submission doable~
We are to submit because our trust is in God ref. 1Peter 3:4-6, Luke 12:32, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Tim. 1:7

*Is Submission simple obedience to orders?
Submission is getting on board with your husband to help him carry out His plan.
He is the operator (final decision maker) you are the co-operator ref. Phil 2:14, Col 3:23

*Show respect to our husbands help them have confidence in all they do ref. James 3:5-10
*The most crucial way we can show respect is with our words ref. Mat.12:34-37, Prov. 14:1, Eph. 4:29
*As ambassadors of Christ, we must speak words of grace and words of life. ref. Prov. 31:10,11-31
*Publicize your husbands strengths not weaknesses. (ex. don't badmouth your husband to your girlfriends or family)  Pour out your frustrations, disappointments, etc. to the Lord. ref. Neh. 8:10
*When submission is hard, cry out to the Lord for his strength & grace.
*To be a better helper ~ give up your own life ref. Matt. 16:25, John 12:24, Psalms 37:4
When you delight yourself in the Lord, the desires of your heart will change.

*Pray for your husbands ref. 1Thes. 5:16-18
*Give thanks for your husband
*Become interested in his interests
*Ask privately your questions to your husband (this is difficult sometimes to do because the circumstances may need a question right then)
*Set an example to the children of enthusiastic cooperation.

*How to help when he is wrong ref. Heb. 12:15, Eph. 4:31-32, 1Peter 3:1-2
Make sure its not your own attitude or bitterness making you think he is wrong ~( and yes, husbands can be wrong in thoughts or decisions ~ this is where having a close relationship with him and with the Lord come in handy...also having a husband who respects your opinion or input ~ but keep in mind, we all make mistakes, NO ONE is perfect)

*The secret of being able to joyfully help our husbands
Faith ref. Rom 10:17, Psalm 119:38

The Bible ~
*Read It
*Live It
*Learn It
*Love It

Donna ~ I realize this is a "sticky" subject and not at all popular.  The Biblical view of submission is not "He's the boss and I must do everything he says" ~ thats not anywhere in the Bible.  It is a view of leadership in the home ~ Greg is our household leader, I am his co-leader/helper in our home.  He definitely has preferences over how he wants stuff done, and I try to accomplish this..ex. dinner at a certain time, menu selection, tv viewing, etc.  We discuss big purchases and things that come up day to day, he doesn't come home "lay down the law" or make big decisions and tell me what we are doing.  Marriage is a partnership not a dictatorship.  I make the daytime decisions, picked all the homeschool curriculum, do all the grocery shopping, set our schedule, etc. ~ he has a fulltime job, he doesn't need to worry about the little things.  But if he needs something done by a certain time, then he lets me know and we get it done. 

Awesome Time

We've been in St. Louis this week at the "Family Economics Conference" put on by Generations with a Vision ~ Kevin Swanson.  We have heard incredible speakers, bought some great books, been inspired to at the very least come up with our 5 year plan for our family.  We've got lots of praying to do, lots of plans to discuss, and things to implement. And yes, Amy's future does include cupcakes!

Today would have been Greg's graduation day from Mississippi State University with his Masters Degree in Engineering.  He gave up the ceremony for us to be at the conference.  This morning he did find out that his status had gone from student to graduate.  Greg worked very hard for this advanced degree while working full time, putting 2 kids through college, helping with our homeschool, 2 childrens weddings, and several mission trips to Honduras & Haiti.  I am very proud of him for this accomplishment.  And very appreciative that he gave up his moment of fame at graduation to bring us to the conference.

BUT, he did get to walk across a stage tonight.  There was a Historical Trivia contest and by some miracle....we came in 2nd of all the families there.  The top 5 families went up on stage to compete for the grand prize......we didn't win it.  But had a lot of fun!

And of course a highlight of the week was seeing this little guy ~

He liked his birthday gifts we brought (he will be 1 next month) and he has turned into quite the little ham......posing and smiling for the camera!  Amy got him to make vrooom noises tonight while playing with his toy airplane and had him kissing a toy stuffed lion that Will brought him.  She tried to teach him how to quack with his rubber duckie and we are taking his ca ca ca sounds as quacks! He enthusiastically eats his dinner and snacks & loves waving hi & bye!

We are headed home tomorrow and ready to sleep in our own beds.

Happy Graduation Day Gregory!  We love you and are proud of you!

 

Pondering ~~~~~

Today we were inspired by some awesome preaching & teaching about Scriptures, the Family Economy, loving our brothers & our brothers in Christ, working together as a family, and following the Lord with our whole hearts and lives.  Greg, Amy, Will and I are at the Family Economics Conference put on by "Generations with a Vision ~ Kevin Swanson".

We heard Doug Phillips, Kevin Swanson, the Botkin Family, Dan Ford, Erik Weir and RC Sproul Jr.  We split up to hear as many speakers as possible, with the exception of the opening & closing.  Amy and I went to a talk by Anna Sophia & Elizabeth Botkin and then one by their parents Geoff & Victoria Botkin.  A highlight was meeting Victoria.

Tonight we all attended the closing session together.  A young man sang  a beautiful version of "How Great Thou Art".  Amy and I looked at each other when he was done and our response was WOW!  He was incredible!

RC Sproul Jr. was the speaker tonight ~ I've listened to his sermons on the computer but never heard him in person.  I took notes as fast as I could....Here are some thoughts he presented ~

*The world is made of Gods word.  He spoke everything into existence.
*Reality flows out of the very mind of God.
*As Christians we have a different agenda, values, and purposes than the rest of the world and we should live that way.
*Stupid was born right out of sin.
*The Dominion Mandate survived The Fall ~ be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.
*Satan calls us to question the word of God.
*Jesus came to this world as the 2nd Adam to succeed where the 1st Adam failed.
*We are to be about the business of reflecting the image & word of God.
*God speaks & it is so!

Colonial Knots

One of the categories in the fair is Candlewicking.  Its supposed to be done on beige fabric with beige thread (or cotton candle wicking).  I did this last year ~ a scallop shell, which I really liked but it is hard to see beige on beige.  So this year, I decided to diversify my entry ~ beige fabric with purple thread ~ my favorite color! Last year I did mine with french knots instead of the colonial knot ~ but I guess it didn't bother the fair folks too much cause I got a blue ribbon on the entry.  Hopefully their sensibilities won't be upset with my purple floss this year, its my creative license!  I did decide to learn the Colonial Knot.

So, who do I blame for coming up with this knot?  Someone from the late 1400's to the 1700's or later.  I think you should have 3 hands to accomplish all the twisting and turning around the needle.  I did find pretty clear directions with pictures on pinterest and followed the link to this blog  http://mysweetprairie.blogspot.com/2012/02/saturday-stitches.html ~ its really not this gals fault that I am uncoordinated!

Here are pictures of the project so far....I've decided sitting at the computer, staring at each step over and over again is really helpful!  To me, there is a visible difference between the french & colonial knots.  The colonial knot is pouffier looking.  Now I have to decide if I am really going to blow the fair ladies minds and do the center of the flower in yellow!

4 hours later.....

Happenings

This week ~

we got lots of rain...lots and lots

last night the temps were in the 30's ~ today its in the 70's

got my embroidery machine back (fixed finally) ~ so I've had fun working on projects that I had stacked up waiting for embroidery

Cut out a 2 tote bags from old jeans ~ needed 4 pairs of different colors of denim ~ found 4 different blues and have cut out the strips ~ this is a pinterest project

Will got to visit the dr. 4 times this week ~ for an ingrown toenail.  Next visit is Monday ~ they may be to do additional surgery on it to clear everything up.

Greg got a "new to him" car since his other one was totaled from the hail storm 6-8 weeks ago.

Went to JoAnns today to buy more embroidery thread ~ I had lots of 50% off coupons that expired today.  When I got there, the thread was buy 2 get 1 free...so I couldn't use any coupons.  Got the ones I needed and got to the register ~ they didn't ring up at the sale price so the guy took all my coupons...much better deal for me.  I also found a cute fabric for the lining on my denim bags I am making.

Amy has the house smelling awesome ~ today she baked Double Chocolate Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies to take on our trip next week!

Garden

Greg got the chicken wire up for my beans to climb on...the boxes are filling up. 

The squash have blooms on them.

The cucumber plants are covered in blooms.

I have 1 tomato!  I am praying for an overabundance of tomatoes to can for next winter!  And to eat all summer ~ yum~

 Tomorrow is Graduate Sunday at church.  So Amy & Will will both be recognized with the other graduates.  They will also be singing in the service tomorrow with the Youth Choir.  So I am anticipating an emotional morning! 

Spring/Summer

Thriving Potato Patch

Baby Peach

My New Rose!

Blackberry Blooms

"Playing" with the birds!

She loves the beach as much as I do!

 

 

He took us to the beach to walk ~even though he hates the sand!

Love

Barefeet in the Sand!  I love it!

After our emergency training ~ we had a great shrimp lunch and a nice little walk in the Miss. sand on the Gulf shore.