Passage of Time

If growing up too fast was a crime I would have reason to fine my boys, especially my oldest!  Seeing him  all dressed up for prom was quite an awakening of how fast the years have gone by. 

Dressing up in a black tuxedo has a way of transforming young boys into handsome (but still goofy) men.

While the young men were dashing the young ladies were breathtaking in their floor length elegant formals.

Aren't they beautiful?

 Seeing my son and his friends all dressed up and excited for a night of fun was pure delight. 

 There are so many rough spots with raising children but it's times like these that make it all so worthwhile!

Rejoice in the Lord always!!

My Flower Garden

On the way to my mailbox my clematis with it's first blooms of the season caught my eye.  What is it about flowers that delight me so? 

Perhaps it is their cheerful, colorful faces pointed heavenward. They are beautiful bursts of joy.   I am so glad God created the flowers!

Then, I peeked around the side of my house to see what was happening there.  To my surprise I saw my peonies are about ready to bloom.  Their buds are so large and tight, about the size of a ping pong ball.

I had my heart set on pink peonies while shopping at the nursery last year but there were slim pickings.  Apparently a lot of other people like pink peonies, too!  Imagine that!  Not one to wait my husband urged me to pick from what was there.

Whatever the color I am sure it will not disappoint!  Can't wait to see the layers and layers open up. 

Since our March weather was unseasonably warm we took a risk in putting in our tiny vegetable garden early.  Last week when the temperatures were foretasted to dip below freezing we covered up our starter vegetable plants.  Unfortunately,  many of our tomatoes and some of our peppers got too cold.  They look so pathetic all withered.  It was disappointing but I guess it was a lesson learned! 

I am enjoying watching our gardens this Spring, how is your garden growing? 

Blessings,

catching up

Forgive me for my blogging absence!  The days just fly by with good intentions of blogging but I just can't seem to make it happen lately.  What have I been up to?  Well, we have been blessed to have both sets of parents come to visit us the last few weeks - first for Spring Break and then for Easter.   Spending time with them is priceless, even more so since they live far from us.

Here is a photo from our Easter brunch . . .

We had a happy day together.  The day was nice enough that the boys were able to hunt for eggs outdoors.  My oldest has the job of hiding the eggs.  Since my boys are getting big he likes to give them a challenge (nothing is too high!)

My second oldest is shimmying (is that even a word?) along the edge to reach the egg above the vent (can you see it?)  There always seems to be a few eggs that can't be found.  Some bird will likely find it though!

During all of the fun and celebration we did have a few mishaps. 

First of all my oldest son got a case of very bad poison ivy.  Not just a little bit of a reaction but a VERY BAD one.  Most likely he got it retrieving a golf ball from the woods.  He's my golfer and sometimes those pesky little balls just don't go where they should.  Tsk, tsk, tsk . . .

Thankfully we found a product that works (a big thank you to the man at the pharmacy counter who recommended this.  He had a lot of credibility sine he said he gets poison ivy like 5x a year! ) 

It really worked to stop the oozing and begin the process of healing.  Just a tip if you or someone you know gets a bad case.  Thank God for modern medicine!

About that time our 3rd oldest son who plays baseball took a ball right about the eye. 

Unsure of whether he had a concussion my husband took him to the ER.  Thankfully, no broken bones and no bruising on the skin.  He's still taking pain medication days later but we are trusting all will be well with him. 
 
I hope you had a joyous Easter celebration.

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  Psalm 34:19

Many blessings to you my friends!

humor

Are you familiar with the scripture, "a cheerful heart is good medicine?"  And did you know God laughs?  The scripture says in Psalm 2:4, "the One enthroned in heaven laughs." Isn't it fun to be around people who laugh and smile and have a good time?  Isn't it also a blast to watch a funny show?  Laughing has a way of making us feel better and keeps us from worrying and stressing about the little and big stuff that only God can fix.

My oldest son made me laugh quite a bit yesterday as he pulled a few pranks on us, all in the name of April Fool's Day.

First thing in the morning instead of seeing the normal row of cereal boxes in the pantry I saw this note . . .

Ha ha!  The cereal thief took all our cereal!!  The shelf was completely empty!!  Even the cereal no one likes to eat was gone!!  And our cereal bowls were all upside down on the counter in the shape of a pyramid with an army guy flag on top. 

Time to search for cereal right?  I opened cupboard after cupboard to find our various cereals.

Some were easy, some not so easy.  I needed help to find the one in the freezer and on the top of our very, very tall cabinets! 

After I found my cereal I was getting hungrier and hungrier trying to locate the spoons since they weren't in their normal spot in the silverware tray.  Thankfully, another son gave me the tip to look in the butter compartment of our refrigerator.  Ooh, I never would of thought of that!

Everything was all topsy-turvy as the cereal bags were switched (corn flakes for frosted flakes, cinnamon life for regular life, etc. etc.)  Then he had switched the milk caps (so now the skim milk looked like 2%.)

I thought it was all too funny.  Although later at night I got a little freaked out when I opened the cover of my ipad and saw a cracked screen.  Could it really be cracked??  I was very relieved when I discovered he had changed my wallpaper from a pink rose to a cracked window!!  Oh my!!  He scared me!!

Did you have anyone play tricks on you on April Fool's Day?  If so, I hope it was all in good fun!!!

"A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life." Proverbs 14:30

Blessings my friends!

A Little Blessing

Today I wanted to share a gift I made for the lady who cuts my husbands hair faithfully every month.  Every once and awhile I tease my husband about changing his hair style since it has stayed the same since the day we met!  No kidding.  Well except for those weekends he had to get a buzz cut as he was a member of the national guard while he was in college.  But, other than that it has stayed the same!  Why mess with what works he thinks.  But, a woman wants change!  He just shook his head and said "no."

Needless to say he is particular about how his hair is cut and once he found this gal who does a good job he waits until she is open on a busy Saturday at SportClips.  Recently, she shared with him how she is expecting a baby girl.  And so he asked me to make something for her.  She picked out this pink daisy pattern.

Set of Burp Cloths, Soft Block and Receiving Blanket

Normally I'm the gift wrapper in the house but this time hubby had it all taken care of!

Gift

It was fun to see my husband be so thoughtful and give a little blessing to her.

Have a blessed weekend my friends!

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

Here in Indiana we are experiencing a very unusually warm start to spring.  It has been such a blessing to be outdoors and see the changes that are taking place in nature.  The grass is greening up, leaves are coming out on the trees and much is happening in our garden!

Did you know that "all of creation speaks of His glory?"  I believe the reason why we enjoy being outside so much and feel a calm there is because we are surrounded by His glory!  Nature is such a wonderful blessing from the Lord and I am so thankful to Him for it.

Last spring and fall my husband and I (and some unwilling sons) undertook a major redo in our landscaping.  We weren't really satisfied with the first attempt in the spring so we made some changes in the fall.  At that time we were able to buy a lot of plants on clearance since it was the end of season.  We are so excited to see how everything will look this year.

Taking center stage right now are our daffodils.  They were a freebie from the nursery we like to shop at.  They are such a bright spot of sunshine that just make us smile.

daffodils

My husband and I both enjoy gardening but it wasn't always so.  When we were first married almost 19 years ago he was the one who transformed the overgrown flower beds at our starter home.  While I enjoyed the colorful blooms I had no desire to plant anything myself and I struggled to remember the plant names he would roll off the tip of his tongue.  Also, I could never remember what an annual and perennial were.  But, over the years my interest began to grow and slowly I could remember flower names and keep the annual/perennial thing straight.  By about that time, my husband was busy with his career and I was solo-ing in the gardens of a subsequent home.  It was a bit frustrating for me at times but yet I knew deep down this was something we both would enjoy doing as time went on.

Thankfully, that is where we are at now in our 4th home.  To think we have gardened in 4 different states (Nebraska, Michigan, Missouri and now Indiana!)  It is nice to have a shared hobby between him and I.  For many years we didn't have a one or so it seemed.

Over the weekend my husband wanted to go shopping for some more bulbs.  We always enjoy strolling through the tables of plants and selecting what we like.  There are definite male/female differences but we are respectful of each others taste and somehow we meld them together.  Isn't that just like marriage anyway?

These blue hyacinths made it home with us and into the garden. 

As well as some phlox.  The good thing about hubby being involved is I don't have to dig all the holes and carry the bags of dirt!

Thanks for taking a walk through my garden.  How have you been enjoying this warm spring?

Signs of Spring

Oh how I love to come out of the hibernation of winter and into spring!!  Spring is my favorite season and one I long for during the dark, dreary cold days of winter.  It is a season of hope and new beginnings and the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  One where the earth awakens and brings forth the song of birds and the blooms of new flowers; all things my soul delights in!!

The other day I awoke to the sound of a morning dove.  Wow!  What music to my ears as it has been months since I've heard them!!

image

And just today I noticed tulip bulbs coming up in my garden and other green shoots.  Oh to see green again instead of the dull gray and brown tones.  The trees are forming buds, too.   Surely, it can't be long now.

I couldn't resist this magazine the other day.  The photos just drew me in . . .

 It is a magazine devoted to lovely parties like this ice cream one . . .

 I think I died and went to heaven!!  Isn't it dreamy??

Are there signs of Spring near you?

Happy Day my friends!