America the Great!!!

Oh! Thus be it ever,
when free men shall stand,
Between their loved homes and
the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may
the heaven-rescued land,
Praise the power that hath made
and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must,
When our cause it is just,
And then be our motto: "In God is our Trust!"
And the Star-Spangled Banner
In triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave.

Francis Scott Key
The Star Spangled Banner

Happy Birthday America!!!

Inside Vs. Outside

Who cares that the dishes aren't done, the beds aren't made and the laundry is stacking up -

Outside the garden is growing:

The kids are playing:

I'm drinking iced coffee and crocheting a little summer into the new wash cloths I'm making for the fall.

This is summer - and the outdoors wins!!!

Learning to be Lefthanded

Wayne and Daniel have been playing softball this summer with the church team - a bunch of guys who have more fun than wins out on the field. This season seems to be plagued by injuries for my hubby - a torn thigh muscle that turned beautiful shades of green, a badly jammed finger etc. He has continued to play - limping around the bases if necessary. But last night's owie was his season ender :0(

After fielding a ball barehanded he noticed a lot of blood and discovered a nasty gash on his finger - yuck. He bandaged it and continued to play having two more at-bats and getting good line drives with both. After the game we decided he should head to the ER to get a few stitches.

After many hours there he finally returned home at about 1:00 am with a heavily bandaged hand and a referral to a hand surgeon. It seems he also broke three bones in two of his fingers!! He'll have to learn to be a leftie for a while. He sees the surgeon later this week.

So for the rest of the season we'll be cheering on Dan with Daddy on the sidelines. Poor sweetie!!!

I was having a good day....

until I got the mail....

I know I have a few gray hairs - mainly noticed by my children and maybe even one or two wrin..I mean laugh lines .... but still!!!!!! Senior Citizen Offer. Really!!!

Why couldn't I have won the Sweepstakes instead? That would have made my day!!!! :0)

Hope you get great stuff in the mail this weekend!!!

First Harvest

Gardening - an activity that has so many life lessons!! When I am in the garden I almost always feel there is a sermon waiting for me if I'm willing to listen. I always come away from my bit of earth refreshed and at peace having spent a good deal of the time in conversation with God. The rewards are immeasurable!!! (The time not spent in prayer usually has to do with me grossing out about the slugs and other various worms the eat my things!! Ewww - shiver!!!)

Then there are the practical rewards for digging in the dirt:

My first harvest this season - lots of yummy lettuce - three varieties here and radishes

This is what I made out of that bounty - yummy grilled chicken salad:

I so love feeding my family the homegrown foods - I know what's on them (nothing) and I know what's in the dirt (nothing but earthworms!). By gardening I know I'm doing something super healthy for them - not only feeding them good stuff but also teaching them a life long skill that will only benefit them in the future.

Now for some silly summer pictures:

Yummy:

I don't know - he never had a binky before (especially a pink one), doesn't normally wear pink baby sunglasses and out grew the bib stage long ago (yes - he's wearing a bib!) I think bigger sister had something to do with this!!

Rocks

We are rock hounds at our house. We collect them everywhere - from the beach, rivers and even walks down the street. We keep them in many places in our home - in boxes under collectors beds, in jars in the cupboard (I don't really know why :0)! ) on windowsills and jacket pockets. Some are shined up and others are left natural (some are even decorated with paint. Some are put in the garden and some live in the house. All are considered beautiful by the person who picked it up.

A pile of little rocks on one of my windowsills:

A big beautiful rock on another windowsill (this one given to us by another rock hound friend who has the ability to climb cliffs in our nearby mountains and bring these down) My homemade yard art created with more rocks:

Last evening I was tidying up the house and the big rock on the windowsill caught my attention because the lights were reflecting so prettily off the crystals. I thought how if no one had ever climbed that cliff, grabbed that rock and broken it open to see what was inside - no one would ever see that beauty or even know it existed. No one except God that is. How many more rocks are out there filled with beautiful crystals or gorgeous colors that no one will ever see. Yet God created them. Why? For His own Glory - of course!!! The Bible says: Even the rocks will praise His name - and they sure do!!! A very good reason to be a rock hound!!!

Gifts

On the last day of our homeschool co-op my gifted friend Simply Stork was busy with her needle and embroidery hoop. In an amazingly short time she handed me this wonderful "string drawing" as her children call it. She made this design because she knows my love of gardening. Isn't it beautiful - and isn't she sweet?!!! There are five tiny creatures in it - can you find them all?
I found a picture frame for just 25 cents at a garage sale the very next day - painted and sanded it and framed this pretty piece of art.

It's perfect for my little table!

Thank you Simply!! You are so talented! And such a sweet friend!!