Summer Garden '09

So I built this raised garden bed while Tony went on a camping trip. It was a lot of hard work. I borrowed some tools and a truck(for the load of dirt). The picture below was my method of transporting the dirt. I put the baby pool under the crack of the tailgate to catch the dirt that fell. I needed all the dirt I could get. never waste a thing. It took me about 3 hrs(the girls' naptime) to get the frame secure and level in its place and fill it with dirt. I followed directions from http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ on how to build it. I added top soil and cow manure/compost. Then when my mom visited us, we planted everything. A couple of weeks later we had good bean sprouts.

From left to right: Green beans which will hopefully grow up the twine, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, Bell Peppers ( green & yellow), broccoli, and zucchini up front right.

Everything is doing well so far. I am not sure the broccoli will last but it is doing good now. The zuchini will take over that whole right corner. I am hoping to guide it off the edge if needed. I have a flower garden also. I have lavender, sunflowers, and poppies. I rushed planting the sunflowers and poppies in the mud. mistake. I will have to try again with the sunflowers and some other flower from seed. I will also buy some soil to help.

"I want the gold Daddy"!

May has been so full of great things and I cannot make time to blog about them when they happen so this one may be random. I will save my gardening post for next time. So, to start off this month, Bay had her Honeybees award night. Grandma, Daddy, and Mom were there to see her accept her certificate on stage. My baby is growing up. The Honeybees went first and then the older children followed. There were gold trophies for the older kids. Not sure what they did to get it but I am sure it involved a lot of Bible verses or books. Anyway, after Bay got her certificate we all sat in the pew(sp?) and watched everyone else. Bay saw the gold and said repeatedly throughout the evening, "Dad, I want the gold!!!!" Too funny. Go for the gold girl! I always fear taking the girls to places where they are expected to sit and be quiet. June was in the nursery so I didn't have to worry about her. I was so proud of Bay. She was very patient, still, and quiet. She even asked to go pee. So we went to the big potty. She is such a good girl.

That night, our dear friends Joy and Jarrod and their 3 girls brought over a kitchen and a few games for the girls. They love it. They play with it everyday.

The game above is called Balancing Moon. It teaches color, shape/size, and control. Aslo, patience. Especially when you have a little sister knocking it over before the game is done. So, May 6 was a great day for the girls. Almost like Christmas.

family of crafty critters

I am a crafty critter and I have many in my family who are also: those that draw, paint, and build. I am the only one who actually furthered my interest in art by getting a bachelor's degree in fine arts. I now have married into a family of crafty critters. Those that sing, act, play instruments, and make jewelry. I would one day like to develop a special thing or two and begin selling it on etsy. I think it will be sewing related if I can ever get that going. My mother-in-law, Linda, has just open her shop on etsy. She makes necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Please check it out and link it in your blogs so we can spread the word.

Head Covering

Check this article out. I never knew much about head coverings but now I do. I kinda want to investigate some stylish head coverings. I have never been much of a hat girl. I do like the small hats from the twenties I think it was. I don't dress fancy enough to wear a hat like that. And baseball hats which probably fit my "style"itch my forhead. I probably wouldn't follow through with this idea but it is kinda cool some ways. It does come from God's Word afterall. If nothing else, at least I will have more respect for those wearing headcoverings instead of an uneducated "why are you wearing that thing on your head" attitude.

My girl got mad tricks yo!

Bay is so funny. I am realizing she is my pretty princess that wants to stay inside and be pampered. She tells me "it is too hot, I want to go inside mom"when it is only 70 degrees. Boy is she in for a treat this summer when we go to the beach. (She asks me every morning, "can we go to Dauphin Island now?") Daddy was trying to get her to eat the last bit of her food one night. In the past we told her that it would make her muscles big. That worked. The girl wants to be strong. This time, he told her it would make her smart. That didn't interest her. I guess she doesn't want to get smarter. So he told her she would turn into a pretty princess if she ate it. That worked. she ate it. Then she got upset because she didn't turn into a pretty princess right after she ate it. She is a bit girly for me but it reminds me of how God makes us ladies. We all want to be pretty princesses and be swept off our feet and protected forever. I am very blessed to have a husband who makes me feel this way. Bay's future husband will have his hands full. I will continue to pray for that man now as God prepares him for her and vice versa. And the reason for this post was to show a 2 min. video of Bay dancing and singing but blogger won't let me upload it. I tried to upload it for about 7 hrs and it still wasn't finished. so I gave up. Here is a picture of her princess self instead. She is wearing a clover flower crown made by the queen.

Travis Cottrell

I went to a Beth Moore conference a while back and heard Travis Cottrell and his crew sing. It was awesome. After I realized how awesome he was, I also realized that he had sang at our church severals months before that. I didn't go because I didn't know who he was. I wish I had done my research. I sure missed an a great worship time. Well now BooMama has a giveaway for one of his new CDs. I definitely want one. I also want his 2008 Christmas CD. I asked for it for Christmas but didn't get it. Anyway, check out his website and listen to soome of his songs.

Today's gifts

My girls give me several things everyday. Some good some bad. Today, I took notice as they gave me a couple of gifts outside. Bay brought dandelions and a "little tree". It was a twig of lavender that didn't grow. So I broke it off an threw it on the ground a few days ago. She found it today. June brought me some dirt. Sweet gifts.

About a week ago, I found some four leaf clovers and today I decided to hunt for more since we have such a large patch in our backyard now. I found maybe 5 more. I wondered when all this luck was going to show up. Well then I checked my mail and guess what I got? JURY DUTY! on June 1. How the heck am I suppose to do that with 2 children? My two choices are 1) ask my stay-at-home mom friend if she can babysit that day, or 2) Tony takes off work. They picked my name twice when I was in college but I got out of it because I was at school out of town. The thing about Jury duty here is that it is downtown where there is paid parking. yuck. The letter said there would be discount parking nearby. They pay 12.50 so I guess I will be making a few dollars off of it after gas and parking. Geez. such an inconvenience though. I wonder if stay-at-home mom counts as an excuse? doubt it.

Since Bay had picked several dandelions we decided to put them in our toes and show off our new toenail polish. I bought a mini pack in the dollar section of Target. This is the second time I have painted her toenails but the first time I have used a bit of color.