Memorial Day - 2009

What a wonderful Long Weekend we have had!

Brad really wanted to spend some time with Wesley so the first order of business was to make ROLLS! Wes made a complete batch of rolls from start to finish all by himself! Brad dictated the recipe and Wesley did all the actual mixing, rolling, etc. It was a really sweet process to observe and I can tell that both Wes and Brad ate it up!

They were DELICIOUS! Wes is a great chef!


Next, Brad had a hankerin' to play Go Fish and was SHOCKED to learn that Wes didn't know how to play - THAT had to be fixed right away! Wes took to Go Fish and loved it from the start! I think you can tell that they both were having a great time :)

Mastering his poker face:

Wes was able to put his newfound Go Fish skills to use right away - Grandmom and Grandad came to see us on Memorial Day! We had a lovely visit, grilled some burgers, and played some cards! We all had a wonderful time!

And, now on to the garden updates!
The Tropicana Roses that we expected to be orange (based on the package they came home from the store in) have turned out to be a stunning hot pink color. We now have two in full bloom and they are just awesome - they catch your eye even from the Way Back Yard!

Also, our first freesia bloomed this weekend and I am so pleased with the little purple flower (and the buds up above it!!)

I was very thrilled this morning when I spotted the first Canna bud out my kitchen window! It's the perfect height to see while I stand at the sink :)

The zucchini is really growing quickly - and now there are TWO competing for our attention! The race is on but I think the bottom zucchini will be the first thing we harvest this year!!

Not to be outdone, our cucumber plants have started trying to grow their first cucumbers

One last thing: I've been impressed with the range of colors popping up in our gardens - Now, I can officially say our lilies are dripping with color!

We've really been enjoying all the flowers and vegetable plants this spring and they continue to remind me of God's infinite creativity! But perhaps there is another lesson He is trying to teach me - The promise of the Good Gifts that are yet to come - I think the white rose bush is a perfect picture of this promise:

Daylillies and Baby Birds

Ah, Spring has sprung :) I've been thoroughly enjoying the various daylilies as they bloom. The double-yellow ones out front were, by far, the most beautiful and prolific.... BUT NOW, well, there are some new flowers opening up and they each try to out-do the previous ones! First, I loved the doubles and was sooo impressed when they bloomed three at a time:

Then, the maroon ones opened up and they were pretty.... but not as beautiful as the yellows... Then, the bright red ones appeared... and they were lovely:

Yesterday morning, gorgeous FUCHSIA lilies opened up and I was so pleased with them - They even glitter a little in the sun:

And, just when I thought it couldn't get any better.... This one popped up and blew me away!

That brings us to a total of 7 or 8 varieties of daylilies blooming RIGHT NOW! I couldn't be more blessed!

Oh, and let's not forget the bloom I've been looking forward to since February:

All the flowers are just gorgeous and I am so thankful for all of God's wonderful surprises.... But perhaps the surest sign of spring has been growing on my front porch all along - I hear lots of happy chirping every morning and think how wonderful life is right now!

Fun Day at School

Last night, Wes and I made Magic Cookie Bars together and they turned out to be beautiful AND delicious! Check out Chef Wesley in action:



Mmmmmm!

Today was Fun Day at Wes's school. I was super excited to be able to go :) And I think Wes was pumped, too! There was complete chaos so I'm glad I was there to make it more fun and laid back. I was surprised at how rude the kids were with cutting in line and calling people names. It really made me sad to realize that they just plain did not care about others :( All the more reason to spend the time investing in WES's morals and kindness!

Complaints aside, we had a really great time and I took a few fun pictures to capture the day!

How Our Garden Has Grown!

Ok - I'll start with a few flower updates and then I'll get to the garden people really wanna see :)


My hydrangeas are still super healthy, but they aren't growing by leaps and bounds anymore... And, I've seen buds and blooms on other people's hydrangeas, but not mine :( I guess I'll have to wait til next year ..

My Canna Lillies are still rebuilding all their foliage, but I don't think it's quite time for them to bloom...

And, just after Wes's birthday party, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new type of Daylillies in our front and back gardens - So this brings the total of varieties up to three :) I'm really enjoying my Surprises :)

The orange rose bush has put on two buds so stay tuned for those photos in the next blog... AND, after the first white rose bloomed and faded away, that bush put on an impressive shoot of new growth. I'll update those photos next time too...

And now without further ado,

It's Vegetable Garden time :) As you can see in this next photo, the left side is really thriving and making visible progress. The right side is still trucking along, but at a slower pace. That's ok as long as there isn't another upsetting Corn Massacre!

This picture was taken May 14 -

And the next day, Brad made cages for the larger tomatoes:

AND, he discovered THESE on the Yellow Pear Tomato:

The cucumbers are still growing at an impressive rate!

AND, they had a little secret under their leaves:

But, to the rest of the garden's dismay, the zucchinis continue to outgrow them all - Just Look at how much they changed in 10 days:

Wait, I don't think the above photo quite conveys it - Here, let me establish the scale for you - Those are my hands and they're about the size of one leaf:

And, the zucchini was hiding a surprise too - Take a peek:

And, last but not least, Wesley's corn is still growing and LIVING - we have been keeping an eye on a few rascally rabbits though!

Mother's Day

This past Sunday was Mother's Day and I surely had a wonderful day :) We went to church and that was lovely, as always. Then, we headed home for some lunch and presents :) But first, I insisted on a few photos while we were all dressed up :)

Wes could really only handle one or two photos so he headed inside while Brad and I took a couple more :)

At school, Wes made this beautiful heart-shapeed ceramic bowl on a pottery wheel :) That was a pretty cool experience for him and I received a lovely gift :)

He also created this fun banner for me - Each Heart says, "ILM" which stands for "I Love Mom" :) It's decorating our kitchen table now :)

Brad gave me a mandolin slicer (which I have been BEGGING FOR) it's like this one and I LOVE it:

My beautiful white rose fully bloomed just in time for Mother's Day - Isn't that cool?

New Garden Photos :)

First off, let me brag about Wesley :) He met his AR Goal!! Not only that, but he also was the first in his class to meet his goal this semester! I'm not sure how it worked out this way, but I am really proud of him! :D

Ok, so now for some garden photos -


First, we have our zucchini. It wasn't in the earlier garden photos so I felt it had been neglected :) As you can see, it's healthy and doing well:




Next, the prize for most-improved goes to our cucumbers :) Here they are:



Here is a comparison to show how well the cucumbers have grown:



Brad's fig tree is Runner Up in the Most Improved Category:

Wesley's Corn is sprouting along nicely - As long as the deer, rabbits and birds stay away I'll be happy!:)

Also, I am happy to report that we have had one daylily in the backyard:

And, another in the front yard - and I've never seen a DOUBLE bloom like this so I'm anxious to see if they're all like that or if this was a fluke:

And, lastly, I am so pleased with our very first rose ever - even though it has taken forever to open and still isn't completely open:

~*~ Wesley's 8th Birthday ~*~

It's that time of year again - Time to celebrate the day Wesley was born! It's sooo hard to believe he's 8 years old! Needless to say, we celebrated in style!

We were really blessed to have so many family members able to come to town for the special day - all 3 sets of Wesley's grandparents were able to come!

This year, Wes wanted a luau party and he has declared orange as his favorite color so I took those two themes and ran with them!

I tried my hand at making a few new things this year - I've never made a fruit salad before and I don't THINK I've served toothpick skewers before. I'd say they were both well-received. Next time, I'll be sure to make MORE pineapple ham skewers since they ran out first ... I just wasn't sure if other people would like them... now I know! And, I think Whales Crackers have been served at every Wesley Party since he was old enough to eat them! They are one of the many traditions 'round here!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Connor enjoyed the cheese "Totem Poles" and I know Kim liked the ones with cheese and olives :)

In related news, I just love this picture of Connor! He is growing up to be one handsome fella! Wish the cheese weren't in the picture or this would be a framable picture !!

Wes received some really great gifts and I can tell everyone put serious thought into what he would enjoy - He's one lucky little guy!

Makagan came straight from his ballgame and got here just in time to join in the fun!

How many relatives does it take to play a keyboard? :)

Wes gets his first-ever scooter lesson on his new ride!

There were certain complaints that I'm always *behind* the camera so this photo is for you! :) You know who you are!

I loved Teresa's use of her umbrella straw.... Come to think of it, I love umbrella straws, too! What a great invention!

I think my house handled its first party rather well - Everyone could wander freely and the couches were great for sittin' and chattin' :)

The bubbles were a hit with the kids :)

Everyone is all smiles - Even though Anita tried to dodge my camera! Ha Ha, I caught her!

The family portrait with the birthday boy - another tradition!

And, the hand portraits with Pappaw :)

The End.