What goes around comes around...

     So, we haven't done much gardening this week because we've had frost warnings and cold temperatures.  According to my husband, who again, is the one who actually knows how to do this, we should plant our veggies and what not the weekend of  Easter.  So, until then, I have some funny things that happened this week that I thought I would share.

     If you are a parent, your child has or will do something that make you instantly think to yourself, "Oh, my poor Mom/Dad.  I totally did that same thing to them."  And, you will feel so guilty about it!  Well, that happened to me this week.  This is the story of Angel Bear...
     When I was expecting my first child, I was ready!  The nursery was ready MONTHS before her scheduled date of arrival.  The strollers, (yes, that is plural) were put together, the car seats were installed, the clothes were washed, dried, ironed, hung up, etc...  We were READY!  But, one day I was shopping in Babies R Us when I realized that we didn't have any stuffed animals for the baby!  Apparently, that was appalling to me in my hormonal state.  So, I probably spent about an hour trying to find the perfect stuffed animal for my baby.  I sifted through hundreds of animals and none of them quite measured up.  That is, until I spotted....  Angel Bear.  There she sat, this perfect white bear with angel wings.  I promise you she had a spotlight on her little stuffed body that beckoned me over to her.  She was the perfect combination of soft, cuddly, downy goodness and she had angel wings.  Again, in my hormonal state, this appealed to me and angel bear embodied everything that I wanted for my precious little angel.  I stood there envisioning Angel Bear as "the one" the my child would always hold dear to her...  Having an honored place in the crib, then the big girl bed room, then the college dorm and then finally given to her daughter so many years from now.  (Again, VERY hormonal at this point). 
     Fast forward 6 years as my oldest child, the recipient of Angel Bear, is cleaning out her room to make room for her new things that she received for her birthday...  American Girl Dolls and their accessories, clothes, makeup, etc...  She decides to make a pile of stuff to give away to those less fortunate.  She's throwing all kinds of things into the hall, mostly baby stuff.  As she sifts through the pile of stuffed animals, she gets to the bottom and pulls out Angel Bear.  As I expect her to ooh and ahh over her, she tosses Angel Bear into the hall with the rest of the give away pile without batting an eye.  WHAT?  But that's not the worst of it...  My 2 year old son walks up to the pile and finds Angel Bear.  Awww..  He's going to rescue her.  Yay!  Nope.  He picks her up and starts hitting things with her - like she is some kind of weapon.  6 year old sees this and joins in.  They then take the party downstairs to have more room to throw poor Angel Bear around and at each other.  2 year old likes to make a gun sound while he has her and 6 year old follows suit.  So, not only is Angel Bear not sitting in a place of honor in 6 year old's bedroom, she has now become a weapon of mass destruction to my den.  As this is happening, I am instantly reminded of Barbara Ann... 
     If you were born in the late 70s, like I was, you may have had an adoption doll.  Adoption Dolls were kind of a precursor to Cabbage Patch Kids.  But, instead of purchasing an adoption doll, you actually made them.  Well, my sweet mother, who does not enjoy sewing at all (much like her daughter!) actually took a class and MADE me an adoption doll.  She was big, too, and extremely well made!  I can only imagine how long it took my mom to make this doll for me.  If I were her, I would be more than proud of myself for accomplishing this sewing masterpiece as Barbara Ann was.  I did love Barbara Ann.  I even gave her that awesome name.  Ha!  But, one summer, we were spending the week at the beach with some family friends.  The condo we stayed in had a really big staircase.  Funny thing is, that is really the only memory I have of that whole trip!  The staircase.  Our friends had 2 sons that were 4 and 8 years older than me.  As we got bored not being at the beach one afternoon, we discovered that Barbara Ann made quite the torpedo to throw down that long staircase.  Over and over and over again, we threw Barbara Ann up and down that staircase, all under the watchful eye of my mom.  POOR MOM!  HOW IN THE WORLD COULD I HAVE THROWN THAT MASTERPIECE THAT SHE SPENT HOURS ON UP AND DOWN THOSE STAIRS!?!?!?!?!?  Oh yeah, because I was a kid and it was fun!  And, do you know what my mom said?  Nothing.  She let us do it and have fun.  So, that's what I did as I saw how much fun my kids were having with Angel Bear, the machine gun.  I let them have fun just as my mom let me.  Thanks mom for handling those moments with such grace.  I hope I handle the many many things I will face in the future with half of the grace you showed me. 
Until next time...
 

Stormy Weather...

Good afternoon everyone!!

     So, yesterday we were prepping our garden in the most beautiful weather!  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the breeze was just right and I got my first splotchy sunburn of the season...  Ah, splotchy sunburns.  We meet again...  Hello old friend...
     Ooh!  I see I have my first follower!!  I am so excited!!  It's my Mom!!  Thanks Mom!  I haven't even had a chance to call her and tell her about my new blog, but I see she has found it!  Hope you like it Mom!  I'll call you later...  Love you!
    Oh, yeah - about the weather - sorry, got a little sidetracked with excitement over a follower!  So, my perfect day yesterday has now been replaced by the threat of tornadoes, straightline winds, etc, etc, etc, followed by a day with a high of 59 degrees.  In April.  In the south.  The deep south.  COME ON!  I can't start this gardening habit when I can't go outside!  Luckily, the tv hasn't been taken over by our local weathermen yet, but it's coming.  You know it and I know it.  No Monday night tv for us tonight.  I have to say that I do love our local weathermen.  There is one in particular that stays on the air until the last raindrop falls.  He starts out with his sport coat looking all spiffed up for tv, but as the weather deteriorates the sport coat comes off to display his suspenders.  Then, the sleeves to the dress shirt unbutton, and then finally the sleeves roll up.  You know it's bad when the sleeves are rolled up.  Take shelter - go to  your happy place. 
    I was in a tornado when I was younger.  I was with my mom and my cousin - let's call her Weather Freak 1 (and I'll be Weather Freak 2).  She has an older sister, we'll call her Weather Freak 3.  We all banded together to go watch Twister in the movie theather when it came out.  Ha!  I will never forget it.  We were in the front row.  It was very cathartic...  Anyway, back to my story...  My mom was driving Freak 1 and Freak 2 home from the grocery store when BAM! A tree fell on our car!  Seriously!  Thankfully, God protected us and we were all ok.  My mom, we'll call her "I have a healthy respect for severe weather and I am not a weather freak like my daughter" walked out of the car with the attitude of Wow!  Look what we survived!  Weather Freak 1 and I have been terrified of tornadoes from that day forward.  Ask anyone who went to college with us and they'll back me up on this one!  (Speaking of college - happy birthday today Britney!!)  I have to say I have gotten a little better, and if you ask my kiddos, neither one of them know that Mommy is terrified of weather.  They think it's fun to "camp" in the innermost and structurally supported room of the house!
So, my message today is hunker down, secure your loose outdoor objects and hug your family tight!
Until next time...

Random thought before I go to bed...

Speaking of nature and it's beauty, nothing can be more beautiful than Heaven, the kingdom that God has created for us!  I recently read Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo and it is an account of his little boy's trip to Heaven during a complicated surgery.  It is such an inspiring book and I jujst wanted to share this with you!  Hope you can read it soon!!

Until next time...

A first for everything...

Hi everyone!
Welcome to my blog! 
    
     I am not a writer, nor am I a gardener, so I am starting two new endeavors today! 

The beautiful day we had to prepare our garden!

I decided to start a blog about my garden because, if you know me at all, you know that I tend to kill anything that is green and is supposed to grow.  In fact, the whole theory that says before you have kids, you should make sure you can keep a plant alive really shook my confidence in the motherhood arena!  But, so far, my husband and I are blessed beyond measure to have two very active kiddos that are happy and healthy.  Thanks to the Good Lord!

     So, you can say that I do NOT have a green thumb.  My husband, on the other hand is a landscape designer!  Thank goodness or our yard would be full of weeds and would just be generally unattractive.  Fortunately that is not the case as it is springtime and all of the beautiful flowers he has planted over the years are starting to bloom.  And, boy does our yard smell heavenly in the springtime!  Thanks honey!



The 2 year old "helping"



    So, when I approached him about planting a vegetable garden in our back yard this year, he was excited but he truly thought I was kidding!  However, I really thought this would be a great idea for our family for many reasons!  For one, our kids are 6 and 2.  There are not a lot of activities these two age groups can jointly participate in.  But, digging in the dirt, playing with water and eating yummy food are easily accomplished by these two.  Also, I am a science nerd!  I love to learn, and who would've thunk it?  I love to teach, too!  So, I can teach the kids science stuff without them really knowing that mom is making them learn something!  Genius, I know.  And, not only can I teach them "science-y" stuff, I can teach them responsibility and resourcefulness!  After what we have all been through with this economic train wreck, it wouldn't hurt to be able to know how to grow your own food!  Maybe we'll raise some chickens, get a few cows, how 'bout some pigs??  Whoa!  I'm getting ahead of myself! 

The 6 year old helping

    I am a "I prefer to be inside, sit behind a computer" kind of girl, but I do feel God calling me to get outside more - this was most apparent when I actually picked up the rake and began working to help prepare the garden - and felt happy doing it!  I am excited to truly appreciate what He has created for me; for all of us.  What a miracle! 

   Anyway, I hope to share our garden's progress in pictures and in words, as well as what my family and I are learning in the coming weeks and months! 

Thanks for reading!  Until next time....

The man who knows how to actually do this!